Jake Osgathorpe's predictions

Jake Osgathorpe's Premier League tips and Super 6 predictions: 24/25 Matchday 12


  • Jake's Predictions: Staked 130pts | Returned 139.67pts | P/L +9.22pts | ROI 6.2%

Football betting tips: Premier League

Saturday 12:30

2pts Chelsea to win and Under 4.5 Goals vs Leicester (12:30) at 21/20 (Coral, Ladbrokes)

Saturday 15:00

1pt Murillo to win 1+ foul in Arsenal vs N Forest at 5/2 (Sky Bet)

0.5pt Murillo to win 2+ fouls in Arsenal vs N Forest at 16/1 (Sky Bet)

1pt Nikola Milenkovic to win 1+ foul in Arsenal vs N Forest at 11/8 (Sky Bet)

1.5pts Will Hughes to be carded in Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace at 13/5 (Unibet)

1pt Fulham to win and BTTS vs Wolves at 9/4 (Sky Bet, bet365)

Saturday 17:30

1.5pts Man City to win and BTTS vs Tottenham at 7/5 (bet365)

1pt Heung-min Son to score or assist at 9/5 (William Hill)

1pt Erling Haaland to score a header at 7/1 (Betfair, Paddy Power)

Sunday's tips to be added on Friday

Everyone, rejoice! We have no more international breaks until MARCH.

It's club football for four straight months now, meaning we as bettors and fans can hit a rhythm, just the same way players and teams can.

The last edition of this column saw a small loss made, but it could have been so much worst, and we remain in the green for now.

Onto this weekend and I've two game where nothing appealed, but quite a few bigger priced fancies to chance.


Leicester vs Chelsea

I'm very confident about a CHELSEA WIN here. And why wouldn't you be?

The Blues have been very impressive so far this season, and while their five wins from 11 games may not reflect it, Enzo Maresca's side are a team to get onside over the next few months.

Their two defeats have come to Manchester City and Liverpool, and the Blues have won three of four against sides in the bottom half of the table, though the deserved to win all four according to expected goals (xG: CHE 2.37 - 0.54 CRY).

Enzo Maresca

Leicester meanwhile have been the worst home side in the league this season according to the underlying data, accumulating the fewest expected points (0.67 per game) and the fewest xGF per game (0.98).

Steve Cooper's men will set up to frustrate here, and it's highly unlikely this turns into a ding-dong battle as Maresca returns to the team he won the Championship with last season.

He'll be looking to make a statement in his typically controlled fashion, so backing a CHELSEA WIN AND UNDER 4.5 GOALS makes great appeal at odds-against.

Only two of Chelsea's 11 games have seen five or more goals this season, and it's the same for Leicester. I think there is a clear gulf between these two sides, with the Blues set to kick on off after a tough last four league games (LIV, NEW, MUN, ARS).

Score prediction: Leicester 0-2 Chelsea (Sky Bet odds: 8/1)


Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest

This is a big game for Arsenal, who face fifth-placed Nottingham Forest looking to get back to winning ways - the Gunners failing to win any of their last four league matches.

Unfortunately for Mikel Arteta, he could be without some key players here. Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori are definitely out, while Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are questionable having picked up injuries in their last match at Chelsea, both missing England's Nations League wins.

Mikel Arteta

I don't think the Gunners can deal without Saka with such limited cover, but if Rice is absent they should be able to manage, a likely Thomas Partey-Mikel Merino double pivot behind the now-fit-again Martin Odegaard.

The trend that catches my eye though is that Arsenal have made it a habit of fouling their opponents centre-backs. Across 15 league and Champions League matches, at least one of the opposing CB's has been fouled in 12 of them, so splitting stakes on MURILLO and NIKOLA MILENKOVIC 1+ FOULS WON appeals.

A glance at the pairs fouls won data would suggest that I'm mad for wanting to back this, both having been felled just once each, but this bet is more about Arsenal's propensity to foul opposing CB's through their high press.

