West Ham v Brentford tips: Premier League preview and best bets
West Ham welcome Brentford in the Premier League on Sunday and Tom Carnduff has found two good prices in the cards market.
Football betting tips: Premier League
1pt Christian Norgaard to be shown a card at 10/3 (bet365)
1pt Vitaly Janelt and Declan Rice to be shown a card at 25/1 (Betfair)
West Ham's decent start to the season sees them 7th in the Premier League table and top of their Europa League group. They are odds-on for success on Sunday but will face a difficult test against a Brentford side catching the eye.
The Bees are buzzing having lost just one of their six league games so far. They were involved in a 3-3 thriller with Liverpool last time out and picked up a deserved victory over Wolves in their previous away game.
David Moyes' men know the importance of positive results at home though and games such as this one need to be won if they are aiming to finish in the European spots again. It's a shame this one isn't televised - it should be an entertaining contest.
Kick-off time: 14:00 BST, Sunday
West Ham 4/5 | Draw 13/5 | Brentford 7/2
The one interesting betting avenue in this game is cards. Peter Bankes - a favourite from his days in the Sky Bet EFL - is in charge and he's averaging five cards per game this season. In 2020/21, it was three per outing and he remains consistent in booking players.
West Ham actually have the best disciplinary record in the Premier League so far but Brentford are 8th when it comes to average fouls per game. They've also picked up 11 cards in six games - seven of those have been away.
Playing to the statistics, CHRISTIAN NORGAARD TO BE SHOWN A CARD looks good value at a best price of 10/3. Only Ivan Toney is averaging more fouls per game in this Brentford squad than the midfielder.
That's led to two yellows in six outings so far. His injury disrupted season didn't give a true reflection of his cards potential but in 2019/20 - his last full season - he was booked on 11 occasions.
The referee and the opponent help the possibility of another booking here and the 10/3 price looks generous based on his showings so far. It could be a real battle in the centre of the pitch - Norgaard should catch the official's attention.
A big priced double worth taking a gamble on as well is VITALY JANELT AND DECLAN RICE TO BE SHOWN A CARD. Using Betfair's Bet Builder function, the price comes out around 25/1.
Janelt joins Norgaard as committing the second-highest number of fouls per game and has been cautioned already. A point of interest here is that Bankes was the referee when Brentford drew at Aston Villa in August - both Janelt and Norgaard were booked.
West Ham may have done well to avoid the cards so far but Rice will rack up his tally if he continues going at a rate of 1.7 fouls per game - the highest of any member of the Hammers' squad. He has picked up two of their four yellows in the Premier League.
West Ham are worth backing for victory here but the odds-on price isn't appealing enough as a single. Instead, JANELT, NORGAARD and RICE represent value in the cards market.
West Ham v Brentford best bets and score prediction
- 1pt Christian Norgaard to be shown a card at 10/3 (bet365)
- 1pt Vitaly Janelt and Declan Rice to be shown a card at 25/1 (Betfair)
Score prediction: West Ham 2-1 Brentford (Sky Bet odds: 7/1)
Odds correct at 1315 BST (01/10/21)
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