December’s Premier League offering kicks off on Saturday, quickly following up a busy midweek round of matches from the top flight. There was no shortage of goals and drama across last Tuesday and Wednesday night’s matches, and that’s only heightened expectations ahead of this weekend’s round of games.
The highlight of the weekend’s action has to be the game at the Emirates, with Manchester United visiting Arsenal. Those two missed out on the top four last season, but which will be able to strengthen their position in the Champions League spots? On top of that we have a south-coast derby, and a very uncomfortable afternoon for David Moyes and his West Ham side. Ahead of this weekend’s live Premier League games, we’ve picked out some betting tips for each, which you can find below.
Saturday 2nd December 2017
Chelsea v Newcastle (12:30) – Over 2.5 Chelsea Goals (21/20 with BetVictor)
Rafa Benitez heads back to Chelsea five years after taking over as interim manager at Stamford Bridge. His spell there wasn’t the most successful, and he’s not likely to get a great reception from the Blues faithful. Benitez and his new side are seemingly treading water until the rumoured takeover of the club is pushed through, but given the recent history of proposed takeovers at St James’, that’s something to take with a pinch of salt until the deal is done. However, it does seem like the players have been slightly distracted by the sideshow.
Newcastle have been struggling defensively of late, and that was evident in their 3-0 loss at home to Watford. The Hornets had so much space in that game that they could have scored double that, with Newcastle looking shambolic. They conceded another two in midweek and we see them struggling here.
The Magpies haven’t got a lot of Premier League quality, so they were always going to hit a rough patch. Chelsea will be ready to take advantage of the visitors’ struggles, and we’re backing them to rack up the goals. Manchester United hit four past them at Old Trafford recently, and we’re backing over 2.5 Chelsea goals at 21/20 with BetVictor.
Arsenal v Manchester United (17:30) – Under 2.5 Goals (19/20 with Coral)
A high scoring win for Man United at Watford has slightly raised expectations ahead of this big clash, but we expect to see a tight game between these two top four contenders. Man City aren’t leaving much room for a title challenge, so the pair will be out to secure Champions League football this season, especially after both missed out on a top four finish back in May. The Gunners have been stuck in the Europa League all campaign, and they’ll be hoping to make it back to the biggest stage. Having fielded a weakened XI in all of those Europa matches, Arsene Wenger does at least have a rested side for Premier League action.
Arsenal have taken full advantage of focusing on the Premier League, which saw them edge out Tottenham recently. They’ve started working on their defensive shape, and that has been evident in their 0-0 at Chelsea and the 2-0 victory over Spurs. They come in to this match in great shape, while Jose Mourinho has seen just one goal scored for his sides in his last 10 away trips to fellow top six sides. That drought is likely to continue given how he sets his side up, and that has us thinking that under 2.5 goals is the best value pick on this game.
Sunday 3rd December 2017
Bournemouth v Southampton (13:30) – Bournemouth Draw no bet (4/5 with Ladbrokes)
The first game in Sunday’s double header pits together these two south coast rivals. Bournemouth haven’t quite had the beating of Southampton since stepping up to the Premier League, but this is probably the worst Saints side they’ve faced since coming up to the top flight. Mauricio Pellegrino is having a tough time of things at St Mary’s, and his side simply aren’t scoring enough goals on the road for us to consider them a threat at the Vitality Stadium this week. The Saints are sitting quite low down despite not facing too many of the league’s top sides, so they could struggle in this derby clash.
Bournemouth seem to have rediscovered their form, and they have bounced into mid-table after a tough start. The Cherries have goals in their side, but they’ve also found some defensive resolve in recent weeks. We think that the form of these two going in to this clash makes the Cherries favourites, while it’s hard to see where the Saints are going to get their next away win from. We believe there’s a lot of value on a home win on the draw no bet market, with the visitors winning just once in the league since mid-September.
Manchester City v West Ham (16:00) – Man City -2 (4/5 with Betfair)
Man City could really damage West Ham on recent form, with David Moyes inheriting the worst defence in the division. He’s barely had time to fix the problems within his team, and there has to be some concern over what kind of score City could run up based on their form this season. They’re averaging exactly four goals per game at home this term, keeping a clean sheet in over half of their Premier League matches. Surely the leaders will take this one by a comfortable margin?
City are yet to win a Premier League game by a single goal at home, with 60% of their home wins coming by a margin of four goals or higher. They crushed Crystal Palace 5-0 here, while a poor Stoke side were dispatched 7-2 at the Etihad. Given that West Ham are amongst the worst teams in terms of their defensive record this season, that’s only likely to get worse against the division’s best attack. We’re backing City with a -2 handicap, with Guardiola’s side winning 12-1 across three meetings with the Hammers last term.