We have another weekend of huge Premier League action ahead of us, especially with three matches in one week. There’s a bonus round of midweek matches coming up, almost as if the Christmas season is getting underway early in English football too. Before that we have a great line up of fixtures to come this weekend, headlined by a clash between two of last season’s top four at Anfield.
Saturday evening sees Chelsea bound for Merseyside, with the Blues aiming to continue their impressive away form this season. While that game is the highlight, we also have a homecoming for David Moyes along with interesting tests for Everton and Manchester City. Ahead of the weekend’s live Premier League matches, we’ve previewed each of the big games and picked out some great value betting tips as we try to make a profit from the action.
Friday 24th November 2017
West Ham v Leicester (20:00) – Leicester Draw No Bet (19/20 with Coral)
Friday night football focuses on the Olympic Stadium once again – the third time in just seven home matches for West Ham. This weekend’s clash sees Claude Puel take Leicester to East London, with David Moyes hoping this Friday night doesn’t go as poorly as the last. A big part of Slaven Bilic’s departure was the poor display in a 3-0 defeat to Brighton a few Fridays ago, and now Moyes opens up his era at this new stadium against a Foxes side who are coming off the back of defeat to the league leaders.
There’s little shame in losing to Man City – West Ham are just lucky that they didn’t come across Pep Guardiola’s men during Bilic’s reign. However, the early signs for Moyes barely hint at any kind of improvement from the Scot. His first defeat wasn’t anything to celebrate, and the Hammers continue to sit in the relegation zone. They’ve lost three of their last four at home ahead of this clash, and we struggle to see the Hammers turning things around. The bookmakers can’t seem to settle on a winner, with both sides priced at 13/8 with Bet365 here. However, we think Leicester can repeat their 3-2 win here from last season, so we’re backing the Foxes at 19/20 with Coral on the draw no bet market.
Saturday 25th November 2017
Liverpool v Chelsea (17:30) – Over 2.5 Goals (8/11 with Betfred)
When these two met last season, neither side were involved in a continental competition. This time around, the pair meet at Anfield following midweek trips in the Champions League. They both come into this game with last season’s limited schedule on their minds; neither wants another campaign outside of Europe’s elite competition. The two are both pushing for the Champions League, with Chelsea third and Liverpool three points shy in fifth. That makes this a crucial game in the race for the top four – but just who will win?
Liverpool have a stellar home record this term, as they’re currently unbeaten at Anfield. They’ve scored 12 times and conceded once in their six home league games ahead of Saturday’s clash. However, Chelsea have the second best away record in the division, having taken 15 points from their six games. Having struck 14 times and after scoring in every game, we expect the Blues to put a dent in Liverpool’s solid defensive record here. We can see a few goals in this one, especially as the champions have a fair bit of momentum behind them. We’re backing over 2.5 goals in this one, which is priced at 8/11 with bet365.
Sunday 26th November 2017
Southampton v Everton (13:30) – Both Teams to Score (23/20 with Betfair)
The first of Sunday’s clashes pits together two teams who are struggling. Southampton have 13 points from their 12 games, which isn’t an awful start really. However, before their defeat at Liverpool last weekend they’d only played one of the seven sides who finished above them last term. Being that low in the table after relatively easier fixtures is worrying, especially with five of the top six to face between now and the January 1st. Hosting Everton this week shouldn’t be as much of a problem, and it could be a vital game for the Saints.
Clearly Southampton need to get points wherever they can find them right now, and facing Everton does seem like an excellent opportunity. David Unsworth’s side are fifth from bottom, having failed to win away from home all season. They’ve conceded at least twice in their last four matches, which is bound to be good news for a Saints side who need a hand scoring goals. However, Southampton’s only home clean sheets have been against low scoring West Brom and Swansea – conceding in six of their last seven. That makes us think both teams to score is great value at 23/20 with Betfair.
Huddersfield v Man City (16:00) – Huddersfield +2 Handicap (8/5 with Betfair)
A trip to Huddersfield is an interesting test for Man City, given that United lost here just over a month ago. With BetVictor pricing up City at 2/11 for the points there’s little chance of another shock from the Terriers. They are coming off the back of back-to-back home wins, and they’re going to be much better than their 4-0 loss at Bournemouth suggests.
While we have this idea of Man City blowing sides away, we think that the hosts can remain compact and try to keep this closer than the odds suggest. City have won every away game so far – but half of those victories were by a single goal. They come into this game on the back of midweek Champions League action, while the Terriers are in form at home. Given the spirit of Huddersfield’s home win over United, and the fact that City only edged out Bournemouth and West Brom by a single goal on the road this term, we can see Huddersfield losing out by a single goal, so we’re backing them with a +2 handicap at 8/5 with Betfair.