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The Scout: EPL Week 11 Preview

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Manchester City v Brighton

Manchester City have had almost a week to sulk after last weekend’s unexpected defeat to Liverpool and they will be fired up to make instant amends against Brighton.

Route one and a Mohamed Salah goal was enough to inflict a first defeat of the season on City as Liverpool breathed new life into their staggering campaign.

But if City were flattened by the Liverpool blow, they won’t stay down for long and Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi knows exactly what he will face.

It’s already been tough for the Italian, who had big shoes to fill when Graham Potter headed to Chelsea. A 3-3 draw with Liverpool in his first game was a good start before defeats to Tottenham and Brentford, and a midweek goalless draw against struggling Forest.

City had been due to face Arsenal during the week but the match was postponed due to the rescheduling of the Gunners’ Europa League clash against PSV Eindhoven. That left an already infuriated Pep Guardiola – and high-quality squad – to plot and prepare.

Goalscoring machine Erling Haaland failed to score against Liverpool but his threat was as obvious as it has been all season. Six shots and four on target is hardly the sign of a player in shackles.

It’s a bad sign for Brighton’s goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and centre-half pairing of Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster.

Expect the usual suspects – Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Haaland – to come firing back against the Albion, who do carry a goal threat of their own.

Belgian Leandro Trossard is their leading scorer with five, while midfielders Alexis Mac Allister and Pascal Gross have also been in the goals.

Suggested Bet: City to win + Over 2.5 goals (Same Game Multi) @ $1.56*

Chelsea v Manchester United

In the past two years, only four goals have been scored in Premier League matches between Manchester United and Chelsea. And all four games have been drawn (1-1 twice and 0-0 twice).

This is likely to be another tight affair with both sides showing steady progress in different circumstances.

Manchester United will go into this one buoyed by a midweek win over Tottenham Hotspur, in which Fred’s deflected shot had given them a breakthrough and Bruno Fernandes scored just his second of the season.

There was no place on the pitch for Cristiano Ronaldo, whose once unrivalled qualities have faded with age. The 37-year-old did not hide his frustration at being substituted in last weekend’s goalless draw against Newcastle but United looked better without him against Spurs.

Manchester United have lost just one of their past eight matches – a 6-3 thrashing against Manchester City – and they’ve won six games in the process.

But if Chelsea are still only a work in progress under manager Graham Potter, they’re on the right track.

After drawing in the Champions League against RB Salzburg in a match he hardly had time to prepare for, Potter has overseen five victories, including home-and-away successes over AC Milan in European competition, and this week’s goalless draw against Brentford.

Mason Mount scored both goals in Sunday’s win over Aston Villa in which Kai Havertz, who has scored twice in nine games, was replaced at half-time in a tactical switch.

Aside from their obvious organisational strength under Potter, Chelsea’s cause has been helped immensely by goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga’s form. He has kept five successive clean sheets including an inspired performances against Villa and Brentford.

Suggested Bet: Chelsea to win @ $2.05*

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leicester City

You don’t need to be a genius to work out what’s going wrong at Wolverhampton Wanderers. It was clear and obvious to Bruno Lage before he was sacked and is just as glaring for current caretaker boss Steve Davis.

In 11 Premier League matches this season, they’ve scored just five goals. That’s an average of one goal every 198 minutes.

There was a whiff of hope in midweek when they went ahead through Adama Traore against Crystal Palace. But second-half goals from Eberechi Eze and Wilfried Zaha inflicted Wolves’ sixth defeat of the season. They’ve slipped into the relegation zone and are four points above last-placed Leicester City.

So, if Wolves are bad and they’re four points clear of Leicester, what does that say about Brendan Rodgers’ side?

Well, Leicester fans can’t complain about being bored, even if they’re bitterly disappointed to be propping up the Premier League. Ahead of their Thursday night match against Leeds United, they’d scored 15 goals with James Maddison contributing five of them. Jamie Vardy’s legs no longer carry him as quickly as they did and he is yet to score this season, although he has provided three assists.

But while the likes of Harvey Barnes, Patson Daka and Maddison can drive them forward, Leicester have struggled to prevent things coming the other way.

After 10 games, Leicester had conceded 24 goals, the highest number in the competition and failure to fix the leak will be their undoing.

Suggested Bet: Wolves to win @ $2.18*

*Odds correct as at 11am, 20th October 2022.

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