Watch Premier League highlights this weekend on Sky Sports; highlights will be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel; Play Super 6 on Saturday to win £1million
Saturday 19 February 2022 17:35, UK
Team news, stats, predictions and how to follow the Premier League on Saturday as Manchester City host Tottenham, live on Sky Sports.
Team News: West Ham defender Kurt Zouma could return to the squad for Saturday's Premier League clash with Newcastle after recovering from illness.
The defender withdrew from the team to face Leicester last weekend after feeling unwell in the warm-up and was replaced by Issa Diop, but is back in training and in contention.
Manager David Moyes was otherwise keeping his cards close to his chest over "one or two" doubts, but defenders Angelo Ogbonna (cruciate ligament) and Arthur Masuaku (knee) are still out.
Newcastle will be without full-backs Kieran Trippier and Javier Manquillo for the trip to the London Stadium.
Trippier has undergone surgery after fracturing the fifth metatarsal in his left foot during last weekend's 1-0 win over Aston Villa and is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines, while Manquillo suffered an ankle ligament problem in the same game and while the damage is not thought to be extensive, he will also sit out.
Skipper Jamaal Lascelles returns to contention after illness prevented his participation against Villa and loan signing Matt Targett, who was ineligible to face his parent club, is available again, but central defender Federico Fernandez (thigh), midfielder Matt Ritchie (knee) and striker Callum Wilson (calf) continue to work their way back to fitness.
Jones Knows prediction
A Newcastle win at 4/1 with Sky Bet, you say? Oh, go on then.
West Ham performances are on the wane while the Toon are full of beans and packed full of confidence after back-to-back wins and clean sheets. I thought the Hammers lacked imagination and were second best for large periods in the 2-2 draw with Leicester and the same could be said in the edgy 1-0 win over Watford as the workload on Michail Antonio's shoulders looks to be taking its toll.
When he's not fully wound up, West Ham struggle to implement their forceful game on opponents.
"I have not seen the Newcastle defence as organised as this for some time," said Gary Neville after Eddie Howe's team beat Aston Villa last weekend. The numbers back that theory up. The Newcastle defensive final third was once an attackers paradise but now it's a watertight structure. Since Christmas Day, Newcastle have conceded just three goals in five games - an impressive return backed up the expected goals against metrics. Only Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City have a better process than the Toon's output of 1.04 expected goals against per 90 minutes.
Head-to-head records are not always a reliable medium to base an argument on but Newcastle's strong recent results against the Hammers are relevant to their case of backing an away win. They have won three of the last five meetings, scoring 12 goals in the process. This looks a fantastic opportunity to back them at a very appealing price.
Opta stats...
How to follow: Follow West Ham vs Newcastle in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
Team News: Arsenal are hopeful Takehiro Tomiyasu will be fit to return for the visit of Brentford.
The Japan international has been missing with a calf injury but has trained in recent days and could be available.
Gabriel Martinelli is suspended after his red card in the win at Wolves, but otherwise Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has no other injury worries.
Brentford striker Ivan Toney missed the goalless draw against Crystal Palace with a calf issue but has again taken part in light training ahead of a late fitness test.
Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen will not be in line to make his Premier League debut for the club but is set for another run-out in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Monday to build up match sharpness.
Defenders Mathias Jorgensen (thigh) and Julian Jeanvier (knee) and midfielder Tariqe Fosu (thigh) all continue their own recovery.
Jones Knows prediction
Arsenal's defence is not getting the rave reviews they deserve. Ben White, Gabriel and Aaron Ramsdale are an axis to be taken seriously when it comes to stopping an opposition attack.
Since that axis was formed, Arsenal have not conceded a goal before the 38th minute in 19 Premier League fixtures and have kept 11 clean sheets - only Manchester City have kept more in that period of time.
That defensive security is providing Mikel Arteta with a fantastic platform to work from and results are that of a team that should be qualifying for the Champions League. Brentford should not offer too much for Ramsdale to be worried about while Arsenal's record under Arteta against relegation-threatened teams also should instil plenty of confidence in a comfortable win without conceding. They are unbeaten in 32 home Premier League games against promoted sides (winning 27), since losing to Newcastle in November 2010.
The Gunners beat all the relegated teams away from home without conceding last season to an aggregate score of 8-0 last season and have already seen off Burnley, Newcastle, Watford and Norwich (twice) while keeping clean sheets this season. The home win to nil is worth considering for those looking to back Arsenal outright for the match.
Opta stats...
How to follow: Follow Arsenal vs Brentford in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
Team News: Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard has no new injury worries for the visit of Watford.
Bertrand Traore and Marvelous Nakamba remain sidelined, while Ezri Konsa is suspended.
Konsa's second red card of the season against Leeds means he missed the defeat at Newcastle and Saturday's game at Villa Park.
Ismaila Sarr is set to make his first Watford start for three months after injury and international duty.
Sarr played the second half of last weekend's 2-0 home defeat to Brighton on his return from Senegal's Africa Cup of Nations triumph.
Peter Etebo is back in training having recovered from the quad injury that has kept him out since September, but the Nigeria midfielder will not be included in the matchday squad.
Jones Knows prediction
The way Newcastle are motoring, Watford look likely to need a minimum of 23 points from their remaining 15 games to survive. Four of those games are away at Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool so theoretically they have 11 games to find 23 or more points from. That equates to registering at least six wins with a points-per-game ratio of 2.1 in games such as this one. In other words, 0-0 draws will no longer do, Roy. Watford have yet to score under Hodgson's watch.
I'm not sure quotes like this from the Watford boss help matters: "The bottom line is that when they're on the field, if they are very good players as everyone seems to think they are, when they get the ball at their feet, they've got to do something with it. We can't unfortunately magic up ways in which they can score goals and create goal chances just by giving them a magic word in their ear."
Aston Villa have scored in every home game this season, including against Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United. This looks an ideal scenario for the Villa attackers to show the Watford ones how to put the ball in the net.
Opta stats...
How to follow: Follow Aston Villa vs Watford in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
Team News: Brighton are set to be without captain Lewis Dunk through suspension for the clash against bottom club Burnley.
Defender Dunk was sent off in the midweek defeat at Manchester United, having initially been cautioned before referee Peter Bankes was advised to check the pitchside monitor and then brandished a red card.
Midfielder Alexis Mac Allister has been able to train again as normal following a knock to his side, while Enock Mwepu and teenager forward Jeremy Sarmiento remain unavailable because of respective hamstring issues.
Burnley boss Sean Dyche expects Wout Weghorst to be fit after he took a blow to the hip in Sunday's 1-0 loss to Liverpool.
The Netherlands striker hobbled off with 15 minutes left, but took part in light training on Thursday and should be involved in the squad.
Ashley Barnes replaced Weghorst and has benefitted from 90 minutes for the U23s in midweek, but Charlie Taylor, Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Matej Vydra remain out.
Jones Knows prediction
No need for painstaking research for this one, sometimes the most obvious angle is the smartest one. If it looks like a draw, smells like a draw and tastes like a draw, well, it's probably going to be a draw.
Brighton have drawn 12 of their last 19 matches while Burnley's matches have ended all square on 11 occasions this season. If you stretch the data back to 2017 when Brighton were promoted to the Premier League, no team have drawn more games than Brighton (62) with Burnley third in that particular table (48). Also, four of the last five meetings between these two at the Amex Stadium have ended in stalemate. The 11/4 with Sky Bet looks very fair.
Jakub Moder is still waiting for his first Premier League goal - it's not for the want of trying. No player in the league without a goal this season has attempted more shots on goal than the Poland midfielder (27) and with a little bit more luck he would have scored twice in Brighton's defeat to Manchester United in midweek where he was denied by a spectacular David de Gea save and then the crossbar.
These chances are all adding up in terms of his expected goals data which suggests he should have had almost three goals from the chances dropping his way this season. His return of 2.92 ranks him as the second higher player for xG without a goal this season - only Trincao of Wolves has higher (3.47). Trust the process is what he would have been told regarding his finishing ability and a goal is surely due.
A player with that type of expected goals metrics really should not be 14/1 to open the scoring at home to the league's bottom team. Get on.
Opta stats...
How to follow: Follow Brighton vs Burnley in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
Team News: Crystal Palace will be without Conor Gallagher for Saturday's visit of Chelsea in the Premier League.
The midfielder is unable to face his parent club due to the terms of his loan agreement, but the Eagles will have Will Hughes available after he recovered from a slight knock sustained in last weekend's 0-0 draw at Brentford.
Defender Nathan Ferguson (hamstring) remains the only injury concern for Palace and will not play again until March.
Mason Mount will miss out for Chelsea but is fighting hard to be fit for the Carabao Cup final on February 27.
The England forward damaged ankle ligaments in Chelsea's 2-1 Club World Cup final win over Palmeiras.
Reece James remains sidelined with hamstring trouble, but Ruben Loftus-Cheek is fit after a minor Achilles issue.
Jones Knows prediction
There are plenty of reasons to leave Chelsea well alone at 8/13 with Sky Bet. Despite winning the Club World Cup, they were stodgy and unimaginative in the final third in both of their matches in the UAE - a theme which has restricted their progress domestically too in their pursuit of Manchester City and Liverpool. The emotional hangover from a cup final and travel schedule also is not ideal heading back into the heat of Premier League battle. Going further back, they have also won just five of last their last 14 Premier League games, dropping 20 points in that time.
Yes, if it was a gun to head scenario they would be the pick but 'price, price, price' is a mantra I'm fully sticking to - and, 8/13 is just too skinny.
The problem is, I am not that keen on investing in the chances of Crystal Palace either. Only two wins from their last 13 matches, in home games against lowly Norwich and Everton, have taken the sparkle out of Patrick Vieira's start to life as a Premier League manager. Plus, Conor Gallagher, so crucial to the way Palace play, is unavailable due to his loan contract from Chelsea. That leaves the draw at 14/5 with Sky Bet as the play.
Opta stats...
How to follow: Follow Crystal Palace vs Chelsea in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
Team News: Liverpool forward Diogo Jota will miss the visit of Norwich with an ankle problem. That is likely to mean a recall for Roberto Firmino, goalscorer in the San Siro in midweek.
Centre-back Joel Matip, rested for the Champions League, could come return at the expense of Ibrahima Konate while there may be other changes with three matches in eight days, which includes the Carabao Cup final.
Norwich will be without Republic of Ireland striker Adam Idah, who is expected to miss the rest of the season following knee surgery.
Midfielder Mathias Normann (pelvis) and defender Ozan Kabak (illness) both stepped up their fitness work in a training game at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, so should be in contention.
Goalkeeper Tim Krul (shoulder) continues his own recovery, along with midfielders Lukas Rupp (hamstring) and Jacob Sorensen (knee), while centre-half Andrew Omobamidele is managing a troublesome back issue.
Jones Knows prediction
Liverpool are hunting their eighth win on the spin in all competitions - and are playing the perfect opposition to achieve it.
Norwich have improved under Dean Smith but they remain the weakest team in the Premier League when it comes to producing the goods in both boxes. Manchester City were gifted their goals last weekend courtesy of Norwich mistakes and Smith's side are now facing a team that have scored two ore more goals in 32 of their last 38 games in all competitions.
Liverpool are 1/12 with Sky Bet for victory for good reason. My eyes have wandered elsewhere for a bet.
I'm reproducing the low card count argument for when Liverpool play a relegation-threatened team.
Liverpool games against lower-ranked teams are usually low-card affairs due to opposition teams unwilling or unable to make the game an open affair - that happened again last weekend at Burnley where just one card was shown.
That means, in the last 23 fixtures against teams that finished the season or are currently in the bottom four, Liverpool's games have averaged just 1.8 cards per 90 minutes.
Interestingly, eight of those fixtures produced no cards for both teams which is becoming a common theme in these type of fixtures as five of the last nine have seen the game end with the card count at zero.
This one could go the same way with 12/1 available on the chances of no cards.
Opta stats...
How to follow: Follow Liverpool vs Norwich in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
Team News: Nathan Tella will miss Southampton's clash with Everton.
The midfielder has suffered a minor setback in his recovery from a groin injury, and will need another week to find full fitness.
Winger Nathan Redmond is back in training and could come into contention, while goalkeeper Alex McCarthy and defender Lyanco are longer-term absentees.
Everton defender Vitalii Mykolenko is back in contention after missing Frank Lampard's first league win in charge last week against Leeds.
But winger Demarai Gray (hip) and midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure (groin) are not expected to be available until the following week.
Lampard is also still without Yerry Mina (thigh), Ben Godfrey (hamstring) and Fabian Delph as Everton chase their first league win on the road since August.
Jones Knows prediction
Whether in the longer-term Everton can slip away from their midtable malaise with Frank Lampard is unclear but what looks likely is that games will be fun and full of goals under his watch. I'm taking the view his style of full-throttle football that can leave the defence exposed will be very well suited to Goodison Park but not so away from home.
As Chelsea boss, Lampard's team conceded the second-most goals of any team in the Premier League away from his home during his tenure (50) at an average of 1.7 goals per 90 minutes. That was with a team that went on to win the Champions League in the same season after he was sacked.
His Everton defence shipped three at Newcastle and a similar situation could be on the cards against a confident Southampton side whose games are full of goals. There have been two goals or more in their last 15 games across all competitions, with an overall average of 3.5 goals per game and both teams have scored in their last 10 fixtures.
All that equates to the 11/10 available on both teams scoring and the game to produce over 2.5 goals as a fantastic opportunity to double your money. It's bet of the weekend material.
Opta stats...
How to follow: Follow Southampton vs Everton in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
Team News: Jack Grealish is expected to again be missing when Manchester City host Tottenham on Saturday.
City's record signing has sat out their last two games due to a shin issue, and boss Pep Guardiola has said he does not think Grealish will be involved in the Spurs clash.
The Premier League leaders, who have also had Gabriel Jesus and Cole Palmer out because of injury, can call on Kyle Walker, who was unavailable for the 5-0 Champions League win at Sporting Lisbon through suspension.
Tottenham will have defender Eric Dier back after he missed seven of the last eight games with a troublesome thigh injury.
Forward Steven Bergwijn is also available after he shook off a calf injury.
Midfielder Oliver Skipp (groin) and defender Japhet Tanganga (knee) continue to miss out while there is a confirmed Covid-19 case for an unnamed player in the camp.
Jones Knows prediction
I want to get with Tottenham here. Yes, I know, you are a fool, Jones.
The only team to stop Manchester City from winning in the Premier League since November 1 are Southampton. But I simply cannot have them at 1/4 with Sky Bet against such a dangerous counter-attacking side like Spurs that have beaten City in three of the last four meetings and who, despite losing three on the bounce, have their best central defender available again.
Tottenham's defending in the defeat at Wolves left Antonio Conte speechless but on the whole, Spurs have looked a far more organised unit under the Italian. The common denominator in that could be Eric Dier, who has been missing since the middle of January. Conte has heralded Dier as "world class" and his importance to this Tottenham side looks clear to see. In eight games where Dier has started in the Premier League as the central defender in a back three, Spurs are unbeaten (W5, D3) and have conceded just four goals, keeping five clean sheets.
I am very edgy about Manchester City after they have played a Champions League knockout match, too.
There is a pattern emerging of them being vulnerable. After 13 knockout games where the tie was realistically in the balance, they have lost on five occasions in the next domestic match to Leeds (1-2), Chelsea (0-1), Chelsea (1-2), Wigan (0-1) and Manchester United (2-3). They have conceded a goal in 10 of those 13 encounters, too. Of course, the sample size is pretty small but there does seem a drop in levels after a big midweek effort in Europe. This might be a great time for Spurs to catch them cold and do Liverpool a favour.
So, what is the bet then? I have toyed with plenty of angles. Tottenham +2 (5/6 with Sky Bet), 0-0 at half-time (5/2) and Heung-Min Son - who has scored seven goals in all competitions against Pep Guardiola's City - to score first (9/1).
All of those make perfect sense but the one I have landed on is both teams to score at Evens with Sky Bet while siding with Spurs to nick a draw.
Opta stats...
How to follow: Watch Manchester City vs Tottenham live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, or follow in our dedicated live match blog featuring in-game highlights. Full match highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel at the final whistle.
Anybody in the UK can watch highlights for free on the Sky Sports app or the Score Centre app on your iPhone or Android:
To watch the highlights on the Sky Sports App, download the app:
Sky Sports' digital platforms are the home of live blogs for every Premier League game, including commentary, analysis and team line-ups. Users with a free Sky ID can watch in-game clips from Sky live games in our dedicated live blogs.
In the latest Football Essential Podcast, host Ron Walker is joined by Joe Shread and Ali Muzaffar to discuss a thrilling weekend of Premier League fixtures as Tottenham travel to Manchester City on Saturday while Manchester United, Wolves and Leicester continue to compete for the top four on Sunday.
PART ONE | After thrashing Sporting Lisbon 5-0 in the Champions League this week, Manchester City will host Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday Night Football. Pep Guardiola's side have been imperious in the Premier League this season - can anyone stop them? Joe Shread and Ali Muzaffar also take a look at Antonio Conte's comments about Tottenham's squad being made weaker after the January transfer window. Will Conte still be at the club next season?
PART TWO | The stage is set for another Roses Derby as Manchester United travel to Elland Road to face Leeds on Super Sunday. United managed to beat Brighton in their midweek fixture, but their poor performances on the pitch have been followed by rumours of disharmony in the dressing room. Meanwhile, Leeds have struggled to build on their impressive return to the Premier League last season and could face a relegation battle if their form does not improve.
Joe and Ali discuss Leicester's clash with Wolves, with both teams competing for a place in European competition next season. Wolves look to be a revitalised side under Bruno Lage, while Brendan Rodgers' Leicester have endured a series of difficult results amid injury troubles and defensive woes.
Finally, the pair give their verdict on who will finish in the top four this season and claim a coveted position in next season's Champions League. Tune in to find out who they pick…
