Odds Boosts and Betting Tips on Palace v Brighton, Cardiff v West Ham & Newcastle v Everton

Join our odds boost on 3 Premier League matches that could have a big impact on the plight on some of the teams in the bottom half of the league. Take the best odds on Crystal Palace, Newcastle and West Ham to win their games this afternoon. Remember to get in fast as these odds are only available for a limited time.

Crystal Palace v Brighton

Revenge is a dish best served cold but I also hear that Seagull tastes much better grilled and served with chips. Certainly Crystal Palace will be seeking to get one over on their fierce rivals Brighton following the result in the reverse fixture earlier this year. In that game the Seagulls recovered from losing Shane Duffy to an early red card to win 3-1. Since then things have been pretty grim for the South Coast club and their win against Huddersfield last time out was their first this calendar year. Conversely, Palace have been picking points up on a steady basis with 10 coming from their last 5 games and they now find themselves closer to West Ham in 9th place than they do to the drop zone.

For so long Palace have lacked a focal point to their attack with star player Wilfred Zaha often needing to play in a central position that has not gotten the best out of his rare talent. However, Michy Batshuayi’s arrival on loan from Chelsea has given the South London team another dimension and baring a defeat by an in from Man Utd side, Palace have not just been beating sides but they have been playing them off the park.

For their part you feel as though Brighton boss Chris Houghton has tried to implement a more attacking style to his side’s play of late and they are certainly more of a threat in front of goal – they already have 30 goals this season compared to the 34 they managed in the whole of 2017/18. The problem is they now seem softer at the back and are giving away far too many cheap goals for a side that is battling relegation. Getting back to winning ways last week has given their survival hopes a big boost and another win in this game would see them within touching distance of safety.

Team News

Mamadou Sakho has had knee surgery that could well see him miss the remainder of the season while Pape Souare is fighting to get a place back in the team following a dislocated shoulder.

Nigerian defender Leon Balogun has returned to training and could return to the first team. Brighton’s biggest loss will be that of playmaker Pascal Gross who has a hamstring injury.

Stats

  • Crystal Palace sit 4th in the form table taking into account games from the beginning of February
  • While Palace’s recent away record has been superb, their home record is the 2nd worst in the league this season
  • Zaha has scored 5 goals in his last 6 games and has more goals against Brighton than any other club in his career
  • Brighton have not kept a clean sheet away from home this season

Betting Tips

Despite Palace’s recent struggles at home you would have thought that the raucous atmosphere in Croydon will be enough to get the players up for this one. For their part Brighton lack a cutting edge up front and look a bit flaky at the back. I can see Houghton trying to shut up shop in order to come away from this fixture with a draw and as such Palace’s start to the game will be crucial as an early goal would shatter the opposition’s plans.

I don’t see this being a high scoring affair so under 2.5 goals @1.7 is probably a fair reflection of the situation.

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Cardiff v West Ham

A couple of back to back wins last month had given Cardiff hope of avoiding an immediate drop back down to the Championship. However, they have followed those wins up with 3 straight defeats conceding 10 goals in the process and scoring just once themselves. As such it’s fair to say that confidence in the Welsh capital is not at an all-time high!

West Ham have been bouncing around the middle of the table for most of the season and much to the relief of their fans have found some home form in recent months to quieten the dissenting voices at the Olympic Stadium. Success away from home has proven a bit more of an issue for the Hammers and they have not won on their travels since 27th December. If they can finish the season with a bit of a spurt then 7th place and the title of “best of the rest” is still very much on the cards.

Surely Cardiff have to begin throwing caution to the wind and look to secure a much needed win. What was looking to be a 6 team contest to avoid that last relegation spot has suddenly turned into a 2 horse race unless both Cardiff and Southampton can start putting points on the board. With the Saints hosting 3rd placed Spurs this could be a great chance for the Blue Birds to claw themselves out of the relegation zone.

Team News

Cardiff's recent poor form has lead to lots of chopping and changing to the starting 11 by manager Neil Warnock. One change that is assured comes as a result of Sol Bamba's ruptured anterior cruciate ligament that has put a premature end to his season.

Manuel Lanzini made his long awaited comeback in West Ham's last match and they are all boosted by the availability of Aaron Cresswell and Fabian Balbuena.

Stats

  • Cardiff are both poor starters to games (only 7 first half goals scored this season) and poor finishers to matches too (12 goals conceded in the last 10mins of matches)
  • Cardiff have failed to score in 3 of their last 5 home matches 
  • West Ham have failed to score in 4 of their last away matches 

Betting Tips

The above doesn't suggest that we will have a classic match on our hands today. There have been rumours of training ground bust ups at Cardiff this weekend so we will have to see what effect that has on the players. Following a post-Christmas wobble, West Ham have played some decent football and I expect them to get the job done here.

Given both sides failure to score many goals of late, under 2.5 at anything around evens would be a sensible bet.

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Newcastle v Everton

Newcastle are not a particularly exciting team to watch play football but Rafa Benitez has made a group of average players into a very tough unit to beat and it’s understandable that the powers that be want to offer him a new contract. For his part Benitez won’t discuss such matters until promises have been made about transfer funds and he has safely guided the team to another season in the Premier League. The 2nd of those tasks has been made all the more easy by Newcastle winning their last 4 home matches and they will be keen to extend that run this afternoon.

Everton will feel that they let slip a glorious chance to finally beat their Merseyside rivals Liverpool in last week's fixtures and it will be interesting to see how the team reacts to that disappointment. On one hand going toe to toe with one of the best sides in Europe and coming out with a draw is a commendable result, on the other it might feel like a case of what could have been.

While the onus in this match is more on Newcastle to get the win that would see them almost safe it is vitally important that Everton have a good finish to the season. History shows that form in the final part of one season is very much transferred over to the start of the next despite several months gap in-between. A side with Everton's status and spending power will want to be fighting it out in the top 3rd of the league as opposed to heading in the opposite direction. As such Marco Silva's preparations for 19/20 must start now and it's essential that he motives his players to understand the same.

Team News

Newcastle's well drilled defence have a couple of noticeable absentees at present with Sean Longstaff's season cut short by a knee ligament injury and Ciaran Clark and goalkeeper Rob Elliot also unavailable.

Everton showed last week that they have strength and depth to their squad as Richarlison came off the bench to trouble Liverpool. He will hope to gain a starting spot for this game with the Toffees only injury concerns being veteran duo Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka.

Stats

  • Newcastle's 4 match winning streak at St. Jame's Park is their best run in nearly 15 years with the side having conceded just once during those wins
  • Newcastle have kept more clean sheets than any side outside the top 6 
  • For their part Everton have also not conceded for the past 205mins of football they have played 
  • Everton have won more games away from home (6) this season than they have at home (4) 

Betting Tips

Newcastle are a percentages team and so on this one it's perhaps worth playing the odds and going for a home win.

Again, I wouldn't expect a plethora of goals in this match so under 2.5 at around 1.7 seems a reasonable bet

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