Football Liverpool120Everton v Watford, Brighton v Manchester City and Manchester United v Liverpool are the games in focus in the English Premier League Round 9 preview including goals markets and goalscorer betting tips courtesy of @Olimp_SA

 

 

 

English Premier League Round 9

 

Everton vs. Watford, Saturday 22 October 16:00

 

After eight matches this season Everton find themselves in eighth place on the table with 14 points and boast a record comprising of four wins, two draws and two losses. Last week their hopes of European qualification took a slight blow when they lost 1-0 at home to West Ham and this loss also ended their 100% record at Goodison Park this season. The Toffees will look to bounce back and avoid a run of three winless matches this Saturday. In their most recent results Everton drew 1-1 away to Manchester United, beat Norwich 2-0 at home, lost 3-0 away to Aston Villa and beat Burnley 3-1 at home. They are not doing too badly on the goalscoring front with 13 goals so far this season, but instead it’s been their defense that has not been tight enough letting in 13 goals and only managing two clean sheets.

 

Watford’s horrific season did not get much better last week and after bleeding five goals to Liverpool they are now in 16th place with seven points. They have only managed two wins this season, a 3-1 win away to Norwich and a 3-2 win at home to Aston Villa on the opening day of the season. Other recent results include a 1-0 loss away to Leeds, a 1-1 draw at home to Newcastle and a 2-0 loss at home to Wolves. The Hornets have now let in 15 goals this season and are the third worst team defensively. They have only found the net twice in their last three matches and their 7 goals for the season is the fourth worst total in the league.

 

It’s all square in the last five EPL clashes between the two sides with two wins each and one draw, while the last time these two met Everton came out on top with a 3-2 win. Both of Watford’s recent wins against the Toffees came at home and they have never in their club’s history managed a win at Goodison Park.

 

Although Everton are still without Calvert-Lewin due to injury, Richarlison returns and I feel that he will give them enough to bounce back this week and take down a very weak Watford side. The Hornets might feel like they have a point to prove after losing 5-0 last week against Liverpool, but it’s unlikely that they have the power to take down Everton or to get their first ever win at Goodison Park. Everton are trading at around 1.66 for a win which is a bit short for my liking, so I will rather combine the home win with only one team to score in the match since the Hornets are having trouble finding the back of the net. I will also have a go at Richarlison to score the first goal upon his return and Andros Townsend to score anytime since he has scored twice in Everton’s last 3 EPL clashes.

 

BetOlimp Best Bets

 

Victory and Both to Score: No and Everton – 2.47
First Goalscorer: Richarlison – 4.90
Anytime Goalscorer: Andros Townsend – 3.70

 

Brighton vs. Manchester City, Saturday 22 October 18:30

 

The Seagulls season continues to go from strength to strength and despite being one of the lowest scoring teams in the league they find themselves in fourth place on the table thanks to a very good defense that is second best in the league. They have a total of 15 points with four wins, three draws and just one loss. Brighton have had relatively easy opposition up until now and Saturday will be a real test for the men from the South as they clash with a fellow Top 4 team for the first time this season. Their last three matches have been draws away to Norwich, at home to Arsenal and away to Crystal Palace. Prior to that they managed a 2-1 win at home to Leicester and a 1-0 win away to Brentford.

 

After a 2-0 win at the Etihad against Burnley last week Manchester City find themselves in third spot on the table with 17 points. They return from a midweek trip to Belgium where they comfortably beat Club Brugge 5-1 in the Champions League. Along with Chelsea and Manchester United they are the second highest scoring team in the EPL with 16 goals and they will look to secure their sixth win of the season on Saturday. Prior to last week they played to a 2-2 draw at Anfield, won 1-0 away to Chelsea, drew 0-0 with Southampton and won 1-0 away to Leicester. It’s important to note that City have only let in three goals so far this season, two of which came against Liverpool two weeks ago and this should make for a very interesting clash against Brighton who have been just as tight in their defense.

