Friday Football Tips: Keep Kamara in focus

Boubacar Kamara is a player props punters should very much have on their radar.

The new Aston Villa signing picked up 10 cards last season at Marseille and it's no surprise to see him keeping referees busy in the early matches of his Premier League career.

Kamara leads the league for fouls per game - he's averaging 2.5 - while he's also in the top 10 for tackles made.

Those figures are yet to translate into a torrent of cards - Kamara has collected just one for Villa in his opening six games - but if such numbers continue the bookings look sure to follow.

Villa, who lead the league for fouls committed and come into this game outside the relegation zone only on goals scored, really need to fight at the moment so expect the all-action midfielder to be putting himself about in a match which the home fans will expect to be winning.

Kamara is 11/4 to be shown a card.

Admittedly, this week isn't the optimal time to back him in this market as the referee is Tony Harrington, not one of the strictest around.

However, high foul counts can trigger most officials and, as already said, I'm keen to get with Kamara in this market right now.

Even if it doesn't happen this week, Kamara will be worth tracking in the games ahead - I always hope people who read this column take the info on board for the future, regardless of how the actual recommended bet turns out on the day.

In the here and now, I'll combine a Kamara card with 1+ shot for Mohammed Salisu.

The Southampton defender is a player I've mentioned on these pages before but he continues to be priced up incorrectly, in my opinion.

A big threat from set-pieces, Salisu has managed a shot in four of his six games this season. Go back to last term and it's now 1+ shot in 12 of his last 22 appearances.

Yet 7/5 is on offer here and that looks too big given both his long-term numbers and the fact that Villa sit fourth in Opta's table for set play expected goals against (SP xGA).

Double the two bets up in a Bet Builder and you get a price of just over 8/1.

And don't forget, you can back this for FREE by taking up Betfair's free £2 Bet Builder offer on any Premier League game this weekend!

Read Mark O'Haire's in-depth preview of Villa v Southampton!