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BETMGM GOLDEN GOALS MD27: NORTH LONDON DERBY PRESSURE COOKER

After a hiatus for the FA Cup, the Premier League is back and Matchday 27 is packed with important clashes at both ends of the table.

None other than the North London Derby headlines the weekend, with new Spurs boss Igor Tudor getting the most eye-opening of welcomes to the job.

Third-placed Aston Villa are at home to Leeds, as Champions League-chasing Liverpool are at struggling Nottingham Forest.

Chelsea host Burnley at Stamford Bridge, in-form West Ham welcome Bournemouth to the London Stadium while Sunderland play Fulham at the Stadium of Light looking to return to the top half.

Remember, successfully predicting the scorelines in these games could net you up to £250,000. The best part? Getting as few as two scores correct could mean one of several prizes heading your way, ranging from Free Bets to a share of £5,000 cash!

Last week, for the second Golden Goals edition in a row, one player was one correct score away from calling all six right to net the £5,000 prizepool all to themselves.

And, for the second week in succession, a Newcastle match was the sole outlier: they predicted a 1-1 draw where the Magpies thrashed Villa 3-1.

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Here’s how we see things playing out on Matchday 27…

Aston Villa 2-2 Leeds

Villa are having a funny old time of late.

They remain third in the Premier League but have been knocked out of the FA Cup by Newcastle and are on a run of two wins in six league games with just four goals scored in the process.

They face Leeds here, a team with two wins in nine. It’s only two defeats in those nine games too, though, as five have ended all square.

The Whites have one win and one clean sheet away from Elland Road but five draws in their last six on the road.

They will be a tough nut for Villa to crack and, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Noah Okafor in form, a threat to the home side’s backline too.

Villa won the reverse fixture at Elland Road 2-1 with a brace from Morgan Rogers. The England midfielder is the only Villan to score in their last three games, with the other an own goal by Brighton’s Jack Hinshelwood.

Rogers has had at least one shot on target in his last six games while Okafor has two goals in his last two. It’s a nice 5/1 for them both to have a shot on target here and both teams to score, which has landed in Leeds’ last three away trips.

Leeds’ rally to come from behind to draw at Chelsea was impressive and showed they have the resolve it will take to stay in the Premier League – and a point here would help their cause of avoiding the drop no end.

They can get one.

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Chelsea 4-0 Burnley

Be it a new manager bounce or the sage, omnipotent decision of the Chelsea board, new manager Liam Rosenior has his charges playing with a swagger not seen under the tutelage of Enzo Maresca. At least according to some observers.

Those sentiments are born out in the performances and the results, too.

Indeed, since Rosenior assumed charge, the Blues have won the joint most games — eight — of any side in Europe's top five leagues.

There are some concerns coming into this clash, specifically around the form at Stamford Bridge.

They have won less than 50% of their home matches in the Premier League this season. With just six wins from 13, that puts them in the bottom half of the league for home comforts.

However, in Burnley, they come face to face with a pliant opposition. No team has conceded more than the Clarets in the league this year, with 1.96 goals against them per game.

A miserable exit in the FA Cup has dampened any momentum built after their 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace the weekend before.

And worse for the Clarets is that Cole Palmer has been back in the goals lately, bagging four in his last two league games with an assist to boot.

Chelsea to win by two goals or more and Palmer to score at least a brace comes in at attractive looking odds of [13/2] (sports#event/1024044006).

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Nottingham Forest 1-1 Liverpool

The Sean Dyche experiment is over and Nottingham Forest are now onto their fourth full-time manager in a single season, with the ex-Burnley and Everton manager joining Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou on the scrapheap.

Vitor Pereira is the man charged with leading his charges to safety. He has previous experience of achieving exactly that feat with Wolves last season.

Dyche’s sacking may not come as the biggest surprise to those following the ownership structure at Forest, but he had been doing quite well. Indeed, he was a nominee for the manager of the month for January, such was his side’s form.

They had lost just one of five games before he was let go. He was also in charge of the Tricky Trees when they secured their best result of this tempestuous campaign in a 3-0 away win over Liverpool at Anfield.

They face the defending champions again on Golden Goals Matchday 27. Liverpool are in much better form than the reverse fixture earlier in the year, but they still have lots of work to do to get into the top five and Forest are a bit of a bogey team for them of late. They haven’t won in their previous three games against them.

