Our new football columnist previews Saturday’s Premier League games and expects routine wins for both Chelsea and Man City.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea
With only two defeats all season Chelsea remain the front runners for the Premier League title and are without a doubt the team to beat. Aston Villa, on the other hand, have not won any of their last eight games and were comfortably beaten 3-0 in the reverse of this fixture in September. To add to this, Villa have not even scored this year; their last goal coming in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United before Christmas, a run of six games without a goal. It’s hard to imagine that Thibaut Courtois and co. won’t keep a clean sheet and at the other end, one would expect Chelsea to bang in a few goals. Selection: Chelsea to win to nil @ 20/21
Manchester City vs Hull City
Believe it or not, both these sides go to the Etihad on Saturday without a win in their last three games. Draws against Everton and Chelsea, either side of a defeat to Arsenal, have Manchester City searching for only their second win of the calendar year, whilst Hull have won just two of their last sixteen. Following two consecutive 3-0 losses, one at home to Newcastle and the other away at West Ham, Steve Bruce’s side sit in the relegation zone and his future at the club is largely in question. However, do not expect them to turn all this around at the weekend, as City will be in a ruthless mood as they look to re-establish some form of their own. It looks like Hull will be on the end of another defeat, one which could read 3-0 again – or even more. Selection: Man City -2 Asian Handicap @ Evens
Swansea City vs Sunderland
This promises to be one of the more competitive games this weekend in the Premier League. Neither side are in great form, but both recorded all three points last time out to end their respective winless runs – Swansea four games and Sunderland five. The Swans beat Southampton 1-0, a result which somewhat made up for some recently poor ones; a 1-1 draw with QPR and a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea, whilst Sunderland won a crucial relegation six-pointer against Burnley having narrowly missed out on points against Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City coming into the game. The Black Cats are a tough side to beat away from home, only once in 11 away games have they lost by two or more goals. New signing Jermain Defoe will provide them with a bigger goal threat on the road. Swansea have scored in 10 of their 12 home games this season and, with both winning last week, there’s a good chance that both teams will find the net at the Liberty on Saturday. Selection: Both teams to score @ 11/10
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