Premier League Matchday 28 Preview and Prediction
Matchday 28 will see five fixtures take place on Saturday, with Arsenal having the chance to move top of the Premier League when they take on Brentford in a London derby.
Title race interest increases further on Sunday, with four fixtures including the standout match of the week as champions Man City take on Liverpool, who are the league leaders going into Matchday 28. Chelsea against Newcastle should then provide us with an entertaining end to the round on Monday.
Ahead of what looks set to be another exciting group of Premier League fixtures, let’s check the preview and the possible outcomes from selected matches.
Manchester United vs Everton Prediction and Preview
Last Sunday’s derby clash with Manchester City started so well for Manchester United, with Marcus Rashford’s thunderous strike putting them on course for a famous win at the Etihad Stadium. However, it ended in a 3-1 defeat after City peppered André Onana’s goal and led to familiar questions being raised about United’s direction under Erik ten Hag. They will need a response when they face struggling Everton in Saturday’s early kick-off.
United now sit 11 points adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa and six behind Tottenham in fifth, with Spurs possessing a game in hand. With those sides facing one another on Sunday, Ten Hag’s men simply must take maximum points to have a realistic shot of UEFA Champions League qualification.
Everton’s wastefulness cost them once again last Saturday, with Sean Dyche’s men collapsing to a 3-1 defeat to West Ham after Beto had put them ahead early in the second half.
That result saw Everton miss another chance to put further distance between themselves and the relegation zone, and they are now winless in 10 Premier League games (five draws, five defeats). It’s the longest ongoing run of any side currently in the division, and the Toffees have only ever endured a longer streak in the competition between August and October 1994 (12 matches).
Man Utd’s 40 Premier League wins against Everton are the joint-most any team has managed against another in the competition’s history, with the Red Devils also beating Aston Villa 40 times.
Ten Hag’s men have won all three of their Premier League games against Everton since the start of last season, with United last winning four in a row against the Toffees between November 2006 and December 2007.
Everton have also won just one of their last 30 Premier League games at Old Trafford (eight draws, 21 defeats), triumphing 1-0 under Roberto Martínez in December 2013, against a United side managed by their former boss David Moyes.
They have also suffered back-to-back league defeats after going down 2-1 to Fulham in their last home game, last losing three in a row within a single season in December 2015 under Louis van Gaal.
Everton, meanwhile, are winless in their last six away games across all competitions (three draws, three defeats), after winning six of their previous seven (one defeat).
They have only scored once across their last four road trips, with that goal coming via Jarrad Branthwaite‘s fine strike in their 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion two weeks ago.
The fact that United have already lost eight times at Old Trafford this season across all competitions might inspire some hope among the travelling fans. The Red Devils last lost more home games in a single campaign in 1973-74 (nine).
PREDICTION: HOME DRAW NO BET @1.40
Aston Villa vs Tottenham Prediction and Preview
UEFA Champions League football is the pinnacle for most European clubs and Sunday’s early kick-off between Aston Villa and Tottenham at Villa Park could significantly influence both teams’ qualification hopes.
Watkins has scored 16 Premier League goals this season, his most in a single campaign. Indeed, only two players have scored more in a season in the competition for Villa: Christian Benteke (19 in 2012-13) and Dwight Yorke (17 in both 1995-96 and 1996-97).
The gap between Spurs and Villa would have been greater if not for a late salvaging act on MD 27, when Timo Werner levelled in the 79th minute before Cristian Romero and Son Heung-Min secured a 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace, leaving Eberechi Eze’s 59th-minute free-kick opener as a distant memory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Villa will fancy their chances here considering they have won their last three Premier League meetings with Tottenham, their longest league winning run over Spurs since January 1996 (a run of four).
Emery’s side were 2-1 victors at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London in the reverse fixture earlier this term, with Pau Torres and Watkins the scorers as they cancelled out Giovani Lo Celso’s opener.
Spurs also lost this exact fixture 2-1 last campaign after goals for Watkins and Jacob Ramsey before the now-departed Kane managed a 90th-minute penalty.
That defeat ended a run of 11 unbeaten Premier League visits to Villa Park from March 2009 to April 2022 (W9 D2), though Tottenham have not suffered back-to-back league defeats in away games against Villa since November 2004.
