PREMIER LEAGUE: The Striker previews Sunday’s two Premier League games – both with a recommended BETDAQ bet and extended match stats. It’s LEEDS v MAN U at 2pm and WOLVES v LEICESTER at 4.30pm.
LEEDS V MANCHESTER UNITED
2pm After a bumper Saturday in the Premier League with eight games, we focus on two fascinating fixtures on Sunday afternoon! Games really don’t get more interesting than today with so many questions to answer, and we also have a very interesting day ahead on BETDAQ Betting Exchange. We start with Leeds hosting Manchester United, and there will be a lot of big opinions either way on the United price at 1.94 here. United just haven’t been themselves lately, and it’s clear that there are problems within the dressing room and United fans will say that the problems go right to the very top. Ralf Rangnick seems like a very good coach, but it also feels like the players haven’t given him a chance. That being said, everyone has to put all their differences aside here until the end of the season because United still have an excellent chance at that fourth position. After being so poor this season, it seems remarkable they still have a chance but Spurs and Arsenal have been just as bad!
Leeds looked like they were getting out of the relegation fight with two wins against Burnley and West Ham, but those losses against Newcastle and Everton have put them in a “dodgy” position. I wouldn’t say that they are in trouble because there’s a bit of a gap to the bottom three now, but they do need some positive results soon. This is always a good game, and the atmosphere will be excellent too – the rivalry comes from the fans more than anything! I would lean towards laying United at 1.94 in the match odds market – they just haven’t been good enough to win games like this away from home and they will be under pressure here. The best that stands out though is over 2.5 goals at 1.68. This game just screams goals to me – both sides like to play a reasonably open game. I say reasonably because Rangnick has tried to keep United as tight as possible, but given the tactics if Leeds I can see a very open end-to-end game here. With both sides so limited at the back, there’s going to be plenty of chances for both sides. We might not see six goals like we did at the start of the season, but overs looks a standout bet here.
The Striker Says:
Four points win Over 2.5 goals at 1.68 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQLeemun
MATCH STATS
● Leeds have won just one of their last 16 Premier League games against Manchester United (D5 L10), beating them 1-0 at Elland Road in September 2002.
● Following their 5-1 victory on the opening weekend, Manchester United are looking to complete their first league double over Leeds United since the 1999-00 campaign.
● Manchester United have kept a clean sheet in each of their last two away league games against Leeds, as many as they had in their previous nine visits to Elland Road. They last kept three in a row during a run of three goalless draws between September 1980 and August 1990.
● Only Norwich City (50) have conceded more Premier League goals than Leeds United so far this season (46). Since their last clean sheet against Crystal Palace in November, the Whites have shipped 26 goals in just nine Premier League matches.
● Leeds have lost two of their last three Premier League home games (W1), as many as they had in their previous 14 at Elland Road (W5 D7).
● Manchester United are unbeaten in their last six Premier League away games (W2 D4) since a 4-1 loss at Watford in November. However, the Red Devils have dropped six points from winning positions in this run, throwing away leads to draw against Chelsea, Aston Villa and Burnley.
● Manchester United have scored in each of their last 14 Premier League away games, last failing to do so at Leeds in April (0-0). The Red Devils are the only side to have scored in 100% of their away games in the top-flight this term.
● Bruno Fernandes has been involved in six goals in his three Premier League games for Manchester United against Leeds (5 goals, 1 assist), netting a hat-trick in the reverse fixture on the opening weekend of the season.
● Leeds forward Daniel James has been booked in each of his last four Premier League games; only two Leeds players have ever been carded in five consecutive appearances in the competition – Carlton Palmer in October 1996 and Olivier Dacourt in May 2001.
● Man Utd forward Cristiano Ronaldo’s last Premier League appearance against Leeds was on 18th October 2003 – if he plays in this game, it will be the longest ever gap for a player between games against a specific opponent in the competition (18 years 125 days).
