IVAN RETURN WILL SET TONE’ FOR BEES
EXTRA FIREPOWER TOO MUCH FOR FOREST
THE return of ivan Toney has come at just the right time for Brentford, with the form of luton and a couple of wins for Burnley bringing several clubs into the relegation picture.
We are over half way and although Brentford still have 50 per cent of their games to play, one of their games in hand is against Manchester City.
Everton’s initial surge after their points deduction has gone and Nottingham Forest have had a bit of new manager bounce, but not enough to take them clear of danger.
With only Sheffield United currently looking nailed on for the drop, it brings the likes of Brentford and Forest into it and those two side meet today in Toney’s return.
It seems certain that the striker will stay at Brentford for the rest of the season although there was definite interest from Arsenal and they will need him back firing quickly today.
You can probably go up as far as Wolves in 11th for teams that might have relegation concerns but Brentford are in bother.
They have not replaced David Raya but if a permanent deal can be arranged they might have funds to strengthen.
Forest will tempt plenty of punters here given that they have beaten Newcastle and Manchester United in their last two Premier League games and at 3-1 it is a real consideration.
However, the hoopla around Toney will surely make for a great atmosphere in London as well as a fired up team.
Captain
Toney will captain the team and at 10-11 I think they still represent a decent price to get a valuable home win.
Arsenal play Crystal Palace in the early game and the Gunners just need to get a win on the board after a rocky run of form.
Only one win has come in their last six and they have lost to Fulham and West Ham in that time - the question of whether derby games hurt the London sides more is rearing its head a game.
As London sides go, though, Palace are probably the team to play if you have to play one.
They are on a pretty miserable stretch themselves, although they did get a point against champions Manchester City at the end of last year but that is not really reflective of their current level.
Arsenal will have to work hard, no doubt, to get a win here, but everything is pointing to them doing just that today.
The goalscoring problem continues to be a factor for Arsenal, who are the only one of the top five yet to reach 40 goals in the Premier League. It remains to be seen how far they will go to capture Toney but what they have should see off the Eagles.
I will go with modest correct score bets of 2-0 and 2-1 at the Emirates this lunchtime. Those can be got at best prices of 11-2 and 9-1 respectively.
Tomorrow sees a fascinating encounter on the south coast as Bournemouth host Liverpool, with both sides really bang in form.
Bournemouth are not in the position of being able to look up
the table rather than down, but their excellent recent results four wins in the Premier League before the New Year’s Eve loss at Tottenham - means that this is at least a fairly free shot.
Shoulder
Liverpool are now the front runners in the title race but although Manchester City are now looming on their shoulder, perhaps Jurgen Klopp’s biggest opponent at the moment is the combination of fixture congestion and the absence of Mo Salah.
Klopp’s men have only one defeat in the league – no other team has fewer than three – but those external factors, they play two cup matches after this, might hinder them.
That all puts the pressure on the games they are expected to win, such as this one.
I actually think that Liverpool will get the win here. Perhaps Bournemouth, buoyed by their recent run might go for the win and that can allow the visitors to get enough chances on the break to win.
Let’s go with Liverpool to win and both teams to score in what will hopefully be an entertaining game tomorrow afternoon. It is 15-8 for that and I’m happy with those odds.
West Ham have a good Sunday record so can win at Sheffield United at 6-5, while Wolves are worth a quid at 18-5 to win at Brighton on Monday night.
We almost got all three of our NFL outsiders up last week only the Rams fell short and that was only by a point to Detroit.
Things get very serious this weekend with the Divisional round of the playoffs with the top team in each conference,
Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, joining the fray.
The Ravens are first up as they host a Houston Texans team exceeding expectations with young quarterback CJ Stroud.
It should be a convincing home win but the Texans might just stay inside the +9.5 handicap at 10-11.
Pick
In San Francisco the Green Bay Packers are the visitors after their win over Dallas last week.
Green Bay should be delighted to get through a round but the 49ers are my pick for the Super Bowl and this time I expect the favourites to cover the -9.5 handicap at 10-11. The 49ers should win well.
The two Sunday evening games are on at a decent time so make for a nice double-header and they are intriguing.
There is a lot of goodwill for the Detroit Lions given their shocking recent record and having earned a home tie against Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they should progress again.
Tampa Bay are lucky to be in the last eight and a fired up home crowd will not heap pressure on the Lions. I will go with them to cover the -6.5 spread at 19-20.
The final game is the big headto-head clash and the most even one in the eyes of the bookies as defending Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs travel to a Buffalo Bills side that has brilliance in them, if not consistency.
I still don’t see a better team in the AFC Conference than the Chiefs so I am going to back them to win the game at 13-10.