Mark your card for Wednesday evening's games in the Premier League with the best bets, Super 6 predictions and top stats for each game.
Recommended bets
1pt Southampton to win and over 1.5 total goals at 21/10
1pt Leicester to beat Liverpool on +2 handicap at 5/4
1pt Gonzalo Higuain to score and Chelsea to win at Bournemouth at 7/4
For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record
AFC Bournemouth v Chelsea
All eyes will be on Gonzalo Higuain as he is expected to make his Premier League bow at the Vitality on Wednesday.
The Argentinian did not have the best first half to the season, with a disappointing loan spell at AC Milan, but he still scored eight goals and laid on two assists. He has now made the switch to Stamford Bridge hoping to fill the main striker void which has been extremely evident since Diego Costa's departure.
The 31-year-old has proved himself as a goalscorer in Spain and Italy - particularly under Maurizio Sarri at Napoli - and he can get off to a good start here.
He surprisingly gave up the chance to take a penalty against Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup at Stamford Bridge, instead giving the ball to Willian. He averaged over three shots per game for Milan this season and, with Chelsea's creative players, he can take his chances against a shaky Cherries defence.
He is available at a best price of 6/5 to score anytime and - the preferred option - 7/4 in a score-and-win.
This could be a match with goals, a lot of games at the Vitality tend to be action-packed, and it should be a good watch, and some introduction for loan man Higuain.
Score prediction: Bournemouth 1-3 Chelsea (Sky Bet odds: 11/1)
Best bet: Gonzalo Higuain to score and Chelsea to win at 7/4
Opta facts
- Bournemouth have lost their last five home meetings with Chelsea in all competitions, since a 1-0 win in the second tier in September 1988.
- Chelsea have beaten Bournemouth twice already this season, winning 2-0 in the reverse league fixture and 1-0 in a League Cup match.
- Bournemouth’s only previous Premier League victory on a Wednesday was a 3-0 victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last season.
- Bournemouth are looking to secure back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time since October following their 2-0 win over West Ham last time out.
- Chelsea – who lost at Arsenal last time out – haven’t lost consecutive Premier League games since March 2018. The Blues haven’t scored more than twice in any of their last 12 Premier League matches, since beating Crystal Palace 3-1 in November.
- Only the Etihad (50) has seen more Premier League goals than Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium this season coming into this round of matches (38 – F21 A17).
- Chelsea are the only side whose Premier League games are yet to see a single red card this season, while Bournemouth have seen their opponent have a player sent off a league-high six times so far in 2018-19.
- Chelsea’s Eden Hazard has had a hand in eight goals in his last eight games against Bournemouth in all competitions (7 goals, 1 assist).
- Chelsea’s Eden Hazard has scored in six different games against Bournemouth in all competitions – he’s only scored in more against Liverpool in his club career (7).
- Callum Wilson has scored in each of his last two Premier League games for Bournemouth – he’s never scored in three in a row in the same season before.
- 10 of Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud’s last 13 Premier League goals have been as a substitute. He’s only found the net in one of his last 14 starts in the competition.
Liverpool v Leicester City
Liverpool are undefeated in their last 32 home matches and it is difficult to see that good run coming to an end here.
The Reds, though, have had a bit of an injury crisis in recent weeks and they are sweating on the fitness of star man and rock at the back Virgil van Dijk, who has been ill.
With or without him, Jurgen Klopp should be able to set his side up to grind out a hard-earned win over a Leicester side who caused them trouble at the King Power in the reverse fixture, no thanks to a rare error from Alisson.
The Foxes have lost four of their last five in all competitions, with the pressure piling on Claude Puel. Their defeats have been by small margins though and Liverpool have also had a lot of wins by fine margins this term, so the 5/4 on offer to back Leicester in a +2 handicap is a real temptation.
The Foxes have had some close battles with the Reds in recent years, losing by one goal in their last three encounters - and winning 2-0 in the match before that.
With the visitors getting a two-goal start against a more conservative title-chasing Liverpool side, this looks like a great option to get value out of a Liverpool victory - and if they suffer a shock upset then happy days.
Score prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Leicester (Sky Bet odds: 17/2)
Best bet: Leicester on +2 handicap at 5/4
Opta facts
- Liverpool have won their last three league games against Leicester – they last won four in a row against them between February 1987 and September 1996.
- Leicester have lost six of their last seven away Premier League games against Liverpool (D1), with their last win at Anfield coming in May 2000 (2-0).
- Liverpool haven’t lost any of their last 19 home midweek games in the Premier League (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday), winning 13 and drawing six since a 0-1 loss vs Fulham in May 2012.
- Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 32 home Premier League games (W23 D9), the longest such run in the division since Man City went 37 without defeat between December 2010 and December 2012.
- Liverpool are looking to win eight consecutive Premier League home games for the first time since March 2010. The Reds conceded as many goals in their last home league game against Crystal Palace as they had in their previous 15 at Anfield combined (3).
- Leicester have lost each of their last 11 Premier League games against sides starting the day top of the table, conceding at least twice every time (27 in total) and netting just five in return. Their last such win came on January 31st 1998 at Manchester United.
- This will be Liverpool’s 10th Premier League game as the side starting top this season, more than they’ve played in any other season in the competition (9 in 1996-97).
- Leicester have lost their last two Premier League games – the eighth time they’ve lost consecutive league matches under Claude Puel. However, they’ve not lost three in a row in the competition since February 2017 under Claudio Ranieri (a run of five).
- Only Andrew Cole (11) and Thierry Henry (8) have scored more Premier League goals against Liverpool than Leicester’s Jamie Vardy (7).
- Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino has committed more fouls without receiving a single yellow or red card than any other Premier League player this season (30).
Southampton v Crystal Palace
We are keeping it simple with this one, backing the hosts to win and throwing over 1.5 total goals in there to take it above 2/1.
Southampton will be fresh legged after playing no part in the FA Cup at the weekend, having been knocked out by Derby in the third round. Although Roy Hodgson made six changes for the win over Spurs on Sunday, the feeling is the Saints will be better prepared.
They have shown good improvement under Ralph Hasenhuttl and the odds on offer in favour of the hosts represents good value.
If you have an element of doubt, backing Southampton in a draw no bet at just under evens is worth considering, but the 6/4 on offer for a home win is equally worth a small play.
Adding the overs market in there bumps it up nicely and the Saints can move further clear of danger with all three points here. They have won four of their last seven Premier League games and their Austrian manager looks to be getting the best out of his men.
Nathan Redmond is one of the players to have improved and he is expected to play a more central role up front once again. Considering he is traditionally a winger, the 24-year-old is a tad overpriced and the 16/5 available for him to score anytime could also be one to explore.
Score prediction: Southampton 2-1 Crystal Palace (Sky Bet odds: 11/1)
Best bet: Southampton to win and over 1.5 total goals at 21/10
Opta facts
- Southampton have won eight of their last 10 top-flight home games against Crystal Palace (D1 L1), though they did lose this exact fixture last season.
- Crystal Palace are looking to win back-to-back top-flight away games against Southampton for the first time.
- Southampton have only won more Premier League games against Newcastle (15) than they have against Crystal Palace (12).
- Since returning to the Premier League in 2013, Crystal Palace have only lost more league games against Man Utd and Spurs (9 each) than they have vs Southampton (8).
- Southampton have won their last two Premier League games, last winning three in a row at the end of the 2015-16 campaign (a run of four).
- 59% of Southampton’s 22 points this season have come in their eight games under manager Ralph Hasenhüttl (W4 D1 L3).
- Crystal Palace average 1.4 goals-per-game away from home in Premier League games this season (the 8th highest figure in the division), compared to just 0.6 at home (the 2nd lowest figure). Indeed, the Eagles have scored 10 goals in their last four league games on the road.
- Since the start of last season Southampton have drawn more games than any other Premier League side, with their total of 22 draws accounting for 15% of the total in the division in that time (22/143).
- Southampton striker Charlie Austin has faced Crystal Palace five times without scoring a single goal in the Premier League – against no other side has he played more without finding the net.
- Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has scored three Premier League goals this season, all away from home – no player has scored more so far in 2018-19 without netting at home. However, the Ivorian has only faced Arsenal and Man City (8 each) more often without scoring in the Premier League than he has Southampton (7 games).
Tottenham Hotspur v Watford
Looking at this game and the contributing factors to Spurs' FA Cup defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday, there is definitely a case for the visitors to get something.
With the double chance available above 13/10 in places, it is worth considering while a small play on just an away win at nearly 5/1 is tempting.
Harry Kane and Dele Alli remain sidelined, while Heung-min Son has only just returned from Asian Games duty. It may be too soon for him to start despite taking part in full training on Tuesday - and he admitted he was drained before returning to the UK, so could be on the bench initially.
Spurs did make seven changes for their cup clash, but they were shocking at Selhurst Park and a couple of disappointing results in a week sets them up for a difficult clash.
It does not all point to a bad Spurs performance either. Watford are yet to lose in 2019, winning three and drawing two in all competitions and Javi Gracia's men can make the short trip to Wembley confident of getting a result.
With this in mind, the handicaps also offer good value with Watford +1 at 11/8 and +2 is 4/9, while BTTS at just below evens is a good price, but the double chance is most eye-catching here.
Score prediction: Spurs 1-1 Watford (Sky Bet odds: 13/2)
Best bet: Watford/draw in double chance at 34/25
Opta facts
- Tottenham are unbeaten in their last seven home games against Watford in all competitions (W6 D1) since a 2-3 loss in a League Cup match in October 1994.
- Watford are looking to do the league double over Tottenham for the very first time.
- After winning their first three away league games against Spurs by an aggregate score of 9-3, Watford have lost each of their last eight such visits, scoring three and conceding 22.
- Watford could become the first side to do the league double over a ‘big six’ side from outside of those clubs since the 2015-16 campaign (West Ham vs Liverpool and Newcastle vs Tottenham).
- Spurs have won their last 10 Premier League games on a Wednesday by an aggregate score of 26-3. Meanwhile, Watford have played more Premier League games on Wednesday without ever winning than any other side in the competition (P13 W0 D4 L9).
- Tottenham haven’t drawn any of their last 27 Premier League games (W20 L7). Victory or defeat here would equal the record set by Bolton between March-December 2011 of 28 games without a draw in the competition.
- Tottenham have lost their last two home league games, last losing three in a row in September 2008. They last lost three in a row at home within the same season in February 2007.
- Watford are unbeaten in four Premier League away games (W2 D2), scoring at least twice each time. The Hornets have won their last two Premier League games in London (vs West Ham and Crystal Palace) – they’ve never won three consecutive top-flight games in the capital.
- Tottenham have scored more headed goals than any other Premier League side this season (12). 50% of striker Fernando Llorente’s overall goals in the competition have been headers (8/16) including his only one for Spurs to date.
- 11 of the 15 Premier League goals Spurs have scored against Watford under Mauricio Pochettino have been netted by the injured or unavailable Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.
Odds correct as of 1645 GMT on 29/01/18