WOLVES V LEICESTER
4.30pm We finish the weekend with another interesting game as Wolves host Leicester. There’s a lot going on with the race for that fourth position, and given how unreliable Manchester United, Arsenal and Spurs have been this season you wouldn’t rule out the solid Wolves landing in fourth! I know it’s very unlikely, but they are in with a shout. To be honest a Europa League spot would be a great achievement, but they must aim for that fourth – put the pressure on the others and see what happens. If they’re going to have any chance, they have to win games like this and to be fair, they have an excellent chance to beat this Leicester side. Leicester have been bang average this season, and they slipped into 11th after last weekend. It’s a little surprising that Brendan Rodgers isn’t under more pressure than he current is from the UK media, especially considering they have gone from a challenging for Top Four to mid-table and on top of that with the struggles of Manchester United, Arsenal and Spurs this would have been the season they could have broken into that Top Four after two seasons of heartbreak. The reality is they have given away far too many goals this season – you won’t win many games conceding an average of two goals per game in the Premier League.
With Leicester giving away so many chances and goals, I feel that’s where the game will be won. Wolves are so solid at the back – there’s a Premier League defensive table and Wolves are sitting in second place in that with Manchester City at the top – it’s based on goals conceded by the way. When you look at the away table you see Leicester have managed less than one point per game away from home this season and it’s hard to see them being solid enough at the back here to control the game. I know Wolves like to play a cagey game and they might not go all out attack from the start here, but Leicester will give up enough chances for them to win the game. I’m happy to take the 2.3 on Wolves but I’m also happy to keep stakes reasonably limited because although Wolves are rock solid at the back, they have also scored less than one goal per game too. Leicester are so loose at the back I don’t fancy under 2.5 goals, so the Wolves win stands out.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Wolves to beat Leicester at 2.3 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQWollei
MATCH STATS
● Wolves are winless in their last five Premier League games against Leicester (D3 L2), failing to score a single goal in this run.
● Leicester won the reverse fixture against Wolves 1-0 on the opening weekend. They last did the league double over them in the 1995-96 second tier campaign.
● Leicester have kept a clean sheet in each of their last five league games against Wolves; they last had a longer run of consecutive clean sheets against an opponent against Barnsley (7 between 1997 and 2009), while Wolves last had a longer run of failing to score against a side vs Brighton (6 between 1980 and 1984).
● Wolves have won just one of their last five Premier League home games (D2 L2), beating Southampton 3-1 last month. Indeed, just 38% of their points have come in home games this season (14/37), the lowest ratio in the division this term.
● Wolves haven’t conceded more than once in any of their last 12 Premier League games, since a 2-0 loss against Crystal Palace in November. Only twice in their league history have they had longer such runs – 14 games between December 2013 and March 2014, and 13 games between March and September 1912.
● Leicester are winless in their last four Premier League games (D2 L2), last having a longer run without victory in the competition between January and February 2019 under Claude Puel (6 – D1 L5).
● Leicester City are the only side without an away clean sheet in the Premier League this season, shipping 23 goals in their 10 games on the road this term. Overall, they’ve conceded in each of their last 17 Premier League away games, since a goalless draw at Wolves 378 days ago.
● Wolves’ 23 Premier League games this season have seen just 38 goals scored (F21 A17). Their average of 1.65 goals-per-game is the second lowest in an English top-flight campaign, after Liverpool in 1970-71 (1.57).
● Excluding penalties, Leicester have conceded more goals from set piece situations than any other Premier League side this season (14). Meanwhile, Wolves have scored 38% of their Premier League goals from set pieces (excluding penalties), with only Burnley (41%) and Newcastle (40%) netting a higher such ratio this term.
● Four of Raúl Jiménez’s five Premier League goals for Wolves this season have ended up being the winning goal of the game. Overall, 46% of his goals in the competition have been winners (18/39), while in the competition’s history, only Robert Lee had a higher ratio of winning goals (50% – minimum 30 goals).
