GOLDEN GOALS MATCHDAY 31: TOTTENHAM TO GRAB BIG LONDON DERBY WIN

The international break is in the rearview mirror and the Premier League returned with a canter on matchday 30. However, the pace of England’s topflight is relentless and we’re back with another round of BetMGM’s Golden Goals ahead of midweek action on gameday 31.

Another slate of BetMGM Golden Goal games means one thing, there’s another chance for you to win up to £1 million if you can correctly predict six scorelines. If the jackpot isn't won, just get more scores correct than your BetMGM peers to win a share of our £5,000 prizepool.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s in store on matchday 31…

Newcastle vs Everton

Evertonians were probably desperate to see their side go into the international break. A dismal run of form before the hiatus culminated in a 2-0 defeat at Manchester United - extending their winless run since the turn of the year to 12 Premier League matches. The weekend’s return to domestic football saw that run extended further, with a last minute own goal seeing them fall to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Bournemouth.

That defeat above further continued the trend of the Toffees' wastefulness in front of goal. They’re the third-lowest scorers in the division this season, nestling below the likes of Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, and newly promoted Luton, as well as sitting last in goals below expected (13). For context, the next closest team in Brentford has only five less than expected.

If Sean Dyche’s men are to find the scoresheet this gameday, we’d expect it to come from Dwight McNeil, who has a favourable record against the Toon Army since joining the blue side of Merseyside.

The English winger has notched three goal contributions in his last three outings against Newcastle - including a goal and assist in December’s 3-0 victory.

Newcastle’s injury list seems to have been at capacity for the entire season, but the Magpies were dealt another huge blow before the international break when Sven Botman suffered an ACL injury that’s set to sideline him for 6-9 months.

The Dutch defender has been an integral part of Eddie Howe’s season, winning over 65% of his aerial duels and tackles in the heart of the Newcastle defence. He joins fellow key players Kieran Trippier, Callum Wilson, Nick Pope, and Joelinton on the physio table.

Despite all the absences, Newcastle are still a seriously strong side at St. James’ Park. They’ve amassed over 18 more points when playing at home compared to when they are away from Tyneside. Everton are solid away from home, but their lack of goalscoring output haunts them once again here. It should be a comfortable home win.

Prediction: Newcastle 2-0 Everton

Nottingham Forest vs Fulham

Nottingham Forest fell into the relegation zone over the international break without playing a match after a four-point deduction was sanctioned by the Premier League for breaching Financial Fair Play regulations.

The club has appealed the decision, but for now, they’ll have to focus on beating Fulham this midweek to try and steer themselves clear of the relegation battle. However, beating the Cottagers has proven a difficult task since Forest rejoined the top flight.

After beating them 1-0 during their first campaign back in the big time, they’ve gone on to lose three straight games against Marco Silva’s men by an aggregate of 10-2. The worst performance during this run was earlier this season when Forest fell to a 5-0 defeat on the banks of the River Thames.

No fewer than four Fulham players featured in our team of the week after the dismantling back on matchday 15 in December - including Alex Iwobi who netted a brace and Andreas Pereira for his pair of assists.

One man who wasn’t involved in December but has proven himself since the turn of the year is Rodrigo Muniz. The Brazilian has been in insatiable form and his seven goals in seven games before the international break had him considered for a call-up by Brazil boss Dorival Junior.

It’s hard to be convinced by Fulham’s away form this season, though. Before beating United at Old Trafford in February, they hadn’t won away from home since the opening game of the campaign. A win here could set up a strong end to the campaign for Marco Silva and company, but it’ll likely end a point apiece.

Prediction: Nottingham Forest 2-2 Fulham

West Ham vs Tottenham

2024 is the year of inconsistency for Tottenham Hotspur.

They began March with two huge results in their chase for the top four - beating both Crystal Palace and Aston Villa - winning back-to-back games in the Premier League for the first time since December against Nottingham Forest and Everton.

The path to top-four football was there for Ange Postecoglou but, in typical Tottenham fashion, they followed up their impressive results with a 3-0 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage. This result also ended their historic run of 39 games where they scored at least one goal.

We shouldn’t have to worry about a lack of goalmouth action in this fiery all-London encounter, however, with two of the Premier League’s top scorers Heung-Min Son and Jarrod Bowen on the pitch. Plus, there’s not been a 0-0 between West Ham and Spurs since the 2011 season

Bowen found the net during West Ham’s victory in the reverse fixture earlier in the campaign during his impressive run of scoring in seven of eight away games to start the season. He hasn’t enjoyed such a purple patch since, scoring only three goals in eleven games before joining up with England.

One thing is for certain in this one, Spurs will dominate possession. Big Ange’s side ranks within the top four for average possession per 90 minutes, while West Ham hold a lowly 41% per game, which is only better than the likes of Sheffield United and Everton.

