EPL Best Bets - Week 34
By Toby Maxtone-Smith
VegasInsider.com
This weekend’s Premier League action saves the best until last as Arsenal meet Chelsea on Sunday. Arsenal, who have 33/1 odds to win the title, need to keep up any hopes of winning the league. If Chelsea get the three points at the Emirates, they can win the league if they beat Leicester next Wednesday night.
But it is at the bottom of the league where things are most interesting. QPR’s tough run-in means they are the rock solid 1/7 favourites to be relegated, with Burnley 4/11. Leicester amazing recent run has seen them drift from near-certainties to 9/4 in the past weeks. This leaves Hull (4/5) and Sunderland (5/6) with big chances of being relegated to the Championship.
Fans of big prices may be interested in Newcastle at 50/1. The Magpies have 35 points already, but have lost their last six and it is hard to see where their next win is coming from.
Let's handicap Week 34 of the Premier League.
Odds provided by Sportsbook.ag
The Banker: Manchester United to win at Everton at 23/20
Louis van Gaal called Man Utd’s performance in a 1-0 defeat at Chelsea their ‘best performance of the season’, and while that may be a slight exaggeration, there was plenty to encourage United fans at Stamford Bridge. They face Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday, and are quite a juicy price to cement their position in the top 4 of the EPL.
While United dominated possession against Chelsea, they did not create many real openings. This was largely because Chelsea stuck Kurt Zouma on United’s man-of-the-moment, Marouane Fellaini. Everton manager Roberto Martinez is more of a proactive than a reactive type, and will set out to beat United at their own game. This may be a bad strategy. Everton’s defence has shown time and again this year that quick movement can unlock it, and United will be given enough space to create lots of chances. At 23/20 they look a good bet.
The Solid Bet: Arsenal to draw with Chelsea at 23/10
The biggest game of the weekend may also turn out to be the most predictable. Arsenal will dominate the ball, probably having more than 70% of possession; Jose Mourinho will cram as many defensive midfielders as he can into his Chelsea side and look for opportunities to find Eden Hazard on the counter-attack. Chelsea will be happy with a draw.
Arsene Wenger has never beaten Jose Mourinho. Mourinho’s record of seven wins and five draws against Wenger shows that he is simply a better one-on-one manager than his counterpart. He will have studied Arsenal for months ahead of this game and will have a plan to stop Sanchez, Cazorla and Özil. Chelsea are experts at digging out the result they need, and at 23/10 the draw looks a very strong bet.