PREMIER LEAGUE SUNDAY: The Striker previews Sunday’s two Premier League games between LEICESTER v BRENTFORD and TOTTENHAM v WEST HAM both with a recommended BETDAQ bet and extended match stats.
LEICESTER V BRENTFORD
2pm All eyes might be on the FA Cup Quarter-Finals today, but we have two cracking Premier League games on too with fascinating markets on BETDAQ Betting Exchange. We start the day with Leicester hosting Brentford, and I’m sure there will be a lot of strong opinions on the Leicester price here at 2.26. Leicester have been very poor this season, and they have sat in the bottom half of the table for most of the year. They are only three points ahead of Brentford who were “included” in the relegation battle over the last few weeks, but in fairness Brentford have played three games more. Those wins against Norwich and Burnley in recent weeks have really taken the pressure off Brentford and taken them away from the relegation zone. They could have easily been included when you look at the games in hand situation, but they have handled themselves well this season. I was glad to see them move away from the bottom three because they have been fantastic this season, especially at home, and they have played a lot of good football – they are a good team to have in the Premier League.
Leicester came up well short last weekend in a 2-0 loss to Arsenal after putting a nice run of wins together. They have benefited from the Europa Conference League because they are much better than their opposition and that has been a nice confidence boost. That being said, they just haven’t been good enough in the Premier League this season. They probably would be taking that fourth position this season if they could have repeated their past two seasons and I know that they have had some poor luck with injuries, I am still surprised Brendan Rodgers hasn’t come under more pressure from the UK press. I have to say from a betting point of view you have to say this fixture is a little tricky. I don’t want to back Leicester as they are too short at 2.26, but Brentford have really been better at home compared to away from home. They have been much more comfortable in front of their own fans, and their best performances have definitely come at home where they should have won many more games if you look at the xG figures. With Leicester being so poor at the back this season, the best value option is over 2.5 goals at 1.97 here. Brentford like to play an attacking and open game, and I can’t see Leicester sitting back here so this should be an entertaining game.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Over 2.5 goals at 1.97 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQLeibre
MATCH STATS
● Leicester have won four of their last five league games against Brentford (D1), a run which stretches back to 1953. The Foxes had only won three of their previous 16 against the Bees (D7 L6).
● Brentford have only ever lost one of their 10 away league games against Leicester (W4 D5), though this is their first such visit since a goalless draw in September 1992.
● Leicester have won each of their last five Premier League games against promoted sides, including all three this season. They’ve never won six consecutive top-flight games against promoted sides before.
● Since the start of last season, Leicester have lost seven of their 10 Premier League home games against London sides (W2 D1) – it’s the most away wins London sides have had against an opponent in the competition in that time.
● Leicester lost 2-0 against Arsenal last time out, but have only lost consecutive league matches once this season, doing so in September against Manchester City and Brighton.
● Since beating Newcastle 4-0 in December, Leicester are winless in their last five Premier League games played on a Sunday (D2 L3), losing each of the last two.
● Brentford have won their last two Premier League games, as many as they had in their previous 14 combined (D2 L10). The Bees last won three consecutive top-flight matches in September 1946.
● Brentford have scored a league-high ratio 50% of their Premier League goals from set piece situations this season (16/32, including penalties), while Leicester have conceded a league-high 47% of their league goals this season from such situations (21/45).
● Leicester have scored 798 Premier League goals, and could be the 13th team to reach 800 in the competition. 16% of these goals have been scored by Jamie Vardy (128), the highest ratio of goals scored by one player for all clubs with at least 500 in the competition.
● Brentford striker Ivan Toney has scored seven goals in his last five Premier League games, having netted four in his first 19 this term. His last two games have seen him score three goals against Norwich and two against Burnley – the last player to score 2+ goals in three consecutive Premier League appearances was Tammy Abraham (September 2019), while the last to do so for a promoted side was Kevin Phillips (December 1999 with Sunderland).
