This weekend’s Premier League fixtures promise entertainment and excitement courtesy of several evenly matched games. We’ve scanned the markets and picked out a trio of wagers that bettors should add to their accumulators.
Selection 1: Bournemouth to beat Wolves and over 2.5 goals at 5/4
It speaks to how closely matched many of this weekend’s Premier League games look set to be when Bournemouth – notwithstanding their brilliance of late – are the second-biggest home favourites with the bookmakers at 8/15. Only Arsenal at home to West Ham 1/5) are more favoured.
Andoni Iraola’s men have earned that confidence by hitting a rich vein of form since late November, winning eight of their 13 league games and losing just once to Liverpool. Saturday’s opponents, 17th-placed Wolves, won’t be anywhere near as tough a task as the Reds were.
So while backing the Cherries feels like a good choice, it’s tough to do so with the odds at 8/15. Adding another element to the bet could make the price more attractive, for example: combining a Bournemouth win with over 2.5 goals, as four of their last five league games have cleared this mark. Meanwhile, Wolves feel particularly vulnerable, having conceded the third-most goals in the division this season (54).
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Selection 2: Brentford to beat Leicester City and under 3.5 goals at 12/5
Bettors need to be aware that there’s been a curious flip to Brentford’s home and away form.
The Bees began the season by winning seven of their first eight games at the Gtech Community Stadium, a record that bettered even league leaders Liverpool at the time. But when they went on the road, it was a very different story: winless in their first nine, with seven of those being losses.
Since the turn of the year, that pattern has been turned on its head. Thomas Frank’s outfit are now winless in five at home but loving away day life, winning three on the bounce against Southampton (5-0), Crystal Palace (2-1) and West Ham (1-0).
The bookmakers have noted this shift in form, as the odds reflect no home advantage for Leicester City (21/10) this weekend, who have lost their last five at the King Power.
Brentford are the favourites and are priced at evens, which is still an attractive bet considering the run they’re on. That said, the odds can be lengthened to potentially get more bang for our buck by adding a cap on the number of overall goals scored; selecting under 3.5 means there’ll be three or fewer.
Selection 3: Aston Villa vs Chelsea and both teams to score at 4/9
Aston Villa’s home games tend to be high-scoring affairs, which means they often provide a great opportunity to bet on goalscoring markets.
Each of the last six in the Premier League have seen both teams score, a statistic that underlines how strong they are in attack — but also how frail they can be at the back.
There’s no guarantee Unai Emery will be able to field a natural central defensive partnership for this game, as Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa have been injured, while Axel Disasi is on loan from Chelsea so he cannot play against his parent club. Even Boubacar Kamara, who recently stood in at centre-back to cover for absences, now finds himself on the treatment table, too.
This is a crisis that Cole Palmer and his colleagues should be licking their lips at. They have a point to prove after losing 3-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, and with a full week of rest, should return to scoring ways.
It may be tough to call a winner in this game, but it’s hardly a stretch to believe both teams find the back of the net.
Accumalator price: 10/1 with Betfair
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(Photo of Cole Palmer: Getty Images / Justin Tallis)
