Liverpool will be looking to tighten their grip on top spot in the Premier League when they welcome an in-form Chelsea team to Anfield on Wednesday evening. Aston Villa, Arsenal and Man City will be hoping to keep their title challenge going, and BetKing, Nigeria’s best online sports betting site, will assess these games and provide professional betting tips for you to win big. **Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal** Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal return to Premier League action against Nottingham Forest at City Ground on Tuesday evening. This was the same venue where last season’s title aspirations officially ended, after Taiwo Awoniyi secured a 1-0 win to condemn the Gunners to another year without a PL title, and secure Forest’s top-flight status. The home side are not in such buoyant mood at the moment, winning just 3 of their last 12 games across all competitions, including 4 defeats at home. Arsenal, on the other hand, seem to be turning a corner, and were emphatic last time out with a 5-0 win over Crystal Palace. In that thumping, the Gunners equalled their goal tally from a challenging seven-game stretch between December 9 and January 7, where only one game ended in victory. Arteta’s men are now third, ahead of Aston Villa on goal difference. Surprisingly, both teams have actually split their last 6 meetings, with 3 wins each, and the Gunners dug deep to claim a 2-1 win back in September. **Verdict:** All six of Nottingham Forest's Africa Cup of Nations representatives will be involved in the knockout stages of AFCON 2023, meaning Ola Aina, Cheikhou Kouyate, Willy Boly, Serge Aurier, Ibrahim Sangare and Moussa Niakhate will all be missing for this clash. A depleted Forest team could be mince meat for an Arsenal side getting their attacking groove back. Gabriel Martinelli was in impeccable form, bagging a brace in the 5-0 win over Palace and our bet of the day is for him to find the net again. Enjoy BetKing’s best odds by backing Arsenal to win and over 2.5 goals.
**Aston Villa vs Newcastle** At Villa Park, two teams with ambitions of challenging the Premier League's elite meet in a crucial showdown. Unai Emery has steered the hosts through an excellent season, firmly placing them in the top-four race, but some fans crave more success, with a PL title no longer an unrealistic expectation. Villa have lost just once in their last 15 outings (W9, D 5, L1), and boast an outstanding home record, winning 10 of their last 11 games at Villa Park. They’ve only being behind for just 43 minutes in front of home support this season. The upcoming match holds extra significance as the reverse fixture last August ended 5-1 to Newcastle, and as they sit 4th, 5 points off leaders Liverpool, they will be keen to keep the momentum going. Newcastle come into this encounter in terrible form, having lost their last four Premier League matches, conceding at least three goals in each of the last three - while plummeting down to 10th place in the table. Since beating Manchester United at the start of December, with their seventh win in 10 league games, no team has taken fewer points than Eddie Howe's men (3). They found some respite in the FA Cup over the weekend, beating Fulham 2-0 thanks to goals from local lads Sean Longstaff and Dan Burn. The Magpies’ treatment room has been at full capacity for most of the season, so the PL mid-season break came at a great time for an under-pressure Eddie Howe, who must surely be on thin ice now. **Verdict:** Villa are unbeaten in their last six home games against Newcastle United, and have won the last four in a row without conceding. Newcastle on the other hand have failed to win in 7 away league games, and that run is unlikely to end here. There have been at least 3 goals in 7 of the last 9 games at Villa Park, which makes the ‘over 2.5 goals’ market excellent value. Ollie Watkins (9G, 8A) has not scored in his last 4 games, and a chance to get back among the goals in front of home support is an excellent bet to place. There have been at least 8 corners in 5 of Aston Villa’s last 6 games, which makes the corner market worth some good value. Take advantage of our professional betting tips by backing Aston Villa to win and over 2.5 goals, as well as Watkins to score any time.
**Manchester City vs Burnley** Coming off a hard-fought 1-0 win against Spurs in the FA Cup 4th round on Friday, Manchester City must now turn their attention to the Premier League title race as they aim to usurp, leaders, Liverpool to win an unprecedented fourth successive title. They are currently 5 points behind the Reds but have a game in hand, as well as all the momentum, evidenced by their current run of 3 straight wins by a combined scoreline of 11-0. Relegation battling Burnley are the visitors, a team Pep Guardiola has never lost against in his time at City (W16, D1). In fact, the last 8 meetings between these two sides has seen the Champions keep a clean sheet, and the history books suggest this game will end the same way. For extra motivation, Pep’s men haven’t lost at the Etihad in over a year of competitive football. It may not have the mystique of Liverpool’s Anfield in terms of the difficulty attached to getting a result there, but the Etihad is truly one of the hardest places to go. Burnley have had almost three weeks to reflect on their last game, in which they surrendered a 1-0 lead against relegation rivals Luton in stoppage time (D 1-1). Manager Vincent Kopmany now faces the unenviable task of stopping arguably the best team in Europe, something he failed to do in the last two meetings, losing by a combined score of 9-0. Avoiding another humiliating defeat seems to be the most realistic path to leaving the Etihad Stadium with some semblance of pride intact. City’s goal-machine Erling Haaland is in line to make his long-awaited return from injury against a side he has scored five goals against in the last two meetings. Enjoy BetKing’s high odds by backing him to continue that streak if he plays.
