Premier League Game Week 5 Betting Preview : Chelsea and Man Utd to continue struggles

Last Updated : 11th September, 2019 By FREEBets.org.uk

VENUE

Various

TIME

14-16 September

BROADCAST

Live on BT Sport and Sky Sports

See Stats

Premier League fans will be delighted to see the end of the international break and a return of domestic action this weekend with some intriguing top flight contests to get our teeth into.

The first action of the Premier League weekend comes from Anfield where Liverpool are taking on Newcastle in what could be something of a bloodbath for the visitors. Newcastle have actually bounced back a bit from a worrying start to the season, but they have not faced anything like a trip to Anfield, where they are likely to be torn to shreds by the European champions.

The Magpies’ victory at Tottenham last month was an enormous surprise and they have followed it up with a draw against Watford as Steve Bruce keeps the doubters at bay for now. They look reasonably well organised and pose something of a threat with Joelinton and Miguel Almiron up front, but they are just nowhere near the calibre of Liverpool.

The Reds are looking as potent as ever so far this season, scoring 12 goals in their four Premier League games so far. Their defence may not be looking as solid as it was last season, but that will improve when Alisson Becker returns in goal, probably by the end of the month. His absence should not bother them too much against the Magpies, as they will dominate possession and concede few shots anyway.

Outside of Alisson, Liverpool are largely injury free and will unleash their deadly front line on Newcastle, with Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane all having multiple goals to their names already this season. After the international break and with a Champions League tie on Tuesday, Liverpool will be raring to go and want to put this game to bed early, they will go at Newcastle hard and the visitors are unlikely to be able to deal with it.

Last season, Liverpool put seven goals past Newcastle in their two Premier League meetings, and that was with the steady hand of Rafa Benitez guiding the Magpies’ defence. We can expect the Reds to find the back of the net with ease on Saturday.

A very interesting match at 3pm on Saturday sees Manchester United host Leicester City at Old Trafford as we see exactly where these two sides are in their progressions. United started the season in spectacular fashion with that 4-0 win over Chelsea but have looked pretty terrible since then, going without a win in matches against Crystal Palace, Wolves and Southampton.

Leicester are, alongside Liverpool and Man City, one of only three teams not to have lost in the Premier League so far this season and have looked very impressive with Brendan Rodgers’ new look team. Draw with Wolves and Chelsea were followed by wins over Sheffield United and Bournemouth, and progression in the Carabao Cup. They have not had the sternest tests yet, but the Foxes look ready to take on the best the Premier League has to throw at them.

United are certainly not that. The Red Devils face a fight to even be in the top four picture and are light years away from the division’s top two. Realistically, Leicester and United will be contesting the same places in the league this season, around the Europa League places. The Red Devils are odds-on favourites to win this match, but no one will be confident in backing them, and they shouldn’t be. Winless against Wolves, Southampton and Palace, Leicester are a more significant threat than any of those three sides at the moment.

Leicester will be attracting plenty of custom at their best price of 18/5, but a more appealing bet is the double chance on a draw or a win for the Foxes, which covers both bases for us. This looks tremendous value at odds-against.

Also in the 3pm kick-offs on Saturday are two teams who will be hoping to contest for European places this season, but have made perilously slow starts to their campaigns as Wolves host Chelsea at Molineux.

Wolves have picked up just three points from their first four games, while the Blues are marginally better off on five. Both have excuses – Wolves have the notoriously strenuous early-season task of Europa League qualifiers, while Chelsea are going through extensive changes under their new manager, Frank Lampard, and without their best player, Eden Hazard.

Going into this clash in the Black Country, though, there is only one of those two problems that is likely to have been solved. Wolves have not had any Europa League ties for the two weeks over the international break, so this excuse can fall by the wayside. Has Lampard managed to mould his team into a cohesive unit yet, especially in defence? Almost certainly not.

The young, exciting talents going forward for Chelsea look to be coming together quite quickly. Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham have both made an impressive impact so far this season, but they look dreadful at the back and without the ball. The Blues have conceded two goals in each of their last two games, and these came against newly-promoted sides Norwich and Sheffield United, along with the aforementioned walloping they took at Old Trafford on the opening weekend.

It is difficult to make a convincing argument that Chelsea are a notably better team than Wolves at the moment, so it is somewhat surprising that they go into the away fixture as the favourites to win. Nuno Espirito Santo’s men won this fixture last season and drew at Stamford Bridge, so there is also not much recent precedent to back the side from west London.

The home side are far too good a price to turn down at this one and should be backed to pour more pressure onto Lampard as he struggles for answers with his Chelsea side.