Premier League match previews, team news, stats, predictions, kick-off time and how to follow | Football News

Team news, stats, predictions and how to follow the Premier League on Saturday as Manchester United host Tottenham, live on Sky Sports.

Brentford vs Burnley – Saturday; kick-off 3pm

Team News: Brentford will have Kristoffer Ajer and Christian Norgaard available for Saturday’s visit of Burnley.

The duo were forced off with knocks in last weekend’s 3-1 win at Norwich but have been passed fit by boss Thomas Frank.

Bees’ only absentee will be midfielder Josh Dasilva, who will serve the second match of his three-game suspension for a sending off against Newcastle last month.

Burnley captain Ben Mee is absent with a shin injury which kept him out against Chelsea last weekend.

Midfielder Dale Stephens has returned to training but will also not be involved in London

Forward Matej Vydra (dislocated elbow), Erik Pieters (knee) and Johann Berg Gudmundsson (calf) are all still out.

Jones Knows prediction

The fixture list is relenting for Brentford. After a run of nine straight games against teams in the top 10, fixtures with those around them in the table has sparked them back into life. I want to back them here.

Apart from against Manchester City, on all occasions this season when they have not won the match at home, Thomas Frank’s side have won the expected-goals battle – even in the 3-3 draw with Liverpool and the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.

It is a process which is actually the sixth-best home record in the Premier League when it comes to expected goals. The 11/10 for a home win does look juicy.

With the fussy Paul Tierney in charge, a bet in the cards market has taken my fancy.

No referee has dished out more cards than Tierney this season (82) at a per-90 minute average of 4.2. Hopefully, he’ll be busy booking Brentford players in this one.

Frank’s side played with much more intensity and aggression in their 3-1 win at Norwich, making 18 fouls – a season high for them – and picked up five yellow cards.

That desire to press higher, rather than sit off, has been a common theme in their fixtures against teams in the bottom eight. They have averaged 32.5 booking points in those 10 fixtures this season and nine of those fixtures has seen them pick up 20 or more booking points. You can get 6/5 with Sky Bet on that happening again in this fixture with a referee that loves a card. That’s a bet for me.

SCORE PREDICTION: 2-0 | BETTING ANGLE: 20 or more Brentford booking points (6/5 with Sky Bet – Bet Here!)

Opta stats…

• Having been unbeaten in their first eight home league meetings with Burnley (W4 D4) between 1933 and 1996, Brentford have lost three of their last four at home against the Clarets, most recently a 3-1 loss in January 2016.
• Burnley are looking to complete the league double over Brentford for just the second time in their history, though the other occasion was in the last campaign in which they met (2015-16 in the Championship).
• Brentford’s 3-1 win at Norwich last time out ended a run of eight league games without a win for the Bees, while they netted as many goals in that victory as they had in their previous seven league games combined. Brentford are looking to secure consecutive Premier League victories for the first time.
• Since the start of 2018-19 (when he moved to Peterborough), Ivan Toney has scored 93 goals in all competitions, with only Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane netting more for English league sides in that time. Toney has also netted five hat-tricks in that time, with no player netting more in all competitions.
• Burnley’s Dwight McNeil has had more shots without scoring than any other player in the Premier League so far this season (32). Overall, McNeil has failed to score with his last 40 shots in the competition, since netting against Everton almost a year ago to the day (13th March 2021).

How to follow: Follow Brentford vs Burnley 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.

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

Team News: Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Raphael Varane will be available for Manchester United‘s crunch Premier League clash with Tottenham.

The Red Devils were without the experienced trio for last weekend’s chastening 4-1 derby loss to Manchester City but are set to be boosted by their returns for the visit of top-four rivals Spurs on Saturday evening.

There is some doubt over David de Gea’s involvement, with Sky Sports News being told there is a Covid testing issue with the Spanish goalkeeper. Manchester United are trying to resolve this but Dean Henderson is expected to deputise if De Gea is ruled out.

Luke Shaw remains absent having first tested positive for Covid-19 last week and Scott McTominay is expected to miss out with a calf injury. Mason Greenwood remains suspended by the club.

Tottenham wing-back Ryan Sessegnon has suffered a fresh hamstring injury which will keep him out until the international break.

Sessegnon, who has a long history of similar problems, picked up the problem in Monday’s 5-0 win over Everton.

Oliver Skipp (groin) remains out along with Japhet Tanganga (knee).

Jones Knows prediction

I’m having trust issues with both of these teams. Having confidence when making informed betting decisions is absolutely crucial to coming out in front, so this is a tough one. I’ve decided it’s a case of which defence can I trust the most when it comes to making an outright call on the match. On that basis, Spurs just come out in front.

The reason for that could be Eric Dier. Antonio Conte has heralded Dier as “world class” and his importance to this Tottenham side looks clear to see. In 12 games where Dier has started in the Premier League as the central defender in a back three, Spurs have lost just once (W8, D3) and have conceded just seven goals, keeping seven clean sheets.

However, instead of backing Spurs, I’d much rather invest in Harry Kane being a decisive factor in this fixture such is his current ruthless touch in front of goal. In his last 12 Premier League appearances, the England forward has put aside his early season struggles and has netted nine times, posting a very impressive conversion rate of 17 per cent. He has also scored in four of Tottenham’s last five Premier League away wins. I’m going to rinse and repeat our successful angle of last week in the win over Everton by backing Kane to score once (17/10), twice (11/1) and to net a hat-trick (66/1)

SCORE PREDICTION: 1-2 | BETTING ANGLE: Harry Kane to score (7/4 with Sky Bet – Bet Here!)

Opta stats…

• Tottenham have won two of their last three Premier League away games against Manchester United (L1), as many as they had in their first 26 visits to Old Trafford in the competition (W2 D3 L21).
• Manchester United are winless in their last three games in all competitions (D2 L1) – they’ve not gone longer without a win since a run of six games in September/October 2019.
• Man Utd’s Cristiano Ronaldo has been involved in seven goals in his last five Premier League games against Spurs (4 goals, 3 assists), both scoring and assisting against them in three different matches in this run.
• Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has won four of his six meetings with Manchester United in all competitions, most recently winning the FA Cup final 1-0 against them in May 2018. However, the Italian has lost on both of his visits to Old Trafford against the Red Devils.
• Tottenham’s Harry Kane has scored 93 goals in 137 Premier League away games – one more will see him equal Wayne Rooney for the most goals scored away from home in the competition’s history.

How to follow: Watch Manchester United vs Tottenham 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.

Saturday 12th March 5:00pm


Kick off 5:30pm

How the table stands

How to watch Premier League highlights on Sky Sports Digital

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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.