Welcome to the week 10 preview of the English Premier league where we have some even bigger games to look forward to this weekend. Perhaps the two most exciting will be the matchups between Arsenal and Liverpool, followed then by the derby between the two Welsh sides with Cardiff taking on Swansea. So a fight for top spot and the first time we see a South Wales derby take place in the top flight – that’s some pretty exciting stuff to look forward to. That’s without mentioning the interesting matchup between Everton and Tottenham which sees 4th take on 6th. So with plenty to look forward to this weekend, let’s get stuck into it.
Best Bets
Cardiff v Swansea – Both teams to score at $1.80
Stoke v Southampton – Under 2.5 goals at $1.65
Value Bet
Southampton for the win at $2.44 is pretty attractive odds to beat Stoke away – Thus far they haven’t disappointed.
Betting odds from Betfair as at 1/11/13
Newcastle ($6.4) Vs Chelsea ($1.64), Draw ($4.1)
The weekend kicks off with Newcastle hosting a Chelsea side that is starting to find some form and more importantly for Chelsea, Torres is starting to appear like his old self. Chelsea are undefeated in their last 6 in all competitions. Newcastle on the other hand are coming off 2 losses and a draw from their last 3 in all competitions and will be a little stung after their derby loss to Sunderland away.
Newcastle to me are currently one of those sides that on their day can run rampant with the likes of Cabaye, Ben Arfa, and Remy proving valuable threats so far this season. If not for Chelsea’s strong recent build up in form, I would have suggested this game be quite close and a possible draw given it is at St James Park. The fact that Mourinho seems to have gotten this Chelsea side to start playing the way he wants leads me to see this one as a strong win for Chelsea here.
Predicted result: Chelsea 2-1
Best bet: Over 2.5 goals at $1.81
Best Bet Confidence: 80%
Fulham ($6.6) Vs Manchester United ($1.63), Draw ($4.2)
A somewhat struggling Fulham side that succumbed Leicester City in their Capital One Cup meeting during the week, take on Manchester United this weekend. A tough fixture for both sides given Fulham are under pressure to get results whilst Manchester United are equally under pressure to start performing after a poor start to their title defence. Contrastingly, Man United had a far better time in their Cup meeting with Norwich earlier in the week running out 4-0 winners with Hernandez picking up a brace to boost his 1st team chances under Moyes.
After some indifferent results so far this year, things do seem to be slowly coming together for United and whilst they haven’t dominated at Craven Cottage in recent years, they should have enough to notch up the 3 points this week. I can see Fulham wanting to bounce back strongly this week after the Cup loss during the week, I just feel United will have had a good morale boost with that win over Norwich which should do them a lot of good heading into this game. With RVP, Rooney, and Hernandez all scoring in their 3-2 win over Stoke along with another 2 goals for Hernandez during the week, their attacking options should have plenty of confidence knocking over a Fulham side with 4 points of a possible 12 from their home games.
Predicted result: Manchester United 2-0
Best bet: Manchester United to win at $1.63
Best Bet Confidence: 80%
Hull ($2.22) Vs Sunderland ($3.8), Draw ($3.4)
Hull have become one of those sides that I really enjoy watching. They don’t have a lot of flair or out and out talent, but they know how to grind out a result and to concentrate for the full 90 minutes. Their last 2 games have shown just that with solid performances against Tottenham in the league last weekend and in their league cup encounter during the week. Whilst they lost both, they were in the game the whole way through and if not for a penalty they could have gotten a point last week. Sunderland meanwhile had their first win of the season last week over rivals Newcastle which will give them a great sense of relief heading into this tough encounter.
This seems to be a pretty balanced game given that Sunderland are on a high after their win last week whilst Hull have been impressive for the majority of the season given their injury and depth woes. Hull should welcome Livermore back to the lineup this week along with top scorer Brady likely to make a start. Having also rested key midfield Tom Huddlestone from their league cup encounter with Spurs, Hull look in a pretty good position to put close to their best side out. If Sunderland can at least back up their win with a solid performance for 90 minutes, I can see this one ending in a draw. With Hull perhaps lacking a little less firepower than their opponents this week.
Predicted result: Draw 1-1
Best bet: Both teams to score at $1.96
Best Bet Confidence: 75%
Manchester City ($1.20) Vs Norwich ($20), Draw ($7.8)
Manchester City are heavy favourites this week against a Norwich side that have troubled them in the past. In the same fixture last season, Norwich stunned City with a 3-2 win having only lost their previous meeting at home 4-3 earlier that season. I suppose the big difference this year is that Norwich do not look the same side as last year. They’ve spent big, but thus far it hasn’t paid off which is quite startling considering on paper they have added plenty of quality. Perhaps it’s a bit of complacency or a lack of chemistry.
The last 4 fixtures between these two sides has produced 25 goals which is quite astonishing. If Norwich can recapture some of their form from last season, we could certainly see another high scoring game here. With Manchester City’s troubles at the back with Kompany still struggling with a thigh injury, it could open the door for Norwich to kick start their season. The problem though is that Aguero and Negredo are playing very well up front and will no doubt cause a few headaches for this Norwich defence which will alleviate some of the pressure on Man City’s defence. Still looking for goals in this one with Manchester City to take the 3 points.
Predicted result: Manchester City 3-1
Best bet: Over 2.5 goals at $1.58
Best Bet Confidence: 90%
Stoke ($3.35) Vs Southampton ($2.44), Draw ($3.3)
Stoke host the rising Southampton this week and with both sides in pretty good form it should be an entertaining game. Unsurprisingly, Stoke have only lost once at home this season whilst Southampton have been pretty good on the road with 2 wins, a draw and a loss. Stoke’s problem has and always will be (in the short term at least) goals. 2 goals for and 2 goals against in their 4 home games thus far doesn’t exactly make for great reading. With Southampton defensively very tight this season having only conceded 3 goals, it seems as though the ball is really in their court in this one. Maintain the same intensity and concentration and they should be able to snatch another 3 points on the road this week.
