2-2 draw between Manchester United and Leicester (14/1)
AS ALWAYS, WE look for some decent value around here and you can’t argue with this bet based on both clubs’ recent form.
Odds will tell you that Leicester will score at Old Trafford. They’ve failed to find the net once in their last 23 fixtures. Coupled with that, they put two past Chelsea midweek racked up six in two games against Burnley and Club Brugge.
And, unlike last term, the goals have been spread around the side with Islam Slimani, Riyad Mahrez and Shinji Okazaki all netting. That’s with Jamie Vardy having a relatively slow start to the term too.
Against the better teams, however, they’ve been leaky at the back and Claudio Ranieri will be easily look to the 4-1 defeat to Liverpool as an example of what not to do on Sir Matt Busby Way on Saturday lunchtime.
For United, what can we expect? Things to miraculously turn around? Certainly not immediately. Two clean sheets from seven games is not good from a Jose Mourinho side and a pressure is building on the coach and his players after the League Cup game against Northampton was a lot more hard-fought than expected.
A 1-1 draw here is still decent value at 6/1 but there will be enough poor defenders and decent attackers on the pitch for a higher-scoring game to take place.
Arsenal to win 2-1 at home to Chelsea (8/1)
It’s a big weekend for Arsene Wenger as he celebrates 20 years as Gunners’ boss but he doesn’t particularly enjoy taking on the Blues.
Last season there were home and away defeats as Arsenal’s ill-discipline cost them dearly – having three players sent-off across both games – as Diego Costa proved an irritant for different reasons.
But Chelsea have been going through the motions in recent weeks and struggled against Swansea, Liverpool and midweek against Leicester.
Arsenal are unbeaten in their last six games and Wenger will see this as a fork in the road. There was a very cliched loss to Liverpool on the opening day and another slip against a direct rival will lead to renewed toxicity regarding where the club is going.
Having hit 14 goals in their last five games, confidence will be pretty high. And with a home Champions League tie against Basel next week, a decent result against Antonio Conte’s side will keep the general momentum going.
Sergio Aguero to score a hat-trick against Swansea (8/1)
It says much about the gulf between these two teams that while the Argentine striker is 8/1 to score three times on Saturday, Swansea’s Fernando Llorente is 100/1.
A few things make this bet enticing. There’s the appetite Aguero will have to get back on the field after serving a three-game ban. There’s the superb form he’s shown this season (pre-ban) where he’s managed nine goals in five appearances.
And there’s also the fact that Swansea are in disarray.
Headlines today indicate that chairman Huw Jenkins has already had enough with Francesco Guidolin as coach and has reignited his interest in bringing Ryan Giggs to the club.
It’s not really the preparation you want to have before facing the best team in the league for a second time in a matter of days. And as much as the Swans only lost 2-1 during the week, it was very easy for City.
With Aguero back, you’d fear the worst – for the Welsh side and their boss.
Vincent Janssen as first goalscorer for Tottenham v Middlesbrough (5/1)
He had to make do with substitute appearances up until the League Cup outing against Gillingham midweek but Vincent Janssen will be hoping his penalty at White Hart Lane is a sign of things to come.
The 22-year-old will get a chance with Harry Kane’s spell in the treatment room and he knows where the goal is.
Last term, he racked up 27 goals for AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie before sealing his £17m fee.
Admittedly, swapping the Netherlands for England is a step up in difficulty but he’ll be hungry to follow in the footsteps of a number of Dutch attackers who matured into excellent Premier League strikers.
Romelu Lukaku to score 2 or more goals against Bournemouth (7/1)
Ronald Koeman was not very happy with Everton’s performance or result against Norwich and is expecting a reaction from his side at Dean Court on Saturday.
Lukaku wasn’t involved midweek and should be refreshed and ready for action. With four goals in his last two appearances, he continues to be the Toffees’ main source of firepower.
Eddie Howe’s side will hope that their compact home can help them stem a little bit of bleeding – defeat to Preston in the League Cup was preceded by a 4-0 thumping by Manchester City.
Koeman spoke of how creating chances wasn’t the problem against Norwich – it was the lack of productivity.
If Everton are to get a decent result, Lukaku will more than play his role.
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