Premier League betting preview: weekend games including Spurs v Man City
Leicester v Chelsea
After the disappointment of missing out on a trip to Wembley following their Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Villa on Tuesday, at least The Foxes can cheer themselves up here.
Brendan Rodgers’ side need a pick-me-up, and they’re good enough to beat these Blues. Chelsea’s home form has improved, but now they’re struggling away from the Bridge, losing to Newcastle earlier this month.
If the West London side’s underperforming goalkeeper Kepa comes under anything like the kind of attack that Villa faced on Wednesday, it seems safe to assume he will let at least one slip through his fingers.
Back Leicester to win at 8/5.
Bournemouth v Aston Villa
With both these teams fighting to avoid relegation, each side comes into this game in somewhat encouraging form. Villa booked their place at Wembley in the Carabao Cup with the aforementioned victory against the Foxes midweek, while the Cherries were comfortable winners over Brighton in their last league outing.
Bournemouth have only strung two wins together once this season – but they have beaten Villa. The Midlands team have been unconvincing this campaign, yet have at least been regularly finding the net. Before the Brighton result, Bournemouth had scored once in six league games.
This one’s proving a little difficult to decipher, but Villa are available at a better price – and based on recent results, have as good a chance as Bournemouth. Hardly a sure thing, but worth a gamble then…
Back Aston Villa to win at 49/20.
Crystal Palace v Sheffield United
Crystal Palace seem like the wild cards of the Prem, a club that is reliably mediocre most of the time but occasionally pull a result out the bag when you least expect it. I scoffed at the suggestion they could get something from Man City a few weeks ago, but the London team duly held Pep Guardiola’s side to a draw.
For all that, Palace have just one win in their last nine league games. As for Sheffield United, no doubt they have exceeded expectations in this campaign. They can get something here, I’m just not sure if they have enough to secure all three points.
Back the draw at 21/10.
Liverpool v Southampton
If you like a trend, it’s worth bearing in mind that in the last two games at Anfield between these teams, Liverpool have won 3-0 on both occasions. A bet on that outcome is available here at 7/1.
Still, Southampton have looked sharper of late, scoring in each of their last nine matches in all competitions, even if Liverpool should offer a sterner test than the previous opposition. With four of the last five games between these two teams having seen at least three goals scored, over 2.5 goals seems like a good shout, so…
Back Liverpool to win and over 2.5 goals in the Total Goals market at a combined price of 7/10.
Newcastle v Norwich
The Magpies have flown higher than anyone expected this season, while the Canaries seem to have had their wings clipped. Still, I wonder if there’s really that much of a difference in quality between these two sides.
Norwich have already beaten Steve Bruce’s team 3-1 once this season, and are in decent form at the moment, with three wins from five games in all competitions. With better luck, Daniel Farke’s side might have nicked a point against Tottenham a week ago – so it’s not a stretch to imagine the visitors getting something here. And with two goals in his last two league games, Teemu Pukki might be the man to deliver.
Back Pukki to score at 29/20.
Watford v Everton
Last time the Toffees were in action, they were cruising to a 2-0 victory over Newcastle when, unthinkably, Florian Lejeune scored twice in the space of a stoppage-time minute to earn a point for the Magpies.
That had to be tough to take, and presumably Carlo Ancelotti will have been at pains to make his Everton team tighten up for this weekend’s match. Still, Watford are unbeaten at home since Nigel Pearson joined in late December.
Maybe the goal scorer market is the way to go here. Dominic Calvert-Lewin has often been a threat under Ancelotti, scoring five goals so far since the Italian rocked up at Goodison.
Back Calvert-Lewin to score at 17/10.
West Ham v Brighton
Two teams, neither in great nick – maybe expecting the worst is the best strategy. West Ham have scored one goal or fewer in each of their last five matches in all competitions, while Brighton have, yup, scored one goal or fewer in each of their last five games in all competitions.
Perhaps something’s got to give on Saturday, each team contributing to an unfettered, orgiastic goal-fest. But if past performances are anything to go by, banking on under 2.5 goals seems the more sensible approach.
Back under 2.5 goals at 22/25.
Man Utd v Wolves
Trying to second guess this Man Utd team at the moment is a tough call – at the time of writing, Ole heads the market for the next Premier League manager to leave his club, at 10/11, even though he masterminded that (ultimately meaningless) victory over Man City on Wednesday.
Further muddying the water, Wolves gave Liverpool a real run for their money last week, so maybe it’s worth side-stepping picking the winning team for this one. Instead, take a bet on the likelihood of this being another low scoring affair – in three meetings between these two sides since August, there have been just three goals scored.
Back under 2.5 goals at 4/6.
Burnley v Arsenal
The Gunners long term record against the Clarets is frankly remarkable – in 11 games over the last ten years, the north London side have won every single match between these two sides.
The most common scoreline at Turf Moor when these sides have met is 1-0 to the Arsenal – it’s come up three times in the last four encounters. Let’s hope it’s four out of five after Sunday…
Back Arsenal to win 1-0 win at 13/2.
Spurs v Man City
You’d imagine City surely have too much for tired old Mou and his no longer trusty game plan of frustrating the opposition until they make a slip-up. That said, this probably won’t be a high scoring romp.
Back Under 2.5 goals at 17/10.
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