It’s time to look forward to Matchweek 10 in the Premier League and bring you our match predictions here at The Big Kick Off.
The stand-out fixture this weekend is, wait for it, Man Utd again. They face Spurs on Saturday evening, and I think it’s fair to say all eyes will be on that one.
Looking back briefly to Matchweek 9, and well, what a spectacle that was.
I joked in last week’s Premier League match predictions on TBKO about United getting thrashed at the King Power Stadium. Little did I know that was just a warm-up for a proper thrashing!
As far as I’m aware, Ole is still in charge at Old Trafford, well, at least he was at the time of writing this. But will he be after Saturday?
In all seriousness, if United were going to sack him after Sunday, they would have done so by now.
He has a huge few days coming up though. First, he goes to London on Saturday to face Spurs in the evening Premier League kick-off.
Then he has to go to Italy to face Atalanta on Tuesday. Barring another hammering in the Premier League on Saturday, I think Ole will survive until Tuesday at the very least.
Although, his long-term future at the club may already have been determined.
Anyway, onto the betting to win the Premier League, and after last weekend’s results, there has been a big market mover.
Liverpool are now into second favourites with the bookmakers. Prior to beating United, Klopp’s side were 7/2 (4.5) third favourites, they are now 13/5 (3.6).
Despite winning 7-0, Chelsea have drifted out from 21/10 (3.10) to 11/4 (3.75). This is partly down to Liverpool’s form, and the uncertainty about Chelsea’s main two strikers.
Apart from that, there’s not much difference. City have stayed the same price, but United have drifted from 33/1 to 50/1.
But is anybody really going to be backing them?
Latest Premier League Winner Betting Odds
- Man City 10/11
- Liverpool 13/5
- Chelsea 11/4
- Man Utd 50/1
- Arsenal 150/1
- West Ham 250/1
- Everton 250/1
Right, now it’s time to move on to this week’s Premier League match predictions.
Matchweek 10 Premier League Match Predictions
Remember, these predictions are for a bit of fun. Don’t take them too seriously and if you are betting, only bet what you can afford on them.
On last weekend’s matches, a £1 bet on all 10 individual fixtures gave a return of around £12.50 (depending on the bookmaker used). A profit of around 25% on investment.
Leicester v Arsenal 12.30pm Saturday
The Foxes all of a sudden have back-to-back victories and things are looking better from them.
They were good wins as well, 2-1 away at Brentford, and 4-2 at home to Man Utd…. ahh, wait a minute. Maybe not that good after all.
They come up against an Arsenal side who looked impressive against Aston Villa last Friday night, although Villa was awful.
These two sides are teams on the up, and I believe all three results are possible here. So I’m sitting on the fence with a draw.
- Verdict – Draw
Burnley v Brentford – 3pm Saturday
Oh no, not Brentford again.
The Bees have been burning my fingers for weeks now. I gave them a point last weekend and they lost, this after predicting they would lose nearly every week only to be proven wrong.
I really do think Burnley is due a win, and maybe after two defeats in a row, Brentford’s bubble has finally burst.
- Verdict – Burnely Win
Liverpool v Brighton – 3pm Saturday
Well, what chance Brighton repeats last season’s 1-0 win at Anfield? It only happened on the 3rd of February this year.
Anybody giving football betting tips who predicts a win for the Seagulls is either a genius (if Brighton wins) or more likely, a raving lunatic.
Any takers? I thought not.
- Verdict – Liverpool Win
Man City v Crystal Palace – 3pm Saturday
Palace has impressed me this season and done much better than I envisioned they would. How they didn’t beat Newcastle last weekend, I don’t know.
Finishing is their weakness at the moment, but either way, I don’t see that affecting this result.
- Verdict – Man City Win
Newcastle v Chelsea – 3pm Saturday
Toon Army fans might be happy with the fact they’ve finally got rid of Mike Ashley, but on the field, they should be starting to worry.
All the money in the world might be available, but they will have to spend wisely in January, or they could be going down.
Another defeat here, coupled with a win for Leeds over Norwich, and Southampton getting something at Watford, would leave Newcastle cut adrift in the bottom three.
It looks like Chelsea won’t have a striker for this match, so will there ever be a better chance for Newcastle to upset the odds and beat the Blues?
How can they be tipped though? Even with no Chelsea striker, I’m going to have to go for another defeat for the Toon.
- Verdict – Chelsea Win
Watford v Southampton – 3pm Saturday
What a result for Watford that was last weekend.
After getting thrashed by Liverpool in new boss Claudio Ranieri’s first match, the Hornets bounced back and thrashed Everton 5-2.
Star of last weekend’s performance, Emmanuel Dennis, is suspended this weekend.
As for the Saints, they were held 2-2 at home to Burnley last Saturday. They are fighting hard to survive, and I’m backing them to pick up another point here.
- Verdict – Draw
Spurs v Man Utd – 5.30pm Saturday
Who knows what might happen here. Which Spurs will turn up? And which United will turn up?
One thing I can say is that we will get an indication if the United players are prepared to battle for their manager this weekend.
I’m suspecting the United players will put in a shift. The problem with this match though is that both bosses could put players behind the ball and play a negative counter-attacking style.
It could be 0-0, or 1-0 either way. I think I’ll go with the draw.
- Verdict – Draw
Norwich v Leeds – 2pm Sunday
Moving onto Sunday’s fixtures, and first up is Norwich against Leeds.
The Canaries will have to be eyeing this as an opportunity to get their first 3 points of the season. Leeds has been struggling, and they’re still without Patrick Bamford.
For Leeds, they will see this match as an opportunity to get their season back on track with a first away win.
And I think they will.
- Verdict – Leeds Win
Aston Villa v West Ham – 4.30pm Sunday
On form, you have to be picking West Ham here.
Villa were awful against Arsenal last week, while West Ham beat Spurs 1-0 at the London Stadium.
Football doesn’t always go to form though and this is another fixture that could go either way.
So on this occasion, I’m predicting points for someone in Claret and Blue.
- Verdict – Draw
Wolves v Everton – 8pm Monday
Finally, Monday night’s insomnia cure. I don’t think there will be a queue outside any pubs to get in and watch this match.
Wolves have been improving week-on-week, while Everton slowly slides towards the inevitable ‘Rafa is a red here to destroy us’ protests.
I’m not really sure what to expect. Will Everton bounce back from the Watford mauling? Possibly.
I think I have to go with the draw, again.
- Verdict – Draw
This article is written by Dean Etheridge, you can find him on LinkedIn if you wish to get in touch or follow.