After a profit in last week's edition, mark your card for Saturday's 3pm kick-offs with the best bets and top stats for each game.
Recommended bets
1pt Michy Batshuayi to score anytime in Crystal Palace v West Ham at 9/4
1pt Arsenal to win to nil at 17/9 at Huddersfield
For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record
3pm fixtures
- Crystal Palace v West Ham United
- Huddersfield Town v Arsenal
- Liverpool v AFC Bournemouth
- Southampton v Cardiff City
- Watford v Everton
Crystal Palace v West Ham United
Another London derby at Selhurst Park between two sides looking to put together a run of form after positive results last week.
Palace earned their ninth clean sheet of the season with a 2-0 win over strugglers Fulham, putting them four points clear of the drop, while the Hammers held then-leaders Liverpool to a draw at the London Stadium.
Manuel Pellegrini's side are now without a win in their last four matches in all competitions and have only four clean sheets all season - only Fulham have less to their name this term.
With the Hammers' defensive frailties in mind, Palace to score 2+ goals at evens is a good price while, considering the dangers West Ham possess in attack, BTTS at around 4/5 is a good shout.
But a better price which catches the eye is on Michy Batshuayi, who is vying for a start after impressing on his debut following his arrival on loan from Chelsea.
The Belgian came off the bench and played a role in Jeffrey Schlupp's late goal which sealed the win over the Cottagers. He had two shots during his eight-minute cameo and will want to impress here.
Batshuayi, 25, possesses a real threat to opposition defences, with his speed and knack for getting in the right areas in the box. He may start from the bench but the 2/1 available on him anytime is worth a small stake, 7/2 in a score-and-win if you have confidence in the hosts.
Score prediction: Crystal Palace 2-1 West Ham (Sky Bet odds: 8/1)
Best bet: Michy Batshuayi to score anytime in Crystal Palace v West Ham at 9/4
Opta facts
- Crystal Palace are winless in their last seven Premier League encounters with West Ham United (D3 L4).
- West Ham have won three of their last four away games against Crystal Palace in all competitions (D1), as many as they’d mustered in their previous 12 (W3 D6 L3).
- West Ham have won their last three Premier League London derbies, with the first victory in this run starting against Crystal Palace in December. The Hammers haven’t won four consecutive such matches since February 1996.
- Crystal Palace have lost 54.84% of their Premier League London derbies (51/93), the highest ratio in the division. However, West Ham have lost the highest total number of such matches in the competitions (96).
- Having picked up just two points from their first 18 available at home in the Premier League this season (W0 D2 L4), Crystal Palace have won 10 from their last 18 available at Selhurst Park (W3 D1 L2).
- West Ham have lost their last three away Premier League games by an aggregate score of 0-7. They last lost four in a row on the road while also failing to score back in December 2006 (a run of seven).
- Crystal Palace have scored the fewest (3) and conceded the joint-fewest (3, level with Liverpool) Premier League goals in the opening 30 minutes of matches this season.
- With 15 penalty goals in 75 Premier League appearances, Crystal Palace midfielder Luka Milivojevic scores a penalty on average once every five games – more frequently than any other player in the history of the competition (minimum 50 games).
- West Ham’s Robert Snodgrass has been directly involved in three goals in his last two Premier League appearances against Crystal Palace (2 goals, 1 assist), including netting in the reverse fixture in December (3-2 win).
- 30% of West Ham’s Michail Antonio’s Premier League assists (3/10) came in one game against Crystal Palace, setting up all three of the Hammers’ goals in a 3-0 home win in January 2017.
Huddersfield Town v Arsenal
Huddersfield are the league's worst home side, scoring just five at the John Smith's Stadium all season.
Unai Emery's Arsenal, meanwhile, are the only side in the top flight yet to keep a clean sheet away from home. Surely something has got to give, is this the game the north Londoners can end that poor run?
They were 1-0 winners in the reverse fixture at the Emirates earlier this season, while it was the same scoreline in Arsene Wenger's farewell match on the final day of 2017/18 in West Yorkshire last May.
Jan Siewert's side were beaten 5-0 at Chelsea last week and the Terriers have been terribly short in the final third this term. They have not scored in their last five games in all competitions and, at just below 17/10 price, Arsenal to win to nil looks like a real possibility here.
A good odds-on alternative is Arsenal to win and over 1.5 total goals at 10/11, but backing a first Arsenal clean sheet is the preference.
Score prediction: Huddersfield 0-3 Arsenal (Sky Bet odds: 11/1)
Best bet: Arsenal to win to nil at 17/9
Opta facts
- Huddersfield are winless in 11 competitive matches against Arsenal (D2 L9), since a 2-1 victory in January 1971.
