Premier League Matchday 23 Preview: Can United halt Arsenal and all eyes still on Frank
English Premier League Tips
Get the lowdown on Matchday 23 in the Premier League
Matchday 22 commenced with the Manchester derby, and what an excellent game it was with Michael Carrick - taking charge of Man United for the first time in his second stint as interim boss - getting one over Pep Guardiola thanks to a well-deserved 2-0 victory.
United were excellent, Man City were pretty toothless, and no one can have any qualms about the outcome, and if anything, United fans can feel a bit aggrieved that the scoreline wasn't much bigger. Carrick's men had a further three goals disallowed for offside, two of which were correct though very marginal, but it's still difficult to understand why Mason Mount's stoppage time goal was ruled out for offside. Did th VAR officials draw the lines against the wrong Man City defender?
In the afternoon kick-offs Liverpool extended their unbeaten run to 12 games in all competitions but they will have been hugely disappointed to only draw 1-1 at home to second-bottom Burnley , though it was better news for Chelsea , Leeds and Sunderland who all recorded home wins.
In the El Sackico game at 3pm, West Ham beat Spurs 2-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium which resulted in Thomas Frank expecting to be sacked. Reports on Sunday said that the Tottenham board were seriously considering Frank's position, but he wasn't sacked and Spurs went on to record a much-needed win in the Champions League in midweek.
Following City's defeat at Old Trafford Arsenal had the chance to move nine points clear at the top of the table but they could only manage a goalless draw with Nottingham Forest, while on Sunday Aston Villa fluffed their lines in an attempt to close the gap at the top of the table when losing 1-0 at home to Everton .
Newcastle 's goalless draw at Wolves meant none of the bottom five in the Premier League table lost in Matchday 22 while all of the top four failed to win. The round of fixtures concluded with Brighton scoring a late equaliser to draw 1-1 at home to Bournemouth on Monday night.
Arsenal remain the red hot favourites in the Premier League Winner market despite failing to beat lowly Nottingham Forest last weekend, and they've shortened from 1/5 seven days ago to 1/6 currently. That's because none of the chasing pack could manage a victory with both Man City and Aston Villa suffering defeats.
The gap at the top of the table is now seven points though there's a chance that the odds might change significantly after Matchday 23's games. Man City - currently 9/2 - are at home to Wolves, and despite their poor form of late they really ought to pick up three points against the Premier League's bottom club, while Arsenal face a resurgent Manchester United team and I don't think anyone would be surprised if they dropped points in that game.
Aston Villa are the only other team trading at less than three figures but they are out to 50/1 and face a tough task away to Newcastle this weekend.
- Arsenal 1/6 - Manchester City 9/2 - Aston Villa 50/1 - BAR 150/1
There's no change at the head of the Premier League Relegation market with both Wolves and Burnley remaining un-backable at 1/500 .
Both teams earned excellent draws against Newcastle and Liverpool respectively, but the one point each team gained didn't make any inroads on the teams above them with Nottm Forest also picking up a point and both West Ham and Leeds picking up three points.
The Hammers have drifted slightly from 1/5 to 2/9 while Forest and Leeds have flip-flopped in the market, Forest now the fourth favourites for the drop at 6/1 while Leeds have drifted out to 10/1 .
- Wolves 1/500 - Burnley 1/500 - West Ham 2/9 - Nottingham Forest 6/1 - Leeds 10/1 - BAR 20/1
- West Ham v Sunderland (12:30, live on TNT Sports) - Burnley v Tottenham (15:00) - Fulham v Brighton (15:00)- Man City v Wolves (15:00)- Bournemouth v Liverpool (17:30, live on Sky Sports)
- Brentford v Nottm Forest (14:00, live on Sky Sports) - Crystal Palace v Chelsea (14:00, live on Sky Sports) - Newcastle v Aston Villa (14:00, live on Sky Sports)- Arsenal v Man United (16:30, live on Sky Sports)
- Everton v Leeds United (20:00, live on Sky Sports)
We have another blockbuster game this weekend as Premier League leaders Arsenal host a Manchester United team no doubt sizzling with confidence after beating rivals Man City last weekend.
Despite being clear at the top of the table the Gunners have failed to score in their last two Premier League matches, drawing 0-0 with both Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, while United go into the game unbeaten in five in the league, though there have been some disappointing draws in that sequence.
Mikel Arteta 's men will very likely be only four point ahead of Man City in the table come kick-off, so they'll be desperate to get back to winning ways, and scoring league goals again.
Scoring goals is not something United tend to struggle with. In fact they have an excellent goal-scoring record on the road this season, last failing to score away from home in September in a 3-0 defeat to Man City . The Red Devils have scored 17 goals in their last nine away trips, so they're almost averaging two goals per game on the road over the last four months.
In terms of recent head-to-heads, not surprisingly Arsenal have had the better of things, winning the last four Premier League meetings against United at the Emirates Stadium, though they did suffer an FA Cup exit at the hands of United on home soil last season, drawing the game 1-1 before losing a penalty shoot-out.
On the Betfair Sportsbook, Arsenal are 4/7 to claim all three points on Sunday with Michael Carrick's men available to back at 9/2 . The Draw can be backed at 29/10 .
Below you can see a chart showing the percentage chance for each outcome using the Betfair Exchange Match Odds market.
We simply have to stick with Tottenham boss Thomas Frank . Last week's home defeat to West Ham threatened to be the final nail in his Spurs coffin, and despite intense rumours and reports on Sunday that the Tottenham board were considering his future he appears to have been given a stay of execution.
Frank got a much-needed win in the Champions League in midweek and Spurs are now in a decent position in that competition, but will he be able to survive a defeat to second-bottom Burnley on Saturday? In fact, will he be able to survive not winning that game, surely a draw - not just a defeat - will see him come under huge pressure once again to save his job.
The former Brentford boss is just 4/11 to be the next Premier League manager to leave his post so you can just imagine the noise should Tottenham fail to pick up three points at Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon.
Nune Espirito Santo remains the second favourite in the sack race market and he may come under pressure even before Frank is doing his pre-match teamtalk, as West Ham host Sunderland in the early Saturday kick-off. Should the Hammers fail to win that game then all the talk will be about Santo losing his job... but only for about 45 minutes until all the attention turns to Frank and his Spurs team at Burnley .
I thought Bruno Fernandes was exceptional in Manchester United's victory over Man City last week and I'm of the opinion that if he has another good game at the Emirates then we could be in for a surprise result.
To be fair, Fernandes has been good all season, he's just not as effective playing as a deep-lying central midfielder, a role he was asked to play quite regularly - often alongside Casemiro - under Ruben Amorim this season. But playing in a more advanced midfield role, often stepping into the no.10 position, he can swing a game in United's favour with his brilliant range of passing and ability to unlock defences.
Even when not playing in his favoured position for every game this season Fernandes still has some pretty impressive numbers to his name as you can see from the graphic below.
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In 19 Premier League games this term Bruno has 14 goal involvements to his name and is not too far off averaging around three shots per game. But it's his assist stats that stand out to me, especially in recent weeks. He has nine Premier League assists to his name this season but six of those have come in his last seven appearances, and it's seven in his last eight if you include United's FA Cup defeat to Brighton.
He's going to have to be at his best if he's to have a great game against an excellent Arsenal midfield that includes the world class Declan Rice, but given Fernandes is at the heart of every United set piece and usually plays a big part in United's attacking, I'm happy to back him to register an assist against the Gunners on Sunday at a very generous 9/2 .