English Premier League - Match Week Seven

The English top flight league resumes play this weekend, with another full slate of impactful matches in the race for a league title, European considerations, and the dreaded relegation battle. 

The usual suspects are once again hoovering around the top spots in the table, with England's "Big Six" clubs in possession of the top seven positions in the table, their monopoly of the Premier League looks to be once again in tact.

Saturday's contests pits two league title contenders together for the first time this season, with new look Chelsea, welcoming a blazing hot Liverpool too Stamford Bridge, as these two perennial powers battle it out for the top spot in the Premiership.

10331 Arsenal vs 10332 Watford 

The Emirates, London, England 

9-29-2018 - 10:00 am ET

The surprise team of the EPL makes the short trip too the Emirates, as Watford will take part in their annual tangle with the Gunners in North London, where Arsenal have had a great bit of success against a overachieving Hornets squad.

Arsenal have begun to find their groove after a slow start to the season, the Gunners have reeled off four straight domestic victories, while elevating up to the 7th spot in the table. The Londoner's will start the match-day with an overall record of 4-0-2 and 12 points for all their efforts, as they must continue to collect points in order to keep pace with their fellow 'Big Six' mates.

Unai Emery entered the campaign having huge shoes to fill in his first spell with the English side, succeeding legendary manager Arsene Wenger who retired at the end of last season, the Spaniard seems to finally be getting the response he expected from his players, after several months of implementing his new system.

The Gunners have performed best within a 4-2-3-1 formation, Emery has preferred a dedicated number-nine to lead the line, with Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang each taking turns filling those roles. Emery has been able to adapt at each club he has been apart of, taking advantage of specific players talents, incorporating them into his vision for success.

Expect to see even more pressing from Emery's men as the campaign continues, Arsenal's best results have come from their aggressive nature, turning their opponents over and setting their offense into motion, where he asks that all his skilled players flood the attacking half of the pitch, and overwhelm their competition in front of goal. 

The main figure in Arsenal's new plan of action resides in the midfield, with Mesut Özil commanding the number ten role, and holding the responsibilities of creative genius in the starting eleven. Özil is known for having tremendous amounts of talents, but he has failed to really showcase his full potential, but now apart of Emery's calculated system, we should see the best of the German as the season progresses. 

Arsenal have also done a great job of including their full-backs in more multi-dimensional roles, Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal are exceptional defenders, who are now being asked to move higher up the pitch, and placed in more attacking situations to cause a true disadvantage for their opponents.

The Londoners will get a true test on match-day seven, with Watford also playing an aggressive brand of football themselves, they must not overlook this pesky Hornet's side, as we should see a highly competitive affair from each team involved.

Watford are being dubbed this seasons Leicester City, even though the Hornet's are less likely to pull off the same type of unbelievable accomplishment the Foxes collected in that 2015-2016 magical season.  

The EPL upstarts have had mixed results when matched up against England's top clubs, but they have proved they can stand their ground over the course of 90 minutes, and with an overall record of 4-1-1 and 13 points too their name, the minnow squad expect to leave the Emirates with a positive result. 

The Hornets are led by their own Spanish head-man, Javi Gracia has been instrumental in Watford's dream start, the "Giant Killer" has laid his claim to English football, after several over-achieving seasons in Spain as part of La Liga. 

Gracia has tweaked his alignment while apart of the Premier League, using versions of a 4-2-2-2, he still urges an aggressive unit to make life uncomfortable with each touch of the ball. The main threats in the Hornets attack are veterans to the EPL, with both Troy Deeney and Andre Gray flourishing under their new voice on the sideline, the English men have been bulls to contain when moving forward in attack, and causing match-up problems for defender's to contend with in the final third of the pitch. 

Roberto Pereyra has truly found his defined role with the club, after performing at an average level for several years at Vicarage Road, Pereyra has shown his true qualities within Gracia's direction. The Argentin has rewarded the team with three goals scored in just six domestic fixtures, as he seems to break his opponents down with ease, and gets off routine shots on target.

Watford have shown they will not back down to any side in the table, with a squad full of confident players they seem to be getting even more fluent in their style of play, we should see the Hornets giving Arsenal all they can handle, as I expect the visitors to get on the scoreline during their travels, in what should be a healthy final score while at the Emirates.

