English Premier League – Match Day 9 Tips and Predictions
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Arsenal v Tottenham
Derby day in north London to kick off the round. With both teams making such a great start to the season, this match should be the match of the round. 1 point separates these rivals and both teams need to win, both for local bragging rights and in the context of this season. The league leaders, Arsenal, will be hoping their off-season signing Gabriel Jesus keeps up his great form, having provided 5 goals and 3 assists. He will be helped by Bukayo Saka and Granit Xhaka who have provided 4 and 3 assists respectively.
3rd placed Tottenham are coming off a 6-2 win against Leicester. Their Korean superstar, Son Heung-Min finally got on the score sheet after being goalless so far, coming on as a substitute and scoring a hat trick. He along with Harry Kane and Eric Dier need to be on their game if they want to beat their north London rivals.
The match will be shown live on Optus at 9:30pm AEST 1st October.
Odds: Arsenal 2.06
Draw 3.75
Tottenham 3.55
Tip: It will be a typical fiery derby match and with both teams desperate to win, we believe it will end in a draw. 3.75 is great value.
Liverpool v Brighton
An interesting match between a team who has legitimate aspirations to win the league, and the early season surprise package. Liverpool is currently sitting in 8th spot after a slow start to the season. Their last 2 league games have been postponed but they did beat Ajax Amsterdam 2-1 in the Champions League with goals from Mo Salah and Joel Matip. It will be their first match in 18 days so the players should be fresh for this one.
4th placed Brighton have not played since their 5-2 trouncing of Leicester on the 4th September. Since then, their manager, Graham Potter has moved on. Question marks hover around the team and their ability to recover from the set back of losing their coach after only 7 matches. Their defensive line of Joel Veltman, Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster will need to be on their game to repel a hungry Liverpool attack, desperate to make up ground after a disappointing start to the season.
The match will be shown live on Optus at 12:00am AEST 2nd October.
Odds: Liverpool 1.32
Draw 5.20
Brighton 8.80
Tip: We believe that Brighton’s great start to the season will slow down with a team who has not played in almost a month and have lost their coach to help them get there. We expect Liverpool to win comfortably.
Bournemouth v Brentford
A mid table clash between 2 clubs who have had 2 wins each. Brentford is coming off a 3-0 home loss against Arsenal and will want to win to keep in touch with the leading pack. After copping such a score, they will need goalkeeper David Raya and defenders Pontus Jansson and Ben Mee on their game to avoid a similar score line.
Bornemouth are coming off a 1-1 draw away to Newcastle and will need to get a result in order to keep away from the relegation zone. They will be reliant on Jefferson Lerma and Lewis Cook to control and win the midfield battle if they want a result.
The match will be shown live on Optus at 12:00am AEST 2nd October.
Odds: Bournemouth 3.55
Draw 3.45
Brentford 2.10
Tip: We expect Brentford to bounce back after their loss to Arsenal and win at Bournemouth.
Crystal Palace v Chelsea
The home team is hovering dangerously close to the relegation zone and will be desperate to move away from that zone. Their last match was on 3rd September in their 0-0 draw against Newcastle. Wilfried Zaha, Jean-Philippe-Mateta and Jordan Ayew need to find their goal scoring form if they want to leapfrog the other struggling teams.
Chelsea on the other hand will also be playing their first league match since 3rd September, this time with their new coach Graham Potter, though they have played 2 Champions League matches in that time. Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana and Kepa Arrizabalaga will want to get their first league win under their new coach.
The match will be shown live on Optus at 12:00am AEST 2nd October.
Odds: Crystal Palace 4.60
Draw 3.55
Chelsea 1.84
Tip: Difficult game to predict as both teams are displaying inconsistent form. We see the price of 3.55, great value for the draw.
Fulham v Newcastle
3 points separate the 6th placed Fulham and their opponents this week. They are coming off an away win against Nottingham Forest and are riding much higher than anyone expected them to on their return to the Premier League. Aleksander Mitrovic has of course been making the headlines with his goal tally of 6 for the season so far, but he has been helped by players such as Harrison Reed and Tosin Adarabioyo. They will be looking to keep in touch with the leading pack.
10th placed Newcastle have been somewhat inconsistent. Much has been expected of them since the change of ownership of the club and several key signings, but they have so far flattered to deceive. A home draw against an underwhelming Bournemouth in their last match typifies their inconsistency. They will need players such as Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes and Joe Willock firing on all cylinders to get the team to at least the Champions League placings.
The match will be shown live on Optus at 12:00am AEST 2nd October.
Odds: Fulham 3.30
Draw 3.50
Newcastle 2.24
Tip: Value tip of the round goes to Fulham at 3.30 to defeat Newcastle at home.
