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 week, including Chelsea vs Arsenal live on Sky Sports on Wednesday.

Chelsea vs Arsenal – Wednesday, kick-off 7.45pm, live on Sky Sports Premier League

Team news: Thomas Tuchel hinted at a start for striker Romelu Lukaku when Chelsea host Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports.

The club-record signing has not started a Premier League game for two months due to injury and lack of form, but Tuchel suggested Lukaku may be needed in an effort to ease the load on Kai Havertz.

The Blues must do without midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who will miss at least a fortnight with ankle ligament trouble.

Callum Hudson-Odoi remains sidelined with a back problem, but is on the road to recovery, while Ben Chilwell will not play this season in his long-term rehabilitation after knee surgery.

Arsenal will assess Alexandre Lacazette, who missed out at the weekend due to a positive Covid result, ahead of the trip across London. Full-back Takehiro Tomiyasu is nearing fitness after missing the past 11 weeks with a calf problem but is not likely to return against Chelsea. With Lacazette a doubt, Eddie Nketiah could once again lead the line.

Jones Knows prediction…

Thomas Tuchel takes charge of Chelsea for the 50th time in the Premier League and he can celebrate that milestone by keeping another clean sheet against the misfiring Gunners, who look set to lose a fourth straight Premier League game for the first time since 1995.

Tuchel’s side have kept 25 clean sheets in his 49 Premier League games in the hot seat. It’s resulted in his team having conceded the fewest goals of any Premier League side during his reign at the club (36).

Arsenal aren’t a million miles away from being able to compete with Chelsea when at full strength but their lack of cover in key areas of the field is threatening to derail what has been a very positive season.

Without Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey, Arsenal’s win rate in the Premier League drops from 71 per cent to 36 per cent. In 14 games this season when both have been missing, Arsenal have lost eight of those matches. Mikel Arteta’s side have also lost all five Premier League games against the current top three by an aggregate score of 15-1.

Having scored just two goals in their last five Premier League games, confidence in attack must be at rock-bottom so a Chelsea win to nil certainly makes appeal at the prices.

SCORE PREDICTION: 2-0 | BETTING ANGLE: Chelsea to win to nil (5/2 with Sky Bet – Bet Here!)

Opta stats…

• Chelsea are looking to complete their first league double over Arsenal since 2015-16, following their 2-0 victory at the Emirates earlier this season.
• Chelsea have lost their last two home games in all competitions (1-4 v Brentford, 1-3 v Real Madrid), as many as they had in their previous 27 at Stamford Bridge (W17 D8). The Blues haven’t lost three consecutive home games since November 1993, the third game of which was a 2-0 loss to Arsenal.
• Arsenal have lost each of their last three Premier League games, their third run of three straight league defeats in their three seasons under Mikel Arteta. The Gunners haven’t lost four consecutive league games since March 1995 under Stewart Houston.
• If Mason Mount plays, it will be his 100th Premier League appearance for Chelsea. With 23 goals and 18 assists, he’s been involved in more goals than any other English player in their first 100 Premier League games for the Blues (41).

How to follow: Chelsea vs Arsenal is live on Sky Sports Premier League from 7pm; kick-off 7.45pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

Everton vs Leicester – Wednesday, kick-off 7.45pm

Team news: Everton will be able to call upon the services of defender Yerry Mina who has been absent since early February, as well as midfielder Donny van de Beek with the latter overcoming brief injury and illness struggles in recent weeks.

Leicester are still without Jamie Vardy, who remains on the comeback trail alongside Wilfred Ndidi, Danny Ward and Ryan Bertrand. James Maddison, Jonny Evans, Ricardo Pereira and Kelechi Iheanacho are among those who could be drafted back in from the start – Maddison and Iheanacho were both introduced from the bench against Newcastle last time out.

Jones Knows prediction…

Leicester City are set to play a huge part in whether Everton will be a Premier League team next season. Brendan Rodgers’ side face the Toffees twice in the run-in after various postponements and rescheduling of both fixtures due to Covid and Leicester’s European campaign. Having to play Leicester twice surely is a great result for Frank Lampard’s side, especially with fixtures to come against Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.

They are completely unbackable here though.

A fully wound up Leicester side with Jonny Evans and the huge figure of Wesley Fofana in their ranks trading at 2/1 with Sky Bet to beat Everton would usually get my punting juices absolutely flowing. But at this stage of the season where teams have eyes on other commitments, punters do have to tread carefully when making investments on particular teams.