Arsenal vs Watford - Match Tips

Over 1.5  -135 / 1.74 - Total 2nd Half Goals  

Both Teams To Score & Over 2.5 Goals  -110 / 1.91

10349 Chelsea vs 10350 Liverpool 

Stamford Bridge, London, England
 9-29-2018 - 12:30 pm ET

The premiere fixture of match-week seven takes place in West London, where the battle of title contenders takes center-stage, in what should set the tone for many weeks to come. 

Chelsea enter Saturday's fixture having been the first of these two teams to blink after the first six weeks, after dropping two points to bottom of the table West Ham, they fell to 3rd place with 16 points, making their match-up with the Reds a must win situation. 

The Blues will have a slight bit of confidence as the opening whistle arrives, after downing Liverpool 2-1 during this weeks Carabao Cup competition, the Londoners believe they may have found the blueprint to slow down their powerful visitors.

Maurizio Sarri has brought back an attacking flare to this Chelsea side, after several years of a more defensive philosophy, the Italian is a firm believer in attacking football, and is content on replicating his prior success with Napoli. 

The hosts will still have the services of Eden Hazard, the Belgium has been a difference maker under Sarri's 4-3-3 formation, and with more freedom to roam and use his creativity in the attacking half of the pitch, his star has shined even brighter as his has become a true weapon in all offensive aspects of the match.

Hazard will always garner the storylines, and the main attention from opposing coaching staffs, but this team runs at it's peak performance when both Jorginho and N'Golo Kante are fully involved. Jorginho has brought some much needed play-making abilities from the Blues midfield, placing added pressure on defenses across the landscape, Kante is the glue that holds this side together, the World Cup winner is able to be the best defender on the pitch, while being able to set et the offense into motion with pin-point passing that is simply world-class.

Chelsea will be most concerned on their back-end, with valuable starters Ruden Loftus-Cheek, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen all game-time decisions, this could place the home side in a vulnerable position, with back-ups attempting to stay in front of the pace and skill the Reds front-line possesses. Another key figure to watch is Kepa Arrizabalaga, who will get his first real look at Liverpool's first team, who can simply overwhelm young goal keepers, who are not prepared for their ruthless attack.

Liverpool were unceremoniously removed from their first opportunity to collect a trophy this season, but with larger prizes on their minds, their goal of collecting the first league title since 1990 reconvenes this weekend.

Jürgen Klopp has been arguably the most instrumental manager in Europe, other than Zidene Zidane over the past few seasons, the German has re-introduced a winning culture to this storied club, having already led his sides to both a Europa and Champions League finals, and now starting the league with a perfect 6-0-0 record, and 1st place in England's top flight league.

The visitors are scheduled to run out their normal starting eleven, after up to five starters got a rest during midweek cup play, the English giants will send out their strongest cast of talent in order for this enormous match-up.

The attacking front-line trio continue to gain world-wide accolades each time they step onto the pitch, with Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino all seeming to score each time they take part in a match, as they seem to have their opponents intimidated even before the first kick of the ball.

There are limitless opportunities for others to shine within the league leaders plan of action, with so much attention devoted to slowing down the top of Liverpool's 4-3-3 alignment, players like Naby Keita have found fitting in with this club seemless. The former Bundesliga man is a perfect fit into Klopp's frantic style of play, always looking to be in the front foot, his keen awareness and all-around athleticism allows him to carve out space, while finding his danger-men in the best spots to finish, which tend to come at a high percentage.

Liverpool will always be credited for their impressive offensive diplays, but this team is slowly being recognized for their solid play on the back-end, after a midseason move last season to bring in Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk, the Reds saw a drastic improvement on unnessary goals being allowed, while the Summer signing of Alisson in goal has been the icing on the cake, as the Brazilian has taken away one of the Reds largest deficiencies over the years, with a world-class keeper to fortify the back-line.

This match-up should be everything those curious spectators will expect, both teams will push forward in attack, and the probability to see Goals is quite high just based on how many opportunities each will create in front of goal.

I certainly expect Both Teams to Score in this contest, with a 1-2, 2-1 or even 2-2 type of score-line seeming appropriate, when the final whistle blows between these two Premier League title contenders.

Chelsea vs Liverpool - Match Tips

Over 1.25  +105 / 2.05 - Total 1st Half Goals

Both Teams To Score & Over 2.5 Goals  -120 / 1.83

Premier League - Bonus Match Tips

10337 Everton vs 10338 Fulham

9-29-2018 - 10:00 am ET

Everton - Team Total Over 1.5  -140 / 1.71 - Goals

Both Teams To Score & Over 2.5 Goals  -115 / 1.87