It should be a cracking Saturday in the Premier League with 7 matches on offer from England's top flight, with the game of the day surely coming from Manchester, as the dangerous attacking threat of Tottenham Hotspur travel to take on a seemingly invincible Man City side that are looking for a stunning 16th successive league win as they continue their relentless pursuit of the Premier League title. We have an extended preview of that fixture in a separate post as well as previews for all of Saturday's Premier League action with further previews to come for the best of the continental action as well. #BOlieve Premier League Previews 12:30 Leicester vs Crystal Palace – Prediction 2.1 – NO BETS Final Verdict I won’t be betting here, given the early kick-off but I do fancy the hosts to get the win and another 3 points against an improving Palace side that came from behind to beat Watford this past Tuesday. The hosts themselves recorded a fabulous 4.1 win at Southampton and you would expect them to score a couple here @10/11 odds but Palace have improved defensively on the road and I feel this one could be quite tight with an on-form Leicester just about edging it but as I have mentioned previously, I am not a fan of betting on early fixtures so I will be giving this one a miss in my final selections today. 15:00 Brighton vs Burnley – Prediction 0.0 Best Bets – Under 2.5 goals @1/2 – 3.5 stars, Burnley or Draw @1/2 – 4 stars, Under 1.5 goals @11/8 – 1 star Current Form
Past Meetings
Final Verdict I expect a tight and close encounter here with Brighton tough to beat at home and Burnley tough to beat in general. Recent matches involving both sides have largely proved low-scoring with Brighton seeing 4 draws in 5 of their most recent home matches while Burnley have actually seen under 1.5 goals scored in 6 of their last 10 PL matches. Given their recent form, Burnley will be hopeful of taking another 3 points here but the hosts have only lost 1 of their last 7 home PL matches, so it certainly won’t be easy for the on-song Clarets. Still, while Brighton have proven tough to beat on their own patch this season they have failed to win any of their last 5 PL matches, or indeed any of their last 5 at home so I don’t see Burnley losing here and you can back the visitors not to lose @1/2 in a match that seems likely to be low-scoring given both sides defensive approaches. I fancy a 0.0 or 0.1 score-line in this fixture from the south coast and while I don’t like backing under 2.5 goals, it is the standout selection in this fixture. 15:00 Watford vs Huddersfield – Prediction 2.1 Best Bets – Watford to score 2 or more @5/6 – 2.5 stars Current Form
Past Meetings
Final Verdict Huddersfield have been really poor on the road since their promotion the Premier League and I fancy Watford to get the points at Vicarage Road and they can score 2 or more @$/6 odds having done so in 11 out of 17 matches this season. The hosts do have a lengthy injury list to contain with while key Brazilian attacker Richarlison is a doubt having gone off during their midweek loss at Palace. His fitness is certainly critical to Watford’s goal scoring threat having scored 5 and assisted 4 in this, his debut season in English football. If the Brazilian makes it, I expect the hosts to grab a couple of goals @5/6 with Huddersfield leaking 16 in their last 5 on the road and 2 or more in each of those 5. The terriers have failed to score in their last 7 away PL matches as well, but they will fancy their chances of grabbing one here with Watford not the best defensively while past meetings between these sides have usually produced plenty of goals. BTTS and over 2.5 goals is priced @7/5 and has a chance if my score prediction makes good. As it is, I like the hosts to score 2 or more @5/6 but much depends on the fitness of Richarlison so I’ll wait for team-news before adding that selection to my final choices. 15:00 Stoke vs West Ham – Prediction 1.1 – No Bets Final Verdict A few weeks ago, I would have liked this match for BTTS but with dour Davie Moyes in the West Ham hot-seat, the Londoners have certainly tightened up defensively, as evidenced in their midweek goalless draw with Arsenal. Stoke matches usually go over 2.5 goals but this one should be tight if Moyes continues with his safety first approach so I’m giving it a miss in my selections this weekend with Stoke proving so inconsistent themselves this season. 15:00 Arsenal vs Newcastle United – Prediction 3.0 Best Bets – Arsenal -1 to win @4/6 – 3 Stars Current Form
Past Meetings • Arsenal have beaten Newcastle by more than 1 goal in 7 of their last 10 home meetings since 2007 including 3 of their 4 most recent contests at the Emirates Final Verdict Arsenal are certainly not to be trusted on the road but at home, they have been dominant on their own turf for the best part of 12 months and they should have no problems seeing off a struggling Newcastle side that seem destined to be fighting another relegation battle come May next year. While I am loathe to back Arsenal, given their inconsistencies this season, and their ability to break many bets of mine in the past, I do expect them to win comfortably here so I will try them @ -1 to win @4/6 with the Magpies really looking like a poor side in recent weeks. With the Gunners dropping points in both of their away PL matches in the past 7 days, you can be sure that they will see this as an absolutely must win game of football and that’s exactly what I expect of them here. It could get a bit ugly for the Geordie faithful but I’m calling this a 3.0 home win for the up and down Gunners. *****This is the last time I will ever bet on Arsenal if they don’t get it done here************* 15:00 Chelsea vs Southampton – Prediction 3.1 Best Bets –Chelsea -1 to win @1/1 – 2.5 stars, Chelsea to win and BTTS @21/10 – 1 Star Current Form
Past Meetings
Final Verdict The stats on offer are not especially overwhelming but Saints recent record against Chelsea is decent and they have scored in each of their last 6 visits to the Bridge so they will be hopeful of at least scoring in what looks like a tough match for a team that is slipping down the table rapidly following some poor performances and even poorer results. Chelsea are always strong at home, so you would expect them to win and with something to spare so I fancy them to score at least 2 and to win by more than 1 while the big question is whether the visitors can lift their game following a painful 4.1 loss at home to Leicester. Perhaps, to some extent ,they can, but I expect a comfortable home win and if recent history is anything to go by, Saints can grab a goal at least but current form suggests it won’t be anything better than that for Mauricio Pellegrino’s side. Premier League Best Bets Brighton vs Burnley - Under 2.5 goals @1/2 – 3.5 Stars Brighton vs Burnley - Burnley or Draw @1/2 – 4 Stars Manchester City vs Tottenham –BTTS and over 2.5 goals @5/6 – 4 Stars Manchester City vs Tottenham –BTTS @4/6 - 4 Stars Arsenal vs Newcastle United –Arsenal -1 to win @4/6 – 3 Stars Chelsea vs Southampton – Chelsea -1 to win @1/1 – 2.5 stars Other Selections Manchester City vs Tottenham –BTTS in 2nd half @7/4 – 1.5 Stars Manchester City vs Tottenham –Over 3.5 match goals @6/5 – 1.5 Stars Brighton vs Burnley - Under 1.5 goals @11/8 - 1 Star Chelsea vs Southampton – Chelsea to win and BTTS @21/10 – 1 Star Watford vs Huddersfield –Watford to score 2 or more @5/6 – 2.5 stars Comments are closed.
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