EPL week 7 odds review: Chelsea v Liverpool II; crunch tie for Cardiff

A look ahead at three crucial fixtures in Week 7 of the English Premier League as Chelsea host Liverpool, Man Utd travel to West Ham, and Cardiff and Burnley fight it out for three precious points.

Liverpool fans have stared at that tatty old polaroid of the ‘good times’ for far too long. Brendan Rodgers gave them a different view a few years back, but Jürgen Klopp is painting a whole new future.

You can feel it.

Seven wins from seven in all competitions had people thinking, “Could it happen?”

The next fortnight will give us a clearer indication.

Before the week broke out, Liverpool was scheduled to face Chelsea (twice), Napoli and Man City, and last night, they stumbled at the first hurdle, thanks to a world-class winning goal from Eden Hazard in a 2-1 Chelsea win at Anfield.

Does that mean Maurizio Sarri’s side has a psychological advantage going into the Premier League meeting at Stamford Bridge on the weekend? I doubt it. Liverpool didn’t field their strongest team. It’s the Carabao Cup, after all, but it will have given Chelsea an extra boost of confidence.

Here are the odds:

Chelsea – 15/8
Liverpool – 11/8
Draw – 12/5

As you can see, there isn’t much separating the pair, and with good reason. Roman Abramovich’s toy football team won six of their opening matches in all competitions before drawing with West Ham in the London Stadium last weekend.

Chelsea is unbeaten in four ties against Liverpool, winning their last two, and drawing the two before that. However, Liverpool did beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 2016 thanks to goals from Dejan Lovren and Jordan Henderson. That result followed a 3-1 win the year before when Liverpool came from a goal down to win thanks to a brace from Philippe Coutinho and a Christian Benteke strike, two players who ply their trade elsewhere.

You can toss a coin in this one.

There won’t be a lot of goals.

I think I am going to go with the Anfield outfit.

Results – Away Win

Cardiff v Burnley

Cardiff – 6/4
Burnley – 2/1
Draw – 2/1

Cardiff emerges from a tough trifecta against Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City with a bagel and a tally of 12 in the goals conceded column. I imagine confidence is low. The Welsh outfit is still searching for their first win after returning to the big boy’s league.

They have to beat Burnley at the Cardiff City Stadium on the weekend. It may seem like a premature exclamation, but the way Burnley have begun the season, they appear odds-on to be in the relegation mix, and it’s against teams like this that the Bluebirds need to pick up all three points, especially at home.

Burnley has had a torrid start to the season; winless until their last outing where they smashed four past high flying Bournemouth. Sean Dyche’s side is a shadow of the team who finished in seventh place last term, and they are already out of the Europa Cup thanks to a two-legged loss against Olympiakos. And then there was last night’s debacle, where Burnley lost to Burton Albion in the Carabao Cup.

The shine on the shit for Burnley is the return to action of Steven Deffour. The Belgian played a role in the Burton defeat and should feature at some point in South Wales.

Burnley hasn’t beaten Cardiff in 13 attempts stretching back to 2007, but the pair has never met in the Premier League.

Result – Home Win.

West Ham v Man Utd

West Ham – 3/1
Man Utd – 17/20
Draw – 13/5

After a torrid start to the season that saw them lose their first four games, West Ham entertains Man Utd in fine fettle after Manuel Pellegrino’s side beat Everton at Goodison Park, drew with Chelsea at the London Stadium before smashing Macclesfield Town for eight in the Carabao Cup last night.

But they don’t have a good record against United.

One win in 18.

And then again, United seem ripe for the picking.

When the Red Devils lost to Spurs the word around Old Trafford was ‘calamity.’ Jose Mourinho was the favourite in the ‘First Premier League Manager to Leave’ betting odds. The club was in turmoil.

They beat Burnley.

And Watford.

Young Boys were next.

Turmoil?

Then came a crappy 1-1 draw with Wolves at Old Trafford, a high profile bust-up with Paul Pogba where Mourinho said he would never captain the club again after speaking out against his team’s performance in that Wolves match. A training ground bust-up between the pair caught on camera and a defeat at home to Derby in the Carabao Cup.

And yet it’s from within this cyclone of madness that Mourinho seems to produce his best work.

Mourinho versus the world.

Result – Away Win.

Fixtures in Full

West Ham v Man Utd
Huddersfield v Spurs
Arsenal v Watford
Wolves v Southampton
Newcastle v Leicester
Man City v Brighton
Everton v Fulham
Chelsea v Liverpool
Cardiff v Burnley
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace

Premier League Table

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