StevieDay1983

Here are the odds and ratings for this upcoming week of action from League 1, League 2, and the Scottish Premiership. Take a look and share your predictions with us below! 

The Punters Lounge community has mainly been forum-based so far with a number of face-to-face meet ups taking place. Personally, I'm aware how applications such as Whatsapp, Discord, and the like are becoming used more by communities like ours. There are no immediate plans to set up such channels but it could be something we'll look at in the near future and weigh up whether it's worth doing or not. 

The top spot in the Punters Lounge Fantasy Football League changed hands once again as the chaotic season of rollercoaster emotions continued with @Gazza's United's Palmers Allstars storming into first place and actually creating some breathing space for himself. His 97 point haul whilst already in 2nd position was largely down to the combined 47 points accrued by his strike partnership of Erling Haaland and Eddie Nketiah.
It was a decent knock by the new league leader but it still wasn't enough to win Manager of the Week. That accolade once again went to someone whose team accumulated over the 100-point mark. @Team Sagga's Team Sagga managed to earn 104 points to take the week's highest team score. Haaland and Nketiah also delivered the goods for Ivan's men but his decision to include the Brighton duo of Kaoru Mitoma and Pervis Estupinan also paid off. A special tip of the hat to @Alley Cat Glover's Alley Cats who also hit the 100-point mark.
In what was a relatively high-scoring week, the lowest score was a rather harsh 24 points earned by Roger Harris and is, ironically-named, Invest in Quality squad. When your two best players are out injured and 6 players in your starting XI fail to notch up more than a single point then you're always going to be struggling. Here's to hoping he has a better week next time around!
The next deadline is at 6:30pm GMT on Friday 3rd February due to the FA Cup 4th Round matches taking place this weekend. The drama goes on! 

The top spot in the Punters Lounge Fantasy Football League changed hands once again as the chaotic season of rollercoaster emotions continued with @Gazza's United's Palmers Allstars storming into first place and actually creating some breathing space for himself. His 97 point haul whilst already in 2nd position was largely down to the combined 47 points accrued by his strike partnership of Erling Haaland and Eddie Nketiah.
It was a decent knock by the new league leader but it still wasn't enough to win Manager of the Week. That accolade once again went to someone whose team accumulated over the 100-point mark. @Team Sagga's Team Sagga managed to earn 104 points to take the week's highest team score. Haaland and Nketiah also delivered the goods for Ivan's men but his decision to include the Brighton duo of Kaoru Mitoma and Pervis Estupinan also paid off. A special tip of the hat to @Alley Cat Glover's Alley Cats who also hit the 100-point mark.
In what was a relatively high-scoring week, the lowest score was a rather harsh 24 points earned by Roger Harris and is, ironically-named, Invest in Quality squad. When your two best players are out injured and 6 players in your starting XI fail to notch up more than a single point then you're always going to be struggling. Here's to hoping he has a better week next time around!
The next deadline is at 6:30pm GMT on Friday 3rd February due to the FA Cup 4th Round matches taking place this weekend. The drama goes on! 

The top spot in the Punters Lounge Fantasy Football League changed hands once again as the chaotic season of rollercoaster emotions continued with @Gazza's United's Palmers Allstars storming into first place and actually creating some breathing space for himself. His 97 point haul whilst already in 2nd position was largely down to the combined 47 points accrued by his strike partnership of Erling Haaland and Eddie Nketiah.
It was a decent knock by the new league leader but it still wasn't enough to win Manager of the Week. That accolade once again went to someone whose team accumulated over the 100-point mark. @Team Sagga's Team Sagga managed to earn 104 points to take the week's highest team score. Haaland and Nketiah also delivered the goods for Ivan's men but his decision to include the Brighton duo of Kaoru Mitoma and Pervis Estupinan also paid off. A special tip of the hat to @Alley Cat Glover's Alley Cats who also hit the 100-point mark.
In what was a relatively high-scoring week, the lowest score was a rather harsh 24 points earned by Roger Harris and is, ironically-named, Invest in Quality squad. When your two best players are out injured and 6 players in your starting XI fail to notch up more than a single point then you're always going to be struggling. Here's to hoping he has a better week next time around!
The next deadline is at 6:30pm GMT on Friday 3rd February due to the FA Cup 4th Round matches taking place this weekend. The drama goes on! 

