Bolton vs Newcastle
There are some interesting trends and betting opportunities in this game, as Owen Coyle attempts to continue his side's resurgence in form. Newcastle's excellent start has been somewhat let down by a dip in recent results, and this sees them priced 2.8 to win at the Reebok.
One of the main problems for Alan Pardew is that his side has been overly reliant on Senegalese frontman Demba Ba. Having contributed 13 of Newcastle's 22 goals this season, he is by some distance, the most relied-upon goalscorer in the league.
This issue has been compounded by their inability to find goals from elsewhere. Only Aston Villa (2) have scored fewer goals from set pieces this season than the Magpies (3) - not helped by injuries to central defenders.
Owing to his excellent goal streak, Ba is right in to 2.1 to score anytime or 5.5 to open the scoring (something he has done with seven of his thirteen goals this campaign). His cause will be helped by the fact that no team has conceded a higher percentage of their goals from within the 18 yard box, precisely where Ba does his best work.
Liverpool vs Blackburn
Steve Kean is still in a job despite his treatment from Rovers fans, and what better way to silence his doubters than to pull of an upset at Anfield. It would be a big overturning of the odds with Rovers way out at 13.00 to shock the Reds.
This game presents us with a niche betting opportunity with respect to corners betting. Liverpool average more corners per game (9.12) than any other side, while Blackburn are bottom of the table on this stat with just 4.18. With this in mind, backing Liverpool on any of the number of corners markets seems sensible, but the stand-out option is Liverpool to win the race to 9 corners at 1.83. If you are looking for a bigger-priced fancy, then back there to be exactly 13 corners in the game (their combined average) at 9.5.
In terms of goal scorers, only Arsenal have scored a higher percentage of their goals from inside the penalty area than Liverpool have, and therefore the prices on midfielders like Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson to score should be worth a look with their tendency to arrive late in the box. They will offer more value than strikers, and the whole team should be positioned higher up the field given that no team spends more time in their own half than Blackburn (40%).
As far as the visitors go, they will have a tough time finding the net given that Kenny Dalglish's men have the third best home defence in the league, but if they do, it will most likely be from a set piece. Chris Samba (41.00 to score first or 15.00 anytime) is therefore a tempter, but there seems little point in looking to the counter-attacking abilities of Junior Hoilett or Ruben Rochina as Blackburn have scored zero goals on the fastbreak this season.
Manchester United vs Wigan
This, you'd expect, would be a fairly simple game for the defending champions against a Wigan side that are still fancied by the bookies to be relegated this season (4/6 with Bet365).
United have played Wigan just thirteen times in their history, and have won each of those games. In fact, they have scored 41 goals against the Latics in those fixtures whilst conceding just four, meaning they average a winning margin of 2.85 goals. Backing them at -2 on the asian handicap would give you your stake back if they only managed a two-goal victory and is fairly priced at 1.77.
If Wigan do manage to score, it seems likely to come down their left-hand side. Only newly-promoted Norwich have conceded a higher percentage of their goals down the right than Alex Ferguson's men, while nobody has a bigger proportion of their goals coming from the left than Wigan. United's weakness is no doubt related to a constant change in personnel at right-back, with Smalling, Jones, Fabio and Valencia all seeing some time there in recent weeks. Wigan's strength comes from young winger Victor Moses playing down that side and linking up well with Hugo Rodallega. With the former Crystal Palace man improving every week, you may fancy backing him at 26.00 for the first goal or 8.00 to net at anytime.
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