English Premier League Betting Odds and Predictions – Matchweek 28

English Premier League Betting Odds and Predictions – Matchweek 28

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Chelsea vs. West Bromwich Albion (Fox Soccer Channel, 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT): The fourth-place Blues will no doubt have revenge on their minds after losing at West Brom, 2-1 on Nov. 17 in the first meeting of the season.

The seventh-place Baggies (12-4-11, 38 GF-36 GA) sit just nine points back of Chelsea in the league table and can make up some ground with a win at chilly Stamford Bridge but doing so against a now healthy and deep Blues squad with a chip on their collective shoulders should prove to be quite challenging.

Chelsea (14-7-6, 55 GF-30 GA) owns the series recently, going 8-0-2 and outscoring WBA 24-6 in the process so expect players like Juan Mata, Demba Ba and Gary Cahill—who rested in Wednesday’s 2-0 FA Cup win over Middlesbrough to contribute for the European champions in a big way in this fixture.

BETS: Chelsea -303, Over 2½ -161
PREDICTION: Chelsea 2 West Brom 1

Manchester United vs. Norwich City (ESPN2, 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT): League leaders Manchester United (22-2-3) welcome 12th-place Norwich City (7-11-9, 27 GF-41 GA) to Old Trafford this weekend in what on paper appears to be a massive mismatch.

And like their rivals Chelsea above, the Red Devils (12-0-1 home) and Sir Alex Ferguson will be looking to avenge a Nov. 17 upset when the Canaries blanked United, 1-0 at Carrow Road. In the last nine in this series, United is 6-1-2 (13-7 goals) so best to take a chance on the team focusing on a big goal (title) and lay the price.

United games are 18-9 over (67 percent) and you can find a 2½ total for this fixture, best to grab it lay the juice and hope for two goals at halftime.

BETS: Manchester United -1½ -110 (Bovada), Over 2½ -175
PREDICTION: Manchester United 3 Norwich City 1

Liverpool vs. Wigan Athletic (Fox Soccer Channel, 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m.): When these two met earlier this season, eighth-place Liverpool (10-9-8, 49 GF-34 GA) shut out the 17th-place Latics (6-6-15, 33 GF-51 GA), 3-0 at Anfield and while this one promises to be much closer, no reason to doubt that the Reds and Luis Suárez can find a way to win this game at DW Stadium.

Liverpool holds a slight edge in this series over the last 10 (3-5-2, 13-10 goals) and with a +15 goal differential, are the better side heading into this meeting so why not do what The Beatles would have done and throw a pound or dollar or two on Liverpool? Goo goo g ‘joob brother.

BET: Liverpool -120
PREDICTION: Liverpool 2 Wigan Athletic 1

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal (Fox Soccer Channel, 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT): The trend is often your friend in sports gambling and in this London derby all the trends point toward a high-scoring affair.

Arsenal (13-8-6, 52 GF-30 GA) currently sits in fifth place in the Premier League, now just two points back of Chelsea in the hunt for the last UEFA Champions League spot and will certainly be a test for host Tottenham at White Hart Lane in this lone Sunday game.

The Spurs (15-6-6, 47 GF-32 GA) recently vaulted the aforementioned Blues into third place in the table and have been consistently good despite the injury to star Jermain Defoe, in large part to the phenomenal play of Gareth Bale who so far certainly has to be the most valuable player in the top flight this season.

The Gunners have the slight edge in the last 10 in this series (4-3-3, 26-19 goals) and have romped by 5-2 scores in the last two meetings but the real surprising statistic is that the last seven in this series have gone over in games averaging 4.2 goals.

So taking a shot at the over 2½ goals seems like the logical thing to do with both teams able to score a goal or two in such an important game for both clubs.

BET: Over 2½ -136 (BEST BET)

PREDICTION: Tottenham 2 Arsenal 2

Monday, March 4, 2013

Aston Villa vs. Manchester City (ESPN2, 2:55 p.m. ET/11:55 a.m. PT): Second-place Manchester City (16-8-3, 50 GF-24 GA) travels to Villa Park to face 18th-place Aston Villa (5-9-13, 26 GF-52 GA) in this game between teams on opposite ends of the English Premier League table.

After beating Chelsea last Sunday, the Sky Blues put a grip on second place in the league and will want to pick up all three points here against Villa, who they crushed 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium in the season’s first meeting.

City and Carlos Tévez are a dominating 7-1-2 against the Claret and Blue over the last 10 and have outscored them 25-8 along the way. Even more appetizing is the fact that City has won the last eight in this series and put 13 goals in the net to Villa’s one. So you do the simple math Bubba. Embrace logic.

BET: Manchester City -250
PREDICTION: Manchester City 2 Aston Villa 0

BONUS PICK: Stoke City-West Ham United Under 2½ -149

LAST WEEK: (5-2-0)

YEAR-TO-DATE RECORD: (69-59-1)

ODDS SOURCE: Sportbook.com (Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles)