Expert Jury: No end in sight to Spurs and Barcelona's problems

We asked our top team of writers and a leading odds-compiler for their thoughts on this week's big talking points and this is how they answered...

What is your best football bet this weekend?

Racing Post Sport's Joe Casey: Everton draw no bet in the early kick-off against Manchester United just looks too big at 9-2. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side were massively fortunate to get anything midweek against Villarreal, conceding nearly three expected goals. They still look very disjointed.

Everton have improved their shape this season and will be difficult to break down. Even without Dominic Calvert-Lewin and potentially Richarlison, Rafa Benitez could mastermind a result against his old enemies.

Racing Post Sport's Jack Ogalbe: The Premier League's bottom two sides meet at Turf Moor on Saturday and although neither has tasted victory this season, there looks to be only one winner.

Burnley are still to get going and Sean Dyche's aversion to risk suggests his team will make it tight and look to grind out a result.

Don't expect a classic but the Clarets should ease through. Norwich's lack of goals suggests the home side can keep a clean sheet to boot.

Racing Post Sport's Aidan Perkins: Burnley to beat Norwich at Turf Moor, available at 5-6, looks very tempting.

The Canaries look way out of their depth back in the Premier League, losing their first six games with a goal difference of -14 - statistically the worst start to a top flight season by any club ever.

Burnley are still searching for a first win but have shown some good signs of late, especially when holding Leicester 2-2 last time out at the King Power, when they were a marginal offside decision away from a late 3-2 victory.

Coral odds-compiler Aleksejs Kovtjuhs: It seems as though a testing start to the season is now behind Arsenal.

The Gunners have recorded some vital wins since the international break and now are only five points away from top of the table.

Their performances are still not quite the best they could be but victory in the north London derby will have given them confidence and when you look at the teams Brighton have faced, Leicester are the only ones of real note.

Who are the most vulnerable favourites?

Joe Casey: Tottenham and Aston Villa's recent performances have been about as starkly contrasted as it’s possible to be and Spurs look too short. Villa’s youth have breathed fresh life into their squad and the move to three at the back looks shrewd.

On the other hand, Tottenham and Harry Kane look weighed down with the baggage of this summer’s trials and tribulations and were poor against Arsenal.

Jack Ogalbe: Plenty will be attracted by Tottenham's price but the 12-5 on Aston Villa to beat them on Sunday feels almost too good to ignore.

Spurs brushed aside Mura on Thursday but they were a shambles against both Chelsea and Arsenal, and only just squeezed past Wolves in the EFL Cup.

Meanwhile, Villa are fresh off last Saturday's 1-0 win at Manchester United and playing with a confidence clearly lacking within the Tottenham line-up.

Aidan Perkins: Leicester look vulnerable at Crystal Palace on Sunday. Palace are 21-10 to beat the Foxes, who suffered a 1-0 defeat in Poland against Legia Warsaw in the Europa League on Thursday.

Brendan Rodgers' side are out of sorts, managing just two league wins so far, and they were lucky to get a draw at home to Burnley last weekend, whereas Palace should have beaten Brighton at Selhurst Park.

When the Eagles get it right, as they did at home to Tottenham last month, they are hard to stop and this looks ripe for a home victory.

Aleksejs Kovtjuhs: Brentford look a big price to win at West Ham. The Bees haven't lost on the road this season, whereas the Hammers have dropped points in their last two home fixtures.

The most important question though is how well will David Moye's side be able to recover from their midweek Europa League exertions?

Where is the value at Anfield on Sunday?

Joe Casey: Manchester City have had a gruelling time of it, facing arguably three of the best teams in the world away from home in eight days, so if there’s any time to play them it’s now.

However with Trent Alexander-Arnold missing, it looks certain Guardiola’s side will look to exploit the right-back area. Jack Grealish had a disappointing midweek game but can bounce back with an assist. He notched ten last season and may give James Milner the runaround.

Jack Ogalbe: With just a point between them, Liverpool and Man City are evidently tough to split and it is likely to be a pulsating affair at Anfield.

However, with so much on the line, and the attacking talent involved, there is room for defensive errors, and it is notable that a penalty has been scored in each of the pair's last three meetings.

City also missed from 12 yards in both games last season and taking a punt on another spot-kick being awarded appeals at 9-4.

Aidan Perkins: Presuming he starts, which seems very likely, James Milner to be booked looks good at around 4-1.

He's started only two league games this season and was booked in one of them.

The versatile 35-year-old has stood in superbly for Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back in recent games but will surely be tested up against the tricky Jack Grealish.

Milner will be eager to impress against his former club and never lets Jurgen Klopp down wherever he plays. But tiredness could be an issue with this his second game in a week.

Aleksejs Kovtjuhs: It is always tough to predict matches between these two but it seems both teams are experiencing some defensive issues.

City struggled to cope under the attacking pressure of PSG and made some unforced errors, whereas the Red axis of Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip doesn't seem to be fully up to speed yet. With that in mind, I'd go for over 3.5 goals.

Would you back Barcelona to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages?

Joe Casey: No. Barcelona look all at sea at the moment and the signing of Luuk De Jong looks more confusing by the second. As someone who watched much of his stint in English football, I'd say no team with him starting regularly will progress very far.

The rebuilding job is a mighty task and looks too much for Ronald Koeman, who may well be gone before they crash unceremoniously out of the Champions League.

Jack Ogalbe: There is a big-name casualty in the group stages every season and it looks to be Barca's turn.

Whatever decision they make on Ronald Koeman's future, the Blaugrana are in a big hole both on and off the field.

Koeman's perceived lack of tactical acumen and inability to motivate his players may have garnered criticism but the squad at his disposal is poor, and even a change in manager may not bring about a change in fortune before Christmas.

Aidan Perkins: No. You'd struggle to find anything positive to say about Barca at the moment and an early exit from the Champions League surely looms.

With ongoing rumours suggesting Ronald Koeman will soon be sacked, performances have been dismal, confidence has ebbed away and it's very difficult trying to make a case for them to turn things around in the group from here, following consecutive 3-0 defeats to Bayern Munich and Benfica.

They may do enough to eventually finish above Dynamo Kiev, but first or second place in the group looks out of reach.

Aleksejs Kovtjuhs: Ronald Koeman seems to be on his way out of Camp Nou and a lot will depend on who replaces the Dutchman.

Barca look as if they need someone charismatic and energetic who will be able to quickly earn the dressing room's respect and change the course of action - potentially Xavi. I assume that's going to be the case and would back them to qualify for knockouts.

Give us the winner of next week's Nations League Finals

Joe Casey: As talented as their squad is, France are the wrong favourites given their current struggles and the management of Didier Deschamps.

The other three teams haven’t set the world alight post-Euro 2020 but Italy are a fairly safe option given their unbeaten run and home advantage. Spain were beaten by Sweden recently and questions over Roberto Martinez may hang over Belgium.

Jack Ogalbe: Home advantage paid for Portugal in 2019 and I think Italy will benefit from the same situation.

The Azzurri excelled on their way to Euro 2020 glory, overcoming two of their fellow Nations League finalists - Spain and Belgium - before breaking English hearts at Wembley.

A solid September means their vaunted unbeaten run now stands at 37 matches and, having demonstrated their knack for grinding out results during the summer, Roberto Mancini's men will take some beating.

Aidan Perkins: Italy are fresh from their Euro 2020 triumph and have home advantage in their semi-final when they host Spain in Milan, who they beat on penalties in the summer.

With the final also on Italian soil at the San Siro, the incentive is there for the Azzurri to pick up more silverware.

Since their Wembley triumph, Roberto Mancini's side have drawn with Switzerland and Bulgaria and hammered Lithuania to extend their world-record unbeaten run to an incredible 37 games.

Aleksejs Kovtjuhs: Italy are a slight underdogs for the tournament outright market but I don't agree with that stance. The Azzurri are on a phenomenal unbeaten streak and are of course European Champions. They will also have home advantage which is another plus.

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