Plenty of action ahead of us this weekend as we look at week 13 of the Premier League for 2014/15. There’s some important games for a lot of sides too, especially for the usual suspects trying to chase down Chelsea such as Manchester City, Manchester United, Everton, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Arsenal. They all have tricky games this weekend so it should make for an interesting round of football. With mid-week fixtures next week and another round of weekend games next weekend, we’re in for a busy one.
**Odds from Sportsbet as at 29th November
West Brom ($4.33) versus Arsenal ($1.85), Draw ($3.6)
First up we look at West Brom hosting Arsenal at home in a battle that sees 13th taking on 8th. Both sides are coming off losses last week so points will be vital here, particularly for Arsenal as they look to push back towards the top 4. The Baggies have been pretty good this season but they haven’t really pushed on in their home matches winning just the once. The real shining light though has been Berahino who’s scored 7 times already this season and looks a class player in his early premier league career. Arsenal have been in some patchy form recently having lost their past 2 premier league games to Swansea and Manchester United. They’re struggles I think can largely be attributed to their injury list this season with still the likes of Ozil, Debuchy, Arteta, and Wilshere all absent. With the addition of their first two choices in goal of Szczesny and Ospina also out, Martinez will once again have to step into goal this week. I wouldn’t rule out an upset here from West Brom but going off Arsenal’s performance against Dortmund during the week I think the edge is with Arsenal.
Predicted score: Arsenal 2-1
Best Bet: Exactly 2 or 3 goals at $2.01 (85%)
Next Best: Draw/Arsenal Half-Time/Full-Time at $4.5 – should be a tight first half that Arsenal can overcome in the 2nd.
Burnley ($2.2) versus Aston Villa ($3.5), Draw ($3.25)
Burnley are on a bit of a roll now having put together 2 wins beating Hull and Stoke ahead of their meeting with Villa this weekend who in contrast have been struggling. Villa’s struggles are highlighted by the fact they have picked up just the 2 points in their last 8 games whilst only scoring 2 goals in that time. Having started the season so well, they are now staring down the barrel of a relegation battle if they don’t start to pick up points before it’s too late. Adding to their troubles will be the absence still of Ron Vlaar and Senderos as well as Benteke who serves the last of his 3 game suspension here. I think that gives Burnley a sniff somewhat and I think they may be able to put together another good performance as their confidence is building in comparison to Villa’s which is waning little. Danny Ings will look to build on his brace against Stoke last time out as well so he’ll be raring to go here against a depleted backline.
Predicted score: Burnley 1-0
Best Bet: Draw No Bet Burnley at $1.47 (80%)
Next Best: Under 2.5 goals at $1.58
Liverpool ($1.73) versus Stoke ($5.5), Draw ($3.5)
The struggles continue for Liverpool as they prepare for a tough encounter with Stoke this week. Liverpool haven’t won a game since the end of October when they beat Swansea in the Capital One Cup. To highlight how much they have struggled, they’ve only won 3 games in all competitions in October and November and another tough fixture here won’t help. Stoke haven’t been in the best of form either, but they are a side capable of toppling the bigger teams which they’ve already shown this season in beating Tottenham and Manchester City away. It seems almost as if this Stoke side gets up for the bigger sides and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them snatch something this weekend. Liverpool have been defending horribly and personally I think they need to shuffle their backline to put players such as Skertl and Lovren on notice. With Sturridge still out as well as Balotelli, they’ll once again need to rely on Lambert up front which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as he’s done quite well in recent weeks. I just question if they have the confidence and drive to get past Stoke as I think they’ll be really tough to beat.
Predicted score: Draw 1-1
Best Bet: Exactly 2 or 3 goals at $2 (80%)
Next Best: Double Chance Stoke at $2.18
Manchester United ($1.33) versus Hull ($10), Draw ($5)
Manchester United take on Hull this weekend as they look to consolidate their position in the top 4. For all their troubles this season, they’ve kind of been flying under the radar because a lot of the other usual suspects in Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Everton have been struggling. Hull on the other hand have been really competitive in their last 3 games but have just had little luck. They had an excellent start against Tottenham last week but threw it away with Gaston Ramirez being sent off. Once again I think they’ll show some fight this weekend but United will have too much for them in the end. United still have their injury concerns at the back but they’ve shown in their last 2 games that they have more than able replacements with their wins over Palace and Arsenal.
Predicted score: Manchester United 3-0
Best Bet: Manchester United Half-Time/Full-Time at $1.83 (90%)
Next Best: Over 2.5 goals at $1.59
QPR ($2.25) versus Leicester ($3.3), Draw ($3.3)
A battle between two of the potential sides set to be relegated this season with QPR hosting Leicester. It’s been a struggle for Leicester lately with just the 2 points in their last 7 games which is a poor return when they had prior to this run beaten Stoke away and then Man United at home. After those two wins you would have thought they could have built some form up from their but they’ve really struggled to perform. QPR haven’t been much better either though as they sit rooted to the bottom of the table on 8 points and just the 2 wins for the season. They also didn’t get any good news during the week with news that Sandro will be out until Christmas with a Knee injury which continues his bad run of luck with injuries. Charlie Austin though has been in good form scoring 4 times in his last 4 games and I think he’ll have a big say on the outcome here. This won’t be the most spectacular match but it should be entertaining enough with a few goals. Home advantage should see QPR get the points and a much needed 3rd win.
