Saturday- 12.21.24

Aston Villa v Manchester City – 7:30am EST.

Somehow and some way, City are favored in this game. Current team form sitting at 1-1-3 in the last five, it makes absolutely no sense to me. Countless amount of injuries and goals coming from absolutely no one, I simply do not see a world where City should be favored in any game at the moment. Villa are becoming a team that you have to respect in the Premier League now. They have decent players in their lineup. They’re playing Champions league football. 3-0-2 in their last five is demanding some respect from their opponents in their next few fixtures. They arguably have one of the best goalkeepers in the game at the moment, they sit in 7th place, and they have one of the best attacks in the league. With that being said, I hope both teams lose. Match will probably end 2-2.

Brentford v Nottingham Forest – 10:00am EST.

What a game. It is almost more enticing to watch than the early game on Saturday. I said in last week’s blog that Forest and Villa were going to have the best match of the weekend. And I was right. A late push from Forest last week had them go in front and steal the win away from Villa in the final five minutes of the game. With a goal in the 87th and again in the 93rd saw Forest seal the 3 points and jump them up to 4th in the table. Surprising. Brentford just got smoked by Newcastle in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday and they desperately need a result this weekend. I’m hoping this game is going to be a shootout. The last 5 games between these two sides have finished 3-2, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 1-1.

West Ham v Brighton & Hove Albion – 10:00am EST

This game stinks. But it shouldn’t. Both teams have great players but they just can’t seem to get to the 90 ahead. West Ham just tied Bournemouth on Monday after going up 1-0 in the 87th minute but eventually gave up the lead in the 90th. And Brighton just got absolutely dominated in the bird derby on Sunday by Palace, 3-1. Brighton shouldn’t have even score that’s how bad Palace bent them over for the full 90. If I was a betting man, I would lean both teams scoring but I can’t trust either of these two teams to even have a shot on target. Gross.

Sunday, 12/22/24

Leicester City v Wolverhampton – 9:00am EST.

The Foxes vs the wolves. Boy oh boy. Snooze-fest if you ask me. Both teams play with zero heart, zero desire, and zero passion. Wolves just fired their manager Gary O’Neill this past weekend after losing to rock-bottom side Ipswich Town. I know what you’re thinking, new manager bump this weekend? Yeah right, buddy. There is no saving this Wolves team. They’re probably going to cash in on all their stars in January and sell them to competent clubs. Leicester are down in the dumps. They beat West Ham 3-1, then tied Brighton 2-2, and then last weekend they got womped by Newcastle 4-0. Their honeymoon with their new manager, Ruud van Nistelrooy, is over. Come back down to earth here guys. This is a get right game. If they win this game, they’ll jump up to 15th and create some space between them and the relegation zone. I think the Foxes will want it more. That’s it.

Tottenham v Liverpool – 11:30am EST.

This will be the game of the weekend. I’m sure of it. Even though Spurs have been very bad in the league this year, they should put up a fight. That’s kind of their role in the league. Never compete for the title, just play the villain role and to always put up a fight against the other big clubs in the league. Last weekend, Spurs handed Southampton their annual spanking in the Premier League, 5-0. But their form has been ok. Spurs are 10th in the standings with a record of 7-2-7, meanwhile their opponent is top of the table. Liverpool just drew against Fulham last weekend 2-2. They looked off to me. It took a Diogo Jota last minute goal to get a share of the points. They will be without their Leftback Andy Robertson after he saw a straight red card for a challenge early on against Fulham. Spurs usually play well at home and Liverpool could be caught slipping again like they were last week. Goals, goals, goals. Give me goals. Let’s go Sonny.

The DK EPL Unfiltered Week 17 Parlay:

Villa/City Both Teams to Score, Brentford/Forest Both Teams to Score + o2.5, Leicester ML, Spurs/Liverpool o2.5 (+756)

Season Record: 42-28

This is not gambling advice, this is just the way of the road gentlemen.

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