Tag: Diego Costa

Premier League Preview Aug 16th – 18th

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The English Premier League returns on Saturday with seven matches including the first competitive game in charge for Louis van Gaal at Manchester United. They play Swansea in the lunchtime kick-off at Old Trafford and their pre-season form suggests that they are unlikely to slip up.

The two teams met in the opening game last season with United inflicting a 4-1 defeat on the Swans, although the Welsh side gained their revenge with a shock FA Cup victory. Manchester United have never lost on the opening day of the EPL at Old Trafford and I don’t think they are in much danger here.

QPR gained promotion via the play-offs last season and they face Hull in one of the 3 o’clock kick-offs. Harry Redknapp has a new sidekick in the form of former England boss Glenn Hoddle but has done little to improve his playing staff. He couldn’t even use his family influence to persuade Frank Lampard to join him. This could be another uphill struggle for QPR and Hull may just be good enough to take all three points. Rangers have only managed one point from six opening weekend matches in the Premier League.

Arguably the pick of the afternoon games is the London derby between West Ham and Tottenham. Sam Allardyce will never be everyone’s cup of tea but he managed to grind out a route to survival last season and will already have calculated a points target for this season. The Hammers inflicted three defeats on Spurs last season but they finished the season poorly with five defeats in six games. Spurs have a new boss in former Saints man Mauricio Pochettino who appears to have unlocked the talent of Erik Lamela in pre-season. This is a tight game to predict but Spurs have a more talented squad.

A second London derby at 5.30 has taken on a new slant with the shock departure of Tony Pulis from Crystal Palace. Their trip to Arsenal suddenly looks very daunting, especially with the Gunners still celebrating their 3-0 Community Shield win over champions Manchester City. This looks like one-way traffic and a comfortable home win.

Another team facing a difficult start to the season is Southampton. How ironic that they should face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday having just sold half of their squad to the Merseyside giants! Liverpool have been very busy in the transfer market spending their Suarez money while Southampton have morphed into an up-market ebay! This looks like another home banker.

Newcastle United had another turbulent season under Alan Pardew and they welcome the champions. City were poor against Arsenal last weekend but they were missing several key players and will surely put that display behind them. City have won their last four games against the Magpies without conceding a goal and something similar could be on the cards on Sunday.

Chelsea will be the last of the big teams out of the blocks when they play Burnley on Monday. Jose Mourinho seems very smug after his successful summer signings and Diego Costa seems to have slotted in well. This is the sort of fixture that cost the Blues the title last season but I will be very surprised if they don’t start off in style.

Tips

Man United to beat Swansea 3-0 @10-1 BetVictor

Hull to beat QPR @11-5 BetVictor

Spurs to beat West Ham @11-10 Paddy Power

Arsenal to beat Crystal Palace 3-0 @7-1 Ladbrokes

Liverpool to beat Southampton 4-0 @18-1 BetVictor

Man City to beat Newcastle 2-0 @9-1 BetVictor

Chelsea to beat Burnley 4-0 @21-1 BetVictor

Premiership 2014/15 Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The leading Premiership sides are busily concluding their summer transfers but Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho believes that his work is already completed.

The signature of Brazilian International Felipe Luis alongside that of Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas has given the Blues a significantly stronger squad than last season as they bid to improve on their third place.

Mourinho had always insisted that last season was very much part of a learning curve for his young side but there was a deep-rooted feeling of disappointment among the fans as they ended the season without a trophy. The Blues had completed a double over Manchester City and Liverpool yet somehow contrived to drop points against inferior opposition over the closing weeks.

The progress of sweeping out the old guard is all but complete with Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard both departing in the summer. John Terry did enough to convince Mourinho that he had another season left in him at the top flight while Petr Cech is fighting to keep his number one spot.

Champions Man City have added Fernando to their squad but will be largely unchanged while Arsenal’s signing of Alexis Sanchez has done little to convince punters that a title bid is on the cards. The arrival of Van Gaal at Manchester United comes with the promise of further signings after Luke Shaw’s capture from Southampton. United were so far off the pace last season that they will have to pull something out of the hat if they are to challenge this year.

Liverpool fans must have mixed feelings about the departure of Luis Suarez. It was he and Sturridge that carried the Reds to the brink of the Premiership title last season but his World Cup antics were swiftly followed by a move to Barcelona. Southampton old boys Lallana and Lambert will not be sending any shockwaves through Stamford Bridge or the Etihad Stadium.

It is difficult to see the likes of Everton and Tottenham managing to muscle in on the act, although they will have their usual moments of optimism in a long season.

The bookmakers have probably got it about right with Mourinho’s Chelsea just rated favourites ahead of Man City. The best price is just shy of 2-1 at the moment with City at 9-4 and Man United at 5-1. There are already markets up for top goalscorer, relegation and the next manager to leave their post.

Chelsea to win Premiership @15-8 Bet365