Napoli vs Sassuolo Predictions, Betting Tips, and Match Preview
There’s going to be plenty of action in the Italian Serie A as round 35 rolls into the weekend. Saturday’s games will be concluded at the San Paolo as Napoli play hosts to Sassuolo. The match is set to go underway from 19:45 GMT with both teams looking to secure all three points for their side.
Napoli are fully in the mix for the Europa League spot. They’re currently in 7th place, three points behind AC Milan who are in 6th place, and five points behind AS Roma who are in 5th place. They would need to win their remaining three games to guarantee themselves a place in the second tier of European football. However, they still have a shot at the Champion League via direct qualification. This route to European football will be bumpy as they would have to knock down Europe’s best teams. First, they would have to eliminate Barcelona in the second leg of their last 16 ties following a 1-1 draw at the San Paolo.
They lost their last game against Parma 2-1 on Wednesday. The match was a tough one especially for referee Antonio Guia, who was put in the spotlight many times during the game. Parma took the lead via a Gianluca Caprari penalty. Nine minutes into the second half, Napoli were awarded a penalty of their own as Alberto Grassi handled the ball in the box- Insigne keeping his cool to draw his team level. Three minutes to the end of the game, Parma were awarded another penalty as Napoli’s star defender Kalidou Koulibaly was penalized for fouling Dejan Kulusevski. Kulusevski then converted the penalty and it was to be the decider as Parma managed to carve out the victory.
About a week ago, Sassuolo looked like they were contenders for the Europa League place. After the restart, they lost only one game in 7 matches. However, they have fallen off the pace, currently without a win in 3 games.
They played host to Stefano Pioli’s AC Milan last time out. The game proved to be a topsy-turvy 90 minutes as AC Milan managed a narrow 2-1 victory. Francesco Caputo drew his team level in the 42nd minute- his 19th goal of the season after Zlatan Ibrahimovic had put the visitors in front. The veteran striker recorded his brace in the dying minutes of the first half to the joy of Stefano Pioli. No goals came in the first half much to the delight of the away side as they ran out 2-1 winners.
Roberto De Zerbi wouldn’t be able to field Medhi Bourabia following his red card against AC Milan on Tuesday. Jeremie Boga is doubtful for the hosts as he suffered a muscle injury last time out. Arkadiusz Milik is expected to be back in the starting 11 after serving his one-match ban against Atalanta. This is coupled with the fact that Dries Mertens is currently struggling with an injury.
Napoli vs Sassuolo Prediction
Genarro Gatusso and his men have all to play for as a slip-up at this stage of the league means concession of the Europa League places to AC Milan and Roma. Sassuolo, on the other hand, will want to get back to winning ways after playing 3 games without tasting victory. However, our tipsters are finding it hard to bet against the home team who have been absolutely dominant against the opponents in the past, losing only once to them since 2015.
Leicester City vs Manchester United Predictions, Betting Tips, and Match Preview
The race for the top four as predicted is going to be a fight to the death. Without a doubt, of all games on Sunday, the most anticipated game is going to be played at the King Power Stadium as Leicester City lock horns with Manchester United.
Leicester City at some point in the season looked like contenders for the Premier League title. However, the COVID-19 lockdown deterred their momentum as they have dropped the most points of all the top 6 teams since the restart. This allowed Manchester United and Chelsea to close the gap on them and set up a thrilling finale on Sunday.
They’re currently on a poor run of form with two wins, four losses and three draws in the last eight premier league games. One of those losses came last time out against Tottenham Hotspur. The show was completely run by Tottenham and England’s striker Harry Kane with two goals in the first half, all after a James Justin own-goal in the sixth minute. With the game ending 3-0, Leicester must win their final match of the season if they’re to rub shoulders with Europe’s elite next season.
Manchester United on the flip side is currently in 3rd place going into the last matchday. Their task looks a little less complicated of all the three teams vying for the 3rd and 4th spots. They have one point on their rivals Leicester City- meaning that all they need is a draw.
They’re going into Sunday’s game without a win in two matches after a 3-1 loss to Chelsea in the FA Cup, and a 1-1 draw at the Old Trafford to West Ham on Wednesday evening.
Paul Pogba concedes a penalty for blocking Declan Rice’s shot with raised arms, allowing Michail Antonio to put West Ham ahead. Mason Greenwood scored his 17th goal of the season in all competitions to claim a point for Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer.
No doubt, Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer will start his most potent front-three of Martial, Greenwood, and Rashford, with Bruno just behind them. However, Luke Shaw and Eric Bailly are doubtful for the visitors. Jamie Vardy who will also be making a push for the golden boot is expected to start. However, Brendan Rodger has his hands full as four players of his regular starting XI in person of Ben Chilwell, James Madison, Caglar Soyuncu, and Ricardo Pereira are all unavailable
Leicester City vs Manchester United Prediction
In the reverse match earlier on this season, Manchester United came out on top courtesy of a 1-0 win. However, we don’t see the same happening on Sunday. Both teams will go for it in this game and this will most likely end up in a stalemate. This match, however, does guarantee goals judging by the attacking quality of the sides.
