David is predicting that a Sunday-heavy weekend sees the goals flow in Newcastle United v Fulham, Queens Park Rangers v Wigan Athletic and the Monday night derby between Manchester United and Manchester City, and here’s why.
After being let down by goal-shy Wigan and Norwich last week, I thought it was time to let the stats do the talking. Although the Latics were statistically likely to score and concede, the Canaries’ ability to be tight as a duck’s posterior thwarted things.
So every team in this week’s treble has a valid reason to be involved, which is certainly a better line of attack than ‘well, it’s about time they scored/conceded a few’.
Due to the Europa League and those delightful gents from the television, most of this weekend’s games are on Sunday and so you have Saturday off from frantically checking those scores for money-making goals.
If you think that these three games can each provide three or more goals, then why not back it with the free £20 bet you receive for signing up to bwin today? You could be bringing home a neat little packet of £115.
Over 2.5 goals in Newcastle v Fulham @ 83/100
Newcastle have accidentally been sucked into a relegation fight and will need to get a win at home to Fulham this weekend in order to stay away from the drop for a second time in four years.
When safety is on the line a team looks to its strengths and with Papiss Cisse, Yohan Cabaye and Moussa Sissoko, the Geordies have plenty of potential goals, but after shipping four at Man City last week, they cannot be relied on to plug the gaps at the back.
Eleven of Newcastle’s 15 games at home in the league this season have featured over 2.5 goals, while ten of Fulham’s 15 away from Craven Cottage can boast the same statistic.
The last three meetings between these two have seen three or more goals find the net, and all the signs point to another goal-filled encounter this weekend.
Over 2.5 goals in QPR v Wigan @ 4/5
A crucial relegation battle at the bottom commences on Sunday as Harry Redknapp’s QPR welcome Roberto Martinez’s Wigan to Loftus Road.
While teams are generally so scared of conceding in six-pointers that they refuse to commit players forward, neither of these sides can defend at all well and so attack will likely be the preferred form of defence in this one.
This fixture last season saw QPR win 3-1, while they shared four goals at the DW Stadium back in December.
The Hoops were involved in a five-goal thriller at Craven Cottage on Monday and know that three points is vital when the Latics come to town.
And with 22 of Wigan’s 30 games seeing three or more goals scored this season, expect plenty of net-bothering in this six-pointer.
Over 2.5 goals in Man Utd v Man City @ 3/4
As most City fans will clamour to tell you, this game saw seven goals last season, with six of them coming from the Sky Blues as they marched towards their first Premier League title.
However, those same fans have had little to cheer this season as they have had to watch United storm into a commanding 15-point lead, rendering this game fairly pointless when you think about it.
United and City met towards the end of last season on a Monday night, and with the Premier League title riding on it, it became a very tight affair decided by one solitary goal.
However, as the result of this one will almost certainly have no bearing on the destination of the title, the fact that five of the last six meetings between the sides have featured at least three goals is telling.
Eleven of United’s 15 games at Old Trafford in the Premier League have seen over 2.5 goals, so this one should complete a nice and tidy treble just in time to waste all your winnings on Tuesday’s Champions League action.
Happy punting!
Follow David on Twitter @whichdave
