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The Scout: EPL Week 22 Preview

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Everton v Arsenal

Sean Dyche will return to Premier League action for the first time in nine months when he takes charge of Everton for their clash against Arsenal.

As it stands, the former Burnley boss could not have asked for a more difficult contest to kick off his reign with the Gunners flying high at the top of the Premier League.

With very little time to work with his players, young star Anthony Gordon departed to Newcastle United and Everton in a form slump that has sent them crashing to second bottom, the odds are stacked against Dyche.

But the gruff-and-ready former centre-half gives the impression he would have it no other way. If nothing else, by the time this one kicks off the Everton players will be well aware of what Dyche expects. Against the league’s best team, they have nothing to lose.

But Dyche, who kept Burnley in the Premier League for six successive seasons with a miniscule budget, will be telling his players they can win this one.

In the opposite dugout, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will guard against seeing this as easy pickings. Arsenal, who have lost only once this season, are expected to march right through Everton. With so many avenues to goal – Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah – they haven’t missed Gabriel Jesus, who has been injured and hasn’t played since November.

If Dyche can fashion a result, it wouldn’t be the first time a new manager has produced a surprise in his first game. But the gap between well-oiled Arsenal and lacklustre Everton seems too great to produce an immediate return for the new manager.

Suggested Bet: Arsenal to win + Under 2.5 goals (Same Game Multi) @ $3.50*

Manchester United v Crystal Palace

The storm has passed, and Manchester United have turned out to be a pretty good side under Erik ten Hag.

You have to cast your mind back a long way to find a poor performance – a November defeat to Aston Villa stands out – although they did lose their most recent Premier League game. That 3-2 defeat against Arsenal was in the balance until Eddie Nketiah snatched a late winner.

Since then, United have beaten Reading in the FA Cup and Nottingham Forest in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final. They are due to play the second leg early tomorrow (Wednesday, February 1, WA time).

Marcus Rashford is in top form, Casemiro is firing on all cylinders and even the arrival of former Burnley man Wout Weghorst has had an impact.

United are now fourth, and although they trail leaders Arsenal by 11 points, they are just six off second-placed Manchester City.

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira loved a battle against United back in his playing days, and has won one of his three clashes against them as a manager, Wilfried Zaha’s goal sealing a win last May.

In their most recent encounter, just a couple of weeks ago, Michael Olise scored an incredible last-minute free-kick to salvage a point for Palace, who had trailed to Bruno Fernandes’ first-half goal.

Palace followed that result with a goalless draw against Newcastle, which was another sign of improvement, although they have still won just one of their past seven matches to leave them 12th on the table.

Suggested Bet: United to win + Under 2.5 goals (Same Game Multi) @ $3.55*

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City

Manchester City’s threat is as obvious as a big Norwegian striker who scores goals for fun. Tottenham Hotspur’s menace is only slightly less evident, although there is an argument to make that Harry Kane is even more important to his team than Erling Haaland is to City.

Pep Guardiola’s side, who are second on the table, have scored 53 Premier League goals this season at an average of 2.65 a game. Haaland’s personal tally is 1.31 goals per game having scored 25 goals in 19 Premier League appearances.

But while Haaland is an important part of City’s artillery, he is only one piece in an armoury that also includes the likes of Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez and Kevin De Bruyne.

In their most recent clash with Spurs, two goals from Riyad Mahrez sealed a 4-2 victory after Alvarez and Haaland had cancelled out first-half Spurs goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Emerson.

Spurs’ failure to hang on to a two-goal, half-time lead will be on manager Antonio Conte’s mind as he prepares to take on the Premier League’s most prolific club.

Kane’s 16 goals this season dwarf the contributions of Rodrigo Bentancur, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Son Heung-Min, who have all contributed four each.

The England striker’s importance to Spurs, who are fifth in the league, has been made more obvious by Son’s dip in form. The Korean, who was the Premier League’s equal top scorer last season, showed positive signs at the weekend by scoring twice in an FA Cup win over Preston North End. Spurs fans can only hope it’s the start of something more significant.

Suggested Bet: Over 2.5 goals + Son Heung-min over 0.5 shots on target (Same Game Multi) @ $2.70*

*Odds correct as at 3pm, 1st February 2023.

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