Arsenal’s title mentality faces a stern examination at the Emirates today after two defeats in their last two outings.
Last week’s reverse at Goodison Park put the cat amongst the pigeons but Manchester City failed to capitalise on the Gunners’ three dropped points. So it’s still advantage Arsenal but they can’t afford anything other than a win over Brentford with a potentially title-deciding clash with City looming on the horizon next weekend.
The Bees, who are up to seventh in the table, have won on two of their last three visits to the Emirates and are on a run of nine unbeaten, so this is by no means a foregone conlusion despite the skinny odds on the home win.
But last week might’ve just been the wake-up call Mikel Arteta’s men needed and the last thing he’ll want is to be going in to next week’s top of the table clash with City having the chance to go above his side if they win. Anything other a win today could see the Gunners title dream disappear very quickly over the coming weeks but they don’t look ready to give anything up just yet.
Brentford look more than capable of giving them a scare though and an Arsenal win with both teams scoring pays a handsome 11/5.
In the early evening kick-off Eddie Howe returns to Bournemouth in search of three points for Newcastle.
The Cherries have won just one in 12 league matches and are the bookies favourites at 1/5 to be relegated. It’s hard to argue with that and after two draws in their previous two Premier League outings the Magpies need to get back to winning ways if they’re to clinch a top four finish.
Doubling up an Arsenal win with a Newcastle win pays just over 6/5.
On-song Fulham have been hugely impressive all season and look backable at 20/21 this afternoon at home to Nottingham Forest.
The Cottagers may well struggle against teams at the top end of the table but they’ve taken an impressive 21 points from 30 against teams currently in the bottom half.
Forest have looked better since the turn of the year and picked up some valuable points from teams in and around them but Fulham should just edge this one.
Leicester v Spurs at the King Power looks like it has goals written all over it. The clubs have shared a whopping 23 goals in their last four meetings (6-2, 3-1, 2-3 & 2-4) and it wasn’t that long ago they shared nine in game when Spurs won 5-4.
Fresh off the back of joining the 200-goal club in the Premier League and becoming Tottenham’s all-time top scorer, Harry Kane will be buzzing and bring his usual threat while the Foxes go into the game following an excellent 4-2 win at Aston Villa last week.
The bookies are of the same opinion and Over 2.5 is only 8/11, Over 3.5 is 7/4. Two goals in the first half makes plenty of appeal at 13/8 especially after five first half strikes in that match at Villa Park a week ago.
There’s five Scottish Cup ties north of the border with places in the quarter-finals at stake.
Raith Rovers are reportedly struggling to pull a squad together which could make the even money on Motherwell look generous by 4.45pm. There’s a decent travelling support making the trip to Kirkcaldy and they’ve be expecting the Steelmen to progress.
Livingston should have been playing Queen’s Park this afternoon but the Spiders were thrown out the competition after fielding an ineligible player. So by their gaffer Billy Dodd’s own admission today is a free-hit for Inverness Caley Thistle who were re-instated to the tournament in Queen’s Park’s place.
Caley beat Livi back at the start of the season but David Martindale’s side have got their act together since then and should be victorious this after at 9/20.
There’s an all-Premiership tie at Tannadice where Kilmarnock are the visitors. Both sides are embroiled in a relegation battle at the foot of the table so a cup-tie might offer some welcome relief. Killie’s away form has been abysmal this season and they’re the only side in the top flight without an away win, so Dundee Utd‘s home advantage could be the telling factor in this one. The Terros are 6/4 to win.
Ange Postecoglou went with a strong line-up for the last round of the Scottish Cup when Morton were Celtic‘s opponents so we should probably expect similar against St Mirren in the live match at 5.30pm.
He could hand a first start to South Korean striker Hyeon-gyu Oh who showed hints of being a handful in a shirt cameo against St Johnstone. He’s 11/10 to get his name on the scoresheet. One man who is enjoying a purple patch in the Hoops is Aaron Mooy. the Aussie has been in great form and weighing in with goals as well as assists of late. He’s been on penalty duties too, especially since the departures of previous spot-kick takers Josip Juranovic and Giorgios Giakoumakis. The midfielder is 15/8 to hit the net.
In the Championship there’s been a bit of money for league leaders Queen’s Park this week. They opened up around 9/5 but now are in to 11/8, which is still an attractive price away to Morton who are heading in the wrong direction.
Owen Coyle’s men secured a vital win over second-placed Ayr United to open up a four-point gap at the top and will be desperate to pile the pressure on to Dundee who don’t play until tomorrow.
Super Singles
English Double
- Arsenal & Newcastle Double 6/5 Bet365
Scottish Cup Treble
- Dundee Utd
- Motherwell
- Livingston
- Pays 625/100 at Bet365
Bonkers Bet
- Leicester 2 Spurs 3 27/1 SBK
Tipsters’ Tips
- Scottish Cup: Best Bets at Dundee Utd, Raith Rovers and Forfar
- SlipsTips Tips: Leicester City vs Tottenham Hotspur
- EFL Tip: Sunderland vs Reading, Charlton vs Fleetwood & Morecambe vs Forest Green
- European BTTS Tips: Goals in Germany, Spain & Holland
- Scott Allot’s Euro Tips: Freiburg can add to Stuttgart’s woes
- Football Bet of the Day: Freiburg to have too much Firepower for Struggling Stuttgart
- Saturday’s Goals Accumulator Tips: Today’s 4/1 BTTS & Total Team Goals Acca
- Goals Tips: BTTS, To Score 2+, Over 2.5 Goals and 172/1 Goals Acca Tips
Upcoming Match Previews & Tips
- Sat 12:30 West Ham United vs Chelsea
- Sat 15:00 Arsenal vs Brentford
- Sat 15:00 Leicester City vs Tottenham Hotspur
- Sat 15:00 Crystal Palace vs Brighton & Hove Albion
- Sat 15:00 Fulham vs Nottingham Forest
- Sat 15:00 Dundee United vs Kilmarnock
- Sat 15:00 Southampton vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Sat 17:30 AFC Bournemouth vs Newcastle United
- Sat 17:30 Celtic vs St Mirren
- Sat 19:00 Real Madrid vs Al Hilal
- Sat 19:45 Lazio vs Atalanta
- Sun 14:00 Leeds United vs Manchester United
- Sun 16:00 Rangers vs Partick Thistle
- Sun 16:30 Manchester City vs Aston Villa
- Sun 18:00 Sporting CP vs FC Porto
- Sun 19:45 Napoli vs Cremonense
- Mon 19:45 Darvel vs Falkirk
- Mon 20:00 Liverpool vs Everton
Super Bowl 57 #SVLII
Sunday night sees the NFL season finale hit our screens when the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles vie for Super Bowl 57. Our brilliant NFL tipster, TDTips has penned a superb, detail analysis of the game and presents his best bets for the showpiece event. Don’t miss it!
Racing Tips
After a 4/1 winner on Friday Rizzel has no fewer than EIGHT horses in his sights from Saturday’s cards.
As always, let us know your best betting tips and predictions for today in the comments section below and good luck with all your bets!
The post Saturday’s Top Tips: Newcastle, Queen’s Park & Goals at King Power for a Royal Flush appeared first on MrFixitsTips.