Football betting tips: Weekend best bets
Sunday
1.5pts Fulham to beat Man Utd and BTTS (19:00) at 16/5 (William Hill)
Fulham vs Manchester United
- Kick-off time: 19:00 GMT, Sunday
- TV: TNT Sports 1
- Home 23/20 | Draw 12/5 | Away 11/5
Manchester United once again failed to impress in midweek, edging Rangers to clinch a third win in 10 matches - all three have needed a stoppage-time goal.
FULHAM, meanwhile, have been superbly consistent.
The only defeat suffered by Marco Silva's team across their past 11 games requires a caveat of its own, with two individual errors playing out from the back at West Ham costing them in a match where the Hammers scored three times from only four shots on goal.
Such form has seen the Cottagers climb to 10th in the Premier League table and within five points of fifth place.
Defensively, however, of the teams currently in the top half only Aston Villa have conceded more than Fulham's 30 goals in 22 matches, with their 77% BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE rate a top-flight high. That percentage increases further to 91% for matches played at Craven Cottage.
At what is a generous 16/5, taking FULHAM TO WIN & BTTS is therefore advised.
Already advised
Saturday 15:00
1pt Murillo to score anytime in Bournemouth vs Forest at 25/1 (General)
0.5pt Murillo to score from outside the box at 125/1 (William Hill)
2pts Fleetwood to beat Carlisle at 10/11 (William Hill)
2pts Crewe to beat Accrington at 19/20 (William Hill, Coral)
2pts Notts County to beat Bromley at 10/11 (Ladbrokes, Coral)
1pt Fleetwood, Crewe and Notts all to win at 5.9/1 (Coral)
Sunday
1pt West Ham to beat Aston Villa (16:30) at 11/2 (Betfred)
Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest
- Kick-off: 15:00 GMT, Saturday
- Home 21/20 | Draw 12/5 | Away 12/5
Rather than writing exactly the same thing every week, I'll keep it brief.
Until he scores, changes habit or I see sense, Nottingham Forest centre-back MURILLO will be getting backed TO SCORE ANYTIME and TO SCORE FROM OUTSIDE THE BOX at the huge prices - 25/1 and 125/1 this week - on offer in every round of Premier League fixtures.
- CLICK HERE to back Murillo to score anytime with Sky Bet
- CLICK HERE to back Murillo to score from outside the box with Sky Bet
The Brazilian had 17 attempts on goal in 2023/24: six from outside the box, with two from inside his own half.
He's equalled that overall number already this season, while becoming a little more focused - only one attempt hasn't been within the width of the penalty area.
Playing for a strong set-piece team and having already scored a header this season, his chances in the anytime market go far beyond eccentric potshots although he is Forest's free-kick taker and 10 of his shots have come from outside the box, giving us an excellent run for our money at 125/1.
And judging by the official Premier League account on X, we're not the only ones who have caught on to his madness.
Loading: Murillo wonder strike 📶 pic.twitter.com/03ZgfHpAf6
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 22, 2025
Fleetwood vs Carlisle
- Kick-off: 15:00 GMT, Saturday
- Home 4/5 | Draw 5/2 | Away 3/1
Pete Wild has really turned around a struggling FLEETWOOD team.
Having won once in their final 12 matches under Charlie Adam, they have since beaten pre-season promotion-favourites Chesterfield and MK Dons, and League Two's in-form side, Salford.
In the only games they failed to win the Cod Army dominated Harrogate in a 1-1 draw (xG: 2.74-1.0) and were beaten by a stoppage-time goal at Doncaster, one of the division's best sides.
During this five-game span Fleetwood's defensive improvement has been particularly noticeable, allowing just 0.78 expected goals against (xGA) per game on average; not a good sign for rock-bottom Carlisle, who have failed to score in six of their last nine matches.
The Cumbrians are seven points from safety, have won just once in 10 games and have lost five of their last seven.
Mike Williamson has brought in 10 new players so far this month so could soon have an unrecognisable XI, but it won't be an instant fix.
Crewe vs Accrington
- Kick-off: 15:00 GMT, Saturday
- Home 5/6 | Draw 5/2 | Away 29/10
Having reached the play-off final last season and built on that by sitting second after 26 games of this, CREWE are one of the most reliable teams in League Two.
Moreover Lee Bell's side have won three and drawn one of their last four matches, scoring seven goals across their two most recent home fixtures.
Only runaway leaders Walsall (2.50) and Bradford (2.25) are averaging more points per game at home than the Alex's 2.08, with their W7 D4 L1 record demonstrating just how tricky a task Accrington face on Saturday.
It's hard to make a case for Stanley, who find themselves 21st and mired in a relegation battle, have won only twice in 12 games in all competitions and were thrashed 3-0 at home by Notts County last weekend.
Notts County vs Bromley
- Kick-off: 15:00 GMT, Saturday
- Home 4/5 | Draw 14/5 | Away 11/4
With players returning from injury, NOTTS COUNTY are looking back to their best.
Jodi Jones has been gradually re-introduced to the team after a long spell out injured and thus far they have made light of Dan Crowley leaving for MK Dons.
Just as Alassana Jatta is being linked with his own move away, talismanic veteran David McGoldrick has stepped up by scoring four goals in his last two matches - both games in which Jatta failed to find the net.
Stuart Maynard's side have scored 16 goals in six League Two matches, winning five of those with the exception a loss to seemingly unstoppable Walsall.
Bromley have overperformed for much of what has been a seriously impressive first season as an EFL club and will likely recover from back-to-back defeats (4-1 at Crewe and 1-0 at home to Colchester) to finish safely in mid-table.
Ultimately though, Notts should have too much for them.
League Two treble makers
All three of these strong League Two sides look to be overpriced, making the FLEETWOOD-CREWE-NOTTS treble worth taking at a smidgen short of 6/1.
Aston Villa vs West Ham
- Kick-off time: 16:30 GMT, Sunday
- TV: Sky Sports Main Event
- Home 1/2 | Draw 10/3 | Away 19/4
“Today was the key. I think we lost the opportunity to get in the top eight.”
Unai Emery was not a happy bunny on Tuesday after his side lost 1-0 at Monaco in their penultimate Champions League group game; luckily for Aston Villa, results the following night went in their favour.
Now 4/6 to avoid the additional play-off stage and go straight through to the round of 16, everything hinges on Wednesday's home match against Celtic which will surely take priority over Sunday's top-flight visit of a WEST HAM team in its infancy under Graham Potter.
Potter had been in charge only two days when the Hammers went to Villa Park a fortnight ago and two late goals denied them an FA Cup third-round win.
Ahead of this match, he will have had his first full week of uninterrupted training and against a team who have struggled in Premier League fixtures immediately after midweek European matches this season, winning just one of their six games, WEST HAM should be backed TO WIN at 11/2.
Odds correct at 1640 BST (24/01/25)
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