Arteta must learn from Tierney performance
Arsenal v Aston Villa
Wednesday, 19:30
Live on BT Sport 4
Mikel Arteta won three points eventually on Saturday but only after a dramatic change to a 3-4-1-2 formation in which Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka were deployed as wing-backs. He won't want to resort to that again, but with Oleksandar Zinchenko still out he can learn how to use Kieran Tierney better after his awkward performance as a left-back/central midfielder caused the blockage in Arsenal's build-up play.
Aston Villa are there for the taking. Steven Gerrard seems to be completely out of ideas and his players roam the pitch in an almost random fashion, performing as individuals rather than as a team and without any obvious tactical knowledge coming from the sidelines. Likely to once again start in either a diamond 4-4-2 or Christmas Tree 4-3-2-1, Villa will - as always - be hopelessly narrow and without a clear plan for how to break Arsenal down.
That means Arteta can solve his Tierney problem while working around Villa's narrow shape. If he allows Tierney to overlap aggressively as he used to do, playing as a traditional full-back, then he can link with Martinelli to get behind Villa's Matty Cash - who is always flying forward and receives very little help on that side. That simple change should be enough to give Arsenal a relatively straightforward win at the Emirates.
Back Arsenal to win with a -1 handicap at 2.35/4
Spurs' long balls can catch passive West Ham
West Ham v Tottenham
Wednesday, 19:45
Live on BT Sport 2
West Ham are just as passive as Aston Villa, looking bereft of ideas under David Moyes and lacking the sharpness required for the manager's defensive football to work. Jaded and sitting off, the Hammers invite pressure and find themselves frequently overwhelmed in matches. Even Villa managed to look the better team for 45 minutes on Sunday, thanks to the time and space their midfielders were given.
This gives hope to Tottenham, whose own deeper line of engagement threatens to create a stale match on Wednesday evening. However, just as John McGinn found room to get his head up and clip long passes behind West Ham's defensive line for the front two, Tottenham's Eric Dier and Rodrigo Bentancur will enjoy taking the direct route up to the Spurs forwards.
Once in this dangerous position, the speed of Heung-Min Son and Dejan Kulusevski should be enough to out-think the West Ham defenders. What's more, Vladimir Coufal, in for the injured Ben Johnson, doesn't have the speed or agility to cope with Ivan Perisic's crosses for Harry Kane.
Back Spurs to win at 2.01/1
Joelinton & Saint-Maximin to run off Elliot
Liverpool v Newcastle
Wednesday, 20:00
Live on BT Sport 1
After the simple task of beating Bournemouth, Liverpool could crash back to earth on Wednesday with an opponent able to exploit their flaws with even more precision than Fulham and Crystal Palace. Newcastle United are very well organised in the transition, counter-attacking teams effectively via a midfield trio that have been coached to move perfectly in sync - and that should expose Liverpool again.
Jurgen Klopp's side are struggling without Thiago Alcantara and, having never replaced Georginio Wijnaldum, they look more vulnerable than ever to losing control of a game once possession turns over. Harvey Elliot has been excellent on the ball but he is not strong at protecting his side of the field, allowing players to run off the back of him. That is what Joelinton will do.
Joelinton has been superb this season in a box-to-box role, wriggling out of tight spaces and dribbling down the left half-space to link with Allan Saint-Maximin. He should get plenty of joy behind Elliot, stretching the game as he did in the 3-3 draw with Manchester City, while Saint-Maximin can expect to be similarly effective behind Trent Alexander-Arnold. This should be an entertaining, end to end game.
Back over 3.5 goals at 2.255/4
Maddison v Casemiro could define clumsy game
Leicester City v Man Utd
Thursday, 20:00
Live on BT Sport 1
Manchester United were a bit lucky to beat Southampton, looking nothing like an Erik ten Hag side as they laboured on the ball. Bruno Fernandes was too high up the pitch and Scott McTominay too immobile, allowing Southampton to sit back in their 4-4-2 and have their strikers easily block the passing lanes into the United midfield. The result was harmless, sideways football punctuated by one moment of quality.
Leicester City can repeat this trick on the whole, especially now that Brendan Rodgers has finally moved back to a 4-1-4-1. He inexplicably abandoned it recently but Leicester were much better against Chelsea last weekend in their tried-and-tested system, albeit against ten men. Given their continuing problems, however, the most accurate prediction for Thursday's game is a low-quality and clumsy match.
The key battle could be between James Maddison, back from injury, and Casemiro, set for his full debut. United have been left under-stocked in defensive midfield in several games this season and should Maddison and Youri Tielemans connect as they used to, this could cause a big problem for the visitors.
Back double chance Leicester/draw at 1.738/11