Sports Blog 06/02/2015: Match Preview – Premier League, Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th February 2015

After a few mid-week FA Cup replays, its back to the Premier League this weekend, with a derby-filled Saturday joined by some lower half scraps on Sunday.

First up at 12.45pm on BT Sport 1 is the hottest ticket of the weekend, as 6th place Tottenham host 5th place Arsenal for a North London derby. Arsenal have been in fine form of late, with 4 league clean sheets in a row; however, they have only won 2 of their last 9 visits to White Hart Lane, and with Alexis Sanchez out will a hamstring problem they will be missing their talisman. Yet their last game saw Arsenal put 5 past Aston Villa, with 5 different scorers, none of whom were the diminutive Chilean.



Tottenham, fresh off their progression to the League Cup final against Chelsea, and a 3-0 victory against West Brom last weekend won’t be intimidated by Arsenal’s form. Spurs managed to beat Chelsea 5-3 at White Hart Lane last month, and Arsenal are a side more susceptible to slip-ups than the Blues. Once again Tottenham will be looking to this season revelation, Harry Kane, to make the difference, and on 18 goals he is fixed odds favourite to score first at 5/1. Christian Eriksen is on 11 goals at 17/2, whilst Nacer Chadli is at 9/1 on 9 goals. With Sanchez absent, Arsenal have Olivier Giroud on 8 goals at 6/1, Cazorla on 7 at 9/1, with Welbeck at 7/1 and Ramsey at 17/2. Despite missing their star striker, our clients are fancying the Gunners at an Arsenal/Tottenham (h) Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 0.15-0.35, with the likelihood of a scrappy game leading to a Bookings spread of 53-57.

Saturday afternoon then sees the Merseyside derby, as a limp Everton take on a still inconsistent Liverpool at 5.30pm on BT Sport 1. The Toffees have only won one 1 of their last 7 home games, with 34 league goals conceded, 17 of which were at Goodison Park. A win at Crystal Palace might set Everton on the path to recovery, but they face a tough task when the Reds visit tomorrow afternoon. If Everton are to stand a chance, then Romelu Lukaku (10 goals at 13/2), Kevin Mirallas (8 goals at 10/1) and Steven Naismith (6 goals at 9/1) all need to perform to potentially negate the weaknesses at the back.



Liverpool are sitting in 7th; not great compared to last year’s finish, but better than at some points this season. They have lost just one of their last 7 league visits to Goodison Park, and after a narrow win at Bolton are through to the 5th round of the FA Cup. Daniel Sturridge may start on Saturday, hopefully reigniting the Reds’ frontline, and is at 9/2 to score first alongside Raheem Sterling, on 9 goals and at the same odds. Gerrard is at 8/1 on 9 goals, whilst Adam Lallana is at 17/2 on 4 goals. Our traders are offering a Liverpool/Everton (h) Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 0.2-0.4 with a Bookings spread of 58-62.

On to Sunday, and Burnley host West Brom in a battle to stay out of the relegation zone at 12.00pm on Sky Sports 1. Burnley sit in 17th, only 1 point ahead of Hull and QPR, both of whom are on 19; similarly, despite being in 15th, West Brom only have 22 points, and are perilously close to slipping back into the fray. After Sunday’s game Burnley are facing an ominous run of fixtures, with ties against 7 of the top 8 Premier League sides. The difference for Clarets will be made by the performances of Danny Ings (7 goals at 17/4), Ashely Barnes (4 goals at 15/2), and George Boyd (4 goals at 17/2).



West Brom have just signed Darren Fletcher, who should provide some much needed experience in the middle of the pack. They will also be boosted by their away form, as only Southampton and Manchester City have conceded fewer league goals away from home. Upfront, goals from Saido Berahino, who has 14 goals this season and is at 9/2, and Victor Anichebe and Brown Ideye (both at 15/2 to score first) might give West Brom the edge. However, our traders narrowly fancy Burnley at a Goal Supremacy quote of 0-0.2, with a Total Goals spread of 2.15-2.35.

The middle of the table gets a workout at 2.05pm on Sky Sports 1 as Stoke travel to St James Park to face Newcastle United. Stoke sit just above Newcastle at 10th, and have managed to keep 3 clean sheets, and 4 wins, in their last 6 league games. They will be looking to Jonathan Walters at 13/2, Mame Biram Diouf at 7/1 and Peter Crouch at 7/1 to break through the Toon defence.



The 11th place Toon saw their first league win of 2015 at Hull last Saturday, and have already beaten Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton at home this season. With Cisse back from the African Cup of Nations, he is at 9/2 to score first on 9 goals, whilst Perez is 11/2 with 5 and Sissoko is at 10/1 on 3 goals. Our clients are expecting Newcastle to leapfrog Stoke at a slim Newcastle/Stoke Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 0.2-0.4, with a tight Total Goals spread betting quote of Total Goals spread of 2.3-2.5.

Finally, 3rd place Manchester United, fresh off their FA Cup win against Cambridge, travel to Upton Park to play 8th place West Ham at 4.15pm on Sky Sports 1. The Hammers just got fined £71,000 for fielding an ineligible Diafra Sakha against Bristol in the FA Cup; however, the continued return of their top scorer will help West Ham, who have only lost 1 of their last 11 league home games.



Manchester United haven’t had the best away form of late, but with the likes of van Persie, Wayne Rooeny and Juan Mata available to them, will be confident they can get something against the East London side. However, the Premier League’s other surprise success story of the season, Southampton, managed a win, so West Ham shouldn’t be counted out yet. Regardless, United are favourites at a Manchester United/West Ham (h) Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 0.45-0.65 with a Total Goals spread of 2.65-2.85.