All articles by: Jools Jordan-Probert

Carabao Cup Quarter Final – Chelsea vs Bournemouth – Match Preview

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Chelsea are huge favourites to make the semi-finals of the League Cup as they host Bournemouth in the quarter-final stage, looking to emulate their run in the competition in 2015 and eventually claim the tournament in Wembley.

Team News

After winning the Premier League last season, Chelsea have enjoyed a mixed campaign this time around, but ultimately not hitting the same heights. Already a massive 14 points behind the unstoppable Manchester City, manager Antonio Conte all but admitted his side’s title defence is over.

Finishing 2nd in their Champions League group and consequently drawing Barcelona in the last 16, it is very plausible that the only silverware available for Chelsea this season are the domestic cups – hence the importance of this match and this tournament.

Conte, however, has suggested that he will rotate for this match, saying to Chelsea TV:

“I want to continue to give the chance to players that are not playing with regularity. I want to continue this way, but at the same time we want to reach the semi-final.”

Conte was also asked during his pre-match press conference if any of Chelsea’s academy players would be involved, and replied saying: ‘They could be. Why not? I think these players are the future for Chelsea. Sterling is a really good player. Hudson-Odoi won the Under-17 World Cup. Ampadu played the last game against Everton, maybe he could start also tomorrow. I think I must consider the young players if they deserve to have this chance. I think Sterling has spent a lot of time working with us this season. Ampadu is always every day with the first team.’

 

 

 

Etan Ampadu started Chelsea’s last game against Everton in the Carabao Cup & may get given another run out tomorrow night as Conte looks to rotate his squad against Bournemouth.

Bournemouth have also not lived up to the expectations set from last year’s achievements, 2016/17’s 9th place finish seems a far cry from the current 16th spot, just one point outside the relegation zone and undoubtedly in a battle.

However, the fact The Cherries are now in their third consecutive season in the Premier League, and again matched their best ever run in this competition by reaching the quarter-finals (did the first time in 2014/15) is testament to the fantastic work and huge strides made by the club in recent years.

A cup run could be the galvanisation needed for Eddie Howe’s men as they seek to retain their top-flight status. Perhaps even more exciting, could be the prospect of leading this club from the bottom tier of English football all the way to cup winners and on a foray into Europe.

Nonetheless, Bournemouth will be fully prepared for an incredibly difficult match at the home of the English Champions. The statistics prove that, The Blues have won seven of their last eight league home games, scoring 24 goals in doing so.
Bournemouth have never won away to top-flight opposition in this competition in 15 attempts, and The Cherries have only beaten Chelsea once in their last nine fixtures, although that was at Stamford Bridge as recently as December 2015.

Stats

It seems like there is only one side to back for a clean sheet in this game, only three teams (Newcastle, Palace and Stoke) have kept less than Bournemouth’s four in the Premier League this season whilst only three teams (Arsenal, Burnley, Manchester United) have kept more than Chelsea’s eight.

Both these sides accumulate a lot of corners, with Chelsea and Bournemouth placing at 5th and 10th in our club corner stats table in the Premier League – but with Chelsea expected to be largely dominant and Eddie Howe likely to set his team up deep and defensively, backing Chelsea to earn a hefty number could be promising.

Steve Cook & Harry Artur have both been carded 4 times each this season for the Cherries.

Only four teams have received more than Bournemouth’s 30 yellow cards this year in the Premier League, while Chelsea have already been brandished with three red cards this term (second only to Watford’s 4) – so booking points are a strong possibility.