Milenkovic is 11/8 to be fouled, with Murillo 5/2, and the latter's price in particular looks large given Arsenal have fouled nine of the 15 left-sided centre-back's they have faced. These bets are as short as 10/11 and 6/4 respectively elsewhere.

Arsenal are aggressive, and in Kai Havertz they have one of the more physical forwards in the league who doesn't mind throwing his weight around. Gabriel Jesus could also come into the game off the bench and he too is a fouling machine.

Given the stats around the left-sided CB's, I'll also have a small play on MURILLO 2+ FOULS WON.

Nine of the 15 LCB's have been fouled by Arsenal, with four of those being fouled twice or more. It's 16/1 on Sky Bet, 17/2 elsewhere.

Score prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Nottingham Forest (Sky Bet odds: 9/1)


Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace's injury issues prior to the international break were so bad that captain Marc Guehi had to play central midfield alongside 21-year-old debutant Justin Devenny.

Post-break, Oliver Glasner should have Cheick Doucoure back fit to start after a lengthy lay-off, and WILL HUGHES returns from suspension meaning we should see a more accomplished midfield duo at Villa Park, with Eberechi Eze tough-and-go for this clash.

prem cards collected

It's Hughes who appeals greatly though TO BE CARDED, as not only has he picked up five yellows already this term, but he'll be tasked with dealing with Villa's extremely tricky forwards, most notably Morgan Rogers.

He's 13/5 with Unibet to pick up a card which in isolation looks massive for a player booked in five of his last six matches across all competitions in which he's played over 15 minutes, and who has committed an average of 2.76 fouls per 90.

Factor in that Villa's midfield are excellent at getting their opponents carded - Rogers responsible for drawing nine opposition cards, Youri Tielemans six - and the price starts to look irresistible. He's 11/10 in places, and those that can't get on at Unibet should take the 12/5 with bet365 or the 9/4 with Paddy Power and Betfair.

Tim Robinson is the man in the middle, with his card per game average of 5.8 another huge positive for this bet.

Score prediction: Aston Villa 2-0 Crystal Palace (Sky Bet odds: 7/1)


Bournemouth vs Brighton

Boy this one is a tough game to call.

Bournemouth have been sensational at home this season winning three of five against a tough schedule (NEW, CHE, SOU, ARS, MCI).

Wins against Arsenal and City have been thoroughly deserved, and so far this season their underlying data at the Vitality is excellent (1.85 xGF, 1.06 xGA per game).

So, I was all ready to back the hosts here at 11/8, but I just can't pull the trigger, with Brighton looking capable of beating anyone anywhere.

Not only were they brilliant in victory over Manchester City last time out, but they have been to Newcastle and Everton and won, holding Arsenal at the Emirates and pushing Chelsea and Liverpool close.

No bet for me in this one.

Score prediction: Bournemouth 1-1 Brighton (Sky Bet odds: 6/1)


Everton vs Brentford

This is another game I really struggled to find a strong betting angle.

The bookies look to have priced things pretty well, and I think the draw is a serious runner, the Toffees having held Newcastle and Fulham in their last two at Goodison Park.

Brentford are pointless in five away games, but they have faced Liverpool, Man City, Spurs, Man Utd and a good Fulham team.

Score prediction: Everton 1-1 Brentford (Sky Bet odds: 11/2)


Fulham vs Wolves

Fulham are legit. How legit is the question.

Are the capable of contending for a top four or six finish? Or are they just an eighth or ninth place team?

If that intro comes as a shock to you, and you are wondering what the hell I'm on about, well the Cottagers are seventh just a point off third, but more impressively they rank as the fourth best team this season according to xG data.

prem xP fulham

Since losing at Old Trafford on the opening weekend, Marco Silva's men have won the xG battle in EVERY single game they have played across all competitions - 12 games in a row - including at the Etihad. That is very, very impressive.

