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The Scout: EPL Week 5 Preview

Posted on | Posted by The Scout

Everton v Liverpool

For all their goalscoring prowess, you shouldn’t necessarily expect Liverpool to score a hatful of goals against Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday. Not that Jurgen Klopp’s side aren’t capable of humbling their city rivals.

But, in the past eight years, the first Merseyside derby of the season has been played at Goodison Park on four occasions, and all of them have been goalless. Of course, you don’t have to dig too deeply to find a counter to that particular statistic.

Aside from the four 0-0 draws, there have been 36 goals scored in the other 12 Premier League Merseyside derbies over the past eight years at an average of 3 goals per game.

So which will it be? Goals, goals, goals or none at all?

It’s hard to ignore Liverpool’s attacking threat, with Luis Diaz, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, scoring eight goals between them. Teenager Harvey Elliott has also impressed since returning from a loan spell at Blackburn Rovers, while Fabio Carvalho won’t forget in a hurry his stoppage time winner against Newcastle in midweek.

Everton have drawn three successive matches against Nottingham Forest, Brentford and Leeds United, after losing to Chelsea and Aston Villa in their first two games. Despite moves from Chelsea to sign Anthony Gordon, the 21-year-old has got on with the job at hand, scoring in their past two matches.

Suggested Bet: Liverpool to win + More than 2.5 goals @ $2.98*

Nottingham Forest v Bournemouth

The truth can get you sacked. That’s at least one of the conclusions to be drawn from Scott Parker’s axing as Bournemouth manager just four games into the Premier League season.

After a 9-0 thrashing by Liverpool, Parker spoke of his side being ill-equipped to compete at the Premier League level. And that’s definitely how it looked.

But Parker’s comments didn’t sit well with the club’s co-owner Maxim Demin, who spoke of running the club sustainably. The need for good players in a desperate hurry and sustainability aren’t usually part of the same strategy, so the axe fell on Parker.

The good news for Bournemouth fans is the Premier League status that Parker helped achieve is theirs to keep for the remainder of the campaign but probably not after that. A goalless midweek draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers snapped a three-game losing streak, but Bournemouth have a long season ahead of them.

More than the heavy defeat to Liverpool, Saturday’s clash against Nottingham Forest will give Bournemouth a clear indication of how the tide has turned since last season. Promoted from the English Championship as the second-placed team, the Cherries twice beat Forest last season.

Since then, Steve Cooper has transformed Forest by spending around AUD$230 million on a string of new players including Morgan Gibbs-White from Wolves, Neco Williams (Liverpool), Taiwo Awoniyi (Union Berlin) and Emmanuel Dennis (Watford). Forest have also loaned goalkeeper Dean Henderson and secured Jessie Lingard on a free transfer, both from Manchester United.

While Cooper has been like a kid in a lolly shop, Bournemouth have spent around AUD$40 million on just two players – Marcos Senesi from Feyenoord and Marcus Tavernier from Middlesbrough. Others have arrived on free transfers.

Money isn’t everything in football but it has helped Forest, who were competitive in four games (including a win over West Ham and draw with Everton) before being trounced 5-0 by Manchester City in midweek.

With 16 goals conceded in three games against Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, the draw with Wolves was a positive sign for interim Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil.

Suggested Bet: Nottingham Forest to win @ $2*

Tottenham v Fulham

Marco Silva’s Fulham have shown positive signs on their return to the Premier League after losing four of their final seven games in the Championship last season. Despite that form, they clinched the title by two points ahead of nearest rivals Bournemouth.

After kicking off the Premier League season with a 2-2 draw, fashioned out of a double from Aleksandar Mitrovic, they showed resilience to beat Brentford and also earned a draw against Wolves.

A 2-1 defeat to Arsenal put the brakes on their bright start, but they bounced back quickly with a 2-1 victory against Brighton. Mitrovic was again on target to take his season tally to five goals in as many games.

Tottenham unbeaten start to the season has prompted some pundits to ponder whether they can challenge for the title this season after finishing fourth last campaign. Manager Antonio Conte was quick to dismiss the speculation, pointing out that his team remains a work in progress, which was probably reflected in their 1-1 draw with West Ham on Wednesday.

Goals have not been hard to come by, with 10 in total, including four from Harry Kane. The signings of Ivan Perisic, from Inter Milan, and Richarlison, from Everton, have added an attacking dimension, while Dejan Kulusevski has carried his good form from last season into the new campaign.

Fulham have shown signs that they can avoid the dreaded drop back into the Championship this season and victory over Spurs would further improve their confidence. But if Spurs are to sustain a title challenge, no less than three points should be expected from home games against newly promoted teams.

Suggested Bet: Spurs to win @ $1.42*

*Odds correct as at 11am, 1st September 2022.

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