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 Tuesday as Burnley host Man Utd, Everton travel to Newcastle and West Ham face Watford.

Burnley vs Manchester United – Tuesday; kick-off 8pm

Team news: Left-back Charlie Taylor is close to making his Burnley return from a foot injury but will not be ready in time for the visit of Manchester United.

Taylor has not played for almost five weeks but should be back in the squad soon.

Johann Berg Gudmundsson (appendicitis) is still a few weeks away, as is Matej Vydra after a hernia operation, while Ashley Barnes continues to train as he gets back to full fitness.

Manchester United will be without Brazilian pair Fred and Alex Telles after both tested positive for coronavirus.

Jesse Lingard and Edinson Cavani are available after being left out for the FA Cup loss to Middlesbrough while defender Rafael Varane should be fit despite suffering a knock late in Friday’s game.

Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho have overcome minor issues but United will check on Victor Lindelof (illness) and Eric Bailly (ankle).

Jones Knows prediction…

Backing a game to produce an under goal-line isn’t a bet for everyone as it goes against the reasons why we all love the sport but if it leads us on a path to profit, I’m all for a bore-fest. And, this game just screams under 2.5 goals.

Past fixtures can be a misleading and unreliable way of forming an argument for a potential punt as so much can change season-on-season but the fact this fixture at Turf Moor has produced two goals or less on the last seven occasions is hard to ignore. In that time, Burnley have only scored once – can you remember Robbie Blake’s winner in a 1-0 win in 2009?

Sean Dyche isn’t going to turn into Kevin Keegan for this fixture so Burnley’s approach will be cautious with the hope of finding joy in the key moments in both boxes. In their last eight fixtures with teams in the top eight, seven of those matches have also fallen under the 2.5 goal line.

Throw in Ralf Rangnick’s pragmatic approach to life at Old Trafford so far that has seen an average of just 2.1 goals per match in his 11 games in charge with seven of those falling under the 2.5 line and you have got yourself a recipe for a low scoring affair.

SCORE PREDICTION: 0-1 | BETTING ANGLE: Back under 2.5 goals (Evens with Sky Bet – Bet Here!)

Opta stats…

• This will be Burnley’s 5,000th league game in English football since the foundation of the Football League in 1888. The Clarets are just the second side to reach the milestone, after Preston North End.
• Burnley have lost their last five home Premier League matches against Manchester United without scoring a single goal. The only side to win six consecutive away league games against the Clarets in their entire league history is Wolves between 1983 and 2002.
• After losing five of their last seven Premier League games under Ole Gunnar Solskjær (won one and drawn one), Manchester United have lost just one of their 10 under Michael Carrick/Ralf Rangnick (won six and drawn three). The Red Devils are also unbeaten in five away league games (Won two and drawn three) since Solskjær’s final match in charge (1-4 vs Watford).
• Manchester United have scored in all 11 of their Premier League away games this season. They’ve netted 18 goals in total across these games, though just four of these have been in the first half.
• Cristiano Ronaldo turned 37 three days ago, and he could become the third player aged 37 or above to score a Premier League goal for Manchester United after Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. In the competition’s history, only Blackburn Rovers (Kevin Moran, Mark Hughes, Tugay) and Bolton Wanderers (Gudni Bergsson, Les Ferdinand, Gary Speed) have had as many as three players aged 37 plus score for them.

How to follow: Follow Burnley vs Manchester United 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.

Newcastle vs Everton – Tuesday; kick-off 7.45pm

Team news: New signings Bruno Guimaraes, Matt Targett and Dan Burn could be handed Newcastle debuts against Everton.

Former Lyon midfielder Guimaraes and on-loan Aston Villa full-back Targett are in contention, while central defender Burn, who joined the Magpies from Brighton on deadline day, is battling an infected toenail as he bids to join them.

However, striker Callum Wilson (calf) is facing a longer than expected spell on the sidelines and defenders Paul Dummett (calf/shin) and Federico Fernandez (thigh) and midfielder Matt Ritchie (knee) are still out, while full-back Jamal Lewis and midfielder Isaac Hayden, who are both injured anyway, have been omitted from the updated 25-man squad along with central defender Ciaran Clark.

New signings Dele Alli and Donny van de Beek will be in Everton‘s squad for the first time. The pair were both cup-tied for the FA Cup fourth-round win over Brentford at the weekend.

Striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who missed that game with a knee problem, returns but defender Ben Godfrey has been ruled out for four to five weeks with a hamstring injury.

Jones Knows prediction…

No time for Frank Lampard to get his feet under the table. He has to get to work quickly in order to drag Everton away from a potential relegation scrap. A win for Newcastle here would take them to within one point of the Toffees, who have been posting relegation performance numbers over the past two months so perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised off their current situation.

I wouldn’t be mega convinced Lampard is the right man for this particular task of making Everton harder to beat in the short-term, either. But that isn’t based on any real hard evidence, more of a hunch on the way he went about his business at Derby and Chelsea. Signs were promising in the FA Cup win over Brentford.

With so many unknows surrounding how both teams will shape up in what feels like a first game of the season scenario, I’m swerving the traditional match markets and heading to the cards market for a potential angle in.

