EPL 2018/19 - Week 20

Brighton v/s Everton - Away
Fulham v/s Huddersfield - Home
Leicester v/s Cardiff - Home
Tottenham v/s Wolves - Home
Watford v/s Newcastle - Home
Liverpool v/s Arsenal - Home
Crystal Palace v/s Chelsea - Home
Burnley v/s West Ham - Away
Southampton v/s Man City - Away
Man Utd v/s Bournemouth - Home

Can Man City be rocked for the 3rd time in a row? Their late capitulation at Leicester was certainly shocking and the Citizens are no longer in that confident mode anymore. At current prices, it might be value to stick with them to overcome the Saints; they haven't become a bad team all of a sudden. But the past 2 losses have certainly dented their chances of keeping the title particularly that league leaders Liverpool are showing no sign of slowing down.

Liverpool look set to continue on their roll as they welcome Arsenal. The Gunners are puffing at the moment and as they are still a work in progress under new coach Emery, I don't expect them to be firing on all cylinders against the league favourites. With a win, Klopp's men will have taken care of a big obstacle.

Keeping the faith with the Red Devils as they entertain Bournemouth. They are also a team under revolution under manager Ole and while I don't expect them to be mesmerizing against strong teams, they should be able to overcome the poor form of the Cherries.

Leicester have struck against 2 leading teams in Chelsea and Man City and should have no trouble against visiting Cardiff.

Accumulator: Man City/Liverpool/Man Utd/Leicester

EPL 2018/19 - week 19

Fulham v Wolves - Home
Burnley v Everton - Draw
Crystal Palace v Cardiff - Home
Leicester v Man City - Away
Liverpool v Newcastle - Home
Man Utd v Huddersfield- Home
Tottenham v Bournemouth - Away
Brighton v Arsenal - Away
Watford v Chelsea - Away
Southampton v West Ham - Draw

Time to pile on Man Utd in the coming weeks as caretaker manager Ole has been handed favourable fixtures to open his Red Devils managerial stint. Huddersfield should be in for a thrashing at the hands of a liberated Utd side.

Man City should recover from a shocking home defeat to Crystal Palace and get thevwway win at Leicester. Foxes' manager is in dire needs of results to stave off sacking but it will be a tough act against the league favourites. City should get the much-needed full points here to keep pace with Liverpool.

The kops should handle visting Newcastle easily. I am not do sure of the prospects of Spurs at home to Bournemouth. I think there might be a shock in the offing here for those looking for a mighty value punt this gameweek. Although they thrashed Everton in their last match, Spurs owe a great deal to the calamitous error of England keeper Pickford to get back in the match after being outplayed at the start. I think Spurs will teeter sooner than later and Bournemouth might have a card to play tomorrow.

Accumulator: Liverpool/Man Utd/Man City
Value: Bournemouth 

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EPL 2018/19 - Week 18

Arsenal v Burnley - Home
Bournemoth v Brighton -Home
Chelsea v Leicester - Home
Huddersfield v Southampton - Away
Man City v Crystal Palace - Home
Newcastle v Fulham - Home
West Ham v Watford - Draw
Cardiff v Man Utd - Away
Everton v Tottenham - Home

Accumulator: Southampton/Man Utd

EPL 2018/19 - Week 17

Man City v/s Everton - Home
Crystal Palace v/s Leicester - Draw
Huddersfield v/s Newcastle - Home
Tottenham v/s Burnley - Home
Watford v/s Cardiff - Home
Wolves v/s Bournemouth - Away
Fulham v/s West Ham - Draw
Brighton v/s Chelsea - Away
Southampton v/s Arsenal - Away
Liverpool v/s Man Utd - Home

Liverpool against Man Utd used to be the biggest match of the season. With the rise of Man City, this is no longer the case. Since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, the fortunes of the 2 rivals have gone in opposite ways. Klopp has the Kops on the ascendancy and the future looks bright although they have yet to win any silverware yet. Mourinho has won trophies with the Red Devils although not the cherished Premier League or Champions League titles. Worse, his impact at the club has plateau-ed and the wave of discontent around the club seems to grow by the day. At Anfield, Mourinho will park the bus, such will be the fear of the Portuguese of losing the match. It is certain that the visitors will rely on the odd counter-attack to squeeze something out of the match. With Salah in grand form, it will be hard to keep him out of the score sheet and if last year's match is anything to go by, the Liverpool forwards will have live chances to make a difference. Hard to go against the Kops here.

Man City and Tottenham are banker winners to keep apace at the top.

Accumulator: Liverpool/Man City/Tottenham

EPL 2018/19 - Week 16

Bournemouth v/s Liverpool - Away
Arsenal v/s Huddersfield - Home
Burnley v/s Brighton - Home
Cardiff v/s Southampton - Home
Man Utd v/s Fulham - Home
West Ham v/s Crystal Palace - Draw
Chelsea v/s Man City - Away
Leicester v/s Tottenham - Home
Newcastle v/s Wolves - Draw
Everton v/s Watford - Home

League leading Man City, Liverpool and Spurs have tough trips this week-end and there is a strong chance of them leaving points on the table. Fifth-place Arsenal will certainly get closer to them as they should have the easiest of matches against visiting Huddersfield.

