Watch Premier League highlights this weekend on Sky Sports; highlights will be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel
Saturday 12 February 2022 17:38, UK
Team news, stats, predictions and how to follow the Premier League this Saturday, as Norwich host Manchester City - live on Sky Sports - and Leeds travel to Everton.
Team news: Brentford will assess Ivan Toney on Saturday morning ahead of the visit of Crystal Palace, after he took part in a light training session on Friday.
Both Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa should be available to start after both were out with Covid and had not trained consistently recently.
Christian Eriksen will not be fit to make his Premier League debut but manager Thomas Frank said the midfielder is expected to take part in a training match on Monday.
Crystal Palace will be without defender Nathan Ferguson for up to six weeks following a hamstring injury.
Midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate could feature having missed the draw at Norwich after helping Senegal win the Africa Cup of Nations last weekend.
Fit-again pair James Tomkins and James McArthur were unused substitutes at Carrow Road and will be pushing for recalls.
Jones Knows: The prediction
After their timid showing at Norwich, my belief that Crystal Palace are in relegation form away from home seems pretty justified. Their only away win this season remains the one at Manchester City.
That is barmy.
In 11 away matches they have amassed just a total expected goals figure of 9.4 this season, failing to score at Leeds, Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea. As mentioned in midweek, Patrick Vieira had similar problems setting his team up to attack on the road at Nice, where his team averaged just 0.9 goals per 90 minutes in his 37 matches managing the French side away from home. Perhaps his possession-based, controlled style is tough to implement when opposition teams play with more belief at home.
I think Brentford can shut them out here in what looks like a game Thomas Frank has been targeting judging by his team selection of resting Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo at Manchester City.
Brentford may have lost seven of their last eight Premier League games but performance levels remain consistently better than the results they are getting. Apart from against Manchester City, on all occasions this season when they have not won the match at home, Frank's side have won the expected-goals battle - even in the 3-3 draw with Liverpool and the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.
It is a process which is actually the sixth-best home record in the Premier League when it comes to expected goals. They can win a low-scoring game.
Opta stats...
How to follow: Follow Brentford vs Crystal Palace in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
Team news: Everton defender Yerry Mina has been ruled out for at least two months as manager Frank Lampard's injury problems grow ahead of the visit of Leeds.
The Colombia international (thigh) joins fellow centre-back Ben Godfrey (hamstring) on the sidelines with left-back Vitalii Mykolenko also missing the game.
Forward Demarai Gray has a hip problem which has ruled him out but striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin could return to the starting line-up.
Leeds head coach Marcelo Bielsa remains without four first-team players.
England midfielder Kalvin Phillips is expected back in early March having undergone hamstring surgery in December.
Defender Junior Firpo could be back in contention for the squad next week as he recovers from his own hamstring issue, Liam Cooper (also hamstring), remains sidelined, as does striker Patrick Bamford (foot).
Jones Knows: The prediction
The last thing Everton need right now is the Leeds tornado knocking down their door.
Frank Lampard's team have lost 11 of their last 14 Premier League games and are very much in a relegation scrap. Things may get worse here, too, with Leeds very backable at 19/10 with Sky Bet for the away win.
In fixtures like these where Leeds face off against a genuine relegation-threatened outfit, it is most certainly worth backing them as their man-to-man style usually sees their extra quality shine through. Since promotion, in 14 fixtures against teams in the bottom five of the Premier League, Leeds have won 10, scoring 27 times in the process.
This match also screams cards.
Referee Graham Scott may have a job on keeping this one under wraps in the cauldron of Goodison Park. In four rather tempestuous meetings in the Championship between Lampard's Derby and Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds, there was an average of 8.25 cards shown per match with the second leg of the play-off semi-final at Elland Road producing 15 cards!
When you throw in the likely big-game atmosphere and the fact Leeds games average the most cards per match in the Premier League this season (4.9) then backing cards is the way to go. The 50 or more booking points (10 for a yellow, 20 for a red) at 6/5 with Sky Bet looks a very fair price.
Opta stats...
How to follow: Follow Everton vs Leeds in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
Team news: Ismaila Sarr has a chance of being included in the Watford squad for the first time since November for the visit of Brighton on Saturday.
He was due to take part in training on Friday for the first time since helping Senegal win the Africa Cup of Nations last Sunday, but it remains to be seen if he will have recovered in time to start the match.
Roy Hodgson is set to remain without Nicolas Nkoulou, however, as he continues to work on his rehabilitation.
Brighton will have midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, who had tested positive while away on international duty with Argentina, and forward Leandro Trossard available again following Covid-19 issues.
Midfielder Enock Mwepu has suffered a minor setback on his recovery from a hamstring problem.
Teenager forward Jeremy Sarmiento (hamstring) also remains unavailable, having last featured at the start of December.
Jones Knows: The prediction
The sample size is a small one but I think it is safe to assume that Roy Hodgson has already stamped his authority all over Watford just two games into the job.
