MORE BLUES FOR THE VILLA

Aston Villa go into this weekend's fixtures currently lying in the relegation zone and although they do have a game in hand over the rest of their current rivals, there is always the theory that points on the board is the more welcome commodity.

Adding points to their current tally is something that they failed to do on Monday night, as they were trounced by Leicester and with the Villa shipping four more goals at the King Power, they have now conceded exactly two per game in the Premier League this season.

While four goals was the haul that Chelsea provided last Sunday, as they made incredibly light work of Everton at Stamford Bridge and after adding three points to their impressive F.A. Cup showing against Liverpool, Frank Lampard's men aren't prepared to give fourth place without a fight.

It seems as if Chelsea are back in the groove now and with them being in the box seat as far as qualification for the Champions League is concerned, the West London outfit will be confident of securing another three points this weekend.

Should Chelsea manage to win at Villa Park, it will then be a case of over to you Manchester United and although they themselves will be hopeful of a win this weekend, a win for the Blues will only make their own task all the more difficult. With that in mind, backing Chelsea to win at odds 1.70 looks a steal.
Summary: Back Chelsea to beat Aston Villa.

THE BATTLE OF THE FERNANDES'

Tottenham play host to Manchester United on Sunday and how Jose Mourinho will be wishing he picked up Bruno Fernandes instead of Gedson, as the former has been instrumental in the Red Devils' recent resurgence.

Of course, that's not to say that Gedson has been a complete bust, but on the evidence of the two respective contributions, it is fair to say that Bruno has been far more influential since his January arrival to Old Trafford.

Bruno was on hand to create United's first goal against Manchester City last Sunday and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be hoping for more of the same when his side make the long trip down to North London.

For Tottenham it really is a case of it never rains but it pours and with Steven Bergwijn now also out injured for the rest of the campaign, last year's Champions League finalists are at serious risk of finishing in the malaise of mid-table.

There's little to suggest that Tottenham can do anything this weekend, if only because they have such few attacking options available and although Mourinho would love to get one over his former employers, all signs point to a Manchester United win in the capital.
Summary: Back Manchester United at 2.30

GUNNERS FIRE ON THE SOUTH COAST

Going into this weekend, Brighton have failed to win any of their last nine Premier League matches and that is a run that has got Seagulls supporters acting rather jittery, a feeling that will not be helped by the visit of Arsenal this Saturday.

Before their midweek fixture with Manchester City, the Gunners are the form team in the division and are currently unbeaten in their last 8 matches. While although that pails into comparison with Liverpool's earlier efforts, it does suggest that things are starting to click under Mikel Arteta.

They got the better of West Ham last weekend and although the Hammers did provide plenty of tests for goalkeeper Bernd Leno, he and the defence in front of him managed to withstand everything that David Moyes' men through at them.

Which must be credited as a positive, because under the previous incumbent Unai Emery, there is every chance that Arsenal's crosstown rivals would have come away with at least a point from the Emirates.

While a point was what Brighton managed to earn last weekend at Molineux, as the two sides played out a bore draw and although that can be construed as a decent result, manager Graham Potter knows a win will be required soon.

With that said, it's hard to see how they can get the better of a resurgent Arsenal and therefore it makes perfect sense to back the visitors in East Sussex, as they go on to earn another three points under their new manager.
Summary: Back Arsenal to win at 2.30