Football started in Germany a few weeks earlier, while the Premier League was kicking its toes in frustration. And there was one thing we picked up, home team advantage disappeared! In fact, the stats favoured the away teams disproportionately.
Returning back to England, we have had four games so far (a small sample, I realise), and apart from Manchester City’s stroll against Arsenal, the away sides are unbeaten. And even with the City game you could say the home team, in David Luiz, had a massive advantage!
Bearing this in mind, we’re going to side with the away teams today.
Watford need the points, that’s true. But their talisman Troy Deeney has concerns about the restart, and there’s a chance this could transmit to the rest of the team. Leicester, on the other hand, will be flying with confidence, and in Jamie Vardy have a player seeking the Golden Boot.
Next up is Brighton against Arsenal. The Gunners were rubbish on Wednesday, and this may turn out to be a bad decision! But surely Mikel Arteta will pick a better side this time round, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a central striking role. We’ll take Arsenal to bounce back.
West Ham host Wolves in the day’s third game, and we fancy the team from the Black Country to go home with all the spoils. Wolves will have enjoyed the break, as they started the season early with their participation in the Europa League. They won at the Hammers last season, and in Raul Jimenez, Diogo Jota and Adama Traore they have an exciting attacking forward line (which probably won’t be together next season).
The night’s final game sees Bournemouth host Crystal Palace. This match is a little hard to call, but we’re going to side with Palace to nick a win on the back of Wilfried Zaha’s attacking talents. The hosts were stung earlier this week when midfielder Ryan Fraser refused a short term extension of his contract to play the rest of the season, and thus could affect the mood of the team.
Recommendations:
Leicester, Arsenal and Wolves to win as a treble, 0.5 of a point, at approximately 9/1, widely available
Leicester, Arsenal, Wolves and Palace to win as a four-timer, 0.5 of a point, at approximately 30/1, widely available
Vardy, Aubameyang and Jiménez to score anytime as a treble, 1 pt, at 10/1, William Hill