Tottenham will have to be wary of West Ham’s threat from the counter, the Hammers and Nottingham Forest are the only two sides with eight or more counter-attacking goals this campaign.

It’ll be a tight game at the Olympic Stadium but Spurs are a top-five team on their travels, it should be enough to get them through and grab a valuable three points in the race for Champions League football.

Prediction: West Ham 1-2 Tottenham

Brentford vs Brighton

Brentford’s season has gone from disappointing to dismal. The Bees have well and truly lost their sting. Even with the return of Ivan Toney in the new year, they are hovering perilously above the drop zone with only newly-promoted and points-deducted sides surrounding them.

Thomas Frank’s underwhelming campaign was epitomised before the international break when they fell to Burnley at Turf Moor, handing the Lancashire side their first win at home since the 2nd December against Sheffield United.

Helping the teams around them has become a scary pattern for Brentford. They are the only side to lose to both Sheffield United and Burnley in the Premier League this season, as well as conceding defeat to Everton earlier in the season.

Unlike most of the sides languishing in the bottom third of the Premier League, Brentford poses a potent attacking threat, especially when playing at the Gtech Community Stadium. They average over 1.7 goals per game when playing at home compared to 1.1 when playing away.

The art of goalscoring hasn’t been an issue for Brighton, they’ve mastered it. They’re currently the seventh-most effective attack in the Premier League, already reaching a half-century of goals this campaign with nine games to go.

Finding the back of the net is a joint endeavour for Robert De Zerbi’s side. No player features in the upper echelon of the goalscoring rankings, with Joao Pedro ranking as the summit on the seaside with eight goals in the league, but no fewer than 12 players have two goals or more this season.

Brighton are also expert at conceding goals, however. Outside of the newly promoted sides, De Zerbi’s outfit has the lowest amount of clean sheets so far this season with four, so we should see goals this midweek.

Goals might be guaranteed, but we’re not sure a winner is. This fixture has lent itself to high-scoring draws in previous years (two 3-3 draws in the last six meetings), so we are going to stick with the trend for this week’s iteration.

Prediction: Brentford 2-2 Brighton

Arsenal vs Luton

It feels like an age since Luton Town gave Arsenal an almighty scare at Kenilworth Road earlier in the season.

After taking the lead after 20 minutes through Gabriel Martinelli, Arsenal just couldn’t shake the newly promoted side and it looked like they were heading towards two points dropped in the title race. Declan Rice would save the day on that occasion - scoring his then-third goal of the campaign in the 97th minute.

That show of resilience left them top of the tree after matchweek 15, a place they have become accustomed to as the battle for the title continues.

A stalwart feature of the Gunners championship charge is their impressive home form. The 2-1 victory over Brentford before the international intervention extended their winning record on their home patch to four-straight games. The only slight surprise about the Brentford victory, they only managed to score two.

Before that result over a fortnight ago, Arsenal were averaging 4.8 goals per game across the previous five, including 6-0 wins over West Ham and Sheffield United, as well as netting just the five against Burnley.

Rob Edwards’ Hatters will be hoping his side can rebut the goalscoring wrathe of Mikel Arteta’s men, but recent outings suggest that’s more in hope than expectation. Luton conceded two or more in the ten games leading up to the international break - which included four goals in one half during Bournemouth’s epic 4-3 comeback at the vitality - before conceding another two against Spurs on Saturday.

It’s still impressive seeing Luton still swinging amongst the elite in the Premier League and they often give the bigger teams a stern test, but we just don’t see it at the Emirates. Look away Hatters, it's a heavy home win.

Prediction: Arsenal 5-0 Luton

Manchester City vs Aston Villa

Will we see a revenge-fulled set of Citizens on Wednesday night as Aston Villa visits the Etihad?

Don’t forget, Unai Emery’s Villans were only the second side to defeat City in the Premier League, extending an uncharacteristic winless run between November and December to four games for the blue side of Manchester.

That Leon Bailey-inspired victory was the first win that the Midlands side had notched over City in over a decade but their record at the Etihad doesn’t hint at lightning striking twice this season. Villa haven’t won at the Etihad since 2007.

It doesn’t get much better when you delve deeper either. Pep Guardiola’s side have scored at least three goals in 11 of the 12 games in which they’ve welcomed Villa to Manchester across the last 14 years.

Villa are a very different side to years past, however. They are on the precipice of a top four finish in the Premier Leaue for the first time since 1995/96 when Brian Little was in the dugout, with current away form being a huge catalyst for their success.

Since their Boxing Day defeat at Old Trafford, Villa are unbeaten on the road, accumulating 11 points from a possible 15 in a five-game unbeaten stretch.

All that being said, we think that their next away loss comes in the same city as their last away win did, Manchester. City are usually an immovable object at the Etihad and, after Sunday’s draw against Arsenal, they won’t want to let any more points slip in their chase for a fourth consecutive title.

Prediction: Manchester City 3-1 Aston Villa

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