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BETMGM GOLDEN GOALS MD8: ANFIELD STALEMATE HELPS GUNNERS GO CLEAR

Liverpool host fierce rivals Manchester United on Sunday in the standout fixture of an action-packed Golden Goals Matchday 8.

The hosts have lost back-to-back Premier League games while United are winless away from Old Trafford – which side will step up to the mark?

Elsewhere Wolves travel to Sunderland to test the Black Cats’ unbeaten home record, North East neighbours Newcastle take the long trip to Brighton and league leaders Arsenal are at Fulham.

Tottenham welcome Aston Villa as they seek to ramp up the pressure at the top of the table while in-form Manchester City are at home to an Everton side without the inspirational Jack Grealish, who is ineligible against his parent club.

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!

Matchday 7 was a barnstormer with five players going into our final game with perfect scores. However, none managed to correctly predict Brentford 0-1 Manchester City and the jackpot remained unclaimed.

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Here’s how we see things playing out on Matchday 8…

Sunderland 2-1 Wolves

Seven games played and Sunderland sit just one point off matching Southampton’s dismal total last season. It’s safe to say the Black Cats have defied many expectations, producing one of the best starts for a promoted side in over a decade.

Key to this initial success is their impressive home form: they’re unbeaten with two wins and a draw against West Ham, Brentford and Aston Villa.

Notice the trend there? All are established outfits with over four years in the top flight.

Just like Wolves.

​​

Vitor Pereira’s side currently sit rock bottom having picked up only two points in the last two games to mark their worst start to a season in 127 years.

Anchoring Sunderland this season is a backbone built on reliability. That starts with Robin Roefs, whose 2.5 saves per match have already delivered three clean sheets and plenty of highlight-reel-worthy moments.

Further up the pitch, Granit Xhaka’s command of the midfield has seen him assist in back-to-back games at the Stadium of Light, all while pulling off his usual defensive duties in front of a very strong backline.

A win for either could have huge implications later in the season but there’s only one team that looks ready for that, which is ideal if you’re running this 16/1 Bet Builder: Sunderland/the draw, Xhaka to assist and Roefs to make over 2.5 saves.

Brighton 2-2 Newcastle

Brighton’s goal-laden home form meets Newcastle’s newfound away-day pragmatism in a fascinating south coast tussle.

The Amex has become a virtually guaranteed source of entertainment, with both teams finding the net in nine of the Seagulls’ last 10 Premier League home fixtures and all three this season.

Yet the Magpies arrive on the back of a steely, but sterile, run of three consecutive 0-0 Premier League away draws.

History points towards the deadlock being broken this time round: Brighton are unbeaten at home against Newcastle since a 2017 Championship encounter while both teams have scored in five of the last six meetings.

With identical league records – two wins, three draws, two losses – a draw would also not cause much surprise.

The man tasked with ending Newcastle's away-day drought is Nick Woltemade; the German arrives having scored in three successive club matches and with penalty duties now in his locker.

For Brighton the narrative choice is supplied neatly by winger Yankuba Minteh, who has scored in both his appearances against his former employers and has five goal contributions in his last five coming into this one.

Combining both teams to score with a Woltemade anytime goal and Minteh to score or assist warrants serious consideration at 21/2.

Manchester City 3-1 Everton

With Jack Grealish ineligible to play against his parent club, this game should represent a straightforward win for the hosts.

Manchester City are relying on the goalscoring form of Erling Haaland. The unstoppable Norwegian has only failed to score in one game for his club this season – the 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham.

His record against the Toffees reads well, with four goals in his last four games against them, however, he did fail to get on the scoresheet in this fixture last season.

Then there is the injury to a key cog in the wheel in Rodri. There is a sense that, if Everton can stop Haaland and exploit the holes left by their Ballon d’Or-winning midfielder, they can snatch a result.

That is a big if, though. Despite a solid start to the season, Everton’s general playing style has been raising some eyebrows. Even in victory over a previously 19-unbeaten Crystal Palace they were rather fortunate to get over the line.

However, the form of Iliman Ndiaye on the right side of Everton’s front line is extremely positive. He comes into this game off the back of a goal against Palace, his third of the campaign, while he also scored a wonderful goal in this fixture last year. He provides a cutting-edge up front.

Our Bet Builder is a bit inventive but odds of 12/1 for both Haaland and Ndiaye to score and over 3.5 goals in the game looks a little too juicy to ignore.

Fulham 1-3 Arsenal

At this moment in time, it feels like it’s Arsenal’s year.

With 14, the Gunners have scored the second-most goals so far this season while their three conceded are the fewest.

Bukayo Saka is back in the goals again while the signings of Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke provide genuine depth in that attacking line.

However, the Gunners do not have a good recent record away to the Cottagers.

They haven’t won on two trips to their London neighbours and the 1-1 result in this fixture last year was seen as the moment where Mikel Arteta saw his title dream begin to slip away.

Fulham are enduring an inconsistent beginning to their campaign.

Curiously, though, the last three Premier League scorelines in games involving them have ended 3-1 – losses to Bournemouth and Aston Villa and a win over Brentford – so consistently inconsistent is the buzzphrase for Marco Silva’s men.

We are going for an away win and like the look of Arsenal to over 2.5 goals and Viktor Gyokeres to score anytime at 10/3.

A fourth 3-1 scoreline in a row beckons.

Tottenham 2-2 Aston Villa

Aston Villa head to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium having put their poor start to the season behind them.

Unai Emery’s men failed to score in their first four league games but have notched in every game since in all competitions without losing.

Spurs have made a strong start under Thomas Frank. Just one defeat so far, to an impressive Bournemouth side, sees the north Londoners sit third in the Premier League table, two points off top.

The Villans have won five out of the last seven meetings between the two, an upturn in fortune from the run of games prior where they won just two in 23.

There also hasn’t been a draw in this fixture since 2012 but, ironically, the stats are pointing towards one this time.

Villa haven’t won away from home in the league while the hosts have just one league win here – back on the opening day of the season.

Donyell Malen bagged a brace against Burnley last time out and scored for the Netherlands on Sunday, too, so 19/1 for the in-form Dutchman to score in a draw looks a smart play as both teams seek to extend an unbeaten run.

Liverpool 1-1 Manchester United

The win over Sunderland before the international break seems to have quietened the talk around Ruben Amorim’s future as Manchester United manager.

Games for the Red Devils, though, don’t come much bigger than Sunday’s trip to Anfield to face Liverpool.

They haven’t won there since 2016 – but could they be facing the champions at a good time?

Arne Slot’s Reds haven’t set the world alight so far this season and indeed have lost their last three games in all competitions.

Big money summer signing Florian Wirtz has struggled to get going since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen and has now gone nine games without a goal or assist.

Wirtz Liverpool stats

The usually reliable Mohamed Salah has also struggled for goals, as have Liverpool generally: they’ve scored more than one once in their last five league outings.

All of this said, United aren’t travelling to Anfield full of confidence either. They may have won three games – against newly-promoted Sunderland and Burnley and 10-man Chelsea – but they’ve picked up just one point on the road.

We do fancy them to pick up one more here, however. Liverpool are out of sorts and, off the back of an international break, a less-than-inspiring draw is on the cards.

Odds of 7/2 for both teams to score in a draw, which will certainly please Amorim more than Slot, could merit investment.

Golden Goals Matchday 8 Picks

Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change. Please note: This week's Golden Goals deadline is Saturday 18th October 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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