The English Premier League title race has swung once again, with Arsenal claiming top spot after Liverpool’s draw against Manchester United. The top three are now separated by only one point, as one of the greatest title races in the history of the EPL continues on Saturday night. We bring you our best bets for some of the key Matchday 33 fixtures below!
EPL 2023-24: Matchday 33 Preview & Betting Tips
Newcastle vs Tottenham
St James’ Park, Saturday 13th April, 9:30pm AEST
Matchday 33 kicks off in England’s north, as Tottenham travel to St James’ Park to take on Newcastle. Ange Postecoglou’s side were one of the big beneficiaries of last week’s jam-packed week of football, moving into fourth place whilst still holding a game in hand on fifth placed Aston Villa. Newcastle responded from a disappointing midweek draw against Everton, with a 1-0 win over Fulham on the weekend. However, It was a far from convincing performance from Newcastle, who were lucky to come away with three points.
Tottenham took four out of a possible six points last week with a draw against West Ham and a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest on Monday morning. In both games Spurs won the possession battle convincingly recording 64% and 68% possession in each game respectively. Tottenham are ranked third in the league for possession this season, recording an average of 61.8% possession. The control Tottenham gets from their dominance in possession has allowed them to be a top five ranked side at both ends of the pitch, ranking fifth for both goals scored (65) and fewest goals conceded (45).
Tottenham are peaking towards the end of the season with four wins, one draw and one loss from their last six Premier League fixtures. Newcastle are unbeaten from their last three games, however their last two games were against sides ranked thirteenth or lower, so it’s difficult to take much stock out of their current form. Spurs dismantled Newcastle when they met back in December, recording 23 shots to 9 alongside 57% possession en route to a 4-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Tottenham will be too strong for a Newcastle side that is playing mediocre football at the moment.
Tottenham to Win
$2.30 (2 Units)
Liverpool vs Crystal Palace
Anfield, Sunday 14th April, 11:00pm AEST
Liverpool surrendered top spot in the Premier League in their 2-2 draw against Manchester United, with the Reds falling to second place, sitting nine goals behind Arsenal on goal difference. Jurgen Klopp’s side will be looking to bounce back when they host fourteenth placed Crystal Palace on Sunday night. Palace lost both of their league fixtures last week, 1-0 to Bournemouth and 4-2 to Manchester City, which leaves them winless from their last five games.
Since February Crystal Palace have 1-3-5 in the league, conceding eighteen goals across those nine games and recording only one clean shots. Scoring goals has been no such problem for Liverpool who in that same time period have scored 21 goals in that same nine game period, where they have a 6-2-1 record. The Reds are the second highest scoring team in the Premier League with 72 goals this season, and have only been held goalless once this season.
Crystal Palace haven’t beaten Liverpool in a Premier League fixture since 2017, with two draws and eleven losses since their last win over the Reds. The aggregate score across those thirteen games is 33-8, in what has been one of the most lopsided matchups in the Premier League across the last decade. The attacking discrepancy is a major issue for Crystal Palace, who don’t have the capacity to keep the quality that Liverpool has quiet for 90 minutes.
Liverpool -1
$1.62 (1.5 Units)
Arsenal vs Aston Villa
Emirates Stadium, Monday 15th of April, 1:30am AEST
The biggest match of the weekend takes place on Monday morning as league leaders Arsenal host fifth placed Aston Villa. There’s plenty on the line for both sides with Arsenal needing to win to keep a hold of top spot on the table, while Villa can’t afford to drop points as they look to jump back into the top four. Arsenal were the big winners of Matchday 32, moving to the top of the table after Liverpool failed to take all three points against Manchester United.
Aston Villa were one of the biggest losers of last week’s action, losing their Matchday 31 fixture to Man City 3-1 and playing a 3-3 draw against fifteenth placed Brentford. The results saw Villa fall to fifth place equal on points with Tottenham, however Spurs also have a game in hand on Unai Emery’s side. Arsenal took care of business with comfortable wins over Luton and Arsenal, as they continued on their undefeated start to 2024, with ten wins and one draw. The Gunners possess the league’s best defence, alongside being the league’s highest scoring team, which has been crucial to improving the Gunners goal difference, which is the reason they are on top of the table.
Despite Aston Villa winning when these sides met in December, Arsenal has been a team that Villa have struggled badly against in recent seasons. Before their meeting earlier this season, Arsenal had won four straight league matches against Villa. Arsenal scored ten goals across those four games, scoring multiple goals in three of the four games. Aston Villa are hitting a form slump at the wrong time of the season, having only won one of their last five Premier League games and have also conceded seven goals across their last two games. A red hot Arsenal side is going to expose an underperforming Aston Villa defence, and keep their spot at the top of the table.
Arsenal -1
$1.90 (1 Unit)