Southampton are a team in disarray and will find it hard to put their act together with the departure of Mark Hughes. They need a big-name manager to rescue them and at this point, there is value to go against them. Cardiff could very well make the most of the Saints' predicament this week-end.

Finally, Man Utd should get the better of Fulham. The Red Devils are in a totally unfamiliar and unacceptable position and the pressure is on Mourinho to mount a winning sequence or the axe should soon fall. The Red Devils should overpower visiting Fulham.

Accumulator: Cardiff/Man Utd/Arsenal

EPL 2018/19 - Week 15

Bournemouth v/s Huddersfield - Home
Brighton v/s Crystal Palace - Away
West Ham v/s Cardiff - Home
Watford v/s Man City - Away
Burnley v/s Liverpool - Away
Everton v/s Newcastle - Home
Fulham v/s Leicester - Away
Wolves v/s Chelsea - Away
Man Utd v/s Arsenal - Home
Tottenham v/s Southampton - Home

Accumulator: Crystal Palace/Chelsea/West Ham/Bournemouth/Tottenham

EPL 2018/19 - Week 14

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

Jurgen Klopp might think that tomorrow's Everton side is the best he's faced so far, but the Kops should still have too much quality for the Toffees. There is a slight worry that Liverpool might be worse off fit-ness wise after their mid-week loss to PSG but this is a Merseyside derby at Anfield which should pump up the home team. Everton are overachieving at the moment and scraping out the good results without being overly dominant. The Reds should be able to over-power them.

Crystal Palace got a great point at Old Trafford last week-end and could have stole a win with more luck. They have Zaha back and will be a much better team than in the previous weeks without their taslisman. Burnley are in a rotten form with the spectre of relegation looming. The Eagles should win this one.

Chelsea lost their unbeaten record to Spurs last week but should get back to winning ways against Fulham. Granted, this will not be an easy match for Sarri's men as Fulham have found new vigour under new coach Ranieri. Still, the Blues are dominant at home and with Hazard pulling the strings, they should have too much in store for the visitors.

Accumulator: Liverpool/ Man City/ Crystal Palace/ Chelsea

EPL 2018/19 - Week 13

Brighton v/s Leicester - Away
Everton v/s Cardiff - Home
Fulham v/s Southampton - Away
Man Utd v/s Crystal Palace - Home
Watford v/s Liverpool - Away
West Ham v/s Man City - Away
Tottenham v/s Chelsea - Home
Bournemouth v/s Arsenal - Home
Wolves v/s Huddersfield - Home
Burnley v/s Newcastle - Home

Everton and Wolves are banker home wins. I just cannot see them being threatened by 2 of the worst sides in the league.

Man Utd should win their match against Crystal Palace although it would be no shock if they were to lay an egg in front of the Old Trafford faithful. The more Mourinho can focus on managing the team without making the back page news, the more the Red Devils will inspire confidence. The international break might have come at an opportune time for them as they try to bear down on a good winning run.

My value pick of the week is Spurs as I think they have enough in them to see off visiting Chelsea and hereby inflict the first defeat of the Blues this season. Tottenham will always give trouble to any team and the fact that Chelsea have been scraping results lately leads me to believe that Sarri's team are in for a hot Saturday evening. Harry Kane should be a handful as ever and the return of Vertoghen at the back will bring more stability to the Spurs defence. Contrary to many other pundits, I see Chelsea's unbeaten record in serious danger here.

Accumulator: Everton/Wolves/Man Utd/Tottenham

EPL 2018/19 - Week 12

Cardiff v/s Brighton - Draw
Huddersfield v/s West Ham - Away
Leicester v/s Burnley - Home
Newcastle v/s Bournemouth - Away
Southampton v/s Watford - Home
Crystal Palace v/s Tottenham - Draw
Liverpool v/s Fulham - Home
Chelsea v/s Everton - Home
Arsenal v/s Wolves - Home
Man City v/s Man Utd - Home

Although Man Utd got the perfect result during their travel at Juventus in mid-week, their performance on the pitch will have left a lot desired for many. Any such repeat while visiting neighbours Man City looks doomed to failure and possibly catastrophe. The Red Devils were shackled for long periods in Italy only to find their footing in the last minutes of the match and reverse what looked like a detrimental result. On the other hand, the Citizens are flying at the moment and scarily scoring at free will. I cannot see them getting beaten at home based on the form of the Red Devils and I think Guardiola's men will easily win this contest.

Leicester will be back from a long trip to Thailand and fitness-wise might not be at their peak but they should have too much class for a desperate Burnley team.

Liverpool is a banker to thrash Fulham and I suspect Salah will have another field day.

Last but not least, I like Southampton to get something out of their match against Watford. The Saints will have to rack up the points at home if they are to stay up and while visiting Watford are proving to be a decent bunch this year, I can still see the home team prevailing by the tightest of margins in this one.

