With now less than a month until the Premier League goes into hiatus for the World Cup, midweek action is upon us for Gameweek 12 of the season.
Brighton kicks us off on Tuesday evening as they welcome bottom side Nottingham Forest to the AMEX Stadium. After taking a point away from Anfield on his managerial bow for the Seagulls, Roberto De Zerbi’s honeymoon period has been rather rockier than some might have expected, with back-to-back defeats – albeit against Tottenham and away to Brentford last time out. With Forest having taken just a point from their last seven games, this really should be De Zerbi’s first win.
That should not, however, rule out the visitors from scoring and Brighton look defensively frail. Backing a Brighton win and BTTS therefore could see you home at 5/2 with BoyleSports. Also to consider, the last man to the net for Steve Cooper’s men was Emmanuel Dennis in GW10 and looking at a punt of 6/1 for the Nigerian to score anytime with William Hill is interesting.
Of the four 7:30 pm kick-offs on Wednesday, the west London clash between Brentford and Chelsea is one that stands out. After the Bees won their first game in four last time out, the visit of a Graham Potter side who have not conceded a goal in four games, holding with a 100% record during that time to boot, will test the host’s ability to put together successive results. Having lost at home already to London opposition in the shape of Arsenal, the Blues look good to make it five wins on the bounce in all comps and hovering around evens, 4/5 odds with SpreadEx still looks good value.
The evening’s later kick-off and perhaps the marquee match of GW12, see Manchester United and Spurs meet at Old Trafford. With Arsenal’s table-topping clash with Manchester City postponed, this is the chance for these two sides to close the gap temporarily in the standings. For the Lilywhites, this is a golden opportunity to move to within a point of their north London rivals having lost the derby only weeks ago. United, however, will be in no mood to roll over and the goals look like they could flow in this one.
If we look at the recent history of this fixture, over 3.5 goals have been scored in three of the last four between these two sides, with Spurs alone having totted up 12 goals in the last four trips to the Theatre of Dreams. Coinciding also with the rise in form of the Red Devils, a 9/5 play for another 4+ goals with BetVictor and SportNation should go close.
Leicester and Leeds meanwhile, lock horns on Thursday with both desperate for points already, this game standing as another potential early battle to avoid the drop. Drawing a blank at the King Power this past weekend, talisman James Maddison is suspended here so could Jesse Marsch be eyeing a result to take back to Yorkshire? The Whites can consider themselves unlucky not to have taken a point off the Gunners at Elland Road on Sunday and the man central to those efforts was Luis Sinisterra. Slowly building match fitness, the Colombian almost went the full 90 mins in GW11 and though the threat of rotation looms, a Sinisterra anytime goal at 11/4 with SkyBet is worth a punt.
Finally, the earlier game the same evening sees Fulham again play entertainers on the Thames, as Aston Villa visit Craven Cottage. Returning from injury, Aleksandar Mitrovic wasted no time in returning to the goals on Saturday, with the Serbian now on seven for the season so far. Though the Villans have kept it fairly tight at the back of late – GW11’s loss to Chelsea was their first time to concede two goals in a game since late August – we are backing Mitro to be on fire once more and his second brace of the season is offered up at 8/1 with Bet365.
