Five English Premier League matches take place on Saturday and we have a play for each game including Spurs vs Aston Villa and Brighton vs Arsenal
Spurs vs Aston Villa
Spurs got their first point at the third time of asking after a 0-0 draw away to Forest and last weekend they played out another 0-0 stalemate at home to Everton. They lost both of their opening matches, never at the races in a 3-0 defeat at Brentford first up and they seemed to lose their way as the game wore on in a 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle in Round 2. That leaves Spurs fourth from bottom with 2 points and yet to score a league goal and in midweek they lost 3-1 at Liverpool in the EFL Cup.
In terms of league form Villa are faring even worse than Spurs, second from bottom with just 1 point against their name. Last weekend they scored their first league goal of the new season but still went down 2-1 at home to Forest. A 4-0 defeat at Brighton with all the goal coming in the first half was a really poor start for Villa but next time out they were much more competitive at home to Arsenal despite the 1-0 defeat. Their first EPL point came from a 0-0 draw at Hull in Round 3. Villa did win 3-2 at Brugge in the UCL and in midweek they were 3-1 winners at Coventry in the EFL Cup.
Verdict
Villa have done well outside of the EPL but both these sides would have to be very disappointed with their early league results and I would find it hard to back either side with any confidence right now. On gut feel alone I will go with Spurs to edge it 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0.
Bets: Multi correct score, Spurs to win 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 at 29/10 with Sportingbet
Brighton vs Arsenal
Brighton finished round 4 in fifth place with a record of 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat. They dished out a 4-0 hiding to Villa in an opening weekend home fixture then went down 4-3 away to Chelsea in Round 2 and drew 1-1 at home to Leeds. Last weekend they put Coventry away 5-0 in a road trip. Brighton have also made it through the Europa Conference League qualifiers and in midweek they came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 away to Man United in the EFL Cup.
In the EPL the Gunners have reeled off a 3-0 home win over Coventry, 1-0 win at Villa, a 2-1 home win over Chelsea and a 2-0 win at Sunderland. Arsenal now top the log on goal difference ahead of Man City. Arsenal’s perfect start to the season extends to the UCL where they were 1-0 winners away to Napoli in the first round of the League Phase and in midweek they were 4-2 winners away to Ipswich in the EFL Cup.
Verdict
Arsenal came through a similar test to this at Sunderland last weekend and remain hard to oppose although I give the home side a shout of contributing to the scoring. The multi correct score market is on my radar again here.
Bets: Multi correct score, Arsenal to win 1-2, 1-3, 1-4 at 36/10 with Sportingbet
Everton vs Ipswich
Everton are unbeaten with 6 points to show for their first 4 matches. They began with a 2-0 home win over Palace and next time out a 91st minute equalizer earned them a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth. They played out a 2-2 draw at home to Man United, fighting back from 1-0 and 2-1 down and most recently they drew 0-0 at Spurs. In midweek Everton saw off Wolves with a 1-0 home win in the EFL Cup.
Ipswich started with a 2-1 home win over Sunderland before suffering back to back defeats, 5-2 away to Man United and 2-0 at home to Liverpool. In Round 4 they were back in the winners box after a 3-2 victory at Palace. In midweek Ipswich lost 4-2 at home to arsenal in the EFL Cup.
Verdict
Everton are proving tough to beat and I think they will edge this one by the minimum margin.
Bets: Winning margin, Everton by 1 goal exactly at 13/5 with Sportingbet
Newcastle vs Hull
Newcastle took 5 points from their first 3 league matches before they crashed to a 4-1 defeat at Leeds on Monday night. They drew earlier home games with Liverpool and Bournemouth (both 2-2) and their only league win so far came at Spurs (2-0). They also made it through to the next round of the EFL Cup with a 1-9 win away to Millwall.
Hull remain unbeaten with 8 points from 4 matches and they finished Round 4 in fourth place. A 2-0 win at home to Man United was followed by a 1-0 victory away to Coventry and a 0-0 draw at home to Villa. Last weekend they came away from Stamford Bridge with a 2-2 against Chelsea.
Verdict
I continue to be amazed by the start Hull have made and I’m really battling to call their games this season. I’ll drop a dead bat on this with a play of 2-3 goals in total.
Bets: Total match goals 2-3 at even money with Sportingbet
Notts Forest vs Coventry
Forest’s first win of the season came at the fourth time of asking when they scored a late winner at Villa last weekend (2-1). Forest have also drawn 2-2 away to Liverpool but ata home they are still looking for a first goal after a 0-0 draw with Spurs and 1-0 defeat Leeds.
Coventry are the only side who have lost each of their first 4 league games and they are rock bottom, yet to score a league goal. On the opening weekend when they went down 3-0 at Arsenal and that was followed by a 1-0 home defeat to Hull and 1-0 loss away to Man City. Last weekend they crashed 5-0 at home to Brighton where they had a man sent off when they were already 2-0 down.
Verdict
Forest will be boosted by that win last week and I think they will go full gas at Coventry from the first whistle. Home team to score in both halves for me.
Bets: Home team to score in both halves? yes at 14/10 with Sportingbet
Prices are subject to change