Premier League Tipsheet: A magnificent seven bets for Saturday

• The Gunners will ruin Dyche's big day

• United to return to winning ways

• The Hammers set to pull off a shock

Everton v Arsenal (12:30) - Recoveries take time

It's a very fair assumption that the Toffees will improve under Sean Dyche and, as Alex Keble points out, Everton's relegation concerns may now ease.

In the short-term though how much reconfiguration can be done in five training sessions given the extremely low bar that Dyche starts from? Everton last kept a clean sheet way back in October and just a solitary point has been picked up since.

It would be a mistake therefore to get too carried away by a 'new manager bounce' phenomenon that arguably doesn't even exist and overlook just how consistently superb Arsenal have been, navigating far tougher challenges than this to top the table.

Last season, the hosts were winless in eight then beat the Gunners at Goodison. They're winless in eight again but that's where history detaches from the present.

A greater intensity can at least be expected, and that could inform the card-count.

Aston Villa v Leicester (15:00) - Villans on the up

Winless in five, the Foxes have the joint-worst return in the league post-Qatar and in only one of those games did they manage more than two shots on target. At the other end, a beleaguered Danny Ward has faced an attempt on his goal every six minutes.

That brief but impressive upturn in form they showed leading into the mid-season break already feels like a distant memory.

A probable debut for their new Brazilian winger Tete at least offers up some intrigue, while elsewhere a scant comfort lies in previous meetings between these sides. The last seven at Villa Park have all resulted in both teams scoring.

If the visitors are in the doldrums, Villa are a side transformed under Unai Emery, losing only once in his charge and climbing five league places in the process.

All of their stats are on the up lately except oddly a low corner-count that is the same as Leicester's in 2022/23. They have averaged 3.9 apiece per 90.

Brentford v Southampton (15:00) - Saints stung

It would be the upset of the day if the Saints emerged from West London with the points.

The Bees are buzzing right now, losing only one in 11, and scoring two-plus goals in six of their last seven. By sharp contrast, Southampton's only win since mid-October has come at the expense of Everton and frankly that's been the equivalent of a bye in recent times.

With two deadline-day signings, the visitors may be more of an unknown proposition to the team that has made a habit of capitulating early, conceding 13 of their last 18 in all comps in the first half of contests. Of the two, Paul Onuachu is worth looking out for, the striker scoring a remarkable 16 in his last 12 starts for Genk.

But still, all things considered, it feels like there's only one winner here.

Brighton v Bournemouth (15:00) - Put on the spot

Every plaudit that has gone Brighton's way this term has been thoroughly deserved and the same goes for their brilliant winger Kaoru Mitoma who crucially doesn't reserve his creativity for the touchline. No player has averaged more take-ons in the opposition box this term per 90.

Under Roberto De Zerbi, only Manchester City and Arsenal have out-scored the high-flying Seagulls and their prolificacy is obviously a huge concern for Bournemouth, who have kept only one clean sheet in 12, conceding 1.9 goals-per-game in that period.

Don't rule out a spot-kick being awarded at the Amex, with referee Craig Pawson giving the second highest number of pens this term of any official in charge of 5+ games. Brighton and Bournemouth meanwhile have each faced a league-high of six pens apiece.

Man United v Crystal Palace (15:00) - Annoyances annulled

The big picture is backlit and ornately framed for the Reds, with a Wembley final secured this week and a return to the top table looking distinctly achievable under Erik Ten Hag.

In recent weeks though there have been some annoyances to deal with, not least consecutively conceding last-gasp, costly goals.
One of these of course was superbly converted by Michael Olise in the corresponding fixture last month and if Palace's winger finds the net this Saturday he will be the first player to score home and away against United since Bobby Tampling in 1971.

The likelihood is he won't though, with the Eagles mired in poor form, boasting just one win in seven. It's pertinent that Patrick Vieira's men are the most dispossessed side in the top-flight and United have scored a league-high of 12 on the counter.

Marcus Rashford is an obvious threat. Not only has the England international fired 10 in 12 post-Qatar but he averages 2.5 shots-per-game and 1.2 dribbles this season.

Wolves v Liverpool (15:00) - Instinctively Mo

Wolves are ever-improving under Julen Lopetegui but there has certainly been no dramatic transformation to speak of. Even five league games into the Spaniard's reign, they maintain the worst chance conversion rate in the top-flight, a staggering 4.2%.

Elsewhere though, there have been causes for optimism, not least the manner of their performances against Liverpool in the FA Cup last month, unlucky and deserving to win at Anfield, then bossing the stats in the replay only to be undone by a great strike.

As for the Reds, they are stuttering and spluttering for sure, a descent not helped by Mo Salah enduring a mini-drought. Instinct alone says he will put that right at Molineux.

Newcastle v West Ham (15:00) - Against the odds

All of the evidence points to a home win here, with the Magpies losing just once all term and that to a 98th minute heart-breaker at Anfield. At the back they have kept clean sheets in 60% of their league fixtures and best demonstrating their excellence is this stunning stat: They have only been behind for 80 minutes in 2022/23.

The Hammers conversely have flailed all term, a shadow of their former selves, but in recent weeks there have been the first buds of a recovery. A single defeat in their last five across all comps is decent proof they are a team on the mend and it helps their cause considerably that Jarrod Bowen has started to find the back of the net again, after a season of misfiring. The striker has three in three.

Maybe it's the Lemsip talking for a head-cold, but a wholly unexpected away triumph is quite fancied.