In terms of cards shown per 90 minutes in matches this season, Newcastle (4.5 cards per match) and Everton (4.1) sit second and fourth in that particular table. Plus, recent battles between these two have resulted in tempers to flare with 13 cards shown in their two meetings last season.

Tensions are likely to run high between two card happy teams in the relegation cauldron at St James’ Park – a ground that can absolutely help ignite a game to become pretty spicy, especially under the floodlights. In four of the last five evening kick-offs, there have been four or more cards dished out – the only exception being Newcastle’s home clash with Norwich where an early red card to Ciaran Clark made for an encounter where Newcastle had to defend deep for the majority. Back both teams to receive 20 or more booking points (10 points for a yellow, 25 for a red).

SCORE PREDICTION: 1-1 | BETTING ANGLE: Back 20+ booking points each team (11/10 with Sky Bet – Bet Here!)

Opta stats…

• Following their 1-0 win at Leeds last time out, Newcastle are looking to secure back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time since May. The Magpies have won just once in 11 home league games this season, however (D6 L4).
• Newcastle have dropped a league-high 21 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, while only West Ham (12) have won more points from behind so far than Everton (11).
• No side earned more points from their first four Premier League games this season than Everton (10). However, since then the Toffees have picked up just nine points from 16 Premier League games, fewer than any other side in the division in that time.
• This will be new Everton manager Frank Lampard’s first game in charge in the Premier League since January 2021, and a 2-0 defeat to Leicester while at Chelsea. None of the last 12 permanent managers have lost their first league game in charge of the Toffees (won eight and drawn four), with Gordon Lee the last to do so in February 1977.

How to follow: Follow Newcastle 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.

West Ham vs Watford – Tuesday; kick-off 7.45pm

Team news: Michail Antonio will return for West Ham‘s clash with Watford after missing the FA Cup win at Kidderminster due to international duty with Jamaica.

Manuel Lanzini is a doubt with an Achilles injury and Arthur Masuaku needs to see a specialist on a knee problem.

Kurt Zouma was hobbling at the end of Saturday’s match but hopes to be fit.

Watford manager Roy Hodgson is likely to continue without Ismaila Sarr, with the forward unlikely to have recovered in time from the Africa Cup of Nations final on Sunday.

Having been heavily injury-hit in the first half of the season, Hodgson has relatively few injuries to contend with.

Only Nicolas Nkoulou and Rob Elliot are confirmed out of contention with new signing Samuel Kalu available.

Jones Knows prediction…

West Ham are a hideous price in this one at 2/5 with Sky Bet – but can we really trust Watford to take advantage against a team that look to me at the start of a downward trend of trajectory? The Hammers showed again on Saturday in the FA Cup that when Michail Antonio isn’t fit or Declan Rice is missing for some reason, they are a much more timid proposition.

However, such is Watford’s woeful record this season and the return of Antonio, I have got no interest in backing them in the match result market despite the 15/2 with Sky Bet looking quite juicy. West Ham will most probably be too ruthless for the Hornets in key moments of the match but Roy Hodgson’s men are worth a look in the shots and goals department at the advertised prices. Both teams to score at 4/5 with Sky Bet looks worth a follow.

No team have seen both teams score in their fixtures than West Ham this season (15 of 23 games) and despite lacking in many areas, Watford’s attack is full of pace and trickery as shown by their 12 goals scored away from home this season – more than any of their relegation rivals.

West Ham are also facing a lot of shots on their goal over the past month.

The Hammers do defend deeper than most top-ranked teams, so opposition teams do find territory easy to come by.

David Moyes’ men have faced a whopping 15.4 shots per 90 minutes in their last nine Premier League fixtures. Even Kidderminster – of the National League North – managed to register 13 shots, 10 of those in normal time, against the hapless Hammers at the weekend in the FA Cup.

Watford have managed 11 or more shots in eight of their last 10 Premier League fixtures, including recording 14 against West Ham in the previous fixture. I can see similar lines being posted in this one. So, the best bet recommendation is to combine both teams to score and Watford to post 13 more shots at West Ham’s goal.

SCORE PREDICTION: 2-1 | BETTING ANGLE: Watford to have 12 or more shots (11/10 with Sky Bet – Bet Here!)

JONES KNOWS BEST BET: Both teams to score and Watford to have 13 or more shots (7/2 with Sky Bet – Bet Here!)

Opta stats…

• Among the 55 teams West Ham have faced more than 20 times in their league history since 1919, their best win ratio is against Watford, winning 27 of 43 matches against the Hornets (63%).
• West Ham have lost their last two league games, last losing three in a row in June 2020. They’ve lost three Premier League games this season courtesy of 90th-minute goals, with only Watford ever losing more games in such fashion within a single campaign (4 in 2017-18).
• Watford have lost 73% of their Premier League away games in London (29/40), the highest loss rate in the capital of any side to have competed in more than two seasons in the competition.
• West Ham pair Michail Antonio (5 goals, 4 assists) and Jarrod Bowen (5 goals, 4 assists) have each been directly involved in nine Premier League goals at the London Stadium this season – no other player has been involved in more home goals in the competition so far this term.

How to follow: Follow West Ham 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.

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…

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…