The Editors' Premier League Betting Battle 2015/16: Round 15

Mike Norman
Back Southampton -1 to Win v Aston Villa @ 2.56/4
Saturday, 15:00

After going eight games without defeat Southampton have lost three games on the spin, though I'm not too worried just yet.

The Saints lost narrowly at home to a Stoke side who are performing superbly on the road, and Ronald Koeman's men performed well at Man City last weekend in a 3-1 loss. Obviously Southampton's midweek capitulation against Liverpool will be a shock to the system but they've been presented with the perfect fixture to bounce back in style.

Aston Villa are an extremely poor outfit - two points taken from the last 39 available tells you all you need to know - and since Remi Garde's first game in charge, a 0-0 draw with Man City that they really should have lost by a wide margin, they've lost back-to-back league games, conceding seven goals in the process.

True, Villa have found the net with regularity on the road, but most of their goals have come late in games when trailing, and therefore needing to attack. They just don't have the ability to stay in games and keep clean sheets away from home.

In fact Villa have conceded at least two goals in all seven of their away games since they beat Bournemouth on the opening day of the season, and I fully expect a wounded Southampton side to bounce back and put them to the sword on Saturday.

Mike Norman 2015-16 P/L: +£11.40

Joe Dyer
Back Liverpool Win/Over 2.5 Goals double v Newcastle
Sunday, 16:00
Live on Sky Sports 1

Liverpool are one of the form teams in English football right now and few would oppose them extending their current winning run away to relegation-threatened Newcastle this weekend.

The hosts are in turmoil, and Liverpool are not the sort of side they want to be facing right now.

Driven by that non-stop midfield press, and with a fit, healthy and firing Daniel Sturridge to aim at upfront, the Reds are rampant. They won't allow the home side to settle and the goalscoring threat will be constant. Liverpool have scored 14 goals since November, second only to Everton. Newcastle were beaten 5-1 at Crystal Palace last time out. This could be ugly.

How then to back the visitors? The Match Odds price is too skinny for Battle purposes so given their hot goalscoring form, the hosts' porous defence (30 Premier League goals conceded) combining the away win with Over 2.5 Goals seems a sensible combination.

Joe Dyer 2015-16 P/L: +£8.30

Dan Thomas
Back Leicester to beat Swansea at 2.77/4
Saturday, 15:00

I make no apologies for repeating myself - I tipped this bet up in the Monday 'Bets of the Week' column - as I'm struggling to see why the market can barely split the on-fire Foxes and the struggling Swans.

Leicester have won four of the last five and are unbeaten on the road since March, while Garry Monk's men have one win in 11 (and that came against rock bottom Aston Villa).

I'll be having a party round Jamie Vardy's house when this comes in.

Dan Thomas 2015-16 P/L: -£14.30

Luke Moore
Back Everton to beat Crystal Palace at 2.111/10
Monday, 20:00
Live on Sky Sports 1

Everton have put together some notable results at Goodison Park this season, not least their two most recent fixtures at home - a 6-2 pumping of Sunderland and a 4-0 roasting of Aston Villa. Now, I know Crystal Palace aren't bad away from home in the league this season, but I can't look past an odds-against price on a home side with such attacking talent in such good form.

I was impressed with Palace against Newcastle, they did their job properly in the face of some pretty abject football from their opponents who look absolutely destined for relegation. But Roberto Martinez's men are ten times the side that Steve McClaren's lot are and Alan Pardew has had to contend with a few concentration issues here and there - home defeats to Sunderland and West Ham spring to mind - and it'll take a lot to keep Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley quiet, the latter of whom is in the form of his life.

2.111/10 on a home win, all day.

Luke Moore 2015-16 P/L: -£14.70

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