PREMIER LEAGUE: The Striker previews LEICESTER v CHELSEA, ARSENAL v NOTTINGHAM FOREST and MANCHESTER CITY v TOTTENHAM all with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
LEICESTER V CHELSEA
12.30pm The Premier League returns on BETDAQ Betting Exchange after the International Break, and we’re back with a bang on Saturday as we have seven fixtures! We’ve had three very quick International Breaks that have definitely a had little impact on how the season has flowed, but now we have a long run for domestic football and it will be very interesting to see what clubs can make massive moves – you’d have to say Manchester City are under pressure in the title race now. We kick off the action with Leicester hosting Chelsea, and this should be an interesting game. After a lot of criticism during the summer, Chelsea have now had a good start to the season – they sit in third coming into this weekend, above Arsenal which is a surprise even if it is only on goal difference. They had a huge number of changes during the summer and they were fast becoming a laughing stock like Manchester United and Spurs, but the difference this season has been Chelsea are actually getting results. I have to say, I didn’t have them bouncing back into the Top Four so quickly but now it would be a surprise if they didn’t get back into the Champions League.
Leicester obviously have the very difficult task of staying up this season given the gulf in class (and money) between the Premier League and the Championship these days. They have been grinding out results and come into this weekend sitting three points away from the relegation zone. There are a number of red flags in their performance levels however; they are in the bottom three on attacking figures along with the other two promoted sides, and Leicester are also conceding an average xG of 1.76 which is the second worst defensive figure in the Premier League. When you put everything together, the three clubs who came up are actually the three worst performing clubs so they’ll all face a huge battle to stay up. Chelsea come into the game as the odds on favourites at 1.55 with Leicester 6.4 and the draw is 4.9 at the time of writing. Chelsea have been conceding a decent volume of chances, and Over 2.5 goals is definitely an option at the same price as the Chelsea win, but I do feel that the Chelsea win at 1.55 offers marginally more value.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Chelsea to beat Leicester 1.55 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/LeiChl
ARSENAL V NOTTINGHAM FOREST
3pm We have a busy afternoon with five fixtures kicking off at 3pm. We could easily see some movement in the relegation battle, but for me the most interesting fixture is Arsenal hosting Nottingham Forest. Most football fans will be expecting a comfortable Arsenal win here, but things have been far from plain sailing for Arsenal this season. They start this weekend already nine points behind Liverpool at the top of the table, and they are also four points behind Manchester City too. Nottingham Forest have had a dream start to their season, and they come into this game level on points with Arsenal! The International Break probably came at a good time for Arsenal just to break their poor run – they had lost two and drew two from four games in the Premier League, and were losing in the Champions League in the middle of that run too. They got draws against Liverpool and Chelsea which isn’t too bad – the real damage for Arsenal were the two losses against Bournemouth and Newcastle. Arsenal come into this game as the odds on favourites at 1.37 with Nottingham Forest 11.0 and the draw is 5.4 at the time of writing.
Much has been made about Arsenal fans blaming the Refs for a lot of dropped points this season; the reality is quite clear when you look at their under-lining numbers – they just aren’t playing as well as last season. They are conceding more chances – their average xG conceded is 1.35 compared to 0.92 last season. That 1.35 is a mid-table defensive figure; last season the 0.92 was the best in the Premier League. Their attacking figure this season is 1.57 compared to 1.83 last season too; they are creating less and conceding more this season. I wouldn’t be rushing to take the 1.37 here – Forest actually aren’t far behind them on attacking figures. I feel they are creating enough and Arsenal are giving away enough chances that Forest can do well here – laying Arsenal is an option, but I like Both Teams To Score at 2.27 in what should be an entertaining game.
The Striker Says:
One point win Both Teams To Score at 2.27 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/ArsNfo
MANCHESTER CITY V TOTTENHAM
5.30pm We finish Saturday with the highlight of the weekend in the Premier League as Manchester City host Spurs. It’s fair to say that both sides are in desperate need of a win here – City have lost back-to-back Premier League fixtures which is very rare under Pep Guardiola. That leaves them five points behind Liverpool coming into this weekend, and that’s going to be a hard gap to close with how good Arne Slot has Liverpool playing. City have started plenty of seasons slowly, and we have had a lot of breaks for International football too, when they get going they are very hard to stop – the momentum they have finished the last two seasons with has been incredible. They need to start that run now and not wait until after Christmas this season! Spurs have also had a poor start to the season, obviously there are different standards between the clubs, but Spurs currently sit in mid-table which is quite poor. Ange Postecoglou must be tearing his hair out – Spurs have the second best attacking figure and the second best defneisve figure yet they start the weekend sitting in tenth.
The unfortunate reality for Spurs is that something “Spursy” is never too far away. They have thrown away a lot of points this season already – the 2-0 up at Brighton, and then losses to Crystal Palace and Ipswich – two sides in the bottom four. Spurs have actually been those two sides only wins this season! It’s not a surprise to see Pep Guardiola’s men come into this game as the odds on favourites. Manchester City are trading 1.55 with Tottenham 6.2 and the draw is 5.0 at the time of writing. Spurs have had a lot of success against this City side – they have managed to get a lot of results, even if sometimes they didn’t deserve them as they were outplayed. We generally see a lot of action between these two too, and Over 2.5 goals is trading as short as 1.39! The bet I like is Both Teams To Score at around 1.5 – Spurs have created enough to score here, and City have really struggled to keep clean sheets this season too – it’s why they’ve got themselves into so much trouble. It would be a surprise if we didn’t get an open and attacking game here with plenty of goals.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Both Teams To Score at 1.5 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/MncTtm
