Premier League: Match previews with free betting tips for matches on Sunday September 27

Recommended bets

1pt Sheffield United and Leeds to draw at 49/20

1pt Heung-min Son and Harry Kane both to score for Tottenham against Newcastle at 4/1

1pt Tomas Soucek to have 2+ Total Shots for West Ham against Wolves at 21/10

For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record

Sheffield United v Leeds

• 12pm BST kick-off on BT Sport
• Match odds: Home 17/10 | Draw 23/10 | Away 8/5

Prior to football's pause button being hit last season, Sheffield United were right in contention for a top six finish during what was an incredible first campaign in the top flight following promotion from the Sky Bet Championship.

Since football returned, the Blades' form has tailed off sharply - they've won three, drawn three and lost eight matches in all competitions. Chris Wilder's side lost only eight of 33 fixtures before the pandemic.

But there are positives to cling to for Sheffield United fans despite defeat in their opening two Premier League games. After being caught cold by Wolves to trail 2-0 inside five minutes on opening weekend, Wilder's men battled hard and could quite easily have taken something from the game.

Then at Aston Villa they had John Egan sent off after just 12 minutes, missed a first-half penalty and were only beaten by a header from a corner in the final half-hour.

Ever the pragmatist, Wilder will be determined to avoid a third straight magnanimous defeat, and sixth league loss in a row.

Leeds have won plenty of plaudits for their gung-ho style under Marcelo Bielsa, which saw them come out on the wrong side of a 4-3 thriller against champions Liverpool, but edge fellow newly-promoted side Fulham by the scoreline.

Defensively though, they have been really poor. That is surely something Bielsa will be looking to address having guided Leeds to promotion by conceding the fewest goals and keeping the most clean sheets in the Championship last season.

In the Whites' opening two games they have faced similarly minded opponents, whose instinct is to attack first and defend second. That won't be the case at Bramall Lane.

Recent results mean both teams are big prices to keep a clean sheet - Sheffield United at 5/2 and Leeds at 9/4 - but neither doing so would surprise me in the least. The absence of a Carabao Cup tie in midweek will have given each manager some much-needed preparation time to iron out any issues on the training ground.

The Blades have not played badly in their two games so far, while Leeds were fortunate to race into a 4-1 lead against a Fulham team who had at the very least matched them up to that point.

With the draw the outside bet, at a juicy price of 49/20, it's difficult to ignore.

A pair of tight 1-0 away victories when the sides met during a close-run 2018/19 promotion race could be an indicator of how this contest will play out.

I'll happily acknowledge that I seem to be in the minority, but I just cannot shake the feeling that Wilder's Blades could frustrate Leeds and dig out a narrow win, which makes Sheffield United to beat Leeds - Draw No Bet at 20/21 a tempting option.

But the value is with the draw.

Score prediction: Sheffield United 1-1 Leeds (Sky Bet odds: 11/2)

Best bet: Sheffield United and Leeds to draw at 49/20

Opta stats

• Leeds United’s first two Premier League games this season have seen 14 goals scored (7 for, 7 against), more than in any other team’s first two matches of a Premier League campaign. They are the first top-flight side to both score and concede seven goals in their first two matches since Liverpool in the 1932-33 season.
• No side has had fewer shots than Sheffield United in the Premier League this season (13), with the Blades the only side yet to score. Indeed, since their return to the top-flight last season, Sheffield United are averaging just nine shots per Premier League game, fewer than any other side to have played in both campaigns.
• Should either Mateusz Klich or Patrick Bamford score for Leeds United in this game, they would become the first player to score in their first three top-flight appearances for the club, with both players on the scoresheet against Liverpool and Fulham.
• Leeds captain Liam Cooper is set to make his 200th appearance for the club, becoming the first player to reach that tally since Luciano Becchio in 2012. Cooper’s start against Fulham on MD2 came 10 years and 359 days since his first Premier League start in September 2009 for Hull against Liverpool, setting a new record for time between a player’s first two Premier League starts.

Tottenham v Newcastle

• 2pm BST kick-off on Sky Sports
• Match odds: Home 4/9 | Draw 7/2 | Away 6/1

What a week it's been if you're a Tottenham fan.

