Watch Aston Villa vs Tottenham this weekend on Sky Sports; highlights will be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle
Friday 8 April 2022 23:23, UK
Team news, stats, predictions and how to follow the Premier League this Saturday as Aston Villa host Tottenham, live on Sky Sports.
Team News: Everton midfielder Allan and defender Michael Keane return from suspension and are likely to go straight back into the side for the visit of Manchester United.
Right-back Seamus Coleman is also likely to start, having been an unused substitute for the midweek defeat at Burnley because of illness.
Centre-back Yerry Mina, out since early February with a thigh injury, could return for Everton's next match at home to Leicester on April 20.
Cristiano Ronaldo is available again for Manchester United after illness but Ralf Rangnick will be short of options in key defensive positions with four players ruled out of the match.
England left-back Luke Shaw needs a minor operation to remove metal bolts from his leg and is expected to miss two to three weeks.
Raphael Varane, Scott McTominay and Edinson Cavani are also absent.
Jones Knows prediction...
The results of last week's betting angles and predictions were profitable but in typical style, the chosen angle that was used as the headline let us down. "Sancho to star in a Man Utd win" was all sorts of wrong with United - and Sancho in particular - turning in a performance that once again sent out alarm bells ringing for the problems behind the scenes at the club.
Up until last weekend, Sancho had been growing in confidence and showing signs of the player we all saw at Borussia Dortmund. I'm willing to forgive him for that bad day at the office and remain convinced he is overpriced in an array of markets involving his performance. The bet that stands out here is his first goalscorer price of 9/1 with Sky Bet.
Everton are a very flaky unit defensively and although you can't argue with Jonjoe Kenny's application and enthusiasm levels, question marks remain about his ability as a Premier League defender. He'll be tasked with keeping a lid on Sancho and that looks a battle the United winger can win.
SCORE PREDICTION: 1-2 | BETTING ANGLE: Jadon Sancho to score first (9/1 with Sky Bet - Bet Here!)
Opta stats...
How to follow: Follow Everton vs Man Utd 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: Arsenal are without both Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney for Saturday's Premier League visit of Brighton.
The pair will be out for some time after Partey injured his thigh in Monday's 3-0 loss at Crystal Palace, Tierney having missed the defeat after suffering a knee injury which required surgery.
Takehiro Tomiyasu (calf) is also expected to miss out with Mikel Arteta's slim squad being pushed to the limit.
Brighton defender Adam Webster, who has not featured since mid-February due to groin and calf injuries, could return to the visitors' squad at the Emirates Stadium but will not start.
Midfielders Adam Lallana (hamstring) and Moises Caicedo (illness) may also be involved in north London.
But Poland international Jakub Moder is definitely out after rupturing his ACL during last weekend's goalless draw against Norwich.
Jones Knows prediction...
Monday evening's poor outing at Crystal Palace for Arsenal - one I watched first-hand at Selhurst Park - wasn't a performance I had seen coming. But a closer inspection of their attacking numbers of late does paint a picture that perhaps Arsenal have been overperforming since the turn of the year.
Their troubles are highlighted by the fact they have failed to score a single goal from non-set piece scenarios in their last four matches, dating back to March 6. What is in their favour here is that one goal probably will be enough to beat Brighton, who have failed to score in six of their last seven Premier League matches. However, Arsenal at odds-on against such a well-coached side like the Seagulls just isn't something I want to invest in. I'll play the draw.
One player that has quietly slipped under the radar this season for Brighton is Alexis Mac Allister. Much of Brighton's dynamic play through the centre come via Mac Allister's crisp and creative passing. His performances have reached another level over the past two months to such an extent he started his first match for Argentina in their World Cup qualifier with Venezuela.
That experience should only further enhance his authority in midfield for Brighton and he looks overpriced to find the scoresheet at The Emirates. Since scoring a double at Everton in January, he has gone 847 minutes without a goal, but he has been peppering the opposition goal with quality strikes. No player in the Premier League without a goal in that period has managed more shots on goal than Mac Allister (25) with seven of those coming in the 0-0 draw with Norwich. On another day he could have had a couple of goals to his name as two of those efforts were just a whisker away. He has the quality to punish Arsenal if they afford him space to shoot.
Opta stats...
How to follow: Follow Arsenal 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: Southampton will be without on-loan forward Armando Broja against Chelsea as he cannot face his parent club.
Shane Long is being monitored after he picked up an ankle problem during last weekend's draw at Leeds.
Defender Lyanco has returned to training following two months out with a hamstring injury, while goalkeeper Alex McCarthy (hamstring) is also stepping up his own recovery.
