GOLDEN GOALS MATCHDAY 32: LIVERPOOL TAKE REVENGE ON MANCHESTER UNITED

This incredible Premier League title race marches on with no team willing to give up any ground in one of the most epic three-way fights for glory in a generation.

Will Arsenal blink first? Can defending champions Manchester City keep performing at their relentless best? Is the long Jurgen Klopp goodbye just the tonic Liverpool need to get over the line?

After a healthy bout of midweek fixtures, Golden Goals is back in its usual weekend spot. Remember, if you can pick the six correct scorelines you could win up to £1 million. Find out more here.

This matchday all focus turns to the red half of Manchester, where bitter old rivals Manchester United and Liverpool headline affairs with one pursuing Europe and one the Premier League title.

What else do we have in store? Let’s take a look…

Wolves vs West Ham

Form (all competitions) Wolves: DLLWL West Ham: DLDWD

There is a danger that the season peters out for Wolves. They were dumped out of the FA Cup by Coventry back in March, have secured safety and are one of seven teams separated by six points for the final European spot.

It means their next two fixtures against fellow top seven challengers West Ham and relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest are absolutely crucial for those European aspirations.

The return of Matheus Cunha from injury in the recent 1-1 draw against Burnley brings some welcome respite to a squad beset by ailments in recent times. Standout winger Pedro Neto looks set to miss the rest of the campaign with a hamstring injury while Hwang Hee-chan is only just closing in on a return after a few weeks out. Key defender Craig Dawson is also missing.

Amid this injury crisis one man has stepped up for Wolves: Rayan Ait-Nouri. The Algeria international has been carrying the ball further forward of late and has registered two goals in his previous three league games (as many as he managed in his previous 87 Premier League appearances).

With three goals in four in all competitions he’s been attracting some prying eyes as Liverpool and Manchester United continue to be linked with the left-back ahead of the summer transfer window.

For West Ham, the incredible form of Jarrod Bowen is the talk of the terraces. The England international is on course to become the first man since Tony Cottee to score 20 goals in a Premier League campaign for the Hammers – though he still has a bit to do to get there.

While David Moyes’s men are not having any issues finding the net, they could do with tightening up at the back.

The Hammers have conceded at least once in each of their last 11 Premier League games, shipping 25 goals in total during this run. Their 55 goals conceded overall this season matches the same number shipped in the whole of last term even though they currently sit seven places better off than where they ended the 2022-23 campaign.

Confidence can be taken, though, in the fact they have beaten Wolves in three of their previous four meetings and, given the injury crisis at the Midlands club, we reckon there is substance in that here. Away win.

Prediction: Wolves 1-2 West Ham

Fulham vs Newcastle

Form (all competitions) Fulham: LDWLW Newcastle: DWLLW

A triple substitution in just the 33rd minute of Fulham’s 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Tuesday – the second-earliest a side has made three substitutions in a Premier League game – was not enough to correct course after a terrible start at the City Ground.

They conceded two goals in the opening 20 minutes, forcing manager Marco Silva into the unconventional early changes, which did not do the trick.

It was another disappointing performance from Fulham, whose season can perhaps best be summarised by contrasting impressive victories over Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal with poor defeats to Bournemouth, Burnley and Forest.

The upshot is they have now won just once in 15 on the road. But, while they struggle away from home comforts, they are proving a formidable force at Craven Cottage with seven wins in 10 games while scoring 25 goals in the process.

Newcastle, meanwhile, couldn’t quite kill off the game against Everton in midweek and paid the consequences. Despite dominating for large periods, a late Dominic Calvert-Lewin penalty snatched a point for the Toffees, causing a blow to the Magpies’ hopes of European football next season.

While there is an unprecedented defensive injury crisis at St. James’ Park (Jamaal Lascelles, Nick Pope, Sven Botman, Tino Livramento, Kieran Trippier and Matt Targett are all either out or struggling) the performances of striker Alexander Isak can offer fans some comfort.

He has scored in each of his previous five Premier League games at home – only Alan Shearer (15), Andy Cole (8) and Les Ferdinand (6) have scored in more consecutive games in the competition for the Magpies.

Can he get on the scoresheet again in what we predict to be an entertaining score draw in London?

Prediction: Fulham 2-2 Newcastle

Luton vs Bournemouth

Form (all competitions) Luton: LLDLD Bournemouth: WDWWW

One of the league’s most out-of-form teams takes on one of its in-form sides in a rematch of last month’s Premier League classic. Back then, Bournemouth came from three goals down to win 4-3. Can the Hatters exact revenge?

