Saturday has the potential to be a day of surprises in the Premier League as Sheffield United, Burnley and West Ham look to claim the scalps of three members of the so-called ‘big six’.
In the pick of the fixtures, David Moyes bids to end his Anfield hoodoo when his in-form Hammers side take on a Liverpool team that have been far from convincing in recent weeks.
In 15 previous visits, Moyes hasn’t tasted victory once but his team have played well enough in recent matches to suggest they can get something at the home of the champions.
Liverpool Have Questions to Answer
On the surface, Jurgen Klopp’s men appear well placed both domestically and in Europe after three successive victories in all competitions.
Those successes have them sat top of their Champions League group, while they are now level on points with Premier League leaders Everton.
However, scratching the surface of those recent performances reveals cracks, particularly in defence with Fabinho having joined Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip in the treatment room this week.
Should the Brazilian miss Saturday’s teatime kick-off then boss Jurgen Klopp is left with a big hole at the heart of his defence that he may struggle to fill.
Whoever starts at centre-back, they’ll face a difficult time containing the in-form Michael Antonio, who has scored twice in West Ham’s last three matches, while he’s netted in two of his last five games against Liverpool.
Antonio leads the line for a West Ham side that are unbeaten in four, battling out draws with Manchester City and Tottenham recently.
The east London side should have taken something on their last visit to Anfield when they were unfortunate to lose 3-2 and the draw/away win double chance option at 11/5 holds plenty of appeal.
Both teams to score at 20/33 should also tempt punters with West Ham having netted in their last seven away games, while 10 of Liverpool’s last 11 league games have seen both teams score.
Blades Hold No Fear for City
Manchester City looked good in Tuesday’s 3-0 win in Marseille and will hope they can now transfer their good form in Europe to domestic competition.
Last week’s 1-1 draw at West Ham condemned Pep Guardiola to his worst start to a Premier League campaign as City boss but they will hope to get back on track when they travel to Sheffield United on Saturday lunchtime, particularly now Kevin de Bruyne has returned to fill fitness.
The Blades played well at Liverpool last week but still came away empty-handed and sit 19th in the table with just one point after six games.
A similar hard luck story could unfold this weekend with Chris Wilder’s men still struggling for goals, averaging the fewest per game so far this season, while the departure of Dean Henderson and injury to Jack O’Connell have left them vulnerable at the back.
City won this fixture 1-0 last season and with four of United’s last five league defeats coming by a single goal, City to win by one goal at 5/2 offers some value.
Turf Moor Tussle in-Store for Blues
Chelsea have managed to rein in their attacking tendency in recent weeks and will head to Burnley on Saturday with the look of a more solid unit after three successive clean sheets.
Blues boss Frank Lampard has struggled to get the balance between attack and defence right at times this season but it appeared spot on in the 4-0 win over Krasnodar in the Champions League.
Despite that result, the Blues remain something of an unknown quantity and an improving Burnley side could pose a stiff test.
The Clarets should have got something from Monday’s 1-0 loss to Tottenham but their lack of potency in front of goal proved their downfall.
The history of this fixture suggest there will be goals but with seven of Burnley’s last nine home matches ending with under 2.5 goals and Chelsea having found some defensive stability, backing under 2.5 at 5/4 makes sense.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
