5 Tips for Sunday’s Football Action - 5/12/21

On Sunday, Manchester United host Crystal Palace at Old Trafford in what will be Ralf Rangnick’s first game in charge of the Red Devils as Interim Manager.

United come into this match having had three positive results under recently departed coach and club legend Michael Carrick following a 2-0 victory against Villarreal in the Champions League which has guaranteed them their place as winners of Group F, as well as earning a 1-1 draw away at Chelsea and a 3-2 victory over Arsenal to move United within three points of fourth-place West Ham.

With United’s confidence seemingly being back and potentially having a new manager bounce, the Red Devils will want to put behind a three-game winless run at home against Palace behind them, having lost 3-1 last season, 2-1 the campaign prior and drawing 0-0 with them at Old Trafford in the 2018/19 season.

Palace have shown this season that they can be a tough nut to crack at times, as they have earned notable 3-0 and 2-0 victories against the likes of Tottenham and Manchester City, as well as drawing 2-2 versus Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

The Red Devils haven’t kept a clean sheet at home in 15 matches which is their worst defensive run since April 1958 and March 1959 when they failed to keep a clean sheet at Old Trafford in a sequence of 21 games.

The next tip on this list is also from the Premier League as Tottenham Hotspur take on Norwich City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Antonio Conte will be hoping that his side can build on his unbeaten start as Spurs manager, having drawn 0-0 at Everton, before beating Leeds United 2-1 and Brentford 2-0 last time out where a Sergi Canos own goal and a Son Heung-min strike set them on their way for three points.

Meanwhile, Norwich look rejuvenated under Dean Smith, as the Canaries have carried on their form from Daniel Farke’s last match at Brentford when they won 2-1 in early November, as City beat Southampton 2-1 and managed 0-0 and 1-1 draws with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Newcastle United.

Typically, Son has been a stand out performer for Spurs as the South Korean forward has scored six and created two assists in 17 matches, which leaves him as the top scorer at the club. The former Bayer Leverkusen man scored in the last Premier League meeting between these sides which resulted in a narrow 2-1 victory over the Canaries, with Son restoring his side’s lead after Pukki had equalised from the penalty spot with just 20 minutes to go.

Celtic travel to Tannadice Park where they’ll play Dundee United on Sunday, looking to close the gap at the top of the table to bitter rivals Rangers.

Ange Postecoglou’s side are four points off Rangers having earned 32 points from 15 matches, scoring 33 and conceding 10. Celtic have won four of their last five matches in the SPL having beaten the likes of Hibernian 3-1, before drawing 0-0 against Livingston, prompting a three-match winning run against Dundee 4-2, Aberdeen 2-1 and 1-0 versus Hearts.

Meanwhile, the hosts, Dundee United are fourth in the table and have won just one of their last five league fixtures following two 1-0 losses to St Johnstone and Motherwell, as well as being thumped 5-2 by Hearts. Their other results include a 1-1 away draw at Livingston and a 3-0 victory at Easter Road against Hibernian.

Benfica loanee Jota is a player to look out for in this match, as the 22-year-old Portuguese winger has scored eight and assisted seven times in 18 appearances across all competitions.

Second in the Dutch Eredivisie, Feyenoord go head to head with Fortuna Sittard on Sunday with the home side looking to chase down top of the table Ajax.

The home side come into this match having won three of their last five matches in all competitions, having defeated AZ Alkmaar 1-0, PEC Zwolle 4-0 and Heracles 2-1, as well as drawing 0-0 away at FC Twente and 2-2 with Slavia Praha 2-2 in the Europa League.

Fortuna are in quite a desperate situation as things stand, as they are second bottom in the Dutch top-flight with just nine points to their name from 14 matches and have leaked 34, the worst defensive record in the league. Sittard have lost all of their last five matches, losing two by 4-1 scorelines against PSV and Groningen, as well as being beaten 4-3 by Go Ahead Eagles, 3-1 by Heracles and 2-1 against AZ.

Bryan Linssen is a player to look out for in this match as the 31-year-old Dutch winger has scored eight goals and created two assists in 14 league matches, averaging a goal every 126 minutes, seeing him be the second top scorer in the Eredivisie this season and is priced at 11/4 to score first in this match.

The final tip on this list comes from La Liga, as Celta Vigo host Valencia at Estadio de Balaidos in a battle of 13th versus 11th in the standings.

So far this season, the home side have scored 16 and conceded 19 in 15 matches, whilst Valencia have fired in 22, but let in 21.

Celta have seen three of their last five matches have over 2.5 goals in them, as they beat Ebro 5-0 in the Copa del Rey, as well as beating Deportivo Alaves 2-1 and drawing 3-3 with Barcelona.

On the other hand, Valencia have had two matches have over 2.5 goals in their last five, as they beat Utrillos 3-0 in the Copa del Rey, as well as earning a point in a 3-3 draw against Atletico Madrid in early November.

The last time these two sides met at Celta the BTTS and over 2.5 goals market landed as the home side won 2-1 thanks to an Iago Aspas brace, with the former Liverpool striker’s goals coming either side of a Maxi Gomez equaliser just after half time.