Premier league games

2023 - 2 - 9

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Athletic"

Fantasy Premier League: Is it time to invest in Liverpool assets again? (The Athletic)

After a poor season so far for Liverpool, might their assets start to be the difference-makers over the coming weeks in FPL?

Aside from Liverpool’s two fixtures in Gameweek 25, another reason to go for Salah and Nunez is that they are both owned by relatively few FPL managers, so it’s a good time to get ahead of the curve. The Uruguayan may not be the most clinical, but he is a player who arrives in great goal-scoring positions, reflected in his high xG. If Liverpool start to score goals more freely again, it’ll likely be Salah or Nunez involved. And with Van Dijk and [Ibrahima Konate](https://theathletic.com/football/player/ibrahima-konate-vi83z5XUFDUq6gFF/) (£4.8m) out injured, there is little confidence that Liverpool’s defence will improve soon. Although this may lead us to believe that Nunez is a bad finisher, his career stats tell us differently. He has also created 38 chances with an xA (expected assists) of 3.1. He will be worth buying again — at the right time. He has seven goals and five assists this season, with the highest xG (9.17) among midfielders (which is what FPL classes him as). Things are likely to improve in this regard with the return of injured players such as In attack, last season Liverpool had already scored 52 goals by this point, with an xG of 50.38. They have conceded 28 goals with an expected goals conceded (xGC) of 29.2. After the same number of games last season, they had conceded 18 goals, with an xGC of 19.72.

Chris Sutton's Premier League predictions v FEET bassist Oli Shasha (BBC Sport)

Chris Sutton takes on FEET bassist and West Ham fan Oli Shasha to pick his winners and losers from this weekend's Premier League games.

I am going for them to win, but it will be a close game - Harry from the band [FEET guitarist Harry Southerton] is a big Villa fan and when we used to live together we'd watch a lot of these kind of games, and in the last couple of seasons Villa always played well. Oli's prediction: There will definitely be goals in this one, but Liverpool will show up and they always seem to play well in this fixture. Oli's prediction: Man City have been playing a bit weirdly for a while now and I think Haaland's goals have masked a lot of issues in the team. I originally went for a 4-1 Liverpool win but my housemate is an Evertonian and he has been trying to get in my ear about how close it will be. There will be a siege mentality at Etihad Stadium and that should create the kind of atmosphere that Guardiola has been asking for recently. Oli's prediction: I remember this fixture last season because we were in the recording studio and I interrupted a drum take by screaming when Arthur Masuaku scored an absolutely bonkers goal to win it with one of the last kicks of the game. I am going for us to win again - we are at home and when our fans get going it's really something, especially in a game like this one. Leicester ended their long wait for a victory when they beat Aston Villa last week but they are not out of trouble yet. Pep Guardiola's side missed a massive chance to put the pressure on Arsenal when they lost at Tottenham last weekend. They are brave on the ball and they always create chances. "Back then there didn't seem to be any enthusiasm from the players, but all of a sudden it changes. 2-1

40 great international players who couldn't hack it in the Premier ... (FourFourTwo)

Robinho never managed to justify the £32.5m City handed over to Real Madrid for his services in 2008, scoring just 14 goals in 41 Premier League games. Nor did ...

Mitroglou went on to impress at Olympiacos and Benfica, just as he has done for much of his international career since debuting for Greece in 2009. The striker, who scored a respectable six goals in 24 France caps, was so bad at Fulham that owner Mohamed Al Fayed took then-manager Jean Tigana to the high court for overseeing the capture of their club record signing. Signed for a club-record fee in 2018 last summer after a 22-goal season with AZ, the winger found the net just twice in 50 Premier League outings, and was subsequently sold to Feyenoord in 2021. The dazzling wing play he displayed at Fiorentina was largely absent in west London, where Jose Mourinho tended to stick with his preferred duo of Eden Hazard and Willian on the flanks. It earned the young star-in-the-making a dream move to Manchester United from Slavia Prague, but he was marginalised by the emergence of David Beckham and made just 32 appearances in two seasons at Old Trafford before leaving for Benfica. It didn’t work: the striker failed to score in his three appearances for the Cottagers, who fell through the trapdoor after winning only three games post-January 1. Kleberson had the world at his feet after playing a key role in Brazil’s 2002 World Cup triumph and arrived at Old Trafford the following year to hear Alex Ferguson suggest he could evolve into a “true United great”. The striker would eventually deliver on his promise, but not at St James’ Park, where he scored thee goals in 23 Premier League games before being sold back to the Netherlands with Feyenoord. Chelsea took a chance on him, but Veron was even worse at Stamford Bridge and played just seven times for the Blues before being sent on loan to Inter and Estudiantes. Despite his impressive CV, Rebrov fell on his face during his time with Spurs and West Ham in the Premier League. However, he was nothing like the same player during his two loan spells in England with Manchester United and Chelsea. The forward mustered just 10 goals in 63 Premier League appearances and didn’t notch his first until his 24th game.

Fabulous February Football frenzy on SuperSport | SuperSport (SuperSport)

Football's greatest season brings some mouth-watering matchups this month from LaLiga, Serie A, DStv Premier, Premier League, Europa League and Europe's premium ...

Winless in their last six matches, Tottenham ladies will host their Manchester United counterparts in the Women's Super League who also have been on a good run of form with four wins and two draws in their last six matches in all competitions. Current coach Xavi Hernández and midfielder Sergio Busquets were in the Barcelona side for their victories against United in the 2009 and 2011 Uefa Champions League finals, and Busquets was also involved in the teams' most recent games as Barça eliminated the Red Devils 4-0 on aggregate in the 2018/19 Champions League quarterfinals. His current team also have fond memories of a 1-0 away win there in the first leg of their 2010/11 round of 16 tie – Peter Crouch applying the finishing touch to a late counterattack. arcelona have collected points in each of their last 13 visits to Villarreal in LaLiga (W9 D4), including their winning each of their last three, since a 3-1 defeat in October 2007 (a game in which the current Barcelona boss Xavi Hernández appeared). After three consecutive wins against Barcelona in LaLiga between 2007 and 2008, Villarreal have won only one of their last 27 matches against the Blaugrana side in the top-flight (D6 L20), 2-0 in May 2022. With Napoli seemingly untouchable at the top and looking to wrap up the title it is the race for European places that has become very much interesting as Lazio and Atalanta are also still in with a chance.

Premier League Opta Stats: 10 bets to back from 6/5 to a 12/1 Bet ... (Betting.betfair)