The Premier League order will be shuffled around yet again this week, starting on Tuesday night. We’re looking at the best betting opportunities across three days of action.
Top 4 Qualification is Now the Big Story
The title race would appear to be over now after Liverpool’s 2-0 win at Manchester City on Sunday. The challenge to reach the top four however was opened right up.
Forest losing at Newcastle and Man City succumbing to Liverpool means that only 5 points separate Nottingham Forest in third place and Aston Villa in eighth.
Down at the bottom, Southampton are all but gone while an unfortunate five-point gap has opened up between Leicester and Ipswich on 17 points and the rest. In fact, Wolves, who won last week, are the only other team arguably in that relegation scrap on 22 points.
All of this leads to a potentially fascinating midweek Premier League round of games. These are the fixtures:
- Brighton v Bournemouth, Tuesday 1930
- Crystal Palace v Aston Villa, Tuesday 1930
- Wolves v Fulham, Tuesday 1930
- Chelsea v Southampton, Tuesday 2015
- Brentford v Everton, Wednesday 1930
- Man United v Ipswich, Wednesday 1930
- Nottingham Forest v Arsenal, Wednesday 1930
- Tottenham v Man City, Wednesday 1930
- Liverpool v Newcastle, Wednesday 2015
- West Ham v Leicester, Thursday 2000
What We Can Expect from a Full Round of Games
Tottenham have returned to form, just in time to play a shaken Man City side they’ve thrashed already this season. A defeat for Pep and co would be good for Newcastle, but they go to champions-elect Liverpool where they have a horrible record. Will Liverpool be in celebratory mood or will they subconsciously relax?
Arsenal were woeful in losing to West Ham and now head to third-place Nottingham Forest. The home side are beginning to find things tough now, but they will be fully motivated after losing at Newcastle.
Villa have an outside chance of reaching the top 4 but have a tricky trip to Place ahead. Brighton v Bournemouth could be a close one, while the only team looking to get into Europe with a seemingly simple task is Chelsea who play Southampton at home. So where are the betting opportunities?
Wolves got a break when Bournemouth went down to ten men last Saturday, leading to a crucial away win. They now play however Fulham who are dangerous with defeat opening up the relegation possibility again. That could be a cagey one.
The Games to Concentrate On
With plenty of action in the Premier League during the week we’ve decided to concentrate on four matches for our pick of the betting opportunities.
Brighton v Bournemouth
Brighton had a scare when they lost 7-0 at Nottingham Forest, but since then have been excellent. They have beaten Chelsea twice, league and cup, and scored four at Southampton over the weekend.
Albion remain very solid at home too, with Bournemouth’s form arguably just starting to go the other way. They’ve had a great season, but how long will that form last?
They reached a peak when winning 4-1 at Newcastle before putting Forest away 5-0. Since then, they’ve lost to Liverpool and went down to ten men when defeated by Wolves over the weekend. They are now without another player and had to chase that game for no reward, they may feel the effects now.
Brighton at a best-priced 11/10 looks the way to go.
Tottenham v Man City
This game has got to be all about goals and not the result. If a change in form had occurred the other way around, we could be looking at a win and a clean sheet here for the champions.
As it is, Man City continue to struggle while Tottenham have recovered to land a win against Man United and a 4-star success at Ipswich.
Man City have scored 53 goals so far in the league, Tottenham 52. Both teams love to attack, and both have weaknesses at the back.
Both teams to score is restrictive at 1/3, as is over 2.5 goals at the same price. Total goals at over 3.5 can be found at 8/11 which is better, something you can use in multiples.
Liverpool v Newcastle
This offers us a similar story to the game above. Liverpool have Salah, Newcastle have Isak. It goes deeper of course, but you get the picture.
There are plenty of goals in both sides. In fact, we all remember the 3-3 draw between these two back at St James’ Park over Christmas.
After weekend events, Liverpool may either swagger away after going 11 points clear at the top or could subconsciously begin to relax. Either way, they are capable of goals while Newcastle are good going forward themselves and a fresh from having scored 4 in 11 minutes against Nottingham Forest.
Both teams to score would have landed in 5 of Newcastle’s last 7 games. More surprisingly, it would also have paid off in 3 of Liverpool’s last 4. That bet is 8/15 and backable, while over 2.5 goals is a reasonable 4/9. You can find over 3.5 goals in the game at even money too, something to ponder.
Brentford v Everton
Everton had the expected resurgence after David Moyes took over the club. That doesn’t last forever though, and Brentford is a hard place to go in the Premier League.
The home side simply carry on doing what they do, being impressive without ever really threatening the top end of the league. Recently, they’ve drawn with Man City, won at Palace, won at West Ham and scored 4 at Leicester on Friday night. All of that has come in their last six games, too.
Everton have improved but are still average at best. They lost their two-goal lead at home to Man United on Saturday, and we have to keep in mind that Brentford away is a step up.
Brentford to win is available at even-money which looks like good value to us.
Just as an added touch: if you happen to like the law of averages, then Brentford offer us something rare this week. Despite their good form and overall league stats, none of Brentford’s last 11 games anywhere has ended in a win for the home side. That sort of run always ends and this is an ideal opportunity.