From The Horse's Mouth - Mark Van Deventer

Match week 13 of the EPL is fascinating. The two top ranked sides, Arsenal and Chelsea face off in what should be an epic; Sunderland and Bournemouth who have the same number of points (19) meet in a close tussle and Liverpool with an unprecedented number of recent L’s try arrest the slide vs West Ham.

We do our usual deep dive into each match with the Goal Guru Index (G.G.I.) listed next to the team’s name. The higher the number, the better the team.

SUNDERLAND 22 vs BOURNEMOUTH 38: Whilst equal on the table, Sunderland are regressing and though they will give the visitors a working over, Bournemouth are a better team, albeit prone to some flaky displays. Understand if punters tread cautiously and go with all three results but the G.G.I. clearly favors the visitors. [2][3]

BRENTFORD 27 vs BURNLEY 1 The home side has looked good recently and is a superior outfit to fading, Burnley. [1]

MANCHESTER CITY 45 vs LEEDS UNITED 25: City’s squad rotations are working nicely, and they should see off declining Leeds who have gone from being defensively sound to leaking goals. Not surprisingly, their manager, Daniel Farke is under pressure to arrest the slump and needs to get his selections and tactics right. [1]

EVERTON 27 vs NEWCASTLE 42: Everton are a solid side under Moyes, and they come up against Newcastle who have been poor when hitting the road. But the visitors have two bright young fullbacks returning to improve performance (Livramento & Hall) and it must be noted that Newcastle already sport a 15-point edge on the G.G.I. Not sure which way this will go – hence [1] [2][3]

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 26 vs FULHAM 30: The G.G.I. scores this very tight. Frank did well at Brentford milking the role of plucky underdogs, but Spurs seem to expect dominance from their side and performances have been unsatisfactory. Fulham have not quite got into overdrive as yet but are showing signs of improvement. [1][2][3]

CRYSTAL PALACE 44 vs MANCHESTER UNITED 41: Palace are burdened by playing European soccer on Thursday. But they are generally very good at home and in Adam Wharton have a hugely exciting midfielder. It’s hard to know what to make of United who mix their form. Given the slim G.G.I. margin we again cover all three outcomes. [1][2][3]

NOTTINGHAM FOREST 35 vs BRIGHTON 35; Forest are looking more organized under Dyche and Brighton may still bear scars after they got hammered 7-0 by them last season. But the G.G.I. has this precisely equal. The prudent play is to cover all the results. [1][2][3]

ASTON VILLA 28 vs WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 19: How many times can Villa keep coming out on top of close games?  Their G.G.I is quite low for a side so high (4th) on the EPL table. However, winless, Wolves have just been dire, and their new manager, Rob Edwards has not elicited improvement. Villa is tipped to get the home win. [1]

WEST HAM UNITED 25 vs LIVERPOOL 50: In the past West Ham have been guilty of showing too much respect to the big, but sometimes out of form sides, like Liverpool. If ever the Reds are vulnerable, it is now after a string of wobbly shows. They may be stung into action by angry Slot and, if they click, can easily take apart the Hammers. They have double the rating of W.H.U. on the G.G.I. but cannot be trusted in their current form, hence we cover the draw. [2][3]

CHELSEA 45 vs ARSENAL 56: Chelsea have impressed recently and come into this crunch game in great nick. As for the Gunners, they are a mighty team witness the drubbing they gave Bayern (who dominate German football) midweek. The depth of skill in their squad, levels of cohesion and motivation amongst team-mates and the way they’ve elevated the art of set pieces make them banker material most of the time. No quibbles with those who place their faith in the log leaders once again, but we accord Chelsea the possibility of getting a draw.[2][3]

Goal Guru’s suggested EPL 10 perm for Match Week 13:

2 3 x 1 x 1 x 1 2 3 x 1 2 3 x 1 2 3 x 1 2 3 x 1 x 2 3 x 2 3 = R648.00 which can be taken at the ten- cent minimum unit for R64.80.

Those on smaller budgets can chance their luck with all of Bournemouth, Brentford, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal as bankers, which would reduce the perm to R108. As follows:

3 x 1 x 1 x 1 2 3 x 1 2 3 x 1 2 3 x 1 2 3 x 1 2 x 3 x 3 = R108.00 which can be taken at the minimum ten cents unit for just R10.80