- Arsenal have won their opening three games against Huddersfield in the Premier League – only against Watford (7), Reading (6), Wolves (6), Wigan (5), Cardiff (4) and Fulham (4) have they won their first four or more vs an opponent in the competition.
- Huddersfield have won just one of their last 16 home games in all competitions against Arsenal (D8 L7).
- Huddersfield have scored just five goals in their 13 home Premier League games this season. In top-flight history, only Arsenal in 1912-13 have ever scored as few at this stage of a campaign (also 5), while no team has ever gone the whole season without reaching double figures for goals at home.
- Huddersfield have lost their last six Premier League home games. The last team to lose more in a row at home in the competition were Wolves in April 2012 (nine in a row).
- Arsenal are the only team yet to keep an away clean sheet in the Premier League this season, with their last shutout on the road coming at Huddersfield on the final day of the 2017-18 campaign (1-0).
- Arsenal are winless in their last six Premier League away games (D2 L4), losing the last three in a row. Having scored at least twice in their first eight games on the road this season, the Gunners haven’t netted more than once in their last four.
- Huddersfield are winless in their last 12 league games (D1 L11), the longest current run in the top four tiers of English football.
- Both teams have found the net in 19 of Arsenal’s 25 Premier League games this season – no side has seen this happen more (Man Utd also 19).
- Seven of Alexandre Lacazette’s nine Premier League goals for Arsenal this season have been winning goals – only Mo Salah (8) has scored more winners in the competition this season.
Liverpool v AFC Bournemouth
Jurgen Klopp's side have a real chance to get their Premier League title charge back on track after a recent wobble.
Two draws for Liverpool, against West Ham and Leicester, have seen Manchester City installed as favourites to finish top of the pile again.
It seems a long time since the Reds hit four without reply against the Cherries at the Vitality. That was only December and they looked incredibly short of ideas in the draw with the Hammers on Monday.
Their last five Premier League matches have been close, too:
- 2-1 loss v Man City
- 1-0 win v Brighton
- 4-3 win v Palace
- 1-1 v Leicester
- 1-1 v West Ham
Their conservative style and seemingly short confidence makes the two-goal handicap on Bournemouth look tempting. The Cherries travel to Merseyside with nothing to lose, and still the confidence of thrashing Chelsea 4-0, and they have run top six sides close at times this term.
The pressure is on Liverpool to produce and Klopp may prefer to grind out a result which plays in the hands of the +2 handicap for the visitors.
Score prediction: Liverpool 2-1 AFC Bournemouth (Sky Bet odds: 9/1)
Best bet: Bournemouth on the +2 handicap at 7/5
Opta facts
- This will be the 15th meeting between Liverpool and Bournemouth in all competitions, with the Reds losing only once in the process (W10 D3).
- Bournemouth’s only previous victory against Liverpool in their history came in the Premier League in December 2016, winning 4-3 at the Vitality Stadium.
- Liverpool have won five and drawn one of their six home matches against Bournemouth in all competitions, keeping three clean sheets.
- Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 33 Premier League home games, winning 23 and drawing 10. They drew their last league game at Anfield, but haven’t failed to win two in a row there since December 2017 (3).
- Despite opening the scoring in their last two Premier League games, Liverpool have ended up drawing them both. They’ve never scored first and failed to win in three consecutive games in the competition before.
- Bournemouth have lost each of their last seven away Premier League games, conceding at least two goals each time. The last team to lose eight in a row on the road were Crystal Palace (8 in November 2017), while the last to do so while conceding at least twice were Portsmouth in February 2006.
- Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has scored five goals in three Premier League appearances against Bournemouth, including netting a hat-trick in the reverse fixture this season.
- Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino has had a hand in six goals in six Premier League starts against Bournemouth (3 goals, 3 assists).
- Liverpool’s Sadio Mane has scored in each of his last three appearances in the Premier League – he’s never scored in four consecutive matches within the same season in the competition before.
- Bournemouth’s Josh King has scored three goals in his last three Premier League games, as many as he had in his previous 14 in the competition.
Southampton v Cardiff City
Cardiff have won just once away from home all season while Southampton are unbeaten in seven in all competitions.
All runs come to an end but the Saints look good value to claim all three points after settling well under Ralph Hasenhuttl.
James Ward-Prowse has scored three goals in his last four Premier League appearances, with two of those coming in back-to-back games at St Mary's. The 24-year-old appears to have raised his game under the Austrian's management and considering his midfield role, he is nearly 4/1 to score anytime.
But the 5/4 for the hosts to win with over 1.5 total goals looks a good option as they attempt to steer further clear of the bottom three, with the current difference only at two points. They cannot afford a slip up at this time of the season and with a weeks rest they should be fired up and raring to go.
