There are half a dozen games taking place in the Premier League across midweek this week and all of those games could well have a huge bearing on the three main battles taking place across the division at the moment.
The top two, Manchester City and Liverpool are both in action hoping to further their claims to the league title, while three of the teams chasing a place in the top four and guaranteed Champions League football next season, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United are also in action.
Read about the final week of the 2022 English Premier League season.
Then at the bottom end of the table, we have crucial home games for the likes of Newcastle United, Everton and Burnley, with all three teams knowing that three points would help their battle to avoid the drop into the Championship immeasurably.
Now usually, I’d only cover the EPL in midweek if we have a full set of games, as I did earlier this season, but with all six of these games being potentially crucial in the different battles, and of course two huge games taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday between massive rivals, I felt this was too good a group of games to not take a closer look at.
As always, all odds shown in the previews and tips below are courtesy of bet365 Sport but any odds shown may change in the run up to the kick off of each of the games.
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Premier League Midweek Fixtures
Tuesday 19th April
- Liverpool v Manchester United (8pm)
When these two teams meet, it has produced some of the best and most intense Premier League clashes in modern times and at the present moment, it is Liverpool that have held the advantage in most recent match ups between the teams, as well as outperforming United over the last few years in general.
United’s interim manager Ralph Rangnick hasn’t really overseen a huge improvement in fortunes for the Reds since taking over from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and after Liverpool thrashed United 5-0 at Old Trafford earlier this season, he will be hoping to see a reaction from his team at Anfield on Tuesday.
The problem is, he will face a Liverpool team bang in form and as high in confidence as they have been at any point of the season after drawing away to Man City last week and then beating them in the FA Cup Semifinal this weekend.
Liverpool’s additional strength in depth with the signings of Konate and Diaz also mean that the Reds now can rotate players for key games without diminishing the quality of their squad, this gives key men like Salah, Mane, van Dijk and co a chance to rest up in some games.
Given the form of both teams and their respective fortunes this season, you’d have to go for a Liverpool win here, but these games can throw up surprises but it would be an unexpected one if United land a win at Anfield. As such, I am going for Liverpool to win 3-1 as a correct score bet (which is an 11/1 chance).
Wednesday 20th April
- Chelsea v Arsenal (7.45pm)
There’s another huge clash to enjoy on Wednesday night as Chelsea host Arsenal in a game which could have massive repercussions on the Gunners chance of making the top four. A win would see them not only move into fourth, but really close the gap on Chelsea and give them a chance to overhaul Thomas Tuchel’s side too.
However, a win for Chelsea would likely put them in an unassailable position in third in the EPL table, and mean that the race for fourth is wide open again with the likes of Arsenal, Spurs, Man Utd, West Ham and perhaps even Wolves all still in the race for a Champions League spot next season.
Chelsea won the reverse fixture earlier this season 2-0, a result which came in the middle of Arsenal’s miserable start to the season, but in the three previous games between the two teams last season, the Gunners won all three, including eliminating Chelsea from the Carabao Cup.
It’s also easy to forget that despite their good form of late, Chelsea did lose 4-1 at home to Brentford and 3-1 at home to Real Madrid and that will certainly give Arsenal fans hope their team can land a win here.
I can’t quite see that but I do see a competitive game and one that I think is most likely to end in a draw, most likely by a 1-1 scoreline which is a 6/1 shot with bet365.
- Everton v Leicester City (7.45pm)
Everton’s hopes for survival in the Premier League are firmly going to be based on their home form. The Toffees have the worst away record in the Premier League this season, but their home form has been their saving grace and they have won their last two home games, both by a 1-0 scoreline over Newcastle United and Manchester United.
Manager Frank Lampard will happily settle for that against a Leicester City side which while being inconsistent this season, especially in the Premier League, can produce the goods in key games as they showed when beating Liverpool and also defeating PSV Eindhoven away from home in the Europa Conference League quarterfinal second leg last week.
The problem Leicester have is that they are going to face a very motivated Everton team in a cauldron-like atmosphere at Goodison Park. If the Foxes can’t quieten the home fans down early on and get them jittery, then I think Everton’s chances of claiming the win increase markedly.
Make no mistake, Leicester City can win this game if they play well, but I think as things stand a draw is probably the most likely result which is a 9/4 chance with bet365.
- Newcastle United v Crystal Palace (7.45pm)
Newcastle secured a huge win over Leicester in their Sunday game thanks to a last minute winner from Bruno Guimares, who added a second goal to the one he scored earlier in the game. That win should now dispel any doubt about Newcastle remaining in the Premier League next season.
Palace were beaten 2-0 by Chelsea in their FA Cup Semifinal on Sunday and despite matching Chelsea for most of the game, it was the extra clinical nature of Chelsea in the final third that proved to be the big difference between the two teams.
It’s a blow for Palace and it is one that can take some time to get over, especially when you have a long and tough trip up north to take on Newcastle, who have not been beaten at home since late December, when Man City were comfortable winners.
Neither of these teams are prolific goalscorers and both have been improving defensively, Palace have drawn a lot of games over the season but I just feel Newcastle will land the win by a single goal. Take Newcastle to win either at 11/8 for any win, or with a 1-0 correct score bet at 7/1 both with bet365.
- Manchester City v Brighton (8pm)
Manchester City will be aware that their fans will be expecting them to win the Premier League after going out of the cup at the weekend to Liverpool, and City will have a chance to go top (assuming Liverpool win or draw on Tuesday) if they can get the win over Brighton.
However, the Seagulls are unbeaten in their last three games and outside of the top three and Manchester United, no team has lost fewer games in the Premier League than Brighton this season. The Seagulls also picked up a superb 1-0 win at Spurs at the weekend.
Earlier in the season, Brighton played very well at Anfield to come from 2-0 down and claim a draw and Liverpool fans will be hoping that they can do similar, or even better, against a City side who should be reinforced by players able to play after being rested for the semi final at Wembley.
This could be a tricky one, but the odds on a City win are 1/5 and you can’t really argue with that. However, my tip here is City to win 2-1 which is a 10/1 shot with bet365.
Thursday 21st April
- Burnley v Southampton (7.45pm)
Burnley earned a 1-1 draw at West Ham at the weekend and ordinarily, that would be a good point for any team, but Burnley badly need wins to close the gap on the teams above them and that is precisely what they will be targeting in this game.
The problem for them is twofold. First Southampton have just come out of a poor run of form with a 1-0 win over Arsenal at the weekend, and secondly there’s going to be plenty of unhappy Burnley fans at the way the club ditched manager Sean Dyche in the past week.
That second issues is a concern for me here as Southampton are a team that can take full advantage of that and they are also a streaky team, with their wins and losses all tending to come in clusters over the course of the season.
Add all those factors together and I think the 6/4 on a Southampton win in this game looks a very solid bet.
