Welcome to this weeks blog! We had the toughest week to date last week, only predicting half of the matches correctly, but with a new week comes another chance to redeem ourselves. If you’ve been following me through out the season then you’ve made a wise choice as we’re +9% at the moment.
One of the big games to go against us last week was Sheffield United v West Ham on the Friday night where a mixture of terrible defending and controversial disallowed goals meant that we were robbed of the draw! We also saw Wolves only manage get a draw against Newcastle despite having three chances cleared off of the line, so all in all we were a bit unlucky.
Looking forward to this weekends round of fixtures, we see a key game down the bottom end of the table where both Bournemouth and Norwich desperately need a win to keep their hopes of staying up alive. Manchester United also travel to Liverpool in the hopes that they can spoil their unbeaten season, which would make it all the more interesting given their rivalry.
If you need a reminder on how my tipping system works, please do check out my first blog. As always please do feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below – best of luck!
Watford Vs Tottenham – Saturday 18th, 12.30pm
Two teams at different ends of the table, but it’s Watford who are coming into this match in better form whilst there opponents Spurs find themselves in a bit of a rut. Nigel Pearson has got this Watford side playing some good counter attacking football, whilst also vastly improving there defence which has made them a very tough team in recent matches.
Although I think Spurs are a good side, and gave a decent display against Liverpool last week, I think Watford will come out as surprise winners this week. They seem to have a confidence about the at the moment which make this struggling Spurs side worry, and without Kane I don’t think they’ll have enough quality or fight to beat this much improved Watford side.
Watford to BEAT Tottenham (3.30 odds, confidence 2)
Arsenal Vs Sheffield United – Saturday 18th, 3pm
Arteta looked to have worked wonders with this Arsenal side if we looked at their performances in his first three games in charge. However, they looked dangerously close to slipping back into the Arsenal of old against Palace at the weekend. They went 1-0 up early on, but then coasted for the rest of the match allowing Palace to grab a deserved equalizer. To make matters worse, Aubameyang was sent off for a poor challenge on Max Meyer meaning that he’ll have to sit out of the next three matches.
I have this one down as a draw. I said last week that Sheffield United have been built off of an extremely sturdy defence, but lack a bit of firepower up top to really take them to the next level. That turned out to be true for the match against West Ham where it looked like it was heading for a 0-0, until some very poor goalkeeping saw Sheffield United gifted with a goal to win them the match. I think that Arsenal should be able to keep out Sheffield United’s attack, but with Aubameyang out and Lacazette unable to find his shooting boots at the moment, I have a feeling that these two sides will cancel each other out.
Arsenal to DRAW with Sheffield United (3.60 odds, confidence 2)
Brighton Vs Aston Villa – Saturday 18th, 3pm
Aston Villa look like a team destined for the Championship. They were torn to shreds against Manchester City last week, and I wish I could say it was just down to City’s brilliance but Aston Villa were nearly as bad as City were good. I mentioned lasts week that they try and play some good football, but they’re defence just isn’t good enough.
Unfortunately for Villa, I can only see Brighton winning this one. At home they tend to be a difficult team to play against, and if their key players like Trossard and Maupay turn up they should have enough to see off this struggling Villa side.
Brighton to BEAT Aston Villa (1.62 odds, confidence 3)
Manchester City Vs Crystal Palace – Saturday 18th, 3pm
Manchester City looked to be back to their unplayable selves last weekend against Villa. Granted their opposition didn’t put up a huge fight, but when every one of your players is playing at the top of their game then it makes it extremely hard to play against. Palace also put in a decent performance and picked up a well deserved draw against Arsenal with Ayew popping up with yet another goal this season.
I do rate Palace as a side but they’ve lacked a bit of quality up top this season, so unless Zaha and Ayew are on form then I can only see City winning this. City could rotate their entire front 3 from the players that started against Villa last week and still stroll this game, so for me this goes down as a City win.
Manchester City to BEAT Crystal Palace (1.11 odds, confidence 4)
Norwich Vs Bournemouth – Saturday 18th, 3pm
Bournemouth have a very very important few games coming up. They were well beaten in their first of four relegation six pointers last weekend when they came up against Watford, but they have a chance to redeem themselves against Norwich.
Although I do like Norwich and think that they look like quite a good team at times, I would say that they’re in the bottom three teams in the league in terms of ability which is something I wouldn’t say about Bournemouth. I think that with players slowly coming back from injury for Bournemouth, Eddie Howe should be able to get his boys fired up and ready to take the three points this weekend.
Bournemouth to BEAT Norwich (3.10 odds, confidence 2)
Southampton Vs Wolves – Saturday 18th, 3pm
Both Southampton and Wolves have been in good form as of late (particularly Southampton), and I can’t pull these two sides apart. Wolves will be happy with how their season is going but may now be starting to feel the effects of being part of the Europa League which is likely to see energy levels dip a bit. Southampton on the other hand will be raring to go as I imagine they’ll still feel like they’re in danger of a relegation battle until they can get themselves a bit further up the table. Overall I think both teams will take the draw, so i’m going for a draw.
Southampton to DRAW with Wolves (3.40 odds, confidence 3)
West Ham Vs Everton – Saturday 18th, 3pm
I’ve yet to decide if both new managers at these clubs have had a real impact as of yet. There’s no denying that results have improved, but I feel that both sets of fans would like to see a bit more from their players over the next few weeks.
Everton probably look the better team at the moment, but I’ve just got a feeling that at home David Moyes will want his team to go out and make a statement to the rest of the league that they have no intention of being part of the relegation battle. Add in the fact that they were very controversially denied a draw last week against Sheffield United, I feel that they may be out to prove a point this week. West Ham to win.
West Ham to BEAT Everton (2.90 odds, confidence 2)
Newcastle Vs Chelsea – Saturday 18th, 5.30pm
Although Newcastle picked up a surprise draw against Wolves at the weekend, they were extremely lucky not to have lost that match by a couple of goals. Wolves had chances cleared off of the line on three separate occasions so if their defence is that poor this week then they’ll be well beaten. Chelsea on the other hand deserved they win against Burnley. They started a bit slow and lacked a bit of creativity up top throughout the entire match, but they did enough as the game went on to easily secure the three points.
I feel that as long as Chelsea can step up their efforts in the final third then they should win this one. Reece James looks like he’s going to cause a lot of trouble down that right hand side, so that could be the area that wins Chelsea the match this weekend.
Chelsea to BEAT Newcastle (1.50 odds, confidence 3)
Burnley Vs Leicester – Sunday 19th, 2pm
Leicester are still flying high in the league, currently sitting in third place, but it feels as if they’ve stepped of the gas a bit now that they title is well out of reach. They still look like a very dangerous team, but whereas they were finding ways to grind out games earlier in the season, they look like they’re finding it a bit tougher to break those more resilient teams down. Teams don’t come much more resilient than Burnley either, who themselves haven’t had much luck breaking teams down in recent games, so I think that this will end in a draw.
Burnley to DRAW with Leicester (1.80 odds, confidence 2)
Liverpool Vs Manchester United – Sunday 19th, 4.30pm
What can you say about Liverpool that hasn’t already been said. They look absolutely unbeatable. Even when they’re not at the races they find a way to nick a goal and win the match, which is down to having quality players such as Mane, Salah, and Firminho up front. Manchester United however have looked far from unbeatable and have lost far too often this season.
Liverpool have seen off every challenge thrown at them this season, and with Anfield being the fortress that it is, I can only see Liverpool winning this.
Liverpool to BEAT Manchester United (1.44 odds, confidence 3)
Best of luck!
Two Cents Sports Betting 