Weekend Bets: Manchester City and Barcelona to dominate, West Ham continue fantastic away form and Chelsea to pull one over Liverpool

Posted on October 29, 2015 in Features

With the Premier League season now over a quarter of the way through, the race for the title and a place in the top four is really starting to heat up. Kurt Bristoll gives his tips on a selection of games from the top flight, the Championship and also La Liga.

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Chelsea v Liverpool – Chelsea to win

Both of these sides have made poor starts to the season. Liverpool’s bad run of form was enough to see Brendan Rodgers lose his job and while Jurgen Klopp seems a good choice to replace him, his first few results as the Reds manager have been underwhelming. Jose Mourinho has lost five times already in the league already this term – two more defeats than his side suffered all of last season. But I expect Chelsea to find a way to win in this match as Mourinho is under immense pressure at the moment and needs a big result in this one. Liverpool haven’t won away from home since their opening day fixture against Stoke and haven’t beaten the hosts in the last nine meetings between the sides.

Best odds: 21/20 (Bet365).

Watford v West Ham – West Ham to win

West Ham have had their best ever start to a Premier League campaign and are currently 3^rd in the table, only two points behind Manchester City in 1^st place. Watford’s target is to avoid relegation and, as it stands, they are seven points clear of the drop zone. Although the hosts got a great result last weekend, with a solid 2-0 away win over Stoke, I feel that West Ham will take home all three points in this one. Having already beaten Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool away from home and coming off the back of a 2-1 win over Chelsea, I feel that Hammers will continue their fantastic away form.

Best odds: 21/10 (Bet365).

Manchester City v Norwich – Man City -2 handicap

This match could prove to be a long 90 minutes for Norwich City. Man City have scored 11 goals in their last two home games in the league and look to be playing some exciting attacking football at the Etihad. The visitors have lost their last three league games, including a heavy 6-2 defeat away to Newcastle. After a 0-0 draw in the derby last weekend, I reckon City will find their shooting boots again and score a few against a struggling Canaries side. A -2 handicap for City seems to be a fantastic bet for this match.

Best odds: 15/8 with Coral

MK Dons v Hull City – Hull to win

Hull have made a good start in their bid to bounce back to the English top flight and currently find themselves in 2^nd place behind Brighton. MK Dons, on the other hand, have found it difficult to adjust to the Championship following their promotion. The hosts have won only one of their last five games and have lost the last two matches. Hull, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last five and have won their last two games. The only worry here is that the Tigers are tired from their long match against Leicester in midweek, but even so, I feel Steve Bruce’s men will manage to grab the win here.

Best odds: 5/4 (William Hill).

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Getafe v Barcelona – Barcelona to win over 2.5 goals

After a fairly rocky start to the season it seems Barcelona have settled and are starting to hit their stride. Barca are currently 2^nd in La Liga, only behind Real Madrid on goal difference and there have been 16 goals in their last four matches – averaging out at four goals a game. The last meeting between these two sides saw Barcelona winning 6-0 and with Getafe suffering a 5-0 loss to Sevilla the last time out, I can see Luis Enrique’s men winning comfortably by a few goals.

Best odds: 8/11 (Paddy Power).