Score prediction: Southampton 2-0 Cardiff (Sky Bet odds: 13/2)
Best bet: Southampton to win and over 1.5 total goals at 5/4
Opta facts
- Southampton have lost only one of their last 14 home matches against Cardiff in all competitions (W10 D3), although that defeat came in their last such meeting in April 2014 in the Premier League.
- Cardiff have won two of their three Premier League games against Southampton (L1), only versus Fulham (3) have they won more in the competition.
- Cardiff are looking to record three consecutive victories against Southampton in all competitions for the first time since March 1963.
- Southampton are unbeaten in five Premier League games (W2 D3), last having a longer such run between April-August 2016 (7).
- Southampton have both scored (11) and conceded (12) in each of their last seven home league games.
- Following their win against Bournemouth last time out, Cardiff are looking to win consecutive top-flight matches for the first time since April 1962.
- Cardiff are the lowest away scorers in the Premier League this season (7 goals), while only Fulham (2) have picked up fewer points on the road than the Bluebirds (W1 D2 L9).
- Cardiff’s last five away goals in the Premier League have come in the 80th minute or later, with three of them coming in the 90th minute.
- Just one of Southampton’s five Premier League wins this season have been against sides starting the day below them (3-1 vs Huddersfield). Indeed, their other four victories have been against sides starting the day in the top half of the table.
- All five of Nathan Redmond's Premier League goal involvements for Southampton this season have come under Ralph Hasenhüttl, with 3 goals and 2 assists in 10 appearances (after none in 15 games before that this term).
Watford v Everton
The Marco Silva derby. Everton’s manager returns to another former club and he is not expected to get the best reception.
After a good start to life in the Hornets hotseat in 2017/18, speculation linking him with the vacancy at Everton and an apparent interest in speaking to the Merseysiders derailed their season and ultimately cost the Portuguese manager his job at Vicarage Road.
His role at Goodison Park has recently been questioned, but owner Farhad Moshiri has thrown his support behind Silva with the belief he can turn it around in the long term.
Troy Deeney’s comments at a fans’ forum this week were particularly interesting, especially his thoughts on Saturday’s clash: “The people at Everton are fantastic. Not the manager.
“We'd prefer it if you (the fans) left him alone...it'll only motivate them more. Leave him alone, let us kick the s*** out of them.”
Everton have won just two Premier League games in 2019 and sit ninth in the table, but a clash against eighth-placed Watford is an opportunity to get back on track.
They lost 2-0 v Man City in midweek, with Gabriel Jesus scoring the second deep into added time, and there is no reason why they cannot get a result here after resting the likes of Seamus Coleman, Gylfi Sigurdsson and former Watford man Richarlison in midweek.
The Brazilian scored in the reverse fixture in December, months after leaving Hertfordshire in a big-money deal, and is 4/1 in a score-and-win double, but the preference is to go with Everton to win and BTTS at 5/1.
Javi Gracia’s side have not won in their last three in the Premier League and have conceded 18 goals in 12 games at home this term. Their last three defeats have all been 2-1 scorelines and the Toffees can grind out a valuable, and much needed, away win from a game where goals are expected.
Score prediction: Watford 1-2 Everton (Sky Bet odds: 10/1)
Best bet: Everton to win BTTS at 5/1
Opta facts
- After losing their first two home Premier League games against Everton, Watford are unbeaten in three, winning the last two in a row.
- Everton have lost just two of their 11 Premier League meetings with Watford (both at Vicarage Road), winning six of those clashes (D3).
- In the top-flight, Watford have only lost more home games against Liverpool and Manchester United (7 each) than they have vs Everton (5).
- Watford have won their last two home Premier League games against Everton – they’ve never won three in a row against an opponent at Vicarage Road in the competition.
- Watford have picked up just one win in their last seven Premier League games (D4 L2), winning 2-1 at Crystal Palace in January.
- Two of Watford’s last three Premier League games have finished 0-0 – as many goalless draws as they’d had in their previous 57 games in the competition.
- After picking up 9/9 points from their opening three home league games this season, Watford have picked up just 8/27 in their subsequent nine (W2 D2 L5).
- Everton are looking to win consecutive away league games for the first time since September 2016.
- Five of Watford’s 16 home league goals this season have been scored by Roberto Pereyra (31%), though the Argentine has only scored in one of his last six at Vicarage Road.
- This will be Marco Silva’s first game at Vicarage Road as a visiting manager in the Premier League – he won just three of his 12 home games as Watford manager in the competition (D4 L5).
Odds correct as of 1830 GMT on 07/02/19
