English Premiership: Weekend Betting Preview and Picks
By Shawn Young
SATURDAY
ARSENAL (-1.5, -140) vs. HULL (3 flat)
Arsenal drew 1-1 at Burnley Wednesday; Hull drew 0-0 vs. Blackburn Saturday
Burnley has been a tough place to play this year so it’s hard to be too disappointed in Arsenal only getting a point. The Gunners did manage to keep 54 percent of possession and they outshot Burnley 9-3 on target and 8-5 wide. They’re going to rip Hull apart here Hull have only two draws from eight road matches and have been outscored 21-5. After the dizzying heights of the early 2008-09 season, it’s been well and totally downhill.
The total sits at 3 flat, which credits Hull with scoring more than half a goal and that’s more than they deserve. Arsenal the side is the play.
Fabregas will miss out for Arsenal but Denilson is now back to take his place. Rosicky, van Persie and Clichy remain out. Jimmy Bullard misses out for Hull.
Pick: Arsenal 3, Hull 0
SUNDAY
WEST HAM (2.5 goals, over -125) vs. CHELSEA (-1.5 +120)
West Ham lost 3-1 at Bolton Tuesday; Chelsea beat Portsmouth 2-1 Wednesday
The Firms had this one circled on the calendar as soon as the fixture list came out. The good news is that I’m expecting a lot of action on the pitch - and by action I mean goals. Chelsea like to score and West Ham seemingly like to score and cough goals up. This should be an energetic, attractive game: West Ham’s “Irons” would much rather lose 3-2 than draw 0-0.
Losing 3-2 isn’t far away and I might bet that if I was forced to choose a team staring at 1.5. The Irons will play well, but only well enough to lose. The over is far superior and that’s what I’ll be betting. The TV moguls must be looking for goals too because this is Sunday’s featured game. In the interests of public safety, it should have been the early kickoff.
Chelsea miss Bosingwa (knee) and Essien (hamstring). Drogba is fit. Carvalho and Joe Cole will be preferred over Alex and Deco. Irons miss Dyer (hamstring) and Cole, Behrami, and Hines (all knee injuries). The good news is that Upson (hamstring) and Jumenez (calf strain) are ready to go.
We can never guarantee goals, but I’ll guarantee tons of chances here.
Pick: West Ham 2, Chelsea 3
KEEP AN EYE ON: European competition is on break. That means the number of games in a week or over a month is more or less the same for all Premiership clubs from now through Early February. This is often the part of the season where the biggest, deepest clubs pull away from the pack.