Brentford have been one of this season’s biggest success stories and all the evidence suggests they should account for Bournemouth. The Bees are ninth in the Premier League after enjoying a hot streak of late, whereas the 16th-placed Cherries have been in freefall.
Wolves and West Ham are rated better teams than their lowly Premier League positions suggest and each has started to turn things around. Wanderers have looked much more solid since Julen Lopetegui took charge, while the Hammers have had two decent results this month.
Nottingham Forest have recovered well from a tough start to life in the Premier League and get the nod to see off struggling Leicester. The Foxes have been badly affected by injuries again of late and Brendan Rodgers has yet to work out a way to cope with such problems.
Southampton have enjoyed a couple of cracking cup wins and will now look to improve their Premier League prospects when visiting Everton. However, the Toffees are also facing a relegation battle and know this is a match they can ill-afford to lose, so a tight tussle is expected.
Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr have made Cristiano Ronaldo the world’s highest-earning athlete, but just how much money will the Portuguese star be making at his new club? We’ve analysed the reported deal and how Ronaldo’s income stacks up against sport’s other high earners.
Aston Villa suffered an FA Cup upset versus Stevenage last Sunday but their recent Premier League form is good enough to see off Leeds. Unai Emery has given the Midlands outfit fresh impetus and we’d back him to outwit Whites boss Jesse Marsch any day of the week.
Napoli are fancied to come through another stiff test of their Serie A title credentials by edging out Juventus on home turf on Friday. The visitors have fought their way up to second in the table but have lost on their last three trips to Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
Newcastle hammered Leicester 3-0 away in the Premier League on Boxing Day but we’re expecting a closer contest in the EFL Cup. The Magpies are worthy favourites to come through this quarter-final clash, but the Foxes will take heart from their good record at St James’ Park.
Arsenal begin their quest for a record-extending 15th FA Cup triumph by visiting Oxford and are expected to make smooth progress. The U’s are only 14th in the League One table and were beaten 2-0 at Kassam Stadium by Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup early on this season.
Leicester will take an injury-hit squad to Gillingham in the FA Cup but should surely still be too strong for the League Two basement dwellers. The Foxes lifted this trophy for the first time in 2021 and could do with a boost after three straight Premier League defeats.
Newcastle claimed the last of their six FA Cup triumphs way back in 1955 and Eddie Howe would no doubt love to end that drought this term. The Magpies start out by visiting Sheffield Wednesday in round three but may find this a tricky test against the in-form League One outfit.
Tottenham have won only four times in all competitions since October 19 so look uneasy favourites for Wednesday’s trip to Selhurst Park. Their top-four hopes suffered a further setback on New Year’s Day when they lost 2-0 at home to Aston Villa and Antonio Conte has expressed his frustration at the quality of his squad.
Aston Villa have started to show their true worth since the departure of Steven Gerrard but they do not have a great record versus Wolves. Wanderers did the double over their Midlands rivals last season and have won four of the past six derbies, whilst losing only one.
David Moyes knows the pressure is mounting after five straight Premier League defeats but the West Ham boss may settle for a draw at Leeds. The Hammers are only above the drop zone on goal difference, but their hosts are hardly flying high with just two points more.