Saturday afternoon sees five games that are set to be hotly contested across the Premier League, with Nottingham Forest’s new manager Nuno Espirito Santo making his debut in the City Ground dugout against Bournemouth.
Both teams to score in Nottingham can be used in a five-fold, with West Ham hosting under fire Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United in the early kick-off to start the day's proceedings.
Recommended five-fold: Manchester United to win at West Ham , Fulham to beat Burnley, Nottingham Forest v Bournemouth BTTS, Tottenham v Everton under 2.5 goals, Luton Town and Newcastle to draw
- Manchester United to win at West Ham
- Fulham to beat Burnley
- Nottingham Forest v Bournemouth BTTS
- Tottenham v Everton under 2.5 goals
- Luton Town and Newcastle United to draw
West Ham vs Manchester United
For the most part, West Ham have been in a rich vein of form, recording comfortable victories over Burnley and Wolves, claiming a hard-fought win at Tottenham, as well as topping their Europa League group with three points at home to Freiburg, with all of those results coming across their last eight games.
However, although the Hammers have lost only twice in that run, both defeats have seen them concede five times, with a 5-0 thumping at Fulham in the league nearly two weeks ago being followed by a 5-1 humiliation at Anfield on Wednesday as Liverpool dumped them out of the Carabao Cup.
United’s form has been far more indifferent in recent weeks, with a shock home defeat to Bournemouth preceding another loss at Old Trafford when Bayern Munich confirmed an early exit for the Red Devils from the Champions League.
Their home form may be poor, but Ten Hag’s side are one of the in-form teams on the road, with the 10 points collected from their last five away trips second only to Everton in the league.
That run includes a well deserved goalless draw at Liverpool last time out and after the shocking defensive performance by the Hammers in midweek, expect United to exploit the host’s defensive frailties in the early kick-off
Fulham vs Burnley
A thrilling 3-2 victory at home to Wolves at the end of November has kick-started a magnificent goal-scoring run for Fulham, with the Cottagers netting 17 times across their last six games in all competitions.
That streak has seen three league victories and progression to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup for the first time in their history, with the only blemishes coming in the form of a heart-breaking 4-3 defeat at Liverpool and a 3-0 loss at Newcastle, the latter largely being caused by the early sending off of striker Raul Jimenez
Burnley’s first home win of the season saw the Claret’s thrash fellow strugglers Sheffield United 5-0.
Yet that result has not proved to be the catalyst for a sustained upturn in form, with just one point accrued in the following three games for the Clarets, including damaging defeats to bottom-half sides Wolves and Everton.
Even with Fulham missing their main striker Jimenez, Marco Silva’s side should have enough firepower across the squad to take all three points
Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth
Defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last week marked the end of Steve Cooper’s tenure as Nottingham Forest manager.
Former Spurs and Wolves boss Nuno has taken the helm at Forest and faces the task of keeping the club in the league, with the team one place and five points above the relegation zone.
New manager bounces are commonplace in the Premier League, and fresh ideas may be the perfect ingredient for a team winless in six and without a competitive victory against Bournemouth since 2015.
The Cherries were strong relegation candidates at the beginning of the campaign, but four wins in an unbeaten five-game run has propelled the south coast side up the table and they are now 10 points clear of the bottom three.
While Nuno may struggle to get the three points on his debut, there should be enough of an impact to see a goal or two in this one.
Tottenham vs Everton
Tottenham’s stellar start to the campaign and title push has hit a major stumbling block in recent weeks, as they have lost four of their last seven league fixtures.
However, an enthralling 3-3 draw at Manchester City and victories against Newcastle and Nottingham Forest has helped restore some form of order for Ange Postecoglu’s men.
Spurs will be expected to win again at home on Saturday, but it will not be plain sailing against an Everton side loving life under Sean Dyche, winning each of their last four league games to nil.
The Toffees received a 10-point deduction for financial breaches earlier this season, but this handicap has not deterred the Merseyside club, who are currently one of the form sides in the division.
A tricky meeting is in store at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, so expect a close result come the full-time whistle.
Luton vs Newcastle
Kenilworth Road is likely to be emotionally charged on Saturday when the Hatters host Newcastle United, a week after their match at Bournemouth was abandoned after captain Tom Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest.
Luton have been impressive at home all season despite not achieving the results their performances may have warranted, with tight defeats to Manchester City and Arsenal coming alongside a plucky 1-1 draw with Liverpool.
Newcastle have been heavily hampered by a host of injuries this season, with nine players still occupying the treatment room.
The difficulties with fitness haslargely affected the Magpies’ form, with four defeats from their last five in all competitions (including their midweek penalty shootout loss to Chelsea) seeing them slip off the pace in the Premier League and exit both the Carabao Cup and Champions League.
The threadbare nature of Newcastle’s squad, combined with a united Luton, has the recipe for a tight affair, with the Hatters more than capable of earning another valuable point.
