The season is really starting to kick into gear as we enter week 6 of the premier league season. There are some mouth-watering fixtures this week as well as the chance for Liverpool to possibly get a first win of the season. Arsenal entertaining Chelsea and Manchester United hosting Tottenham are shaping up to be the games of the week. Everton continue to climb the table and have a great opportunity this week to further their push for European football next season when they host Southampton. Either way, we’re going to have another fantastic weekend of football ahead of us.
We hope to provide you with a little overview of the weekend matches to help you make informed and sound betting decisions. Feel free to give us your feedback, suggestions and opinions on any of the games; we’d love to hear it!
For those who do not bet with Betfair, laying a team is the same as betting the double chance on most totes for the team we expect to win or draw.
Best value bet this weekend: Newcastle to win at $2.54 is very attractive against Reading.
September 29th Fixture
Arsenal ($2.22) Versus Chelsea ($3.65), Draw ($3.50)
One of the games of the round between Arsenal and Chelsea is sure to provide plenty of fireworks. Arsenal has continued their push up the table after a strong but mediocre start to the season points wise. A solid performance against favourites Manchester City saw the points shared last week. Chelsea meanwhile had a 1-0 victory over Stoke City to maintain their 1 point lead at the top of the table. Stoke provided stiff opposition with their strong reputation for a stubborn defence, and it showed with Chelsea constantly driving forward with almost 3 times what Stoke had for completed passes in their attacking third. If not for Ashley Cole’s winner on 85 minutes, it could have well been a draw which also emphasises their lack of firepower up front. Recent history between these two at the Emirates shows us the spoils are shared with the both having 2 wins in the past 5 with the most recent ending in a 0-0 draw. Both teams have been very strong in defence and with Arsenal’s pace, expect Arsenal to put it right up to Chelsea, though this one is looking headed for a draw.
Predicted Result: Draw 1-1
Confidence: 80%
Betting Option: none
September 30th Fixture
Sunderland ($2.08) Versus Wigan ($4.10), Draw ($3.55)
Despite their inability to get the 3 points so far, Sunderland have been relatively solid with 4 draws, though they’ll be hanging for that first win with this week looking a very good chance. Though not unexpected, Wigan has had a poor recent few weeks with the thumping at the hands of Manchester United and the loss to Fulham last week. They’ll take comfort in knowing they beat Sunderland 2-1 in the corresponding fixture last season, but Sunderland have shown their intent in the transfer market. Steven Fletcher has been on fire for the Black Cats this season with the new signing scoring all of Sunderland’s 4 goals to date. Sunderland’s only concern is their defence, if they can tighten up the back they’ll start to get the results they need. An example of this is they allowed West Ham 24 attempts on goal last week to their 5.
Predicted Result: Sunderland 1-0
Confidence: 75%
Betting Option: Lay Wigan at $4.10
Reading ($3.10) Versus Newcastle ($2.54), Draw ($3.45)
Reading host Newcastle in what is sure to be another tough encounter in their return to the top flight. As the odds suggest, this encounter could be closer than what most would expect and that is simply because after such a fine start to their season, Newcastle have been a little mediocre in the past few weeks. Injuries and an out of form Cisse haven’t helped and by no means is their season over, but many expect them to be in far better shape. Reading will need to perform the way they did against Chelsea where they were 2-1 up early on in the first half if they are to get the 3 points here. The good sign for Reading is that they improved from the Tottenham game where they lost 3-1 to have a stronger performance against West Brom last week. The good sign for Newcastle is that Demba Ba may has found his goal scoring boots again.
Predicted Result: Newcastle 2-1
Confidence: 85%
Betting Option: Newcastle to win at $2.54
Stoke ($1.95) Versus Swansea ($4.50), Draw ($3.65)
Stoke are a tough team for anyone to break down and the visiting Swansea will have a tough time here as well. After such a strong start to the season, Swansea has stumbled with losses to Aston Villa and Everton due to a number of injuries to key players. The key to their downfall has been the absence of central midfielder Leon Britton. Britton has been pivotal to Swansea’s strong midfield this season and was particularly evident against Everton last week where they lost 3-0. Swansea would normally have around 57-60% possession and this is where they build their winning results with free flowing passing. Everton were able to restrict them to 49% of the possession which enabled them to get 31 attempts on goal, though Britton’s potential return this week should mitigate that. With Stoke’s strong defence and Swansea struggling, expect them to get the 3 points and a similar result to last season’s 2-0 win the last corresponding fixture between these two.
