PREMIER LEAGUE: The Striker previews Saturday’s Premier League games – all with a recommended BETDAQ bet and extended match stats. The action starts at 12.30pm with WEST HAM v NEWCASTLE.
WEST HAM V NEWCASTLE
12.30pm We have a massive day of Premier League action on Saturday with all football bets 0% Commission on BETDAQ Betting Exchange! It’s been a very busy week with the Champions League and Europa League, we have eight games today and then we also have midweek action next week as the Premier League looks to catch up on the games postponed due to Covid19 from around Christmas time. We have a lot games to get through, and we start with West Ham hosting Newcastle in the early TV game. This is a massive game for both sides, especially West Ham who aren’t out of the Top Four race. You felt they were out of it a few weeks ago when they dropped points but Manchester United, Spurs and Arsenal have all dropped enough points lately to bring West Ham back into the mix. Although Manchester United went past them on Tuesday night, a win here would see them reclaim four with United having a tricky away tie against Leeds on Sunday. Newcastle will have something to say about that though, and they’ll be hoping to continue their good run.
It’s been an excellent 2022 for Newcastle so far. They bought well in the transfer window, and they have saw results go their way. Since the 1-1 draw with Watford they have put together three wins and put a little bit of distance between themselves and the bottom three. They’re going to start the weekend four points clear of Norwich who have to play away to Liverpool this weekend and things are looking very good for Newcastle. If they can pick up anything here it would be a fantastic weekend. West Ham have offered a lot of value in my view over the last two seasons as they have been underrated by the markets, but I feel this is a time where they are overrated. Newcastle come into this fixture with excellent momentum and they played very impressive football in their win over Everton with an xG of 3.21. West Ham’s xG figures from their last three Premier League games have been 0.81, 1.11 and 0.32. I feel The Hammers are too short here at 1.74 and I’m happy to start the day with a home lay.
The Striker Says:
Two points lay (liability) West Ham to beat Newcastle at 1.74 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQWesnew
MATCH STATS
● Following their 4-2 win on the opening weekend, West Ham are looking to complete the Premier League double over Newcastle for just the third time, previously doing so in 1998-99 and 2018-19.
● Newcastle have won their last two Premier League away games against West Ham – they’ve never won three consecutive visits to the Hammers in their league history.
● Against no side have Newcastle United won more Premier League away games than they have against West Ham (10).
● West Ham have scored at least once in all 12 of their Premier League home games this season, the best such 100% record in the competition this term. The Hammers have both scored and conceded in 16 Premier League games this season, with no side doing so more often.
● Newcastle have won each of their last three Premier League games, moving themselves four points clear of the relegation zone. They last won four consecutive league games back in April 2018.
● Newcastle won their last away league match 1-0 at Leeds – they’ve not kept back-to-back away Premier League clean sheets since September 2020, the second game of which was a 2-0 win at West Ham. Meanwhile, they’ve not won consecutive top-flight away games while keeping a clean sheet each time since December 2013.
● Since David Moyes’ return to West Ham, only Liverpool (27) have scored more Premier League goals from corners than the Hammers (25). This season alone, only the Reds (11) have scored more such goals than West Ham (9).
● Newcastle have scored from a direct free-kick in each of their last three Premier League games, with Jonjo Shelvey scoring against Leeds, and Kieran Trippier netting against Everton and Aston Villa. No side has ever scored from a direct free-kick in four consecutive games in the competition.
● West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen has been involved in 12 goals in his last 11 games in all competitions, scoring eight and assisting four. Overall Bowen has scored 12 goals in all competitions this season – the last player to score more with the Hammers as a top-flight club was Marlon Harewood in 2005-06 (16).
● West Ham’s Declan Rice (6087 metres) and Newcastle’s Allan Saint-Maximin (5714) have carried the ball further than any other players in the Premier League this season. Meanwhile, 27 of Saint-Maximin’s carries have ended in a shot, more than any other player.
