Premier League previews: Norwich vs Man City, Everton vs Leeds

Team news, stats, predictions and how to follow the Premier League this Saturday, as Norwich host Manchester City – live on Sky Sports – and Leeds travel to Everton.

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Manchester United vs Southampton – Saturday; kick-off 12.30pm

Team news: Manchester United left-back Alex Telles is available for Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off against Southampton after recovering from Covid-19.

However, midfielder Fred is unavailable as he is still testing positive for the virus.

Defender Eric Bailly remains out with an ankle injury he suffered while at the Africa Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast and midfielder Nemanja Matic has a shin issue

Scott McTominay suffered a heavy knock at the end of Tuesday’s draw against Burnley, but the club are hopeful he will be available for Saturday’s game.

Southampton will be without Nathan Redmond, who remains sidelined by an ankle injury.

Tino Livramento is expected to return after being rested against Tottenham with a knee problem.

Watch free highlights of this game at FT

Opta stats…

• Southampton have won just two of their 22 Premier League away games against Manchester United (D4 L16), losing this exact fixture 9-0 last season.
• Manchester United have won 36 points from losing positions against Southampton in the Premier League, more than any side has against another in the competition’s history.
• Manchester United haven’t lost any of their last 23 home Premier League matches in February (W18 D5) since a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in February 2008. That was one of only two home defeats in the month in the Premier League era, along with a 3-2 reverse against Middlesbrough in February 2004.
• Southampton have lost just one of their last seven Premier League games (W3 D3), with Saints both scoring and conceding at least once in all seven of these matches. Southampton are looking to secure consecutive league wins for just the second time this season.
• Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo has failed to score in any of his last five appearances in all competitions – the last time he had a longer run without a goal at club level was a run of seven games in December 2008/January 2009.

How to follow: Follow Manchester United vs Southampton in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly from 5.15pm on Saturday.

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Brentford vs Crystal Palace – Saturday; kick-off 3pm

Team news: Saturday’s game comes too soon for Christian Eriksen to make his Brentford debut.

Eriksen has yet to take the field since he suffered a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s European Championship game against Finland last June and will take part in a friendly game on Monday as he steps up his recovery.

Crystal Palace defender Nathan Ferguson is out for up to six weeks with a hamstring problem.

Cheikhou Kouyate could be available after a successful Africa Cup of Nations campaign with Senegal.

• Watch free highlights of this game shortly after FT

Opta stats…

• This is Brentford’s first home league game against Crystal Palace since a 2-1 win in September 1963; the Bees have lost just one of their last 10 home league games against the Eagles (W7 D2).
• The reverse fixture between Brentford and Crystal Palace finished 0-0 – only once before have the Eagles had two goalless draws against an opponent in the same Premier League campaign, doing so against Manchester City in 1992-93.
• Crystal Palace have won just two of their last 20 Premier League London derby matches (D9 L9), conceding at least three goals in all nine of their defeats in this run.
• Brentford have lost each of their last five Premier League games. They last lost more consecutive league games between February and March 1993 (a run of seven), in a season that they were relegated from the second tier.
• Only Burnley (0) have won fewer Premier League away games than Crystal Palace this season (1). Meanwhile, the Eagles have kept just one clean sheet in their last 17 Premier League away London derby matches (0-0 vs Arsenal in January 2021).

How to follow: Follow Brentford vs Crystal Palace in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

Everton vs Leeds – Saturday; kick-off 3pm

Team news: Yerry Mina has been ruled out until April with a quad injury, Everton manager Frank Lampard has said.

Lampard also confirmed Demarai Gray, who was forced off with a hip problem against Newcastle, would miss Saturday’s match against Leeds.

Abdoulaye Doucoure, Fabian Delph, Tom Davies, and Ben Godfrey remain sidelined by injury.

Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips is out until early next month after undergoing surgery in December for a hamstring injury.

Brazilian defender Junior Firpo (hamstring) remains unavailable for the trip to Goodison Park, but Marcelo Bielsa expects him back next week.

