Sports Blog 10/04/2015: Match Preview – Premier League, Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th April 2015

There are only 6 weeks left for the Premier League, and whilst the very top and the very bottom are looking increasingly set in stone, the teams around these peaks and troughs remain very much in the balance.

First up on Saturday, however, sees a decidedly mid-table affair as 8th place Swansea host 12th place Everton at 12.45pm on BT Sport 1. A top ten finish for Swansea would be quite the result, and show real progress from their 12th place finish last year. However, the Welsh side have only won 2 out of their last 6 home games, and may struggle against a newly focused Everton side. Garry Monk will be looking for strong performances from Bafetibis Gomis at 5/1 with 8 goals alongside Gylfi Siguardsson and Marvin Emnes, both at 8/1, in order to build on the 3-1 win over Hull last weekend.



Everton, on the other hand, have looked slightly sprightlier in their two games since crashing out of the Europa League; their 1-0 win over 7th place Southampton was especially notable. However, Swansea have better form against those below than those above, and even a goal scoring Romelu Lukaku, at 5/1 with 18 goals, might not be enough. This has led Spreadex to offer a Swansea/Everton Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 0.05-0.25 with a Total Goals spread of 2.35-2.55.

There is a slight more interesting matchup at 5.40pm on Sky Sports 1, as Arsenal travel up to Burnley. Burnley are sitting in 19th, 4 points above Leicester, who have a game in hand, level on points with 18th place QPR, who have played one more game than Burnley, and 2 points away from 17th place Hull. So to put it simply, Burnely need something, even just a point, from Saturday’s game. It is not all doom and gloom: Burnley did manage to beat Manchester City three games ago, and drew with Tottenham last weekend alongside a draw with Chelsea a few weeks ago. Yet frustratingly Burnley are lacking in firepower, with the third lowest goals scored figure behind only Sunderland and Aston Villa, meaning Sean Dyche desperately needs Danny Ings, on 7/1 with 9 goals, alongside Ashley Barnes and George Boyd, both at 14/1 with 5 goals, to pick up some of the goal-scoring slack.



In contrast, Arsenal are having no problems up front. Currently sitting in 2nd, and with the slimmest of hopes of actually capturing the Premier League title, the Gunners have scored 2 goals or more in 11 of their last 13 away games, largely due to their man of the moment. Olivier Giroud has 10 goals in 10 games (all competitions), and has scored in 6 successive league games; this leaves the Frenchman on 18 goals in total this season, and at 15/4 to score first. On top of this comes Alexis Sanchez, with 20 goals at 11/2, alongside Danny Welbeck, with 8 goals at 6/1. Unsurprisingly, given that Arsenal are, alongside Lazio, the most in form team in Europe, Spreadex have the Gunners as favourites with a Arsenal/Burnley (h) Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 1-1.2 and a Total Goals spread of 2.75-2.95.

Sunday sees a similar top-to-bottom battle, with the London derby of QPR vs Chelsea at 1.30pm on Sky Sports 1. Despite scoring in each of their last 5 games, they all resulted in defeats for QPR, taking them to 9 losses in their past 11 games. Sitting in 18th place and 2 points off of Hull in 17th isn’t a great position for the team that, alongside Aston Villa, have played the most games in the league. This means that Chris Ramsey really needs a (somewhat unlikely) result against Chelsea on Sunday to a) try and keep QPR up, and b) ensure he can keep his job at the end of the season. The chances of a win, or draw, on Sunday will largely be dependent on the performance of Charlie Austin who, with 17 goals at 8/1 to score first, has been the lone bright spot in QPR’s season.



Chelsea remain atop the table, with a game in hand as well as a 6 point lead. The Blues haven’t exactly been great recently, but narrow wins over Hull and Stoke are wins nonetheless, and Chelsea have little left to do to hold off a late in the season push by Arsenal. Diego Costa’s injury gives Loic Remy, at 7/2 with 7 goals, a chance to shine, alongside Eden Hazard the opportunity to catch Costa’s tally up, with the Belgian on 17 goals at 4/1. Given the regularity with which QPR lose, and the fact that Chelsea have only lost 2 league games this season, our Spreadex traders and clients alike fancy the Blues at a Chelsea/QPR (h) Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of 1.3-1.5 with a Total Goals spread of 2.8-3.

Finally, the biggest game of the weekend occurs at 4pm on Sky Sports 1, as Manchester City make the very short trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United. Sitting in 3rd and 4th respectively, this game may not decide the title, or see much change in the make-up of the top four. However, it does provide United the chance to get revenge after last season’s dismal display, alongside the opportunity for City to recapture the form that has abandoned them in the New Year. Coming into this game United have lost the last 4 Manc derbies; however, given their respective positions last year, United might just go into Sunday as the favourites. They have won 13 out of their last 15 home games, with Louis van Gaal teasing out some strong performances to go with United’s consistent form, with Juan Mata especially impressing, leaving the Spaniard at 9/1 to score first with 8 goals.



Despite there only being one point between them, the respective situations for the two Manchester sides at the moment couldn’t be much different. Since Christmas City have been fairly dismal considering they are the current champions. In 2015 City have won 6 games, drawn 3 and lost 7, 5 of which have come in their last 7 games. Given this is a side that recently lost to Burnley of all teams, City will need the kind of magic Sergio Aguero is capable of, with the Argentine at 4/1 to score first with 23 goals. Sunday’s game looks too close to call, with a choice Man United/Man City Goal Supremacy spread betting quote of -0.1-0.1 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.75-2.95. One thing is likely; this could be a very heated derby, so Spreadex is offering a high Bookings spread of 63-67.