Premier League preview: Wednesday’s action including Southampton vs Forest

Southampton vs Nottingham Forest

Basement club Southampton host fellow relegation candidates Forest on Wednesday; Saints boss Nathan Jones has lost his first three League games since taking charge in November.

Forest aren’t exactly flying either. But Steve Cooper’s side looked decent as they held Chelsea to a draw on New Year’s Day. Still, this match is practically a must-win for the home side – so at St Mary’s, will Nate finally have something to celebrate?

It’s got to be a real possibility, if only because Forest haven’t managed a single goal in their last six away games. By contrast, the Saints have scored in each of their last six home games, and may be able to eke out a victory over Forest here.

Take the home win at Evens, or add a little oomph to your wager and back Southampton to win to nil at 12/5.

Leeds vs West Ham

Leeds ended the year in uncharacteristically low-key style in their last match, a goalless draw against Newcastle; their three previous league matches before that included a 4-3 win over Bournemouth, a 4-3 loss to Tottenham, and a 3-1 loss to Leeds.

Will this be another goal-heavy performance, after the more defensively disciplined showing last time out?

One thing’s for sure, Jesse Marsch’s side should fancy their chances against a West Ham side in a downward spiral; the Irons have lost six of their last seven league games.

The Leeds win is a 31/20 shot; and with four of Leeds’ last six league games featuring at least four goals, over 3.5 goals at 39/20 might not be a bad shout either.

Otherwise, eight cards were shown in Leeds’ last game. In fact, at least four cards have been shown in each of the West Yorkshire side’s last four outings. Over 3.5 cards in the Total Cards market is available at 19/20.

Aston Villa vs Wolves

Aston Villa are becoming a canny unit under Unai Emery, turning over Tottenham 2-0 last time out. But Wolves also have a new man at the helm in Julen Lopetegui. The former Spain and Real Madrid boss inspired a win over Everton on Boxing Day.

With the Toffees in all sorts of trouble, it’s difficult to say how meaningful that result is.

Still, this West Midlands derby could be eventful. Two sides, both trying to prove something under new managers – but Villa appear to be in a better place than their rivals right now.

Emery may make home advantage tell against a Wolves side struggling to extricate themselves from the relegation zone. Take Villa to win at 22/25.

Crystal Palace vs Tottenham

Palace aren’t the most dependable of sides, having been turned over 3-0 by Fulham on home turf on Boxing Day; in their last game before the World Cup, they lost to a struggling Nottingham Forest side too.

But while Palace are hit-and-miss, spinning giddily from win to loss in unpredictable fashion, they did beat Bournemouth last time out. Prior to the loss to the Cottagers, they’d won their last three home games; perhaps the Fulham defeat was simply a matter of shaking off the rust, post Qatar.

And if Palace are iffy, Tottenham have troubles of their own; in the wake of their latest setback, a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa at home on New Year’s Day, Antonio Conte appeared to imply not to expect too much from the rabble he has at his disposal. The Italian called last season’s fourth place finish a “miracle”. It’s not the call to arms Tottenham fans would be hoping for.

Spurs have won just one of their last four league matches; something isn’t right with the north London side. Still, even without playing convincingly, they’ve frequently shown enough character to haul themselves back into a match, fighting back to earn points against Brentford and Leeds in recent outings after going behind.

It’s difficult to be overly confident about either of these sides; but Spurs’ overall form in this campaign suggests the visitors may be able to produce another late rally to swipe the points. Tottenham are 11/10 to win – or, you could take a punt on Conte’s side winning after being a goal behind at 10/1…

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