PREMIER LEAGUE: The Striker previews CRYSTAL PALACE v LIVERPOOL, MANCHESTER CITY v FULHAM and EVERTON v NEWCASTLE both with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
CRYSTAL PALACE V LIVERPOOL
12.30pm We have another cracking Premier League Saturday on BETDAQ Betting Exchange! It was a dramatic weekend at the top of the table last weekend – Manchester City dropped points away to Newcastle, Arsenal left it late to beat Leicester but Liverpool have been quietly ticking their boxes and come into the weekend sitting top of the table. Arne Slot seems to have settled into his role quite nicely, and we kick off the weekend with Liverpool travelling to take on Crystal Palace. A 12-30pm kick off always reminds me of a Jurgen Klopp rant, especially with Liverpool being in action midweek in the Champions League too, except he’s not here to have the rant now! Liverpool come into the game as the odds on favourites at 1.53 with Crystal Palace 6.6 and the draw is 5.0 at the time of writing. Apart from a shock loss at home to Nottingham Forest – which came out of nowhere to be honest – Liverpool haven’t really put a foot wrong under Slot so far. Their average xG created is 1.74 – not quite as high as it was under Klopp when it was over 2.0, but the improvement has come at the back. Their average xG conceded is only 1.10 which is the in top four defensive figures in the Premier League.
Liverpool were always a little sloppy at the back under Klopp, it was always their main issue and cost them many points. If Arne Slot can make them very strong at the back, then they will challenge for the title – which in fairness, wasn’t expected coming into this season – everyone thought it would be Manchester City and Arsenal! Crystal Palace have had a very lacklustre start to the season, and I have to say that was a surprise given the way they finished last season. They were probably the best finishing side around Europe last season after Oliver Glasner arrived! They’ve only managed three draws from six games this season though, and that puts them in the relegation zone at the start of the weekend. Palace have a mid-table xG figure, but they are struggling to take those chances at the moment. I would be more concerned about the volume of chances and goals they are conceding though – you can’t afford to defend like Palace have been doing against a side like Liverpool too. I can only see one winner here, and the 1.53 on Liverpool is a very appealing bet to start the weekend; I’d have them sub 1.5.
The Striker Says:
Three points win Liverpool to beat Crystal Palace at 1.53 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/CryLvp
MANCHESTER CITY V FULHAM
3pm We have a busy afternoon in the Premier League with five fixtures kicking off a 3pm, and Manchester City hosting Fulham looks the pick of them in my opinion. We also have Arsenal in action, but they are trading as short as 1.15 to beat Southampton who look highly likely to go back down to the Championship even this early into the season. Manchester City also come into this game as the red-hot favourites, Pep Guardiola’s men are trading as short as 1.25 with Fulham 13.5 and the draw is 7.4 at the time of writing. It’s been hard to fault Manchester City this season – their average xG created at 2.15 is seriously impressive and that’s the best attacking figure in the Premier League. They’ve also been impressive at the back; their average xG conceded is only 0.93 and once again, that’s the best defensive figure in the league. Despite having the best attacking and defensive figure though, City come into this weekend sitting in second after back-to-back draws. Obviously the Arsenal draw is understandable given they are also title challengers, and then the draw away to Newcastle last weekend was very disappointing. City are generally sloppy towards the start of the season aren’t they.
They always tend to drop points in almost a silly fashion before then coming like an unstoppable train in the second half of the season. Most football fans will be expecting a comfortable win for City here, but there are some positive signs from Fulham this season. Their average xG created is 1.52 which is seventh best in the Premier League – better than the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Aston Villa so far this season. They’ve been pretty solid at the back too, an average xG conceded of 1.23 and they are currently conceding an actual average of under one goal per game. Obviously it is very hard to see past a City win here, but the 1.25 feels a little short looking at the Fulham stats – they are playing decent football this season. I do feel Fulham will keep the score line respectable, and we do have a couple of options. Fulham +2.5 goals is trading 1.5 which is a tempting bet, but given City have conceded some sloppy goals lately I like Both Teams To Score at 2.03 which I’d have marginally odds on.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Both Teams To Score at 2.03 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/MciFlh
EVERTON V NEWCASTLE
5.30pm We finish the day with Everton hosting Newcastle – with Liverpool and Manchester City in action in the games above, this is the most open market. Newcastle come into the game as the favourites at 2.2 with Everton 3.45 and the draw is 3.8 at the time of writing. Newcastle managed to hold Manchester City to a 1-1 draw last weekend, and that will be a much needed confidence boost. City finished the game with the higher xG figure, but they didn’t exactly run riot. It’s been a difficult start to the season for Newcastle – they had to sell players during the summer to meet the financial fair play rules and that’s never a good situation; selling players you don’t want to. They had a lacklustre start on the pitch too, they have managed 11 points from six games, but there’s some major red flags in their stats. They have struggled to create good quality chances – their average xG created is only 1.23 which is in the bottom six attacking figures at the moment. Whatever about their issues going forward, they are giving away chances for fun at the back. Their average xG conceded is as high as 1.82 which is the third worst defensive figure in the Premier League.
What has Newcastle so high in the table is teams just haven’t been taking those chances. Their actual goals conceded average is 1.17 and that’s a huge difference. You just can’t afford to concede a volume of chances like that; if that’s not corrected we’ll see Newcastle slip down the table, and possibly Eddie Howe’s position will be questioned. This game is very interesting – even though the Newcastle stats are poor, they face a side pretty much in the same performance level as them. Everton have a lower xG created at 1.19, and they have a poor defensive figure too with an average xG conceded of 1.66. The major difference between the sides is Everton’s points tally reflects their performance levels; four points from their six games leaves them in the relegation battle for the time being. I want to be against Newcastle at odds of 2.2, but it’s hard to have much faith in Everton – with both sides conceding a lot of chances, this game screams goals in my opinion. Over 2.5 goals is a nice option at 1.68 but I marginally prefer Both Teams To Score at 1.58 – we should get an end-to-end entertaining game here.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Both Teams To Score at 1.58 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/EvrNwc
