Saturday’s Premier League best bets include high-scoring wins for both Manchester City and Brighton.
Gameweek nine looms large in the Premier League and there are crucial fixtures up and down the top-flight.
There are five matches on Saturday, with champions Manchester City hosting Southampton at the Etihad Stadium. With Liverpool not playing until Sunday afternoon, City will go top of the table if they beat their lowly visitors.
We have put together an accumulator for the Saturday matches.
Best bets
Manchester City to win and over 3.5 goals v Southampton
4/5
Aston Villa to beat Bournemouth
10/11
Brighton to win and over 2.5 goals v Wolves
6/5
Treble pays 6/1
Manchester City v Southampton (15:00)
Second-from-top meets second-from-bottom at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, with Man City hosting Southampton. It appears a significant mismatch and victory should prove a formality for the home side.
The question for punters is how many goals City are likely to score. Four or more home goals seems entirely feasible when you consider the quality of the City attack and the frailty of the Southampton defence.
No team in the Premier League has scored more goals this season than City. Only one team in the division – Wolves – has conceded more than Southampton. A 5-0 drubbing of Sparta Prague in the Champions League on Wednesday night has filled City with confidence ahead of Southampton’s visit.
Ryan Fraser is suspended for Southampton, adding to their trepidation for this daunting mission.
Aston Villa v Bournemouth (15:00)
Aston Villa have become such an effective side under the shrewd stewardship of Unai Emery and it is difficult to see Bournemouth taking anything from Villa Park.
Villa have lost only one of their eight Premier League fixtures this season going into their meeting with Bournemouth and are positioned fourth in the table, four points off of leaders Liverpool
Their enthusiastic fan base will be demanding three points on Saturday to sustain their campaign and their passion should be rewarded.
Emery’s side beat Bologna 2-0 at Villa Park on Tuesday and the Villans have been excelling in Champions League company. If they can beat Bayern Munich, which Villa did at the start of this month, then Bournemouth should be a straightforward assignment.
Brighton v Wolves (15:00)
Brighton have been among the goals lately – the Gulls have scored a total of 13 goals in their last five games – and basement boys Wolves will be fearing their trip to the south coast.
Wolves have conceded 23 goals in their eight Premier League games this season, so Brighton fans will be expecting plenty of joy on Saturday, even if Danny Welbeck fails his fitness test.
Evan Ferguson could be set to lead the line against the league’s most porous defence and the Irish forward will be fancying his chances of success.
Brighton beat Tottenham 3-2 in their last home fixture and another high-scoring victory may be on the cards at the AmEx Stadium. A Brighton win and three goals or more in the game looks a bargain.
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