ARSENAL V BRENTFORD
3pm We have a very busy afternoon with six games kicking off at 3pm! With the staggered fixture list while playing behind closed doors and then all the European commitments and postponed games, it’s been a while since we had such a busy Saturday afternoon! We start the 3pm games with Arsenal hosting Brentford looking to get back into pole position for that fourth spot. You have to go back to 2015/16 for the last time Arsenal finished in the Top Four, finishing second ten points behind Leicester. Getting back into the Champions League would be a massive achievement for The Gunners and you have to say they have an excellent chance. Spurs looked to be the favourites a couple of weeks ago, but they have put three losses together and now Arsenal are going to start this weekend four points behind Manchester United but they have three games in hand. As we saw with Spurs, it’s easy to just say “if we win x, y and z” but that doesn’t always happen. This game is ideal chance for Arsenal to get some confidence back and put back-to-back wins together after their 1-0 win over Wolves last week.
Brentford have adjusted to life in the Premier League very well and they have impressed me this season. However, they are much stronger at home compared to away from home. When they are at home and I look at their performances I want to support them in the market but it’s a different story away from home. It was a very similar story in their game last weekend against Crystal Palace – they created an xG over three times what Crystal Palace managed but they couldn’t win the game. That follows on from losing to Wolves and Manchester United but finishing both games with a higher xG figure! They just don’t create as much away from home compared to at home, and I feel Arsenal can grind out a win here. The 1.46 is a price I’d recommend for any BETDAQ Multiple, but I like under 2.5 goals here at 1.94. Arsenal haven’t been banging in goals for fun recently and Brentford create very little away from home – it wouldn’t surprise me to see a 1-0 Arsenal win in a quiet game.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.94 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQArsbre
MATCH STATS
● This is Arsenal’s first home game against Brentford since a 3-1 win in the EFL Cup in September 2018, while it’s the first time they’re hosting the Bees in a league match since a 2-2 draw in October 1946.
● Brentford are looking to become the first promoted side to complete the Premier League double over Arsenal since Blackburn Rovers in the 1992-93 campaign.
● Just one of the last 24 teams have won their first ever Premier League away game against Arsenal (D4 L19), with Hull City winning 2-1 in September 2008. The last eight first-time visitors to the Emirates Stadium in the league have lost, conceding 25 goals and scoring just twice.
● Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 32 Premier League home games against promoted sides (W27 D5), since a 1-0 loss against Newcastle in November 2010. The Gunners have only failed to score in one of those 32 matches, a goalless draw with Middlesbrough in October 2016.
● Arsenal lost their first three league games this season, falling to the bottom of the table at the end of August. Since then, only the top two sides, Manchester City (18) and Liverpool (14), have won more Premier League games than the Gunners (12).
● Brentford are winless in their last six league games, last having a longer run between September and October 2018 (8 games). The Bees have also lost their last four away league games, last suffering a longer losing run on the road in February 2011 (5).
● Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 28 Premier League home games kicking off at 3pm on a Saturday (W23 D5), last losing such a game on the opening day of the 2013-14 season against Aston Villa.
● Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette has scored 12 London derby goals at the Emirates Stadium – he’s the highest scoring player in such fixtures at the ground in the competition.
● Among goalkeepers, only Ederson (14) and Alisson (12) have kept more clean sheets in the Premier League this season than Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale (11). The last Gunners keeper to record more in a single campaign was Petr Cech in 2016-17 (12).
● Sergi Canós and Christian Nørgaard scored Brentford’s goals in their 2-0 win over Arsenal in the reverse fixture. In the last 10 seasons, only one player for a promoted club has scored home and away against the Gunners, with Charlie Austin doing so with QPR in 2014-15.
ASTON VILLA V WATFORD
3pm With the recent wins from Newcastle, things are getting desperate now for the bottom three and even though Watford have a game in hand over Norwich who sit above them, I doubt it will make much difference. It definitely looked like a bottom four over the last few weeks but with three wins from Newcastle they have put distance between themselves and the bottom three now. Watford have been poor this season to be fair, and it’s not like they don’t deserve to be in the bottom three. It will be interesting to see what reaction we get from the players here though – they definitely “had a chance” of staying up before those Newcastle wins but now that looks unlikely. Will they fight until the end or just roll over? This is probably a fixture where we can get an idea of what is to come from Watford. They sit bottom of the table on home form, but they are fifth from bottom on away form so they have been better away!
