Premier League betting tips: Preview of the weekend's games including Spurs v Chelsea
Our tipster David John says it's time to jump quickly back on the Harry Kane Premier League bandwagon on Sunday.
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Huddersfield v Newcastle (1330 BST, Sky Sports Premier League)
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The redoubtable Rafa Benitez might be outwardly keen to stay at Newcastle but I wonder if a few additional seeds of doubt were sown after the 2-0 defeat to Spurs on their return to the top flight.
Not that his side were particularly bad but having to watch his defence stretched further with injuries to Florian Lejeune and Paul Dummett while a moment of idiocy from Jonjo Shelvey leaves Rafa without his captain for three games and immediately on the backfoot.
Benitez is a skilled operator at this level but he is not a magician after little help so far over the summer in the transfer window so will have to draw on all his experience in a bid to get over last week’s stuttering start in front of an expectant Toon faithful.
The purse-strings have been loosened slightly this week by owner Mike Ashley and Joselu’s arrival is very interesting after enjoying a very good pre-season with former club Stoke.
The Spaniard does not have a very good goals-to-game ratio but seems in upbeat mood after his arrival on Tyneside: “I am player who works hard and tries to score goals. My movement is good in the area.”
I would be fairly confident he will be thrown straight into the line-up on the back of that decent summer of activity and is well worth a second look when it comes to the usual scorer markets.
While Newcastle need to find their feet, Huddersfield were the epitome of a well-oiled machine after a clinical success at Crystal Palace on their Premier League debut.
The 3-0 scoreline was probably beyond manager David Wagner’s wildest dreams but his side pressed the ball with vigour and energy while they have found an instant icon in double-goal hero Steve Mounie.
It would be wise for a packed John Smith’s Stadium to just take a breath after that tumultuous performance and there is a chance of a little bit of mental let down although Wagner does not strike me as someone to get too carried away with all the hype.
Both sides came up from the Championship and split the two encounters last season – both away victories – while stats boffins who believe history will repeat itself are going to be all over this turning into a goal-fest.
The teams have met just five times since 1983/84 but 25 goals have been scored and the way this pair set up suggests more could be on the agenda so over 2.5 in total chalked up at an odds-against quote makes some additional appeal.
Prediction: Huddersfield 2-2 Newcastle - Sky Bet's scoreline odds: 14/1
Tottenham v Chelsea (Wembley, 1600 Sky Sports Premier League)
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It is the fixture everyone will be glued to this weekend as Tottenham enter a brave new world of Premier League football at the national stadium.
There is a deal of trepidation following the iffy form shown at Wembley last season during various unsuccessful European campaigns so Mauricio Pochettino and his players better not dwell on any thought of a lingering hoodoo otherwise this is going to be an extremely painful nine months.
I don’t see adapting to their temporary new home on a consistent basis as a real issue – this is a club with serious title aspirations for heaven’s sake and placing the blame for below-par performances on having to play away from White Hart Lane will not wash.
They had a nice preparation last weekend with a reasonably comfortable 2-0 victory over Newcastle to ease back into action and are now a fraction of odds-against to get on a real roll with three points against the defending champions.
This time 12 months ago Antonio Conte was roaring up and down the touchline in delight before diving into the crowd but had much more of a scowl on his face after Chelsea imploded in the first half against Burnley.
He is going to have to work the oracle pretty quickly with his squad currently running at a dangerously depleted level and the relatively low transfer activity over the summer at Stamford Bridge could already be coming back to haunt them.
Eden Hazard, Pedro, Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas are all out for one reason or another, Diego Costa remains AWOL while new recruits Antonio Rudiger and Alvaro Morata are not quite up to full speed despite promising performances in last week’s 3-2 reverse.
They did show some gumption to rally after the break against Burnley but it was already lost cause in all honesty with 10 men.
Hopefully this game will give us a clearer idea of the task ahead for Conte in the short term and whether he can still tease out the kind of performance you would expect from the country’s top club.
They were comfortable 4-2 winners over Tottenham in an FA Cup semi-final here in the spring but Conte had Hazard and Costa to call on from the bench to salvage that fixture and while Willian was arguably Chelsea’s best player in last week’s opener, he can’t do everything on his own and needs those around him to step up considerably.
