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Palace can hold Man City
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Easy win for Arsenal at Fulham
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Villa to expose West Ham flaws
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Wolves and Newcastle evenly matched
Narrow Palace can squeeze out Foden & Haaland
Crystal Palace v Man City
Saturday, 17:30
Live on Sky Sports Main Event
Patrick Vieira has overseen a dreadful run of form but, counter-intuitively, it is of the sort most likely to end against a big club. Palace's compact and well-drilled defensive midblock has not fallen apart (they've only conceded four goals in their last six games) but rather they lack counter-attacking ability without Conor Gallagher driving them forward.
Consequently they could benefit from the spaces Man City are constantly leaving for opponents to counter into, and after drawing 0-0 with Liverpool without Wilfried Zaha, Palace could even go one better with their talisman back in the starting 11.
The lack of speed or width in the Man City team is potentially made worse by the presence of Phil Foden, likely to be picked again after impressing against Newcastle, providing Palace with the opportunity to keep a clean sheet and wait for that one chance.
Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise are far better when playing together and with Zaha joining them on either flank from the number nine position, which is the most likely front three Vieira will pick to gallop forward on the rare occasion Man City lose the ball in midfield. A potential three on three could go in Palace's favour, as it has so many times before: Palace have taken at least a point in five of their last ten games against Pep Guardiola's team.
Back double chance Palace/draw at 11/5
Palhinha absence gives Odegaard advantage
Fulham v Arsenal
Sunday, 14:00
Live on Sky Sports Main Event
Fulham's defeat to Brentford on Monday night was defined by the absence of their most important player, Joao Palhinha, who is again suspended for the game against Arsenal. Brentford's bullish direct football was just too powerful for Fulham without their number six, and although Mikel Arteta plays in a completely different style it will be just as significant.
Marco Silva's football relies on the same few players performing each week, and without Palhinha their midfield crumbles, preventing Fulham from being able to shunt the ball out to the wingers. They were roundly beaten by Brentford. Arsenal will be even more lethal, given that Palhinha plays on the left of a midfield two, which is exactly where Martin Odegaard will be lurking, ready to receive passes from Thomas Partey and Bukayo Saka.
Saka and Odegaard, with Ben White connecting to form a triangle, is Arsenal's most potent form of attack and Fulham simply do not have the players to cope with this. What's more, Arsenal are rarely vulnerable defending the wings, which is Fulham's main method of attack. This should be a much-needed easy win for Arteta.
Back Arsenal to win with a -1 handicap at 6/4
Emery to expose Moyes' attacking coaching
West Ham v Aston Villa
Sunday, 14:00
The West Ham United squad is reportedly becoming unhappy with the negativity of David Moyes's tactics and as their crisis worsens he is attempting to become someone he is not, picking an attacking line-up to appease the fans and players. But a coach known only for conservative football attempting to be expressive simply creates carnage; you cannot suddenly flip a switch without leaving enormous gaps for your opponents.
That's why Brighton, one of the most vertical teams in the division, won 4-0 last weekend and why Aston Villa should claim victory on Sunday. Unai Emery likes to draw the opposition forward with risky passing out from the back, creating counter-attacking-like scenarios by suddenly changing the tempo and spinning in behind. He wants to lose the possession battle, and with Moyes under pressure to push up, this spells disaster for the West Ham manager.
Villa's 4-4-2 should gain huge advantages in the wide areas, where Jacob Ramsey and John McGinn will feed split strikers Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Buendia as they burst into space behind the advancing West Ham full-backs. Emery works hard to isolate opposition flaws, so he will no doubt avoid Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek altogether, breaking menacingly behind the advancing West Ham attackers.
Back Villa to win at 23/10
Wolves wingers crucial in stodgy game
Newcastle v Wolves
Sunday, 16:30
Live on Sky Sports Main Event
This is not likely to be a classic between two defensively cautious and evenly matched teams. Wolves and Newcastle have both picked up 17 points since Julen Lopetegui arrived in England, and although he and Eddie Howe have very different tactics they will ultimately cancel each other out. Howe is ultra-narrow in his attacking line, while Lopetegui uses Matheus Nunes and Ruben Neves to block the centre.
If anyone is to score, it is more likely to be Wolves. Lopetegui has installed a fairly simple 4-2-3-1 in which Nunes and Neves are charged with spraying passes out to direct wingers like Adama Traore and Pablo Sarabia, who promptly cross for Raul Jimenez or Matheus Cunha. Newcastle's narrowness, and the relative low work-rate from Allan Saint-Maximin, means Wolves could find joy isolating the Newcastle full-backs.
But Newcastle aren't really attacking enough to leave themselves vulnerable like that, hence their unmatched record of 17 goals conceded in the Premier League. In the other direction, Joelinton's absence slows down the Newcastle midfield, clogging things up even further. This won't be a good game.
Back under 1 5.goals at 23/10