TOTTENHAM V WEST HAM
4.30pm The London Derby takes the prime Sunday afternoon TV slot this week as Spurs host West Ham. Both these clubs were in action midweek with Spurs beating Brighton 2-0 and West Ham beating Sevilla by the same score line in the Europa League on Thursday. The Hammers needed to go to extra time after it finished 1-1 on aggregate after 90 minutes. That was a fantastic result for West Ham and a real boost for the club – they have a massive Europa League Quarter-Final to look forward to now which should be fantastic. Although you’d feel going to extra time might have took a lot out of the team after an intense game too, but surely a London Derby will get the players going again here. With Arsenal losing to Liverpool midweek, the door is still slightly open for Spurs getting into that fourth spot. It’s really only ever so slightly open, and basically they just have to keep winning games and hope Arsenal slip up a few times. Spurs have more chance of finishing fourth than Manchester United anyway, so they must keep going – this is a big game in that sense, because another loss for Arsenal after the International break could see them come under pressure and as we all know, Arsenal don’t cope well under pressure. West Ham would have been delighted with that win on Thursday because you’d have to say that they didn’t go into that game in great form.
They grinded out a close win against Aston Villa last weekend and I suppose you can forgive them the losses away to Sevilla and Liverpool, but they were poor in the FA Cup away to Southampton and pretty average in the draw against Newcastle too. Their xG figures have been pretty low lately, and given Spurs have home advantage I feel this game is there for the taking for Spurs. As always the big problem with Spurs is you never know what type of performance you’re going to get from them – they come into this game with three wins and three losses from their last six games – classic Spurs. Brighton would have felt a little unlucky to lose on Wednesday, but then Spurs could have said the same at Old Trafford last weekend. I feel Spurs will get the win here, but the 1.81 does feel too short. It’s hard to argue that they should be shorter. Despite both sides playing attacking football, I feel this could be a very cagey game with not much between them. It’s very tempting to back under 2.5 goals, but I’m going to take a chance here and back the draw at 4.0. Those odds are very attractive and it’s worth a small investment – I can see a very close game here.
The Striker Says:
One point win Draw at 4.0 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQTotwhu
MATCH STATS
● Spurs have lost just two of their last 19 Premier League home games against West Ham (W10 D7), going down 3-0 in October 2013 and 1-0 in April 2019.
● West Ham have won their last two Premier League games against Spurs, though both wins have been at home. They’re looking to do the league double against them for the first time since 2013-14, while they last won three consecutive league games against Tottenham in August 1999.
● Tottenham have lost five of their seven Premier League London derby matches this season (W2), last losing more in a single campaign back in 2004-05 (7). Spurs have earned fewer points than any other side in Premier League London derbies this season (6).
● West Ham have won three of their last four Premier League London derbies (L1), as many as they had in their previous 12 such games (D5 L4). Indeed, only Chelsea (18) have earned more points in Premier League London derbies this season than the Hammers (10).
● Tottenham have lost their last two Premier League games played on a Sunday, going down 2-0 against both Chelsea and Wolves. They’ve not lost three consecutive Sunday games since March 2012.
● Having taken 13 points from their first 15 available away from home in the Premier League this season (W4 D1), West Ham have won just eight points from their last 27 available on the road (W2 D2 L5).
● Harry Kane has scored eight goals in his six home league games for Tottenham against West Ham – it’s the most home goals he’s scored against a specific opponent in the competition.
● West Ham’s Michail Antonio has scored more Premier League goals against Tottenham than he has versus any other opponent in the competition (6). Three of his six strikes against them have been the winning goal in 1-0 victories, including in the reverse fixture this season.
● Tottenham’s Son Heung-min has been involved in seven goals in his last seven Premier League home games (6 goals, 1 assist). Overall this season, he’s scored twice as many home league goals as any other Spurs player (8).
● Pablo Fornals scored West Ham’s winner in their last league match against Aston Villa. It was his sixth Premier League goal of the season, making this is his best goalscoring campaign in the competition.
