Exciting North East Derby
Best Bets:
1.5 Pts on Both teams to score: Sunderland v Middlesbrough (11/10 Betfair/Betfred)
1 Pt on Everton to win @ West Brom (13/8 Betway)
0.5 Pts on Both teams to score & West Ham to win v Bournemouth (11/4 Bet 365)
It’s nearly the exciting night that many will have been looking forward to, the first Friday night football & the first glimpse of Paul Pogba in the Premier League again. While there is a lot of anticipation for this match, our tips will be looking elsewhere for value & excitement, with the North East potentially a great place to find both this weekend.
1.5 Pts on Both teams to score: Sunderland v Middlesbrough (11/10 Betfair/Betfred)
While many expect David Moyes to bring the same defensive resilience to Sunderland that he took to Everton, it is obvious that the Sunderland back line still has leaks to plug. Mix in added adrenaline of a derby match & we expect that Boro will find themselves with a few opportunities to score. Negredo showed he is aiming to be up to the task as the Teesiders search for a goal scorer to give them a chance at survival, but the Black Cats have Jermain Defoe who is continuing to show that he should be respected as one of the most dangerous strikers in the league. Odds of more than evens on both teams to score looks like a great shout to us!
1 Pt on Everton to win @ West Brom (13/8 Betway)
Despite a great opening day victory away at Crystal Palace, West Brom still have a long way to go to become a convincing team with genuine top half ambitions in this league. Everton on the other hand have proved a number of times in the past 10 years or so that they can compete on their day with the very best. Koeman has played down expectations a bit by saying that the team is not as fit as he would like, but after a spirited draw to open their campaign against a Spurs team expected to at least challenge top 4 again, the Toffees will be looking to kick on & take the points against teams they want to leave far in the rear view come next May. They shouldn’t be favourites, but the odds still seem too generous to pass on.
0.5 Pts on Both teams to score & West Ham to win v Bournemouth (11/4 Bet 365)
The Hammers started their season with a gutting & possibly undeserved 2-1 defeat against Chelsea, while Bournemouth were beaten comfortably by United. Both teams will want to take something from this match & there is no reason to think that both won’t be going for it. Bournemouth had opportunities against United & could have scored more than just the 1 they got, while West Ham did well too against a strong looking Chelsea defence. Despite their loss of Ayew to a potential long-term injury, they have Payet (who started on the bench against Chelsea) there to introduce into the starting lineup if judged fit enough by Bilic, meaning ultimately they haven’t lost that much in an attacking sense & are just as dangerous as they were last season when they scored in all but 5 league games.