Saturday Football Tips: Plunder fouls market in drop fight

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Seamus Coleman: In for a test up against Gnonto

There's plenty to suggest a high foul count when Everton host Leeds on Saturday - and our football props column has a related 7/1 Bet Builder...

  • Fouls likely; quartet backable

  • Follow Tarkowski again for shots

  • Five-legged Bet Builder pays around 7/1


It could well pay to play the fouls markets in the huge relegation six-pointer between Everton and Leeds on Saturday.

The loser goes even deeper into the mire so the least we should expect is a battling effort - Everton certainly owe their manager and fans one after yet another miserable Merseyside derby display on Monday night.

The foul stats for both teams are encouraging.

Both sit in the top seven for fouls committed, while Leeds are the most-fouled team in the Premier League.

So which players do we target?

Well, I'm intrigued by the battle between Willy Gnonto and Seamus Coleman down the Leeds left.

First up, Gnonto has committed at least one foul in eight of his last nine - he gets the nod in the 1+ fouls market.

But his tricky play has also led to him being fouled regularly - he's been fouled multiple times in eight of 10 since the World Cup.

Coleman's foul figures are fairly low but the stand-in right-back will be tested here and, having failed to stop two Liverpool counter-attacks on Monday when opting not to foul, one would suspect he'll be more prone to using the dark arts here.

That game at Anfield saw Vitaliy Mykolenko commit four fouls, adding to the three he managed against Arsenal in Sean Dyche's other game in charge.

His foul count is higher when playing as a standard left-back in a back four, rather than at wing-back, and as the former he's managed 1+ foul in 14 of his last 16. Leeds like to get the ball wide and he'll be kept busy.

For the visitors Pascal Struijk is added to the 1+ foul team - he's managed this in six of his last seven and is a man who likes a challenge.

Jump on Tarkowski bandwagon

Those four fouls legs can be added to a bet I mentioned the other day, one which looks likely to land a lot during Dyche's reign, namely James Tarkowski for 1+ shot.

The majority of corners under Dyche have sought out Tarkowski at the far post and he's proved difficult to stop, scoring against Arsenal and hitting the post at Anfield.

If this does indeed turn out to be a high-fouls game - and ref Andy Madley is in the top six for fouls per game - opportunities should also come from free-kicks played into the box.

The five-fold Bet Builder pays close to 7/1.

Back Gnonto, Coleman, Mykolenko & Struijk 1+ foul & Tarkowski 1+ shot @

7.8

Premier League: Best Opta-based bets for this weekend!

Recommended bets

Back Willy Gnonto, Seamus Coleman, Vitaliy Mykolenko & Pascal Struijk all 1+ foul & James Tarkowski 1+ shot @ around 7.87/1

Column P/L 2022/23

Staked: 217pts
Returned: 243.83pts
P/L: +26.83pts

Andy Schooler

Andy Schooler has been writing about sport for more than 20 years.

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