Romelu Lukaku must shake off an Achilles issue to prove his fitness for Chelsea.
The Belgium hitman has battled a painful Achilles tendon in training.
Hakim Ziyech will be a doubt due to a knock, with Callum Hudson-Odoi missing through lower back trouble and Ben Chilwell a long-term absentee after knee surgery.
Jones Knows prediction...
If you have been backing the over goal-line in Southampton games this season you will be swimming in profit.
There have been two goals or more in their last 23 games across all competitions, producing an overall average of 3.4 goals per game. That is a fair sample size and one we should take huge confidence from when assessing the goal-line in this fixture. Ralph Hasenhuttl isn't going to change his style for a visit of a top-four side, he'll encourage his team to press aggressively as they always do which should make for a goal heavy game.
There have been 73 goals in Southampton's 21 games against the traditional 'big six' since the start of the 20/21 season - keeping in line with that 3.4 overall average.
With all that in mind, the chances of this game producing four or more goals must have a better chance of landing than the 12/5 with Sky Bet implies. It's certainly up there with the best bet of the weekend material.
Opta stats...
Team News: Watford manager Roy Hodgson has no fresh selection concerns ahead of the Premier League match against Leeds.
Teenage winger Kwadwo Baah has recovered from an ankle problem and is back in full training with the rest of the first-team squad.
Tom Cleverley, Joshua King and forward Emmanuel Dennis all came off the bench during the second half of the defeat at Liverpool as they press for a return to the side.
Leeds boss Jesse Marsch could choose from an unchanged squad for his sixth game in charge. Striker Joe Gelhardt is expected to recover from a dead leg sustained in action for the under-23s this week.
Kalvin Phillips is hoping to make his first start since December. He stepped off the bench in last week's draw against Southampton after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Leo Hjelde is available after recovering from knee surgery, but Patrick Bamford (foot), Tyler Roberts (hamstring), Junior Firpo (knee) and Jamie Shackleton are still out.
Jones Knows prediction...
With their survival hopes dwindling by the week, many of Watford's players will be motivated about keeping their own performances high in order to catch the eye of potential top-level clubs. One of those players who looks a Premier League player all over is Hassane Kamara. The Ivory Coast full-back is an aggressive defender that relishes the one-on-one battle with a winger. He'll be tested up against Raphinha in this one and I like his price of picking up a card.
Since joining from Nice in January, only John McGinn has won more tackles in the Premier League than Kamara (26) and only Matty Cash and Romain Perraud have committed more fouls than Kamara when analysing just defenders in that period (15). The Leeds winger is a magnet for opposition cards, drawing 15 bookings since the start of last season. Kamara may be about to join that list.
Opta stats...
How to follow: Follow Watford 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: Marvelous Nakamba is back for Aston Villa after being out since December.
He had knee surgery but is available for boss Steven Gerrard ahead of the visit of Tottenham.
Emi Buendia and Tyrone Mings are expected to shake off knocks while Lucas Digne (stomach) is fit.
Tottenham will have Sergio Reguilon back available.
The Spaniard missed last weekend's win over Newcastle with a training ground knock, but has returned to training and is part of Antonio Conte's plans.
Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) is also back in training but the game will come too soon, while Japhet Tanganga (knee) and Oliver Skipp (groin) remain out.
Jones Knows prediction...
I remain fully convinced that Tottenham are going places under Antonio Conte.
Some tweaks over the summer in key areas such as goalkeeper, wing-back and perhaps another central midfielder could take Spurs closer to Manchester City and Liverpool than what is foreseen by the markets. Conte has shown he knows how to operate in terms of recruiting players with the right kind of character - just look at the impact of Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski.
The balance across the Tottenham backline with Christian Romero, Eric Dier and Ben Davies also has an impressive look to it. Spurs have won five of the last six when all those three have been fit and available - that base has helped them score 22 goals in those fixtures and concede just five. Romero especially looks a player capable of becoming one of the best in the division under the watch of Conte. I think he can help Spurs to another victory in this one, with a clean sheet to boot.
Opta stats...
How to follow: Aston Villa vs Tottenham is live on Sky Sports Premier League from 5pm; kick-off 5.30pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after 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:
To watch the highlights on the Sky Sports App, download the app:
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.
In a special edition of the Essential Football Podcast, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher joins Ron Walker to discuss this weekend's crunch title-race clash as leaders Manchester City host second-placed Liverpool live on Sky Sports Premier League this Sunday.
Carra explains why the game may still not act as the title decider even with so little of the season left, why City and Liverpool have the edge in different parts of the pitch, why a draw might be a good result for both managers - and predicts how the Etihad showdown is going to go.