Premier League Football – Weekend Betting Preview
To help punters place their football bets, bwin.com has put together a betting preview for all of the top-flight matches due to take place over the third weekend of Premier League action. All odds quoted in the article were correct as of 12:00 on Friday, 26th August but are subject to change.
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There is no doubting the big match of the third weekend of Premier League action, with reigning champions Manchester United ready to take on Arsenal at Old Trafford in Sunday’s 16:00 kick-off. The Gunners go into the match on the back of a turbulent week, with Samir Nasri’s departure to Manchester City tempered by an away success over Udinese in a Champions League play-off which saw them clinch their place in the competition group stage. However, Arsenal’s chances of building on this win have been hit by suspensions for Gervinho and Emmanuel Frimpong, while star midfielder Jack Wilshere is out injured. United are also missing players – including Nemanja Vidic and Rafael – but look good to make it three league wins out of three at odds of 9/20. A win for Arsenal is priced at 13/2 in bwin’s 3Way football betting market, with a draw at 3/1.
Manchester City and Wolves are the two teams keeping pace with United at the top of the table, and the Citizens look the most likely to secure another victory despite taking on a Tottenham team with ambitions of qualifying for the Champions League. Roberto Mancini’s men have looked impressive in the league and, in David Silva, have one of the form players of the season so far. Spurs were brushed aside by Manchester United on Monday and City are good bets to do the same at odds of 7/5. A win for the home team is priced at 37/20 and a draw is at 23/10.
Wolves travel to Aston Villa in their quest for three points, although with their local rivals also on good form they are likely to leave empty handed. Villa are odds on to win at 19/20 , with a draw at 47/20
and victory for Mick McCarthy’s men at 14/5
With this in mind, third-placed Wolves could be leapfrogged by sixth-placed Chelsea over the weekend. The Blues are hosting Norwich at Stamford Bridge and are priced at 11/50 to win, with the Canaries long-shots at 13/1 and a draw at 9/2. Worryingly for the newly-promoted club, they have lost 4-0 in each of their last three visits to Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool are also likely to be above Wolves at the end of Saturday as they are up against Bolton, who they have beaten on each of the last nine occasions the two teams have played. The Reds are priced at 21/50 to make it ten victories in a row, with an unlikely win for the Trotters at 15/2 and a draw at 3/1.
The only other team with more than three points from their opening two league games, Newcastle, also have a good chance of picking up points. The Magpies are up against Fulham, who only managed three victories on the road last season. However, they also drew more games than they lost away from Craven Cottage, suggesting this could be the best option at 9/4. There is further evidence which points towards a draw – the Lilywhites held the Magpies to a 0-0 stalemate in last year’s fixture and also kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 win at St James’ Park in 2009. A Newcastle win is priced at evens and a Fulham victory at 14/5.
At the other end of the table, Wigan face QPR, Swansea take on Sunderland, Blackburn play Everton and West Brom face Stoke.
West Brom are priced at evens to get the better of Stoke, with Roy Hodgson’s men perhaps unfortunate to be pointless having put in impressive performances against Manchester United and Chelsea over the opening two weeks. A Stoke win is available at 14/5 and a draw at 9/4, although with Stoke having played in the Europa League on Thursday a fresh West Brom should have enough in their locker to edge the encounter.
Swansea also look good for a home win at 27/20, with Sunderland 2/1 suffering a poor start to the season. The Swans were particularly impressive at the Liberty Stadium in the Championship last season, and with Sunderland misfiring, a draw 11/5 will be the least Brendan Rodgers is aiming for.
A draw 11/5 looks to be on the cards at the DW Stadium, with Wigan having drawn both of their opening two games of the season – and both of these matches were against newly-promoted clubs. A win for last year’s Championship winners QPR is available at 43/20 and a Wigan victory at 5/4
Finally, Blackburn and Everton are looking for their first points of the season at Ewood Park. Everton might have lost to QPR at home last weekend but are favourites to beat Rovers on their home turf at 5/4. Steve Kean’s men had a strong record at Ewood Park last season but have already lost to Wolves in the 2011-12 campaign, making them outsiders for the win at 21/10. A draw is priced at 23/10.
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