SUNDAY PREMIER LEAGUE: The Striker previews the first Premier League Super Sunday of the new season with Brentford v Tottenham and the first weekend highlight Chelsea v Liverpool – both matches include FACTMAN stats and a recommended BETDAQ bet.
BRENTFORD V TOTTENHAM
2pm It’s the first Super Sunday of the new Premier League season on BETDAQ Betting Exchange! We have two fascinating fixtures, and two very interesting betting heats too. It should be a cracking day ahead. All eyes will no doubt be on Chelsea v Liverpool in the prime TV slot, but we kick off the day with Brentford hosting Spurs. It’s a sign of the times for Spurs that they are trading as high as 2.44 to beat Brentford who are trading 3.1 and the draw is 3.65. Spurs were very poor last season, they became a laughing stock at times, and now they start the new season with the Harry Kane situation up in the air too. Ange Postecoglou was a good appointment as manager, but you have to ask will he be allowed manage without interference from the owner. I said above it was a sign of the times Spurs are this big in the market, but there was only one point between the sides last season, and Brentford are a lot better with home advantage too. Spurs might actually benefit from not being in Europe and having added fixture pressure, but they need a total re-set to be honest. Maybe it would be better for all parties if Harry Kane left too.
From a Brentford point of view, they had a fantastic season and they will be looking to build on their top half finish in ninth. Their target will be trying to get into the Europa Conference League this season, and they are a very well run club – they focus on xG and definitely punch above their weight. They finished last season with a 3-1 win away to Spurs, and then beat Manchester City on the final day too – although City were focused on the FA Cup Final and Champions League Final at the time! Brentford were very entertaining to watch last season with an average xG created of 1.8 and an average conceded of 1.6. They actually created more than Spurs, who had an average xG created of only 1.6, and they conceded marginally less too at 1.4. These two produced two very entertaining games when they met in the Premier League last season – four goals twice – and we can see another entertaining game here. This game screams goals, and Over 2.5 goals is well worth backing at 1.8 or bigger.
The Striker Says:
Three points win Over 2.5 goals at 1.8 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/BreTtm
FACTMAN MATCH STATS
● Brentford have won just two of their 10 league meetings with Tottenham in their history (D4 L4), though one of those was a 3-1 victory in their most recent match in May.
● The last time Tottenham began a Premier League campaign with a London derby was in 2014-15 – they won 1-0 at West Ham in Mauricio Pochettino’s first game in charge.
● Brentford have only won their opening league game in two of the last 11 seasons (D5 L4), though they’ve not lost on MD1 in either of their two Premier League campaigns (2-0 v Arsenal in 2021-22, 2-2 v Leicester last season).
● Tottenham have lost their opening league game in just one of the last seven seasons (W5 D1), going down 1-0 at home to Everton in 2020-21.
CHELSEA V LIVERPOOL
4.30pm This is undoubtedly the highlight fixture of the opening Premier League weekend, and it fully deserves the prime TV slot for Super Sunday! We have two clubs here with massive questions to answer after their seasons – it’s hard to actually put words on how bad Chelsea were at times, and you could equally say that about Liverpool’s defending at times. Basically, both sides need to hit the ground running this season. Liverpool haven’t done much or changed much – they have faith in Klopp and he has delivered them a Premier League title. Chelsea go the opposite route, changing managers every few months! They have landed a fantastic manager in Mauricio Pochettino, but it’s another case of will he be allowed take control of the club with the owners having huge input. In fairness to Pochettino. He has experience of this type of situation from his time at Spurs where he was very successful – getting Spurs to a Champions League Final and they haven’t been the same since he left either. They will possibly benefit from not having European commitments but a club like Chelsea need to get back into the Top Four. Not even finishing in the top half of the table was an embarrassment. Frank Lampard came out and said after the season finished that the squad was difficult to work with and questioned their work ethic. You could have said the same about Manchester United before Erik ten Hag took over, so let’s wait and see what Chelsea do this season.
Despite being all over the place at the back last season, Liverpool finished the season strongly to finish fifth. They had a slim chance at the Top Four too – surely they can’t be as bad this time around? However, Klopp hasn’t been given much money to spend, and they will likely have ongoing issues at the back again especially as their midfield isn’t as strong now too. They conceded an average xG of 1.5 last season which is very high for a club like Liverpool. The average xG per Liverpool game last season was 3.7, so they are obviously very entertaining to watch! The 4-4 in their final game just summed up their season. We have a very similar market to the early game, Liverpool are the exact same price as Spurs at 2.44. I would much prefer backing Liverpool at 2.44 compare to Spurs, however this game screams goals again. Over 2.5 goals and Both Teams To Score are trading around 1.7, and Both Teams To Score looks a nice bet here at 1.7 in what should be an entertaining game. It’s nice to have a big fixture like this on the opening weekend!
The Striker Says:
Two points win Both Teams To Score at 1.7 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/ChlLiv
FACTMAN MATCH STATS
● Each of the last six meetings between Chelsea and Liverpool in all competitions have been drawn – it’s Liverpool’s longest run of consecutive draws against an opponent, while only against West Brom (1922-1927) and Norwich (1974-1978, including three Anglo Scottish Cup meetings) have the Blues drawn seven in a row.
● Each of the last four meetings between Chelsea and Liverpool in all competitions has finished 0-0 – no fixture in competitive English football history has finished goalless five times in a row before.
● This is just the second time Chelsea and Liverpool are facing in their opening game of a Premier League season, with the Blues winning 2-1 at Anfield in 2003-04 previously.
● No team has won more of their opening games to a Premier League campaign than Chelsea (20), with the Blues picking up more points than any other side on MD1 (66).
● Liverpool haven’t lost their opening Premier League game in any of the last 10 seasons (W8 D2), since a 3-0 loss at West Bromwich Albion in 2012-13 under Brendan Rodgers.
