Premier League Picks Week 17

The Hammers Take on the Gunners

West Ham United host Arsenal at the London Stadium on December 13 and are hopeful of causing an upset and finishing with at least one point.

The Hammers have been awful at times this season and it is no surprise that they languish in 18th place in the league. After 16 games, West Ham has the worst goal difference in the Premier League (-18) courtesy of only scoring 14 goals and conceding 32.

Bovada price a West Ham win at +425 and while this is unlikely, you must consider that West Ham beat Chelsea 1-0 at home over the weekend, which was only the third clean sheet West Ham have kept in the league this campaign. Austria’s Marko Arnautovic bagged the winner after scoring in the sixth minute and West Ham held on to win despite only enjoying 30.7 percent of possession, although they did limit Chelsea to only 10 shots at goal.

Arsenal have two wins, two draws and four defeats from eight away games this season so the -170 Bovada are offering on a Gunners win may be a little short. That said, Arsenal traditionally struggle against teams in the top six and excel in games against lesser opposition; West Ham fit this description.

The corresponding fixture last season ended in a 5-1 away win for Arsenal. Mesut Ozil, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and a hat trick for Alexis Sanchez were the goal scorers that day. Sanchez is +350 to score first and +120 to find the back of the net within the 90 minutes. Personally, I like the look of over 2.5 goals at -150 and a 3-0 Arsenal win at +1200. What about you?

Magpies Could Come Unstuck Against the Toffees

Newcastle United have only won once in 11 games and are on a run of six defeats in seven games so confidence looks to have hit rock bottom. The Magpies face Everton at St. James’ Park on December 13 and the Toffees look resurgent since former newcastle manager Sam Allardyce took over at the helm.

It was only a few weeks ago that Newcastle were flying high in the table. Now they find themselves in 16th place only two points above the drop zone. The will it happen, won’t it happen takeover saga may be having a negative effect on Rafa Benitez’ men, but they need to try put this behind them and put in a solid performance against an Everton side who look like they are finally finding their feet.

Newcastle can cause any team problems in their day, yet home defeats to Bournemouth (1-0), Watford (3-0) and Leicester City (2-3) highlight the team’s vulnerability.

Everton have only conceded one goal in the three games that Allardyce has been in charge and that came in the 1-1 draw with Merseyside rivals Liverpool. Everton were worth their point in that derby match and look a different team from the one that has struggled all season.

The home side are +130 favorites going into the game while Everton are priced at +215 and look incredible value. The draw, for those of you interested in it, is available around +225. 

Everton captain Wayne Rooney has eight league goals to date and I can see him adding to that total against Newcastle. Back Rooney at +550 to open the scoring and +200 to score at any stage. When you consider Rooney takes penalties for Everton and Newcastle’s defense looks to have lost all discipline, backing Rooney to score could prove fruitful.

Man City to Extend Winning Record

Manchester City set a new Premier League record last weekend when they beat Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford, their 14th consecutive victory. While City have not been as impressive in recent weeks as they had been previously, they travel to Swansea City who already look relegated.

Swansea have only managed nine goals in 16 games and have the unwanted record of having the league’s most toothless attack. The Swans have had 142 shots at goal, the second worst in the division, and only 30 of those have needed saving, the worst in the division. Compare this to City’s 284 shots at goal, 120 on target and 48 goals and you can see the gulf in class.

It should not be surprising that the tip for this game is to bet on Man City to win and both teams not to score at -110 or the -125 available for City keeping a clean sheet. 

Swansea are -250 to be relegated at the end of the season and these odds should shorten further once they have been taken apart by the seemingly unstoppable Manchester City squad.

Category : Betting Picks

Tag : Arsenal , everton , Manchester City , Newcastle United , Premier League , Swansea City , West Ham United

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