WEDNESDAY PREMIER LEAGUE: The Striker previews BRENTFORD v WOLVES, CHELSEA v CRYSTAL PALACE and EVERTON v MAN CITY all with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
BRENTFORD V WOLVES
7.30pm The Premier League fixtures just keep coming on BETDAQ Betting Exchange over the Christmas period, and we have three games to enjoy on Wednesday night! All eyes might be on Everton v Manchester City later with City back in action after winning the Club World Cup before Christmas, but they’ve lost a lot of ground in the Premier League title race recently! We start the evening with Brentford hosting Wolves. Brentford weren’t in action the weekend before Christmas, so they would have had a nice break coming into this fixture. It was actually the ideal Christmas for them – compare their fixture list of playing the 17th and 27th to Wolves playing Christmas Eve and then playing here too! Both sides had the exact same record before Christmas; five wins from 17 games and they both had 19 points. If you look at the stats from both clubs, Brentford have clearly been playing the better football but they just haven’t been getting the results. They do play a very open game however, and this usually costs them. Brentford more or less concede what they create and obviously you aren’t going to win many games doing that.
They are creating more than Wolves though. Brentford’s average xG created is 1.41 compared to Wolves at 1.11. That figure from Wolves puts them in the bottom six when it comes to attacking figures, and they have been conceding marginally more chances than Brentford too. The only positive thing to say about Wolves is that they are actually creating more chances away from home compared to at home! Brentford come into the game as the favourites at 2.04 with Wolves 4.2 and the draw is 3.6 at the time of writing. I really felt we’d see a more open market than we have. I’m not a fan of Wolves, but the 2.04 on Brentford feels much too short here – they just haven’t been winning enough games to justify those odds in my opinion. They’ve lost to Sheffield United recently, and they’ve failed to beat the likes of Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Everton here too. I’m going to limit stakes because it’s hard to have massive confidence in Wolves, but I expect a closer game than the odds suggest here.
The Striker Says:
Two points lay (liability) Brentford to beat Wolves at 2.04 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/BreWlv
CHELSEA V CRYSTAL PALACE
7.30pm Next we have Chelsea hosting Crystal Palace. This is a game that Chelsea should be winning on paper, but it’s been hard to fully trust them this season. It’s been remarkable that Mauricio Pochettino hasn’t faced that much pressure, if any really, from the UK media given Chelsea are sitting in mid-table. Any chance of them getting back into the Champions League is gone already. It’s definitely a re-building process for Chelsea; they have a decent chance of getting a trophy in the Carabao Cup with a Semi-Final against Middlesbrough and a likely Final against Liverpool. There’s no doubt Liverpool will start as favourites for that game, but once you get the Wembley anything can happen over 90 minutes. I noted above that the schedule was tough on Chelsea; they had to play Christmas Eve and then faced a quick turnaround here. It’s no different than a normal weekly schedule really, just that it’s Christmas. We all got to enjoy the fixture on Christmas Eve, but I can see why we didn’t have one for 28 years – the fans and players probably deserve not to have a fixture that day. But as I said in my preview of the game, the fans get to choose whether or not to go. The way professional sports are going these days too, I don’t think Christmas matters that much.
Chelsea come into the game as the clear favourites. They are trading 1.62 at the time of writing with Crystal Palace 6.2 and the draw is 4.4. I know Chelsea have had their issues this season, but the 1.62 is too big to ignore here in my opinion. Pochettino has had setbacks, but he has his side playing at a much higher level than Crystal Palace. Based on attacking xG figures, Palace are actually in the bottom five and they are conceding chances too, especially away from home. Chelsea have more-or-less played to the same level at home and away, so I wouldn’t say being at home is a major positive for them. They have had so much issues getting results this season and I can’t trust them with a Max Bet or anything like that, however at 1.62 they are worth a confident. This Palace side are there for the taking, and I’d have Chelsea closer to 1.5.
The Striker Says:
Three points win Chelsea to beat Crystal Palace at 1.62 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/CheCrl
EVERTON V MANCHESTER CITY
8.15pm We finish Wednesday night with Everton hosting Manchester City. This could be a cracker as Everton have been very impressive at home this season. City didn’t play in the Premier League in the lead up to Christmas as they were busy winning the Club World Cup! As I said above though, they have lost a lot of ground in the Premier League recently. That draw with Crystal Palace while 2-0 up was a real killer, and for the first time it looked like they might not actually win the title. They definitely have a battle on their hands anyway! The draw between Liverpool and Arsenal at the weekend was a good result though; it meant neither side had a massive advantage but City do need to start putting wins together. Only one win from six Premier League games is very unlike them, and they made very hard work of that win away to Luton Town too. It’s hard t fault this City side, their stats are incredible. They have an average xG created of 1.99 and an average conceded of just 0.95. That’s impressive – they’ve actually created more chances away from home too. Their average xG created away from home is a whopping 2.17.
It’s no surprise that City come into the game as the odds on favourites. They are trading 1.6 with Everton 6.2 and the draw is 4.4 at the time of writing. Everton had a difficult week before Christmas. They got knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Fulham on penalties and then lost their winning Premier League run away to Spurs. At home they have been very impressive though; their average xG created is 1.73 which is very high for a side like Everton. It’s hard to see past a City win here, but I’m happy to skip the 1.6 because Everton have been fantastic at home. I actually feel that they can score at some stage, and Both Teams To Score looks a nice value bet at 1.87. We know City like to play a very open game, and Everton have created enough this season to suggest they can find the net – this could be another very entertaining City game!
The Striker Says:
Two points win Both Teams To Score at 1.87 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/EvrMci