It began on Saturday with the much-vaunted loan return of Gareth Bale, and the less talked about but still significant £25m signing of left-back Sergio Reguilon, also from Real Madrid.

An incredible 'we're still here' performance followed the next day as Heung-min Son scored four times at Southampton, astonishingly all assisted by Harry Kane, before the England captain found the net himself in a ruthless 5-2 win.

Then their Carabao Cup tie with Leyton Orient was called off because of a number of positive Covid-19 tests at the Sky Bet League Two club.

To round things off Spurs won their Europa League qualifier against Shkendija, a night that will be best remembered for Jose Mourinho being proved right when he claimed the North Macedonian team's goals were too small.

Oh, and there's been all of drama about Dele Alli potentially leaving too - he started on Thursday night by the way.

After all that excitement, what are the odds on Sunday's meeting with Newcastle being goalless? 14/1.... fat chance.

Steve Bruce's side were thrashed 3-0 at home by Brighton last weekend, a match they deserved to lose by more. The way they defended will have Tottenham's forwards licking their lips.

It would be remiss of me not to mention that the Magpies did respond with a stunning 7-0 win at League Two club Morecambe in the cup, but that's not going to help them keep out Son and Kane in north London.

The duo scored again on Thursday, and they're 4/1 to both be on the scoresheet for a third straight game.

They really are on fire, with Son bagging two assists in midweek as well. Both found the net at St James' Park when these sides met back in July too so have proven in recent times that they have the beating of the Newcastle defence.

While it was the South Korean who netted four times at Southampton, it's Kane who has the phenomenal record of scoring more than once in a game, doing so on eight occasions for club and country last season. It's a market to keep an eye for a price boost right up until kick-off and in-play, having paid out for us at 10/1 against Leicester during Project Restart last term.

The current 4/1 on offer is just a little too skinny, with the Kane and Son double act a smarter play having scored eight of Tottenham's 10 goals between them this season.

Score prediction: Tottenham 3-1 Newcastle (Sky Bet odds: 10/1)

Best bet: Heung-min Son and Harry Kane both to score at 4/1

Opta stats

• Tottenham have won five of their last six league meetings with Newcastle United, although the only exception was in this exact fixture last season when the Magpies won 1-0, which was also on MD3.
• Tottenham haven’t lost consecutive home league games since January 2019 (vs Wolves and Manchester United), while they’ve not lost their first two home games of a Premier League campaign since 2008-09 (vs Sunderland and Aston Villa).
• Newcastle have won four of their last seven Premier League games in London (L3), including victory at West Ham on the opening weekend. The Magpies had only won three of their previous 24 top-flight matches in the capital (D3 L18).
• Newcastle have scored with both of their shots on target so far in this Premier League campaign, with the Magpies failing to have a single such effort in their 0-3 defeat to Brighton.
• Harry Kane assisted all four of Son Heung-min’s goals in Tottenham’s 5-2 victory at Southampton last weekend. Since the start of 2015-16, the pair have combined for more Premier League goals than any other duo in the competition (24).

Mark O'Haire's Super Sunday preview

Leicester were beaten in all six meetings with top-three teams last term – three of which arrived by a margin of two goals or more. They regularly flopped against the Premier League’s leading lights, taking top honours just once in 12 against top-seven finishers and the guests head to Manchester having suffered six defeats in the past seven head-to-heads.

Man City covered this line in 11 of their 19 Etihad encounters in 2019/20 – Liverpool, Arsenal and Leicester all departed with defeats by two goals or more – keeping clean sheets along the way in 10 of those home outings. They should be well capable of repeating the feat on Sunday should they pick up where they left off at half-time at Molineux.

Elsewhere, the imperious Kevin De Bruyne could be underrated in the shots on target market to land two or more should Guardiola continue to ask the Belgian to play a more advanced role. The PFA Players' Player of the Year is on penalty and set-piece duty and all four of his strikes at goal against Wolves were on target, suggesting 5/4 could be overpriced.

