A betting preview with tips for the English Premier League matches taking place from Friday 14th to Sunday 16th February including Wolves v Leicester, Norwich v Liverpool, Southampton v Burnley, Aston Villa v Spurs and Arsenal v Newcastle
Wolves v Leicester (Friday 14th February)
Wolves have slipped to ninth in the standings after a run of just 1 win in the last 6 matches. They have had some tough games in that sequence and only 2 were home fixtures, a 1-1 draw with Newcastle and 2-1 defeat to Liverpool. They are still only 6 points behind fourth placed Chelsea and very much in the running for European qualification spots.
Leicester remain third in the standings, 2 points behind Manchester City. Their most recent road trip delivered a 2-1 defeat at Burnley and since then they have played 2 home games, a 4-1 win over West Ham and a 2-2 draw with Chelsea.
When the teams met on the opening weekend of the season the game finished without a goal.
Verdict: I'm open minded about the outcome but when either of these sides play I like to side with 2-3 goals in total and that would be a big runner in my book at just shy of even money
Southampton v Burnley (Saturday 15th February)
Saturday's early kick off sees Southampton host Burnley. Both these sides have 31 points from 25 matches and after shaping up as relegation candidates for much of the first half of the season they look plenty safe enough now.
The Saints have won 5 of their last 8 and Burnley have taken 7 points from tough games at home to Leicester (won 2-1), at Manchester United (won 2-0) and at home to Arsenal (drew 0-0).
Burnley were 3-0 winners when the teams met at Turf Moor earlier in the season.
Verdict: The pressure has eased considerably on both these teams and the respective coaches will view this as winnable. With that in mind I will go with both sides to find the net at odds of around 19/20
Norwich v Liverpool (Saturday 15th February)
Norwich remain bottom of the log and 7 points from safety as the prepare to tackle the champions elect. A 3-2 win over Manchester City early in the campaign is the best evidence that they can spring a surprise and they have also drawn with Spurs and Arsenal (both 2-2) at this ground.
Liverpool have a 22 point lead at the top of the standings and the aim will be to go through the season unbeaten. One factor worth considering here is that they are due in Madrid for a Champions League last 16 clash with Atletico on Tuesday night but that aside, it's hard to find any potential negatives coming into this game.
Liverpool won 4-1 when the teams met at Anfield earlier in the season.
Verdict: I wouldn't rule out Norwich contributing to the scoring here and I'll speculate with Liverpool winning a game where both teams find the net which is currently available at odds of 7/4
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Aston Villa v Spurs (Sunday 16th February)
Villa continue to hover just outside the relegation zone although they could do themselves a power of good if they win here as most of the other strugglers are without a game this weekend. Five of their 7 wins this season have arrived in home games although they have yet to turn over any of the top sides.
Spurs come into this game having taken maximum points from home fixtures against Norwich and Manchester City. They now bid to improve on an away record which has brought just 2 wins so far this season. After the last round of matches Spurs were 4 points behind fourth placed Chelsea (who host Manchester United on Monday night).
Spurs won the first meeting this season 3-1.
Verdict: Spurs are also involved in the Champions next week but they have little margin for error in the league and I will go with the visitors to score at least twice. Spurs over 1.5 goals is trading at 15/20 at the time of writing
Arsenal v Newcastle (Sunday 16th February)
Although Arsenal look a lot more solid under Mikel Arteta the improvement has yet to be reflected in their results and they are in mid table, 10 points behind fourth placed Chelsea. Of the last 8 league games 6 have finished all square and the Gunners are the draw specialists of the top flight.
Newcastle are 7 points clear of the drop zone and although they tend to find points hard to come by when they travel, they have won at Spurs and Sheffield United this season. There have been some very poor displays away from home as well but they are unbeaten in the last 4 league outings, 3 of which have been drawn.
Arsenal won 1-0 at St. James Park earlier in the season.
Verdict: I can see Arsenal really putting it together at some stage soon and this could be the opportunity to break the shackles. Arsenal to win a game of 3 goals or more in total at around 9/10 is my idea of the likely outcome.
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