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United
Nottingham Forest will play in this game coming off the back of a 1-1 Premier League tied result vs Bournemouth. It was their fourth straight game without losing in the English top flight, and avoiding relegation now seems more realistic. Nottingham Forest hasn't had any problems with scoring, netting in one hundred percent of their last six matches. They have hit an aggregate of 7 during that period while seeing the number of goals scored against them stand at 7. Such a trend isn't guaranteed to be carried forward into this match. Cheikhou Kouyaté (Hamstring Injury), Jesse Lingard (Hamstring Injury), Dean Henderson (Thigh Problems), Omar Richards (Fractured Leg), and Giulian Biancone (Knee Injury) will not be taking part for Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper.
After a loss in their previous game against Arsenal in the Premier League competition, Manchester United and their fans will hope to get a better result this time. Although the Red Devils stayed in the top-four zone, they are now 11 points behind the top-placed Gunners. Proving their predisposition for action-packed matches, the back of the net has been hit 20 times in the previous six games in which Manchester United has taken to the field, giving a mean average of 3.33 goals each clash. Opposition teams have got 6 of this total. Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has some current player fitness concerns. Axel Tuanzebe (Unknown Injury) and Donny van de Beek (Knee Injury) are names that won't be on the team sheet.
Full-Time Winner Odds & Prediction                                                                            
Both teams have enjoyed good form recently, and they will try to secure a positive result in the first leg of this tie. However, we believe the visitors are closer to a victory, and they should ensure the advantage before the match in front of their fans.
Goals Market Prediction
Their recent games have been pretty efficient and entertaining, and we expect that trend to continue. Therefore, the crowd should enjoy at least three goals in total.
Manchester United to Win @ 1.72
Over 2.5 FT @ 1.95
Correct score 1:3 @ 13.50

Westerlo dnb @1.86 & o2.75 @1.95
Min price to bet: dnb @1.80 or -1/4 @2.10; o2.75 @1.84 or o3 @2.08
Model +value: yes
Significant team news: Waregem's rb Ciranni is suspended, cb/cm Tambedou injured; Westerlo's lw/rw Chadli doubtful
Note: Waregem are fighting against relegation, Westerlo trying to qualify for UECL playoffs. The hosts have improved after a terrible start, and they are in good form - they have won 2 of their last 3 in Bel JL, they are decent 2-2-2 in last 6; and they have qualified for the Bel Cup semifinals, with a realistic chance to reach the final, as their 1/2f opponent is Mechelen. They've brought in two experienced players during the World Cup break, cm Vormer and am/wng/fw Bruls, and both have had a very positive effect on team overall; Zulte indeed look stronger after the World Cup. Still, we believe that the higher quality visitors should be slightly bigger favs here - Westerlo have lost 2 games in a row (for the first time in a few years), but they certainly didn't deserve to lose to runaway leaders Genk on Tue, after they were the better team for most of the match (2-3 ft, with very efficient Genk, who have scored on all of their 3 shots on target). Waregem got a big away win at poor Anderlecht (3-2) on Wed, which also means they have had one day less of rest before this game, and it's another tiny bonus for the visitors. Goals look likely here, and price looks really good, even for this time of the year and cold weather - it will be cold in Waregem tomorrow, but without snow or rain. Est TG 3.20+, this should be a watchable game in which both teams create chances. Both Waregem and Westerlo have been quite liked by the betting market in recent games, and it's difficult to speculate where this price could move tomorrow; but unless there are nasty surprises in starting lineups (always a possibility due to congested schedule), both away hcap and tg+ look good.

The merry-go-round at the top of the Punters Lounge Fantasy Football League goes on with another new name at the summit this week. Ryan Momanyi's Liloo team picked up an impressive 88 points thanks to the deadly duo of captain Erling Haaland and Riyad Mahrez. His lead remains narrow though with just 3 points breathing space between him and 2nd placed @Gazza's United's Palmers all stars.
Manager of the Week was an award taken by Earnest Muoni's Three side who hit triple figures with 106 points this week. The staggering total was down to double-figure contributions from Haaland, Mahrez, Bruno Fernandes, and Marcus Rashford. A special tip of the hat to @mdalzell's Dalzell's Dazzlers and Julius Wahome's Wahome who breached the 100 point mark this week.
It's not so good news for the teams of Neil O'Hara's Strategic Patience and @patriciamarc's Lucas FC who only managed 26 points each so share the Name of Shame award this week. Kevin De Bruyne's 10 points earned nearly half of Neil's team's points where as Patricia's side saw their tally more spread out with Gabriel, Luke Shaw, Bukayo Saka, Mohamed Salah, and Bernardo Silva all earning over 2 points in a drab week.
The deadline for week 21 transfers and team selection is 11am GMT on Saturday 21st January so get your teams sorted. We're at the halfway stage of the season and it's already been an absorbing season of fantasy football! 

