The Editors' Premier League Betting Battle 2018/19: Round 17

Editor
14 December 2018

Will Andre Schurrle be involved in a goalfest?

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Harry Phillips pulled off a win to take him into third place, while Joe Dyer extended his lead in first. See where the editors' tenners are headed this weekend...

"Caludio Ranieri has steadied the Fulham ship since taking over but he has not put the defence right, the Cottagers conceding in every game of his tenure. Those four fixtures include a pair that breached the 4.5 goal barrier and I fancy we could see fireworks in this one."

Joe Dyer: Back Over 3.5 Goals in Fulham v West Ham @ 2.77/4

Fireworks at the Cottage

Joe Dyer
Back Over 3.5 Goals in Fulham v West Ham @ 2.77/4
Saturday, 17:30

As a rule I don't like backing huge numbers of goals but Fulham v West Ham looks like delivering and the price is big enough to warrant a wager.

West Ham have gone nuts in recent weeks, scoring three goals in each of their last three matches and conceding four to Man City in the game before that run. The Hammers faithful have seen 16 goals at either end across that run.

Caludio Ranieri has steadied the Fulham ship since taking over but he has not put the defence right, the Cottagers conceding in every game of his tenure. Those four fixtures include a pair that breached the 4.5 goal barrier and I fancy we could see fireworks in this one.

West Ham come to the match on a three-game winning streak so should put in a confident performance and I'm sure Ranieri will be pushing his side to deliver in front of the home fans. Fulham's best way of doing that is to attack and so over 3.5 is my play this week.

Joe Dyer 2017-18 P/L: +£48.30

Few goals expected in pre-Christmas six-pointer

Mike Norman
Back Under 1.5 Goals @ 2.89/5 in Huddersfield v Newcastle
Saturday, 15:00

Huddersfield can move level on points with Newcastle with a win but I firmly see this game as one that they'll be desperate not to lose and I don't expect a huge amount of excitement in this six-pointer.

The Terriers have scored fewer goals (10) than any team in the Premier League this season while the Magpies are the joint second lowest-scoring team with just 13 goals to their name.

On top of that Newcastle have already played out three goalless draws away from home this season while Huddersfield went five games on the spin in front of their own fans without scoring a single goal. They've scored just three goals in eight games at the John Smith's Stadium this term.

We can back Under 1.5 Goals at 2.89/5, and while backing 'unders' has never been my favourite kind of bet I'd be very surprised if this game isn't a low-scoring affair. The two matches between the sides last season both finished 1-0. Here's hoping for a repeat.

Mike Norman 2017-18 P/L: +£31.70

Reds to beat bitter rivals with a bit to spare

Harry Phillips
Back Liverpool -1 vs Man Utd @ 2.447/5
Sunday, 16:00

Harry Phillips is away.

Harry Phillips 2017-18 P/L: -£39.60

Austin to motor as Arsenal come to town

Jasmine Baba
Back Charlie Austin to Score Anytime vs Arsenal @ 13/8
Sunday, 13:30
Live on Sky Sports Premier League

My Fulham tip was thrown out of the window and completely destroyed last time out. It turns out their defence still wasn't good enough to take on a Manchester United side in disarray.

I'm going to try a different bet this week. Firstly we know that Arsenal's defence still suffers from the usual old problems; they've conceded the most goals in the top five, averaging 1.25 goals per game but to add insult to injury (no pun intended) they're without Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos due to suspension. Luckily Koscielny is back, but it's unclear if he'll feature on Sunday after playing 82 minutes in their Europa League midweek fixture.

Even with a full strength defence, Arsenal are still prone to goals. Southampton are finding their feet with a new manager in Ralph Hasenhuttl and with Charlie Austin netting against Tottenham, he's likely to be the start of their change in form. And guess what, Austin has scored in all four of his Premier League games against the Gunners. Back him to score here at 13/8.

Jasmine Baba 2017-18 P/L: -£60.30

Foxes can clip Eagles' wings

Dan Thomas
Back Leicester to beat Crystal Palace at 3.052/1
Saturday, 15:00

Trust me to pick Man City for their first defeat of the season last weekend, but hope springs eternal especially when a team are bigger than 2/1 to beat one of the worst performing sides in the league.

Palace may have beaten Burnley last time out at Selhurst but that was their first home win of a hugely disappointing home campaign so far and they will be missing talisman Wilfried Zaha, who is suspended.

Leicester lost to Tottenham last weekend but that was their first defeat in eight and their team news is more positive, with key man Jamie Vardy returning from injury.

The Foxes looked a little lost without Vardy's ability to run in behind against Spurs but with him back in the ranks, I'm more than happy to take the 3.052/1 on Claude Puel's men to pile on Palace's misery.

Dan Thomas 2017-18 P/L: -£108.40

***

For individual match previews of every single Premier League game visit our dedicated Premier League section here on Betting.Betfair.

The Editors' 2018/19 P/L:

1. Joe Dyer +£48.30
2. Mike Norman +£31.70
3. Harry Phillips -£39.60
4. Jasmine Baba -£60.30
5. Dan Thomas -£108.40

Bet 10 Get 2

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Recommended bets

Joe Dyer: Back Over 3.5 Goals in Fulham v West Ham @ 2.77/4
Mike Norman: Back Under 1.5 Goals @ 2.89/5 in Huddersfield v Newcastle
Harry Phillips: Back Liverpool -1 vs Man Utd @ 2.447/5
Jasmine Baba: Back Charlie Austin to Score Anytime vs Arsenal @ 13/8
Dan Thomas: Back Leicester to beat Crystal Palace at 3.052/1