Suggested Tips

  • SkyBet: Price Boost – Chelsea to Win 3-0 – 8/1 
  • SkyBet: Price Boost – Bournemouth to Win 2-1 – 33/1
  • SkyBet: Featured RequestABet – Chelsea to win, Chelsea to score 3+ goals, 11+ match corners and 40+ match booking pts – 9/1
  • SkyBet: RequestABet Specials 80/1 and above – Hazard to score, 10+ Chelsea corners and Steve Cook & Fraser to be carded – 150/1
  • SkyBet: RequestABet Specials upto 10/1 – Chelsea to score 2+ goals, 5+ Chelsea corners and 20+ Bournemouth booking pts – 2/1
  • SkyBet: RequestABet Specials upto 10/1 – Batshuayi to score, over 2.5 goals, Under 13 match corners and 30+ Bournemouth booking points – 10/1 
  • SkyBet: RequestABet Specials 11/1 to 28/1 – Bournemouth to win and over 2.5 goals – 12/1
  • SkyBet: RequestABet Specials 11/1 to 28/1 – Afobe to score, over 2.5 goals, 13+ match corners and 10+ booking points each team – 28/1

Everton vs Swansea City – Match Preview

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Everton vs Swansea City – Match Preview – Sam Allardyce will look to continue leading Everton’s resurgence against the Premier League’s bottom side Swansea City in Monday night’s fixture.

Under Ronald Koeman Everton were in the thick of a relegation battle but since ex-England manager Allardyce’s arrival, The Toffees have risen straight up the table into the top half with three wins and a draw from their previous four.

The draw came in the Merseyside derby at Anfield too, in a very pleasing 1-1 draw for Everton fans. That result, and the performances in wins over Huddersfield Town (2-0), Newcastle United (1-0) and in the Europa League against Apollon (3-0) have brought optimism back to Goodison Park.

Rooney has been in good form since Allardyce took over at Goodison Photo Credit: skysports.com

Swansea City, however, seem to be having any residual positivity drained from them game by game; The South Welsh club are rooted to the foot of the table after an awful run of form that has seen them lose 10 of their last 13 games, picking up just two wins and a draw in the meantime.

After a similarly poor first half of the season in 2016/17, Swansea brought in Paul Clement to save the season and by successfully avoiding relegation, that was achieved. This term has been equally challenging, and Clement faces an uphill struggle to keep both his job, and his team in the Premier League.

A trip to back-in-form Everton will be daunting for Swansea, who are searching for just their second away victory in the league this year. The Toffees defensive solidity matched with Swansea’s difficulties in creating chances and taking them should prove decisive.

Team News

Yannick Bolasie could feature for Everton for the first time in over a year, whilst Leighton Baines, James McCarthy, Ross Barkley, Ramiro Funes Mori and Seamus Coleman are all unavailable through injury.

Kyle Bartley is the only omission from the Swansea squad, as Ivorian striker Wilfried Bony has been ruled fit to play despite coming off against Manchester City with muscle tightness on Wednesday.

Bony is likely to start after coming off in the loss to Manchester City Photo Credit: skysports.com

Stats

Under Sam Allardyce, typically, Everton have been strong at the back and only conceded one goal under the experienced boss’ stewardship. The Toffees have picked up three Premier League clean sheets in their last four attempts but due to the disastrous defending beforehand, are still 16th in our club clean sheet table with a lowly figure of just four clean sheets.

The problem for Swansea City has not been with keeping clean sheets, but with scoring at the other end. The Swans have kept six shutouts so far this campaign, with only the top seven in the division faring better.

If remaining true to form, this game will present few corners. As a team who have struggled to attack consistently, Swansea have an unsurprising presence as low down as 14th in our club corner stats table.
However, the true shock comes with Everton’s league-low total of just 55 corners all season, especially interesting given Allardyce’s penchant for set-pieces and ex-Swansea man Gylfi Sigurdsson’s quality from such scenarios.

For cards and booking points there is only one way to bet if this season’s stats are anything to go by, with only Leicester, Stoke and Southampton accumulating a lower average booking points per game than Swansea’s 13.1.
Additionally, Everton rank 4th in our club card stats table, with 28 yellow cards and two red cards so far, coming in with 1.9 bookings per match on average.