I like the chances of Tottenham to get off to an ideal start at Wembley and to boost the price up a little I will combine a home victory with a Harry Kane goal in the score/win double market.
Kane has still to register a Premier League goal in August in his career but he looked right on top of his game on Tyneside, forcing a great save from Rob Elliott before rattling a post late on with a fierce shot.
He is fully primed to bring closure to that rather strange statistic and can play his part in Tottenham immediately dispelling any issues in terms of getting a victory in their temporary surroundings.
Prediction: Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea - Sky Bet's scoreline odds: 15/2
Posted at 1255 BST on 18/08/17.
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Stoke v Arsenal (1730, BT Sport 1)
Can Arsenal supporters once more dare to dream about a Premier League title being delivered to north London?
Recent evidence suggests there might be an increased mental steel in the Gunners camp having fought back from a goal down to win the Community Shield on penalties before digging in resolutely to finally get the better of spirited upstarts Leicester.
Arsene Wenger’s future has been sorted out too so that issue is no longer hanging over them, while it will be fingers crossed he can keep hold of all his current playing staff as it was depth of talent off the bench via Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey that turned the tide against Leicester.
They are odds-on to come away from the Potteries with another three points and this is another fascinating test for Arsenal to try to pass with perhaps a few lingering scars still to heal from the dim and distant past having been roughed up on previous visits to the bet365 Stadium.
Mesut Ozil might still be guilty of prancing about like a show pony and is just the type of player Stoke would love to target but his back is covered a bit more these days by a much-improved Granit Xhaka and the muscular Sead Kolasinac so don’t expect the visitors to back down from a physical encounter this time.
Mark Hughes’ side are a sneaky fancy to struggle this season in some quarters but I quite liked the look of their team on paper at Everton last week and just one lapse was the difference as Wayne Rooney headed home the winner on the stroke of half time.
The issue currently is a lack of goals and creativity in their performance - labelled by one observer as "anaemic" - but the pieces are seemingly in place to improve with games under their belt as Saido Berahino, Xherdan Shaqiri, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and this week’s arrival Jese Rodriguez start to gel.
It seems like being a tough evening ahead for the hosts until they start to get some continuity among the fresh faces but I don’t see them being hammered and a solitary goal might well be good enough to keep the momentum going in the right direction for Wenger and company.
Prediction: Stoke 0-1 Arsenal - Sky Bet's scoreline odds: 7/1
Bournemouth v Watford (1500)
You would have to give pretty high marks to Watford for their first competitive effort under Marco Silva as they chiselled out a point in a zany 3-3 draw with Liverpool on the opening weekend.
The players already seem far more clued up as to what their roles are in a relatively short space of time under the Portuguese compared to the Walter Mazzarri era, while their heads did not drop either despite conceding twice in two second-half minutes to trail 3-2.
It was a promising start and it's not much of a surprise to see the price on an away victory on the south coast being nibbled at, although Silva will need a bit of a re-jig after injuries picked up by Roberto Pereyra, Daryl Janmaat and Younes Kaboul.
That could mean a start for recent £18million arrival Andre Gray but the former Burnley striker needs time to get up to speed according to his manager and I admire Silva for not just chucking him straight into the line-up in a bid to start paying back some of the hefty transfer fee.
The hosts are on a recovery mission having failed to get anything from their trip to West Brom despite enjoying 71 per cent of the possession.
The Cherries were certainly up and down last season but they could be relied on most times to pose a threat going forward and Eddie Howe was certainly rather downcast at his side’s inability to create anything of note in front of goal at The Hawthorns.
To that end, poacher supreme Jermain Defoe was limited to about 30 second-half minutes as he recovers fully from a groin issue and his starting status remains up in the air with Howe keen to monitor him as the week progresses.
"Our style of swift, quick, attacking football is hopefully going to come out," said frustrated defender Charlie Daniels, who knows they have plenty to get stuck into on the training ground.
"It gives us that little bit of extra motivation. We want to bring it to the table this week."
Both meetings in the top flight last season ended 2-2 and I have a feeling there could well be more goals on the agenda if the pair click into gear with the hosts just given a narrow vote.
Prediction: Bournemouth 2-1 Watford - Sky Bet's scoreline odds: 15/2
Burnley v West Brom (1500)
Two mid-to-lower table floaters who got off to a winning start last weekend with the hosts taking a decent-sized chunk of the plaudits for their victory at Chelsea.
