We have some interesting looking fixtures on Saturday with Man City getting things under way in the live BT sport lunch-time kick-off with Spurs at White Hart Lane. Arsenal face a tough test at on form Leicester while Newcastle and Sunderland will do well to take anything from their fixtures with Chelsea and Man Utd respectively. Here are my "Key Facts" and suggested bets for the best of the PL action today. Premier League
12:45 Tottenham vs Manchester City - Prediction -1.2 - Suggested Bets - Man City to win @10/11 * Tottenham have lost just 2 times in 16 PL fixtures at WH Lane going back 10 months * The last team to win at Spurs was Man City, 1.0 winners in early May * However Tottenham have won only 2 of their last 6 home Premier League fixtures. * Spurs have seen BTTS in 7 of their last 12 PL home fixtures but only 1 of their last 6 at White Hart Lane * Man City had won 11 successive PL fixtures before their shock home defeat to West Ham last weekend. * However City remain top with a 2 point advantage to local rivals Man Utd * Man City have won 5 in a row on the road in the PL. * Man City have kept clean sheets in 4 of their last 5 PL away fixtures. They had not kept any in their previous 8 * Man City have scored in 33 of their last 35 away matches. They last failed to so at Burnley in March. * Tottenham have failed to score in 5 of their last 15 home fixtures * Spurs are still without the injured midfield trio of Mason, Bentaleb and Dembele while City are missing captain Vinny Kompany along with former French Internationalists Clichy and Nasri. * Man City have won each of the last 4 meetings with Spurs, scoring 16 goals in the process and 8 of the last 9 going back to 2011 * 6 of the last 8 meetings have seen BTTS * Only 1 of the last 22 meetings has finished in a draw Final Verdict - City looking good for an away win here I'm pretty confident that Man City will bounce back from their surprise defeat to West Ham and claim the 3 points here against a Spurs side that will have definitely consumed some considerable amounts of energy in their midweek defeat to rivals Arsenal. In contrast City cruised to victory at Sunderland and given their current form and history of success over Spurs, I'm backing them to win @10/11 This is a fixture that almost always produces a winner and while Spurs have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks, I'm pretty confident the visitors can take the points at surprisingly good odds of 10/11. That's a price that could drop in the coming hours. Goals are possible, as history would suggest in this fixture but City are much better defensively now than they were in years gone by, certainly going by their early season form and I'm happier to back them to win outright than look for goals here. 15:00 Leicester vs Arsenal - Prediction -1.2 - Suggested Bets - BTTS @8/13, BTTS and over 2.5 goals @21/20 Key Facts * Leicester are unbeaten in 10 PL fixtures and have lost only 1 in 15, a home loss to Chelsea in April. * Leicester have won 7 of their last 9 at home in the PL * Each of Leicester's last 7 PL games has produced BTTS and in each of their last 4 at home * Leicester have scored in 9 successive home PL fixtures. They only managed to score in 3 of the 9 home PL fixtures prior to that. * They have also scored in 15 of their last 16 PL fixtures * Leicester have seen over 2.5 goals in 7 of their last 10 Home PL fixtures * Arsenal have seen over 2.5 goals in 6 of their last 10 away PL fixtures * Leicester's Riyad Mahrez is the PL's joint top scorer with 5 goals in 6 games so far * Leicester have come from behind in 4 successive matches to earn 2 draws and 2 wins from losing positions. * Arsenal have won 7 of their last 9 PL away fixtures * Arsenal have scored in 16 of their last 18 PL away fixtures * Arsenal have seen BTTS in 7 of their last 10 away PL fixtures * Arsenal have kept only 3 clean sheets in their last 16 away competitive fixtures * Both of last season's fixtures saw BTTS, the first time the teams had clashed in over 10 years with a 2.1 for Arsenal in London, and a 1.1 draw in last year's corresponding fixture in Leicester Final Verdict - Goals on the cards in potentially exciting fixture It's hard to ignore the potential for goals here but I do expect (but never betting again on) an Arsenal win with their defeat at Chelsea an expected result if we are being honest. Arsenal are good at beating the teams below them and while Leicester actually sit in 4th and 1 position above Arsenal, this is a fixture you would expect them to be good enough to win on a normal day. Still Leicester don't seem to be a normal team these days and Arsenal are nowhere near their top form. However Leicester have looked ropey defensively recently, and are relying too much on their character to get them out of losing positions. It might not be enough in this fixture but I'll be surprised if they don't manage to score once against an Arsenal side that don't like away clean sheets (3 in 16). BTTS @8/13 is good enough for me while BTTS and over 2.5 @21/20 has to have a good chance with 70% of Leicesters last 10 at home returning that result. It should be an entertaining game that I wouldn't be surprised to see go either way but I will be surprised if there aren't a few goals here and that's the bets I'll be taking from this fixture. 