Southampton v Everton
Both teams will be going into this match on 7 points and only 3 points above the relegation zone. On their day, Southampton has the potential to beat the top teams but then struggle against the lower teams. With the opportunity to move away from the relegation zone at the expense of another struggling team, this could well be the time to get their act together. They need goals scoring talent like Che Adams, Moussa Djenepo and Adam Armstrong to find the net and get Southampton’s season back on track.
Everton are out of the relegation zone but another loss could put them back in, therefore they are desperate to avoid defeat. They will need their defensive line of Nathan Patterson, Conor Coady and Vitaliy Mykolenko to keep out the Southampton threat.
The match will be shown live on Optus at 12:00am AEST 2nd October.
Odds: Southampton 2.15
Draw 3.50
Everton 3.55
Tip: Tough game to pick as both teams are on equal points, but we believe Southampton at home will be too strong against Everton.
West Ham v Wolves
An early season relegation battle sees the 3rd last team at home to the 4th last team. West Ham have 5 losses to their name this season and are in need of a change in their fortune if they want to climb out of the relegation zone. Thilo Kehrer, Kurt Zouma and Vladimir Coufal need to find the answers to their leaky defence if they want to avoid defeat against a fellow struggler.
Wolves on the other hand have 3 losses to their name. 2 points above the relegation zone, they will see this match as an opportunity to climb away from the drop zone. It would be the perfect time for players such as Pedro Neto, Goncalo Guedes and Joao Moutinho to find their goal scoring form.
The match will be shown live on Optus at 2:30am AEST 2nd October.
Odds: West Ham 2.02
Draw 3.45
Wolves 4.00
Tip: We can’t see West Ham winning this match. While Wolves are struggling to score, they have put up some decent defensive performances. Tempting to tip the draw but we believe that Wolves have the firepower to win away from home and the odds of 4.00 are great value.
Manchester City v Manchester United
The second derby of this round sees the favourites to win the league up against their cross-town rivals who have for the longest time had the wood on them. However, the last decade has seen Manchester City become the team that everyone wants to beat. Currently in second place, they will love nothing more than to get one over the Red Devils and continue pushing for the league leadership. Jack Grealish has found some recent form and will be one of the key men for the light blue side of Manchester, along with Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden.
Manchester United after their horrible start to the season now find themselves in 5th place, 5 points behind their cross-town rival. Their last match was against league leaders Arsenal who they beat back on 4th September. They certainly have the artillery to defeat City with players like Antony, Marcus Rashford and Raphael Varane. Local bragging rights are up for grabs in this battle.
The match will be shown live on Optus at 11:00pm AEST 2nd October.
Odds: Manchester City 1.36
Draw 5.60
Manchester United 8.50
Tip: The match will be a lot closer than what the odds suggest. Not much will separate the teams and so we are tipping a draw.
Leeds United v Aston Villa
Despite their mid table position, Leeds are only 1 point ahead of their rivals for this week and are still precariously close to the relegation zone. They do have a match in hand though with the postponement of their previous match but will be looking to use this match to springboard them up the ladder. They have not played for almost a month and their last match was a huge loss against Brentford. They will be relying heavily on Marc Roca, Tyler Adams and Brenden Aaronson in a match they would be expected to win.
Aston Villa are coming off a home win against Southampton courtesy of a goal from Jacob Ramsay. They will want to use that result as a foundation to get their season going again. Much is expected of their Brazilian star Phillipe Countinho who needs to be on his game if he wants to help his team out of their predicament.
The match will be shown live on Optus at 1:30am AEST 3nd October.
Odds: Leeds United 2.52
Draw 3.80
Aston Villa 2.67
Tip: With Leeds being rusty due to lack of matches, plus Aston Villa’s indifferent form, not to mention the price for the draw, we believe the draw is the best value for money in this match.
Leicester City v Nottingham Forest
The battle of the bottom 2 teams and the favourites to get relegated. Leicester has been a major disappointment to say the least. Brendan Rodgers is struggling to find a winning formula that works with the players he has available. However, this would be the perfect time to pick up a win in front of their fans against another struggling team. Their last match was a thrashing against highfliers Tottenham, though both Youri Tielmans and James Maddison got on the score sheet, suggesting they have some firepower.
Nottingham Forest are really struggling and cannot find any answers so far. With a host of signings, it has taken time for the players to gel as a team. They are coming off a 3-2 home loss to Fulham. In the flipside, they did score 2 goals through Taiwo Awoniyi and Lewis O’Brien and will have some confidence going to Leicester.
The match will be shown live on Optus at 5:00am AEST 4nd October.
Odds: Leicester City 1.85
Draw 3.85
Nottingham Forest 4.20
Tip: Although the price is not too enticing, we believe that Leicester will record their first win of the season in front of their fans against the struggling Nottingham Forest.