There were no shortage of talking points in the Premier League last week so we’ll be hoping for more of the same during the next round of fixtures of the 2016/17 season. Manchester United get the action underway when they take on current champions Leicester City in Saturday’s early-kick off, a match which could condemn Jose Mourinho to a third consecutive league defeat.
Also on Saturday we see a fascinating clash between Arsenal and Chelsea. It’s the Blues who have dominated this fixture in recent years but with a new manager at the helm, perhaps their dominance will come to an end.
The following day we will see if West Ham can reverse their recent misfortunes when they welcome Southampton to the much talked about London Stadium. Neither side has made a strong start to this season but perhaps we will see more of what they are capable of this time around. The final match to be played is between Burnley and Watford on Monday evening. League games involving Watford this season are averaging almost four goals a game but will they treat us to another cracker when they travel to Turf Moor?
Saturday 24th September 2016
Manchester United v Leicester City (12:30) – Draw (3/1 with BetVictor)
It’s been a bad couple of weeks for Jose Mourinho’s side; league defeats against Manchester City and Watford, as well as a loss to Feyenoord in the Europa League, will not do anything for their confidence coming into this match. They do have the players capable of turning things around however and the Portuguese manager may well try a different approach for this game. At the very least we expect his team to be less vulnerable defensively than they were during their 3-1 defeat to Watford last weekend.
It has taken Leicester a few weeks but they looked nearly back to their best when breezing past Burnley 3-0. It was the new summer addition Slimani who took many of the plaudits by bagging himself two goals and he looks like he could well form a formidable partnership upfront with Jamie Vardy. The Foxes love to play on the break and Old Trafford is a great place to do just that. They managed a draw when they visited here last season and it’s worth backing the same outcome here again given the decent odds that are available.
Arsenal v Chelsea (17:30) – Both teams to score (8/13 with Sky Bet)
Arsenal may have lost their season opener against Liverpool but since then, the Gunners have collected 10 points from a possible 12 and have some momentum coming into this big match. Although Aaron Ramsey is expected to miss the match and Oliver Giroud is a doubt, goals shouldn’t be a problem for Arsene Wenger’s side. They knocked in four against Hull in their last league game despite missing a penalty and going forwards Arsenal will be a real threat to a vulnerable Chelsea defence.
With Arsenal looking set to score at least a goal or two here, you may be thinking to back them for the win but their recent head to head record with Chelsea is so poor that it’s makes it less than tempting. Psychological factors can be important in games like this and excluding a Community Shield victory last year then the Gunners are now 10 games without a win against Chelsea. As a result, it’s better to back both teams to score in this game given that the Blues have netted in all of their league games so far this season.
Sunday 25th September 2016
West Ham v Southampton (16:00) – Draw (12/5 with BetVictor)
The Saints didn’t get off to a flying start under new manager Claude Puel but a convincing victory over Sparta Prague in the Europa League followed by a first league win of the season against Swansea has given Saints supporters some reason to be optimistic. It will be interesting to see if Charlie Austin will be rewarded with a place in the starting XI after scoring three times in these two games but whoever features will surely fancy themselves to score past a West Ham side which looks all over the place at the moment.
It’s not often a side suffers back to back 4-2 defeats but that’s exactly what West Ham have achieved in the Premier League. They have been hit with several key injuries over the past few weeks but there is still little excusing their recent performances. Conceding goals is clearly a problem but also a worry for Slaven Bilic will be that none of his strikers have scored yet, the bulk of the Hammers goals coming from wide man, Michail Antonio. Improvements can be expected from the home side this time but without a reliable figure upfront, a draw might be all they can muster from this match.
Monday 26th September 2016
Burnley v Watford (20:00) – Under 2.5 goals (4/6 with Ladbrokes)
Watford may have been providing us with an abundance of goals at both ends lately, 14 in their last three league games to be exact, but they are travelling to a ground which rarely sees many. There hasn’t been over two goals scored at Turf Moor since January which is quite an incredible record. Burnley will fancy themselves to get something from this match but they will do so by putting defence first rather than trying to outscore a Watford side who have found the back of the net so regularly this season.
Clearly, something has got to give in this match and it looks more likely that it will be Watford who are unable to maintain their run of goal fuelled encounters. They may have netted four times in their last away fixture against West Ham but Burnley’s defence should pose a far stiffer test. Sean Dyche knows how to set his side up at home and had it not been for a last minute Robert Snodgrass free kick then he would have enjoyed three points and a clean sheet in his side’s last appearance at Turf Moor. It’s unlikely to be one of the matches of the season but it looks like there is money to be made backing under 2.5 goals.