Recent form suggests not. Despite finding the net in nine of their last 10 games in all competition – and have generally outscored the teams around them in the table all season – Luton are without a win since January and are currently stuck in the bottom three.

The win for Nottingham Forest and point for Everton midweek further pours the pressure on Hatters manager Rob Edwards and his charges to get three points against Bournemouth in this one.

Meanwhile, Andoni Iraola’s outfit are in fine fettle with 13 points coming from the 15 available from their previous five games. Only title-chasers Arsenal and Liverpool have matched that over that period.

They have already surpassed last season’s points total (39) and have now set their sights on beating the club record (45) for points in a single top-flight league campaign.

Much of that has to do with the form of Justin Kluivert, who scored his fifth winner for his team this season in Bournemouth’s 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the week. He needs just one more goal to pull level with the haul his father, Dutch legend Patrick, managed in England for Newcastle.

This one will be close but we can see the south coast side coming up trumps.

Prediction: Luton 1-2 Bournemouth

Brighton vs Arsenal

Form (all competitions) Brighton: DLWLD Arsenal: WDWWW

Arsenal could not be playing Brighton at a better time.

Despite earning the glowing praise of Klopp in defeat against Liverpool last weekend, Seagulls manager Roberto De Zerbi and his team are in a funk and there doesn’t seem to be any shifting it.

They managed 24 shots on goal in the 0-0 draw with Brentford in the week, the most they have managed in a single Premier League game without finding the net. Indeed, their recent woes in front of goal make for grim reading, with just four goals coming in their last eight matches in all competitions.

However, they have a good recent record against the title-challenging Gunners with three wins from their previous five meetings in all competitions.

Arsenal, though, have made a valuable habit of protecting a lead; they are without defeat in 39 games under Mikel Arteta when they have been leading at half-time.

Unlike last season, there is no sense of an impending collapse and this Gunners team appears hungry, strong, and ready for their time in the sun.

We are predicting a comfortable win for Arsenal as they look to keep the pressure on at the top.

Prediction: Brighton 0-3 Arsenal

Manchester United vs Liverpool

Form (all competitions) Manchester United: LDWWL Liverpool: WWLWD

If this game even comes close to reproducing the drama we witnessed in the FA Cup at Old Trafford last month, it will be a corker.

The problem is, as always, nobody knows which Manchester United will turn up. The thrills and spills of that 4-3 triumph over their bitter rivals led to an atmosphere at Old Trafford that hasn’t been seen or felt for what seems like an eternity. They were full of running, attacking verve and excellent interplay; in short, they resembled the sort of side many fans thought they would see under Erik ten Hag.

Then, in what was arguably one of the poorest performances by a Manchester United team in recent memory, they conceded 31 shots in a 1-1 draw with Brentford before conspiring to lose 4-3 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge despite being 3-2 up in the 99th minute.

The Red Devils have faced 20 or more shots in 12 different top-flight matches this term, with only bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United (12) doing so as often. The ease with which teams can create chances against United should be of maximum concern to Ten Hag.

Liverpool, meanwhile, continue to churn out victories even when not playing at their best.

Mohamed Salah was unusually wasteful in the 2-1 win over Brighton when scoring just once in 12 attempts – the most a player has managed in a single match since Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Manchester United against Burnley in 2016 (12) – while he also failed to find the net against the Blades in midweek.

Remarkably, Liverpool’s recent record against the Red Devils is not the most inspiring with just one win in four attempts (W1 D1 L1). It should be noted, though, that one of those games was a famous 7-0 dismantling at Anfield.

This could be another high-scoring game but, unlike the FA Cup tie, it will go in favour of Liverpool.

Prediction: Manchester United 2-4 Liverpool

Sheffield United vs Chelsea

Form (all competitions) Sheffield United: LDDLL Chelsea: WDWWD

Sheffield United are going to be relegated this term, of that there is not much doubt left. The question is more likely ‘can they go down fighting?’

To start, they need to sort out a defence that’s leaking like a sieve. They have already conceded more goals in a top-flight campaign than any other since 1975-76, when they let in 82 goals across 42 games to finish bottom of the table.

Home games provide no shelter from the storm either; they have an abysmal recent defensive record at Bramall Lane with 21 conceded across the last five, an average of more than four goals shipped per game.

The odds are this is not going to improve against Chelsea, who have banged in 10 goals across their last five matches on the road and scored four in their come-from-behind win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening.

Indeed, with just one defeat in five away from home, Mauricio Pochettino’s Blues appear to finally be performing as they have threatened to all season at the business end of it. This one will be an away win.

Prediction: Sheffield United 1-4 Chelsea

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