Aston Villa vs Southampton
Sunday, November 1, 11 pm (ET)
The big question here is can Aston Villa respond to their defeat to Leeds which sent them to third spot in the league? Last week wasn’t ideal for Dean Smith’s men as they suffered their first defeat in the Premier League after their blistering start going down to Leeds 3-0.
It will be interesting to see if the mentality is there to respond given their hot start where they won four games, as Leeds nullified them throughout the whole match. Aston Villa only had 40.8 % of possession compared to Leeds where they controlled the majority of the ball with 59.2 % of possession. It wasn’t also that, Leeds had more shots 27-12 and even more shots on target 9-4.
It won’t be easy for Aston Villa as they face a tough opponent in Southampton who you can never write off. The Saints are two points behind Aston Villa even though they are in seventh spot, but have picked up some valuable results in their last four games where they have won three (including a 2-0 win over Everton last weekend) and a draw against Chelsea.
Wherever you are in the world, show your support! 🟣
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 29, 2020
Last week’s win over Everton was a great result for Southampton as they can at this stage of the season look for a place in Europe. If Patrick Bamford caused trouble for the Aston Villa defense last week then they need to keep an eye out for Danny Ings who picked up the man of the match award as the forward ended the match with two assists.
Meanwhile, Southampton needs to be careful of their defense too as they let Chelsea back in the contest in match week 5 after going into half time with a 3-0 advantage only for the game to end in a 3-3 draw.
The Saints defense needs to be careful of Jack Grealish who is capable of turning the game (as evident when he controlled the game against Liverpool in match week 4 when they won 7-2) as well as Aaron Cresswell as he is ranked third for assists in the league with three to his name.
Prediction: Draw +260
Manchester United vs Arsenal
Monday, November 2, 3.30 am (ET)
Both teams are not where they want to be at this stage, sure it has all been systems go with games appearing left, right, and center but neither Manchester United nor Arsenal would be happy at this stage of the season sitting in 15th spot and 11th spot.
So this makes this clash even more important. Both teams haven’t even reached double figures in terms of total points yet with United generating seven points from five games while a draw against Chelsea wasn’t the best outcome for the Red Devils last week, there were a positive to come out of it as they kept a clean sheet.
✨ @MasonGreenwood became the second-youngest player to net in the #UCL for #MUFC last night 👏
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 29, 2020
While Arsenal has collected nine points from six games and remains five points outside the top four. This is more of a danger game for Arsenal than it is for United as the Gunners are coming off back-to-back defeats from Manchester City and Leicester City and have only won once in their last three outings.
Prediction: Manchester United win + 105
Leeds vs Leicester City
Tuesday, November 3, 7.00 am (ET)
This is an intriguing contest as only two points separate the two sides with Leicester having a two-point advantage as they currently sit in fourth spot following a 1-0 win over Arsenal last week.
Leicester City’s talisman Jamie Vardy was the only goalscorer in that match converting in the 80th minute, which meant he has now scored six goals in five appearances for the Foxes this season.
What is more impressive is he is on track to claim his second Premier League Golden Boot award in two seasons as he is equal third in the Golden Boot race with six goals for the season and one of the main reasons for the Foxes impressive performances.
“I’m very proud of the team because like I say, we’re a team based along playing fast football, but when you can’t, it’s important that you can see the game through and we did that very well.” 💬
Brendan Rodgers gives his thoughts on his side’s performance this evening 👇
— Leicester City (@LCFC) October 29, 2020
Speaking of strikers, this match against Leicester is a tale of two strikers. As mentioned before Vardy is one to keep an eye out for Leeds but similarly, Leicester needs to keep an eye out for striker Patrick Bamford who is finally showing the league his potential.
Like Vardy, Bamford is also equal third in the Premier League Golden Boot race as he has also scored six goals. What is more impressive is he is scoring a goal a game.
He was impressive over their win against Aston Villa where he bagged a hattrick in the sides 3-0 win, to continue the stunning run of form by Leeds and more importantly to help his confidence in the top level.
Prediction: Draw +250
*Odds correct at time of publication.
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