Sheffield United v Crystal Palace Tips: Shoot for profit

• Ahmedhodzic has landed 1+ shot in 15 of 16

• Eze 2+ shots in 7 of 10 under Hodgson

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Sheffield United v Crystal Palace
Saturday 12 August, 15:00

The opening weekend of a season is always tricky for props punters.

Pre-season data sets are very limited so if numbers are your things, there's always a certain reliance on the previous campaign - and clearly things may have changed since then.

It's the same issue for the layers, I guess, but they've also taken the chance to reset their markets, taking into account those figures from last season. Some players who consistently offered value do so no longer.

The brave will take a chance of a long shot or two but in a bid to keep things ticking over - we've had three winners in the past week - I'm simply going for a bet I think should win.

Both selections are in the shots markets, each having proved their ability to land what is required.

Leg 1: Anel Ahmedhodzic 1+ shot

We'll start with Sheffield United defender Anel Ahmedhodzic, who managed 1+ shot in 15 of his last 16 games of the 2022/23 campaign.

He's a big aerial threat from set pieces an area where Palace have long-standing problems - they conceded 21 goals from such situations last season, five more than any other team.

Given that, 2+ at 9/52.80 is certainly worth considering by those seeking a bigger price.

My worry there is this could turn out to be a bad day for the hosts, whose preparation for the season has been poor both in terms of results and player movement.

Off-field issues, which resulted in the sale of Sander Berge earlier this week, mean it's easy to suggest the squad is weaker now than it was when winning promotion from the Championship. There are injuries for a clearly unhappy Paul Heckingbottom to deal with too.

Leg 2: Eberechi Eze 2+ shots

Palace should be able to take advantage, although they also have injury problems too, notably losing Michael Olise.

With stalwart Wilfred Zaha also gone, it may take a few weeks for a new-look Palace to find their feet so I'm not prepared to back them for victory at 6/52.20.

I am, however, happy to turn to the man who will be expected to step up to the plate in this match and that's Eberechi Eze.

He's emerged as a real star at Palace and Zaha's departure should see him and Olise (when fit) take centre stage.

Eze should see plenty of the ball here and can manage 2+ shots against what could well be a side out of their depth.

After coming back into the starting XI when Roy Hodgson was reappointed manager in March, the 25-year-old managed that in seven of his 10 starts.

The Bet Builder double pays 21/202.05.