They may have received a handy leg up after Gary Cahill got an early red card but the ruthless way they took the hosts apart in the first half was impressive - we would have all been nodding sagely if the roles had been reversed and it had come from the champions.
The wheels started to come off a bit in the second period and manager Sean Dyche knows his team still has plenty to do in terms of retaining possession for longer periods.
That said, he is sure to have been happy with the attacking intent shown and to a certain extent, a new central defensive partnership of James Tarkowski and Ben Mee.
The Baggies were not quite as flashy in beating Bournemouth 1-0 but their manager Tony Pulis was quick to praise a focused display that limited the visitors to very little in the final third.
James McClean and Matt Phillips also got a thumbs-up for their work-rate and endeavour and had Asmir Begovic not been in sparkling form, the winning margin could have been significantly greater.
Pulis made only his third addition of the summer in midweek with the capture of veteran Gareth Barry from Everton, who looks the ideal type of player for the Welshman to squeeze another season out of while bringing some additional craft to the centre of the park.
It is another new arrival who intrigues me more though and after a very lively first display in blue and white stripes, Jay Rodriguez is fancied to open his scoring account.
I had more than a couple of question marks pencilled against his name after an injury-hit time with Southampton but he was in fine fettle last week and the quality of his shooting was exceptionally sharp for such an early stage in proceedings.
He returns to his hometown and Turf Moor where he began as a trainee a decade ago so it is easy to trot out all the old reasons for a more motivated display.
I saw more than enough though to suggest Rodriguez will be a potent threat this weekend, regardless of which team he is facing, with quality service from McClean and Phillips to feed on.
Prediction: Burnley 1-2 West Brom - Sky Bet's scoreline odds: 10/1
Leicester v Brighton (1500)
The Foxes were magnificent in a 4-3 defeat at Arsenal last Friday night and are rightly a warm order to bounce straight back up with three points in their opening home fixture.
I had some doubts about Craig Shakespeare after he took over the reins towards the end of last season due to some rather uninspiring post-match interviews but it is clear the guy can really coach a football team and he had his players working for their lives at the Emirates Stadium.
It was a tough final outcome to swallow for all involved but we move on swiftly and the visit of Brighton provides a totally different set of circumstances to overcome.
Leicester now have much higher expectations to live up to as favourites - they were 5/1 or thereabouts in north London - while the visitors will have done their homework and are likely to sit in and try to stifle and suffocate their way to a positive result.
The tactic worked pretty well for 70 minutes against Manchester City in their Premier League opener but that little bit of extra quality and slickness saw them eventually sunk 2-0 at the Amex Stadium.
The worry for manger Chris Hughton currently is the lack of any real pace up front with key figure Anthony Knockaert still easing his way back from an ankle injury.
New arrival Jose Izquierdo from Club Brugge, who scored against Leicester last season in the Champions League, may not be quite ready for action either after a club-record transfer so creating some clear opportunities could be hard work even against a team that shipped three last week.
That may well leave Brighton in a pickle if they go behind and although they had one or two moments of pressure against City, they never really looked like making an impact on the scoreboard.
It could be another physically-demanding afternoon under pressure for the Seagulls and it will be up to Leicester to find a way through - I fancy Shakespeare will keep them right up to scratch and pick up a win.
Prediction: Leicester 2-0 Brighton - Sky Bet's scoreline odds: 13/2
Liverpool v Crystal Palace (1500)
Philippe Coutinho’s imminent Anfield exit is just about able to overshadow the fact Liverpool’s defensive frailties have reared their ugly head once more - the red half of Merseyside has already shipped four goals in two games this week.
They managed to round off last season with a quartet of consecutive clean sheets but two frantic efforts at the back so far will have kept Jurgen Klopp awake at night lately.
Liverpool’s defending was dreadful in the 3-3 opener at Watford and any hopes they might have learnt a lesson for the Hoffenheim fixture were soon extinguished with another wobbly display when they were extremely fortunate to hold out for 87 minutes.
Thankfully, there is a potent array of options going forward but Klopp is going to age extremely rapidly if he has to watch one basketball game after another every week from the touchline. He might have some problems to solve but it can’t be any worse than the ones facing new Palace boss Frank de Boer after an embarrassing start to life in the Premier League.
