Match Preview

Weekend Top Tips

Weekend Bet Tips (Important Games)

This weekend, West Ham face Cheslea in a London Derby while league leaders, Arsenal host Brentford in another Derby. Manchester United travel to Leeds United having hosted them just 5 days earlier but the big game will be Monday night’s Merseyside Derby at Anfield. Before we dive into that, you can head to our Cross Sport Specials page to check out some of the special offers we have.

BetKing also offers Daily Specials with boosted odds, which you can find here. You can bookmark these pages and visit every morning for new and enhanced specials.

West Ham vs Chelsea

Graham Potter and 9th place Chelsea face a difficult task when he visits The Hammers this weekend, and anything less than a win could see his short reign at Chelsea come under serious jeopardy. They’ve scored just 3 goals in 7 games in 2023 with just 1 win and questions are beginning to be asked about him, especially given the £500m spending on squad improvement in the last 2 windows. While the Blues seem to have stabilized their back line as evident by the clean sheets they’ve kept in each of their last 3 games, they’ve struggled at the other end of the pitch which has impacted their overall results. Statistically, Graham Potter’s 21 goals conceded in the Premier League has them as the joint 3rd best defense in the league but their attack, which has produced 22 goals, is ranked #13 in the league.

West Ham may have picked up 4 pts from their last 2 games, but they picked up 4 from the previous 9 and this poor run of games has them just 1 pt above the Relegation Zone in 17th. David Moyes’ summer signings have struggled to find their footing for them, while the old players are yet to rediscover the fine form that saw them finish 7th in the Premier League last season. Even more worryingly, The Hammers have lost 8 of their last 10 derbies, while Chelsea are one win away from becoming the first team to win 150 London Derbies in the Premier League. Having lost 4 of their last five games against Chelsea, and given their own struggles in front of goal (18 EPL goals in 21 games), David Moyes would most likely adopt a very conservative approach to this game, which could make getting goals for Chelsea even more difficult.

Prediction

Under 3.5 goals @1.25
Total bookings: Over 4.5 @2.38
Over 4.5 corners for Chelsea @1.52

Arsenal vs Brentford

Premier League leaders, Arsenal, welcome Brentford to The Emirates with the aim of grabbing a historic win. The Gunners have lost back to back games in all competitions for the first time this season with a pair of 1–0 defeats to Manchester City in the FA Cup and Everton in the league, but a win on Saturday would see them complete a double over Brentford making them the first team in the Premier League to complete a double against 47 different opponents. Historically, Brentford have struggled on trips to Arsenal, with just 1 win in 8 attempts in the top flight – a win which came all the way back in April 1938.

The Gunners are on a run of 7 Premier League London derby wins with all those wins coming this season which, in a lot of ways, epitomizes the brilliant league campaign they’re having. Only once in their history have they been on a better run against London opponents – 9 wins in a row between April 1988 and February 1989.

Though they lost the reverse fixture at home (3–0), wins against Man Utd, Man City and Liverpool this season will give 7th place Brentford the confidence of pulling an upset against a Top 6 team. The Bees are also currently on a 9 game unbeaten run (W5, D4), with only Newcastle (16) on a better run without a defeat in the league. A major key for them ahead of their visit will be Ivan Toney. The Englishman has been incredibly prolific this season, with 13 goals in 21 games, only behind Harry Kane and Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race. They’ll also be aiming to keep 4 consecutive clean sheets as a top-flight side for the first time in club history, but given Arsenal’s deadly attack of Saka, Martinelli & Nketiah, this could prove to be impossible.

Prediction

Arsenal to win @1.44
Both teams to score @1.91
Over 2.5 goals @1.73

Leicester vs Tottenham

The match between Leicester and Tottenham has seen a high number of goals scored, 71 to be exact, since Leicester’s promotion to the Premier League in 2014. The trend is likely to continue when Tottenham visit the King Power Stadium, especially with the absence of Hugo Lloris due to injury for the next 6 weeks. Leicester’s record at home against Tottenham in the league has been far from impressive, as they have only managed to keep one clean sheet in 13, with their last shutout dating back to September 1997. With Harry Kane, Tottenham’s new top scorer, leading the team, it’s expected that this trend will continue.

While Hugo Lloris will be absent, Spurs will welcome back Antonio Conte to the dugout. The Italian manager underwent a minor surgery last week and was unavailable as his team picked up 3 pts against Manchester City last week. Spurs have won their last 4 games against the Foxes, including a dramatic 3-2 win in last season’s fixture on this ground where they trailed up to the 94th min. Conte’s men have given up the first goal in each of their 2 visits to the King Power Stadium, but have comeback from behind to grab a 3pts, another pattern the Foxes might be weary of.

Prediction

Over 2.5 Goals @1.72
Spurs to win from behind (YES) @10.00
King’s Combo: Over 2.5 Goals. Both teams to score & 9+ corners @3.00
King’s Combo: Kulusevki to get one or more assists @4.50

Monaco vs PSG

PSG travel to Stade Louis II on Saturday afternoon to take on Monaco with hopes of bouncing back from their midweek disappointment against Marseille that saw them get dumped from the Coupe de France.

