Star Sports ambassador ALEX CROOK previews the upcoming weekend Premier League fixtures…
BOURNEMOUTH v BURNLEY
Saturday, 3pm
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It may be no victories in seven for Bournemouth but the Cherries rediscovered their attacking swagger in Monday’s sensational 4-4 draw at Manchester United.
Andoni Iraola’s side have a golden opportunity to return to winning ways when they host Burnley on Saturday.
The Clarets have lost their last seven Premier League games and home fans turned on manager Scott Parker during last weekend’s 3-2 defeat at home to Fulham, which landed our best bet.
Parker cannot expect too much sympathy when he faces his old club and it is hard to see Burnley improving on a dire record of seven defeats in their last eight away games.
Manchester City target Antoine Semenyo was back among the goals at Old Trafford and tends to score in streaks so Bournemouth to win and Semenyo to net at any time at 2.5/1 with starsports.bet looks a solid proposition.
TOTTENHAM v LIVERPOOL
Saturday, 5.30pm
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Liverpool’s trip to Tottenham on Saturday teatime looks an intriguing match-up on paper.
Mo Salah’s very public spat with manager Arne Slot and the Anfield board seems to have had a galvanising impact on the champions, who have responded with back-to-back wins over Inter Milan and Brighton.
In fact, Slot’s previously stuttering side are now unbeaten in six outings while Tottenham are bidding to avoid setting an unwanted club record of 11 home defeats in a single calendar year.
Last weekend’s 3-0 trouncing at Nottingham Forest, which piled fresh pressure on boss Thomas Frank, leaves the north Londoners languishing in the bottom half of the table.
Victory for Liverpool could see them gate-crash the top four depending on results elsewhere, which would be another massive step in the right direction.
This is a game that usually provides plenty of drama and excitement and the last three clashes between the pair have served up no fewer than 21 goals.
With Salah and British record signing Alexander Isak both struggling for form, the Reds have been heavily reliant on another summer signing Hugo Ekiteke as their main source of goals.
Ekiteke bagged a brilliant brace in last weekend’s 2-0 triumph over Brighton and I am backing the in-form Frenchman to net again.
A build-a-bet of Liverpool to win, over 3.5 goals and Ekiteke to score returns 6.5/1 with starsports.bet.
My long shot is Liverpool to win 3-2 at 18/1 with starsports.bet.
ASTON VILLA v MAN UNITED
Sunday, 4.30pm
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There have surely been few more impressive turnarounds in Premier League history than that of Aston Villa.
Manager Unai Emery was visibly rattled after seeing his side fail to win any of their first five games, but they have now won 15 of the last 17 in all competitions to emerge as shock title contenders.
They have also turned Villa Park into a fortress, winning their last nine home games, including seeing off leaders Arsenal and second-placed Manchester City.
United prepared for their trip to the West Midlands by giving us the game of the season so far as they played out a thrilling 4-4 draw at home to Bournemouth on Monday.
The Red Devils are missing key duo Bryan Mbuembo and Amad Diallo and the suspended Casemiro, which makes the difficult task of halting Villa’s incredible form even tougher.
But Villa have a dismal record in this fixture and went 27 years without a home victory against United before finally beating them in Unai Emery’s first game in charge in November 2022.
Furthermore, Villa have only ever won five Premier League matches against United and the hosts have had a couple of unconvincing victories of late.
With United having lost only one of their last 10 league games, I am going to chance the draw at 13/5 with starsports.bet.
FULHAM v NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Monday, 8pm
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Craven Cottage plays host to the final game before Christmas when Fulham host Forest on Monday.
The Cottagers suffered a devastating late defeat at Newcastle in Wednesday’s EFL Cup quarter final.
Their recent Premier League form makes better reading for Marco Silva’s men, who have taken nine points from their last five games to move clear of any imminent relegation danger.
Forest are in good form too having won six of their last eight matches in all competitions, but did slump to a 3-0 defeat at Everton in their last away Premier League away games.
Both teams are capable of scoring goals in what I think will be a pretty even affair so I am backing over 2.5 goals at 1/1 with starsports.bet.
RECOMMENDED SELECTIONS
1️⃣ BEST BET: Over 2.5 goals Fulham v Nottingham Forest 2pts at 1/1 (⭐️
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2️⃣ NEXT BEST: Bournemouth to win and Antoine Semenyo to score 2pts at 2.5/1 with starsports.bet
❓ OTHER: Aston Villa v Manchester United draw 1pt at 13/5 (⭐️
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🎲 LONG SHOT: Liverpool to win 3-2 0.5pts at 18/1 (⭐️
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📊 BUILD-A-BET: Liverpool to win, over 3.5 goals and Hugo Ekiteke to score 1pt at 6.5/1 with starsports.bet
🚀 ALEX ACCA: Newcastle, Bournemouth, Derby, Swindon 1pt at 16/1 (⭐️
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ALEX CROOK P&L (DEC 2025): +23.28 points
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