There are four Premier League fixtures to focus the mind on on Sunday, with the highlight likely to be the 16:30 shootout between Liverpool and Manchester City.
Before that, punters will get the chance to see three other sides who were also European action in midweek. How will Leicester City react to their defeat? Will it be more league woes for Tottenham? And can West Ham back up their continental exploits?
All will be revealed on what should be a fascinating Sunday of English top-flight action.
Foxes Vulnerable to Eagles Attack
After two straight fifth-place finishes and an FA Cup triumph, there is a fear that Leicester’s fine form under Brendan Rodgers is starting to peter out.
The Foxes were beaten 1-0 by Legia Warsaw in the Europa League on Thursday and now face a tricky trip to Crystal Palace.
Selhurst Park witnessed a vintage edition of the always fiery M23 derby on Monday as Brighton struck late to peg the Eagles back in a 1-1 draw.
Even so, there are signs the south Londoners are starting to motor under Patrick Vieira. His side look a tempting price at 21/10 to take all three points, especially when you consider their visitors lost 2-1 at Brighton on the back of their opening European pool game.
That said, the Foxes won’t go down without a fight and it may serve to give them some backing, with Jamie Vardy 13/10 in the anytime market, having scored in his team’s last two away games in the league.
Smith’s Men Can be the Villans in N17
A 5-1 Europa Conference League win over Mura has done little to quell the uncertainty surrounding Spurs and the pressure already looks to be on summer appointment Nuno Espirito Santo.
The Portuguese took the blame for last Sunday’s painful 3-1 defeat at Arsenal, a result that came on the back of a lacklustre 3-0 home loss to Chelsea and a fortunate EFL Cup penalty shootout win over Wolves.
In contrast, Villa have got it going, winning their last two in the league, most impressively beating Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford last Saturday.
The Villans won this fixture 2-1 last term and a repeat is a handy 49/20. That’s tempting considering how well Dean Smith’s side are playing after seemingly getting over the inevitable hump of losing Jack Grealish.
Danny Ings may also be worth considering in the scorer markets. The 29-year-old has been linked with Spurs in the past and it is no surprise considering he has netted against them six times in 10 Premier League games.
That makes them his favourite opponents and the former Southampton man is 7/5 in the anytime market.
Bees Could Make Hammers Unhappy
Adapting to playing Thursday-Sunday football has long been a conundrum that Premier League side’s have struggled to solve and West Ham were another team to taste defeat after matchday one. However, that was against Manchester United and saw them miss a stoppage-time penalty.
After cruising past Rapid Vienna in the week, they’ll be hoping for something similar to that 2-0 win on Sunday.
London rivals Brentford may prove to be the wrong opponents, however. The Bees are unbeaten away from home since their long-awaited elevation to the Premier League, beating Wolves 2-0 on their last road trip.
Thomas Frank’s side backed it up with an impressive 3-3 draw with Liverpool and their set-piece prowess is sure to test an occasionally indecisive home defence.
The Double Chance on Brentford stands out at 11/10, but no Hammers game would be complete without a Michail Antonio goal and with him 4/1 to score the last goal, as he did in the recent 2-1 win at Leeds, the hosts will still carry a threat.
History Points to a Penalty at Anfield
Finally, to arguably the game of the weekend around Europe at Anfield where Liverpool host Manchester City.
Drama seems to follow these two and they are currently tough to split in the standings, with the Reds just a single point ahead of their rivals.
Therefore, a draw at 13/5 may appeal to punters but there might be something else to explore.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah scored penalties in both games between these sides last term, while Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan each missed from the spot. Meanwhile, De Bruyne also netted from 12 yards when the pair duelled in July 2020.
Salah tops the anytime market at 33/20, but the bet here could be the 8/5 for over 0.5 penalties in the match.
*All odds correct at time of writing