A third hamstring injury victim Liam Cooper is also still out, while striker Patrick Bamford is out with a foot injury.

• Watch free highlights of this game shortly after FT

Opta stats…

• Since the start of 2021, Everton have lost more home Premier League games than any other side (12), this after having only lost 13 across 2018, 2019 and 2020 combined. The Toffees have lost their opening two home league games of 2022, never previously losing their opening three in a year. Indeed, 1977 was the only year in which the Toffees had lost their first two home games in the Football League before 2022.
• Since the start of October, Everton have won fewer points than any other side in the Premier League (6). The Toffees have won just one of their 15 league games in this run (D3 L11) and have kept just one clean sheet.
• Everton have started a calendar year with four consecutive league defeats for the third time in their history, also doing so in 1977 and 1997. They’ve never lost their first five games at the start of a year before.
• This will be Frank Lampard’s first home league match in charge of Everton – he failed to win his first home games in charge of previous clubs Derby and Chelsea (D1 L1), with his first home game in charge of Derby a 4-1 defeat to Leeds in August 2018, in what was Marcelo Bielsa’s first away game in charge.
• Raphinha has scored in all three of his Premier League appearances for Leeds against Everton, netting the winner in this exact fixture last term. The last Leeds player to score in four consecutive Premier League appearances against an opponent was Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink versus Arsenal (1997-99).

How to follow: Follow Everton vs Leeds in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

Watford vs Brighton – Saturday; kick-off 3pm

Team news: Ismaila Sarr has a chance of being included in the Watford squad for the first time since November for the visit of Brighton on Saturday.

He was due to take part in training on Friday for the first time since helping Senegal win the Africa Cup of Nations last Sunday, but it remains to be seen if he will have recovered in time to start the match.

Roy Hodgson is set to remain without Nicolas Nkoulou, however, as he continues to work on his rehabilitation.

Brighton will have midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, who had tested positive while away on international duty with Argentina, and forward Leandro Trossard available again following Covid-19 issues.

Midfielder Enock Mwepu has suffered a minor setback on his recovery from a hamstring problem.

Teenager forward Jeremy Sarmiento (hamstring) also remains unavailable, having last featured at the start of December.

• Watch free highlights of this game shortly after FT

Opta stats…

• Brighton have lost just one of their last 13 Premier League games against promoted sides (W6 D6), keeping a clean sheet in each of their last five (W4 D1) since a 1-0 loss at West Brom in February 2021.
• Watford have lost their last five home Premier League matches, only having two longer home losing runs in their Football League history: a nine-game run between December 1971 and March 1972 and a six-game run between August and October 1990.
• Brighton have drawn 12 of their 22 Premier League matches so far this season (W6 L4), the joint-most by a side at this stage of a Premier League campaign, along with Ipswich in 1992-93. Their last six draws have all ended 1-1, with the Seagulls coming from behind to draw in each of those games.
• Watford haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last 16 home Premier League matches, and conceding in this game will see them equal the record Premier League run without a home clean sheet, standing at 17 matches and jointly-held by four teams: Sunderland (2003-05), Blackpool (2010-11), West Brom (2010-11) and Wolves (2011-12).
• No side has lost fewer away games in the Premier League this season than Brighton, with the Seagulls losing just one of their 11 games on the road so far (W3 D7).

How to follow: Follow Watford vs Brighton in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

Norwich vs Manchester City – Saturday; kick-off 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports from 5pm

Team news:

Norwich should have forward Josh Sargent available again for the visit of Premier League leaders Manchester City.

United States international Sargent missed the last two matches through illness but has now returned to training, while midfielder Lukas Rupp faces a late fitness test on a hamstring issue.

Defender Ozan Kabak (illness), midfielder Jacob Sorensen (knee) and goalkeeper Tim Krul (shoulder) remain sidelined. Centre-half Andrew Omobamidele has gone to see a specialist again about his continuing back problem.

Manchester City are again without forward Gabriel Jesus and youngster Cole Palmer.