They were given a torrid time by newly-promoted Huddersfield and I will wager it has been an intensive week on the training ground as the Dutchman continues to work on his preferred system of three at the back.
The story was a bit more positive at the other end of the pitch with Wilfrid Zaha (left the ground wearing a knee brace), Christian Benteke and Scott Dann all missing good chances to change the course of the game but a 3-0 reverse leaves them with plenty to prove.
Three wins on the trot at Anfield for the Eagles might help restore some belief but a chance of making it four has diminished somewhat with Zaha’s injury considerably worse than first thought and he will be missing for a month.
His presence may have just tipped me towards the odds-on quote of both teams to score. It may well still happen but the loss of their best player means I will take a more cautious route and go with no bet.
Prediction: Liverpool 4-1 Crystal Palace - Sky Bet's scoreline odds: 16/1
Southampton v West Ham (1500)
The Hammers remain at a bit of a crossroads after last season’s volatility and it is a little bit tricky to predict which way they are going to fall.
This is the second of three away games they start the new campaign with and Slaven Bilic could have done without a tonking at the hands of Manchester United to get things under way.
West Ham had looked rather sluggish in their pre-season clash against Manchester City in Iceland but no discernible improvement was obvious and they finished a very distant second best on the wrong end of a 4-0 scoreline at Old Trafford.
Bilic might still be trying to weave in his four fairly high-profile summer signings but the outcome in Manchester was extremely disappointing – you could go as far to say worrying – in the short-to-medium term.
"I don’t think it was a lack of effort, more a lack of execution," defender Winston Reid reflected and whatever the issue, there is a lot to get right before this team starts moving in the right direction.
West Ham should have Michail Antonio available once again from their walking wounded but it would be a surprise to see him on full power considering his all-action style on the flanks when 100 per cent.
In contrast, I love the home side here and they should be able to put one in the win column after a frustrating effort last week in the 0-0 draw with Swansea at St Mary’s.
There is always a deal of trepidation when a new manager steps in but Mauricio Pellegrino has already been described as a "breath of fresh air" by the players and he seems very keen to get the maximum out of an exciting array of attacking talent at the club.
They managed to get 29 shots away of varying degrees of quality without breaching the Swans’ backline and it looks only a matter time before the floodgates start to open on a consistent basis.
With the visitors in a bit of a transitional phase and suffering a big dent in confidence, they do not look an obvious choice to cope with Southampton’s ability to attack with speed and guile.
An end product is certainly needed as they attempt to stop the rot of home games without a goal that now stands at six but this is an ideal opportunity – back them to run up the score a bit with marauding wing-back Ryan Bertrand a big price to get his name up in lights.
Prediction: Southampton 3-1 West Ham - Sky Bet's scoreline odds: 12/1
Swansea v Manchester United (1230 BST, Sky Sports Premier League)
Some people are of the opinion that Gylfi Sigurdsson’s protracted exit from Swansea to Everton is the death knell for Paul Clement’s side in the top flight and we are barely halfway through August.
It could also have the opposite effect though, galvanising and unifying the remaining members of the squad now the summer’s major distraction in south Wales has moved on to pastures new.
They had to cling on a fair bit last week for a hard-earned point at Southampton and Clement knows his side will have to step up considerably if they are not going to be punished by a United side who made a rampant start at Old Trafford against West Ham.
It was key for Jose Mourinho to see his big guns perform immediately and he will have been delighted Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba made significant contributions in a morale-boosting 4-0 romp.
Marcus Rashford was a constant handful too and very little got past Nemanja Matic with Mourinho seemingly having assembled the type of team he adores which can match up physically with any opponent.
Swansea are a work in progress as they try to figure out how best to utilise and support new striker Tammy Abraham while Fernando Llorente remains in the treatment room and there is a very real danger they will be dominated from the off here.
There should be more chances for Lukaku and Rashford but it was little Juan Mata who significantly caught my eye with some excellent work against the Hammers.
I would not be surprised in the slightest to see him pop up undetected once more in the opposition box and the Spaniard is a high-quality finisher when a chance presents itself.
Prediction: Swansea 0-3 Manchester United - Sky Bet's scoreline odds: 7/1
Posted at 0715 BST on 18/08/17.
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