EPL week 9 odds analysis: Leicester sack Shakespeare so they should win

EPL week 9 odds analysis: Leicester sack Shakespeare so they should win

A look ahead at all the odds for this weekend’s Premier League fixtures including managerless Leicester taking on Swansea City, Watford taking their new confident look to Chelsea, and Liverpool are on their way to Wembley.

Fixtures in Full

West Ham v Brighton
Chelsea v Watford
Man City v Burnley
Swansea v Leicester
Huddersfield v Man Utd
Newcastle v Crystal Palace
Stoke v BournemouthEPL week 9 odds analysis: Leicester sack Shakespeare so they should win
Southampton v West Brom
Everton v Arsenal
Spurs v Liverpool

West Ham v Brighton

West Ham -120
Brighton +355
Draw +245

West Ham entertains visiting Brighton on Friday night in a game that the West Ham defender Winston Reid said is a ‘must-win game.’ The bookies have West Ham as the odds-on favourites to take three points and form is in their favour.

Although both sides have almost identical Premier League records, the same is not valid for their home and away form. West Ham has won three of their four home games this season with only Spurs taking maximum points away from The London Stadium in a five-goal thriller. Since losing 3-0 to Newcastle at St James Park, that defeat to Spurs is their only loss in six games in all competitions. Brighton, on the other hand, has only picked up one point on their travels, losing four away games in all competitions.

Andy Carroll will be missing through suspension, but that shouldn’t trouble the Hammers. Slaven Bilic’s side is used to playing without their ‘sometimes’ man.

Verdict – A West Ham win.

Chelsea v Watford

Chelsea – 345
Watford +1000
Draw +425

How many football coupons did Chelsea screw up last weekend after their surprise loss to Crystal Palace?

Let’s see if they can make up for it with another dead cert, this time against Watford.

Watford is on cloud nine. Marco Silva’s side owns the lofty position of fourth in the Premier League and visits Stamford Bridge on the back of a win against Arsenal, and undefeated on their travels with three wins and a draw. Even Tom Cleverley believes Watford can beat Chelsea.

“Why not?” the former Man Utd star enquired on the club’s website.

I’ll tell you why not.

Watford has only managed a single victory against Chelsea since The Simpsons first sat on that famous couch. We are talking about 17 games in all competitions with Chelsea winning nine of the last twelve.

The champions have already lost three times this season. If they lose much more, they can wave bye-bye to that title, and this truth will be enough to spur them on against the weaker sides they face during the rest of the season.

Verdict – A Chelsea win.

Man City v Burnley

Man City -1200
Burnley +2300
Draw +950

When Burnley beat Chelsea in the first game of the season, it was hailed as a miracle. So what would we call a win against the high flying Manchester City?

Burnley visits the favourites to win the Premier League knowing that City has won their previous ten games in all contests. And City hasn’t just been winning; they have been winning in style, racking up cricket scores in the process.

Sergio Aguero returned to the side after a brief spell out with a rib injury in midweek. Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling, and Leroy Sane have been banging in the goals. John Stones looks like the defender we always thought he would be. Happy days.

Verdict – A Man City Win

Swansea v Leicester

Swansea +175
Leicester +160
Draw +220

EPL week 9 odds analysis: Leicester sack Shakespeare so they should winHow often to teams turn up on a Saturday after losing their manager and play out of their skin.

Leicester City sacked Craig Shakespeare on Tuesday, only four months into a three-year contract. It leaves the Foxes searching for their third manager in eight months after being on top of the world winning the Premier League.

Talk about a trigger-happy board.

Leicester, who lost both N’Golo Kante and Dany Drinkwater in recent seasons, has had to face Liverpool, Chelsea, Man Utd, and Arsenal in their first eight games. The Foxes fell into the bottom three after a 1-1 draw at home to West Brom. Nigel Pearson is odds-on for a return to the club he managed the season before they became kings.

Swansea has had a marginally better start than Leicester sitting on eight points, but they don’t fare well against the East Midlands club losing four of their last five encounters.

Verdict – A Leicester Win

Huddersfield v Man Utd

Huddersfield +900
Man Utd -315
Draw +400

I’m not going to waste much time on this one.

Verdict – A Man Utd win

Newcastle v Crystal Palace

Newcastle -105
Palace +300
Draw +230

Crystal Palace ended their seven-game goalless/winless drought with a victory over the champions Chelsea on the weekend meaning they will come into this one on a high. Add a rejuvenated and refreshed Wilfried Zaha to the side and you give Palace a goal threat.

The Eagles don’t fair well against Newcastle, registering only two wins from 18 ties stretching as far back as 1984. But the Geordies have lost to both Brighton and Huddersfield this season, showing a propensity to get a little cocky when playing weaker sides.

Verdict – A draw.

Stoke v Bournemouth

Stoke +110
Bournemouth +250
Draw +230

Stoke and Bournemouth are two sides who will struggle this term. Between them, they have lost ten of their 16 games, and languish in the pits of the division.

Man City humiliated Stoke in their last Premier League outing, and they will take that hurt into their tie against Bournemouth. The seven-goal thrashing means they have the joint worse defensive outfit in the league alongside Crystal Palace.

Bournemouth has only won one game all season, and their problem is scoring goals. The Cherries have only found the net four times this season, and only Palace has a worse GF column with two.

Last year, Bournemouth pinched this one with a 1-0 win. I sense a case of dejavu.

My Verdict – A Bournemouth win.

Southampton v West Brom

Southampton -125
West Brom +390
Draw +230

Both of these sides sit in the middle of the league minding their own business.

West Brom began the season well with two wins, but have failed to win any of their next six, losing two, and drawing four. Southampton is also in a quagmire having won one of their previous six league ties.

Verdict – A draw.

Everton v Arsenal

Everton +275
Arsenal -105
Draw +260

You have to say that both sides have suffered a nightmare start to the season.

Everton, in particular, will be devastated with their 16th place position after spending so much money to strengthen their squad in the summer. The Goodison Park outfit’s problems have been the sale of Romelu Lukaku. Everton has only scored five times in eight games, and their Europa League form has been as equally woeful.

Arsenal has faired a lot better, winning half of their matches, but a club with their sights on the Premier League title won’t be happy to lose three games this early in the season.

Verdict – A draw.

Spurs v Liverpool

Spurs – +110
Liverpool +230
Draw +240

EPL week 9 odds analysis: Leicester sack Shakespeare so they should winBoth of these sides had terrific results in midweek with Spurs coming away from the Bernabeu with a point, and Liverpool smashing Maribor for seven.

The key for Liverpool is keeping out Harry Kane, and that means cutting off the supply from the flanks and Christian Eriksen. Is Liverpool capable of doing that? Well, they have done so in recent seasons. You have to go back to Nov 2012 to find Spurs victory against Liverpool in which time they have suffered seven defeats.

Verdict – A Liverpool win

Premier League Table (Week 8)

1. Man City – 22 pts
2. Man Utd – 20
3. Spurs – 17
4. Watford – 15
5. Chelsea – 13
6. Arsenal – 13
7. Burnley – 13
8. Liverpool – 13
9. Newcastle – 11
10. Southampton – 9
11. West Brom – 9
12. Huddersfield – 9
13. Swansea – 8
14. Brighton – 8
15. West Ham – 8
16. Everton – 8
17. Stoke – 8
18. Leicester – 5
19. Bournemouth – 4
20. Crystal Palace – 3

Premier League Title Winning Odds (Courtesy of Oddsshark)

Man City – 2/5
Man Utd 4/1
Chelsea – 14/1
Spurs – 14/1