Premier League Betting: Saturday 3pm Kick-offs

Premier League / Mike Norman / 20 November 2009 / Leave a Comment

Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas may have an even bigger role to play now that his friend and teammate Robin van Persie is on the sidelines

Best Bet: Back Over 3.5 Goals @ [2.86] in Sunderland v Arsenal

Also: Back Under 1.5 Goals @ [3.0] in Birmingham v Fulham; Back Burnley @ [3.65] to beat Aston Villa; Back Any Unquoted Score at [3.85] in Chelsea v Wolves; Back The Draw @ [3.4] in Hull v West Ham

After a dull (if you're English) International break, "Mystical" Mike Norman is delighted to welcome back Premier League action in which he predicts plenty of goals at the Stadium of Light. Best Bet: Back Over 3.5 Goals at [2.86] in Sunderland v Arsenal.

Birmingham [2.6] v Fulham [3.1]; The Draw [3.35]

Birmingham should take a lot of heart from their excellent 2-2 draw at Anfield recently, in fact Alex McLeish's men are on a decent little run, beating Sunderland and drawing with Manchester City prior to that game against Liverpool. Fulham are also on a good run of league form and have now gone five games unbeaten. I think this game has got draw - and a low-scoring one at that - written all over it.

Birmingham's six home games this season have produced an average of just 1.33 goals per game, hardly inspiring ahead of a clash with a team that notoriously score few goals on the road. Under 1.5 Goals can be backed at [3.0], and I'd rather take a chance on this than take the [1.68] about Under 2.5 Goals.

Burnley [3.65] v Aston Villa [2.26]; The Draw [3.45]

Having won five out of six at Turf Moor and only conceded five goals in total (three in one game may I add), I definitely think Burnley should be a little shorter than [3.65] to win this game. Villa have won just two from their last seven Premier League games and have failed to win any of their last four away from home, all against teams that are currently below Burnley in the table. Not surprisingly then, it's a home win for me.

The Latics have scored first half goals in each of their last four games so I'm going to take a chance on Burnley/Burnley at [6.8] in the Half Time/Full Time market with a saver on Burnley/Draw ([18.0]). Also, in the To Score market, Burnley defender and captain Graham Alexander should be available to back at around [8.0]. He has scored three already this season, including in consecutive games against Hull and Man City recently.

Chelsea [1.19] v Wolves [29.0]; The Draw [7.8]

Despite doubts over the fitness of Michael Ballack, John Terry and Didier Drogba, this really should be a stroll in the park for Chelsea. They've won 10 out of 10 at the Bridge this season (all competitions) and have conceded just the once - a remarkably record. Wolves on the other hand have lost heavily already this season, not just to Arsenal, but also to the likes of Blackburn and Sunderland.

The Correct Score market is the one I'm interested in here, with 3-0 (available to back at [7.6]) and Any Unquoted ([3.85]) my preferred choices.

I've backed Michael Essien a few times this season and only collected the once (at decent odds however), so I'm hoping he can provide me with an early Christmas present by scoring his second goal of the season. He can backed at around [20.0] and [7.0] once the First Goalscorer and To Score markets materialise.

Hull [3.05] v West Ham [2.62]; The Draw [3.4]

Hull's only three victories this season have come against teams that are likely to be in and around them in May: Bolton, Wigan and Stoke. This bodes well for the visit of lowly West Ham, though Gianfranco Zola's men have shown signs of a resurgence in form of late. This is a difficult match to call, but if pressed, I'd just go for the draw.

What Zola's men aren't scared to do is score goals - they've now scored at least once in eight consecutive Premier League games. With this is mind I think both the 1-1 and 2-2 draws are worth covering in the Correct Score market - available to back at [7.0] and [18.0] respectively. Other than this, I don't have any strong feelings on this game whatsoever.

Sunderland [6.4] v Arsenal [1.69]; The Draw [3.85]

It remains to be seen how Arsenal cope without the world class Robin van Persie in their ranks for six weeks or so, but I certainly don't think their attack is going to blunted in the way that has been suggested. Sunderland are a decent outfit at the Stadium of Light and I'm predicting a hugely entertaining game that will just go the way of the Gunners.

I'm going to use my 'Best Bet' card in this fixture, and perhaps not surprisingly it's going the way of Over 3.5 Goals at [2.86]. Not only that, I wouldn't put anyone off backing Over 4.5 Goals at [4.8] such is the records of these two teams this season. Games involving Sunderland at home have averaged exactly four goals per game, whilst goal-machine Arsenal have already scored 36 goals themselves in just 11 league fixtures.