Tag: Southampton

Premier League Preview Nov 22nd to 24th

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The Premier League returns on Saturday after the International break with Chelsea four points clear at the top.

Bookmaker Paddy Power has already paid out on the Blues winning the title and you can actually back them at better odds to win on Saturday than to win the league. Their next opponents are West Brom who have given Chelsea a few problems in recent matches. The Blues have only beaten them once in their last five meetings.

Of course, there are differences with this Chelsea team. Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas were declared unfit for Spain’s International fixtures but are both fit to start on Saturday. It would be no surprise to see Costa on the score sheet yet again.

Manchester City were probably glad of the International break after a poor run of form in League and Cup. Sergio Aguero has kept City in touch at the top of the table but they cannot afford to let the gap get any bigger. They already trail Chelsea by eight points and will be tested by the visit of Swansea. The Welsh side have made a very impressive start to the season and could draw level with City if they were to pull off a shock win. The bet here is for City to edge it by a single goal.

Newcastle have turned their season around with five straight wins. Full credit for Alan Pardew who has been under intense pressure from the media this season. They face QPR who have also shown signs of a revival under Harry Redknapp. A win over Aston Villa followed gallant efforts against Liverpool and Manchester United. Newcastle can extend their winning run with the advantage of home support.

The big game on Saturday is the tea-time kick-off between Arsenal and Man United. The Gunners will be sweating on late fitness tests for Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck but they should be fit to start. Welbeck would be dismayed if he were to miss a clash against his former club but Sanchez is the man with the golden touch lately. He can again be Arsenal’s match winner against a United side that continues to have defensive problems.

Liverpool and Spurs both have tricky looking fixtures at Crystal Palace and Hull respectively. You just don’t know what you will get from either side at the moment so I am going to swerve both matches. Finally, the Saints should go marching on at Villa Park on Monday night. Villa were desperately poor against QPR while Southampton seem to have plenty of attacking options.

Diego Costa to score and Chelsea win @10-11 Ladbrokes

Sergio Aguero to score and Man City win @11-10 BetFred

Man City to win by one goal @11-4 Bet365

Alexis Sanchez to score and Arsenal to win @11-4 Paddy Power

Newcastle to beat QPR @5-6 Bet365

Southampton to beat Aston Villa @4-5 William Hill

Premier League Preview Nov 8th – 9th

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It’s been said many times before but the top sides are often vulnerable on the weekend immediately after playing in Europe.

Two of those sides clash in the match of the weekend when Liverpool host Chelsea at Anfield in Saturday’s early kick-off. Brendan Rodgers courted controversy by dropping/resting three of his star players for the Champions League match at Real Madrid in midweek. His players saved him to a certain extent by ONLY losing 1-0, although many Liverpool supporters were understandably disappointed.

Jose Mourinho started with Oscar and Costa on the bench in Maribor but sent them out for the second half in a game that produced quite a gripping second period. The coach has been critical of some of his fringe players in recent weeks and famously fielded a supposedly weakened side at Anfield last season. They went on to win 2-0 in a game that effectively handed the title back to Manchester City. I thought Willian played very well against Maribor until substituted and he could be worth a bet at 16-1 to be MOTM.

The rest of the weekend action is a bit tame in comparison with opportunities for Man United (v Crystal Palace) and Man City (v QPR) to bounce back from their respective disappointments. City look the more suspect after their disastrous defeat at home to CSKA Moscow with two players sent off. Even if Chelsea stumble at Anfield, it is no foregone conclusion that City will close the gap.

In fact, it could be Southampton that benefit as they are at home to struggling Leicester. Ronald Koeman is no fool and he knows that it is vital to accumulate as many points as possible while this rich vein of form continues. Pelle will give Leicester plenty of problems and he could be worth noting in the goal scorer markets.

Diafra Sakho’s back in action for West Ham after missing last week’s 2-2 draw at Stoke. He will again be a popular choice in the scorer markets but why change a winning formula? Aston Villa slumped to a sixth straight defeat against Spurs and this looks like three points for the Hammers.

Arsenal looked to be in cruise control against Anderlecht but somehow allowed a 3-0 lead to disappear. Arsene Wenger must surely have read the riot act after that second half collapse and they now face a tough game at Swansea on Sunday.