The big question we have to answer here from a betting point of view is can we trust Aston Villa enough to back them at 1.66? They have sort of lost their momentum in recent weeks that they were riding after the arrival of Steven Gerrard and although they didn’t play too badly last weekend away to Newcastle they still lost and that followed on from a draw at home to Leeds. The only positive you’d say is Newcastle and Leeds are better sides than Watford, but that’s three games in a row where Aston Villa haven’t really created much and haven’t played well. Prior to that run though they did play well here against Manchester United, and they won’t have to be at their best to beat Watford to be fair. Watford have been terrible in recent weeks – their xG figures have been 0.60, 0.33, 0.97, 1.40 and 1.57 – remember they have playing all their relegation battles with Burnley, Norwich and Newcastle in that time too. I’m happy to take the 1.66 on the Villa win, however given that they aren’t in flying form I’m happy to keep stakes reasonably limited.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Aston Villa to beat Watford at 1.66 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQAstvil
MATCH STATS
● Aston Villa have lost just one of their last nine home league games against Watford (W6 D2), going down 3-2 in November 2015.
● Watford have won four of their last five league games against Aston Villa (L1), just one fewer than they had in their first 16 meetings with the Villans (W5 D5 L6).
● Aston Villa are one of three teams to have scored in 100% of their Premier League home games this season (11/11), along with Liverpool and West Ham United. Overall, the Villans have scored in their last 12 Premier League home games, their longest such run in the competition since a run of 16 between May 2007 and March 2008.
● Aston Villa have conceded 18 goals in their last eight Premier League home games, one more than they had in their previous 17 at Villa Park combined.
● Watford have failed to score in their last four Premier League games – they last had a longer run without a league goal between September and October 1987 (5 games), during a season in which they were relegated from the top-flight.
● Since beating Manchester United 4-1 in November, Watford have taken just two points from 33 available in the Premier League (W0 D2 L9). Indeed, no side is on a current longer winless run in the competition than the Hornets (11 games).
● Watford are the only side yet to score from outside the box in the Premier League this season. Indeed, of teams with at least 50 goals in the competition’s history, only Wimbledon (9.1%) have scored a lower percentage from distance than Watford (9.7% – 29/299).
● Aston Villa striker Danny Ings has scored in each of his last three Premier League games against Watford, netting four goals in total in this run. His first goal for the Villans came in the reverse fixture on the opening weekend this season.
● Watford have failed to score in any of their three Premier League games under Roy Hodgson. Only three permanent managers have ever seen their side fail to score in their first four Premier League games in charge – Frank De Boer at Crystal Palace (2017), Brendan Rodgers at Swansea City (2011) and Stuart Gray at Southampton (2001).
● 20-year-old Jacob Ramsey has scored five Premier League goals for Aston Villa this season; only two players have scored more in a single campaign for the Villans while aged under 21 – Luke Moore in 2005-06 (8) and Gabriel Agbonlahor in 2006-07 (9).
BRIGHTON V BURNLEY
3pm Another big game here at the bottom of the table with Burnley in action as they travel to take on Brighton. Burnley start the weekend sitting in rock bottom, but they do have some games in hand. They have played the least amount of games in the Premier League this season with their fixtures suffering the most in the Covid19 outbreak around Christmas time. At the moment they have three games in hand on Norwich and two games in hand on Watford and Newcastle. I don’t think the games in hand on Norwich and Watford matter to be honest as the only target here is Newcastle. They start the weekend seven points behind Newcastle and in theory they can make things close if they won their two games in hand. However, as we have seen with Spurs over the last few weeks games in hand never quite work out how they should and you also have to consider the fact we are talking about Burnley winning those two games in hand when they have only won once all season. It’s unlikely, but on paper they could be the biggest danger to Newcastle.
Brighton would have been bitterly disappointed to lose at Old Trafford on Tuesday night. Given all the problems with the United squad at the moment they would have went there full of confidence. Despite some good performances, Brighton have only managed one win in their last five but they will say that they have been unlucky. They created an xG of 2.66 in the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace and although it was a very close game, they finished with a bigger xG than Chelsea in the 1-1 draw here too. Burnley have been so poor this season it’s hard to see past the Brighton win here, especially with them putting in some excellent performances at home. I feel Brighton at 1.75 given their attacking brand of football is a much better bet than Aston Villa at 1.66 to beat Watford – I still feel Villa are value however Brighton are the best bet from those two – I think my stakes reflect that.
