As we head into the winter, this season of the English Premier League has been a strangely exciting one – although not as competitive at the top as last season proved to be, when Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea were in a neck-and-neck contest for the Championship. This season Chelsea look almost unbeatable, and comfortably on top. Some people already claiming they could be the next invincibles (hard to believe – but this is Jose Mourinho after all…). But if the recent good form shown by Manchester City, especially by super star striker Sergio Aguero, is anything to go by, there are still 24 matches to go in this season, and Jose Mourinho cannot take anything for granted as yet.
At the lower half of the table, things are a lot more interesting, if somewhat crowded, with little separating any of the sides – as can be witnessed by the fact that Paul Lambert’s Aston Villa, who currently rank 12th in the standings as of now, are only 4 points above the relegation zone, with 35% of the season already completed. So, there’s little margin for error in this season of the EPL, whether at the top or at the bottom, and sides that go on a winning run of even a couple of matches, as Burnley did, could so very easily transform an entire campaign. So allow us at Live Betting to get you ready for the weekend with our Premier League Betting Preview.
Premier League Betting Preview to start the weekend
Yet no matter how things change, a few things remain the same – the familiar gang of Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool are once again expected to fill up the top four spots, as Southampton and West Ham seem to have lost momentum after a brilliant start to the season. This December, we expect the cream to rise to the top, and the pretenders to settle for a mid-table finish, and a real mess at the bottom half of the table, as nobody would be quite sure about which 3 teams are the most likely to get relegated. Read on for the previews of Round 15 of the English Premier League.
Newcastle v Chelsea
Newcastle has been on a spectacular run, with 5 straight wins, which propelled them from the relegation zone to dreaming about Europe. But with only a draw from the last two matches, and with injuries to goalkeeper Tim Krul and captain Fabricio Coloccini, Newcastle seem to have hit a bit of a road block. To expect them to beat Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea would probably be asking too much from them. Manager Alan Pardew would rather focus on matches against less capable sides, than worry too much about getting one over Mourinho. Chelsea are without Nemanja Matic (suspended) and Gary Cahill (injured), but should be fine with star striker Diego Costa coming back.
The Live Betting Team predication: Newcastle 1 Chelsea 3
Chelsea to beat Newcastle 3-1, odds at Bet365 currently @ 13.5. A £25 bet on these odds would return you a profit of £312.50.
Liverpool FC v Sunderland
Liverpool FC did spectacularly well to win 3-1 against Leicester after coming from behind, with goals from ket players Steven Gerrard, Henderson and Lallana. Rickie Lambert has been quite effective up front, much more so, it may be argued, than the mercurial Mario Balotelli. Liverpool are on the way up and should compete for a Champions League spot. We don’t see Sunderland really doing anything much at Anfield, and surely, not even their fans expect them to.
The Live Betting Team prediction: Liverpool 2 Sunderland 0
Liverpool FC to beat Sunderland 2-0, odds at 188BET currently @ 7.7. A £25 bet on these odds would return you a profit of £167.50.
Tottenham v Crystal Palace
Tottenham lost tamely to Chelsea, without even putting much of a fight, as they always tend to do against the big teams. Crystal Palace lost to, to a single Aston Villa goal, but they did do far better and put up a real fight, with Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie being really quite good in the attack, without really getting something for it. Crystal Palace may get an upset win against Tottenham at the White Hart Lane, as the team looks together, hungry, led brilliantly by inspirational captain, Mile Jedinak.
The Live Betting Team prediction: Tottenham 2 Crystal Palace 3
Crystal Palace to beat Spurs 3-2, odds at Betfair currently @ 55.00. A £25 bet on these odds would return you an amazing profit of £1,350.00.
QPR v Burnley
This is an interesting match as both QPR and Burnley have been in the relegation zone for almost the entire season. However, both sides have shown excellent recent form – with Burnley unbeaten in their last 4 matches, with 2 wins and QPR getting 7 points from their last three. Harry Redknapp is an experienced manager who has pretty much done it all in his decades long career, and would be up for a fight. This is a the 6 pointer that many neutrals would find interesting. Hard to pick a winner though.
The Live Betting Team prediction: QPR 1 Burnley 1
To take the 1-1 score draw in this match, odds at 188BET are currently @ 6.2. A £25 bet on these odds would return you a tidy profit of £130.00.
Hull v West Brom
Hull City and West Brom are placed 17th and 16th on the league standings respectively, so it’s fair to say that both teams have found the Premiership quite tough to handle. Hull haven’t won in their last 8 matches and Wes Brom haven’t got even a point from their last 4 matches. So, both sides are in terrible current form, and one would be surprised to see a result in this match as both Hull and West Brom would be terrified of another defeat. Expect a scoreless draw.
