Wolves v Leeds free betting tips: Best bets and Premier League preview
Football betting tips: Wolves v Leeds
1pt Ruben Neves to score any time at 9/2 (Paddy Power)
1pt Patrick Bamford to have 1+ headed shot on target at 2/1 (Sky Bet)
0.5pt Patrick Bamford to have 2+ headed shots on target at 18/1 (Sky Bet)
Wolves v Leeds
- 20:00 GMT on BT Sport 1
- Match Odds: Home 29/20 | Draw 12/5 | Away 9/5
Wolves entertain Leeds at Molineux on a Friday night. And that’s the key word - entertain.
Leeds have been thrilling, relentless and a breath of fresh air this season. Last time out against Arsenal, they refused to park the bus against a traditional 'big-six' side and played an open and expansive game.
At first, it seemed tactically naïve. They went 4-0 down in the 47th minute. But then a curious thing happened. Pascal Struijk rose highest to head home a corner before Leeds pulled another one back through Helder Costa.
For 15 brief minutes every Leeds fan thought they’d come back and earn a famous 4-4 draw. Every neutral wanted them to.
It didn’t happen. Arsenal closed out the game, one which but for two Leeds chances, they’d have been comfortable winners.
But that’s Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds. Uncompromising in their approach. It’s led to thrashings against Leicester and Man Utd, but big wins against Newcastle and West Brom. Just four sides have scored more goals than Leeds in the league, only one side has conceded more.
When Wolves were first promoted to the Premier League two seasons ago, they were labelled the great entertainers.
Lately though, things have gone stale. In their last match they got a much-needed come-from-behind victory at Southampton to end a run of one win in 10. It was a game that needed an unjust penalty decision against the Saints to get Wolves going offensively.
In their past five matches, only two have seen more than one goal scored. Right now, the West Midlands side are everything Leeds are not.
And yet for all their differences, Leeds are just two points ahead of Wolves with the pair sitting 11th and 12th in the league - pleasantly mid table.
And it’s exactly where both belong, with their expected positions being the same according to Infogol.
Differing styles, but a similar substance.
It’s a classic case of bet with your head not with your heart. Away from home and coming off the back of a defeat which should’ve been by four clear goals, Leeds are under-valued at 2/1 to win outright.
The problem is so many punters take a chance on them. After all, who wants to back the team playing boring football?
With the outrights so skewed and total goals bets so unpredictable in this match-up, I’d urge you to play it safe with some stats bets.
Mark O'Haire got it spot on last week, correctly calling Patrick Bamford to have one header on target at 9/4.
That price has hardly dropped at 2/1 despite Arsenal’s back four being superior to Wolves’ on paper.
Only Harry Kane (3.70) has averaged more attempts at goal than Bamford (3.57) this season. Almost half of those efforts have arrived with his head, while Leeds deliver the division’s fourth-most crosses.
It's good enough for me, in fact I’m also going to throw my loose change at the forward getting multiple headers on target at 18/1 with Sky Bet.
I’m tempted by a couple of any-time scorer bets. Wolves’ Ruben Neves seems overpriced at 9/2 with Paddy Power. The Portugal midfielder has found the net in the last two fixtures Wolves have broken the deadlock, while Leeds have kept just one clean sheet in their past seven.
When Wolves score, Neves tends to get in on the action.
If you must go for an outright, pick a draw at 12/5. Like I said, these two teams may differ in style, but when it comes to substance, there's a reason only two points separate them in the table.
Score prediction: Wolves 1-1 Leeds (Sky Bet odds: 11/2)
Wolves v Leeds best bets
- 1pt Ruben Neves to score any time at 9/2 (Paddy Power)
- 1pt Patrick Bamford to have 1+ headed shot on target at 2/1 (Sky Bet)
- 0.5pt Patrick Bamford to have 2+ headed shots on target at 18/1 (Sky Bet)
Odds correct at 12:00 GMT 18/02/21
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