The Striker Says:
Four points win Brighton to beat Burnley at 1.75 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQBribur
MATCH STATS
● Following their 2-1 victory on the opening weekend, Brighton are looking to complete their first league double over Burnley since the 2012-13 Championship campaign.
● Burnley are unbeaten in their last five away league games against Brighton, though four of these have ended level (won 3-1 in February 2019).
● Eight of the last 12 league games between Brighton and Burnley has finished level, with each side winning two games apiece in the others. Four of those eight draws have been 0-0.
● Brighton’s eight previous Premier League games against sides starting the day bottom of the table have produced just seven goals (W2 D5 L1), with the Seagulls scoring four and conceding three. Their only defeat in these games came at already relegated Sheffield United in April last season.
● Brighton have won just one of their last eight Premier League home games (D5 L2), beating Brentford 2-0 on Boxing Day. Indeed, only Wolves (38%) have won a lower percentage of their Premier League points in home games this season than the Seagulls.
● This will be Brighton’s 15th Premier League game at 3pm on Saturday since the start of last season (W6 D4 L4), but just their third at home. The other two finished with a 2-0 victory against Leeds (May 2021) and a 2-0 defeat against Everton (August 2021).
● Burnley have won just one of their 21 Premier League games this season, just the fifth side to have one win or fewer after 21 games of a campaign in the competition after West Bromwich Albion in 2004-05 (survived), Sunderland in 2005-06, Watford in 2006-07 and Derby County in 2007-08 (all relegated).
● Burnley are one of just two teams in the top four tiers of English football without an away league win this season, along with Barnsley. Overall, they’re winless in their last 12 on the road, their longest run without a Premier League away win since their first 17 such games in the 2016-17 season.
● No team has scored a higher share of their Premier League goals in the first half of games this season than Burnley (59% – 10/17). The Clarets have netted just seven times after the interval this term, with just two of these goals coming the final 30 minutes.
● Though he’s yet to find the net across his three Premier League games so far, Wout Weghorst has had more shots than any other Burnley player (8), while no player has created more chances for the Clarets than the Dutchman since his arrival (3).
CRYSTAL PALACE V CHELSEA
3pm We have another very interesting game next as Crystal Palace host Chelsea. We have a handful of sides priced in the 1.65 to 1.75 range today, and you’d have to say that this is the most interesting one from a betting point of view. There will be some big opinions either way on the Chelsea price at 1.75. I have to say that I am in the back camp at the odds. I see this as an excellent chance for Chelsea to bag another three points with Crystal Palace struggling for form lately. Chelsea have gone a while without playing in the Premier League, but they have been busy winning the FIFA Club World Cup. That final went to extra time and they needed a late winner, but they have had plenty of time to travel back and rest before this fixture. Their last Premier League game feels like ages ago – it was the 23rd of January – but they were impressive when beating Spurs 2-0. Palace will be glad that this fixture is at home rather than away from home as their last three performances away have been very poor. They only managed an xG of 0.53 v Brentford, had to settle for a 1-1 draw v Norwich and only created an xG of 0.50 v Brighton while conceding 2.66. They have struggled to create chances recently but they have been pretty open at the back. Everything lines up for a Chelsea win here in my opinion.
You’d have to say that Palace are a better side in front of their own fans compared to away from home, so I can understand why Chelsea are trading as big as 1.75 here but I feel it’s at least five ticks too big. I’d have Chelsea just marginally shorter than 1.7 here and I feel 1.66 or 1.68 is a fair price. They will create more chances than this Palace side and outclass them. Although they were busy with the Club World Cup, they’d actually had a full week to prepare for the Premier League again – the top clubs don’t usually get that much time these days and they should come into this fixture in an excellent place. Palace have conceded three goals against Liverpool, West Ham and Spurs recently – I just don’t see how they stop this Chelsea side from scoring and the 1.75 is a confident bet.