The Live Betting Team prediction: Hull 0 West Brom 0
The 0-0 bore draw result in this game will fetch you odds @ 9.00 with 188BET. A £25 bet on these odds would return you a cool profit of £200.00.
Stoke v Arsenal
Arsene Wenger has come in for heavy criticism this season, and there were massive protests against him by Arsenal fans after the defeat at home to Manchester United. Many have compared to the new tension between Wenger and Arsenal fans as a great marriage turning sour, and on the veryge of divorce. It wouldn’t be too much to expect a surprise result in this match, as Arsenal don’t look too confident and have never won in their last three visits to Stoke’s home ground, Brittania stadium. Stoke City Manager Mark Hughes would love to get a great result this Saturday, and he probably will.
The Live Betting Team prediction: Stoke City 2 Arsenal 1
To take Stoke City to beat Arsenal 2-1 at 188BET, the odds are currently @ 15.00. A £25 bet on these odds would return you a profit of £350.00.
Man City v Everton
Manchester City have finally found their feet in the season, having won three on a trot, and are comfortably in the second spot. Sergio Aguero, their star striker, is already being compared to the likes of Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo, although, that’s not really a fair comparisom yet. Aguero is really quite good, and there can’t be a better finisher in world football than him, but he is still nowhere close to Messi or Ronaldo. But he is likely to be more than a handful for Roberto Martinez’s Everton, who are unlikely to hold him off. Everton defenders, Distin and Jagielka have been ineffective this season, and Everton have let in a plenty of goals. The Everton midfield of Mirallas, Osman, Barkley and Besic does not inspire confidence either. And neither Romelu Lukaku nor Samuel E’to have done much up front the whole season. We expect another easy win for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
The Live Betting Team prediction: Manchester City 4 Everton 1
For Man City to beat Everton 4 goals to 1, the odds with 188BET are @ 19.5. A £25 bet on these odds would return you a profit of £462.50.
West Ham v Swansea
West Ham have done well enough against sides of a similar or lower quality, but have struggled against the top sides. But this has been more than enough as they are placed fifth on the league table. Manager Sam Allardyce can’t honestly expect to be there by the end of the season, but should fancy his chances against a team such as Swansea. With Stewart Downing and Kevin Nolan in the midfield, West Ham have the grim determination required to succeed in top flight football, and one can’t see Garry Monk’s Swansea upsetting them this Saturday.
The Live Betting Team prediction: West Ham 2 Swansea 0
West Ham to win 2-0 at Betfair, the odds are @ 12.00. A £25 bet on these odds would return you a profit of £275.00.
Aston Villa v Leicester
Aston Villa started the season brightly, but then went on an extended losing streak, which saw the fans losing faith in the management. This led to the exit of Roy Keane from the Villa set-up. But manager Paul Lambert has turned things around somewhat as Villa haven’t lost in their last 4 matches. Leicester on the other hand have scored only 3 goals in their last 7 matches and with only 10 points, are the worst team in the English Premier League. They did well to get into top-flight football for this season, but it does look like a short stay for them, before they get back their natural habitat – the Championship.
The Live Betting Team prediction: Aston Villa 1 Leicester 0
Villa to sneak a 1-0 win over Leicster, the odds you are looking at with William Hill are @ 8.00. Having a £25 bet on these odds would return you a profit of £175.00.
Southampton v Man Utd
These are the sort of matches Alex Ferguson’s Man United would win comfortably. A lot of confidence was lost in the David Moyes era, but things are looking much better with Louis Van Gaal firmly in charge. Looking back, the signing of Angel Di Maria was the turning point for Van Gaal, and since then, in spite of a couple of upsets, Man United have been very much on the way up. They are back in the top four, which is great news for Manchester United fans, who could barely digest another season out of Europe. The Southampton has been pricked by the losses to Manchester City and Arsenal, so reality has suddenly dawned upon the small club from the south coast of England. They are likely to be without key midfielder Schneiderlin and Tadic could be out too, after being taken off early against Arsenal. We expect another easy win for Loius Van Gaal’s men.
The Live Betting Team prediction: Southampton 1 Manchester United 3
Last but not least, Man Utd to pick up an away win over Southampton by a 2 goal margin at 3-1, will get you huge odds currently at 188BET @ 20.00. By placing a £25 bet on these odds would return you a jaw dropping profit of £475.00.
Best of luck this weekend with any of your live betting over the weekend – be sure to check the latest odds from all the bookmakers you can whilst In-Play for the greater value odds.
The Live Betting Team.
Odds correct at time of writing – 05/12/2014 11:00 (UTC)
Bet amount use is for illustrative purposes only – always read the terms and conditions with each bookmaker before joining and placing a bet.