Last season, De Bruyne averaged over three shots per-game and also hit five on target during his side's disappointing Champions League exit against Lyon. With Leicester giving up too many chances to a bare-boned Burnley only seven days ago, KDB is likely to be given enough opportunities in front of goal to make a mark.

Prediction: Manchester City 3-1 Leicester (Sky Bet odds: 17/2)

Best Bets:

• Manchester City -1 handicap at 8/11
• Kevin De Bruyne 2+ shots on-target at 5/4

Click here to read Mark O'Haire's preview in full

West Ham v Wolves

• 7pm BST kick-off on Sky Sports
• Match odds: Home 29/10 | Draw 23/10 | Away 1/1

A home defeat by Newcastle on opening day added to the growing discontent at London Stadium over a lack of transfer activity, but West Ham showed encouraging signs against Arsenal last weekend - a game which they probably deserved to win.

David Moyes' side were well-organised defensively and threatening on the counter attack, but a late goal cost them dear.

They have sandwiched that unlucky loss with emphatic wins over Sky Bet League One opposition in the Carabao Cup, so confidence shouldn't be a huge issue. There will be a strange feeling in the dressing room though, with Alan Irvine taking charge as Moyes, along with players Issa Diop and Josh Cullen, self-isolates following a positive coronavirus test.

As has been the case for a while now, West Ham's shining light against Arsenal was Michail Antonio.

A raging bull, the Gunners defence struggled to contain him. He drew the Hammers level on half-time by scrappily finishing a superb break, before heading against the bar and later failing to properly connect from close-range, allowing Bernd Leno to make an easy save.

Since lockdown no player has been more prolific in the Premier League, with the West Ham forward's nine goals putting him on a par with Danny Ings and Raheem Sterling.

And yet Antonio is 11/4 to score on Saturday - more tempting than the 13/8 on offer for Raul Jimenez, although the Wolves striker has scored in both their league matches this season.

What doesn't go in our favour is Wolves' tendency to be involved in low-scoring encounters. Their 3-1 home defeat by Manchester City on Monday was only the second time in 15 fixtures that a game of theirs has seen over 2.5 goals.

I hope at least someone took heed of my tip-off in this week's Premier League: Pointing Pointers as the price of 13/11 on under 2.5 goals is long gone. Given last weekend's utter mayhem, I wouldn't risk it now at 11/14. The value just isn't there.

I still expect this to be tight, and so prefer a shots, rather than anytime goalscorer, angle. It might surprise you to know that for all the criticism that's been sent the Irons way, they've had 29 shots in the Premier League already this season.

Tomas Soucek is 9/2 for 2+ Shots On Target and 21/10 for 2+ Total Shots. The midfielder has managed two and three shots respectively so far this season, and is always a threat at set-pieces. Last weekend he was unlucky not to win a penalty when his header was blocked by the arm of Arsenal defender Gabriel.

I'm taking the shorter price for him to be in the thick of it once again.

For a more speculative bet, but grounded in very recent evidence, Wolves defender Romain Saiss had three attempts, scoring with one, away at Sheffield United on opening weekend. He is 5/1 for 2+ Total Shots and 22/1 for three.

Stranger things and all that.

Score prediction: West Ham 1-1 Wolves (Sky Bet odds: 5/1)

Best bet: Tomas Soucek to have 2+ Total Shots at 21/10

Opta stats

• West Ham United have lost each of their last four Premier League meetings with Wolves without scoring a single goal; the Hammers’ last win over them in the competition was back on New Year’s Day 2011 (2-0).
• Wolves have won both of their Premier League visits to the London Stadium since their promotion in 2018 – it’s the first time they have ever won back-to-back away league games at West Ham.
• West Ham have lost each of their opening three league matches in two of the last three seasons (2017-18 and 2018-19). They’d only lost their first three games in two of their previous 45 league campaigns prior to this.
• West Ham haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last 10 Premier League home games (W3 D3 L4), since beating Bournemouth 4-0 in David Moyes’ first game back in charge. It’s their longest run of conceding in home Premier League games since a run of 12 between April-December 2009.
• Wolves have lost four of their last eight Premier League games (W3 D1), as many as they had in their previous 27 in the competition (W13 D10 L4).

Odds correct at 1200 BST 25/09/20

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