 

Suggested Tips

  • Skybet Price Boost – Gylfi Sigurdsson to score from outside the penalty area – 10/1
  • Skybet Price Boost – Wilfried Bony to Score First – 9/1
  • Skybet Pundits RequestAbet – Le Tissier’s RAB: Calvert-Lewin to score and Everton 2-0 – 14/1
  • Skybet RequestAbet Up to 10/1 – Everton to win, Under 11 match corners and Under 50 match booking points – 9/4
  • Skybet RequestAbet Up to 10/1 – Abraham to score and Swansea to win – 15/2
  • Skybet RequestAbet 11/1 to 28/1 – Calvert-Lewin, Rooney & Sigurdsson to score – 28/1
  • Skybet RequestAbet 33/1 to 66/1 – Sigurdsson to score from outside the area and Everton to score a penalty – 50/1
  • Skybet Featured RequestAbets – Bony to Score and Kenny and Schneiderlin to be carded – 50/1
  • Skybet To Assist a Goal in 90mins – Wayne Rooney – 5/2

Leicester City vs Crystal Palace – Match Preview

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Leicester City vs Crystal Palace – Match Preview – Crystal Palace and Leicester City are two teams with new life breathed into them via fresh management and both will be looking to continue their recent strong form at the King Power on Saturday.

The vastly experienced Roy Hodgson has turned Palace into a much more disciplined side, and in the process, has taken The Eagles off the foot of the table and they are now 18th, only just inside the relegation zone due to goal-difference.

After three consecutive draws, Tuesday’s dramatic victory against Watford, where with just a minute of normal time left Palace were 1-0 down but scored twice to win, took Hodgson’s men to six games unbeaten in the Premier League.

The manner of the win could be just the catalyst needed to pick up some vital points in what promises to be an extremely tight affair in the battle to avoid the drop.

When Craig Shakespeare was sacked from the Leicester dugout, it seemed as if Leicester could also be involved in that relegation fight, however since the arrival of ex-Southampton manager Claude Puel, The Foxes have lost just once in seven matches (to the imperious Manchester City) and won their last four consecutive games.

Such a turnaround has catapulted Leicester to 8th in the table, but perhaps even more remarkably just five points away from Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League places.

Whilst that would be an unrealistic expectation, the powers that be at the King Power will surely be vindicated with this upturn in form, and with four points between them and Watford in 9th, a consolidation of a top 8 finish must be within reach.

Mahrez has been in great form under new manager, Claude Puel Photo Credit: skysports.com

Stats

This game screams goals. Leicester are buoyed after scoring four at the normally resilient St Mary’s in their victory against Southampton on Wednesday, and have scored 10 in their last four games – the form of Riyad Mahrez a large part of that. Palace have scored twice in five of their last eight games too and are joint bottom of our club clean sheet table with just two shutouts all season. Leicester have only recorded a total of four themselves, so this should be a game where the attackers will benefit.

If the game goes to form, then betting on booking points could yield some success. Palace sit in 3rd place in our club card stats table for yellow cards awarded with 31, and 7th for the overall booking points average per game with 19.4. Conversely, The Foxes are joint second-bottom, with just 16 yellows and no reds all year for just 10 average booking points per fixture.

Zaha has been in great form for Palace Photo Credit: skysports.com

Despite struggling for most of the campaign, Palace find themselves in a very lofty 3rd position in our club corner stats table with just Man City (111) and Spurs (113) topping Palace’s total of 102 corners to date. This would be to utilise their imposing aerial strength with players such as Scott Dann, Mamadou Sakho and Christian Benteke.

 

Suggested Tips

  • Skybet Both Teams to Score in Both Halves – 18/1
  • Skybet Both Players to Score – Jamie Vardy and Christian Benteke – 6/1
  • Skybet Player Carded Accumulator – Yohan Cabaye and James McArthur both to be carded – 14/1
  • Bet365 – Correct Score – 2-2 – (link no longer available)
  • Bet365 – First Goalscorer – Shinji Okazaki – (link no longer available)