Premier League: Pragmatism may suit Spurs and Everton while Hull are the new entertainers

Dan Thomas
29 September 2014

Plenty of entertainment from Bruce's Hull this season

Join

Twitter

Facebook

View the Betslip

In our regular look at the betting pointers from the Premier League weekend, Dan Thomas and Joe Dyer suggest some ways punters can benefit from the tactical approach of Martinez, Pochettino, Bruce and others...

"Everyone knows the Pochettino blueprint - aggressive pressing and quick passing - but it seems that it might be suiting Tottenham's away performances right now while the players adjust, something for punters to bear in mind."

1) Tottenham may be a better away proposition while Pochettino's ideas bed in

After a terrible performance at home to West Brom and unconvincing win over a second string Nottingham Forest, many Tottenham fans were fearing the worst ahead of the north London derby at the Emirates, but their team put in a committed performance and were well worth a point.

Despite Arsene Wenger's complaints, Mauricio Pochettino set his team up perfectly, inviting Arsenal on before hitting them on the break. If it wasn't for some poor final balls when the breaks took place, it could have been even better for Tottenham.

Everyone knows the Pochettino blueprint - aggressive pressing and quick passing - but it seems that it might be suiting Tottenham's away performances right now while the players adjust, something for punters to bear in mind. A price of 2.226/5 at home to impressive Southampton looks a touch on the short side, especially with the dreaded Europa League hangover in mind.

2) Anfield performance highlights value of pragmatism for Everton

In the pre-match press conference, Roberto Martinez insisted he would never set a team up with the intention of getting a draw but, after conceding a bucketload of goals in their first few games, the Everton manager opted for a solid three-man midfield at Anfield and it paid off.

The Toffees were not much of an attacking force until the latter stages of the game, but they restricted space for the Liverpool forwards and you'd expect Martinez to do the same at Old Trafford next weekend. Under 2.5 Goals is an attractive looking 2.526/4 right now.

3) Hull are the new entertainers

Want to see goals in the Premier League? Then go see a Hull game. Only Everton and Chelsea fans have seen more goals than the Hull City faithful in the six rounds of top-flight action so far this season.

It's an odd situation as few fans would have seen this coming. Hull were the fourth lowest scorers in last season's Premier League, beating the opposition's keeper on 38 occasions, a rate of precisely one per game. However, they have already scored nine times this season while conceding 11.

Steve Bruce has signed a number of attack-minded players and appears to be struggling to weave all that talent together, given they haven't won since the opening game of the season.

Hull play Crystal Palace on Saturday and it's a surprise to see Over 2.5 Goals trading at 2.166/5 when the trends all point to a high-scoring encounter. Hull's last four Premier League games have seen 17 goals while Palace scored three past Newcastle and Everton in recent weeks.

4) Neil Warnock has hit the ground running at Palace

On the back of that unbelievable 5-3 win over Manchester United, Leicester headed to south-east London in confident mood but they were well beaten in the end by a Palace team who managed to add some of last season's solidity to the attacking verve of recent weeks.

The 2-0 win means it's eight points from four games since Neil Warnock returned to the Selhurst Park hotseat and it's looking rosy right now for Palace, who are 3.412/5 for relegation having been matched at a low of 2.3211/8. At the moment that's more of a lay than a back.

5) West Brom are getting it together

What a week it has been for Alan Irvine and his West Brom team. A deserved 1-0 win at White Hart Lane last weekend followed by progress in the Capital One Cup in midweek then a dismantling of a previously solid Burnley side on Sunday.

It was a slow start to the season but the Baggies look to have a solid spine, with Foster in goal, new boy Lescott in defence, Morrison and Gardner in the middle and the on-fire Berahino (five goals in eight) up front. They're a juicy 5.49/2 to nick a draw at misfiring Liverpool - who have a big Champions League clash in midweek - next time out. Could be the Cash Out opportunity of the weekend.