Tottenham’s chances of making the Champions League can get another boost this weekend.
Spurs are now alone in fourth place in the English Premier League and three points ahead of Arsenal with seven games to go. Arsenal has a game in hand on Tottenham but is 10 goals behind in goal differential; if the two teams tie in the standings, the first tiebreaker is goal differential.
Arsenal’s goal differential has dropped by four over the last two games as it lost 3-0 to Crystal Palace and 2-1 to Brighton & Hove Albion since the return from the international break.
Tottenham, meanwhile, has won its last two games by a combined eight goals. That’s a 12-goal swing in addition to a six-point gain for Spurs and why they’re in such great shape heading into the final games of the season.
West Ham and Manchester United are each three games behind Arsenal, though West Ham has played two more games than the Gunners and United has played one more game. Neither team looks capable of contending for the top four at the moment, though United does have a game against Arsenal remaining this season. That game next Saturday could prove critical in the top four if — if — Tottenham slips up over the next week.
Here are the odds for this weekend’s games from BetMGM. This is an odd weekend with the FA Cup semifinals also on tap. Manchester City and Liverpool play their second act on Saturday and Chelsea and Crystal Palace play each other on Sunday. Odds for those games are below as well.
Tottenham vs. Brighton & Hove Albion (over/under 2.5 goals)
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Tottenham (-190)
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Brighton (+500)
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Tie (+333)
The odds don’t favor Brighton playing spoiler for a second consecutive week. If it does it can jump into a tie for ninth with a couple other results going its way. We’ll take Tottenham.
Manchester United vs. Norwich City (3.5)
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United (-450)
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Norwich (+1200)
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Tie (+550)
It’s weird to be very unsure about a -450 favorite, but this is where we are with Man United. Under 3.5 goals is the pick here.
Watford vs. Brentford (2.5)
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Watford (+180)
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Brentford (+155)
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Tie (+220)
Brentford at positive odds feels like great value given Watford’s struggles, especially at home.
Southampton vs. Arsenal (2.5) [Sunday]
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Southampton (+290)
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Arsenal (-115)
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Tie (+270)
Southampton was shellacked by Chelsea last weekend while Arsenal needs to rebound. None of the three results would surprise us, so we’re going over 2.5 goals.
West Ham vs. Burnley (2.5) [Sunday]
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West Ham (-140)
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Burnley (+400)
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Tie (+270)
Burnley saw its fight to escape relegation get a lot harder with Everton’s win and its own loss last weekend. We like West Ham here but even a point could go a long way for Burnley.
Newcastle vs. Leicester City (2.5) [Sunday]
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Newcastle (+120)
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Leicester (+230)
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Tie (+230)
When was the last time you saw Newcastle as this big of a favorite against a team in the top half of the table? Let’s go with the tie here.
FA Cup
Manchester City vs. Liverpool (2.5)
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Man City (+140)
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Liverpool (+160)
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Tie (+220)
After going all-out last weekend and then playing starters again on Wednesday in crucial Champions League ties, how are Man City and Liverpool going to approach this one? A regulation tie isn’t a bad bet at all.
Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace (2.5) [Sunday]
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Chelsea (-190)
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Palace (+525)
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Tie (+310)
Chelsea was a goal away from a great week after the win over Southampton and a comeback against Real Madrid that ultimately fell short. We’ll go with Chelsea here, though Palace could surprise us.
