Premier League match previews, team news, stats, predictions, kick-off time and how to follow | Football News

Team news, stats, predictions and how to follow the Premier League this Thursday, as Liverpool host Leicester and Arsenal travel to Wolves.

Liverpool vs Leicester – Thursday; kick-off 7.45pm

Team news: Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is expected to face Leicester after returning immediately from his Africa Cup of Nations final disappointment.

The Premier League’s leading scorer was back in the country on Monday and has trained with his team-mates for two days, although Sadio Mane will not be available after Senegal’s victory celebrations meant he did not arrive home until Wednesday evening.

Captain Jordan Henderson sustained a back problem in Sunday’s FA Cup win over Cardiff and will need to be assessed but Fabinho will return after being rested following international duty with Brazil.

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers will choose from an unchanged squad following Sunday’s disappointing FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest.

The Foxes are in the middle of an injury crisis which is threatening to derail their season, with Jamie Vardy, Jonny Evans, Wesley Fofana and Timothy Castagne among those still out.

Rodgers has no new injury concerns but is likely to make changes for a return to league action.

Jones Knows prediction…

Excuse the blowing of trumpets, but it proved to be an inspired decision to back Leicester in the reverse fixture between these two at The King Power. Do we repeat the trick at Anfield? Despite some iffy results, Brendan Rodgers still has his attack playing some very dangerous football and Liverpool aren’t the invincible winning machine of yesteryear. This is a team that have lost to West Ham and Leicester this season and drawn with Brentford and Brighton. They wobbled in the second half against Crystal Palace too in their last league fixture.

I’m happy to swerve the 1/4 with Sky Bet for a home win, yet, I’m not really getting too excited about a pro-Leicester play at the prices as their defence remains leaky. Backing the draw at 21/4 with Sky Bet makes sense with the hope the Foxes can repeat their tactics from the previous fixture of defending central areas authoritatively and hitting dynamically on the counter attack.

SCORE PREDICTION: 1-1 | BETTING ANGLE: Back the draw (6/1 with Sky Bet – Bet Here!)

Opta stats…

• Liverpool have lost their last two Premier League games against Leicester, last losing three top-flight games in a row against the Foxes back in November 1963.
• Leicester are looking to complete the league double over Liverpool for the first time since the 1998-99 season under Martin O’Neill, with their win at Anfield that season coming thanks to a late winner from Ian Marshall.
• Against no side has Liverpool’s Jürgen Klopp lost more Premier League games than he has against Leicester (4, level with Man City). The Foxes are looking to become the first team since Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund in 2014-15 to beat a Klopp side twice in a league season.
• Following a 1-0 win earlier this season, Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers is looking to become only the second former Liverpool manager in history to complete a league double over the Reds after leaving the club, after Kenny Dalglish in 1993-94 with Blackburn.
• Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 14 Premier League games at Anfield (W10 D4) and have won their last five in a row, their best home winning run since an eight-game streak between July and December 2020.

How to follow: Follow Liverpool vs Leicester 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.

Wolves vs Arsenal – Thursday; kick-off 7.45pm

Team news: Wolves head coach Bruno Lage will welcome Romain Saiss and Francisco Trincao back to the squad for Thursday night’s Premier League clash with Arsenal.

Defender Saiss has returned to training following his trip to the Africa Cup of Nations with Morocco, while winger Trincao has recovered from Covid-19 and both are available.

Lage will make late checks on wing-back Jonny (knee) as he closes in on a return and forward Hwang Hee-chan (hamstring), but winger Pedro Neto (knee) and defenders Yerson Mosquera (hamstring) and Willy Boly (calf) are still out.

Arsenal have no fresh injury concerns after a break of 18 days allowed Mikel Arteta to get the majority of his players back fit.

Full-back Takehiro Tomiyasu (calf) is the only doubt while midfielder Mohamed Elneny may be rested having returned from the Africa Cup of Nations.

Midfielders Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey are also back in contention having both served the last game of their respective suspensions in the goalless draw with Burnley.

Jones Knows prediction…

They don’t turn many heads with their style of play, but Wolves are creeping into the European picture. This fixture will provide them with a great barometer of how seriously those knocking around the top-six should take their charge. You can get 33/1 on a Wolves top-four finish which looks a tall order with only one place up for grabs and 9/2 for a top-six finish which will be a thing of the past if they win this one.

Arsenal are perhaps a tad short in the market at 6/5 for the away win considering they have failed to beat Everton, Manchester United, Brighton and Brentford on the road this season – but their extra firepower in the final third does give them the advantage in this fixture. I’ve got my eye on Bukayo Saka opening the scoring in what is likely to be a low-scoring affair settled by a moment of inspiration.

Saka is becoming Arsenal’s go-to guy in the final third. The England star has netted four in his last four Premier League encounters, averaging just over four shots per 90 minutes. I’ll be stunned if he doesn’t end up the club’s top goalscorer come the end of the season and he can net the first goal here at 7/1 with Sky Bet.

SCORE PREDICTION: 0-1 | BETTING ANGLE: Bukayo Saka to score first (7/1 with Sky Bet – Bet Here!)

Opta stats…

• Arsenal have failed to score in each of their last four games in all competitions; they’ve not gone five without a goal since March 1990 under George Graham.
• The Gunners have scored in each of their last 27 games against Wolves in all competitions, since a 1-0 home loss in February 1979. It’s the Gunners’ second longest current scoring streak against a specific opponent, after a 32-game ongoing run against West Bromwich Albion.
• Following victories in their first three league matches in 2022 against Man Utd, Southampton and Brentford, Wolves are looking to win four consecutive top-flight matches for the first time since January 1972.
• Premier League matches involving Wolves have seen the fewest shots of any side so far this season (462); Wolves had 10 plus shots in their first five matches this season (82 in total, 16.4 per game) but have only reached double figures for shots in four of their 16 games since, averaging exactly half their shots per game ratio of those first five games (131 in total, 8.2 per game).
• Emile Smith Rowe has scored in his last three away Premier League appearances for Arsenal, scoring against Man Utd, Leeds and Norwich. The last Gunners player to score in four in a row away from home was Olivier Giroud in November 2015.

How to follow: Follow Wolves vs Arsenal 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.

How to watch Premier League highlights on Sky Sports Digital

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.

Premier League top-four race: Fourth place up for grabs?

With Manchester City pulling away at the summit and Liverpool and Chelsea on course for a top-three finish, Man Utd, West Ham, Arsenal, Tottenham and Wolves look set to battle it out for a top-four finish.

As it stands, four points divide fourth-placed Manchester United and eighth-placed Wolves, setting up what looks to be an intriguing race to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Here, we assess the runners and riders in the battle for fourth, their form and their fixtures until the end of the season…

READ HERE

Premier League relegation picture: Who is going down?

The battle for Premier League survival continues this midweek, but which team is best placed to avoid the drop?

Only six points separate the five sides at the bottom of the table – and basement boys Burnley have at least one game in hand on their rivals.

Here, we take a look at the state of play, odds and key fixtures as the relegation picture hots up…

READ HERE