Manchester City’s title bid resumes with an encounter against Brentford and it’s difficult to envisage anything other than a comfortable home win as Pep Guardiola’s side ensure their most recent top-flight outing – a disappointing 1-1 draw at Southampton – is not the start of a league blip.
City could Concede Again
That draw at St Mary’s was followed up with a convincing 4-1 home win over Fulham in the FA Cup at the weekend, while the Bees were on the wrong end of exactly the same scoreline when they were knocked out by Everton.
An appealing betting angle for the game would be backing City to win and both to score, on offer at 17/10, considering the champions have conceded in three of their last five league games and Brenford, even though they are on a run of five successive defeats in all competitions, have at least found the back of the net in their last three outings.
Smith has Norwich on the Up
Norwich’s recent improvement means the Canaries are now suddenly looking at survival rather than at one stage what appeared to be inevitable relegation.
Dean Smith deserves plenty of credit for the recent revival, which has seen Norwich win their last two in the league and three of their last five matches overall, including an impressive 1-0 FA Cup victory at in-form Wolves on Saturday.
"Carrow Road can be a fortress for us. The crowd certainly help and get behind us to make it a tough place for other teams to come.”#NCFC | #NORCRY | @FootballManager
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) February 8, 2022
Smith’s men host Crystal Palace, who have been inconsistent of late, but were better than the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool a couple of weeks ago suggests.
The Eagles’ away form has been a big problem for them all season, winning just once on the road to date – ironically at the most difficult of venues when they shocked Man City.
They have drawn four times on their travels, though, and may have to settle for another point (draw – 47/20) at Carrow Road as Norwich’s survival fighting spirit again comes to the fore.
Spurs on Song at Home Under Conte
The third of the 7:45pm kick-offs on Wednesday features Tottenham hosting Southampton, with the two teams coming into this clash on the back of victories in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Spurs got past Brighton without too many problems while Saints needed extra-time to knock out Championship Coventry City 2-1.
Spurs have been better, on the whole, since Antonio Conte took over and especially at home. They have won four of their last five in front of their own fans and that run can be turned into five from six against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men.
Tottenham to score over 2.5 goals, available at 41/20, appeals with that bet coming in in three of their last five home games.
Goals on Agenda in Aston
Finally, at 8pm, Villa host Leeds in what should be an entertaining affair in the West Midlands. Entertainment usually goes hand in hand when Leeds are in town as Marcelo Bielsa’s side continue to mix some impressive attacking performances and wins with some poor defensive mishaps.
That approach inevitably leads to goals and it’s probably worth considering over 2.5 goals in this game, at 5/7, bearing in mind the fact Villa have scored in each of their home games since Steven Gerrard took over, notching eight in total in those five games.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
