Sunday is the best day of the season with a number of heavyweight matches around Europe and the Premier League plays host to one of those, with old rivals Manchester United and Liverpool clashing at Old Trafford.
El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, Inter Milan versus Juventus and Marseille against Paris Saint-Germain will all have their supporters claiming their respective fixture is the biggest on the day, but in terms of importance they don’t come any greater than Liverpool’s trip to Manchester.
Reds Attack Can Punish United
Pressure is building on United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer despite their brilliant comeback to see off Atalanta in the Champions League on Wednesday, with the Red Devils starting the weekend sixth in the Premier League, five points off the pace being set by table-toppers Chelsea.
United’s defence remains the major problem and it points to a bet on Liverpool to score over 1.5 goals at 10/11.
Solskjaer’s side lack balance and have managed only one clean sheet in their last 20 matches – a 1-0 win at Wolves which owed much to the display of goalkeeper David de Gea, combined with a fair degree of luck on that occasion.
United seem determined to put as many attackers on the pitch as possible, however, they are being over-run in midfield as well as looking particularly shaky from set-pieces.
Both of those were evident in the 4-2 defeat at Leicester City last week as well as the 3-2 win over Atalanta with victory sealed thanks to a bullet Cristiano Ronaldo header.
Defensively United don’t look up to the task of stopping Liverpool, who have scored at least three times in all seven of their away games this season – the latest of those was a 3-2 triumph at Atletico Madrid when Mohamed Salah scored another two goals.
Only once has Salah failed to notch this term and it could be a long afternoon for United’s back four.
Spurs Out to Avoid Capital Punishment
West Ham against Tottenham should also be an interesting fixture, although picking a winner is difficult and the draw could offer the best bet at 47/20.
The Hammers will be happy with their start and their fans will no doubt create a cracking atmosphere for the visit of their most disliked rivals.
However, West Ham have lost both of their matches after Europa League games this season which must be at least of some concern for David Moyes.
Tottenham rested their entire starting team for the trip to Vitesse in the Europa Conference and big guns Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son will be among those returning to the side nicely refreshed following a midweek rest.
Spurs have been stuffed in all of their London derbies this season, conceding three goals to Arsenal, Chelsea and Crystal Palace, but the win at Newcastle United last week was Tottenham’s best performance of the season so far.
Buzzing Bees to Bother Foxes
Better value could be had in Brentford against Leicester, with the Bees fancied to maintain their fantastic start to life in the Premier League.
Twelve points from eight games is a fine return and it should be more, with Brentford having hit the woodwork a league-high eight times this season.
City beat Man Utd last week, but have generally failed to reach the levels of recent seasons and this will be a tough test for the Foxes against 8/5 shots Brentford.
*All odds correct at time of writing