15:00 Manchester United vs Sunderland - Prediction -3.1 - Suggested Bets - Martial to score anytime @1/1, Man Utd -1 @8/13 Key Facts * Man Utd have won 13 of their last 17 PL fixtures at Old Trafford * United have won by more than 1 goal in 10 of their last 12 home league wins * Man Utd have scored 3 or more goals in 9 of their last 16 home fixtures including their most recent win over Liverpool * Man Utd have kept only 4 clean sheets in 13 home fixtures - that's only 31% * United have won 4 of their opening 6 league fixtures, losing only to Swansea * Record teenage signing Anthony Martial has scored 4 goals in just 225 minutes of football for his new club * Sunderland have won only 1 in 14 away PL matches * Sunderland have seen BTTS in 8 of their last 13 away PL fixtures * Man Utd have seen BTTS in 4 of their last 7 at home * Sunderland are bottom of the table with just 2 points from 6 games so far. They have conceded 13 goals, scoring only 6 * Man Utd have won 7 of the last 9 meetings between these 2 sides including a 2.0 win in last season's corresponding fixture. Final Verdict - Comfortable home win with Martial law in full force United are red hot favourites to win @1/5 and given their home record and the dismal run of Sunderland, you would have to expect them to win comfortably and probably with some style in front of an expectant home crowd. French teenager Anthony Martial has made a sensational start to life at the Reds with 4 early goals to his name and the calmness he has displayed in front of goal suggests this is going to be a real star for the now and the future. His composure and quality are distinctly similar to that of a certain other French PL legend. David Bellion. Just kidding United fans. We all know I'm talking about Mr Vava-voom. Martial looks to be the real deal and I expect Man Utd to cover the handicap @8/13 while Martial has to be the big favourite to score again here @1/1 anytime although there is also the chance of BTTS with Sunderland decent enough at scoring on the road, despite their poor form while United could have some issues still at the back with Danny Blind moving to left-back. BTTS is big @5/4 but I'm going for a United win on the handicap. The victory should be simple enough for United who can score 3 or more @1/1 odds having done so in 56% of home matches going back 10 months. and when you also consider that the opposition today have leaked 11 in their last 4 away games, it has to have a chance as 2 would surely be the minimum we can expect from United today. 15:00 Stoke vs Bournemouth - Prediction 2.2- Suggested Bets - BTTS @4/5 Key Facts * Stoke are yet to win any of their first 6 PL matches with 3 draws and 3 defeats * Stoke have only 1 clean sheet in their last 8 home PL matches * Stoke have only won 3 of their last 16 PL matches * Stoke have won 8 of their last 16 home PL matches * Stoke have scored in 17 of their last 20 home PL matches * Stoke have seen BTTS in 5 of their last 8 home PL matches - 62.5% success rate * Bournemouth have scored in 16 of their last 18 away competitive fixtures - 89% success rate * Bournemouth have scored 10 goals in their last 4 away games in all competitions * Bournemouth have picked up 2 wins and a draw from their last 4 PL fixtures, scoring 8 goals in the process * Bournemouth have seen 3 of the 5 PL matches finish with BTTS * Callum Wilson is joint top scorer in the PL with 5 goals so far Final Verdict - BTTS has every chance here Stoke are struggling for form and will see this as a must win game against a Bournemouth side that have shown they really can play at the top level but they also have a habit of conceding somewhat naive goals as well. Bournemouth did manage a clean sheet in their most recent win over Sunderland although it wasn't without it's fortune and I would be surprised if they could keep Stoke out here, considering the home team's record of scoring in 85% of home games going back 1 year. Still the visitors are tidy in attack, have scored 10 in their last 4 competitive away fixtures and they will be optimistic of a positive result so BTTS is my call here @4/5 odds. With the visitors in the better form, I can see this being a closely fought match with both teams liable to concede so I'm taking BTTS @4/5 with a winner in this one too hard to predict. 