Predicted score: QPR 2-1
Best Bet: Over 2.5 goals at $2.05 (75%)
Next Best: Draw No Bet QPR at $1.57
Swansea ($1.8) versus Crystal Palace ($5), Draw ($3.4)
Interesting matchup here with Swansea taking on Crystal Palace this week. Palace are coming off an excellent win over Liverpool last week but they’ll need to step up another level against Swansea this week. No disrespect to Palace but to be fair Liverpool have been poor all season and Swansea have been a far better side to date sitting just 1 point off the top 4. With just the one loss at home so far this season as well, this for me is really Swansea’s to lose. I think Palace will be all too aware of this and they’ll look to play pretty tight at the back and frustrate Swansea’s attack. As a result it may just be a question of how long they can hold off Bony (5 goals) and the creative Sigurdsson (7 assists).
Predicted score: Swansea 2-0
Best Bet: Under 2.5 goals at $1.78 (70%)
Next Best: Swansea to win either half at $1.41
West Ham ($2.2) versus Newcastle ($3.4), Draw ($3.3)
Probably one of the biggest games of the weekend here with both sides in good form. Newcastle sit one point ahead of West Ham in 5th spot winning their last 5 games in the Premier League scoring 7 goals but perhaps more importantly only conceding once. In their first 7 games they conceded 14 goals so this is a massive turnaround in form that has set them up really well as we head into the Christmas run of fixtures. West Ham have dropped off a little in recent weeks picking up just the 2 points in their last 3 games, but they certainly shouldn’t be written off here. Their last game against Everton they lost but they also didn’t have their leading scorer Sakho who should return this weekend. This is a tough one to pick but I think given it’s home game for West Ham and with Sakho returning they should be able to get the points.
Predicted score: West Ham 2-1
Best Bet: Both teams to score – Yes at $1.72 (85%)
Next Best: Draw No Bet West Ham at $1.49
Sunderland ($8.5) versus Chelsea ($1.36), Draw ($5)
Massive test for Sunderland as the face the juggernaut that is Chelsea this week. Undefeated in their last 3 games is a good start for Sunderland but I doubt they’ll have the quality to stop Chelsea from getting a run on here and cruising to another win. Costa and Fabregas will be the ones to stop yet again as they look to build on their 11 goals and 10 assists respectively. Frankly I just give little chance here to Sunderland. Chelsea are flying.
Predicted score: Chelsea 3-0
Best Bet: Over 2.5 goals at $1.75 (90%)
Next Best: A goal scored in both halves – Yes at $1.65
Southampton ($3.2) versus Manchester City ($2.3), Draw ($3.3)
This will surely be the match of the weekend. Southampton are in excellent form sitting 2nd on the table 2 points ahead of their opponents this week Manchester City. I’m still astounded that Southampton have only conceded 6 goals in 12 games of which they have only conceded 1 of these at home. It makes for a tough test for Manchester City whom although they sit in 3rd still have a lot of work to do to catch up to Chelsea who are already 8 points ahead. Their win over Bayern during the week will have been confidence boosting but they’ll need to ensure they don’t get too far ahead of themselves. For all their form though, this is no doubt Southampton’s biggest test of the season having already lost their previous big matches against Liverpool and Tottenham. I think for this reason in that they are yet to prove themselves against a top side as well as coming off a draw away at Villa last week that they may just run out of good form this weekend. I think this will be a really good game but I have a feeling that Man City may just sneak it in the end.
Predicted score: Manchester City 2-1
Best Bet: Exactly 2 or 3 goals at $2.04 (75%)
Next Best: Both teams to score – Yes at $1.62
Tottenham ($2.3) versus Everton ($3.1), Draw ($3.4)
The final game of the weekend sees Tottenham taking on Everton in a game that both sides need to win. Everton have been a lot harder to beat recently and are undefeated in all competitions since Mid-October. Equally though for all Tottenham’s struggles this season, they’ve managed to get the results they need winning 5 in their last 6 games in all competitions. A couple of these wins of course were helped a little by red cards to the opposition but the confidence boost from winning is what will count in the players’ minds. One advantage here for Tottenham is that whilst both sides played Europa league this week, Spurs didn’t have to travel so they may be a little fresher not to mention the fact they have the luxury of a bigger squad. It might be my bias sneaking through but I think Tottenham might actually sneak a win this week. Young Harry Kane has been in good form and has worked well in tandem with the struggling Soldado. Either way this will be a close one but I’m going for a slight home win here.
Predicted score: Tottenham 2-1
Best Bet: Both teams to score – Yes at $1.62 (85%)
Next Best: Tottenham to win either half at $1.61
Please Note:
All of the above are the opinions of the author and are not recommendations or advice. The author may not be taking every bet listed above. Bet at your own risk.
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