The Weekend Preview – Value Bets in the Premier League and Beyond (Part 2)

*All odds courtesy of William Hill and Sporting Bet*

Saturday, August 25 (Kick Off 3PM)

Southampton v Wigan

Southampton will be absolutely buzzing after last Sunday’s encounter with Manchester City. Admittedly, the result wasn’t quite what they were after, but the performance did more than enough to suggest the Saints are going to feel right at home in the big league.

They’ll be looking to open their account at St Mary’s with a win, and standing in their way is a Wigan side that dies little to inspire confidence.  If their main man Victor Moses joins Chelsea in the coming days, then Roberto Martinez’s men will be right up against it.

The Verdict: We really fancy Southampton here, so the 21/20 represents a great addition to an accumulator. And whilst he didn’t start against Citeh, expect Rickie Lambert to get the nod to lead the Saints’ line, and 9/2 for him to be First Goalscorer is unmissable value.

Sunderland v Reading

Sunderland put in a ‘backs to the wall’ performance last time out against Arsenal, and secured a decent point. They’ll need to do better though if they are to see off a resistant Reading side playing their third game of the week, and one that is well marshalled by Brian McDermott.

The Black Cats will probably start with Steven Fletcher, and the Scot is capable of finding the net when given an opportunity. As is Pavel Pogrebnyak, who has already opened his account for the campaign.

The Verdict: This will be a good scrap we reckon. Both Teams to Score is a great shout if you’re working on a Goals Galore coupon (10/11), and what about this: Ian Harte to Score Anytime, 7/1. The lad still hits a mean dead-ball you know.

Tottenham v West Brom

Old Andre Villas-Boas will be hoping that the signing of Emmanuel Adebayor can rejuvenate his Spurs, who frankly looked distinctly average against Newcastle on Sunday. Another week of blending together in AVB’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation in training should have worked wonders.

West Brom sprung a bit of a shock in turning over Liverpool last weekend, but it has to be said they were good value for it. Steve Clarke has seemingly moulded them into a decent outfit – and with Romelu Lukaku leading the line, they have a real cutting edge in front of goal.

The Verdict: The bookies really don’t fancy West Brom to score first in this one. In fact, Peter Odemwingie is out as long as 9/1 - worth a flutter. And the draw price of 3/1 looks tempting too.

Saturday, August 25 (Kick Off 5:30PM)

Chelsea v Newcastle

Chelsea have got off to a flying start this season, although they were given a bit of a scare by Reading on Wednesday night. One of the components of their lively start has been Eden Hazard, who has assisted in five of his side’s six goals (two of which were penalties).

Newcastle boast the African goalscoring duo of Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse, as well as a revitalised Hatem Ben Arfa. So they are more than capable of troubling the scorer themselves. But stopping the attacking jewels in Chelsea’s crown could be a tough task.

The Verdict: We can certainly see both team’s scoring in this one, so Goals Galore exponents think on. But we’re going to be mischievous and say that Chelsea will win another penalty in this game (11/4), and that it will be converted by Frank Lampard either first (6/1) or anytime (7/4).

The Route One Home Banker Treble

We are backing Middlesbrough (Crystal Palace), Notts County (Walsall) and Morecambe (Port Vale). A £10 stake returns £70.

The Route One Away Day Double

We are backing Cardiff (at Bristol City), and Yeovil (at Scunthorpe). A £10 stake returns £75.