User Review
( votes)Premier League Week 16 Preview
Predictably Unpredictable
This season’s Premier League has been like no other. Leicester City are currently top of the league, a full 17 points ahead of last season’s Champions Chelsea, who currently sit 14th, just two points off the relegation places. But that’s not all. Watford are 10th, the two otherpromoted teams are outside the drop zone, and never-relegated Aston Villa are bottom. Not to mention the fact that just as a team are looking formidable, they go and lose a match that most would expect them to win (see Liverpool’s defeat against Newcastle last Sunday as evidence). Manchester United can’t score goals, Leicester can’t stop scoring them as their recent non-league-playing striker Jamie Vardy has broken the Premier League consecutive-match scoring record (12), and at least three managers (Jose Mourinho among them) are fearing for their job security. What a campaign it has been. So, if you are feeling a bit unsure where to go with your next punt, let the experts guide you by visiting Betadvisor.com today and selecting amongst the world’s finest football tipsters.
Bournemouth V Manchester United, Saturday 12/12/15 at 17.30 GMT
These two sides enter Saturday’s game in very differing frames of mind following results which may well shape their season. For the Cherries, optimism is on the rise after the club achieved perhaps its most significant result in its history in claiming a famous 0-1 win at Stamford Bridge against ailing champions Chelsea. The scalp of Jose Mourinho’s side may not be what it once was – Bournemouth were merely the eighth team to achieve it in the league this season – but it would be ungracious not to congratulate the recently promoted south-coast side on a win that could now kick-start their season. Eddie Howe’s side now sit outside the relegation zone and will hope to ride the momentum of their famous victory over one of English football’s biggest names when another visits the Vitality Stadium. United, meanwhile, are at a low ebb after they were surprisingly eliminated from the Champions league on Tuesday night at the hands of Wolfsburg, and who face growing criticism for their style of play which has seen them labelled as ‘boring’ in many quarters. Boss Louis Van Gaal finds himself under increasing pressure, and knows that a full assault on the Premier League title is the only acceptable scenario now for the club’s fans. These two sides have never met before in a league encounter, and United lead the way with five wins to Bournemouth’s one, with two draws, in the club’s previous cup meetings.Bournemouth will hope for a repeat of their 2-0 victory achieved in a FA Cup 3rd round match up in January 1984 over a United side which contained Bryan Robson and Norman Whiteside and who were the reigning FA Cup holders. Bournemouth were a third division side at the time and managed by a young Harry Redknapp. On Saturday the home side should have Sylvain Distinback from illness, while Wayne Rooney is a doubt for the visitors who also have Chris Smalling and Matteo Darmian added to their lengthy injury list. Let the world’s most inspired football tipsters guide you leading up to this one, only at Betadvisor.com.
Bournemouth 3.30, Draw 3.30, Manchester United2.25
Aston Villa V Arsenal, Sunday13/12/15 at 13.30 GMT
Two Premier League ever-presents find themselves, somewhat unsurprisingly, at polar opposite ends of the Premier League table, with a not inconsiderable 24 points separating them after just 15 games. Arsenal returned to winning ways in the league last week with a 3-1 win over Sunderland, but are counting the costs of a now seasonal injury crisis which sees Arsene Wenger without such luminaries as Alexis Sanchez, Santo Cazorla, Francis Coquelin, Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky – it’s amazing Arsenal can still field a midfield with that list of personnel unavailable. The Gunners will, however, be on cloud nine after pulling off a miraculous recovery to qualify from their Champions League Group – this could be a good time to play the North London side, depending on which way you look at it. Villa boss Remi Garde will have been relatively pleased with his side’s point achieved at Southampton last time out but will know that draws must soon be translated into wins if his side have any chance of overcoming a seven point gap between themselves and 17th placed Bournemouth. Villa captain Micah Richards is a doubt for the game through illness – supporters will be desperate to see him play in a defence that has conceded 28 goals to date, especially up against a Gunners’ attack which has scored 27. This looks like a comfortable away win on paper, but the finest football tipsters are able to identify the factors that truly influence a game such as this. Find them at Betadvisor.com.
Aston Villa 6.00, Draw 4.20, Arsenal1.55
Leicester City V Chelsea, Monday 14/12/15 at 20.00 GMT
If someone had told you that at the King Power stadium in week 16 of the Premier League there would be a match-up between the two teams in 1st and 14th position in the table, you probably would have taken this as confirmation that all was as to be expected in English football’s top flight. In fact, you may even have mentally congratulated Leicester City on their ascent beyond the relegation places after the disruption of appointing a new coach and the loss of one of their star performers of last season, Esteban Cambiasso. If someone then told you that you had got the wrong end of the stick, and it was the home side that were in fact sitting pretty on top of the pile, and Jose Mourinho’s reigning champions that were languishing in the lower reaches of the table, you would laugh and then tell your companion to go and have a lie down. Yet here we are, and fantasy has become reality. The gap between these two sides currently stands at 17 points, and Claudio Ranieri’s management skills have never looked so good. High flying Leicester will look to continue their unbelievable run against a Blues side who are rocking from a home reverse against newly-promoted Bournemouth, but will be buoyed by their progress this week in the Champions League – as group winners no less. A glance at the odds will tell you the bookmakers still lean towards recent history rather than current form in their assessment of the game, so utilising the skill of an established football tipster is a priority for such an intriguing match. The home side are the division’s top scorers, and the usually miserly Chelsea defence has been a shadow of its former self so far this year – will the prolific due of Jamie Vardy and RiyadMahrez be giving John Terry and company more nightmares come Monday night? Last season Chelsea wrapped up the double over the Foxes by winning 1-3 in April, but Monday night’s visitors will need to find their shooting boots in order to claim victory here. Will that mean a return to the starting line-up for the out-of-favour and out-of-sorts Diego Costa? Neither side have any new injury concerns, but it’s Mourinho who has all the worries moving into this encounter. As always, for the sharpest tips from the world’s finest football tipsters, visit Betadvisor.com.
Leicester City 3.20, Draw 3.40, Chelsea2.25
Full weekend fixtures
Norwich City v Everton, Saturday at 12.45 GMT
Crystal Palace V Southampton, Saturday at 15.00 GMT
Manchester City V Swansea City, Saturday at 15.00 GMT
Sunderland v Watford, Saturday at 15.00 GMT
West Ham United V Stoke City, Saturday at 15.00 GMT
Liverpool V West Bromwich Albion, Sunday at 16.00 GMT
Tottenham Hotspur V Newcastle United, Saturday at 16.00 GMT
All odds courtesy of Bet365 and correct as of 17.00 GMT on Thursday 10th December.
By: Steven Paget