Jesus is expected to return soon after suffering a knock while on international duty recently but it is unclear how long midfielder Palmer will be out with his foot problem.

City have no fresh injury concerns following their midweek win over Brentford and full-back Kyle Walker could return after being rested.

• Watch free highlights of this game shortly after FT

Opta stats…

• Norwich have lost eight of their last 12 Premier League games against Manchester City (W2 D2), conceding 41 goals in these meetings. They’ve lost both of their last two against the Citizens by a 5-0 scoreline.
• Manchester City have lost just one of their last 36 Premier League games against sides starting the day in the relegation zone (W30 D5), though that loss did come at Norwich in September 2019.
• Norwich have won seven points from their last three Premier League games (W2 D1), just one fewer than they had in their previous 12 before this (W2 D2 L8). Dean Smith is looking to become the first Norwich manager to go unbeaten for four Premier League matches since Chris Hughton in February 2013.
• Pep Guardiola has a win ratio of 88 per cent against English managers in the Premier League (P66 W58), the highest of any manager to take charge of 5+ such games. His four games against Dean Smith have all been won, with an aggregate score of 13-2.
• Riyad Mahrez has scored in each of his last seven appearances for Manchester City in all competitions – the last player to score in more consecutively for the club was Sergio Aguero in January 2014 (8).

How to follow: Watch Norwich vs Manchester City live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, or follow in our dedicated live match blog featuring in-game highlights. Full match highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel at the final whistle.

How to watch Premier League highlights on Sky Sports Digital

Anybody in the UK can watch highlights for free on the Sky Sports app or the Score Centre app on your iPhone or Android.

To watch the highlights on the Sky Sports App, download the app.

Sky Sports’ digital platforms are the home of live blogs for every Premier League game, including commentary, analysis and team line-ups. Users with a free Sky ID can watch in-game clips from Sky live games in our dedicated live blogs.

Premier League top-four race: Fourth place up for grabs?

With Manchester City pulling away at the summit and Liverpool and Chelsea on course for a top-three finish, West Ham, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham and Wolves look set to battle it out for a top-four finish.

Here, we assess the runners and riders in the battle for fourth, their form and their fixtures until the end of the season…

READ HERE

Premier League relegation picture: Who is going down?

The battle for Premier League survival continued on Wednesday as Norwich drew 1-1 with Crystal Palace – but which team is best placed to avoid the drop?

Only five points separate the five sides at the bottom of the table – and basement boys Burnley have at least one game in hand on their rivals.

Here, we take a look at the state of play, odds and key fixtures as the relegation picture hots up…

READ HERE

Essential Football Podcast: Top-four race & pressure on Rodgers?

After a winter break of its own, The Essential Football Podcast returns as guest host Charlotte Marsh is joined by Sky Sports football features writer Adam Bate and digital football journalist Ron Walker to look back on the midweek action and ahead to another captivating round of Premier League games which could have ramifications at both ends of the table.

PART ONE | With more rumours circulating around Old Trafford and two points dropped at Burnley, what’s the state of affairs looking like in Manchester United’s top-four chase? What’s been behind the upturn in form for Southampton, their opponents on Saturday? We discuss Spurs’ disappointing evening against the Saints in midweek, ask whether Wolves will stop them bouncing back, and decide who’s best-placed in the race for the Champions League spots…

PART TWO | How serious – and warranted – is the pressure on Brendan Rodgers at Leicester? How much can we read into West Ham, their next opponents, beating Watford on Tuesday night? What’s changed the mood at Newcastle so quickly, and will Aston Villa – and perhaps Jacob Ramsey – bring it crashing back to earth this weekend?

PART THREE | Frank Lampard takes charge of his first home Premier League game in charge of Everton this weekend, but is the pressure already on as Leeds visit Goodison Park? Are Manchester City really not the best in the world, as Pep Guardiola has said, and where do Norwich even begin to hope of taking any points off them at Carrow Road live on Saturday Night Football?