Our football betting expert Jones Knows offers his insight across the weekend action and tips up a 7/1 treble.
Bournemouth vs Manchester United, Friday 8pm, live on Sky Sports
Bournemouth are supposedly a tough nut to crack right now as they are unbeaten in 11 across all competitions if you only look at 90-minute results. Impressive on the surface, sure. But dig a little deeper and the warning signs are flashing. The underlying data is screaming regression.
Across their last five matches vs Everton, West Ham, Sunderland, Brentford and Burnley, Bournemouth have allowed chances worth 9.44 expected goals. That’s an overperformance of around 7.5 goals on the two they’ve actually conceded. You’re essentially looking at a team giving up chances at a rate of 1.9 expected goals against per 90 to sides operating below top-eight level.
This has the look of a game where the numbers catch up with Bournemouth.
United to win makes plenty of appeal and coupling that with over 1.5 goals brings out a 11/8 shot to attack with Sky Bet.
SCORE PREDICTION: 1-3 | JONES KNOWS’ BEST BET: Manchester United to win & under 1.5 goals (11/8 with Sky Bet)
Brighton vs Liverpool, Saturday 12.30pm
There’s plenty of noise around this awkward Wednesday-to-12.30pm kick-off turnaround: the lack of preparation time, the early start, the supposed disadvantage. It’s one of those narratives that gets repeated so often it starts to feel like fact.
But the numbers tell a very different story.
Across the last nine occasions where a team has had to back up quickly in that exact scenario, they’ve won eight and drawn the other. Not exactly the graveyard shift it’s made out to be. If anything, it suggests momentum and rhythm can outweigh fatigue, especially when confidence is high.
Liverpool’s midweek work against Galatasaray in the Champions League was more of a procession than a battle. Energy levels shouldn’t be a concern. If anything, that performance should have them sharp, focused and ready to attack this fixture with purpose. The away win at 6/5 with Sky Bet looks a lovely angle.
SCORE PREDICTION: 1-2
Kenny Tete is an aggressive, front-foot full-back who doesn’t mind getting stuck in, sometimes a little too much.
The numbers back that up. He’s committed 13 fouls across his last five starts, which is a strong and consistent trend for a player in his role. Jaidon Anthony is expected to operate down that flank for Burnley, and he’s exactly the type of winger that draws defenders into contact. He’s winning 1.8 fouls per 90 this season and is often the outlet Burnley look to when progressing the ball.
Fulham to win and Tete to commit two or more fouls at 5/4 with Sky Bet looks a winner in waiting.
SCORE PREDICTION: 2-0
Everton vs Chelsea, Saturday 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports – PLAY SUPER 6 HERE!
You’ve always got to be careful not to get dragged along by the noise when it comes to betting and Chelsea are a perfect example of that right now.
Three straight defeats, a heavy aggregate loss to PSG and the fans up in arms about the ownership model. It’s starting to get ugly at Stamford Bridge.
However, since Liam Rosenior took charge, Chelsea have been the most potent attacking side in the Premier League which is shown by pretty much every meaningful metric. They’re top for goals, expected goals, xG per shot and big chances created.
I’ve actually really enjoyed watching them. It’s front-foot, aggressive, chance-heavy football.
The issue? When things go wrong, they tend to unravel quickly, especially against elite opposition.
That PSG tie is a good example. Beaten 8-2 on aggregate, yes, but they actually won the expected goals battle across the two legs and were heavily backed in the betting ahead of the first leg. That tells you the performance level wasn’t as bad as the scorelines suggest.
The angle here is goals.
Under Rosenior, Chelsea’s 17 matches have averaged a huge 3.8 goals per game, with expected goals not far behind at 3.6 per game. That alignment between output and underlying data is a strong indicator this is a sustainable, attack-minded approach.
And the kicker? Thirteen of those 17 games have gone over 2.5 goals.
Everton’s reputation for low-scoring matches is clearly playing its part in keeping this line shorter than it probably should be. Chelsea drag games into chaos and that’s exactly what we want when backing overs.
SCORE PREDICTION: 2-3 | JONES KNOWS’ BEST BET: Over 2.5 goals (4/5 with Sky Bet)
Liam Rosenior is asked for his thoughts on the comments Enzo Fernandez made around his future following the defeat to PSG.
Leeds vs Brentford, Saturday 8pm, live on Sky Sports – PLAY SUPER 6 HERE!
The draw is one of those bets that just doesn’t get any love.
No one’s waking up on a Saturday morning desperate to stick the draw into their acca. It’s not glamorous, it rarely gets you bragging rights in the pub at 5pm, and it feels an uncomfortable bet to place.
But that discomfort? That’s often where the value lives.
Football, especially at Premier League level, is a low-scoring game built on fine margins. Add in the pressure, the fear of losing and what you often get is tight contests.
This season, more than most, is playing into that trend.
