THURSDAY PREMIER LEAGUE: The Striker previews Thursday’s Premier League games between TOTTENHAM v BRENTFORD and MAN U v ARSENAL both with a recommended BETDAQ bet and extended match stats.
TOTTENHAM V BRENTFORD
7.30pm It’s been an excellent week of Premier League action and we finish the mid-week fixture list on BETDAQ Betting Exchange with two fantastic fixtures on Thursday night! Manchester United v Arsenal will be the main talking point tonight, but we start with Spurs hosting Brentford which is a fascinating match in its own right. There might be a lot of places between the sides when you look at the table, but there’s only three points between them and Brentford have been fantastic since coming into the Premier League. Spurs have played one game less than Brentford after their game got postponed at the weekend against Burnley with the weather. It would have been nice to see that fixture to learn more about what changes Conte is making at Spurs. He’s already publicly said there’s a lot of work to be done, and it’ll be interesting to see how the players react to that.
This is a fascinating fixture as before Conte arrived, you would have looked at this fixture and felt Brentford would create enough chances to get a result. Conte set the side up very well against Everton but it was a pretty boring 0-0 draw. Then they were terrible in the first half against Leeds but completely turned things around in the second half – Leeds do give away a host of chances though, and if Spurs played as badly here as that first half Brentford would surely score two or more goals. Brentford were unlucky to lose against Norwich recently but their home performances have definitely been a lot stronger than their away performances. They don’t create the same volume of chances away from home, however Spurs look the right price here at 1.68. I want to see more of this Spurs side under Conte to form a big opinion, so this is a small stakes game for me and I’m happy to have a small investment on the draw at 4.3. I know Brentford are a little poor away from home, but Spurs have been very poor this season so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Brentford get a result here.
The Striker Says:
One point win Draw at 4.3 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQTotbre
MATCH STATS
● Tottenham are unbeaten in their last 11 meetings with Brentford in all competitions (W8 D3), since a 2-0 loss in March 1948. Their most recent meeting was in the EFL Cup last season, a 2-0 semi-final victory for Spurs.
● This is the first ever top-flight meeting between Tottenham and Brentford, with the Bees winning just one of their six second tier meetings between 1947 and 1949 (D2 L3).
● Before football was suspended due to lockdown in March 2020, Tottenham had never lost a Premier League match on a Thursday (W7 D5). Since then, Spurs have lost three of their five Thursday matches in the competition (W1 D1).
● Tottenham have lost each of their last five Premier League London derby matches, last losing more consecutively between March 2003 and January 2004 (6).
● Brentford ended a run of five Premier League matches without a win (D1 L4) with a 1-0 home win over Everton last time out. The Bees are looking for consecutive top-flight wins for the first time since September 1946.
● Brentford have only lost one of their six Premier League away games so far this season (W2 D3). However, they’ve conceded six goals in their last two on the road in the competition, three times the amount they had in their first four away from home (2).
● In the Premier League, Spurs boss Antonio Conte has a win percentage of 44% in London derbies (P16 W7 D3 L6) – in games against teams not from London, the Italian has a win ratio of 73% (P62 W45 D8 L9).
● Brentford will be the 31st different team Tottenham striker Harry Kane has faced in the Premier League. He’s scored against each the previous 30 sides he’s faced in the competition, the only player with a 100% such record (min. 2 opponents).
● Tottenham striker Harry Kane has scored eight goals in eight Premier League appearances on Thursdays, more than any other player in the competition. He averages a goal every 84 minutes in Thursday games in the competition, only having a better record on Tuesdays (one every 81 minutes).
● Brentford striker Ivan Toney has scored four Premier League goals for the Bees this season, two more than any other player. Since the start of last season, Toney has scored 11 penalties in league matches, more than any other player in England’s top four tiers.
MANCHESTER UNITED V ARSENAL
8.15pm The Premier League have once again saved the best fixture for last on this Matchday as Manchester United host Arsenal. Manchester United were involved in the highlight fixture at the weekend as they managed a 1-1 draw away to Chelsea. Since then they have brought in a new manager as Ralf Rangnick was given a six month contract with an “interim” manager title. Rangnick’s stats at RB Leipzig were pretty impressive, and it will be interesting to see what he can do with this United side. Looking at the stats, it’s clear to see this is a “lazy” United side – they don’t really press or cover a lot of ground. Rangnick ranked 1st in categories like that while in charge of RB Leipzig and I’m sure he’ll want to completely change the tactics at Old Trafford. There’s a couple of huge points here – how will the players react to this and then what will his team selection be? There’s going to be a huge media circus around what he does with Ronaldo.
While there’s going to be a circus around Manchester United, there always seems to be some sort of circus around Arsenal! They bounced back to winning ways at the weekend with an easy 2-0 win over Newcastle after getting hammered by Liverpool 4-0. You get the feeling that this is a massive game for Arsenal as their fanbase will expect to win. Arsenal have been a long way away from the top teams recently, but given the troubles of Manchester United, Spurs and Leicester this season that fourth position is certainly open. Arsenal will feel United are there for the taking and if they get beaten easily there will definitely be negative reaction. This is going to be a fascinating game with a host of talking points, but when it comes down to the odds United are too short here at 2.04. They have had so many issues at the back recently and the new manager won’t fix that overnight. Arsenal have put together a nice run and they will have the confident to attack this game – I know they come up short against the top sides but United aren’t playing close to being a top side at the moment.
The Striker Says:
Three points lay (liability) Manchester United to beat Arsenal at 2.04 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQMunars
MATCH STATS
● Manchester United are winless in their last six Premier League meetings with Arsenal – they’ve never gone seven league games without a win against the Gunners before.
● Following their 1-0 win at Old Trafford last season, Arsenal are looking to win consecutive away league games against Manchester United for the first time since February 1979.
● Arsenal have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three meetings with Manchester United in all competitions, as many as they had in their previous 13 against them. They’ve never kept a clean sheet in four consecutive games against the Red Devils before.
● Manchester United have lost just two of their 14 Premier League matches on a Thursday (W8 D4), with those defeats coming at Middlesbrough in December 2002 (1-3) and at home to Liverpool in May last season (2-4).
● Each of the last eight Premier League goals at Old Trafford have been scored against Manchester United – the Red Devils have never previously conceded nine consecutive goals at the ground in the competition without replying themselves. The last time they had a run of eight home goals conceded without scoring in between was from February to March 2014.
● Coming into this round of matches, only Norwich City (2) have scored fewer away goals than Arsenal (3) in the Premier League this season, with the Gunners failing to score in four of their six games on the road. It’s the joint-fewest the Gunners have ever scored after six away games in a league season.
● Manchester United have picked up just five points in their last eight Premier League matches (W1 D2 L5), their fewest over an eight-game spell in Premier League history. They last picked up as few points in an eight-game spell in the same season between December 1989 and February 1990 (four – D4 L4).
● 47% of the 15 Premier League goals scored by Arsenal players this season have been netted by players aged 21 or younger (Emile Smith Rowe 4, Bukayo Saka 2, Gabriel Martinelli 1). The Gunners’ highest in a single completed campaign in the competition is 39% in 2008-09 (25/64, excluding own goals).
● Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored in his last two away league games against Manchester United, and could become the first ever Arsenal player to score in three consecutive away games against the Red Devils.
● Cristiano Ronaldo has scored six goals in his 15 appearances against Arsenal in all competitions for Manchester United, though just one of these goals has come at Old Trafford (April 2008).
