The day has finally come, English football is on the return and the Premier League has finally been allowed to resume. Today we’ve got two fixtures to ease us back in with the usual schedule resuming this weekend, there is also at least one Premier League game every single day from the 19th-25th of June.
Aston Villa host surprise European hopefuls Sheffield United in a 6 o’clock kick off that could lift them from 19th up to as far as 16th if they were to pick up 3 points. Villa’s preparation for today’s game was a recent 2-2 draw against West Midlands rivals West Brom where Jack Grealish impressed as he has done all season, he’s scored 7 goals and managed to pick up 7 assists so far in 26 appearances. The Englishman has caught the eye of many of the top teams and has had big-price transfer rumours surrounding him too, he has also been fouled the most in the league this season, 127 times- 4.88 times a game on average.
Below is footage of the goal the Englishman scored against West Brom in their friendly.
Villa have also lost their 4 most recent PL games and their record vs the current top 10 is nothing short of disappointing. They’ve won 1, drawn 2 and lost the other 11 in the games they’ve played, a slight worry.
Sheffield United have repeatedly been called the surprise package of this season, the antepost relegation favourites are currently 7th and a win tonight will take them back up to 5th. The defensive consistency has been the core to their success, they’ve conceded the 2nd least goals in the league this season, an average of 0.96 a game which is lower than only the runaway leaders, Liverpool. Sheffield United’s away form is also eye catching, they’ve conceded less than a goal a game on the road too and have only lost twice, both 2-0 losses to City and Liverpool. They have had a couple of warm up friendlies, a 4-0 win against Hull was the highlight with Lundstram bagging a brace, confirming he’s match fit and ready to offer the goalscoring threat as he has all season.
Jack O’Connell has been a prominent figure as one of the three centre backs for Sheffield United and looks set to miss his first minutes of the season due to injury and John Fleck has a knock so could be a doubt. Aston Villa do not seem to be suffering with any injuries so will have a full squad to choose from.
Sheffield United’s form away from home is hard to ignore especially since they haven’t lost away from home against anyone with exception of the leagues top two. It’s likely to be a tight game with the likes of Grealish looking ready, a draw seems a justified selection.
Man City’s goal for the remainder of this season will be to hold onto 2nd place, if they were to lose today against Arsenal at 20:15, Liverpool can win the league this weekend with 8 games to spare. Pep’s preparation for this resumption has been very interesting, City haven’t played a single friendly which is really bizarre considering Arsenal have played 2, this could have a major effect on the match fitness and it’s a strange decision regardless.
Sergio Aguero has been a thorn in Arsenal’s side in recent meetings, in the last 4 games played in Manchester he’s scored 5 goals and the team have scored 10. In the last 4, both teams have scored in each game and there’s been over 2.5 goals scored as well.
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang has been the shining light in a dull Arsenal team in recent years, the Gabonese striker has kept them afloat despite their current league position of 9th. A win today will move the Gunners back into a realistic European challenge but a loss could arguably be considered a missed opportunity as this is a game in hand over their current nearby rivals. Arsenal are 8 points away from the Champions League spots but only 3 away from the Europa League ones, they’re currently unbeaten in their last 11 away games in all competitions but 7 of those have been draws. Arsenal’s overall away form is a similar story, they’ve drawn 8 of their 13 league games and also struggled to score, only scoring 14 goals which for their expected high standards, is not good enough.
Man City have been underwhelming in comparison to recent seasons, they’ve lost 2 home games this season which is the same amount as they had in the two previous seasons combined and the lack of match fitness is a niggling worry. Arsenal are unlikely to have what it takes to beat City but could definitely grab a goal or two with their match fit forwards. This game will have goals.
It’s a joy to have football back and it wouldn’t be the same without a bet or two.
There is 2 suggestions provided below, a single each for both games that could also be doubled- stake accordingly.
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