I like the sounds of this one and am going to follow.
I'm also backing Wolves to beat Liverpool, with odds of 3.5 on Smarkets.   

I'm tempted to back a four-fold of Swansea, West Brom, Luton, and Wolves at 20/1 with Bet365. The odds could be more appealing but it's not too bad given how Bristol City, Wigan, and Liverpool are experiencing patchy form at the moment and Chesterfield are massive underdogs so I'm not sure any are too full of confidence going into those matches.

Tottenham vs Arsenal
The North London Derby is the focus of attention in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon when Tottenham play Arsenal in a 4:30pm GMT kick-off from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It’s a high-stakes fixture with the home side hoping to move into the Champions League qualification places and the away team aiming to extend their lead at the top of the table.
Tottenham were predicted to make big moves this season under Antonio Conte but it’s just not quite happened for them. Don’t get me wrong, Spurs are currently in 5th place but could be in the top four if results go their way. However, there were some touting them to be in the title challenge conversation yet they are 11 points off the pace of top spot. Only 3 wins from their last 8 league games and losing 3 of their previous 4 home league matches has contributed to this falling short of high expectations.
A common trend recently with the team has been starting games slowly. The club have scored 27 of their 37 league goals this season in the second half of the matches and, even more worryingly, they have only scored one first half goal in their last 13 games across all competitions. This could be a game to back Harry Kane as anytime scorer. The England striker has scored 9 goals in 8 Premier League home matches against Tottenham. He is also just 1 goal short of joining Jimmy Greaves as Tottenham’s all-time top scorer and is just 2 goals short of reaching 200 Premier League goals.
Arsenal continue to lead the way in the top flight of English football. Mikel Arteta’s side will have been delighted to see Manchester City dropped points against Manchester United. It now means the Gunners will move 8 points clear at the top of the table if they win this game. Arsenal have won all 6 of their London derby matches in the league so far this season and a victory here would secure them 7 consecutive London derby wins in the league for the first time since 2007/08.
An impressive statistic is that Arsenal have picked up 6 of their 8 clean sheets in the league on their travels. The club are also unbeaten in their last 6 away league games including winning their last 3 in a row. A surprise candidate for anytime scorer in this game is Eddie Nketiah. The English youngster has stepped in after the injury to Gabriel Jesus and has bagged 5 goals in his last 5 appearances. Is he finally fulfilling his potential?
I’m fascinated to see how this game unfolds. Tottenham need a win to boost morale otherwise they risk having the fans start to turn on Conte. It is disconcerting that Conte has only won 2 of his 10 league games against Arsenal down the years. Arsenal want a victory to stretch their lead at the top but Arteta has lost all three of his away league games against Tottenham as Arsenal manager. I’m not sure I can separate these two for this game. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a high-scoring game ending in a draw.
Draw @ 13/5 with SpreadEx
BTTS @ 5/6 with Betfair

Absolutely agree, @silver fox. Aston Villa to win & BTTS @ 14/5 with William Hill looks a decent price. I do think Leeds will score. They seemed to grow in confidence against Cardiff on the weekend as their big guns came on so if they start with those players that made a difference late on then they should offer something.

Absolutely agree, @silver fox. Aston Villa to win & BTTS @ 14/5 with William Hill looks a decent price. I do think Leeds will score. They seemed to grow in confidence against Cardiff on the weekend as their big guns came on so if they start with those players that made a difference late on then they should offer something.

Absolutely agree, @silver fox. Aston Villa to win & BTTS @ 14/5 with William Hill looks a decent price. I do think Leeds will score. They seemed to grow in confidence against Cardiff on the weekend as their big guns came on so if they start with those players that made a difference late on then they should offer something.