The Striker Says:
Four points win Chelsea to beat Crystal Palace at 1.75 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQCrychl
MATCH STATS
● None of the last 21 Premier League meetings between Crystal Palace and Chelsea have finished level, with the Eagles winning four to Chelsea’s 17 in that time.
● After losing back-to-back league games against Crystal Palace in April/October 2017, Chelsea have won each of their last eight against the Eagles in the competition.
● Chelsea have won 76% of their Premier League games against Crystal Palace (19/25) – with a minimum of 20 meetings, it’s the highest win rate one side has against another in the competition’s history.
● Crystal Palace have won just one of their last 16 Premier League London derby matches (D8 L7), beating Spurs 3-0 at Selhurst Park earlier this season.
● Chelsea’s defeat at West Ham in December ended a run of seven consecutive Premier League away wins in London derbies. The Blues haven’t lost consecutive such matches on the road since December 2017 – against Crystal Palace and West Ham.
● 40% of Crystal Palace’s Premier League wins this season (2/5) have come against sides starting the day in the top four of the table (3-0 vs Tottenham, 2-0 vs Man City). The Eagles have never won as many as three games against sides in the top four within a single top-flight campaign.
● Having won all four of their Premier League games in October by an aggregate score of 14-1, Chelsea have failed to win back-to-back league games since then (W5 D7 L2). The Blues have also kept just three clean sheets in this run, shipping 15 goals in total.
● Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic has scored five goals in his five Premier League games against Crystal Palace, including three in two at Selhurst Park. It’s more than he’s scored against any other opponent in the competition.
● Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise has been directly involved in seven goals in his last seven games in all competitions (3 goals, 4 assists), while overall this season he’s averaging a goal or assist every 75 minutes for the Eagles.
● Hakim Ziyech has scored in each of his last two Premier League games for Chelsea, as many times as in his previous 31 appearances for the Blues. He last scored in three consecutive league games in August/September 2019 while at Ajax.
LIVERPOOL V NORWICH
3pm We have the shortest price of the day here as Liverpool are trading 1.13 to beat Norwich! That would have been the shortest price you’ll see in Europe this weekend, but Bayern Munich are playing at home against the side bottom of the Bundesliga so they will take that prize! It’s hard to argue with the market as it’s close to impossible to see anything bar a Liverpool win here. They arrive into the fixture in superb form, and grinded out a 2-0 win away to Inter Milan in the Champions League midweek – scoring two reasonably late goals to take hold of the tie. Norwich have shown a bit of fight in recent weeks and even pulled themselves out of the relegation zone before Newcastle put three wins together, but you can’t get away from the gulf in class here. Norwich had home advantage last weekend and lost 4-0 to Manchester City – it’s hard to see how they are going to do better here away from home. You have to remember too that while City have basically won the title, Liverpool have been better going forward when compared to City this season.
The only reason why City have such an advantage at the top of the table is Liverpool just aren’t as good at the back. Lately Liverpool have been putting teams to the sword though and I was impressed with their winning run without their two stars Salah and Mane too as they were at the African Cup of Nations. This fixture is all about how many goals can Liverpool score rather than will they win, and I feel they can run riot here. Norwich just couldn’t deal with City last weekend, they conceded an xG of 4.55 so it could have been more than just four, and Liverpool will cover the handicap here. The 1.99 -2.5 goals looks cracking value – I felt we’d have to go to -3.5 for a decent price but -2.5 will do nicely.
The Striker Says:
Three points win Liverpool -2.5 goals to beat Norwich at 1.99 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQLivnor
MATCH STATS
● Liverpool have won 13 of their last 15 Premier League games against Norwich (D2), netting 47 goals in these matches (3.1 per game).
● Norwich have won just one of their last 12 away league games against Liverpool, winning 1-0 in April 1994. They’ve never scored more than once in these 12 visits, netting just seven goals in total.
● Liverpool average 2.8 goals-per-game in the Premier League against Norwich (53 goals in 19 games), their highest rate against any side they’ve faced at least five times in the competition.
● Liverpool have already beaten Norwich twice this season, winning 3-0 in the Premier League and 3-0 in the EFL Cup. There have been eight previous occasions of an English top-flight team beating an opponent by 3+ goals three times in a single season (none by Liverpool), with the most recent being Arsenal against Aston Villa in 2014-15.
● Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 15 Premier League home games (W11 D4), winning the last six in a row by an aggregate score of 17-1.
● Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 28 Premier League games kicking off at 3pm on a Saturday (W25 D3), since a 2-0 loss at Hull City in February 2017.
● Following their 3-0 win at Watford last month, Norwich are looking to win back-to-back Premier League away games for the first time since January 2012. However, the Canaries have won just one of their 25 away top-flight games against sides in the top three (D8 L16), beating Manchester City 3-2 on the final day of the 2012-13 campaign.
● Norwich have netted fewer Premier League goals than any other side this season (14) – in fact Liverpool have scored over twice as many goals in both the first half (31) and second half (30) of games as Norwich have in total this term. Just six of Norwich’s 14 goals have come after half-time, with half of those strikes coming in their 3-0 win at Watford in their last away game.
● Mohamed Salah has been directly involved in five goals in three Premier League games against Norwich for Liverpool (2 goals, 3 assists), while teammate Roberto Firmino has been directly involved in five in his last four against the Canaries (3 goals, 2 assists).
● Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has 25 goal involvements in the Premier League this season (16 goals, 9 assists). His next assist will see him register 10+ goals and assists in a season for the third time in a Premier League campaign (also 2017-18 and 2019-20), and he would be just the third non-English player to do so after Eric Cantona (4) and Didier Drogba (3).
SOUTHAMPTON V EVERTON
3pm Although Southampton would be considered “big favourites” as they are trading 2.16 here, this is the most open market of the day as it’s the only game where we don’t have an odds on favourite! It’s a little unfair in my opinion to include Everton in the relegation battle, they start the weekend one point ahead of Newcastle and they also have a game in hand. While it’s easy for me to say that they aren’t in the relegation battle, their fans will look at the table and their performances and rightly be worried. It’s hard to see the bottom three turning things around though, and Everton are only one win away from changing the narrative too with Frank Lampard coming in as manager and that would make it back-to-back wins after the impressive 3-0 win over Leeds last weekend. When you look at the table you have to say that win over Leeds was massive and Everton would actually be in a much tougher position if the result went the other way. It’s crazy how far they have fallen this season.
They face a very solid Southampton side here who have put together some excellent results. There’s no getting away from the fact that they were lucky to pick up draws against both Manchester clubs, but they deserved their 3-2 win over Spurs in between those games. It takes a good performance to beat Southampton because they generally just grind away and they defend well, and I’m not sure Everton can deliver that type of performance at the moment. I know things change under a new manager, but their away performances have been shocking this season. They only have six points from 11 games, and sit in the bottom three on the away table. Given that level of performance and how much confidence Southampton are playing with at the moment I can only see a home win here and I’m happy to take the 2.16.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Southampton to beat Everton at 2.16 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQSoueve
MATCH STATS
● Southampton have lost their last two Premier League games against Everton, last losing three league games in a row against the Toffees between September 1990 and January 1992.
● Following their 3-1 victory on the opening weekend, Everton are looking to complete their first league double over Southampton since the 2001-02 campaign.
● Southampton have lost just once at home in the Premier League this season, and are unbeaten in their last eight at St Mary’s (W3 D5) since a 1-0 loss against Wolves in September.
● Everton are looking for consecutive Premier League wins for the first time since September, following their 3-0 win over Leeds last time out. However, the Toffees have won just once away from home in the league this season (2-0 v Brighton in August), picking up just two points from their last 27 available on the road (D2 L7).
● Southampton are without a clean sheet in 13 Premier League games, the longest current run in the competition. However, Saints have also found the net themselves in each of the last eight.
● No side has scored fewer Premier League goals in the first half of games this season than Everton (8), though three of their eight such strikes have come in their two league games under Frank Lampard so far.
● Everton’s Richarlison has scored five goals in his last six Premier League games against Southampton, netting in each of his last four against them in the competition. Only Harry Kane (6) and Andrew Cole (5) have ever scored in more consecutive Premier League appearances against Southampton.
● Everton’s Dele Alli has been directly involved in nine Premier League goals against Southampton (5 goals, 4 assists), more than he has against any other opponent in the competition. However, eight of these came in his first four appearances against them (5 goals, 3 assists), with just one coming in his last five (1 assist).