Mohamed Salah bagged his 92nd assist in the Premier League in the win over Sunderland. He is now level with club legend Steven Gerrard in that metric.

We are going to back him to edge ahead here in a score draw. Get odds of 20/1 on the match to finish a draw, both teams to score and Salah to get an assist.

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West Ham 1-1 Bournemouth

Make no mistake about it, West Ham’s great escape is very much on as they continue to make ground on a flailing Forest side only three points above the drop zone going into the weekend.

Any murmurs of Bournemouth also being dragged into the relegation conversation have been squashed in recent weeks.

The Cherries are currently the joint-best team in the top flight over the last five with three wins and two draws – a marvellous return to form that has seen them quietly shimmy back into the top half of the table.

Antoine Semenyo may be gone but they certainly haven’t lost their attacking impetus, especially with Junior Kroupi stepping in and stepping up when called upon.

The 19-year-old is second only to Erling Haaland for goals scored per 90 minutes this term, often creating something out of nothing to notch against the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal.

He has eight goals so far this season and is 19/10 to convert in the capital once again – or 20/1 if you’re also running a draw and over 6.5 combined goalkeeper saves in the same Bet Builder.

Alphonse Areola leads the Premier League in saves per match with 3.9, tailed closely by Bournemouth’s Djordje Petrovic in third with 3.1.

Combine the two and you’ve got a game of two keepers who will stop at nothing to shut the other out.

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Sunderland 2-1 Fulham

Sunderland’s unbeaten home record has fallen.

Liverpool’s 1-0 victory at the Stadium of Light was their first defeat in 13 home matches this season. Impressive for the newly-promoted side but they could do with a victory in this one, having faltered slightly of late.

The Black Cats have won just twice in their last 10 but the visit of Fulham gives them a chance to halt their mini-slide and look up the table once more.

The Cottagers have just three wins on the road, two of them coming at bottom-three sides West and Burnley. Like Sunderland, it has been their home form that is the cornerstone of a solid season with 23 of their 34 points coming at Craven Cottage.

The Wearsiders’ home reliance is even more apparent: 26 of their 36 points have been gained at home and they have lost three consecutive away league games,

If they really do have European aspirations, three points are needed here.

Just 10 goals have been scored by opposition players at the correct end of the Stadium of Light this season and it’s entirely likely an eighth home win is on the cards here as a result.

Habib Diarra has been almost like a new signing for Sunderland since returning from injury and AFCON and their record signing has two goals in his last four in all competitions.

He’s 23/4 to score or assist in a home win in a bet that certainly has merit to it.

Fortress Stadium of Light may have been breached, but Sunderland’s retaliation will be key.

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Tottenham 0-2 Arsenal

This could be the biggest North London Derby on record given what’s at stake for these two sides.

For Arsenal, it’s a chance to head into the final 10 games of the season having completed the double over their storied rivals.

For Tottenham, it’s a chance not only to stifle their neighbour’s title aspirations but to put distance between themselves and any sort of relegation scrap.

But do they have enough to do that, with injuries mounting and a new manager in Igor Tudor – a coach who has never worked in England – stepping in for a fixture of this magnitude?

Spurs have lost six of their last seven against the Gunners, that’s four years and three full seasons without a win in the top flight, and are 18th in the Premier League home form table.

Eberechi Eze etched his name in North London Derby history last time out with an emphatic hat-trick that broke Spurs hearts having nearly joined the club in the summer – and we expect him to be amongst the action once more whether he starts or enters the fray as a substitute.

The England international, also scorer of a brace here for Palace last term, plays a starring role in our 27/5 Bet Builder: Arsenal to win, Eze to score or assist and an own goal to be scored.

No team has benefitted more from own goals across all competitions this season than Mikel Arteta’s side. It’s a fitting stat going into Sunday’s main event, where tensions couldn’t be any higher after the Gunners dropped points against bottom-side Wolves midweek.

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Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change. Please note: This week's Golden Goals deadline is Saturday 21sth February 2026 15:00. Opt-in is required and you can find out more here.

Golden Goals Terms & Conditions

Opt in & predict 6 correct scores (see game lobby for weekly tournament cut-off time) to win up to £250k jackpot. Predict 2+ correct scores and win a prize (ranging from Free Bets to £5k Prizepool). Winnings shared evenly in case of multiple winners. Each prize subject to its own terms. Void if 1 or more matches postponed/abandoned or not completed. Verification procedures apply. 18+. T&Cs and exclusions apply.

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