Some late Aston Villa goals saved LB last week and crucially kept TheACCAdemics.com on track to land the first All Action Acca of the season for 68 units. There is a riveting weekend of Premier League action with Liverpool v West Ham and the North London Derby the pick of the bunch.
Manchester City v Nottingham Forest Prediction
Sat 23 Sep 15:00
City survived an early scare against Red Star midweek but ultimately ran out comfortable winners. It’s hard to see anything other than another comfortable win here but the odds offer no value at all.
Luton Town v Wolves Prediction
Sat 23 Sep 15:00
This game feels like a BTTS banker. Both of these teams will feel like the game is there for the taking and will go all out for the win. Wolves are just above the drop zone for no reason other than there are still four winless teams in the league. One of these winless wonders is Luton Town and I expect an end-to-end affair. I’ve lost quite a few bets lately involving bottom-of-the-table sides so I’ll sit this one out but 3/4 for BTTS should be a nice boost for any Saturday accas.
Crystal Palace v Fulham Prediction
Sat 23 Sep 15:00
These are two teams I have yet to figure out this season so there will be no pick from me here. My gut says a low-scoring home win, either one or two nil, but with Palace odds-on I will happily pass on this one.
Brentford v Everton Prediction
Sat 23 Sep 17:30
Everton will win a game at some point, probably, and if that comes against an out-of-sorts Brentford it really would not be a shock. However, I have had the misfortune of watching every Everton game this season and they have looked totally lost since the first game. As tempting as 16/5 for The Toffees to get their first win of the season I’ll pass. I have backed Everton twice so far, and they have let me down both times, and I feel I’ll be damned either way on them here.
Burnley v Manchester United Prediction
Sat 23 Sep 20:00
I have long been critical of Erik Ten Hag and I am beginning to wonder if he will last the season at Old Trafford. Not everything that has gone wrong for United is his fault, and the will-they-won’t-they drama of the Glazers cannot help, but the team looks to be regressing under the Dutchman. United were totally outplayed by Arsenal just before the international break and then humiliated by Brighton last week. Before that they were also eviscerated by Spurs, only beat Wolves thanks to some shocking VAR calls, and needed a late Bruno penalty to beat 10-man Nottingham Forest. In a word, their league form has been terrible. A mid-week loss in Munich in The Champions League only adds to the negative outlook.
I was quietly optimistic about Burnley during the summer but things have not gone to plan for Vincent Kompany’s men. They have just one point so far and it would be easy to jump to conclusions. However, I am going to excuse the poor results for two reasons. Firstly, their three home losses have come against City, Spurs and Villa – three of the most in-form teams in England. Their only away game so far was a one-all draw with Nottingham Forest, that saw a harsh VAR cancelation of a Burnley winner.
Burnley look overpriced at 10/3 and I cannot see how United are odds-on. Videos leaked this week that seemed to show players arguing in training, and the mail-it-in performances from the likes of Rashford and Erikson last week do not speak to a team about to turn it on. United probably do deserve to be favourites here but at these odds it’s a home win for me.
Arsenal v Tottenham Prediction
Sun 24 Sep 14:00
The North London Derby is generally an exciting game for neutrals and with both teams unbeaten so far this should be a cracker. I don’t often tip up Arsenal but I will here for a couple of reasons. The Gunners’ home form has been fantastic under Arteta, and very few teams manage a result at The Emirates (Manchester City aside). After a brief wobble a few years back, Arsenal seem to have refound their groove against their local rivals with four wins in the last five against Spurs.
Tottenham have started the season better than almost everyone expected. Anyone who paid attention to Ange Postecoglou’s time at Celtic would have expected him to be a success at Spurs eventually, but the speed at which he has remolded this team is impressive. The adaptation to life without Harry Kane has also been seamless, and the coach and players deserve a lot more credit than they have received. Although I expect his time at Tottenham to be a success overall, there are some parallels between his start and that of Nuno Espírito Santo. The Portuguese manager started with some high-scoring wins before a heavy loss away to Arsenal.
I think Arsenal will win this game and another 3-1 type scoreline feels the most likely. Both teams have scored in the last five installments of this fixture, with Arsenal coming out on top in four of those. Arsenal to win and BTTS at 2/1 seems more than fair.
Brighton v Bournemouth Prediction
Sun 24 Sep 14:00
I expect a routine Brighton win against their south coast rivals but I am not interested in backing The Seagulls at 4/11.
Chelsea v Aston Villa Prediction
Sun 24 Sep 14:00
The consensus among most pundits is that Mauricio Pochettino will turn things around any day now. Unfortunately for Chelsea fans, that has been the consensus all season. I have never really rated the Argentine coach, and in my opinion, he has grossly underachieved considering the talent he has had the privilege of managing. Chelsea’s only win this season has come against Luton Town and I cannot understand why they are odds-on.
Aston Villa’s start to the season has been a little underwhelming but they are now in fine form with 5 wins in their last six. In fact, their only two losses so far have come at Anfield and St James Park. I expect them to push Chelsea here and the 3/1 for an away win is very tempting. I will pass on an official selection, however, because I might have some tunnel vision when it comes to these teams. I am a long-term fan of Unai Emery, and have no time for Poch, so maybe there is some bias creeping in.
Liverpool v West Ham Prediction
Sun 24 Sep 14:00
I tipped West Ham double chance against City last week and it looked like a live one for quite some time. City turned it on in the second half and the bet ultimately lost, but my confidence in this West Ham team is growing week to week. Unfortunately, I tipped the Hammers to go down in my preseason piece, and that already looks like a loser. Moyes’s side have excelled at turning games against on-paper superior sides into slugfests and that is definitely on the cards again this weekend. My gut instinct is to back West Ham to win but the 7/4 available for double chance is too good to pass on.
Sheffield United v Newcastle Prediction
Sun 24 Sep 16:30
There are no stats to back this up at all but I am taking Sheffield United to pick up their first win of the season at 11/2. To describe Newcastle as inconsistent so far would be generous, although in their defence they have played three of the top five already. They really struggled in Milan midweek and this game will feel like an anticlimax after the emotional high of the club’s first Champions League game in twenty years. Fabian Schär is injured and the midfield duo of Guimarães and Tonali looked dead on their feet at the end in the San Siro.
I expected a tough season for Newcastle and this is the sort of moment I had in mind. The squad is a bit thin in terms of competing both domestically and in Europe and they could struggle to adapt to the twice-weekly schedule. Sheffield United have not produced any stellar performances so far, so this is more of a punt than any of my other selections.
Premier League Betting Tips
Burnley v Manchester United – Burnley To Win @ 10/3
Arsenal v Tottenham – Arsenal To Win & BTTS @ 2/1
Liverpool v West Ham – West Ham Double Chance (Win or Draw) @ 7/4
Sheffield United v Newcastle – Sheffield United To Win @ 11/2
LB publishes his Premier League tips every Thursday. Follow LB and TheACCAdemics to get all our weekly football betting tips first!
