Our football betting expert Jones Knows provides his insight across the Premier League card as he goes bold, making a case for Wolves to beat Man City.
Wolves vs Manchester City, Sunday 2pm, live on Sky Sports
Anticipating a situation or a trend occurring before it hits the market can be a golden highway to profit if timed right. And I think I’m onto one – this might just be the beginning of the end for Manchester City’s domination of the Premier League.
This type of theory is going to sound ridiculous to some people as City are of course unbeaten in 30 Premier League games and have only suffered one league defeat in their last 47. But I think those sorts of numbers will be a thing of the past soon enough based on recent performances.
Results haven’t been affected – yet. But more of the same and it won’t take much for the fine margins of football to swing the other way.
I’m convinced performances are waning and other factors like Pep Guardiola’s future and the charges over alleged breaches of the league’s financial rules are going to have a short-term effect on their ability to win football matches. Brentford, Arsenal, Newcastle and Fulham all have wobbled City recently, showcasing a blueprint of how to expose them in transition. I wouldn’t be going near them at 2/7 with Sky Bet here.
Of course, it’s very hard to make a case for Wolves such has been their woeful performances since March, taking six points from their last 17 Premier League games.
But everything has its price.
And at 15/2 with Sky Bet, if Wolves can get their counter-attacks right, City could just be vulnerable to a seismic shock. Just like they were last season when losing 2-1 at Molinuex.
SCORE PREDICTION: 2-1
Liverpool vs Chelsea, Sunday 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports
I’ve sat through enough Liverpool and Chelsea games down the years to know what to expect. There have been just 17 goals scored in the last 11 fixtures across all competitions, including a run of four straight 0-0 draws, two of which stretched across extra-time in cup finals.
Chelsea have scored just two goals in their last seven games in all competitions against the Reds.
This is a fascinating encounter where we’re going to learn lots about both teams but it’s baffled me why the market is so strong on goals being scored. The market is expecting to see over three goals being bagged with the over 3.5 line set at Evens with Sky Bet. That looks wrong.
Remember, this is a new pragmatic Liverpool who like to control games and nullify the risk offered up by opposition – as seen by the goal averages where eight of their 10 games under Arne Slot have gone under 3.5 goals. Chelsea like to play with the ball, too, meaning we could see a very tactical, cagey encounter that is unlikely to descend into chaos. That’s not a bad thing as we can certainly profit from it.
The under 2.5 goals line at 2/1 with Sky Bet is a great option as is the 8/11 for under 3.5 goals. The 0-0 at 22/1 with Sky Bet is also a bit of a wild price.
SCORE PREDITION: 0-0 | JONES KNOWS’ BEST BET: Under 2.5 goals (2/1 with Sky Bet)
Nottingham Forest vs Crystal Palace, Monday 8pm, live on Sky Sports
There is a glorious simplicity about analysing this match: a solid defence meets a tame attack.
Nottingham Forest are astutely organised and a very tricky team to break down, as shown by their goals conceded tally of just six goals this season – the second best record in the Premier League. Then we have Palace, who have scored just five goals in their seven Premier League games this season and have a front-line lacking significantly in confidence.
However, Forest aren’t a team to trust to get the job done at the City Ground having won just five of their 22 Premier League home games since last August. That explains why they are as big as 11/8 with Sky Bet for this one.
When a game is projected to be low on goals the draw becomes a big runner, and both fixtures ended in stalemate last season. The draw and under 2.5 goals – basically backing either a 0-0 or a 1-1 – looks a smart play at 3/1 with Sky Bet.