Sports Blog 27/08/2015: Match Preview – Premier League, Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th August 2015

There is less than a week before the transfer window closes next Tuesday, and Premier League managers up and down the country are contending with the chaos ahead of this weekend’s games.

First up on Saturday is a trip up north for Arsenal, as they visit Newcastle at 12.45pm on BT Sport 1. In Wenger’s own words, Arsenal have looked ‘very average’ so far this season; that opening 2-0 loss against West Ham got things off to an awful start, and was followed by an unconvincing 2-1 win over Crystal Palace and an admittedly exciting 0-0 draw against Liverpool. The lacks of goals has called in question the Arsenal manager’s transfer tactics once again, especially since no-one seems to be on their way to the red side of North London. Granted the Gunners have looked livelier since Alexis Sanchez (at 9/2 to score first) came into the fold, but is hasn’t been enough to yield a truly impressive performance just yet.



The Gunners may, however, benefit from a slightly more tired Toon. Newcastle took part in the 2nd round of the League Cup on Tuesday, and though their 4-1 over Northampton wasn’t particularly troublesome, and included a debut goal for new signing Florian Thauvin (12/1 to score first on Saturday), it still leaves Arsenal with the fresher legs. The Toon have looked a bit tougher under Steve McClaren; a 2-2 opening draw against last season’s stars Southampton was a good result, and whilst they followed that up with a 2-0 defeat to Swansea holding Man United to a goalless draw is nothing to be sniffed at.

Our Spreadex traders seems to think, however, that this weekend’s game could see the Gunners return to form, and are offering an Arsenal/Newcastle (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.9-1.1 with a Total Goals spread of 2.75-2.95.

Saturday’s other televised game is another North London affair, with Tottenham hosting Everton at 5.30pm on Sky Sports 1. Though arguably less has been made of it, Spurs have gotten off to a similarly limp start as Arsenal this season; an opening day loss to Manchester United was perhaps unlucky, but Tottenham have no-one else but themselves to blame for relinquishing a 2-0 lead against Stoke in the final 12 minutes of the game to end up with a point, before a similar situation against Leicester saw their 3rd game end 1-1. To brighten up their front line Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly chasing Bayer Leverkusen’s Son Heung-min and West Brom’s Saido Berahino to join last year’s hero Harry Kane, though it’s unlikely either would be ready to play at the weekend.



Everton are in the midst of their own transfer saga, if frustratingly in the other direction. Roberto Martinez is reportedly set to reject a request by John Stones to leave the club, as Chelsea continue to circle the young English defender, offering upwards of £35 million to take him to Stamford Bridge. And if their last few games have been anything to go by, the Toffees can’t afford to lose their brightest defensive hope; 2 goals were conceded in their opening draw against Watford, and whilst they kept a clean sheet against Southampton, 2 more were let in against Man City. Those are arguably forgivable; what isn’t, however, is conceding 3 to Barnsley in the League Cup, with only an extra time Marc Roberts own goal and second strike from the in-form Lukaku seeing Everton win 5-3.

Neither has found their footing just yet this season, and it could feasibly be a nightmare afternoon for either team. Our traders, however, fancy the North London side, offering a Tottenham/Everton Goal Supremacy spread of 0.45-0.65 with a Total Goals spread of 2.65-2.85.

Sunday’s first game then sees the out of form Southampton host the freshly promoted Norwich at 1.30pm on Sky Sports 1. The Saints might be about to face the curse of Europa League Thursdays; Southampton have to make a tough trip to Denmark to try and ensure passage to Europe’s second tier competition, before dealing with their league game on Sunday. Everton notably struggled with this schedule last season, and with Southampton getting off to a pretty limp start they could too. Draws against Newcastle and Watford and a 3-0 loss to, incidentally, the Toffees leaves the Saints with only 2 points from a possible 9. And with vultures circling around Sadio Mane (at 13/2 to score first) and Victor Wanyama Ronald Koeman is already in the middle of an uphill battle this season.



Norwich, on the other hand, have gotten off to a pretty decent start for a newly promoted side. An opening day loss against Crystal Palace was hardly desired, but a 3-1 victory over the perpetually dismal Sunderland and a 1-1 draw against the notoriously tricky Stoke leaves the Canaries with a better record than many of the league’s supposedly better sides. A 2-1 win over Rotherham on Tuesday then set up a 3rd round League Cup tie against West Brom in September, and means Alex Neil can be fairly pleased with how his team is progressing at this early stage in the season.

However, European-fatigue or no European-fatigue the Saints have enough quality to trouble the East Anglian side on Sunday, leading our Spreadex traders and customers alike to fancy a Southampton/Norwich Goal Supremacy spread of 0.45-0.65 with a Total Goals spread of 2.45-2.65.

Finally it’s a trip to Wales for Manchester United, as they take on Swansea at 4pm on Sky Sports 1. The Swans have been one of the better sides in the first 3 weeks of the 2015/16 season; a 2-2 opening weekend draw against Chelsea was a fantastic result that saw the side come back twice to snatch a point, whilst a win over Newcastle is exactly the kind of games Swansea need to be winning. A 1-1 draw against Sunderland was a bit of a disappointment, but still leaves the Welsh side undefeated so far, something they maintained with a 3-0 win over York in the League Cup. Especially impressive has been the performance of Swansea’s strikers: Bafetimbi Gomis has got 3 in 3 and is at 11/2 to score first whilst new signing Andre Agew is at 9/1 after scoring in both of his first 2 games.



Frustratingly for Swansea, they are facing a similarly unbeaten Manchester United, fresh off a stellar victory in the Champions League play-offs. United secured their path to the competition proper in style, their 4-0 victory in Belgium completing a 7-1 aggregate win over Club Brugge. More important was the fact that 3 of those goals came from Wayne Rooney, who had been suffering a much-criticised dry spell, with the Scouser going into Sunday favourite to score first at 5-1. What might give Swansea some hope, however, is that United’s European performances have been a far cry from their showing in the league, where they have managed two 1-0 wins and a 0-0 draw. And though that leaves them with 7 points, it does leave a few question marks hanging over Louis van Gaal’s side.

It is this limp league form that explains why United only have a slim advantage over the Welsh side, at a Manchester United/Swansea Goal Supremacy spread betting quite of 0.2-0.4, with a Total Goals spread of 2.4-2.6.