With Goodison Park likely to be in raucous mood – a location where Lampard has generated nine points from a possible 15 available since taking charge – I’m going to swerve my gut instinct to back Leicester at what looks a tasty price. Play the draw.

SCORE PREDICTION: 1-1 | BETTING ANGLE: Back the draw (11/4 with Sky Bet – Bet Here!)

Opta stats…

• Everton are looking to win consecutive Premier League games for the first time since September, following their 1-0 win against Manchester United last time out. However, Everton have lost 18 of their last 21 Premier League games in which they’ve conceded at least once (W1 D2).
• Everton have earned 79% of their Premier League points in home games this season (22/28), the highest ratio of any side. Only twice have the Toffees earned a higher share of their points in home games across a full league season – 84% in 1936-37 (31/37) and 80% in 1888-89 (16/20).
• Only three teams – Newcastle (24), Southampton (23) and Leeds (19) – have dropped more points from winning positions this season in the Premier League than Leicester (17), with the Foxes only dropping more points in three seasons in the competition: 21 in 1999-00, 28 in 2003-04 and 20 in 2017-18.
• Everton manager Frank Lampard hasn’t won any of his three Premier League games against Leicester (D2 L1) – no side has he faced more often without ever winning than the Foxes (also 3 vs Liverpool).

How to follow: Follow Everton 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.

Newcastle vs Crystal Palace – Wednesday, kick-off 7.45pm

Team news: Newcastle are missing Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier, while Ryan Fraser remains a doubt.

Crystal Palace can welcome back Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher, who was ineligible to play against his parent club at Wembley on Sunday, but Luka Milivojevic is ruled out through injury.

Jones Knows prediction…

Newcastle have taken 26 points from 13 Premier League games in 2022, winning eight of those matches. In a Premier League table just including games since New Year’s Day, Newcastle would be third. At an odds-against price of 13/10 with Sky Bet, I think they can be trusted here.

But my main play sees me rolling the dice on Dan Burn to score again. He’s going to pop up before the end of the campaign.

Good quality chances have fallen Burn’s way in his 10 starts for Newcastle which have equated to an expected goals figure of 0.97, including two shots on goal in the win over Leicester, where he was the target for every set piece pumped into the box – as seen for his part in the opening Toon goal. He’s the value play to score a header against a side that have conceded 10 goals from corners this season – only Leicester have shipped more.

SCORE PREDICTION: 2-1 | BETTING ANGLE: Dan Burn to score first (40/1 with Sky Bet – Bet Here!)

Opta stats…

• Crystal Palace won this exact fixture 2-1 last season – they’ve never won back-to-back away league games against Newcastle before.
• Crystal Palace’s defeat at Leicester City last time out was their first defeat in six Premier League games (W3 D2). They last lost consecutive league matches in December 2021 (a run of three).
• Newcastle United have won their last five home Premier League matches, last winning six in a row between January and April 2004 under Sir Bobby Robson. Before this run, the Magpies had won just four of their last 24 games at St James’ Park (D11 L9).
• Newcastle have won eight of their 13 Premier League matches in 2022 (D2 L3), as many as they won in 42 attempts in 2021 (W8 D13 L21). This year, only Liverpool (32) and Spurs (27) have won more points than the Magpies (26).

How to follow: Follow Newcastle vs Crystal Palace 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.

Man City vs Brighton – Wednesday, kick-off 8pm

Team news: Man City are missing Kyle Walker, who is yet to recover from an injury picked up during last week’s ill-tempered meeting with Atletico Madrid. Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias and Ilkay Gundogan are all expected to be in the mix, but are not guaranteed from the start. Gabriel Jesus is a doubt after receiving a knock at Wembley against Liverpool.

Brighton head to Etihad Stadium without midfielder Yves Bissouma, who starts a two-match suspension for reaching 10 yellow cards.

Steven Alzate missed the Tottenham match through illness but is back in training and could be involved.

Jones Knows prediction…

Kevin De Bruyne is on course for his highest goalscoring tally of his career this season. A player usually associated with creating chances is now scoring them.

His strike against Liverpool was the first time in his career he had scored in four consecutive matches in all competitions. He is also on track to break his personal tally of goals in a Premier League season now – that goal being his 11th with his record standing at 13. The Belgian is now aiming to score in three consecutive league games for the first time since October 2015 – and City should provide him with ample opportunities as a big performance is expected after Pep Guardiola decided to rest many of his key men in midweek.

