PREMIER LEAGUE SATURDAY: The Striker previews Saturday’s Premier League games between LEICESTER v CRYSTAL PALACE, FULHAM v BOURNEMOUTH, WOLVES v NOTTINGHAM FOREST and TOTTENHAM v EVERTON all with a recommended BETDAQ bet and extended match stats via FACTMAN.
LEICESTER V CRYSTAL PALACE
12.30pm We have might have a shorter than usual Premier League fixture list on BETDAQ Betting Exchange this week, but we do have four fascinating markets! This whole weekend will focus on Liverpool v Manchester City on Sunday afternoon, but we kick Saturday off with Leicester hosting Crystal Palace. Would it be unfair to call this a relegation battle? We all know that Leicester have really been struggling this season, however they did manage to finally break their losing run with a win over Nottingham Forest when they returned from the International break. That was badly needed, but as I said last week one win doesn’t change much – we have all watched the players fight amongst themselves after conceding a goal, and there’s still a lot of work to do. Leicester definitely look “too good to go down” just like Everton last season, but it’s hard to rule them out of being in the relegation race. Similar thoughts apply to Crystal Palace. Prior to last weekend they sat just outside the bottom three in 17th place, and then they lost to Bournemouth which you have to feel really puts them under pressure now. You can’t say they aren’t in a relegation battle after that result!
This is going to be a very close game. Both sides have played very poorly at times this season. How Crystal Palace managed a 0-0 draw away to Newcastle I’m still not sure – they conceded an xG of 4.17! Last weekend against Leeds they managed to grind out a 2-1 win which was a very promising display. It was a close game, but they deserved to win. Perhaps it’s hard on Crystal Palace calling this a relegation battle, but not on Leicester. While I do expect a very hard fought and close game to start Saturday, I can’t get away from the Leicester lay at 2.42. They have played so poorly this season I can’t see why they are clear favourites here. There’s nothing to suggest they should be as short as 2.42 here and I’m happy to have a Max Lay! As the weeks go by, surely Brendan Rodgers is going to come under immense pressure from the UK media. In that sense, they probably need a win here but the Leicester lay stands out as the value here.
The Striker Says:
Five points lay (liability) Leicester to beat Crystal Palace at 2.42 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/LeiCrl
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FULHAM V BOURNEMOUTH
3pm We only have two 3pm fixtures in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, and we start with Fulham hosting Bournemouth. It wasn’t so long ago that this was a Championship clash as the sides finished first and second last season. Fulham have definitely had the better start to life in the Premier League and they have almost moved out of the relegation discussion. They are playing too good to go down to be honest, and granted they will slip down the table as the season goes on you’d have to be delighted with their start to the season. It’s a different story for Bournemouth however – they are still odds on to go down and although they have had some success since sacking Scott Parker after losing to Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool their performances are still lacking. They have managed to grind out results against Wolves, Newcastle and Brentford but each time they conceded a higher xG figure than they created. They were 2-0 down to Nottingham Forest too when they produced a wonderful comeback, but you can’t do things like that every week – and Nottingham Forest are also odds on to go down! Finally last week they finished a game with a higher xG figure than the opposition with a 2-1 win over Leicester last weekend.
Although this might not be the best game of football, it is a massive one for both sides. A win for Fulham would just nudge them that little bit further away from the relegation discussion, while a win for Bournemouth would be a massive boost. Indeed, every point for Bournemouth is a massive boost when you look at the task they have this season of staying up. That win last weekend against Leicester was not only massive for Bournemouth, but it also puts Leicester in a worse position too. When I look at this fixture I just see a very close game. I respect the fact that Fulham have played better than Bournemouth this season, but you have to give Bournemouth some credit for putting together a nice unbeaten run now. I just don’t have Fulham odds on here, and while it doesn’t offer the same amount of value as Leicester above it’s still a nice position.
The Striker Says:
Two points lay (liability) Fulham to beat Bournemouth at 1.89 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/FulBou
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WOLVES V NOTTINGHAM FOREST
3pm This might not be the most glamorous fixture of the Premier League this weekend, but we do have a lot on the line for both these sides here. Wolves had a difficult fixture last weekend away to Chelsea, and added another loss to their list. Wolves have been many football fans “dark horses” to go down this season and you can see why when you look at their xG stats. They are conceding too many chances, and not creating enough. I know we’ve touched on this before, but Wolves were never really a side to create a huge amount – most of their results were through hard work and grinding out a win by being solid at the back. They have basically lost that solidness at the back, and with it their ability to pick up points. They are likely to be too good to go down this season, but they will definitely be in the relegation discussion for a while. At the moment, it looks like it will be one of Southampton, Wolves and Leicester – it’s unlikely all three avoid the drop. Unfortunately for Nottingham Forest, they remain odds on to go down. They have actually moved into being the favourite now in the relegation market.
It just hasn’t been a good run for them, and probably worse has been their underlining numbers have been quite poor too. They had a huge fixture on Monday Night Football this week at home to Aston Villa and although they managed to grind out a 1-1 draw it was a shockingly poor game of football without many clear cut chances. This could be another dire game to be honest, we can’t lie! That game Monday followed on from a very poor result losing 4-0 to Leicester, another side in the relegation battle and it just all looks a bit much for Forest at the moment. They have added 20+ players to the squad but they don’t seem to have a system that works. They have a massive wage bill now too, and surely the pressure is growing every week. There’s a couple of options here betting wise – I expect a low quality game without many chances so Under 2.5 goals is an option at 1.87, but Wolves shouldn’t be odds on here either so it is difficult to choose. I feel on balance, the Under 2.5 goals bet is a very nice position, but I couldn’t put anyone off the Wolves lay either.
The Striker Says:
Three points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.87 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/WolNot
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TOTTENHAM V EVERTON
5.30pm We finish the evening with Spurs hosting Everton. On paper you’d have to expect Spurs to get three points here, but they have thrown in a few dodgy performances lately. Obviously they came up short away from home in the North London Derby, but they were very good away to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League and deserved to win. On balance they have been much better at home, and it’s hard to see Everton being good enough to get a result here. That being said, despite Everton playing reasonably average football recently, they have been tough to beat. They have only lost once in their last seven, that loss coming in their last fixture at home to Manchester United. That run did also includes playing Liverpool at home too, and after grinding out four draws they managed to put two wins together and move themselves out of the relegation discussion for the time being. Obviously that was the first aim of this season given how bad last season went. It’s hard to know what to say about Frank Lampard; is he doing a good job? Could Everton achieve more? The answer to that is they probably could achieve more, but Lampard isn’t doing too bad with this squad. As Sky Sports said, some of their players are Championship level – it’s just been years of mismanagement from the top down so here we are.
You could actually say the same thing about Spurs over the years – they have definitely underachieved based on how big they are, the money they have spent and the opportunities they have been given. They have done well to hang onto Kane and Son though, and Conte is building something good. It will be interesting to see how long he stays as we all know what he is like. It was a good sign to see Spurs grind out a 1-0 win away to Brighton last weekend in a very close game. They actually conceded a higher xG than they created but dug deep to win. I would expect Everton to be quite negative here with their tactics, but the game against United did have a good few chances. The 1.5 on Spurs feels the right price – it’s hard to make the case that they should be shorter but I don’t want to be against them here. I’m surprised to see Over 2.5 goals odds on, and I’m happy with a small bet on Unders at 2.13. I can see a 1-0 or 2-0 Spurs win here, as Everton aim for a 0-0 from the start.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 2.13 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/TotEve
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