OUR Correct Score man Daniel McCulloch (@danmcc84) delivers his best bets from this weekend's action.
Arsenal v Bournemouth | Saturday 9th September 2017, 15:00
The Arsenal circus is back in town this weekend, with Bournemouth the visitors to the Emirates.
Clearly, the Gunners have had a poor start to the season and it is hard to foresee a swashbuckling display from the home side on Saturday afternoon. I do, however, believe they will have too much for a Bournemouth side who are yet to secure a point this season.
I was really impressed with Arsenal’s attacking display at home to Leicester and thought they were the better side in the opening 45 against Stoke. The 135 minutes since then have been nothing short of catastrophic though and a win against the Dorset side is an absolute must.
Arsenal’s record against Eddie Howe’s men is relatively impressive. They have won both home matches by two goals and have achieved four points (including a comeback from 3-0 down back in January) at Dean Court.
In truth, I believe that Bournemouth are the ideal opposition for Arsenal in their current state. They play good football but are not as physical as many sides in the top-flight, which should suit Arsene Wenger’s brittle side.
Looking at their results over the last four seasons, the 2-0 and 2-1 Arsenal victories are the most common scorelines at the Emirates. Overall, 22/77 games have ended in this manner, suggesting that 5/2 would be a fair price for one of these results to come in.
Given that 2-0 is 17/2 with Winner and 2-1 is the same price with Bet365, you can get combined odds of 15/4, which I am very happy about! I don’t expect a vintage Arsenal performance, but I believe they will do just enough to get the victory.
Everton v Tottenham | Saturday 9th September 2017, 15:00
Everton and Tottenham to draw either 0-0 or 1-1 Sometimes your memory tricks you but my recollection of matches between these two – particularly at Goodison Park – is that they are usually really tight affairs.
Upon further analysis, its accurate to say that it is rarely a goalfest. There have been just 45 goals across the 25 games, 17 of the matches have gone Under 2.5 Goals and 12 have ended in a draw.
Admittedly going back a quarter of a century usually provides little insight where football data is concerned, but the last six results read 1-0, 2-1, 0-0, 0-1, 1-1, 1-1. Moreover, you have to go back to April 2004 for the last time there was more than a single goal in this fixture.
Tottenham undoubtedly have the superior footballers but Goodison is clearly not a happy hunting ground for them (or many other sides). I expect Tottenham to end the season around 15 points clear of their hosts here but I cannot find any reason to believe this won’t be a close affair.
Evens – as they are with some bookies – seems short enough and I wouldn’t put anyone off the 5/2 on a draw.
This, though, is a correct score column so I will take the 6/1 William Hill are offering on 1-1 and also the 17/2 the same firm are offering on the game ending goalless.
Best Bets
Arsenal v Bournemouth – Arsenal 2-0 Bournemouth (17/2 Winner)
Arsenal v Bournemouth – Arsenal 2-1 Bournemouth (17/2 Bet365)
Everton v Tottenham – Everton 0-0 Tottenham (17/2 William Hill)
Everton v Tottenham – Everton 1-1 Tottenham (6/1 William Hill)
