EPL 2017/18 - Week 36

Liverpool v/s Stoke - Home win
Burnley v/s Brighton - Home win
Crystal Palace v/s Leicester - Home win
Huddersfield v/s Everton - Away win
Newcastle v/s WBA - Home win
Southampton v/s Bournemouth -Draw
Swansea v/s Chelsea - Away win
West Ham v/s Man City - Away win
Man Utd v/s Arsenal - Home win
Tottenham v/s Watford - Home win

It's Mourinho against Wenger again, probably the last chapter of the saga, as the Frenchman will leave his managerial post at Arsenal at the end of the season. It is not difficult to see why the Portuguese has an enviable record against the Frenchman; he relishes foiling plays of attacking sides and break their spirits before delivering the lethal counter punch. This plays particularly well against the one-dimensional attack-minded teams of Wenger. I don't see why that pattern would change in Sunday's match at Old Trafford. As long as the Red Devils don't deliver a big doughnut like they did against West Brom in their last home defeat last week, they should come on top of that one.

Spurs are still fighting for a UCL spot and they won't come much easier than Watford on Monday. Look for Kane to eagerly go for goals in the remaining 3 matches as he tries to catch Salah for the goal scoring title. This should be a high-scoring match with most goals going to the home side.

Accumulator: Man Utd/Tottenham

EPL 2017/18 - Week 35

WBA v/s Liverpool - Away win
Watford v/s Crystal Palace - Away win
Arsenal v/s West Ham - Draw
Stoke v/s Burnley - Home win
Man City v/s Swansea - Home win
Everton v/s Newcastle - Draw

The news broke in this morning that Wenger is to step down as Arsenal manager after 22 years! Many Arsenal fans will have seen their dear wish granted as they grew disgruntled with the downward spiral the club has been sucked into for the past decade. Can Wenger go on a high by winning the Europa League? That is going be really tough, particularly with Atletico Madrid as adversaries in their upcoming semi-final.

I liked Crystal Palace last week and they confirmed the confidence by winning and I am hoping for a bis repetita this week-end. Watford are still not secure from relegation and are only 3 points up on the Eagles but the hosts' form has been so poor of late that I think they will be vulnerable when faced to the likes of Zaha and Milojevic. It might be worth chancing on a Palace win or draw-no-bet.

Stoke are due a win and I think they will finally get it against Burnley. The Clarets lost a rare match at home to Chelsea yesterday and will have a short time of recuperation. I cannot see Stoke losing this match and their odds for winning look really juicy in the markets.

Win: Crystal Palace, Stoke

EPL 2017/18 - Week 34

Southampton v/s Chelsea - Away win
Burnley v/s Leicester - Home win
Crystal Palace v/s Brighton - Home win
Huddersfield v/s Watford - Draw
Swansea v/s Everton - Home win
Liverpool v/s Bournemouth - Home win
Tottenham v/s Man City - Home win
Newcastle v/s Arsenal - Home win
Man Utd v/s West Brom - Home win
West Ham v/ Stoke - Home win

Even though their situation is still precarious, I do not see Crystal Palace dropping out of the EPL this year. They are definitely better than their current standing and I believe on Saturday they will sail further from the relegation zone as they host Brighton. The visitors are in fair form but Palace have the weapons to overcome them and bag the full points. Milivojevic and Zaha are in fine goal-scoring form and should lead the Eagles to a much-needed win.

Man Utd should finish the season strongly as they try to secure second place. Truth be told, they were lucky to win at the Etihad last week-end but credit to them for being lethal in the second half. In the first half, City should have been at least 4 up and put the match to bed. But as the saying goes, never count the Red Devils out. They should crush WBA on Sunday.

Finally, for a value punt, I think Arsenal is going to fall at Newcastle. The Gunners escaped a tricky second leg at Moscow in the Europa league and should be vulnerable. Recent history says that they find it hard to follow up after a major European exertion. Newcastle as a home win or draw-no-bet looks enticing.

Dupla: Man Utd/Crystal Palace
Win or draw-no-bet: Newcastle

EPL 2017/18 - Week 33

Everton v/s Liverpool - Home win
Bournemouth v/s Crystal Palace - Draw
Brighton v/s Huddersfield - Home win
Leicester v/s Newcastle - Home win
Stoke v/s Tottenham - Away win
Watford v/s Burnley - Draw
WBA v/s Swansea - Away win
Man City v/s Man Utd - Home win
Arsenal v/s Southampton - Home win
Chelsea v/s West Ham - Home win

Huddersfield and West Brom are 2 teams that look to be in a downward spiral and it looks enticing to go against them again this week-end. Brighton are a tough team to beat when they are at home and I cannot see anything other than them winning their match against the Terriers. West Brom have lost Pardew along the way and are now under the care of unproven Darren Moore. I think it spells more trouble for them and it might be worth chancing visiting Swansea who are on the up.

Spurs will be buoyed by their last away win at Stamford Bridge where they deserved the full points after so many years of win-less visits. They should overcome Stoke who have yet to get out of first gear under manager Lambert.

Finally, Arsenal look to have regained some form back and the visit of hapless Southampton should bring them more home comforts.

It seems value to put all the above in an accumulator.

Accumulator win: Arsenal, Tottenham, Brighton, Swansea

Road to Kentucky

Thunder Snow might have won the showpiece Dubai World Cup on Saturday but it was really Mendelssohn that got jaws dropping in the UAE Derby. Out-of-the-ordinary performances do happen in Flat racing but they are an infrequent occurrence; Winx has done a few in the past years, so did Frankel, Black Caviar and Deep Impact. The manner of their wins left the gallery in awe.

On Saturday, many people were expecting Godolphin's Gold Town dominate the Derby in the desert. Others had tipped Mendelssohn but certainly none would have predicted the manner of his victory by 18.5 lengths! For a Group 2 Flat race with some smart types, this was a staggering performance by the budding superstar from Coolmore. In the immediate aftermath, he was installed co-favourite for the Kentucky Derby and will definitely give trainer O'Brien a first live chance at landing his first American classic. It's hard not be excited by the potential of a European-based horse landing the most prestigious prize in American racing. Fingers crossed.

A few hours after the Mendelssohn demonstration, Audible won the Florida Derby in convincing style that makes me believe he will be a serious candidate for the prize on the first Saturday of May. It's amazing to think that the horse's owners, the China Horse Club, just ventured in racing only a few years back and are now on the cusp of winning the KD. The irony of it all is that Teo Ah King, the founder of the China Horse Club, and Coolmore have been successful partners a while back as co-owners of Australia, the Galileo colt that won the Derby for them in 2014. Now both sides are at the forefront of landing the American version of the Derby.

But let's not get too far ahead as a lot will happen in the trials to Kentucky. There are a couple of legitimate contenders yet to showcase their credentials during this month namely Bolt d'Oro and Justify. It is clear that Mendelssohn will not have it as easy at Churchill Downs as in Dubai. But for now and until then, that Wow performance on Saturday is still lively in the minds. Watching the road to Kentucky looks really interesting this year!