The hosts have been in fine form since the World Cup, with 5 wins and 2 draws in the league. They’ve risen to 4th on the table and are just 2pts away from 2nd place Marseille. Their attack has been one of their keys to their fine form with 48 goals in 22 games – the second in the league behind, of course, PSG. Breel Embolo and Wissam Ben Yedder have 12 goals apiece (tied for 3rd in the league) while versatile defender/midfielder, Caio Henrique has 7 assists.

On the other hand, PSG have looked shaky since the World Cup. They’ve lost 3 games since their stars returned from Qatar – twice in the league and, just this Wednesday, to Marseille in the Cup. In comparison, they were unbeaten before the World Cup, and Head Coach Galtier will be careful heading into Saturday. They’ve also failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last four away league matches and dropped points to Monaco in a 1-1 draw at the Parc des Princes in August, while their most recent trip to the Stade Louis II last March ended in a 3-0 defeat. Despite this hiccup, PSG hold a healthy 8-pt lead at the top and given the stars on their roster, it’ll take an epic collapse to blow the league title.

Prediction

Both teams to score @1.53
Double Chance: Monaco to win or draw @1.48
Over 2.5 goals @1.65

Leeds vs Man Utd

Man Utd travel to Elland Road to face Leeds United for the 2nd time in 5 days, having drawn at Old Trafford on Wednesday. Despite falling behind 2-0, the Red Devils might be disappointed with the draw, having pulled level with 20 mins left to play but failing to complete the comeback. Leeds United lost 4-2 in this same fixture on a rainy evening but haven’t lost consecutive home games in the league to Man Utd since 1976, something for Erik ten Hag to worry about.

Leeds, meanwhile, are winless at home since their 4-3 win over Bournemouth in November. Since then, they’ve drawn 4 and lost 3 in front of their home crowd, a key factor to the dismissal of Jesse Marsch who is yet to be permanently replaced. The Whites have conceded 4 league goals to Man Utd on 3 different occasions. Only against Arsenal (4) have they given up 4 goals or more to at Elland Road.

The stars of Wednesday’s draw are expected to play a similar role on Sunday. Marcus Rashford scored his 20th goal of the season and his 13th post World Cup, while 19-year-old Wilfried Gnonto scored the opener within 50 seconds. Their directness as well as speed and composure in transition made them difficult to contain, and their respective teams will be counting on them to deliver once more.

Prediction

Over 2.5 goals @2.55
Double Chance: Man Utd to win win or draw @1.26
Man Utd to score 2 in a row (YES) @2.05

Man City vs Aston Villa

After their loss to Spurs on Sunday, Man City will be glad to face Aston Villa in a fixture they’ve excelled in over the pas decade. The reigning English champions have won their last 12 home games against Aston Villa including a dramatic 3-2 win on the final day of last season that saw them come from 2-0 down to secure the Premier League title ahead of Liverpool. However, having held Man City to a 1-1 draw earlier in the season at Villa Park, they’ll be looking to avoid defeats in both league meetings against Man City for the first time since the 2000/01 season.

Pep Guardiola and his team received a lot of criticism following their loss to Spurs with star striker, Erling Haaland failing to get a touch in the opposition box. Even worse, on Monday, news broke of Manchester City being charged by the Premier League for a breach of 100 rules, most of which are financial rules. The consequences, if found guilty, could range from heavy fines, to points deductions and even a relegation to the Championship like Juventus in 2006. This off-field scandal is a enough to throw even the most-focued manager/team off and Guardiola will have to do an exceptional job to keep his players’ minds on the game.

While Man City have not lost consecutive Premier League games since December 2018, Aston Villa’s Unai Emery has won all 3 away games in the league since he was appointed. Aston Villa haven’t won 4 consecutive away games in the league since the 2008/09 season and Emery will be hoping to extend his brilliant form away from home against a distracted Man City side.

Prediction

Over 2.5 goals @1.49
Both teams to score @1.93
Over 8.5 Corners @1.34

Liverpool vs Everton

Last weekend, Everton earned a 1-0 victory over top-ranked Arsenal in a game where they rode the “new manager bounce.” Despite the fact that their tactics were not revolutionary, their win was impressive, and many felt that they should have won by a larger margin. Manager Sean Dyche utilized the team’s strengths and masked their weaknesses in a way that seemed obvious, yet Frank Lampard failed to do the same. Dyche had the team play with more energy and the midfield, led by Amadou Onana, Idrissa Gueye, and Abdoulaye Doucouré, was particularly dominant.

Liverpool, meanwhile, were suffering a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Wolves at Molineux Stadium. Goals from Craig Dawson, Ruben Neves and an own goal from Joel Matip condemned the Reds to their 3rd defeat in 4 games and their 7th of the season – over 3 times as many as they suffered last season. They’re winless in four league games in 2023 and have scored only once. Their poor start in the calendar year has only been worse once in the Premier League era (five games in 2017). With Liverpool in 10th position after 20 games and Klopp’s job security diminishing by the hour, there are rumors that a few more poor weeks, particularly in the Champions League where they will face Real Madrid, could spell the end for the German manager.

Despite their struggles, Liverpool still maintain an impressive record at Anfield, having only lost one of their 22 league games at their home ground. But, it’s worth mentioning that the Merseyside derby has seen a league high 12 goalless draws, with the reverse fixture also ending goalless. The hosts have failed to score in three consecutive league games, and the last time they went four games without a league goal was in January 2021, with the fourth game in that run being a 1-0 home loss to Burnley and Sean Dyche. The irony is palpable.

Prediction