Accumulator: Liverpool/Man City/Leicester/Southampton

EPL 2018/19 - Week 11

Bournemouth v/s Man Utd - Home
Cardiff v/s Leicester - Home
Everton v/s Brighton - Home
Newcastle v/s Watford - Away
West Ham v/s Burnley - Home
Arsenal v/s Liverpool - Away
Wolves v/s Tottenham - Away
Man City v/s Southampton - Home
Chelsea v/s Crystal Palace - Home
Huddersfield v/s Fulham - Draw

Man City and Chelsea have easy outings and should bag whole points at home. I think Spurs have the form and squad to go grasp full points on their visit at Wolves. For accumulator purposes, I  see value in including the Hammers who look to have an easier task than most in overwhelming a Burnley team with a very poor away record.

Accumulator: Man City/Chelsea/Tottenham/West Ham

EPL 2018/19 - Week 10

Brighton v/s Wolves - Home
Fulham v/s Bournemouth - Away
Liverpool v/s Cardiff - Home
Southampton v/s Newcastle - Home
Watford v/s Huddersfield - Home
Leicester v/s West Ham - Home
Burnley v/s Chelsea - Draw
Crystal Palace v/s Arsenal - Away
Man Utd v/s Everton - Home
Tottenham v/s Man City - Away

Accumulator Win: Liverpool/Man City/Watford/Man Utd

EPL 2018/19 - Week 9

Chelsea v/s Man Utd - Home
Bournemouth v/s Southampton - Draw
Cardiff v/s Fulham - Away
Man City v/s Burnley - Home
Newcastle v/s Brighton - Home
West Ham v/s Tottenham - Draw
Wolves v/s Watford - Home
Huddersfield v/s Liverpool - Away
Everton v/s Crystal Palace - Draw
Arsenal v/s Leicester - Away

Just a quick note here. I will go for a Man City/Liverpool/Leicester accumulator as value punt of the week. Man City is a banker to win, Liverpool should be too strong for Huddersfield and Leicester has the capacity to stun the Gunners who although are on a good run, have shown defensive weaknesses that can be exploited by the Foxes.

Accumulator: Man City/Liverpool/Leicester

Arc de Triomphe 2018 - Enable on the steps of Treve

All questions revolve around Enable in this year's Arc. If the reigning champion is anywhere near the maximum of her powers, she should crush the field at Longchamp. How she overcomes the dreaded "bounce factor", the theory that a horse that runs well after a long lay-off will run badly on their second run, will be the main determinant of the result of the race. She came back from injury in the most comforting of fashions by easily overcoming top-class Crystal Ocean on the synthetic track of Kempton a few weeks ago. My belief is that her class will tell and that she will emulate Treve and win her second Arc. 

Of the rest, I will pick possibly the next filly superstar in Sea of Class and the trio of Fabre runners in Waldgeist, Cloth of Stars and Talismanic. Sea of Class has been supplemented for the race and looks set to be a major force in the middle distance division, male and distaff, next year. She will benefit of the all-important 3-pound allowance but her outside draw and the soft conditions will play against her. She can definitely place in the first 3 though.

Fabre has a strong-hand in his 3 horses and were it not to the 2 above-mentioned fillies, he would have been in a great nick to win the Arc for the 8th time. Waldgeist looks his best chance as this son of Galileo has won his last 4 races and beaten his 2 other stablemates in the Prix Foy. The German star should be at the finish. Cloth of Stars came second to Enable last year and seems to have gotten in better form over the course of the year. He definitely has the class to place again. Finally, Talismanic is certainly able to pick up the pieces should Enable fail to fire. The soft ground might play against him as his best form is on quick ground.

Win: Enable
Place: Sea of Class, Waldgeist
Top 5: Talismanic, Cloth of Stars

EPL 2018/19 - Week 8

Brighton v/s West Ham - Away
Burnley v/s Huddersfield - Home
Crystal Palace v/s Wolves - Home
Leicester v/s Everton - Home
Tottenham v/s Cardiff - Home
Watford v/s Bournemouth - Home
Man Utd v/s Newcastle - Home
Fulham v/s Arsenal - Away
Southampton v/s Chelsea - Away
Liverpool v/s Man City - Away

West Ham seem to have turned a corner and I see them getting the full points on their away trip to Brighton. Much has been said after Man Utd's woes but the Hammers were convincing in their win against the Red Devils last week. Pellegrini has righted the ship and I expect them to steadily climb up the standings.

I see value in pouncing on the accumulator on the following home teams: Burnley, Leicester, Tottenham and Man Utd. The gap with the visiting teams are enough for those teams to warrant comprehensive wins.

I also see Crystal Palace as a value draw-no-bet option against visiting Wolves. The Eagles usually keep matches close and they will be hard to beat at home. Wolves have been overachieving since the start and will be expected to give a good account of themselves and I expect Palace's odds to be higher as a result. The home team should either win or draw this match.


Win: West Ham
Win accumulator: Burnley/Leicester/Tottenham/Man Utd
Draw-no-bet: Crystal Palace