EPL Notebook - Week 3
By Chris David
VegasInsider.com
The second week of the Premier League season only had one draw posted and it took place in the must-see matchup between Leicester City and Arsenal. The top two finishers from last year failed to find the net, which helped ‘under’ bettors cash an easy ticket. Including that result, five other teams posted clean sheets in Week 2.
Road teams won four games in the opening weekend and the visitors followed that effort up with five victories in Week 2. Manchester City made a lot of noise last Saturday as it diced up Stoke City 4-1 in wire-to-wire fashion.
Underdog bettors taking shots on Burnley (+600) and Hull City (+400) both connected with wins over Liverpool and Swansea City respectively.
Champions League
The 32-team group draw for the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League was announced on Thursday and the Premier League will be represented with four teams.
Arsenal
Manchester City
Tottenham
Leicester City
Oddsmakers at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook aren’t buying the quartet at this point. Manchester City is a 12/1 choice but they’re playing in the same group with Spanish power Barcelona, plus Monchengladbach of Germany is no slouch and Celtic of Scotland won’t be a pushover either.
Arsenal (25/1) and Tottenham (30/1) are both on the third tier of teams according to the Las Vegas bookmaker and the pair should have a great shot to advance to the knockout round.
The Gunners will have to compete with French juggernaut Paris Saint-Germain while the Spurs have avoided any of the major European heavyweights.
Defending EPL champion Leicester City is a 50/1 betting choice and a lot of pundits believe the club has a great shot to advance to the Round of 16 with FC Porto appearing to be the main competition.
Manchester United and Southampton will represent the Premier League in the Europa League. The Red Devils will be favored to win their group but the Saints have drawn with Italian giants Inter Milan.
Still Perfect
Two weeks are in the books and there are four teams that still have a shot to finish with a perfect season (38-0, 114 points). Chelsea and the two Manchester clubs aren’t a surprise to be unbeaten but newly promoted Hull City has definitely turned heads, especially when you consider their ever-confusing situation.
The club’s manager (Steve Bruce) resigned three weeks before the season due to a dispute with the owners, who are known to sell rather than buy players. The team only has 13 fit players on the senior roster and the fan base has been protesting all of the above.
Despite all that, Hull knocked off Leicester City at home in Week 1 before upsetting Swansea City 2-0 at Liberty Stadium last weekend. The Tigers host Manchester United on Saturday night from KCOM Stadium and they’ve never beaten the Red Devils in eight (0-1-7) Premier League tries.
A short-handed Hull City could have tired legs for this contest after winning a 3-1 League Cup decision on Tuesday at Exeter City. Manchester United is listed as a healthy road favorite (-220) and is 1-0 as a visitor in league play this season.
Chelsea (-400) has been installed as the heaviest favorite of the weekend in its matchup versus Burnley from Stamford Bridge. Although unbeaten, the Blues have needed late surges in each of their first two games to produce 2-1 victories. The Clarets surprised Liverpool 2-0 at home despite being dominated in possession (81%).
Manchester City (-350) is expected to coast past West Ham United on Sunday afternoon but bettors could be hesitant to back the Citizens. The Hammers are 2-1-1 in their last four meetings against City and they’ve tallied six goals during this span. The emotional factor could come into play on Sunday as West Ham United suffered a disappointing miss in this year’s Europa League as it lost to Astra Giurgiu on Thursday at home.
Looking for Answers
With the good always come the bad and after two weeks, we still have four teams searching for points and coincidentally that will change this weekend when they square off against one another.
Sunderland (+550) and Southampton (-175) will have a chance to leave this grouping on Saturday and the bookmakers are favoring the host. The Saints have gone 2-1-1 in their last four versus the Black Cats, which includes the infamous 8-0 drubbing from St. Mary’s Stadium in the 2014 season.
Crystal Palace (+130) hasn’t scored a goal in two games and many pundits worry if the offense will ever get on track. The addition of Christian Benteke will help the Eagles if he ever gets fit and on the pitch. Dating back to last season, Palace has won just two of its last 21 EPL games but Bournemouth (+230) is 0-1-6 in its last seven league games.
Trends to Watch
Liverpool at Tottenham: These teams played to a pair of draws (1-1, 0-0) last season as the ‘under’ easily cashed in both affairs. Prior to those results, they combined for 3-plus goals in seven of their previous eight encounters.
Stoke City at Everton: The visitor has won three of the last four meetings and the ‘over’ has cashed in the last two games.
Swansea City at Leicester City: The Foxes have won three straight against the Swans and they’ve posted clean sheets in all of the victories.
Sunderland at Southampton: Four of the last five meetings between the two teams have seen two or less combined goals scored.
Arsenal at Watford: The Gunners swept both league games last season, cashing 3-0 and 4-0 victories.