A red card in the match Liverpool v Chelsea @2-1 Skybet

Willian to be man of the match @16-1 Paddy Power

Graziano Pelle to score and Southampton to win @17-10 Paddy Power

Diafra Sakho to score and West Ham to win @11-4 BWin

West Ham to beat Aston Villa @8-11 Bet365

QPR (+2 handicap) v Man City @8-11 Ladbrokes

Swansea (+1 handicap) v Arsenal @4-5 Ladbrokes

Premier League Preview Oct 25th – 27th

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The highlight of this weekend’s Premier League action has to be Sunday’s game at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Chelsea.

The Blues start the weekend five points clear at the top of the table but United are potentially dangerous rivals with their summer influx of stars. They have improved offensively but their defence is another matter and Jose Mourinho will be looking to exploit this with the pace of Hazard and Willian.

At the time of writing, Costa’s availability is unknown but Loic Remy is definitely out. That could leave Didier Drogba as the only realistic option at centre-forward. He has looked a long way short of his best but Hazard was brilliant against Maribor in midweek and Chelsea can create goals from almost anywhere on the pitch. Take Hazard to score in another victory for the Blues.

Man City blew a two-goal lead in Moscow and that will have made it a miserable journey home. They now play a confident West Ham who have found a new scoring machine in Diafra Sakho. He gave us a 5-1 winner last week when scoring for his sixth consecutive game. Sam Allardyce patted himself on the back for working out how to beat Everton after their Europa League match and will have a similar plan for the champions. The Hammers might be worth supporting on the handicap.

Southampton were superb last week in demolishing Sunderland 8-0 and will be full of confidence for the visit of Stoke. You can’t help but think that Ronald Koeman’s side have to slip up sooner or later but I would be surprised if it is on Saturday. Take Pelle to score in a Saints win.

Another man in form is Wilfried Bony of Swansea and he can get on the score sheet at home to Leicester. The Swans were hard done by at Stoke last week and should be able to grab all three points here. Arsenal are not the ideal opponents for Sunderland after last week’s humiliation at St Mary’s and it is difficult to see any other result than a win for the Gunners. It should be routine win for Everton at struggling Burnley and Tottenham can put the pressure back on Alan Pardew by defeating Newcastle.

Monday night’s game is QPR versus Aston Villa. Harry Redknapp’s side fought manfully at home to Liverpool last week but somehow managed to lose 3-2 after twice appearing to have salvaged a point. Villa are not the most reliable of teams but this game could be draw material along with Saturday’s game between West Brom and Crystal Palace.

West Ham (+1 handicap) to beat Man City @6-4 Bet365

Graziano Pelle to score and Southampton to win @17-10 Ladbrokes

Arsenal to beat Sunderland @4-5 Stan James

Wilfried Bony to score and Swansea win @9-4 Paddy Power

Eden Hazard to score and Chelsea win @5-1 Coral

QPR v Aston Villa DRAW @9-4 Bet365

Premier League Preview Oct 4th – 5th

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After a busy week of European football, the best of the Premier League action is reserved for Sunday.

Chelsea host Arsenal with the Gunners still smarting from their 6-0 thrashing in Arsene Wenger’s 1000th game in charge. The Blues raced into a 2-0 lead in the first seven minutes before Kieran Gibbs was sent off for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin’s handball. Things went from bad to worse for Wenger and it seemed for a while that his long reign at Arsenal was drawing to a close.

The FA Cup and Champions League qualification were sufficient to give him a lifeline for this season and Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Galatasaray has raised expectations yet again for their supporters. Their form has been patchy in the League and their recent record against Chelsea is poor.

Jose Mourinho’s side had much the tougher Champions League fixture this week in a gruelling encounter with Sporting Lisbon. Diego Costa spent as much time on the floor as on his feet on Tuesday night but Mourinho is adamant that he will start on Sunday. If teams become fixated in stopping Costa, Chelsea have plenty of other players capable of hitting the target. Take Chelsea to edge it by a single goal.

Manchester United host Everton on Sunday with the Toffees returning from a 1-1 draw in Russia on Thursday. United obviously have no European distractions this week so have a huge advantage. Their incredible 5-3 defeat at Leicester reminded United fans that it takes more than £150million of talent to make a team. Van Gaal will have been working overtime in trying to sort out their defensive frailties and this looks like a game that they can win.

Southampton continued their incredible run to second in the table by beating QPR last week. The spelling may be slightly different but Pelle lived up to his name with a wonder goal to seal the three points. They travel to Tottenham on Sunday and a meeting with old boss Mauricio Pochettino. Spurs have had their ups and downs this season but played well at Arsenal and this could result in a draw.

