Top four to soar!

Everton should expose United again

The Toffees’ sweet start to the season surprised us and charmed us. Carlo Ancelotti’s side was playing good football and looked determined. The underdog tag suited them but their last two results reminded us of the Everton of yesteryear.

Saturday’s Manchester United visit is the ultimate checkpoint for Everton. A win against Manchester United always glows and they have to hit them while they are weak. 

And Manchester United are weak. There’s no visible pattern, no style of play and no DNA at the club. After 101 matches in charge, Solskjaer is yet to find a system that works. He abandoned his diamond in half time against Arsenal, and they looked like an Under 10’s side against Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League. 

Carlo Ancelotti needn’t overthink this one. Avoid any counter attacks from United, and make their defence work hard. It’s their weak point, so keep it simple Everton, and an important victory can be yours!

Get Everton to win at 19/10 or 2.9

Foxes v Wolves

Brendan Rodgers deserves so much more praise than he’s currently getting. His Foxes are flying! Two defeats leave them second in the table and they are so versatile in style it’s hard for opponents to second-guess them. Add an evergreen Jamie Vardy to that and you get goals from anywhere. He’s hit seven goals in six games and his consistency is brilliant.

Wolves are equally unpredictable. Their style is to sit back in the first half, often sussing the opposition out, to then pounce in the second half. This can be Leicester’s advantage as if they can score two in the first half, Wolves may not find the answer in the second half. Wolves start games in a concentrated and slow manner, unlike Leicester who can shock them with early bursts of energy. 

We’re going for a Leicester win here, 2-0, priced at 9/1 or 10.00

It’s time to talk up Spurs

Jose Mourinho of 2020 is reminding us of the Mourinho we grew to admire from his early Chelsea days. He’s created a siege mentality at Spurs which is helping the club mature. In his successful first stint as Chelsea manager, Mourinho worked with a tightly-knit clique of players much like a teacher does with their favourite students. Didier Drogba, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Petr Cech were his pets, and at Spurs you can see a similar pattern. Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min, Gareth Bale and Sergio Regullion are amongst his trusted generals on the pitch and this style is uniting their team.

Yes, this can also isolate the ones who are out of favour, like Delle Ali, but it is a good way of cutting the fat and creating a wolf-pack mentality at a club. He tried to use this technique at Manchester United, with the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba but that squad was so small and mentally weak the system couldn’t gain traction. 

At Spurs, a club so often teased as Spursy, this technique can work as it is, after all, a title the club thrives and nothing more. A new stadium, a good set of players and a manager who can turn them into a machine… perhaps it is time to start talking about Tottenham Hotspurs as title contenders.

They play away to West Brom on Saturday and you can back Spurs to win the league at 13/2 or 7.5

Unity at the back for Liverpool

The injury to Virgil van Dijk should have rocked Liverpool. Fabinho’s absence should have made them panic. Should have, but didn’t. Klopp’s management style is so fine-tuned, Liverpool look equally good at the back. They battered Atalanta 0-5 in the Champions League and have now unearthed a gem in Rhys Williams. The 19-year-old was meant to spend this season out on loan building experience, but what’s better than gaining actual matchday experience with your own club? 

Get this: Liverpool are yet to concede a goal in Europe this season, with Williams playing in all three games. Joel Gomez is also doing well, and this is the mark of a truly great team. When big injuries don’t derail you, you’ve got yourself something special.

They make the short trip to the Etihad on Sunday in what can potentially be the game of the season. City have already conceded eight in six, and with Diogo Jota adding even more energy to an already-lively forward line, goals are a guarantee.

A clean sheet would give Liverpool that fear factor again while a win would make them early title favourites!

Liverpool are priced at 13/2 or 7.5 to win to nil

Fancy a top four combo, get Liverpool, Spurs, Everton and Leicester to win at 35/1 or 36.00