Just one goal conceded from two away matches with an average expected goals against figure of 0.85 compared to 1.71 before Hodgson walked through the door certainly bodes well for Watford's chances of becoming harder to beat this season. The eye test backs that theory up, too. Having covered their game at the London Stadium on Tuesday it was clear to see how the manager has installed a way of working without the ball and an enthusiasm for defending, especially within Samir and Hassane Kamara, who were both excellent. West Ham were fortunate to score.
Hodgson must now get to work on making them more of a threat going the other way. Watford have scored just one goal in their last five Premier League games. The return of Ismaila Sarr will help matters and I'm happy to back them to get a result against such a flaky side like Brighton, who will dominate the ball, create chances but may run into a Watford brick wall.
Graham Potter's men have only landed the odds for their backers twice in their last 17 matches, so the 11/10 on an away win is easily swerved. That makes the 4/5 with Sky Bet on a Watford win or draw the obvious play.
Opta stats...
How to follow: Follow Watford vs Brighton in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
Team news:
Norwich should have forward Josh Sargent available again for the visit of Premier League leaders Manchester City.
United States international Sargent missed the last two matches through illness but has now returned to training, while midfielder Lukas Rupp faces a late fitness test on a hamstring issue.
Defender Ozan Kabak (illness), midfielder Jacob Sorensen (knee) and goalkeeper Tim Krul (shoulder) remain sidelined. Centre-half Andrew Omobamidele has gone to see a specialist again about his continuing back problem.
Manchester City are again without forward Gabriel Jesus and youngster Cole Palmer.
Jesus is expected to return soon after suffering a knock while on international duty recently but it is unclear how long midfielder Palmer will be out with his foot problem.
City have no fresh injury concerns following their midweek win over Brentford and full-back Kyle Walker could return after being rested.
Jones Knows: The prediction
Until Manchester City start showing me otherwise, I want to back against the market expectation of goals in their fixtures.
The expectation for this fixture for total goals is set at 3.5 - that looks high to me as I'm still not fully convinced the City attack is purring to normal levels. There was more evidence of this in the win over Brentford, especially in the first half. It took a penalty to break down the Bees, who were relatively comfortable in defending City's attacks. First-half struggles in terms of creating chances has been a common theme for City in their last four games.
That Riyad Mahrez penalty vs Brentford is their only first-half goal across those fixtures against the Bees, Southampton, Chelsea and Arsenal with a non-penalty expected goal metric of just 0.35 per first half showcasing a lack of creation against a low block.
The defensive improvement shown by Norwich in their last four matches makes me think the chances of this game being goalless at the break is worth a stab at 100/30 with Sky Bet. The Canaries, who should not pose many problems in attack for City, have kept three first-half clean sheets in their last four games and have significantly tightened up under Dean Smith.
Opta stats...
How to follow: Watch Norwich vs Manchester City live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, or follow in our dedicated live match blog featuring in-game highlights. Full match highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel at the final whistle.
Anybody in the UK can watch highlights for free on the Sky Sports app or the Score Centre app on your iPhone or Android.
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Sky Sports' digital platforms are the home of live blogs for every Premier League game, including commentary, analysis and team line-ups. Users with a free Sky ID can watch in-game clips from Sky live games in our dedicated live blogs.
With Manchester City pulling away at the summit and Liverpool and Chelsea on course for a top-three finish, West Ham, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham and Wolves look set to battle it out for a top-four finish.
The battle for Premier League survival continued on Wednesday as Norwich drew 1-1 with Crystal Palace - but which team is best placed to avoid the drop?
Only five points separate the five sides at the bottom of the table - and basement boys Burnley have at least one game in hand on their rivals.
After a winter break of its own, The Essential Football Podcast returns as guest host Charlotte Marsh is joined by Sky Sports football features writer Adam Bate and digital football journalist Ron Walker to look back on the midweek action and ahead to another captivating round of Premier League games which could have ramifications at both ends of the table.
PART ONE | With more rumours circulating around Old Trafford and two points dropped at Burnley, what's the state of affairs looking like in Manchester United's top-four chase? What's been behind the upturn in form for Southampton, their opponents on Saturday? We discuss Spurs' disappointing evening against the Saints in midweek, ask whether Wolves will stop them bouncing back, and decide who's best-placed in the race for the Champions League spots...
PART TWO | How serious - and warranted - is the pressure on Brendan Rodgers at Leicester? How much can we read into West Ham, their next opponents, beating Watford on Tuesday night? What's changed the mood at Newcastle so quickly, and will Aston Villa - and perhaps Jacob Ramsey - bring it crashing back to earth this weekend?
PART THREE | Frank Lampard takes charge of his first home Premier League game in charge of Everton this weekend, but is the pressure already on as Leeds visit Goodison Park? Are Manchester City really not the best in the world, as Pep Guardiola has said, and where do Norwich even begin to hope of taking any points off them at Carrow Road live on Saturday Night Football?
