PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHDAY 26 ACTION
Toby Maxtone-Smith provides his Score Predictions, Analysis and Best Bets for select games in the English Premier League for Matchday 26.
PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHDAY 26 SCORE PREDICTIONS
Manchester City 2 West Ham United 0
West Bromwich Albion 1 Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Leeds United 3 Aston Villa 1
Newcastle United 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1
Crystal Palace 1 Fulham 1
Leicester City 2 Arsenal 1
Tottenham Hotspur 2 Burnley 0
Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0
Sheffield United 1 Liverpool 2
Everton 2 Southampton 2
PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHDAY 26 BEST BETS
LEEDS UNITED VS. ASTON VILLA
- Date: Saturday, Feb. 27
- TV-Time: Peacock, 12:30 p.m. ET
SCORE PREDICTION: LEEDS UNITED 3-1 ASTON VILLA
TIP: LEEDS UNITED TO WIN AT 23/20
Leeds would move above Aston Villa with a win, albeit Villa have two games in hand, and the absence of Jack Grealish, the visitors’ talisman, could be crucial.
Villa were outplayed at home to Leicester without him and face another game with him on the sidelines here.
Leeds have won 11, drawn two and lost 12 this season. Inconsistency has been a problem, but they are racking up plenty of points and their recent 3-0 success at home to Southampton may point the way to another win here.
Even before Grealish’s injury Villa’s form had evened out after their great first half to the season.
This should be an entertaining game, and Leeds are the bet.
Newcastle United vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers- Date: Saturday, Feb. 27
- TV-Time: Peacock, 3:00 p.m. ET
SCORE PREDICTION: NEWCASTLE UNITED 0-1 WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
TIP: UNDER 2.5 GOALS AT 4/7
Newcastle’s situation is looking rather perilous following Fulham’s upturn in form and the Magpies’ recent losses at Chelsea and Manchester United.
This late kick off on Saturday against Wolves pits two of the league’s most cautious sides against each other and is unlikely to be a classic.
Wolves have finally started picking up some points of late with 10 points from their last four games and are probably the better bet at 5/4.
However few of those performances have been especially convincing. Both teams have only 26 goals from 25 games this year.
Newcastle’s attacking options are limited by the injury to main striker Callum Wilson, and the safest bet here is surely a low-scorer.
CRYSTAL PALACE VS. FULHAM
- Date: Sunday, Feb. 28
- TV-Time: Peacock, 7:00 a.m. ET
SCORE PREDICTION: CRYSTAL PALACE 1-1 FULHAM
TIP: DRAW AT 11/5
Fulham’s long-term improvement in performances has finally been converted into wins in recent weeks and Scott Parker’s men now have a real chance of survival.
They travel to Crystal Palace at a good time: the Eagles are without Wilfried Zaha, and although the gloomy feeling around Selhurst Park was lifted by a win at rivals Brighton last time out, the victory was extremely lucky.
That is why Fulham are such surprisingly strong favourites, but the odds seem like an overreaction. All season Fulham have been poor in front of goal, while Palace, at the very least, know how to dig out ugly results when the chips are down.
A draw would be an acceptable result for both sides and is a good bet.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR VS. BURNLEY
- Date: Sunday, Feb. 28
- TV-Time: NBCSN, 9:00 a.m. ET
SCORE PREDICTION: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2-0 BURNLEY
TIP: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR TO WIN AND UNDER 3.5 GOALS AT 6/5
Despite an easy progression into the last 16 of the Europa League there is still an air of misery around Tottenham. They sit ninth with five losses in their last six league games.
However, Burnley at home might be a good chance for Jose Mourinho’s side to pick up some form.
The Clarets have a poor away record at the big clubs this year, losing 2-0 at Chelsea, 5-0 at Man Utd and 4-2 at Leicester, although they did win at Anfield.
Harry Kane was missing for some of those Spurs defeats and his return should see an upturn in form.
Burnley games have only averaged 1.92 goals all season, so a low-scoring Spurs win is the way to go.
CHELSEA VS. MANCHESTER UNITED
- Date: Sunday, Feb. 28
- TV-Time: NBCSN, 11:30 a.m. ET
SCORE PREDICTION: CHELSEA 1-0 MANCHESTER UNITED
TIP: CHELSEA TO WIN AT 6/5
Chelsea have won six, drawn twice and lost none under Thomas Tuchel so far and the German’s impressive start was cemented by a fantastic and deserved 1-0 win at Atlético Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Blues completely stifled Atléti’s ability to counter-attack and Manchester United may have similar problems when they visit Stamford Bridge.
United rely on flashes of brilliance in attack but sometimes struggle to progress the ball upfield.
Tuchel knows United well from playing them while managing PSG this season and last season.
This is a crucial game and Chelsea can win the tactical battle.
SHEFFIELD UNITED VS. LIVERPOOL
- Date: Sunday, Feb. 28
- TV-Time: Peacock, 2:15 p.m. ET
SCORE PREDICTION: SHEFFIELD UNITED 1-2 LIVERPOOL
TIP: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE AT 10/11
Liverpool’s injury catastrophe in defence has got even worse with the news that captain Jordan Henderson will be out until at least April, and even Sheffield United, who have mustered a miserable 15 goals in 25 league games, can be confident of getting on the scoresheet against Liverpool.
The Reds will also be missing Alisson in goal, and his replacement Ádrian has often proved error-prone.
Nat Philips and Ozan Kabak are likely to play at centre-back, and while neither are bad prospects they look extremely vulnerable when thrust into the Premier League at the heart of an ever-changing backline in an out-of-form side.
Liverpool’s attack is still untouched, and that may be enough for them to win the game, but they are likely to concede.
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