Gameweek nine of the Premier League campaign is upon us, and there are some fixtures here that have a feeling of extreme importance about them.
Tottenham won’t want to lose ground on Manchester City, and a trip to in-form Bournemouth is less than ideal, Arsenal will need to show resolve against a stubborn Middlesbrough side, Stoke versus Hull could be a relegation six-pointer and a third consecutive home defeat for Swansea would be rather catastrophic.
Here’s the pick of Saturday’s Premier League betting tips:
Bournemouth vs Tottenham (12:30pm)
This is an excellent time to be a Bournemouth supporter. On home soil they are absolutely flying with three wins on the spin, and they will be full of confidence when they welcome Spurs to Dean Court on Saturday lunchtime.
Tottenham are just starting to look a little sluggish. A hectic fixture schedule has meant that many of their players will be playing their sixth game in a fortnight here – the only downside to Champions League football and having so many of your players represent their country. They dominated against West Brom last week but, actually, were lucky to escape with a point in the end, while in midweek they were second best against Bayer Leverkusen from minute one.
The Cherries dismantled Hull last week, and will be absolutely buzzing to get in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Saturday. For some of these Spurs players it could be a game too far.
Recommended Bet
Bournemouth +0.50 Asian Handicap at 10/11 with BetVictor
Arsenal vs Middlesbrough (3pm)
After the uncertainty of the early season, when they went down 3-4 to Liverpool remember, pundits and punters were unsure about the Gunners. Fast forward a couple of months and here they are on a six-game winning streak, with sixteen goals scored in their last half-dozen appearances. How times have changed.
Middlesbrough have taken the opposite path: after a decent start, they have lost four of their last five and haven’t kept a clean sheet since August. That does not bode well for a trip to London to take on this dynamic Arsenal outfit; expect a comfortable home victory.
Recommended Bet
Arsenal to Score in Both Halves at 4/5 with William Hill
Hull City vs Stoke City (3pm)
Hull City fans, look away now. After a bright start to life in the English top flight, things have gone rather downhill since then. Four defeats on the bounce, and seventeen goals conceded, means that the Tigers now have the worse defensive record in the Premier League are rapidly heading in the wrong direction.
Stoke are marching in the opposite direction, and with improved recent performances culminating in victory over Sunderland they will be looking to make it two come Saturday afternoon.
A feature of Stoke’s play lately has been their attacking vibrancy; Marko Arnautovic is in red hot form, Joe Allen is scoring goals and there is even the prospect of an improving Xherdan Shaqiri to look forward to.
With Hull’s defence in disarray, there can be no better time than now for Wilfried Bony to break his scoring duck for the campaign. He went close last week – Jordan Pickford made an outstanding save to deny him – and the burly frontman will surely have more opportunities to find the net on Saturday.
Recommended Bet
Wilfried Bony Anytime Scorer at 21/10 with Betfair
Swansea City vs Watford (3pm)
It’s a question of simple mathematics this one, really. The Swans have lost five of their last six matches and yet have managed to score in the vast majority of those, which shows they are at least capable at one end of the pitch.
Bob Bradley will be working hard on their defensive shape – he has to, if he wants them to stay up, but his methods may not have had time to take hold as yet, and that news will be greeted with relish by a goal-hungry Watford side.
The Hornets have netted eleven in their last six with just one blank against Burnley, and the way they set-up suggests they are always looking to get onto the front foot. Defensively, well, they are conceding at an average of 1.63 goals per 90 minutes, and so while we offer no conclusions as to the outcome of the match – Watford are too unpredictable for that – we can say with some certainty that goals should flow.
Recommended Bet
Over 2.5 Goals at Evens with bet365
