Shay Says - Episode 13
Welcome to Shay Says, the latest football betting blog from LeoVegas’ Irish ambassador, Shay Given.
This week, the Republic of Ireland and Premier League legend previews three more games from the Premier League this week, including Arsenal’s huge trip to Anfield.
Let’s see what Shay Says!
Manchester United v Everton
That victory over Brentford bagged an important three points for Manchester United.
Their top four bid was beginning to look a bit shaky – I was at the Newcastle game last weekend and Manchester United really struggled, the scoreline could have been a lot more.
They lack a No. 9 upfront; Wout Weghorst was poor against Newcastle, whilst Casemiro has been a big miss during his suspension.
Erik ten Hag will certainly be looking to strengthen the squad in the summer to make them better for next season.
Everton aren’t safe yet, but if you look at their results and upturn in form since Sean Dyche came in, he’s been the perfect appointment so far.
They’re a really hard team to beat now. They may not score a lot of goals, but they don’t concede many either.
With Dyche in charge and the standards he sets the team, I think it should be enough to keep Everton in the division, then hopefully they can rebuild in the summer.
Having said that, I think Manchester United will back up their victory in midweek with another win here. I fancy a 2-0 result for them at Old Trafford, with Marcus Rashford scoring anytime.
SHAY SAYS: MANCHESTER UNITED 2-0 EVERTON
Southampton v Manchester City
It’s going to be difficult for Southampton to stay up. They’ve had a tough season and have chopped and changed their manager a lot, so the players have received a lot of different messages from different coaches.
I think they’re going to go down – confidence is low and they’re conceding a lot of goals, it’s just a recipe for relegation. Hopefully they can rebuild in the Championship and come back up a better and stronger club.
Manchester City were absolutely brilliant against Liverpool, and I don’t see any issues with them getting a win here. Julian Alvarez had such a good game that it would be difficult to drop him, even if Erling Haaland is fit.
City know what they need to do to keep putting the pressure on Arsenal – these individuals have been there before; they’re champions for a reason.
If they click like they did against Liverpool, they could win this game by four or five goals.
I’m going to go with 4-0 to Manchester City, with Riyad Mahrez scoring anytime. It looks like the team got their swagger back, and I think it’s going to be a convincing victory.
SHAY SAYS: SOUTHAMPTON 0-4 MANCHESTER CITY
Liverpool v Arsenal
It’s been frustrating for Liverpool lately. They were really good in the first half against Manchester City, but when De Bruyne scored at the start of the second half, they just capitulated.
It’s been the story of their season. They beat Manchester United 7-0 at Anfield a few weeks ago, then the next game they went to Bournemouth and lost 1-0. Jurgen Klopp will be scratching his head wondering why the performance levels always drop.
I still wouldn’t rule them out of making a late charge for the top four, because they definitely have the quality, it’s just those consistency levels which makes it hard to see it happening.
Arsenal will be looking at this fixture and thinking that this is one of their biggest challenges between now and the end of the season.
I’m hoping Liverpool can channel their performance against Manchester United and get a result! Even a draw here would be a good result for Manchester City.
I’m going to go for a 2-2 draw, with Mohamed Salah scoring anytime for the hosts.
SHAY SAYS: LIVERPOOL 2-2 ARSENAL
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