With the fight for fourth place tighter than we’ve ever seen in the Premier League, the next month will be crucial for sides looking to make the Champions League. With the games about to come thick and fast in December, teams can’t afford a poor run now, or it could cost them by the end of the season.
This weekend’s games are the start of the first time this season that teams will face three Premier League games in the space of little more than a week. With fixtures in the middle of next week and the following weekend, we might see a bit of squad rotation in these fixtures. The live games this weekend include sides in all kinds of positions, from the league leaders all the way down to those fighting relegation, with a few Champions League chasers thrown in. Here is our preview of this weekend’s four live games, complete with betting tips.
Saturday 29th November 2014
West Brom v Arsenal (12:45) – Arsenal to win (4/5 with BetVictor)
Arsenal’s trip to the Hawthorns kicks things off on Saturday on BT Sport, with the Gunners in an awful run of form. They’ve suffered their worst start to a season in 32 years, and this might just be the year where they miss out on Champions League football. They are only two points off fourth, since most other sides going for the top four have had poor starts too. Arsenal’s problem isn’t that they’re cut adrift, but they just seem to have a problem winning games. Luckily for them, they face a West Brom side who they’ve not lost to in their last eight meetings.
As for West Brom, they had a great run of form, but it’s seemingly disappeared. They look like they’ll have enough to avoid relegation, but they’ll need to get points on the board to prove that. Back to back defeats have left them just three points above the bottom three. Their December is filled with games against teams in the same kind of situation as them, so this game against Arsenal isn’t that huge for WBA. The Gunners’ form has seen their odds drift here, and they’re well worth a bet at odds of 4/5.
Sunderland v Chelsea (17:30) – Chelsea to win to nil (11/8 with Sky Bet)
League leaders Chelsea travel to the North East twice in the space of a week, and first up for them is a game at struggling Sunderland. The Black Cats have found scoring and winning a problem this season, they’ve drawn seven of their 12 games and scored just 12 times. Failing to win games will cost them, no matter how many draws they pick up.
Things aren’t getting any easier for Sunderland, with the league leaders coming to town. Chelsea have been fantastic this season, unbeaten so far and running away with the title race. They’re currently six points ahead of second place dSouthampton and eight ahead of third place Man City, with those two meeting on Sunday. Get a win here, and things could get even better for Chelsea. Given Sunderland’s scoring problems, it’s difficult to see them getting past this Chelsea backline. Chelsea to win to nil is our top betting tip here.
Sunday 30th November 2014
Southampton v Man City (13:30) – Draw (9/4 with Bet Victor)
As mentioned, the second and third placed sides in the Premier League come head to head at Saint Mary’s on Sunday, with the Saints still maintaining their good form. Their 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Monday night saw them lose ground on Chelsea, but they’ll be delighted to still be so high coming in to December. With games against City, Arsenal and United coming in just over a week, this could be the defining period of their season.
City, on the other hand, have looked far from their best this term and they’re already too far off the top for their liking. Losing here and falling further behind isn’t really an option for them. They know they need to win at Southampton, but they’ve managed just three away wins in all competitions this season. City don’t quite look good enough to back them for the win here, so a draw looks likely, especially with the Citizens having faced a huge midweek clash with Bayern Munich prior to this.
Tottenham v Everton (13:30) – Both teams to score (13/20 with BetVictor)
Tottenham and Everton are outsiders in the fight for the top four, but they’ll have a great chance to further their claim when they meet on Sunday. Both sides have struggled in the league after playing in Europe, so it’s hard to call which way this game will go. They should both be pleased to face a side with similar problems though, with both playing on the Thursday prior to this. Both sides won last weekend, so they should come in with a bit of confidence irrespective of what happens in their Europa League games.
Both teams have been inconsistent this season, and they’ve both struggled defensively. Between them they’ve conceded 36 goals in the league this season, a huge amount given that they’ve only played 12 times. They’ve made up for that going forward, especially Everton who are the fourth highest scoring side in the league. Whatever way this one goes, it looks like goals are the order of the day here. Spurs have scored in their last seven league games, while Everton have scored in all but one of their league games this season. Both teams to score isn’t the greatest odds here, but it’s almost nailed on.
There are your four tips for the four lives games this weekend. Should you fancy something with a little longer odds, those four tips come together to make a 22/1 accumulator with Bet Victor. That’s well worth a look as a bet that could keep you interested for the entire weekend if things pan out as we expect.