With another cracking weekend of Premier League action upon us, we’ve scouted the goalscorer markets for some value and reckon Chelsea’s Frank Lampard, Fulham striker Mladen Petric and Stoke City beanpole Peter Crouch are all solid plays to notch at any time against respective opponents Newcastle United, Manchester United and Arsenal.
All three are worth a small flutter to get on the scoresheet, especially for anyone using their free £20 bet after registering with bwin. Read on to find out why…
Frank Lampard to score against Newcastle @ 9/5
We’ve seen it all before and we’re very likely to see it all over again on Saturday. So far, Chelsea have earned two penalties this season, both the result of Eden Hazard’s wizardry as his intricate dribbling has inevitably caused a leg to trip him over at some stage.
Lampard couldn’t be happier about this development: he picked up both spot-kicks and duly converted them, putting him right at the top of our thoughts for Stamford Bridge scorers. With his threatening late runs into the box and direct free-kick duty to boot, a price of 9/5 for the England man to maintain his 100% goalscoring record this term looks too good to miss.
Mladen Petric to score against Manchester United @ 11/4
Having netted a brace in Fulham’s 5-0 drubbing of Norwich on the opening day, Petric now faces the baptism of fire every England-bound striker must go through sooner or later: that of shining against Manchester United at the Theatre of Dreams.
Though it could be argued that this challenge comes a tad too early for Petric, the Croatian has a number of factors weighing in his favour, particularly the injury problems currently ravaging the United defence. With players like Phil Jones, Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans still unavailable, Sir Alex Ferguson will have to once more make do with Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia taking up the vacant posts at centre-back and right-back respectively.
Despite being Monday night’s United hero, you still get the feeling that David de Gea has the potential to revert back to the keeper we saw at the start of last season at any moment – perhaps by letting in one of Petric’s long-range efforts. Ring any bells? It should do: Petric broke English hearts back in 2007 when his dipping shot somehow skidded under Scott Carson’s body to put England out of contention for a place at Euro 2008. It was a goal which spawned an umbrella-related line nobody is likely to forget in a hurry.
Peter Crouch to score against Arsenal @ 9/5
While football fans around the world are (rightly) raving about Robin van Persie’s departure to Manchester United, Alex Song’s move to Barcelona will likely cause Arsene Wenger far more heartache this weekend as Arsenal travel to one of their new-found hoodoo grounds, the Britannia Stadium. Without the Cameroonian’s muscular defensive presence (despite his love of going forward), the Gunners risk giving Stoke far too many of the free-kicks and throw-ins they usually thrive on.
Since returning to the Premier League in 2008, Stoke have always scored at home to Wenger’s side, losing only one game in the process. Among the Potters’ scorers against Arsenal, you will struggle to find players less than six feet tall, as the likes of Ricardo Fuller, Kenwyne Jones and Jon Walters have all successfully etched their names on to the scoresheet in these games in the past.
Sunday’s encounter is unlikely to be any different and Peter Crouch looks to be the man who may well bring home the win for Tony Pulis’ men. A scorer the last time these teams faced off in April, the former Liverpool man also found his way round the Arsenal defence at the Emirates last October and has generally enjoyed facing the north Londoners throughout his career. At 9/5, he’s a good punt to score at any time.
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