Villa have won four of their last five Premier League matches, including the last three in a row against Luton, Nottingham Forest and Fulham. That streak marks the hosts’ fourth run of 3+ consecutive wins under Emery, something only two managers had managed for Villa since the departure of O’Neill in 2010 and before Emery’s appointment (Dean Smith in 2020 and Steven Gerrard in 2022).
By contrast, Tottenham have only won one of their last six away Premier League games (D3 L2) despite scoring two or more goals in five of those games. Spurs last scored 2+ goals in six successive away league games between May and September 2017.
That fearless attacking form has helped Spurs score in all 26 Premier League matches under Postecoglou, the best such run from a manager’s first game in the English top-flight since Arthur Rowe at Tottenham in the 1950-51 season, when they won the title (scored in first 27 games).
Villa have also conceded nine goals in their last four league games at Villa Park (W2 L2), more than they had in their previous 16 on home soil (eight). Emery’s men have shipped 2+ goals in each of their last four but gone on to win two of them (3-2 vs Burnley, 4-2 vs Nottingham Forest); between 2019-20 and 2022-23, Villa only won one of 31 games when shipping 2+ goals at home (D4 L26).
It’s fair to say, a clean sheet for either side doesn’t look especially likely.
PREDICTION: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE @1.32
Liverpool vs Manchester City Prediction and Preview
Having announced his intention to leave at the end of the season, Jürgen Klopp will face old foe Pep Guardiola for one final Premier League clash. As has been the case in recent years, Sunday’s Anfield meeting between Liverpool and Manchester City will have a large say on whether Klopp departs Merseyside with another top-flight title – or if Guardiola’s trophy-winning machine powers on.
Coming into this weekend, Liverpool are just one point clear of City at the top of the league table, having lost only twice all season to Tottenham and Arsenal. Klopp’s men required a late, late show on Matchday 27, though, as Darwin Núñez headed home Alexis Mac Allister’s looping cross to beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 with a 99th-minute winner.
As for team news, the Anfield clash will come too soon for long-term absentees Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota, Joël Matip, Thiago Alcântara, Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch and Stefan Bajcetic, though Klopp will hope to be able to start talismanic winger Mohamed Salah on Sunday.
Despite their injury woes, Liverpool have responded well to a 3-1 loss at Arsenal last month, beating Burnley, Brentford, Luton Town and Forest in the league, while winning the EFL Cup final against Chelsea and beating Southampton in the FA Cup fifth round.
With the derby-day brace, Foden has been directly involved in 18 Premier League goals this season (11 goals, seven assists), his most in a single campaign for his boyhood club. The England midfielder also ranks in the top five for chances created in open play (50), shots attempted (83) and shots on target (34) in the competition this season.
Guardiola has a near-perfect squad to choose from when selecting Sunday’s lineup, with Jack Grealish the only confirmed absentee after Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over Copenhagen that secured a 6-2 aggregate victory and progression to the UEFA Champions League quarter-final stage.
Liverpool have only lost one of their last 20 league games at Anfield against Man City (W13 D6), a 4-1 defeat in February 2021 with no fans in the stadium. However, home and away the Reds have enjoyed only one win in their last eight Premier League matches against the Manchester club (D4 L3), a 1-0 victory in this exact fixture at Anfield last season when Salah scored a 76th-minute winner.
However, the side scoring first has only lost one of the last 19 league meetings between the two clubs (W13 D5 – excluding 0-0 draws), with that being the Reds’ 4-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium last season. In the most recent fixture, Alexander-Arnold cancelled out Haaland’s opener in a 1-1 draw.
Since the aforementioned 4-1 defeat against Man City at the Etihad last season, Liverpool have won more points (88), scored more goals (91) and lost fewer games (two) than any other Premier League side, while also keeping the joint-most clean sheets (13).
Yet the dominant City have won their last nine away matches in all competitions, scoring 25 goals across that run. There have only been six previous instances of a top-flight side winning 10+ away games in a row, and two of those have been Guardiola’s side (11 between May and November 2017 and 20 between December 2020 and May 2021).
City are also the only team yet to concede a Premier League goal when they’ve been losing in matches this season, scoring 10 goals while trailing – displaying a remarkable ability to fight back: a champions’ mentality.
PREDICTION: OVER 2.5 @1.50
**AFC Bournemouth vs Sheffield United: HOME TO WIN @1.33
**Arsenal FC vs Brentford FC: HOME TO WIN @1.23
**Chelsea FC vs Newcastle United: HOME DRAW NO BET @1.48
