Swans to Soar Above Magpies in Mid-Table Clash

The televised matches between Manchester City and Liverpool, and Burnley and Crystal Palace are covered in the first of this week’s Premier League betting previews.

Other matches in front of the TV cameras over the course of the weekend include Swansea against Newcastle, Stoke versus Manchester United, and West Ham against Huddersfield. We’ll concentrate on picking apart those fixtures here to find the best value bets for the armchair punters.

Manchester United are the only club in the top flight to have a 100% record so far after notching three wins from the opening three games. The more sceptical pundits have pointed out that home wins over Leicester and West Ham and an away victory at Swansea don’t amount to much, but there has been a professionalism in the way that United have gone about their work. Romelu Lukaku has hit the ground running, and Jose Mourinho’s defence is yet to concede a goal. The league leaders are sure to be tested away at Stoke in Saturday evening’s game, on a ground where they’ve failed to win in the last four attempts.

Sunday afternoon’s big game sees two last-time-out winners go head-to-head in Swansea and Newcastle. The Swans won 2-0 at dire Crystal Palace, and welcome two significant signings here in former player Bony and Bayern Munich loan-signing Sanches. Newcastle grabbed their first win over the equally-dire West Ham on their last outing, but will find it tougher in Wales against Paul Clement’s Swansea.

Slaven Bilic is said to be under pressure at the Hammers, and his side faces what has been described as a must-win game at home to Huddersfield on Monday evening. Reports that Bilic could be one game from the sack might be wide of the mark, but he will be under no illusions about the importance of winning West Ham’s first home game of the season. Huddersfield are still unbeaten and are still riding high on momentum after promotion last season, and they can go to the London stadium with nothing to lose as they look to enhance their Premier League credentials.

Swansea v Newcastle

Swansea are overpriced at 2.50Bet €100 to win €2503/2Bet £100 to win £250+150Bet $100 to win $2501.50Bet HK$100 to win HK$2501.50Bet Rp100 to win Rp250-0.6667Bet RM100 to win RM250  with Betway to get the better of Newcastle, and rate as one of the value bets of the weekend.

An opening day 0-0 draw away at Southampton was not a poor result, and the subsequent 4-0 home defeat to Manchester United was given a flattering gloss by three goals in the last ten minutes. Clement’s side was off the mark with that 2-0 win at Palace, and will be happy to get back to home soil against a side closer to their level than Manchester United.

Swansea flirted with relegation last term in a season which saw them employ three different managers, but they found some consistency under Clement, particularly at home. They won the last three Premier League fixtures on home turf last year beating Everton, West Brom and Stoke, and in recent seasons have generally been solid in front of their own fans.

Magpies fans shouldn’t get too carried away with a 3-0 beating of West Ham, because despite their dominance in that match they were up against a nervous and disjointed opposition. The previous 1-0 defeat away at Huddersfield sounds a note of caution, and they may well end up doing more defending than attacking at the Liberty stadium.

Stoke v Manchester United

Backing teams at short odds to win at Stoke is a surefire route to the poorhouse, and although United are certainly good enough to make it four wins from four, the better odds are on under 2.5 goals at 2.04Bet €100 to win €20426/25Bet £100 to win £204+104Bet $100 to win $2041.04Bet HK$100 to win HK$2041.04Bet Rp100 to win Rp204-0.9615Bet RM100 to win RM204  with Betfair.

Stoke have already taken the scalp of Arsenal this season, beating the Gunners 1-0 in August. The subsequent 1-1 away draw at West Brom was another decent result in light of the Baggies start to the season, while the opening day 1-0 loss at Everton doesn’t read too badly considering the way the Toffees have started this campaign. Each of those matches has had less than 2.5 goals, and the early signs are that Stoke are back to their traditional tight defensive best.

As stated Manchester United are yet to concede a goal this season, and Jose Mourinho teams have always been built upon solid defensive foundations. Only one of the last five meetings between the two sides has surpassed the 2.5 goal line, so odds of just above evens are worth taking about this game going the same way.

West Ham v Huddersfield

By contrast, West Han v Huddersfield could well go over 2.5 goals on Monday night at 2.06Bet €100 to win €20653/50Bet £100 to win £206+106Bet $100 to win $2061.06Bet HK$100 to win HK$2061.06Bet Rp100 to win Rp206-0.9434Bet RM100 to win RM206  with Marathonbet.

The Hammers are rock bottom of the table after conceding 10 goals in their opening three matches. Other events at the London stadium has meant that Slaven Bilic’s side have had to play their first three fixtures away from home, and they have been soundly beaten 4-0 by Manchester United and 3-0 by Newcastle. The 3-2 defeat at Southampton at least showed a better performance, but once again they returned to East London without a point.

It’s possible that by the time this kicks off on Monday evening West Ham will be the only side in the top flight without a point to their name, but regardless, this is a must-win for the Hammers.

Huddersfield have surpassed expectations so far and sit proudly third in the early table after two wins and a draw from their opening three games. Performances have merited those results too, so they will be no pushovers by any stretch of the imagination. They hit three away at Crystal Palace on the opening day win, and are good enough to cause a frail West Ham defence problems on the break – especially if the Hammers our forward in search of goals.

Tips Summary

Swansea to beat Newcastle
Sunday 10th September, 16:00 GMT
Odds: 2.50Bet €100 to win €2503/2Bet £100 to win £250+150Bet $100 to win $2501.50Bet HK$100 to win HK$2501.50Bet Rp100 to win Rp250-0.6667Bet RM100 to win RM250

Stoke v Manchester United – Under 2.5 goals
Saturday 9th September, 17:30 GMT
Odds: 2.04Bet €100 to win €20426/25Bet £100 to win £204+104Bet $100 to win $2041.04Bet HK$100 to win HK$2041.04Bet Rp100 to win Rp204-0.9615Bet RM100 to win RM204

West Ham v Huddersfield – Over 2.5 goals
Monday 11th September, 20:00 GMT
Odds: 2.06Bet €100 to win €20653/50Bet £100 to win £206+106Bet $100 to win $2061.06Bet HK$100 to win HK$2061.06Bet Rp100 to win Rp206-0.9434Bet RM100 to win RM206