TWO out of three last week. Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) returns with three more Premier League bets this weekend.
Tottenham v Crystal Palace | Sunday 13:30 | Sky Sports 1
How can you back Tottenham at odds on here? They've looked pretty flat during the first month of the campaign. Meh if you like. Draws against two of the bottom three hardly inspire confidence and coming off the back of a Europa League tie they need to be taken on.
Opponents Crystal Palace on the other hand have been a joy this season. They've already faced all of last season's Top 3 and yet have three wins out of five to their name. Both their defeats were narrow and excusable against Arsenal and Man City. Tottenham will be an easier assignment.
Palace should have nothing to fear here. They've been much more impressive than Tottenham this season and it's not absurd to suggest they may finish above them.
Their away form since Alan Pardew took over in January has been stunning. P10 W8 D0 L2 is their Premier League figures. Chelsea and Liverpool sit amongst their victims so why should they fear Tottenham?
There's also the small matter of the Europa League to factor into the equation. Spurs played 10 Europa League games last season and their record in the game directly after these match-ups was P10 W4 D1 L5. It was clearly an issue and it's worth chancing that it reoccurs this season.
Crystal Palace can be backed at 19/20 with a half goal start and that looks worth backing. Pardew's men are more than capable of avoiding defeat at White Hart Lane.
Man City v West Ham | Saturday 17:30 | Sky Sports 1
I'm siding with another side that I predicted would have an awful season here. Hey, call me fickle but I think West Ham have decent claims against Man City on Saturday evening.
I'm certainly not tossing away my West Ham To Be Relegated docket just yet but they look like the kind of side that when up for it can beat most teams. Arsenal and Liverpool have already been squashed and their results seem to represent their manager; erratic, aggressive and full on.
After winning against Newcastle on Monday night I think West Ham will relish this match against Man City. There's really nothing to lose. Two wins out of two away from home this Premier League season bring hope that the Hammers can compete here.
Tuesday's defeat to Juventus in the Champions League was a real blow to Man City. Five wins out of five in the Premier League bred hope that this year would be different for City in Europe. So far, so not so good.
We may see a reaction here on Saturday but I'm willing to believe that West Ham can add to the confusion and disillusionment encircling the club since Tuesday night.
No side since 2009 have won their first six Premier League matches so stats and trends men like me will be looking to take on the odds on title favourites.
In form, ebullient West Ham look overpriced at 13/1 and I'm eager to back them +1.5 goals at odds against 16/13 with BetVictor. Anything better than a two goal defeat will see me paid out.
Bournemouth v Sunderland | Saturday 15:00
Sometimes in life you have to take a stand. Sometimes in life the price is all wrong. This game on Saturday at the Vitality Stadium (dreadful name) is a prime example of that.
Listen, I’m usually first in the queue when it comes to taking on Sunderland. I tipped them to finish last in the Premier League this season. But this week the bookmakers have gone too far in installing them as big as 9/2 to win against Bournemouth.
Bournemouth seem to be a fashionable side. They come from an area that will get hugely trendy in the next decade and are managed by the blue-eyed boy of English football Eddie Howe.
When you hear the likes of Henry Winter and Oliver Holt talk about Howe they sit upright in their chair and their voice moves up an octave. They see this guy as the future of English football. A future where going deep in international tournaments is de rigeur. Poor guy! Perhaps because of the aura around Howe his team go into this match an incredibly short price. 4/6?! You having a laugh?
Sunderland for all their faults have pulled their trousers up since humbling defeats to Leicester and Norwich in the opening fortnight of the season. A fine draw against Swansea was backed up by a point at Villa Park and a positive defeat to Spurs.
I always get the impression that Sunderland feel under pressure at the Stadium Of Light. It seems a fraught, tense atmosphere in the North East arena. Being away from it on Saturday can only help.
Howe and Bournemouth were outclassed by the younger (and possibly much better) Alex Neil and his Norwich team last week when they fell to a 3-1 defeat. At 4/6 they look way too short and I'm happy to back Sunderland to avoid defeat.
Best Bets
Bournemouth v Sunderland – Sunderland Double Chance (5/4 Boylesports)
Man City v West Ham – West Ham +1.5 (16/13 BetVictor)
Tottenham v Crystal Palace – Crystal Palace Double Chance (19/20 Coral)
8/1 Man City Win To Nil
Disagree with Chris? Fancy an easy Man City win?
Join Coral before 17:30 on Saturday and you'll get 8/1 on City winning to nil.
Take the offer then drop us an email at hello@welovebetting.co.uk and we'll give you an additional surprise!
3 Comments
Hi Chris,
Nice work on the write up here and I would add that I pretty much agree with all the above selections.
With regard to the Man City v West Ham I will say that Man City have won the last 9 meetings here in all competitions and on all form should win this, but i just have that feeling that West ham are playing well enough to at least create a few decent chances so the +1.5 looks decent.
PS Where’s my tenner? lol
Liverpool v Norwich City
Brendan Rodgers looks under pressure to get a decent performance & a result as he welcomes Norwich City to Anfield on Sunday, and I’m not so sure he will.
Just looking back I can see that of the last fourteen premier league games Brendan Rodgers Liverpool have only won four and last time out looked quite lack lustre in their away performance at Man Utd albeit the only high-light being the quality Benteke goal.
I appreciate Mr Rodgers rested a fair few players for the mid-week away game in the Europa League and was fairly satisfied with the 1-1 draw but I feel Norwich will be well up for this one against a imho a wounded Liverpool.
Norwich are fairing best of the newly promoted sides so far this season and turned in a very decent performance last time out against Bournemouth, yes all of their points have come from teams currently in the bottom five but this is Alex Neil’s chance to show how good they can be against one of the bigger teams.
Another thing to consider here is goals, Norwich are yet to keep a clean sheet and only two teams have conceded more goals this season, but Liverpool have only scored one goal in two outings at Anfield so far and although I think they probably can score against Norwich I think they will concede with Norwich’s quality counter-attacking play.
Whilst I’m not brave enough to go for a straight away win on Norwich currently around 5.75 I will be taking Norwich on the AH +0.5, +1.0 @ 2.075 bet365 which gives me a bit of insurance should Liverpool win by only one goal.
Liverpool v Norwich City
Norwich City AH +0.5, +1.0 @ 2.075 Bet365
Hi Laurence. Many thanks for your comments. I’m glad we’re aligned when it comes to West Ham. Yes, they definitely look the kind of side who could beat the elite on their day (bit like Stoke last season) and their day might just be on Saturday.
Funnily enough Norwich were the 4th team on my list this week. I had been eyeing up this match all week and rather naively thought we might get something around the 8/1 mark as Liverpool usually go off too short. Sadly it wasn’t to be though and I think the prices are probably about right. I’m a huge admirer of Alex Neil and wouldn’t be at all surprised if they took all three points on Sunday.
Really appreciate these comments. If you can’t open a Paypal account we need to think of other way to pay you the £10. We can’t do bank transfers.