Liverpool suffered a 1-0 defeat in Basel on Wednesday and their Champions League prospects look bleak with two matches against Real Madrid ahead of them. Their league form has been indifferent and a home game against West Brom on Saturday is exactly the sort of game to pose problems. Rather like United, they are having trouble moulding a team out of a bunch of talented individuals and Brendan Rodgers will be looking for signs of improvement here.

Manchester City were held by Roma on Wednesday and now travel to Aston Villa. A draw was not the result that they were hoping for but they played well against a good side. Frank Lampard continues to impress and he has scored more goals against Villa than any other Premiership side. I would be surprised if he doesn’t play a part on Saturday and City can grab a comfortable three points.

Liverpool 1 West Brom 0 @15-2 BetVictor

Aston Villa 1 Man City 3 @12-1 William Hill

Frank Lampard to score first @7-1 Paddy Power

Man United 3 Everton 0 @15-1 BetVictor

Chelsea 2 Arsenal 1 @8-1 Bet365

Tottenham 1 Southampton 1 @13-2 BetVictor

Premier League Preview Sep 27

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This weekend’s Premiership action gets off to a cracking start with Liverpool playing Everton in the Merseyside derby.

Both teams are struggling to find any consistency this season and arrive here in desperate need of a good result. Liverpool have survived Champions League and Capital One Cup games by the skin of their teeth and lost 3-1 to West Ham in between.

Everton were thrashed 6-3 by Chelsea but bounced back to beat West Brom and Wolfsburg. Progress came to a shuddering halt against Crystal Palace last weekend and they were then dumped out of the Capital One Cup by Swansea. Both sides are leaking goals at the moment and this has the makings of another thrilling encounter.

A repeat of the 3-3 draw at Goodison Park in November is not out of the question but I think Liverpool could just shade it, particularly if Sturridge is fit to play a part.

League leaders Chelsea lost their 100% record last weekend when Frank Lampard struck late on for Manchester City. That sentence still does not read true for Blues supporters and Lampard’s double-strike in midweek suggests that Chelsea were negligent in not offering the midfield player a one-year extension.

They play host to Aston Villa on Saturday, a side that have sometimes caused problems in the past. Villa made a flying start to the season before being brushed aside 3-0 by Arsenal. If you ignore that poor performance and judge them on their victory at Anfield, they look seriously overpriced at 16-1. Cynics may point to Chelsea’s 8-0 win in 2012/13 but Villa are a lot stronger now and Chelsea’s two draws and a scrappy 2-1 win over Bolton are a warning not to expect too much.

Crystal Palace and Leicester looks like a draw banker. The Foxes have not won in London in any of their last 15 Premier League visits but they look good enough to battle for a point. Hull play host to Champions Manchester City who look to have turned a corner this week. Lampard’s previously mentioned intervention rescued a priceless point against Chelsea and they then proceeded to blast seven goals past Sheffield Wednesday in midweek. With confidence on the up and Dzeko back in scoring mode, this should be another three points.

Perhaps the most intriguing fixture of the week is Manchester United versus West Ham. The Red Devils are brilliant going forward but leaking like a sieve in defence. They probably need to score at least three to be sure of a point! Angel Di Maria has been very impressive and he can be backed to score again with both sides finding the target. West Ham pulled off a great win over Liverpool last week and will approach this game with some optimism. Expect another feast of goals.

Southampton continue to confound their critics. Not only are they flying in the Premier League, they also knocked Arsenal out of the Capital One Cup in midweek and will be expected to see off QPR at St Mary’s. Ronald Koeman’s summer signings are all punching above their weight and they can continue their unlikely charge towards the top.

The late kick-off is the North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham. Rather like Liverpool and Everton, these two sides are having a topsy-turvy start to the season in Cup and League. Arsenal’s defeat against Southampton underlines a lack of depth in their squad while Tottenham still have two ways of playing. In recent seasons, Tottenham have disappointed in these types of fixtures and Wenger can recall Wojciech Szczesny, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Mikel Arteta, Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck on Saturday.

Liverpool 3 Everton 2 (correct score) @22-1 Bet365

Liverpool v Everton over 3.5 goals @6-4 Coral

Chelsea 2 Aston Villa 1 (correct score) @11-1 BetVictor

Crystal Palace v Leicester DRAW @19-5 BetVictor

Edin Dzeko to score first @5-1 Paddy Power

Man City to win by 3 or more goals @4-1 Skybet

Man United to win by 2 goals @100-30 Bet365

Angel Di Maria to score first @7-1 Bet365

Southampton 3 QPR 0 (correct score) @10-1 BetVictor

Arsenal to win by 2 goals @4-1 Stan James

Premier League Preview Aug 16th – 18th

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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