Two of England’s most historic rivalries take center stage this weekend
The Manchester and North London derbies each carry a ton of significant within the EPL table as well.
Arsenal leads the league with 44 points, five ahead of Manchester City. Manchester United is just four points back of Manchester City for second place. Tottenham is fifth with a two-point gap between itself and United.
The two rivalry clashes could be defining fixtures in the title and top four races, which makes them even more high stakes games than they already were.
Those two matches are the most important ones in Europe this weekend. But there are plenty of others to pick from the EPL, Serie A and La Liga to bet on.
English Premier League
Manchester United (+310) vs. Manchester City (Saturday, 7:30 a.m. ET)
Under 2.5 Goals (+120)
Yeah so what if this is a biased pick.
Manchester United is in some of the best form across Europe since the World Cup break ended.
Erik ten Hag’s side conceded one goal in six matches across all competitions since December 21.
Manchester City hit a bit of a snag in its form with a draw against Everton and a EFL Cup loss to Southampton on Wednesday.
United has a challenging task in handling Erling Haaland, but it is possible for that to happen. United’s last three EPL opponents had under one expected goal.
United will win the game defensively through a 1-0 or 2-0 score line. A high-scoring game suits City.
Brighton vs. Liverpool (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET)
Brighton to score first (+115)
Liverpool allowed the first goal in four of its last five matches.
This has been a trend that plagued Jurgen Klopp’s side all season and I’m willing to run it back with a Brighton side that has multiple goals in its last four matches across all competitions.
Wolves (+170) vs. West Ham (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET)
It’s a big weekend at the bottom of the EPL table as well.
The four bottom teams play each other. Wolves can get out of the relegation zone with a home win over West Ham.
Wolves are trending in the right direction with three draws, two wins and a 1-0 loss to Manchester United since the World Cup break.
West Ham has an unimpressive 1-0 win over Brentford and a 2-2 draw with Leeds United to show for in that span.
Wolves have been more consistent in that stretch and I think that’s what gives them the edge at Molineux on Saturday.
Brentford (-155) vs. Bournemouth (Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET)
Bournemouth could be in the bottom three by the end of Saturday.
The Cherries are one of three EPL teams currently on a three-game losing streak. They were also knocked out of the EFL and FA Cups in the last few weeks.
Bournemouth has been outscored 11–2 in those games.
Brentford should terrorize the Bournemouth back line in a weekend where the West Ham-Wolves winner and Everton could jump it in the table.
Tottenham vs. Arsenal (Sunday, 11:30 a.m. ET)
Harry Kane to score (+140)
Harry Kane has the most goals in North London derby history with 14.
The Tottenham forward scored against Arsenal twice last May and once in October.
Serie A
Cremonese vs. Monza (+145) (Saturday, 9 a.m. ET)
Cremonese has not scored in its last four Serie A games.
Monza played well out of the break with draws against Fiorentina and Inter
Monza has been held to a clean sheet just twice in its last nine league games.
The scoring form speaks for itself on this pick.