After a week of cup football that saw Man City and Arsenal book their place in the EFL Cup final and some entertaining action in the FA Cup fourth round, it’s time to refocus on the Premier League. It’s the traditional set of January midweek fixtures on Tuesday and Wednesday which are set to be as pivotal as ever.
With clubs working hard behind the scenes to strengthen their squads and time starting to run out, this is always a very important time of the season. Teams can either get some momentum going that gets them out of trouble or be pulled into a cycle of defeats. Whichever way it goes for individual clubs, there is profit to be made with the bookies which is why we’ve picked out our choice of the best bets from the midweek football below.
- West Ham v Crystal Palace – The Draw (9/4 with BetVictor)
- Huddersfield v Liverpool – Liverpool to Win and Over 2.5 Goals (Evens with Betfair)
- Everton v Leicester – Leicester to Score Over 1.5 Goals (33/20 with Coral)
- Stoke v Watford – The Draw (13/5 with BetVictor)
- Newcastle v Burnley – Only One Team to Score (11/10 with Ladbrokes)
- Tottenham v Man Utd – Both Teams to Score (4/5 with Bet365)
West Ham v Crystal Palace – 30th January
In typical West Ham fashion, David Moyes had just found a system that works with Marko Arnautovic and Manuel Lanzini playing together upfront and both players picked up hamstring injuries. Arnautovic and Lanzini are not the only injury concerns West Ham have at the moment which makes this next six to eight weeks critical in their fight to avoid relegation.
Despite improving recently, Crystal Palace are not out of the woods yet. The Eagles were hammered 4-1 by Arsenal last time out. That defeat will leave some scars so expect Roy Hodgson to set Palace up to be nice and compact at the London Stadium.
Both teams need a win and so, in typical fashion, they’re both likely to disappoint by securing just one point a piece. New managers have worked wonders at both clubs but we fancy they will cancel each other out here.
The Draw – 9/4 with BetVictor
Huddersfield v Liverpool – 30th January
Liverpool were caught cold by Swansea on last Monday. Jurgen Klopp’s men arrived at the Liberty Stadium as the clear favourites with the bookies but failed to take any of their chances in the first half and went in to the break 1-0 down. From then on it was attack against defence as Swansea held on for the three points.
That was a massive result for Swansea, just as a Huddersfield win would be for the Terriers. Huddersfield are very much in the throng of teams in the bottom half of the Premier League who are threatened by relegation. Whereas Liverpool’s defeat last week was their first in 15 Premier League games, Huddersfield have lost their last three on the spin by a combined total of 9-1. David Wagner’s men are conceding all too easily at the moment and have taken just three points from the last 18 on offer. With Liverpool looking to bounce back from their loss at Swansea, they could score any number on Tuesday so back the away team to win and over 2.5 goals at very nice odds of evens with Betfair.
Liverpool to Win and Over 2.5 Goals – Evens with Betfair
Everton v Leicester – 31st January
Burnley and Leicester are probably the only Premier League teams outside of the top six who are safe from the threat of relegation. It looked as though Everton were among that number following the appointment of Sam Allardyce but the Toffees’ form has fallen off a cliff recently and once more they are looking over their shoulders.
Having been knocked out of the FA Cup, Allardyce has a bit of extra time on the training ground with his team. He’s been complaining about his players failing to follow the plan that’s been set for them but for many Everton fans it’s the plan itself that’s the main problem.
Despite taking a defensive approach, Everton have conceded nine goals in their last four league matches. They’ve also scored just four in six which is especially troubling ahead of the Leicester match. The Foxes appear to be pulling in the same direction and with their attacking threat they look a big price to score two or more goals at 33/20 with Coral. Jamie Vardy, Riyadh Mahrez and co are in red hot form at the moment and they have a good recent record against the Toffees which we fancy could continue here.
Leicester to Score Over 1.5 Goals – 33/20 with Coral
Stoke v Watford – 31st January
The Watford owners don’t mess about. They had one of the most highly coveted managers in the Premier League in Marco Silva but had no problems sacking him when the team’s form dipped. They also wasted no time with his replacement, bringing in Javi Gracia on the same day they sacked Silva.
It was a very different at Stoke. Peter Coates did all he could to avoid sacking Mark Hughes and only made the decision reluctantly. They then went around the houses trying to find his successor, eventually appointing their fifth or sixth choice, Paul Lambert.
However they got the job, there is no time to waste for Lambert and Gracia. Stoke have to pull away from the relegation zone as quickly as possible while Watford need to get back to the levels they reached just a few short months ago. A win would be massive for either side at the Bet365 Stadium but it’s the draw that looks the best value at 13/5 with BetVictor.
The Draw – 13/5 with BetVictor
Newcastle v Burnley – 31st January
Burnley were arguably the story of the first half of the season. Sean Dyche’s men had been tipped to struggle in the Premier League but the Clarets looked more likely to qualify for Europe than to be relegated. Throughout their good spell, Burnley built up a reputation as 1-0 specialists. Unfortunately, they’ve been on the wrong end of some tight games recently and it’s now seven league matches without a win for Dyche’s men.
Newcastle’s recent form is better than Burnley’s but the longer term picture is rather less rosy. Rafa Benitez’s men are just one point above the relegation zone and have to fight for every single point available from now until the end of the season. With two teams struggling for confidence and points, Wednesday’s game at St James’ Park is set to be a tight one. It could go either way but it’s highly unlikely to be a high scoring thriller so have a bet on just one team scoring at 11/10 with Ladbrokes.
Only One Team to Score – 11/10 with Ladbrokes
Tottenham v Man Utd – 31st January
Fans of Man Utd’s rivals have started singing a song recently about United parking the bus and it being “football the Mourinho way.” Criticisms of Mourinho’s style of play are water off a duck’s back to Man Utd fans and certainly to the boss when their team is winning but it’s a different story when results don’t go their way.
Take Man Utd’s 1-0 win over Tottenham. The 70,000 or so United fans who headed to Old Trafford in October left the ground happy with the win despite the relatively defensive game plan. They were rather less happy with Mourinho’s tactics when Man City won at Old Trafford.
It remains to be seen whether Mourinho will go for it a bit more now that he has Alexis Sanchez. But at Wembley, the Portuguese may have no choice. Tottenham have failed to score in just one home league game this season so Man Utd will surely have to attack to get anything out of Wednesday’s match. This could go either way so expect both teams to score at 4/5 with Bet365.
Both Teams to Score – 4/5 with Bet365