Saturday Football Cheat Sheet: Best bets for Premier League and EFL play-offs

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Premier League football tips and predictions

12:30 - Liverpool v Chelsea: Back 7/1 Bet Builder

Lewis Jones: Chelsea arrive at Anfield on a run of six straight Premier League defeats, with just one goal scored in that sequence. Watching them recently, the biggest issue isn't even individual errors. It's that the collective picture has vanished.

There's no clear structure in possession and far too many players going through the motions as opposed to executing a defined plan. They just don't look like they know what they are anymore...

Given how disjointed Chelsea have looked structurally, Szoboszlai should find opportunities to test the goalkeeper...

Moises Caicedo is a walking embodiment of Chelsea's mood swings this season. Two bookings in his last two outings only reinforce the picture of a midfielder living permanently on the edge of intervention.

15:00 - Sunderland v Man Utd: Back Casemiro headers

Mark O'Haire: I'm happy to swerve the main markets at the available prices and instead invest focus on a pair of props. Casemiro has scored five goals in his last 12 outings with the Brazilian becoming an influential member of the Man Utd side, in and out of possession. The holding midfielder has hit the target in nine of his most recent 14 matches.

Dig a little deeper and Casemiro has landed a Headed Shot on-Target in seven of those aforementioned 14 fixtures and a repeat looks too big to dismiss at 5/2 quotes. After all, he's avergaing a very healthy 0.75 shots per-90 with his head across the Red Devils' past 20 EPL contests. 

Meanwhile, Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey should be capable of giving Man Utd's rearguard a tough afternoon. The physical frontman has committed at least three fouls in three of his last nine appearances, collecting five cards in that same sample. Up against Ayden Heaven and Harry Maguire, Brobbey is 7/5 to commit 2+ Fouls.

15:00 - Fulham v Bournemouth: Back the Cherries

Mark Stinchcombe: Have Fulham checked out of this season's Premier League? They've failed to score in five of their last seven Premier League games and mustered just two shots in the first half last weekend against Arsenal in a match that was over at half-time with them trailing 3-0.

Bournemouth meanwhile are unbeaten in their last 15 league games and are currently in the driving seat for a sixth place finish, though they are only one point clear of Brentford.

Only the top two in Arsenal and Man City have lost fewer Premier League games than Bournemouth's seven this season so it's an easy decision to back the away side with the security of the draw.

Find out why Lewis Jones fancies Fulham for top six

15:00 - Brighton v Wolves: Back Seagulls to bounce back

The Opta Stat: Brighton and Hove Albion saw a run of four wins in five games (D1) halted by a 3-1 defeat at Newcastle last time out. The Seagulls have only lost consecutive Premier League games once this season, in February against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa. 

Wolverhampton Wanderers have scored just seven goals in 17 away Premier League matches this season, an average of just 0.41 per game.

17:30 - Man City v Brentford: Back 6/4 City to bounce back

Paul Higham: City have only conceded the first goal five times this season, but they've dropped 17 points from winning positions - an almost unthinkable number under Guardiola - and with only Liverpool scoring more goals in the final 15 minutes the home fans will be chewing finger nails if this is still close down the stretch.

Guardiola's side are usually pretty good at bouncing back though, and at home they're fast starters - leading at half-time in 12 of 16 Premier League games so far this season, winning nine. And with Brentford going in at the break behind in seven away games and losing all of them, then Man City/Man City HT/FT at 5/6 looks a sound bet.

But clean sheets have been in short supply for City and Brentford have plenty of attacking threat - especially from set pieces and long throws - so I'd expect Keith Andrews' side to get a goal but fully expect City to get the job done.

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EFL play-offs tips and predictions

12:30 Championship - Middlesbrough v Southampton: Back Saints in lively showdown

Jack Critchley: Southampton have collected 56 points since Tonda Eckert was appointed manager, the joint-most in the division alongside Ipswich. They have picked up four more points than Coventry, who were crowned champions just a couple of weeks ago.

Eckert has also taken this group of players to an FA Cup semi-final, where they were eight minutes away from forcing extra time against Manchester City. That experience will be handy over the next couple of weeks, and several squad members, including Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Ryan Manning and Flynn Downes, were also involved in the club's successful 2024 play-off campaign.

Interestingly, Eckert opted for a different approach against Premier League opposition, with the Saints soaking up pressure and hitting their opponents quickly and decisively on the break. He may look to replicate that approach here, given that Boro should have plenty of the ball in this first leg.

20:00 L1 - Bolton v Bradford: Back first leg draw

Alan Dudman: Bradford's home defence is in stark contrast to away from home with 17 conceded in Yorkshire yet is double that away.

It's perhaps a slight worry that they failed to keep a clean sheet from their last six matches in the regular season and the Over and Under 2.5 Goals prices are tricky with 'Yes' at 9/10 and 'No' at 20/23.

During the 2025-26 League One season, Bolton Wanderers had more shots than any other side (772), while only Stevenage (455) faced fewer attempts than the Trotters (461). Meanwhile, the two sides to allow opponents the lowest xG on their goal were Bradford (46.4) and Bolton (48.2).

Now read Alan Shearer on the latest Premier League and Champions League talking points