Arsenal vs Watford Predictions, Betting Tips, and Match Preview
The final match-week in the English top-flight is expected to be a treat for mutual fans. With all games slated to kickoff at 15:00 GMT, we will see which of the teams stay up, and which of the teams will rub shoulders with Europe’s top teams next season. The Emirates stadium is the stage for one of the matches that have a direct effect on what transpires on the league standings as Arsenal play hosts to Watford.
The Gunners don’t really have anything to play for in the league. However, they still have a chance at the Europa League via the FA Cup. Mikel Arteta knocked out his old boss in the semifinals to set up a thrilling encounter against London rivals Chelsea.
In their last league match, they lost to Aston Villa by a solitary goal at Villa Park. After going down, Arsenal turned up the volume on the Pepe Reina’s goal a lot more. However, the ball wouldn’t just seem to go in as Aston Villa held on for all the spoils. This loss meant that mathematically, they can’t qualify for Europa League since they’re five points behind Spurs.
The Hornets are currently in big trouble both in the dressing room and on the league standings. With regards to the league standings, their goal difference took an absolute beat down last time out. This was compounded by the fact that Aston Villa came out on top against Arsenal. At the end of Tuesday night, Watford dropped into the relegation zone with just one game left to save themselves.
Watford owner Gino Pozzo, after a frank exchange with Nigel Pearson, sacked the manager hereby leaving their premier league hopes in the hands of U-23 manager, Hayden Mullins. This was on the basis of poor team selections, substitutions, and poor performances.
Their first match under their make-shift gaffer was all-in-all a massacre as they got hammered 4-0 by outgoing champions Manchester City. With two goals on either side of the half time break, Guardiola's side was back to winning ways after their disappointing semi-final loss against Arsenal. Raheem Sterling was the star of the show in the first half with a brace. Phil Foden and Aymeric Laporte then put their names on the score sheet only after 20 minutes into the second half. Watford registered only one shot on target in the whole game and failed to score at the Vicarage Road for the first time since January.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is expected to start on Sunday as he will be making a push towards securing his 2nd golden boot in two seasons. Shkodran Mustafi is doubtful for the visitors. However, Mikel Arteta will be without the services of Bernd Leno, Gabriel Martinelli, Callum Chambers, and Pablo Mari. With regards to the Hornets, Étienne Capoue, Daryl Janmaat, Isaac Success, and Gerard Delofeu are all unavailable.
Arsenal vs Watford Prediction
Watford are fully aware of their current situation on the league standings. This means that they will have to get everything absolutely right on the day, and then hope Aston Villa slip-up in their own match. Arsenal, however, will be looking to rest some key players with the FA Cup final in mind. However, the quality they have is more than enough to beat Watford on a good day. All things considered, both teams to score option is the most viable bet.
Chelsea vs Wolves Predictions, Betting Tips, and Match Preview
Chelsea welcomes Wolves to the Stamford Bridge on Sunday with three points up for grabs. With kick-off slated for 15:00 GMT, both teams are in desperate need of three points in the race for European football next season. Which one of the teams will come out on top?
The Blues are currently in 4th place heading into the final game. They will be looking to acquire all the spoils on Sunday against Wolverhampton Wanderers. However, they still have a chance to finish in the top 4 only if they draw, and Leicester City fails to win against Manchester United. Frank Lampard would also be bidding to win his first title as a manager as he takes on Arsenal in the final of the FA Cup on August 1.
They failed to secure 3rd place last time out against Liverpool. Jordan Henderson savoured the experience of lifting the Premier League trophy on the Kop as they beat Chelsea with five goals to three in an Anfield thriller. Chelsea will take positive from the fact that they scored three goals at Anfield- no other team has done that in the Premier League this season.
Nuno Espírito Santo and his men are heading into this one knowing that they need a win to lock down that 5th place. They’re currently in 6th place, one point ahead of Tottenham in 7th position- who play Crystal Palace on the final day. A loss for them would mean that they would have to hope Spurs lose, or Chelsea wins the FA Cup. The second scenario would give room to whoever finishes 7th in the league a chance to qualify for the Europa League group stage. However, they would have to play through the torrid stages of Europa League qualification.
They head into the final matchday following a 2-0 victory against Crystal Palace. With goals in either half from Daniel Podence and Jonny, Wolverhampton Wanderers copped all three points. Wolves however still have a chance at the Champions League if they somehow manage to win the Europa League. They would hereby be in preparation for their return leg against Olympiakos on August 6 after a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
Marco Van Ginkel and Billy Gilmour are ruled out. However, Ngolo Kante and Ross Barkley are doubtful for the hosts. Diogo Jota is expected to be in the starting XI after Daniel Podence picked up a knock against Daniel Podence last time out. Asides that, Nuno’s medical team has done a good job in keeping the team in great shape as no other player is out injured
Chelsea vs Wolves Prediction :
Chelsea’s attack is good enough to score Wolves a couple of goals. They actually have a major issue in the goalkeeping department as Kepa has the 2nd worst save percentage in the league. If the Blues can keep players like Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore out, then they have a chance of winning the game. All things being said, both teams to score option should be considered.