SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Affiliate tipping network bettingexpert.com has engaged leading football writer Jonathan Wilson to give his predictions on some of the weekend’s biggest matches in the Premier League.
Chelsea v Bournemouth – Saturday 5.30pm
Jonathan Wilson says: Chelsea, after three months of underperformance, at last look to have got themselves together. Wins over Norwich City and a 10-man Maccabi Tel Aviv proved little, but the goalless draw against Tottenham – admittedly one weary from a Europa League trip to Azerbaijan – suggested Jose Mourinho has restored the defensive resolve that used to be a minimum requirement.
A home game against a Bournemouth side that can’t stop conceding should extend the positive run, even if Eddie Howe’s side have played well from an attacking point of view in their last two matches. Perhaps that fluency and rhythm can upset Chelsea, but this feels like a match that Mourinho can lock down and wait for an error. Chelsea to win at 1.35-1.37 may not be that enticing, but it should be possible to back them to win to nil at around 2.5.
Prediction: Chelsea to win to nil with odds of 2.5 at Sky Bet
Arsenal v Sunderland – Saturday 3pm
Jonathan Wilson says: Arsenal are stuttering and facing an all-too-familiar glut of injuries. They’ve taken just two points from their last three league games and even in the 3-0 Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb they were a little laboured. The draw at Norwich City on Sunday cost them Laurent Koscielny and Alexis Sanchez.
A week ago, a home game against a Sunderland side that had been hapless even by its own early-season standards probably looked as easy as things get, a chance to rack up three points and perhaps some crowd-pleasing, confidence-building goals without anybody have to overexert themselves. Sunderland, though, have won two in a week and, perhaps more importantly, have kept two clean sheets in succession. There are signs that Sam Allardyce is beginning to work his magic and for that reason Sunderland look long at 13.0 (and in a couple of cases, longer).
Is it really so implausible that they could repeat last season’s trick when they rode their luck, with Costel Patilimon making some superb saves, to draw 0-0, leaving Dick Advocaat weeping on the pitch at a relegation avoided? Sunderland +0.5 can be backed at better than 4.0, but there’s possibly value in being more conservative and backing them +1.5 at significantly better than evens.
Prediction: Sunderland to win +1.5 with odds of 2.20 at 888Sport
Swansea City v Leicester City – Saturday 3pm
Jonathan Wilson says: Elsewhere, perhaps the greatest intrigue comes at the Liberty Stadium, where Jamie Vardy will be looking to equal Jimmy Dunne’s all-time top-flight record of scoring in 12 consecutive games. He’s available at 2.30 to do so (or 5.00 to score first), but the better value may simply be to back Leicester to win against a team that’s beaten only Aston Villa in its last 10 games. 2.60 looks generous.
Prediction: Leicester to win at odds of 2.6 at Coral
