The Scout: EPL Week 31 Preview

Posted on April 13, 2023 | Posted by The Scout

Aston Villa v Newcastle United

Newcastle United’s charge into third place in the Premier League has reignited Eddie Howe’s ambition of steering the club into next season’s UEFA Champions League.

Five successive victories have erased the memory of a sticky patch in which they went five Premier League games without a win. Wolves, Nottingham Forest, Manchester United, West Ham and Brentford have all been swept aside, thanks in no small part to the five-goal contribution of Alexander Isak.

Callum Wilson has also been back amongst the goals with three in his last three appearances, while Newcastle have also maintained a stingy defence, conceding just 0.72 goals per game this campaign.

But while Newcastle’s progress has been made obvious by the noise around their new Saudi Arabian owners and the money manager Eddie Howe has been able to spend on new players, Aston Villa have flown under the radar.

Unbeaten in their last seven games, Villa have won six games with Ollie Watkins scoring five times in the process.

Under Unai Emery, who took over in the wake of Steven Gerrard’s departure in October last year, Villa have lost just four of 17 matches. From worries about being dragged into a relegation fight, Villa are starting to believe they could be playing in Europe next season.

Beating Newcastle at Villa Park on Saturday would cement that ideal with sixth-placed Villa already hovering in Europa League territory. A Villa win would also cut from nine to six points the gap between them and Howe’s side.

Newcastle’s defence will need to be on song again to keep Watkins quiet, while Villa, who have kept five clean sheets in their past seven games, will be looking to keep it tight again. Newcastle will again be without the injured Miguel Almiron, but Isak and Wilson are in the groove for more goals.

Suggest Bet: Draw @ $3.40*

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Chelsea v Brighton

Graham Potter was released from his Chelsea duties in time to avoid potential embarrassment against his former club Brighton.

The job is now down to Frank Lampard, who returned to the Blues helm last weekend as Wolves snatched a victory that continued Chelsea’s 2022-23 misery.

By the time Chelsea roll up to Stamford Bridge on Saturday, they will have already played Real Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium in a Champions League quarter-final match. And while the result of that game can’t entirely be discounted, even a positive performance won’t necessarily translate to a good performance against Brighton.

After winning six of their first nine games of the season, Chelsea have been a mess of hits and misses. Since then, they have won successive Premier League matches just once – accounting for Leeds United and Leicester City last month. Goals are hard to come by, although Kai Havertz has bagged seven this campaign, while the width provided by Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella has not resulted in much in the way of assists.

Chelsea, who are eleventh, have been reasonably good defensively with goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga keeping nine clean sheets this season.

Brighton, though, will fancy their chances of breaching the Chelsea resistance, just as they did with ease the last time these sides met. Potter had not long since swapped Brighton for Chelsea and saw his then new team capitulate, 4-1.

Brighton were good back then and arguably have become even better as manager Roberto De Zerbi has adapted swiftly to the Premier League.

Since then, Brighton, who are seventh, have continued to improve under Roberto De Zerbi’s guidance, although he will be banished to the stands for this match after being sent off during a 2-1 loss to Tottenham last week.

Prior to that controversial defeat, Brighton were unbeaten in five Premier League games and looking every bit a Europa League contender. The quality of Argentinian World Cup winner Alexis Mac Alister, Ecuadorian Moises Caicedo and Japanese sensation Kaoru Mitoma have lit up the Premier League this season.

Suggested Bet: Brighton to win + Mitoma over 0.5 shots on target (Same Game Multi) @ $3.70*

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Southampton v Crystal Palace

Two wins in two games under Roy Hodgson was just what Crystal Palace needed to drag themselves clear of the thin ice.

Seven goals scored, including two from Jordan Ayew, and two conceded speaks volumes for Hodgson’s impact after Palace had gone 12 Premier League games without a win. This stretch included seven defeats and, ultimately, cost the job of previous manager Patrick Vieira.

In this bizarrely tight season, where the relegation-threatened clubs seem to change from week to week, one more victory in their last eight games could be enough to keep up Palace, who are six points clear of third-from-bottom Nottingham Forest.

Southampton’s fight for survival is more challenging, with the rock-bottom Saints four points adrift of safety and in desperate need of a first win in six games.

Victory over Palace won’t ease Southampton’s anxiety with Arsenal, Newcastle, Brighton and Liverpool among the teams they face in the final seven games of the season.

Southampton have won just two of their last 11 games with James Ward-Prowse and Carlos Alcaraz finding the winner against Chelsea and Leicester City respectively.

Saints have been in the relegation zone since a 4-1 defeat to Newcastle in November. Even with Ward-Prowse’s undeniable talents, it’s hard to make a case for them surviving the drop.

Palace, with the likes of Odsonne Edouard, who scored the only goal against Southampton in their previous contest this season, Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta should pose too much of a threat for Saints to cope again.

Palace’s leading scorer Wilfried Zaha will not feature due to a groin injury.

Suggested Bet: Draw Half Time + Palace to win (Same Game Multi) @ $6.75*

*Odds correct as at 10am, 13th April 2023.

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