15:00 West Ham vs Norwich - Prediction -2.1 - Suggested Bets - BTTS @8/11 Key Facts * West Ham have won each of their last 3 PL fixtures, and their last 3 on the road with stunning wins at Man City, Livrpool and Man City * The Hammers have won 4 from 6 in total and have shocked everyone with their displays under new boss/rockstar Slaven Bilic * West Ham have scored in 20 of their last 22 home games, and in 15 of their last 16, failing to score only against Chelsea and Aston Villa * West Ham have lost 5 of their last 9 at home in the PL including 2 of their first 3 home fixtures this season * 4 of The Hammers last 6 home fixtures have seen BTTS * Norwich have lost only 1 of their last 7 competitive fixtures * Norwich have lost only 1 of their last 17 away fixtures (13 of those in the Championship) * Norwich have scored in 15 of their last 16 competitive away fixtures * Norwich have seen BTTS in 2 out of 3 away PL fixtures so far and in 5 out of 6 fixtures overall. * Norwich have seen BTTS in 9 of their last 13 away competitive fixtures * West Ham have won 3 of the last 4 meetings between these 2 sides. 2 of those fixtures saw BTTS Final Verdict - BTTS in an open looking fixture I really like the look of West Ham this season and they should have just enough about them to get past a decent Norwich side who seem to have every opportunity of surviving in this division under their impressive young Scottish boss Alex Neil. The Hammers are in a tremendous run of form and having watched them dispatch Newcastle with consummate easy at Upton Park, I'm optimistic that this is more than just a smash and grab counter attacking team. West Ham will need to learn to control the tempo at home but this fixture with an attacking Norwich should play into their counter attacking hands with Payet and Moses looking such a threat when West Ham break into space. I expect Norwich to play with a certain amount of ambition here and they are more than capable of scoring even against a West Ham side that are full of confidence and have kept clean sheets at Arsenal and Liverpool with Norwich having seen BTTS in 5 out of 6 so far in the PL. This though is likely to be an end to end game so I expect BTTS @4/5 odds with Norwich an attacking opponent who are unlikely to sit deep in a fixture they will have earmarked as winnable. Well at least before West Ham took those remarkable away wins to put some serious cats amongst some rather perturbed pigeons. Goals look the safer option here with BTTS @4/5 but I have a feeling West Ham will do enough to pinch another win. 17:30 Newcastle United v Chelsea Prediction 1.3 - Suggested Bets - Chelsea to win @8/13 Key Facts * Newcastle have yet to win under new boss Steve McClaren, with the Geordies collecting just 2 points from 6 PL fixtures so far * Newcastle have won only 1 of their last 17 PL fixtures and only 2 in 25. * Newcastle have lost 6 of their last 9 home PL fixtures including the last two. They also lost at home Shef Wed in the League Cup on Wednesday * They have now lost 4 successive matches in all competitions. * Newcastle have kept only 2 clean sheets in 16 home PL fixtures * Newcastle have won only 1 match in 8 played this season, that a 4.1 victory over Northampton Town in the League Cup. * Newcastle have managed to score in 18 of their last 21 home PL matches * Chelsea have won their last 3 matches in all competitions having lost 3 of the previous 4 * Chelsea have only won 2 of their last 6 away PL fixtures and 3 of their last 9 * Chelsea are without the suspended Diego Costa following his confrontation with the entire Arsenal team so Radamel Falcao or Loic Remy will likely deputise. * Chelsea have lost on each their last 3 visits to St James Park despite having lost only 1 of the previous 8 trips to the North East Final Verdict - Chelsea likely winners against poor Newcastle Newcastle are in terrible form under their new boss McClaren and I feel the 8/13 on a Chelsea win is good value despite their own recent troubles and a poor recent record at St James's park that has seen them lose in each of the last 3 seasons. The loss of Diego Costa is an undoubted blow but if Chelsea continue their recent improvements and Newcastle don't lift their game, then the 8/13 on an away win could look silly come full time. This is the champions against a team with 2 wins all year. Still, I'm wary of Newcastle's recent joy over Chelsea and given their record of scoring in most home fixtures, I feel the BTTS option @5/6 is a possibility but I can't see past an away win and that's my bet here. Newcastle are likely to raise their game for the visit of the champions in this Sky live tea-time fixture and we could see some goals but the points should ultimately come back to London with a Chelsea team who will have been feeling a whole lot better about life following their win over Arsenal and Man City's home loss to West Ham. I feel they will be too good for a very out of form team whose manager could yet find him self out of a job soon if things don't change quickly. Poor Old Schteve. A career in selling umbrellas awaits. Suggested Bets (In order of confidence) Leicester v Arsenal - BTTS @8/13 Man Utd - 1 to beat Sunderland @8/13 West Ham v Norwich - BTTS @ 8/11 Spurs v Man City - Man City to win @10/11 Stoke v Bournemouth - BTTS @4/5 Chelsea to beat Newcastle @8/13 Man Utd v Sunderland - Martial to score anytime @1/1 Leicester v Arsenal - BTTS and over 2.5 goals @21/20 by Ryan Allan Comments are closed.
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