West Ham v Sunderland
West Ham are coming into this match looking like they are going to have their best season for some time. Here the Hammers are coming off a 2-2 draw at Norwich, and this has left Slaven Bilic’s side in 7th place on 40 points. Victory today would see West Ham climb into 5th place above Manchester United and into the European qualification places. West Ham’s recent home record reads a decent looking W6, D6, L3 and it should be noted that they are unbeaten in 10 home matches.
When facing teams placed in the Bottom 6, West Ham’s home record reads a strong looking W7, D2, L1 and they can be backed at around 1.82 and this looks to offer value. This price can be enhanced by backing them on the -0.5/1.0 goal handicap at around 2.10.
The recent head-to-head record at Upton Park is very mixed and reads West Ham 1 win, 2 Draws and Sunderland 1 win.
The draw can be backed at around 3.85 and offers no real value nor appeal.
Sunderland are coming into this match after a much needed 2-1 victory over Manchester United. This was the Black Cats first victory in 5 Premier League matches and Sam Allardyce’s side now sit in 19th place on 23 points. A victory here will take Sunderland out of the drop zone ahead of Norwich and Newcastle. Sunderland’s recent away record reads a mediocre W2, D3, L10.
When visiting teams in the top half of the table, Sunderland’s away form is again poor and reads W1, D3, L6. Here they can be backed at around 4.75 and this offers no real value.
Looking at the goal line then we have some mixed stats. When considering both sides last respective 10 home and away games against similar opposition then 3 or more goals have been seen in 8 matches, and 2 or less goals have been seen in 12 matches. However 11 of Sunderland’s last 15 away games have seen 3 or more goals. My ratings suggest value in Over 2.5 goals which can be backed at around 2.00.
This match looks to offer value in both the match and goal lines. My only concern with the goal line is that when hosting bottom 6 sides West Ham have kept 8 clean sheets in their last 10 matches. For my trade the value certainly looks to lie with the home side. Sunderland are poor away from home where they have conceded at least 2 goals in their last 6 away matches. Indeed we can take this further and Sam Allardyce’s side have conceded 2 or more goals in 11 of their 13 away matches this season. With West Ham showing some good recent home form against the bottom 6 sides they look decent value to get the job done here. So my recommended trade is West Ham win at around 1.83.
West Brom v Crystal Palace
This Saturday evening sees a Premier League fixture between 2 out of form sides when West Bromwich Albion host Crystal Palace at the Hawthorns, Kick-off at 17:30 GMT.
West Brom are coming off a much needed 1-0 victory away at Everton. This win was the Baggies first win in 6 Premier League matches, and currently they sit in 14th place on 32 points. West Brom’s recent home form is very mixed and reads W5, D5, L5.
When hosting fellow mid table sides, Tony Pulis side’s record reads again a mixed W4, D1, L5 and West Brom can be backed at around 2.75 and this looks to offer no real value.
The recent head-to-head record at the Hawthorns favours the home side and reads West Brom 1 wins, 1 Draw and Crystal Palace 0 wins.
The draw can be backed at around 3.15 and although this should certainly not be discounted it does look priced a little low according to my ratings.
Crystal Palace look to have gone completely off the rails recently. Here they are coming off a 1-2 home defeat to Watford, and the Eagles have now not won in 9 Premier league matches. Palace currently sit in 13th place and are ahead of today’s opponents on goal difference. Palace’s recent away form reads a decent looking W7, D3, L5.
When visiting the mid table sides, Palace boast a very solid record that reads W6, D4, L0 and Alan Pardew’s side can be backed at around 2.95. If you do fancy Palace to do well you can keep the draw on your side and they can be backed off scratch at around 2.00.
As far as goals are concerned then the stats are fairly mixed. When looking at both sides last 10 respective home and away games against similar opposition in the 20 matches 3 or more goals were seen in 9 matches, 2 goals were seen in 3 matches and 1 or less goals were seen in 8. My ratings suggest value in over 2 goals which can be backed at around 1.90.
This is a tricky game to call and as both sides form is so mixed I am avoiding the match line completely. For my trade I am turning to the goal line where my ratings suggest the line should be set at 2.0/2.5.
This season 7 of West Brom’s 13 home games (including their last 5) have finished 0-0 at half time. In the case of Palace 7 of their 12 away games this season have finished 0-0 at the break. However in the remaining games where a goal has been scored in the first half, the matches all contained at least 2 goals with 9 containing 3 or more. With the home side only failing to find the net twice at home this season and Palace conceding 16 goals in their last 8 away games, there looks some decent risk v reward backing overs on the handicap. So my recommended trade for this match is Over 2.0 goals at around 1.90.