 

The Sky Blues have dominated the last five clashes between the two sides, winning four and only losing one. However, it was the Seagulls who won the last time they met in May with the match ending 3-2 in favour of the hosts. This was also their first ever victory against Manchester City in the EPL and curiously the two sides have never played to a draw in the league which could suggest that we won’t be in for a stalemate come Saturday.

 

These two teams have some of the best defenses in the league right now and for this reason I think we are going to be in for a low scoring match. Brighton have been very good at forcing a draw in their recent clashes, but I am more inclined to lean towards City for the win simply because there has never been a draw between the two sides and because they have the better attack on paper. I can see this one ending 1-0 or 2-0 in favour of the visitors and will back them to win and there to be less than 2.5 goals in the match. I’ll also throw in a bet on only one team to score in the match and I also like the value of Kevin De Bruyne to score anytime who has scored in both of City’s last two EPL matches.

 

BetOlimp Best Bets

Total Goals/Result: Manchester City and Total 2.5 Under – 3.25

Both Teams to Score: no – 1.75

Anytime Goalscorer: Kevin de Bruyne – 2.95

 

Manchester United vs. Liverpool, Sunday 24 October 17:30

 

The Red Devils got a much-needed morale boost on Wednesday night after coming back from a 2-0 deficit to snatch a 3-2 victory at Old Trafford against Atalanta in the Champions League. They will now need to shift their focus back to the EPL and look to end their winless run of three matches. Their poor run has meant that they now sit in 6th place with 14 points when just over a month ago they were one of the few unbeaten teams in the league. Their recent results include a 4-2 loss away to Leicester, a 1-1 draw at home to Everton, a 1-0 loss at home to Aston Villa, a 2-1 win away to West Ham and a 4-1 win at home to Newcastle. In the last two weeks United have let in five goals, half of their total for the entire season which has brought their defense into question. If they don’t get this sorted out before Sunday then it could be an embarrassing afternoon at Old Trafford for the home team considering the fact that their opponents are averaging almost three goals per match.

 

With five wins and three draws Klopp’s Reds find themselves in second place on the table with 18 points. They are the only team in the league that are still unbeaten and are also the top scoring team with 22 goals. Other than a small slip up that saw them drawing 3-3 with Brentford a few weeks back there isn’t really much you can fault Liverpool on. Their attack has been deadly and they have managed to score at least two goals in their last five league matches, while their defense has only let in six goals for the whole season – five of which were in their last three matches. Some of their other recent results include a 5-0 win away to Watford, a 2-2 draw at home to Manchester City, a 3-0 win at home to Crystal Palace and a 3-0 win away to Leeds. If Liverpool can plug the holes in their defense on Sunday and avoid a repeat of the last three weeks then it should be a successful trip to Old Trafford for them.

 

In the last five EPL meetings between the two sides there have been three draws and Liverpool have won two. One of those two wins was a 4-2 win at Old Trafford the last time they met with Liverpool scoring four goals which included a Firmino double.

 

Very often in grudge matches two sides will play to a draw and Manchester United and Liverpool are no exception to this. However, right now Manchester United are in a bit of a shambles, while Liverpool seem to be having no problem finding the back of the net. I can’t see a result other than the Reds winning this one and the fact that they managed to pull off a comfortable win in their last outing to Old Trafford gives me confidence that they will do it again. Both teams seem to be having issues defensively right now which also makes me believe that we will see over 2.5 goals in the match. Firmino was very impressive last week against Watford with his hat-trick and he also has a history of scoring goals at Old Trafford which gives me enough reason to back him to score a goal in the match.

 

BetOlimp Best Bets

 

Liverpool to win – 2.31
Total Goals/Result: Liverpool and Total 2.5 Over – 3.00
Anytime Goalscorer: Roberto Firmino – 3.10

 

Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change

 

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