We’re seeing draws land at a 27 per cent strike rate, the second highest in the last 15 years. Zoom in further and it gets even more compelling: 42 of the last 120 Premier League games have finished level. That’s a hefty 35 per cent hit rate – and six of the 10 matches ended all-square last weekend.
Leeds, in particular, are becoming draw specialists. Seven of their last 13 games have ended level as they scrap for survival, often prioritising not losing over rolling the dice for a win.
The draw at 23/10 with Sky Bet might not be pretty. It won’t be popular. But it just might be the smartest play on the board.
SCORE PREDICTION: 1-1
Newcastle vs Sunderland, Sunday 12pm, live on Sky Sports – PLAY SUPER 6 HERE!
Newcastle are running on fumes.
Since Boxing Day, they’ve played 24 matches – that’s basically a game every three-and-a-half days. We’ve seen this story before with them. When they try to compete on multiple fronts, the intensity drops off as the season wears on. It happened a couple of seasons ago and it’s happening again now.
The signs are there in plain sight. Against Barcelona, they were excellent in the first half, completely flat in the second. That’s the toll this schedule takes. Mentally and physically, it’s incredibly difficult to maintain high performance levels for 90 minutes.
For all their fatigue issues, Newcastle should absolutely fly out of the blocks here. Derby atmosphere, home crowd, adrenaline pumping – this is where tired legs don’t matter as much. It’s when the game stretches into the later stages that those energy levels start to dip. That’s where Sunderland could make their move.
Newcastle’s quality and energy should shine through early, before the fatigue kicks in. Back them to win the first half at 11/10 with Sky Bet.
SCORE PREDICTION: 1-1
Aston Villa vs West Ham, Sunday 2pm, live on Sky Sports
Sometimes the best angles come from understanding how two managers’ styles collide rather than just focusing on the match result.
When an Unai Emery team meets a Nuno Espirito Santo team, you tend to get a very specific type of game. One full of disruption, duels and plenty of niggly fouls. Nuno’s sides are well-drilled when it comes to breaking up rhythm and getting into the faces of the opposition.
The numbers back that up in a big way.
Across the last nine meetings between teams managed by those two, Nuno’s sides have averaged a hefty 16 fouls per match.
Villa build from the back and Ezri Konsa is a key part of that process. He’s comfortable in possession, often stepping forward and inviting pressure and that’s exactly the type of scenario where fouls are committed. When West Ham go hunting to disrupt Villa’s rhythm, Konsa will be one of the players drawn into contact.
He’s been fouled at least once in eight of his last 10 starts, averaging 1.8 fouls won per 90 minutes. That’s a really solid baseline and when you layer in the expected game state – a stop-start contest with plenty of challenges – it points firmly in the direction that his two or more fouls won line is a nice slice of value at Evens with Sky Bet.
SCORE PREDICTION: 2-2
Tottenham vs Nottingham Forest, Sunday 2pm, live on Sky Sports – PLAY SUPER 6 HERE!
Is this the biggest game in Tottenham’s Premier League history?
Well, what we do know is that’ll it’ll be full of tension played against the backdrop of high stakes. That should see a healthy card count on the table.
Xavi Simons has drawn 41 cards in his last three seasons in league football, one every 150 minutes. He’s one of the best around for getting players booked. He’s an exceptional mover with the ball and a great salesman when coming under contact.
He’s going to be a key player for Forest to stop, and I’m going to back Elliott Anderson to pick up a card at 5/2 with Sky Bet: he’s going to be in that area where Xavi likes to roam and is liable for a late challenge.
Only three players have made more tackles than Anderson in the Premier League this season ,and he leads the way for cards this season for Forest, picking up eight across all competitions. The midfielder has been carded in two of his last four Premier League games under Vitor Pereira.
SCORE PREDICTION: 1-1
Carabao Cup final: Arsenal vs Manchester City, Sunday 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports – PLAY SUPER 6 HERE!
Watch Arsenal take on Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final live with a NOW TV Pass
Opposing goals in matches at Wembley remains a sustainable long-term betting strategy. It might be the mecca of English football – to play there is every footballer’s dream – but I’m convinced the place saps the momentum out of a game.
Maybe the jeopardy of what is at stake plays a part, which in turn leads to low-scoring matches, but I think games there rarely spark into life. The numbers remain damning and provide hard evidence that Wembley is a place to back low scores.
Sunday 22nd March 3:30pm
Kick off 4:30pm
Across the last 49 domestic and European matches played at Wembley (so this isn’t including international football), the average goals per 90 stands at 1.88 in normal time. And if you had backed the under 3.5 line in those 49 games, you’d have won 46 times. That’s a 94-per-cent hit rate over a sample size of 49 matches. A huge return on your investment despite the prices being very short.
Along with backing a low-scoring game, I’m not comfortable going with Arsenal as favourites here. This is their first final appearance in any cup competition for almost six years, and in their last 17 away games in a Champions League knockout tie or at Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City, the Gunners have won just once.
The bet is Manchester City on the double chance alongside under 3.5 total goals at 10/11 with Sky Bet.
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