At the Cottage, their underlying process has been strong this season, averaging 1.75 xGF and 1.04 xGA per game, and now they get to face a struggling travelling side in Wolves.

Gary O'Neil's side are winless away from home, allowing 2.21 xGA per game and conceding 13 times across five outings. They look especially vulnerable defensively, but going forward they really do have the capability to get on the scoresheet.

They have scored in 10 of 11 league games this season, only failing to do so in their opener at the Emirates, so I like the look of FULHAM TO WIN AND BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE here at 9/4.

Both teams have scored in all five Fulham home games, with three of those resulting in a win for Silva's men.

The market has it more likely that Fulham win to nil as opposed to win and BTTS, which I simply don't agree with.

Score prediction: Fulham 3-1 Leicester (Sky Bet odds: 11/1)


Manchester City vs Tottenham

According to reports, Manchester City's injuries are healing ahead of hosting Tottenham.

Their likely starting line-up on Saturday - again, according to reports - is: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Akanji, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Gundogan; Bernardo, Foden, Savinho; Haaland.

Barring Ballon D'or winner Rodri, that's a near full strength XI, and that likely spells trouble for a Tottenham side missing both starting centre-backs here (Christian Romero and Micky van de Ven).

Ange Postecoglou

Spurs haven't travelled well for some time either. Across their last 15 away league games, Ange Postecoglou's side have won just three times, losing eight, conceding 29 goals.

This could be a bad time to face a wounded animal then. A side chasing a fifth straight Premier League title, who can't afford to fall further behind leaders Liverpool.

I do really want to get City onside, the question is how. A CITY WIN AND BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE looks value to me even at a price of 7/5.

Spurs, while showcasing defensive deficiencies, have real firepower and it would be a surprise to see them fail to score at the Etihad in what should be a ding-dong tussle.

Both teams have scored in 17 of City's last 24 home games, with a City win and BTTS landing in 12 of those for a 50% strike rate.

In short, I think City will out-score Spurs on Saturday.

A couple of other angles for me, one focuses on a City weakness and the other a Spurs one.

City, even with Rodri in the team, have shown real struggles in dealing with fast breaks for some time now, and Spurs are the league's best at just that.

Ange's men have scored the most goals from fast breaks this season (7), while 10 of the 86 shots City have faced have come from such scenarios.

prem goals from fast breaks

Who better, then, than HEUNG-MIN SON to take advantage and SCORE OR ASSIST?

Spurs' captain has gone under the radar this season, but has scored three and assisted three in eight starts, with his expected goal involvement per 90 (xG + xA) an impressive 0.54.

He's one of the best at taking advantage of space on the counter, and has had a great time at the Etihad in recent years, scoring one and assisting three across his last three visits - this bet winning in two of those.

The final bet is one we've had a few times already this season, without reward; ERLING HAALAND TO SCORE A HEADER.

He's been mightily close for us, but no cigar just yet. This looks a good match-up for him to pounce, especially with Spurs missing their starting centre-backs.

Haaland headed shots

The big Norwegian has had 25 headed shots equating to 3.88 xG in the league and Champions League this season without finding the net once, but the volume of headed shots highlights how consistently he is threatening with his noggin.

He warmed his blonde locks up for us too with a headed goal against Kazakhstan in his most recent outing, where he also bagged a hat-trick.

Spurs remain defensively vulnerable from all aspects but especially from set-pieces, with only Southampton and Leicester allowing more xGA from dead-ball situations, and only Wolves and Everton conceding more headed goals.

Score prediction: Manchester City 3-1 Tottenham (Sky Bet odds: 9/1)


Super 6 predictions for round 17

  • Arsenal 2-1 N Forest
  • Aston Villa 2-0 C Palace
  • Bournemouth 1-1 Brighton
  • Man City 3-1 Tottenham
  • Southampton v Liverpool*
  • Ipswich v Man Utd*

*to be added Friday


Odds correct at 1650 (21/11/24)

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