Premier League preview: Wednesday’s games including Everton vs Liverpool
Wolves vs Bournemouth
Following defeat to Arsenal at the weekend, Wolves have now won just one of their last seven league games. Can a visit from Gary O’Neil’s old club Bournemouth inspire the Wolves boss to guide his side to victory again?
The Old Gold won the reverse fixture, Wolves winning 2-1 at the Vitality after Lewis Cook saw red for Bournemouth in the second half.
In the league, only one point separates these sides; Andoni Iraola hasn’t quite been the upgrade that the Bournemouth bigwigs were hoping for, but nor has he been a disaster.
The Cherries have lost their last two away games though, Villa winning 3-1 on Sunday; prior to that, Luton had turned over the south coast side 2-1.
Historically, the hosts have the upper hand too; Wolves have lost just one of their seven Premier League meetings with Bournemouth.
The home side is hampered by injuries, however, including the likes of Pedro Neto and Matheus Cunha. Bournemouth should at least carve out a few chances, and Dominic Solanke remains sharp, scoring in his last two matches. Solanke is 29/20 to score at any time.
Crystal Palace vs Newcastle
It’s been a good couple of weeks to be a Palace fan, with the Eagles beating Liverpool at Anfield and following that up with an emphatic 5-2 win over West Ham on Sunday. Can Oliver Glasner keep the wins coming against the Magpies?
Victory is unlikely to be straightforward, with Newcastle also in a good place at the moment. Unbeaten in four, Eddie Howe’s side have won three of those – including a 4-3 home win over West Ham (them again), and most recently Saturday’s 4-0 dismantling of Tottenham at St James’ Park.
Those results suggest this could be an action-packed, goal-heavy affair then – though that’s very much not the norm when these two sides come together.
True, Newcastle won 4-0 in the reverse fixture in October. But the sides met three times last season, with each game ending goalless (Newcastle won the League Cup tie on penalties). Before this season’s meeting, the previous five games between these sides have yielded a total of three goals.
Palace have failed to win in any of the last five league meetings between the two sides, too. And if previous results are on the visitors’ side, Newcastle should also be well rested for this one, having not played since that win over Tottenham 10 days ago.
Newcastle may be able to bring Palace down to earth after a thrilling few games, then. The Mags are 7/5 to win; otherwise, you could back Alexander Isak to score for the visitors again; he has five goals in his last four matches, and is 27/20 to find the net.
For Palace, Jean-Philippe Mateta may be the man to back; he has six goals in eight league games, including a brace against the Irons on Sunday. Mateta is 6/4 to score against Newcastle.
Everton vs Liverpool
Everton have won their last two home games – so can they possibly get the better of their rivals in this Merseyside derby, with Liverpool desperate to maintain momentum in the title race?
The Toffees don’t have a terrible record of keeping Jurgen Klopp’s men at bay, with five of Liverpool’s last six league visits ending in draws.
Stopping Liverpool from claiming victory may be the limit of Sean Dyche’s ambition, though. Especially since Everton may be lacking both their primary scoring threats.
Beto is set to miss the match because of head injury protocols; Dominic Calvert-Lewin is a doubt too, having suffered an injury against Forest.
In any event, Everton have failed to score in any of the last four league meetings between these sides.
For Liverpool, victory is crucial if Klopp’s side are to keep pace with Arsenal. It may not be pretty; you could opt to back under 2.5 goals at 13/8. That bet would have paid off in six of the last eight meetings between these sides. Along the same lines, you could take a chance on Liverpool to win 1-0, at 17/2.
Man Utd vs Sheffield United
Erik ten Hag didn’t exactly impress with Man Utd at Wembley at the weekend.
In an FA Cup semi-final that redefined the concept of injustice, United scraped past Coventry on penalties, despite a spirited comeback attempt from the Sky Blues.
Coventry might have the moral victory, but in another more accurate sense, Man United are the winners. Will they stumble to success again on Wednesday, against a Sheffield United team that have only won three league games all season?
I mean, probably, but not sure you’d want to bet on it. If anyone can muck up what should ostensibly be a straightforward affair like this, on current evidence it’s the Red Devils.
Five of their last six matches in all competitions have technically ended in stalemates (including two FA Cup matches that were drawn after 90 minutes).
The Blades have won at Old Trafford recently too, in January 2021, though that was the season when fans were absent from stadiums.
At least Bruno Fernandes has been reliable for United in recent weeks; the Portuguese has scored five goals over his last four matches. He may be able to continue that run against Chris Wilder’s struggling side. Fernandes is 7/5 to find the net on Wednesday.
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