● Southampton’s Che Adams has scored in his last two Premier League games, netting Saints’ winner against Tottenham and their equaliser against Manchester United. Only once before has he scored in three consecutive Premier League appearances, doing so in March 2021.
● Everton lost 3-1 at Newcastle in their first Premier League game under Frank Lampard – the only manager to lose his first two Premier League games on the road with the Toffees was Mike Walker in March 1994, in a season that saw Everton avoid relegation on the final day of the season.
MANCHESTER CITY V TOTTENHAM
5.30pm We finish a brilliant day of action with a fantastic fixture as Manchester City host Spurs. Although this is a headline fixture, the market can only see an easy home win as City are trading 1.3 at the time of writing. That just shows the level that City are playing at lately, and it also highlights how average Spurs have been. Spurs were in pole position for that fourth spot a couple of weeks ago and while they aren’t out of the race yet, they have completely blew their position of strength. You couldn’t rule them out, but only because Manchester United and Arsenal have been so poor and are unreliable! The losses to Southampton and Wolves were a bitter pill to take, especially because they played badly too. It’s not like they created a lot of chances and bossed the games, they conceded a bigger xG than they created twice. Given they conceded five goals in those two games, one wonders how they are going to stop City here. Spurs best chance seems to be a lucky result to be honest – if you remember they beat City on the opening day of the season 1-0 but City finished the game with an xG of 2.41.
City also arrive into this fixture in top form. They are having a fantastic season, but they seem to be really peaking at the moment. Perhaps this peak is coming too early with the Champions League in mind, but that’s a discussion for another day. They’ve scored 15 goals in their last four games in all competitions, and with a 5-0 win away from home in the Champions League mid-table Guardiola will be able to rest some players for the second leg given the busy schedule coming up. City are playing so well at the moment I think it’s a case of how many goals can they score, and the 1.85 to cover the 1.5 goal handicap looks excellent value. Spurs arrive into this fixture on a real low after their two recent defeats, and an early goal could see City run riot.
The Striker Says:
Three points win Manchester City -1.5 goals to beat Tottenham at 1.85 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQMcitot
MATCH STATS
● Manchester City have lost just one of their last 11 home league games against Tottenham (W8 D2), going down 2-1 in February 2016.
● Spurs have won three of their last four Premier League games against Man City (L1), as many as they had in their previous 13 against them. However, these last three victories have all been in home games.
● Following their 1-0 victory against Man City on the opening weekend of the season, Tottenham are looking to secure their first league double over the reigning top-flight champions since 1986-87, when they beat Liverpool 1-0 home and away.
● Since losing 2-0 at home to Crystal Palace in October, Man City have earned 43 points from 45 available in the Premier League (W14 D1 L0), with the only exception being a 1-1 draw at Southampton last month.
● Tottenham have lost each of their last three Premier League games, conceding more goals in these games (7) than they did in their first nine under Antonio Conte (6). Spurs haven’t lost four in a row in the competition since a run of six between October and November 2004.
● Tottenham have conceded at least twice in each of their last four Premier League games, last doing so in more consecutively between April and May 2003 under Glenn Hoddle (6).
● This will be the fifth meeting between Man City boss Pep Guardiola and Tottenham’s Antonio Conte in all competitions. In 2016-17, Conte became the first manager to achieve a league double over the Spaniard, while Guardiola won both meetings with the Italian the following campaign.
● Tottenham’s Son Heung-min has scored six goals in his last eight appearances against Manchester City in all competitions, netting the winner in the reverse fixture on the opening weekend this season.
● Man City’s Raheem Sterling has scored at least 10 goals in each of his last five Premier League campaigns, having failed to do so in any of his first six seasons in the competition. He’s scored 49 Premier League goals at the Etihad Stadium and would be the second player to score 50 at the ground, after Sergio Agüero (106).
● Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne has been involved in seven goals in his last eight Premier League games (5 goals, 2 assists). His next goal will be his 50th overall in the competition, making him the fourth Belgian player to reach the milestone in the competition after Romelu Lukaku, Christian Benteke and Eden Hazard.
