THE BATTLE AT THE LANE
When Jose Mourinho took charge of Tottenham in November, his new charges were 12 points behind Chelsea and at that point, it was fair to say, that his former employers looked well placed for a top four finish.
Fast forward to this weekend and the gap has been cut to just three and with Tottenham playing host to Frank Lampard's Chelsea, this already tasty London derby has just seen a further dash of spice added to it.
With Chelsea losing four of their last five Premier League outings, Tottenham fans may well feel that the Blues are there for the taking. However, the West Londoners have tended to perform better away from Stamford Bridge and therefore they cannot be ruled out of this contest.
In a sense this almost takes on the mantle of ‘do not lose' rather than ‘must win' for Chelsea and as long as they can preserve their current three point gap over Spurs, they will at least regain some of their confidence that has gone missing as of late.
This is going to be a very tight one to call in terms of outcome, but it should be easier to call when we look at the number of total goals that will be scored and with that in mind, Over 2.5 looks like being the safest bet of all.
Summary: Back Over 2.5 Goals at 1.60
THE TITLE RACE ENDS THIS WEEKEND?
With Manchester City an eye-watering 14 points behind league leaders Liverpool and Leicester's margin also creeping into double figures, it means that both teams could be out of this one horse title race by the end of the weekend.
That's because Brendan Rodgers unleashes his Foxes at the Etihad on Saturday and if the 2016 Premier League champions taste defeat, then surely the gap between themselves and the current league leaders will be insurmountable.
Manchester City have blown hot and cold as of late, but it is fair to say that they were scorching in the first 45 minutes of their trip to the Emirates and after returning to winning ways, they will be primed and ready to get the better of Leicester.
Not only that, but the East Midlands outfit dropped two valuable points last weekend and after being held at home to Norwich, you do get the feeling that any realistic title talk dissipated come full time.
This ground was home to a sensational Leicester win in 2016, one that played a huge part them in them going on to win the title. Unfortunately, I don't think history will repeat itself and with that in mind, a City win at odds of 1.36 comes highly recommended
Summary: Back Manchester City at home
WHO IS IN CHARGE AT GOODISON?
Depending on when you read this article, the men in both the Goodison Park and Emirates hotseats could be completely different. However, even if the head personnel have a different look, the theory going into this game will be unchanged.
That's because these are two clubs that have recently installed interim managers and it is fair to say with rather differing fortunes, while not only that it seems that they are two outfits that are currently undergoing far differing trajectories.
Everton under Duncan Ferguson have picked up four points from the last six on offer and against Chelsea and Manchester United to boot, while Arsenal under Freddie Ljungberg have picked up four points from as many matches.
There has been talk of Carlo Ancelotti and Mikel Arteta being respectively installed and if that proves to be the case, then the managerial nous of the former might be enough to tip Everton over the line on Saturday.
While if he is not installed in time, there is always the steady hand of Big Dunc to take the reigns and regardless of who is barking out the orders this weekend, Everton at odds of 2.40 is a price that should definitely be considered
Summary: More misery for Arsenal this weekend
SEAGULLS CUT DOWN BY BLADES
Brighton are known as a team that is stronger at home, while Sheffield United are yet to be beaten away from Bramall Lane. Something has to give this Saturday and at odds of 3.50, the Blades to win on the South Coast, could be one of the be the value bets of the weekend.
Summary: Sheffield United to have a lovely day at the seaside.
