Bournemouth, Man City, West Ham and Brighton book wins

Week 15 of the English Premier League sees the bookmakers getting it spot on with Bournemouth, Man City, West Ham and Brighton all securing victories in the first of two nights of Premier League football.

Had I still been a gambling man, I would have won a few quid tonight.

Bournemouth, West Ham and Brighton looked like locks for home wins, and Man City, well, Man City is the schoolboy bully, pummelling anyone and everyone that dares stick a stud in the same grass.

City, as a 1/3 shot, was the banker in the four-game accumulator, but they were made to sweat at Vicarage Road thanks to a late goalmouth scramble converted by Abdoulaye Doucoure.

“You can never relax in the Premier League,” said Pep Guardiola after the match.

I’m not sure how true that is with City consistently winning 3, 4 or 5-0., but I’m not about to argue with the man who has turned one half of Manchester into fancy football junkies.

The game against Watford was City’s second in a run of 13 squeezed into the next 44-days, and with that in mind, Guardiola made a host of changes, leaving Raheem Sterling on the bench, and changing his entire back four.

One of those changes – Riyad Mahrez – made all the difference. The former Leicester star set up Leroy Sané to chest home the first goal in the 40th minute after a sweet cross from the right, and the Algerian looked like he had buried Watford when he put away a Gabriel Jesus cross six minutes after the break.

Then came the last minute toe poke.

But it wasn’t enough.

Watford is winless in five matches, losing four of them, and fall to 11th in the table. Man City has now won 13 of 15 games this season and move five points clear of Liverpool, who face the bog brush like Burnley on Wednesday night.

Bournemouth 2 v 1 Huddersfield

Eddie Howe said that Bournemouth had been playing champagne football until they lost their mojo during a span of four defeats on the trot.

The cork came back off last night.

Bournemouth took the lead as early as the fifth minute when Ryan Fraser became the league’s top assister with seven after his free-kick landed on the forehead of Callum Wilson to score his eighth league goal of the season.

With 22-minutes on the clock, Wilson returned the favour, putting Fraser through on goal after the little man had run his bollocks off during a Bournemouth breakaway to put the ball between the Huddersfield keeper’s legs. Terence Kongolo pulled one back for Huddersfield before the break, but the Cherries held on for the win and moved into sixth.

West Ham 3 v 1 Cardiff

Neil Warnock’s side will be looking for the shotgun after blowing the opportunity to take the lead at the London Stadium after Joe Ralls fluffed his lines from the penalty spot.

West Ham made them pay, and it came from an unusual source.

With Marko Arnautovic limping off through injury, Manuel Pellegrini sent Lucas Perez onto the pitch, a man who had only played 27-minutes of football since joining from Arsenal in a £4m move in the summer.

It turned out to be an inspired call.

Four minutes after the restart, Cardiff failed to clear their lines on the edge of the box, Robert Snodgrass poked the ball over the backline, and Perez ran through the crowd to score his first goal for the club.

Five minutes later, he was at it again.

West Ham broke down the left through Arthur Masuaka, the Frenchman put Perez through on goal, and the sub rifled it through the legs of the keeper to give the Hammers a two-goal lead. Michail Antonio’s header sealed things in the 60th minute. Josh Murphy bundled home a consolation goal in injury time.

Brighton 3 v 1 Crystal Palace

What a season for Brighton.

The Seagulls moved into the top ten after hammering Crystal Palace at the Amex Stadium despite playing more than 60-minutes with only ten men.

Glenn Murray scored from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute. Someone must have put LSD into referee Kevin Friend’s pre-match Bovril, as James McArthur clearly got the ball before his man. Murray didn’t give a toss, smashing the ball home for his eighth goal of the season.

The lights went on inside Crystal Palace after Friend reduced Brighton to ten men after sending Shane Duffy off for one of those crappy little headbutts that we see from time to time. Brighton dimmed them instantly.

Leon Balogun came off the bench in the reshuffle and 27-seconds later, blasted a volley into the Palace goal from a corner. Chris Hughton’s side shut the door on Roy Hodgson’s men in first-half injury time when Florin Andone scored a brilliant solo goal that began on the halfway line. Luka Milivojevic scored a late consolation goal from the penalty spot.

Here are the results in full:

Watford 1 v 2 Man City
Bournemouth 2 v 1 Huddersfield
West Ham 3 v 1 Cardiff
Brighton 3 v 1 Crystal Palace

To Be Played Wed

Fulham v Leicester
Wolves v Chelsea
Burnley v Liverpool
Everton v Newcastle
Man Utd v Arsenal
Spurs v Southampton

Premier League Table

1. Man City – 41 points
2. Liverpool – 36
3. Chelsea – 31
4. Arsenal – 30
5. Spurs – 30
6. Bournemouth – 23
7. Everton – 22
8. Man Utd – 22
9. Leicester – 21
10. Brighton – 21
11. Watford – 20
12. West Ham – 18
13. Wolves – 16
14. Newcastle – 12
15. Crystal Palace – 12
16. Cardiff – 11
17. Huddersfield – 10
18. Southampton – 9
19. Burnley – 9
20. Fulham – 8