Predicted result: Southampton 1-0
Best bet: Under 2.5 goals at $1.65
Best Bet Confidence: 85%
West Brom ($1.58) Vs Crystal Palace ($7), Draw ($4.3)
West Brom take on a thus far manager-less Crystal Palace at home this week in what is looking like a straight forward home win here. West Brom were well and truly beat by Liverpool last week, but you’d expect them to bounce back at home this week against Crystal Palace who just can’t buy much luck. Palace did pretty well against Arsenal last week holding the game at 0-0 at half time. And considering they don’t yet have a replacement manager for Ian Holloway, you couldn’t really expect much more from this side.
The Baggie’s have had a pretty tough run of opponents in their last 4 with that stunning win over Manchester United followed by draws to Arsenal and Stoke to be then finished off by a pounding from Liverpool last week. Crystal Palace for all their determination just look too vulnerable against pretty much any other side in the Premier league. They can put in decent performances here and there but having conceded 19 goals so far, they clearly need to invest if they want to stay up.
Predicted result: West Brom 2-0
Best bet: West Brom to win at $1.58
Best Bet Confidence: 80%
West Ham ($2.26) Vs Aston Villa ($3.6), Draw ($3.5)
An interesting matchup here with West Ham hosting Aston Villa this weekend. The Hammer’s are usually a tough side to beat at home but they’ve only managed the 1 win to go with 3 losses from their first 4 home games. It’s becoming clearer that the absence of Carroll is having a profound effect on their chances to get results week in week out. Villa meanwhile are in a bit of a rough patch themselves coming off two losses and their third straight game without a goal. But with Benteke only back for a game and a half having been injured, their goal scoring troubles shouldn’t be too far off being rectified.
West Ham have been pretty leaky at home having conceded 7 of their 8 goals at home. Villa are a much better side than their past few results and I can see them bouncing back with Benteke getting back into some good form here.
Predicted result: Aston Villa 2-1
Best bet: Aston Villa Double chance at $1.65
Best Bet Confidence: 80%
Arsenal ($2.32) Vs Liverpool ($3.4), Draw ($3.55)
Perhaps the one that everyone is looking most forward to this weekend as Arsenal host Liverpool with both sides in great form. Liverpool in particular are coming off a largely faultless display against West Brom last week winning 4-1 thanks to a beautiful hat trick from Suarez and a sublime goal from Sturridge to cap it all off. Arsenal on the other hand had it a bit tougher against a stubborn Crystal Palace last week although they did get away with a 2-0 win after a tough first half. Playing Liverpool at home though should fire them up a bit with both sides sure to be pretty wary of each other’s attacking options.
With both sides in good goal scoring form and both given the chance of top spot with a win here, we should be seeing both teams score this week. Both sides have done enough at this stage of the season to know that a loss won’t be the worst result given their ladder position so I can’t see this being a goalless draw in the same fashion as Manchester United versus Chelsea earlier in the season. I’d expect this to be an interesting battle with Liverpool’s 3-5-2 formation up against the likes of Ozil, Carzorla and Giroud. Can’t see a clear winner here, but I can see goals.
Predicted result: Draw 1-1
Best bet: Both teams to score at $1.58
Best Bet Confidence: 90%
Everton ($2.48) Vs Tottenham ($3.15), Draw ($3.4)
Everton hosts Tottenham this weekend in what should be a pretty tight contest. Everton are a very strong side at home whilst Tottenham have been a good away side in recent times. Both sides have had strong starts to the year with Everton losing only 1 of their past 6 whilst Spurs have won 4 and drawn 1 of their past 6. Tottenham will need to buck the trend if they are to win this one though as they have not taken the 3 points in their last 5 visits to Goodison Park and have only beaten Everton twice in their past 10 meetings with the remainder resulting in 4 wins to Everton and 4 draws.
The added barrier to Tottenham’s chances this weekend is that Everton have strengthened. They haven’t really felt the loss of Fellaini with the likes of McCarthy and Gareth Barry controlling the midfield along with rising star Barkley. Add to this the beastly threat of Lukaku and Everton are a scary proposition for many sides. There is no doubt Tottenham will have to bring their A game this weekend and because they too have such a strong side defensively as well as plenty of midfield depth, I’m leaning towards this one being a tight draw.
Predicted result: Draw 1-1
Best bet: Under 2.5 goals at $1.9
Best Bet Confidence: 70%
Cardiff ($3.5) Vs Swansea ($2.32), Draw ($3.4)
One of the big games to finish off the weekend with a South Wales derby to take place for the first time in the top flight. This will no doubt be a massive game up there with the likes of Manchester United taking on Liverpool or Tottenham taking on Arsenal so there’s no mistaking that whoever wins this one can feed off that win for weeks to come.
Cardiff have shown this season how competitive they can be at home and this should be no different against their main rivals. I’m expecting this to be a fierce contest with perhaps the added factor of the first time these two have met in the top flight reason for some of the players to go a little harder than normal. Perhaps we’ll see a few cards but we should also see plenty of attacking with goals from both sides.
Predicted result: Draw 2-2
Best bet: Both teams to score at $1.8
Best Bet Confidence: 90%
Please Note:
All of the above are the opinions of the author and are not recommendations or advice. The author may not be taking every bet listed above. Bet at your own risk.
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