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The Scout: EPL Week 6 Preview

Posted on | Posted by The Scout

Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur

He has passed every test so far, but Ange Postecoglou faces his biggest of the season when he takes Tottenham Hotspur to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

An impressive performance in beating Manchester United just two games into his tenure was important in winning over the Spurs fans. Further victories over Bournemouth and Burnley were expected before last weekend’s get-out-of-jail win over Sheffield United.

Spurs had been behind until Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski scored in the eighth and tenth minutes of stoppage time to extend their Premier League winning streak to four games.

All of those successes will pale into insignificance if Spurs beat Arsenal in the first London derby of the season. James Maddison is a player to watch for Spurs in midfield, while Son Heung-Min leads the team’s goal tally with three in five games.

The Gunners, who pushed Manchester City in the title race last season, are currently fourth on the table, having amassed the same number of points as second-placed Spurs, who they trail on goal difference.

Mikel Arteta’s men were made to work hard for their 1-0 win last weekend against stubborn Everton with Leandro Trossard’s second half goal separating the teams.

But when Arsenal click, as they did in a big win over PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League this week, they have plenty of goalscoring options. A midfield of Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, Fabio Vieira and Kai Havertz offers support to a potent attack that includes Bukayo Saka, Eddie Nketiah, Gabriel Jesus and Trossard.

Arsenal have won four of the last five games against Spurs and are in the mood for another victory.

Suggested Bet: Arsenal to win + under 2.5 goals

Chelsea v Aston Villa

How much longer can we continue to believe that Chelsea are capable of turning things around and returning to the upper rungs of English football? Or how many more managers will be spun through the Stamford Bridge cycle before respectability returns?

Mauricio Pochettino is the latest to try his luck although there has been little evidence in the early weeks of the season that the former Tottenham and Paris St Germain manager is having an impact.

Just one win in five Premier League appearances is hardly inspiring stuff. Given the sole victory came against bottom side Luton Town, and the Blues have since suffered defeat to Nottingham Forest (1-0) and a goalless draw against Bournemouth, it is difficult to make a case for Chelsea against improving Villa.

Perhaps being at home will help, although it didn’t against Forest. Maybe Senegalese striker Nicolas Jackson, Argentine Enzo Fernandez or captain Conor Gallagher can inspire a performance no-one saw coming?

Chelsea, who are 14th on the table four points behind seventh-placed Aston Villa, are in desperate need of improvement if they are to get anything out of this game.

Villa have won three of their five Premier League games, defeats to Newcastle and Liverpool offsetting victories over Everton, Burnley and Crystal Palace.

The win over Palace was fortuitous in that the 3-1 win was only made safe in stoppage time when Douglas Luiz and Leon Bailey scored. But with more than 66% of possession and 16 shots to six Villa had kept themselves in a position to win as the 90 minutes elapsed.

Villa have every reason to believe that the statistics will also be in their favour against Chelsea. The last time the teams met goals from John McGinn and Ollie Watkins secured a 2-0 win. Since that April match, Villa have shown signs of further improvement, while Chelsea continue to swim in turmoil.

Suggested Bet: Villa to win

Liverpool v West Ham United

Just how good are West Ham United? Four wins from five games speaks volumes for their potential, especially when you consider their only defeat was last weekend’s 3-1 loss to champions Manchester City.

Consider also that one of their three victories was against the impressive Brighton, while Chelsea and Luton Town have also been beaten by David Moyes’ men.

But Moyes’ side is not set up to control possession and create numerous chances. Brighton had 25 shots to the Hammers’ 12 but were beaten 3-1 thanks to goals from James Ward-Prowse, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio. They also enjoyed just 22% of possession.

However, they’ve scored an average of two goals per game, which shows their capacity to take the chances that come their way.

They can’t expect to get too many opportunities against a Liverpool side that has conceded only four goals in their five games. An opening day draw against Chelsea now looks like an aberration as the Reds have racked up successive wins against Bournemouth, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Wolves.

And this has been achieved during a period of change under Jurgen Klopp. Out went Jordan Henderson and Fabinho and in came Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai in a transformed midfield.

So far, the signs are positive and third-placed Liverpool, who are three points above sixth-placed West Ham, are winning games and scoring goals. Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah have been the chief contributors with two goals each.

Both teams are involved in European action on Friday morning (Perth time), which could impact on squad selection for Sunday’s Premier League match. Liverpool are away to Austrian side LASK Linz, while West Ham are at home to Serbia’s Backa Topola.

Suggested Bet: Half Time/Full Time, Liverpool/Liverpool; Total Goals, Over 2.5; Both teams to score, Yes

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