We select 3 of the matches taking place in the English Premier League on Friday and Saturday and suggest a bet in each of them.
Let’s start with a look at the Outright Betting where Manchester City have drifted from odds on favourite at 10/11 to 14/10 on the back of their defeat to Crystal Palace. Chelsea are now firm second favourites at 2/1 with Liverpool 11/4 and you can get 33/1 and better the balance.
Click here for Outright Betting Markets including which Teams will get relegated and the Top Goal Scorer where Salah is trading as the 17/20 favourite.
FRIDAY
SOUTHAMPTON v ASTON VILLA
Southampton moved up to 14th on the table with a 1-0 victory away at Watford last week. They have now taken 7 points from the last 9 they have played for. Looking closer at their home form they have won 1 and drawn 3 of their 5 matches and Southampton home games have been the lowest scoring in the division, averaging just 1.6 goals each with only 1 of the 5 matches reaching the 3 goal mark.
Aston Villa are 1 position behind Southampton in 15th and they are coming off 4 successive losses, most recently 4-1 at home to West Ham. Prior to that they were hammered 3-1 away at Arsenal. Villa games have been high scoring of late with their last 4 matches having 17 goals in them and both teams finding the net on each occasion.
Last season it was the away team that picked up the 3 points in both meetings between the sides.
BETTING – Click here to bet
Southampton 11/10
Draw 26/10
Aston Villa 5/2
Suggested Bet: Southampton win at 11/10
I considered a play of over 2.5 goals given the history of Villa matches, but at 15/20 it was that bit short and I am rather going to stick with a straight win on Southampton who seem to be coming to hand and playing against a team which seems to be struggling.
SATURDAY
MANCHESTER UNITED v MANCHESTER CITY
This is without doubt the game of the weekend and pits 5th placed Manchester United up against 3rd placed Manchester City.
United have been inconsistent of late and in midweek they drew 2-2 away at Atalanta in the Champions League. Last weekend they bounced back to form with a 3-0 win at Tottenham having lost 5-0 at home to Liverpool the week before. That win over Tottenham broke a run of 4 matches during which time they had only taken 1 point.
Manchester City were dealt a shock loss by Crystal Palace last week, losing 2-0 at home, Palace could have been backed at double figure prices that day. That was their second loss in 10 starts this season and looking at their recent away form they have won 3 and drawn 1 of their last 4 matches.
This fixture was drawn 0-0 last season and Manchester United won the reverse 2-0 at City. Under 2.5 goal backers would have collected profits in 4 of the last 5 Manchester derbies.
BETTING – Click here to bet
Manchester United 71/20
Draw 16/5
Manchester City 7/10
Suggested Bet: The draw at 16/5
City bounced back strongly from that Palace defeat to beat Club Brugge 4-1 in Europe in midweek, but I still don’t feel they are on top form and I am banking on an inconsistent Manchester United team to get a point here.
I am also looking at the goals markets where under 2.5 goals appeals at 13/10 given the recent head-to-head history between these sides.
BRIGHTON v NEWCASTLE UNITED
Brighton are 8th on the table, but without a victory in their last 5 games, they are coming off a credible 2-2 draw away at Liverpool and their last home game was a 4-1 defeat by Manchester City.
They face a Newcastle side that is languishing down in 19th spot without a victory in their opening 10 games. Last time out Newcastle were beaten 3-0 at home by Chelsea and their last away game was a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace. One trend that has been prominent in Newcastle matches is both teams finding the net and prior to the Chelsea defeat it had arrived 7 times in a row in the League.
BETTING – Click here to bet
Brighton 13/20
Draw 61/20
Newcastle United 9/2
Suggested Bet: Both teams to score, YES, at 19/20
Brighton matches have been full of goals of late and as mentioned above Newcastle have been getting their fair share of goals, but just conceding too many.
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change