PREMIER LEAGUE SUNDAY: The Striker previews Sunday’s two Premier League games. Arsenal v Nottingham Forest (2pm) and Man U v West Ham (4.15pm) both previewed with a recommended BETDAQ bet and extended match stats via FACTMAN.
ARSENAL V NOTTINGHAM FOREST
2pm Another fascinating Super Sunday on BETDAQ Betting Exchange as the “Europa League Boys” are in action with Arsenal hosting Nottingham Forest and Manchester United hosting West Ham later. We start the afternoon with league leaders (at the start of the weekend anyway!) Arsenal and they come into this fixture as red-hot favourites. They are currently trading 1.22 at the time of writing, which is the shortest price of any side in the Premier League this weekend. You don’t need me to tell you that they are fully expected to win here, but they have had two setbacks within the last week. They dropped points away to Southampton last weekend and then suffered a 2-0 loss away from home against PSV on Thursday night. They were definitely a little unlucky in the PSV game, but those results just reflect a little run where Arsenal haven’t been at their best. For example, they won 1-0 away to Leeds but only managed an xG of 0.86 and conceded a whopping 2.35. The 1-0 away to Bodo/Glimt came with an xG of just 0.72 too. You have to give Arsenal credit for grinding out those wins – in the past they wouldn’t have in fairness – but you do have to ask the question are the cracks beginning to show?
You won’t find many Premier League fans, who aren’t also Arsenal fans, who believe Arsenal won’t be caught at some point this season. However, as the weeks go by their “title challenge” becomes more and more real. Surely their aim has to be sitting on top heading into the World Cup, and then see what happens after that! Although Nottingham Forest have played poor football this season, they did shock everyone with a 1-0 win over Liverpool last weekend. They conceded a high xG figure, but the 2.44 they created was their best performance all season – it was a nice confidence boost coming into this game. I feel Nottingham Forest are in big trouble this season – they have a huge wage bill now with all those signings and their football level has been very poor on the pitch. They definitely look more comfortable at home compared to away, so we could see plenty of goals for Arsenal here. I think Arsenal need a morale boosting win after the last week or so – they just need to find their rhythm again. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Forest score at some point though in an open game, and while it’s hard to get away from Over 2.5 goals here at 1.59, I’m going to take a chance with Both Teams To Score at 2.28 for a lower stake. I can see a pretty open game here.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Both Teams To Score at 2.28 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/ArsNot
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MANCHESTER UNITED V WEST HAM
4.15pm Manchester United host West Ham in the prime TV slot this Sunday, and this should be a cracker in fairness. United come into the game as the odds on favourites – currently trading 1.72 at the time of writing – but we all know that they still have a lot of issues to work through. Erik ten Hag definitely has them going in the right direction, but there’s still a huge amount of work left to do. They completely dominated the game on Thursday in the Europa League – I’ve actually never seen a team finish with an xG of 0 but that’s what United kept Sheriff Tiraspol down to. Obviously there’s a huge gulf in class between the sides, but that’s still impressive. We seem to be over the latest Ronaldo saga, and he got on the score sheet on Thursday night too. The United squad showed great spirit to claim a late draw away to Chelsea last weekend – the players went mental with the fans after the goal and it really shows ten Hag is doing well in the dressing room. Half of this squad looked like quitters last season after all. They face a tough test against West Ham here though, as the Hammers have been playing some impressive football lately. They haven’t got the result they deserved but their last four xG figures have been 2.20, 2.63, 2.05 and 3.52. Those are the kind of chances they were creating last season when challenging for a European spot. They started this season very slowly, but it seems they have found their form again.
I know Liverpool have been poor this season, and they have been terrible at the back but that xG of 2.63 at Anfield from West Ham is very eye-catching. United have definitely improved at the back since dropping Maguire but if we see the same type of West Ham performance then they will cause trouble. United were very impressive against Spurs here, but they were average against Newcastle prior to that. The one thing you’d say about this United squad is they don’t really put a lot of good performances together in a row – obviously the manager is working on changing that but even so. While I feel United are making a lot of progress, I’m still happy with a small lay of 1.72 from a value point of view. I just expect the game to be closer than the odds suggest – West Ham have bene playing top football coming into this game, and I wouldn’t have United as short as 1.72.
The Striker Says:
Two points lay (liability) Manchester United to beat West Ham at 1.72 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/MunWes
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