**Tottenham vs Brentford** Ange Postecoglou’s men continue their chase for a top 4 finish with a tricky home fixture against Brentford. Spurs, currently 5th, 3 points off Aston Villa, who currently occupy the final Champions League spot, come into this game on the back of a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup, a competition Ange must have been desperate to win. However, they are still on course in the league, and their run of 3 straight home wins bodes well for this fixture. The hosts have shown they can cope without Heung-Min Son and Yves Bissouma, who have been away on international duty with Korea and Mali respectively. James Maddison’s timely return from a long lay-off has added extra impetus to the team’s attacking play and new signing Timo Werner is showing pleasing signs, albeit with no goals in his three appearances yet. Brentford are on a wretched run of 1 win in 8 games, but the return of Ivan Toney has lifted spirits and renewed hope. The 27-year-old, who served an 8-month ban for gambling, made a goal-scoring return as the Bees secured a 3-2 win against Nottingham Forest for only their second win in 11 league games. Brentford are 14th with 22 points from 20 games, but with just 6 points separating them from 18th place Luton, they must put together a run of results to avoid being dragged into a relegation battle. **Verdict:** Brentford are winless in their last 5 league games, and while Toney’s return gives them extra bite, our bet of the day is for Tottenham to continue their impressive home form with a win. 8 of Spurs’ last 10 league games have seen both teams score and with Toney back, we expect that trend to continue.
**Liverpool vs Chelsea** The lead-up to Liverpool's 5-2 victory over Norwich City in the FA Cup was dominated by the surprising announcement from Jurgen Klopp that he will be departing the club in June. Klopp's decision left the footballing world in shock and stirred up emotions throughout Friday. The Reds, who sit top of the table on 48 points, will now undoubtedly be even harder to beat, with every game taking the feel of a farewell party for a manager who won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, Premier League, League Cup and FA Cup with Liverpool over an 8-year spell. Teams were never getting any change out of Liverpool at Anfield before this announcement, and it is about to get even tougher. The Reds are yet to taste defeat at home since a 2-1 defeat to Leeds in October 2022, and have won 15 of their last 17 games in front of home support. Even without Mohamed Salah, who has been absent since the turn of the year, first due to AFCON obligations with Egypt, and now because of injury, Klopp’s men have won 5 of their 6 games, scoring 18 goals and conceding 5. Despite their goalscoring prowess, the Reds seem to forget their scoring boots when Chelsea come calling. The last 5 games between these two sides have seen just 4 goals scored, with two of the games ending goalless. In fact, Liverpool have failed to beat the Blues over 90 minutes in the last 8 attempts, with their two wins coming via penalty shootouts. Chelsea, on their part, have enjoyed a resurgence, winning 5 of their last 7 games, including handing out a 6-1 spanking to Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup to book a place in the final against Liverpool. Cole Palmer was as devastating as always, scoring twice to take his tally for the season to 11 goals and 6 assists in 22 games. **Verdict:** So, are we expecting another bore-fest, or will we finally see the floodgates open? Both teams have enough in the attacking armory to create chances at will, but history suggests this will be a close one. Liverpool just won’t lose at home, and our bet of the day is a narrow win for the Reds, with Diogo Jota who has 3 goals in his last 3 appearances finding the net for the hosts.
**Wolves vs Manchester United** The final game of the mid-week PL action sees Wolves host the inconsistent Red Devils at the Molineux on Thursday night. The hosts are in fine form, winning 5 of their last home 6 games and only losing twice at the Molineux in 18 games. After a shaky start to the season, Wolves have relied on their home form to climb up to 11th on the table, with players like Mario Lemina, Matheus Cunha and Hee-Chan Hwang shouldering the goalscoring burden. Their opponents for this one are a Manchester United side that could be anything on any given day of the week. When these two teams met in August, Erik ten Hag’s men were lucky to escape with a 1-0 win, and Wolves should have had a penalty when Andre Onana clattered into Sasa Kalajdzic and failed to make contact with the ball. Nevertheless, United come into this game on the back of a 4-2 FA Cup win over League One side Newport. Antony scored the decisive goal, his first for ten months and Rasmus Hojlund continued his recent good form with his 3rd goal in the last 4 games. United have won just 1 in their last 6 league games, and are stuck in 8th place, 11 points off the top four. Drama is never far away from Old Trafford, and Marcus Rashford may be unavailable for this encounter after being spotted in a nightclub on Thursday night, and then calling in sick on Friday. Rashford may not even be missed, as his tally of 4 goals in 25 games does not scream ‘key player’. **Verdict:** The Red Devils have scored 24 goals in 21 league games, the joint third-lowest in the division. Despite having the superior H2H record against Wolves (4 wins in the last 5), Ten Hag’s men are coming up against a team with an impressive home record, and it is hard to see them scoring enough to snatch a vital win. Take advantage of the best betting tips in Nigeria, by backing Wolves to avoid defeat in a low scoring affair. United should have enough to score at least one goal, and our bet prediction is for Hojlund to continue his scoring form.
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