Predicted Result: Stoke 2-1
Confidence: 80%
Betting Option: Stoke to win at $1.95
Norwich ($4.90) Versus Liverpool ($1.82), Draw ($3.90)
Norwich and Liverpool will be looking to put their poor starts to the season aside this weekend and hope to get their season back on track with a first win of the season. Both teams played in the Capital One cup and picked up wins against Doncaster and West Brom respectively. Liverpool’s new style is starting to pay dividends and they were very unlucky to walk away with nothing from their last game against Manchester United. Norwich will hope their home advantage will be enough to secure their first three points however we believe if the Reds create the chances and control the game like they did at home they will win marginally. Key areas to watch are the defence of Liverpool after losing Agger and Kelly to injuries and Norwich struggling in attack as they have scored only 2 goals this season. New signing Joe Allen is kicking into gear and is in the top 5 passing midfielders in the EPL so expect him to create chances.
Predicted Result: Liverpool 2-1
Confidence: 80%
Betting Option: Liverpool to Win at $1.82
Fulham ($4.90) Versus Manchester City ($1.87), Draw ($3.75)
City will be looking to get back on winning terms after two straight draws but will face a tough task against a solid Fulham outfit. With both teams on 9 points and City feeling the pinch of being 4 points of the pace, look for a fired up Mancini to field his strongest side against the Cottagers. City did suffer their first lost this season to Villa in the cup and changes will be made with plenty of big names to return. The last time these two met ended in a 2-2 stalemate with Aguero being the main threat. Fulham’s home form has been outstanding so far, conceding zero goals but this will be a tough task as they face their strongest opponent thus far. Berbatov has been very influential with his new side, watch for him to nab a goal.
Predicted Result: Man City 2-1
Confidence: 65%
Betting Option: none
Everton ($1.45) Versus Southampton ($8.60), Draw ($4.90)
Everton continued their fine form last week with an excellent display away to Swansea running out 3-0 winners. Not to be overshadowed, Southampton also had a great win at home over Aston Villa 4-1 after being 1-0 down in the first half – they certainly have that fighting spirit at times of a newly promoted team. Southampton have however been a little overwhelmed away from home especially with their 6-1 loss to Arsenal and coming up against an in form Everton, it’ll be a tough ask. Ramirez has added much needed class to this Southampton side, so his good form against Villa will be needed again against Everton. It’s hard to go past Everton here especially at home, though expect Southampton to put up a strong showing early on before the goals start to flow. Watch for the giant in midfield Fellaini to dictate the play for Everton.
Predicted Result: 3-1
Confidence: 90%
Betting Option: Everton to win at $1.45
Manchester United ($1.61) Versus Tottenham ($6.40), Draw ($4.40)
The last time these two played at Old Trafford, Manchester United ran away with a 3-0 win and to further United’s cause, Spurs have not won at Old Trafford in their last 5 games there. United have certainly had a lot of luck this season. Beating Liverpool last week 2-1 when Liverpool were the dominant team, surviving a scare against Southampton and also resisting a super impressive Fulham where Dembele was dominant. Spurs on the other hand have now started to slowly climb up the ladder with their past two wins and though they have had flashes of brilliance, they have not been overly impressive. In Spur’s favour is the injuries to United’s defence with Vidic, Jones and Smalling all out. With that said, it will still be a difficult task for Spurs to get a win here given Spurs record at Old Trafford in recent times.
Predicted Result: 2-1
Confidence: 85%
Betting Option: Manchester United to win at $1.60
October 1st Fixture
Aston Villa ($2.54) Versus West Brom ($3.15), Draw ($3.40)
Villa has had a season to forget so far. They had a good start against Southampton only to let their slip away and lose 4-1. Returning to a home crowd they’ll be looking to get their season on track when they host a West Brom team that has been super impressive. The last time these two played at Villa Park, West Brom won 2-1 and based on form you’d expect West Brom to do the same again this season. But when you consider that Villa beat Manchester City in their Capital One Cup game earlier this week, they have certainly found some much needed confidence again. Yes Manchester City was not full strength but still with names like Balotelli, Barry, Milner, Lescott, Kolarov, Toure and Tevez you’d expect them to have won. West Brom sit 4th on the table and will confident of getting some points this weekend, though it’s looking likely it’ll be a draw. Watch for Lukaku to cause the Villa defence some trouble.
Predicted Result: Draw 1-1
Confidence: 70%
Betting Option: Under 2.5 goals at $2
October 2nd Fixture
QPR ($2.14) Versus West Ham ($3.85), Draw ($3.50)
The Rangers form has to be very concerning for fans as they have only been able to secure two draws from their opening 5 games. Some may say that they have had a tough draw so far facing Spurs, Chelsea and City however with the investment of new signings this season the return should be higher. Their opponents on the other hand have started their return to the premier league in positive fashion with two wins, two draws and only on loss. The hammers will look to add more misery to QPR this weekend with Captain Kevin Nolan in great form scoring 3 goals from the midfield. QPR will hope to bounce back after their 3-2 exit to Reading in the midweek cup game. JL believe both teams have the firepower to score but neither side look the stronger to take all three points.
Predicted Result: Draw 2-2
Confidence: 70%
Betting Option: None
Please Note:
All of the above are the opinions of the author and are not recommendations or advice. Bet at your own risk.
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