OK, so I'm using this recent break as a chance to reset table and chat structure to re-align with the official game. This means at some point we will be dropping back to a random week that was postponed but at least it'll be the same in the official game listing too. I know, it's confusing! Anyway, we have a new leader at the top of the Punters Lounge Fantasy Football League in the form of @jarvisla who is taking his form from last season's H2H league into this season. It's still very close at the top of the table with just 8 points separating the top six teams.
Big shout out to this week's Manager of the Week who was To Ly with their HurriKane side who managed to earn 85 points. Harry Kane was amongst the double figure scorers for the team (quite fitting!) but there were also valuable contributions from the unlikely sources of Luke Shaw, Ivan Perisic, and Willian!
The Name of Shame this week goes to Max Parker and their Royal Rebellion team who could only muster 21 points. It was a week to forget with three players earning 0 points and only the duo of Mohamed Salah and Dan Burn getting more than 3 points. It's rumoured the fans are chanting for a change of ownership at board level!
It's a mad turnaround with the deadline for week 20 being 6:30pm GMT today. Not sure why they didn't just attach last night's Fulham versus Chelsea game onto this weekend's round of games but there we go! Good luck everyone! Updates back as normal now! 

Absolutely agree, @silver fox. Aston Villa to win & BTTS @ 14/5 with William Hill looks a decent price. I do think Leeds will score. They seemed to grow in confidence against Cardiff on the weekend as their big guns came on so if they start with those players that made a difference late on then they should offer something.

Aston Villa to bt Leeds
Aston Villa look a different side under Unai Emery and their only league defeat under him came at home to Liverpool. They lost in the Cup at the weekend at home to Stevenage, but Emery fielded a far from full strength side. Leeds are 14th in the league 3 places and 5 points behind Villa but have been inconsistent all season and their only win on the road this term in the league was a shock 2-1 win at Liverpool. Head-to-head favours Villa who are unbeaten against Leeds in their last 5 meetings and in that time Leeds have scored just 3 goals and that was in a 3-3 draw at Villa Park in February last year. Leeds first half performance against Cardiff in the cup at the weekend will be a cause for concern if repeated tonight as they never showed up and had to rely on two late goals to grab a draw. I fancy Villa to continue their recent good run and take 3 points. 
 
 

Draw is a bit safe. If it were not for two hard fought wins for Manchester City and Manchester United, Fulham would be having 9 unbeaten games. Chelsea don't have the capability to win against stubborn Fulham.

My model gives Fulham good edge so I take Fulham win (0.5u) @4.10 and Draw (0.5u) @3.60.

I'm torn between a draw and a Chelsea win here. I do feel Graham Potter has been hard done by with injuries but the results don't lie. Aleksandar Mitrovic missing for Fulham is a big factor and if he was playing I would even have been tempted to back a home win at 16/5 with SpreadEx. I still feel Chelsea haven't been as bad as their results suggest but poor finishing and a lack of quality available right now is holding them back. I'm going to stick with backing a draw at 5/2 with Bet365.

I'm torn between a draw and a Chelsea win here. I do feel Graham Potter has been hard done by with injuries but the results don't lie. Aleksandar Mitrovic missing for Fulham is a big factor and if he was playing I would even have been tempted to back a home win at 16/5 with SpreadEx. I still feel Chelsea haven't been as bad as their results suggest but poor finishing and a lack of quality available right now is holding them back. I'm going to stick with backing a draw at 5/2 with Bet365.

I'm torn between a draw and a Chelsea win here. I do feel Graham Potter has been hard done by with injuries but the results don't lie. Aleksandar Mitrovic missing for Fulham is a big factor and if he was playing I would even have been tempted to back a home win at 16/5 with SpreadEx. I still feel Chelsea haven't been as bad as their results suggest but poor finishing and a lack of quality available right now is holding them back. I'm going to stick with backing a draw at 5/2 with Bet365.

Fulham vs Chelsea
Fulham currently have a four-match winning run. Chelsea have gone three games without a victory because of a lot of injured players. Fulham have not defeated Chelsea in their previous ten meetings, giving Chelsea the psychological advantage. As Fulham are in form while Chelsea are in a poor state, it is time for Fulham to revenge.
Pick: 1
O/U Pick: Over 2.5

A standard pair of results last night with Manchester United and Newcastle progressing with clean sheet wins. Will we see a similar outcome for Manchester City tonight? Southampton did well to get the win in the FA Cup on the weekend but this is an entirely different proposition. I still have concerns for the Saints under Nathan Jones and it's very disconcerting that the fans have turned on him already. It's hard for a manager to turn it around when that happens.
I think Wolves looked greatly improved against Liverpool in the FA Cup on the weekend. The Julen Lopetegui effect is clearly taking hold. Nottingham Forest are a difficult side to play at the City Ground though so could that game go all the way to extra-time and penalties.
Nottingham Forest vs Wolves: Draw @ 11/5 with Bet365
Manchester City to Win to Nil @ 21/20 with Unibet