4 Tips for Midweek’s Premier League Action - 14/12/21

Manchester City host Leeds United at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday looking to maintain their place at the top of the Premier League table.

When this fixture took place last season, Leeds won the match in dramatic fashion via a 2-1 scoreline against all odds with 10 men, as Stuart Dallas’ 91st-minute goal completed a brace for the Northern Irishman, having seen Liam Cooper sent off in first-half stoppage time.

City will be coming into this match with full confidence that they can earn all three points, as they have emerged victorious in all of their last six league matches, defeating United 2-0, Everton 3-0, West Ham 2-1, Watford 3-1 and Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0.

On the other hand, Leeds showed their capability last time out in their narrow 3-2 loss at Chelsea, as well as in a 2-2 draw with Brentford and their recent 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace.

Arsenal and West Ham United go head to head on Wednesday at the Emirates Stadium in a battle of sixth versus fourth, with the Gunners having an opportunity to leapfrog their opponents, as they are just two points behind in the standings.

The Gunners managed to get their second victory in four matches at the weekend, as they beat Southampton 3-0 via goals from Alexandre Lacazette, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel, having lost back to back games against Everton and Manchester United by 2-1 and 3-2 scorelines, meaning that their other victory was a 2-0 home win over Newcastle United.

Meanwhile, the Hammers have won just one of their last five fixtures across all competitions, having defeated Chelsea 3-2 in early December at the London Stadium via Arthur Masuaku’s later winner. West Ham had drawn 1-1 with Brighton and narrowly lost 2-1 at Manchester City prior to their win over Thomas Tuchel’s side, and have since been beaten -0 by Dinamo Zagreb and drawn 0-0 with Burnley at Turf Moor.

Burnley host Watford at Turf Moor in a vital match towards the bottom of the Premier League, as the Clarets are 18th, whilst the Hornets currently sit in 17th, just two points ahead of their opponents.

Sean Dyche’s side have drawn four of their last five league matches, and it somewhat only feels like a matter of time before they end their run of just one league win in their last 15 games. Burnley have drawn 1-1 with Chelsea, as well as 3-3 with Crystal Palace and 0-0 against both Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham, they were also narrowly beaten 1- away at Newcastle United.

On the other hand, Watford have lost all of their last four league matches following their 4-1 hammering of Manchester United which resulted in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking, as the Hornets were beaten 4-2 by Leicester City, as well as 2-1 by both Chelsea and Brentford on either side of a 3-1 home defeat to Manchester City.

The final tip on this list comes from Selhurst Park where Crystal Palace and Southampton go head to head in a battle of 12th versus 16th.

Palace come into this match off the back of a 3-1 home win against Everton where on-loan Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher scored a brace to settle the outcome and the 21-year-old is the player that we are focussing on in this tip.

Gallagher has arguably been Palace’s best player this season, as the Epsom-born midfielder has six goals and three assists in 16 matches, the most goal contributions of any Eagles player this season, seeing him be a vital cog in Patrick Vieria’s system, hence why he is priced at 21/10 to score anytime.

Southampton could be an ideal opponent for the likes of Gallagher and Palace to play against, as the Saints haven’t won any of their last five Premier League matches, following 2-1 and 4-0 defeats to Norwich City and Liverpool, before drawing 2-2 and 1-1 against Leicester City and Brighton and hammered 3-0 by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on the weekend.