ALEX CROOK PREVIEW: Premier League Gameweek 14

talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent ALEX CROOK previews a cracking weekend of Premier League football…

🔴 ARSENAL v WOLVES 🟠
Premier League
Saturday, 15.00

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Arsenal climbed to the top of the Premier League table with last weekend’s last-gasp win at Brentford and have the chance to extend their lead over Manchester City for 24 hours at least by beating Wolves at the Emirates on Saturday.

You would have to have a heart of stone not to feel sympathy for Gary O’Neil’s side after they conceded not one, but two very debatable penalties in Monday’s surprisingly entertaining 3-2 defeat at Fulham.

That loss also came at a cost with both Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes picking up their fifth bookings of the season and therefore earning suspensions for the trip to north London.

With their midfielder decimated by the absence of Lemina and Gomes and Rayan Ait Nouri also expected to miss out after hobbling off at Craven Cottage, this looks an almost impossible task for the visitors.

Ait Nouri’s absence could be particularly significant as he would have been tasked with stopping the in-form Bukayo Saka. Instead that responsibility is likely to fall to Matt Doherty, who looked a little rusty when he came off the bench against Fulham.

For that reason, Saka takes centre stage in my build-a-bet for this game which is Arsenal to win, Saka to score at any time and Doherty to be shown a card at odds of around 7/1 with starsports.bet

⚫ NEWCASTLE v MANCHESTER UNITED 🔴
Premier League
Saturday, 20.00

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It was a painful mid-week for both Newcastle and Manchester United, but for vastly different reasons.

Injury-hit Newcastle were valiant in their 1-1 draw away from home against Paris St Germain, and only denied a famous victory by a controversial late penalty award.

Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag’s men managed to somehow only come away with a draw from their trip to Galatasaray despite leading 2-0 and 3-1 on a chaotic night in Istanbul that probably put paid to their hopes of reaching the Champions League knockout stages.

Newcastle have had an extra 24 hours to get over their exertions both physically and mentally, but Eddie Howe remains without several key players, which gives United, who remain untrustworthy on their travels, a chink of hope.

However, St James’s Park remains one of the most difficult grounds in the Premier League for visiting teams with the Magpies winning their last five home games and only conceding one goal.

United’s 3-0 victory at Everton last weekend was their fifth in six league games and despite a defensive disaster class in Turkey there were positives to take from their play going forward.

Bruno Fernandes scored and hit a post following up on his goal at Goodison Park. Fernandes is 3/1 with starsports.bet to net any time.

It is hard to make a case for the visitors keeping a clean sheet and Alexander Isak has scored four goals in his last five games, and a build-a-bet on Isak and Fernandes both to score at any time returns around 9/1 with starsports.bet

⚒️ WEST HAM v CRYSTAL PALACE 🦅
Premier League
Sunday, 14.00

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An under-pressure Roy Hodgson takes his Crystal Palace side to West Ham on Sunday for a London derby between two teams in contrasting recent form.

Palace a sliding down the Premier League table after losing four of their last five matches with suggestions Hodgson is facing a battle to keep his job.

West Ham on the other hand have won their last two league matches and ground out a 1-0 victory at Serbian minnows TSC Backa Topola to book their place in the Europa League knockouts in midweek.

West Ham are 20/21 with starsports.bet to win the game and heap more misery on Roy Hodgson and I think that could be a pretty solid bet, especially if Jarrod Bowen is fit enough to return from his knee injury.

My eye is also drawn towards Tomas Soucek to score at any time at 9/2 with starsports.bet. The Czech midfielder is benefiting from being given a more advanced role in recent weeks and has netted five goals in his last five games for club and country.

Good luck,

ALEX CROOK

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