Graham Potter may shuffle his pack regularly in terms of players but the structure and attacking ethos of the team always remains the same even when taking on Manchester City. It usually ends up with them playing far too open and conceding a bucket load of goals against Guardiola’s team. Since taking the job, Potter has conceded an average of 3.3 goals per 90 minutes (20 in six games) to Manchester City. There shouldn’t be too many problems for City in this one.

SCORE PREDICTION: 4-0 | BETTING ANGLE: Kevin De Bruyne to score and Man City to win (5/4 with Sky Bet – Bet Here!)

Opta stats…

• Man City have never lost a home league game against Brighton (W9 D2) – no side have they ever faced more at home in their league history without ever losing than their 11 against the Seagulls.
• Brighton won 1-0 at Liverpool last season and could become just the third team to win away against the reigning Premier League champions in consecutive seasons after Tottenham (v Leicester in 2016-17 and Chelsea in 2017-18) and Liverpool (v Man Utd in 2000-01 and 2001-02).
• Man City have failed to win two of their last three Premier League games (D2), having failed to win just two of their previous 18 (W16 D1 L1). The Citizens’ 2-2 draw with Liverpool last time out was the first time they’ve opened the scoring but failed to win in the Premier League this season.
• After a seven-game winless run in the Premier League, Brighton have now won each of their last two. The Seagulls haven’t won three consecutive league games since October 2018 under Chris Hughton.
• Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne has scored 11 Premier League goals this season. He’s only netted more in 2019-20 (13), while this is the only campaign in which he’s scored more goals than he’s assisted (3 assists). The Belgian is also looking to score in three consecutive league games for the first time since October 2015.

How to follow: Follow Man City vs Brighton 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.

Burnley vs Southampton – Thursday, kick-off 7.45pm, live on Sky Sports Premier League

Team news: Ashley Westwood was stretchered off with a serious ankle injury as Burnley held West Ham to a hard-fought draw at the weekend.

Club captain Ben Mee, Erik Pieters (both knee) and Johann Berg Gudmundsson (calf) are also sidelined and set to be ruled out for the rest of April.

Southampton will travel to Turf Moor with plenty of “options”, manager Ralph Hasenhüttl advocated ahead of the rearranged tie. Following victory over Arsenal last time out, Saints once again have a full squad of players to select from.

Jones Knows prediction…

Burnley’s change of mentality to playing “must-win” football in the last three matches has seen a positive effect on how many goals there will be in their games. Games have been much more open affairs with their past three seeing seven goals scored and a total expected goals figure of 13.45 when collating both teams. That xG figure tells the whole story.

How the 1-1 draw with West Ham stayed under 2.5 was all about the sheer brilliance of Nick Pope and general wasteful nature of Maxwell Cornet from 12 yards.

Southampton are a reliable team when it comes to goal heavy matches, too. Their away games this season have averaged 3.27 goals per 90 minutes with 60 per cent of those matches producing four or more goals.

The markets have the goal line around 2.5 goals, which I think is too low. This means backing overs is the way to go.

SCORE PREDICTION: 2-2 | BETTING ANGLE: Back over 3.5 goals (11/4 with Sky Bet – Bet Here!)

Opta stats…

• Following their 1-0 win at Turf Moor last season, Southampton are looking to pick up back-to-back away league wins against Burnley for just the second time, previously doing so in 2006 and 2007 in the Championship.
• Burnley won their last home league game 3-2 against Everton, scoring more goals in that victory than they had in their previous eight at Turf Moor combined (2). The Clarets haven’t won consecutive home league games since December 2020
• Southampton beat Arsenal 1-0 in their last Premier League game, having conceded 15 goals in their five league games before this (D1 L4). However, Saints have conceded in each of their last 10 away league games (24 goals in total) since a 1-0 win at Watford in October.
• This will be Burnley’s first home league game without Sean Dyche in charge since October 2012, and a 1-0 Championship victory over Blackpool under caretaker Terry Pashley. The last Burnley manager to lose their first home league game with the club was Brian Laws (vs Chelsea in January 2010).

How to follow: Burnley vs Southampton is live on Sky Sports Premier League from 7.30pm; kick-off 7.45pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

How the table stands

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.