THE STRIKER: previews Sunday’s Premier League games with a recommended BETDAQ bet and extended match stats. The action gets underway at 12pm with SOUTHAMPTON v SPURS with the highlight CHELSEA v LIVERPOOL at 4.30pm.


SOUTHAMPTON V TOTTENHAM

12pm We’re all set for another fantastic day in the Premier League and we start early with Southampton hosting Spurs. It’s so early in the season and we really shouldn’t be saying this; but this is a massive game for Spurs. They started the season with a loss and another loss here would just add to the drama. It looks like we could see Gareth Bale coming back, but two opening losses would likely see Mourinho drama in the press and as we have experienced too many times before; that often just leads to further drama and eventually him leaving.

All that makes for an intriguing Sunday morning! Spurs will see this as a good chance to win given Southampton were so poor at home last season and they have started the new season with two losses. They were slightly unlucky to lose against Crystal Palace when a draw would have been a fair result but then they lost to Brentford in the League Cup midweek too. I need to see more from Spurs before I consider backing them at around 2.5 away from home. I can see a pretty boring and cagey affair here, and the draw is worth a small investment at 3.45.

The Striker Says:
One point win Draw at 3.45 with BETDAQ Exchange.

You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQsthtot

MATCH STATS

  • Southampton have won both of their last two home league games against Tottenham; they had won none of their previous six such matches against Spurs at St. Mary’s before this (D2 L4).
  • Tottenham have lost two of their last three Premier League meetings with Southampton (W1), as many as their previous 15 before this (W11 D2). Spurs last lost back-to-back league games against Saints back in March 2004 (three in a row).
  • Against no other current Premier League side are Spurs on a longer wait for a clean sheet than they are versus Southampton, failing to keep a shutout in any of their last nine meetings with Saints (also nine v Liverpool).
  • Southampton have won their first home game in just one of their 21 Premier League campaigns (D10 L10), with that victory coming against Blackburn in their relegation season of 2004-05 (3-2).
  • Tottenham haven’t started a Premier League campaign with back-to-back defeats since 2011-12. However, Spurs are unbeaten in their first away game in each of their last four Premier League seasons (W2 D2).
  • Southampton have won each of their last four Premier League games played on a Sunday, as many as they managed across their previous 23 such games (D8 L11). Meanwhile, Tottenham have lost more Premier League games on Sunday than any other side, with last week’s loss against Everton their 88th such defeat.
  • Southampton averaged 71% possession in their MD1 defeat at Crystal Palace, the highest of any Premier League team across the opening weekend. It’s the second consecutive Premier League game that Saints have averaged over 70% possession, having done so in just two of their last 251 games in the competition.
  • Danny Ings has scored in both of his Premier League appearances for Southampton against Tottenham – only against Norwich City (3) has he scored in more consecutive appearances in the competition.
  • Tottenham’s Dele Alli has been involved in more Premier League goals against Southampton than he has any other side in the competition (9 – 5 goals, 4 assists).
  • Harry Kane has scored nine goals in his last nine league appearances against Southampton; the Tottenham striker only has more Premier League goals against Leicester (15) and Arsenal (10).

NEWCASTLE V BRIGHTON

2pm This is an interesting game. It’s fair to say that both sides will finish up towards the bottom of the table but probably avoid relegation in the end. Newcastle were actually one of my favourites to go down looking at their under-lining numbers last season but they started the season just as they were doing last season! Winning with an xG that said they shouldn’t have. A draw would have been a reasonable result, but they got past West Ham 2-0 while Brighton were beaten 3-1 by Chelsea.

Both sides beat lower league opposition in the League Cup midweek and Brighton had a confidence boosting 4-0 win which would have done them done after losing to Chelsea. Brighton’s performance wasn’t as bad as the final result against Chelsea and although Newcastle seemingly defy logic with their performances, I’m still happy to bet against Newcastle. The 2.92 is worth taking on Brighton.

The Striker Says:
One point win Brighton to beat Newcastle at 2.92 with BETDAQ Exchange.

You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQnewbha

MATCH STATS

  • Newcastle are without a win in all six of their previous Premier League meetings with Brighton (D4 L2), failing to score at all in five of those games.
  • Brighton have only lost one of their last six league visits to Newcastle (W2 D3), keeping a clean sheet in all three of their games at St. James’ Park in the Premier League (W1 D2) since a 0-2 Championship loss in August 2016.
  • Of the 712 Premier League fixtures to have been played three or more times, Newcastle v Brighton is the only one to average less than a goal-per-game, with just four goals being scored in six meetings between the sides (0.67 per game).
  • Following their 2-0 win at West Ham on the opening day, Newcastle are looking to start a league season with consecutive victories for the first time since 1997-98.
  • Brighton are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League away games (W2 D5) – no side is on a longer current unbeaten run on the road than the Seagulls.
  • Newcastle haven’t won their opening home game in any of their last six Premier League campaigns (D2 L4), losing each of the last three in a row. Their last such victory came against Spurs in the 2012-13 season.
  • Brighton had more shots from outside the box than any other Premier League side on the opening weekend (6), with Leandro Trossard’s goal against Chelsea coming from distance.
  • After scoring on his Newcastle debut on MD1, Callum Wilson is looking to score in consecutive Premier League matches for the first time since a run of four in August/September 2019.
  • Both Callum Wilson and Jeff Hendrick scored on their Premier League debuts for Newcastle against West Ham last week – only Les Ferdinand in August 1995 has scored in both of his first two appearances for the club in the competition.
  • In their opening defeat to Chelsea, Brighton’s Tariq Lamptey had the joint-most chances created, the joint-most open play crosses and the joint-highest number of tackles and interceptions among all the Brighton players.

CHELSEA V LIVERPOOL

4.30pm What a fixture! Undoubtedly the highlight of the weekend Premier League action. This will give us a good idea how well Chelsea are playing after spending big during the summer. Liverpool made the headlines last weekend with a cracking 4-3 win over Leeds, but their performance was even better than the result. Leeds were exceptionally lucky to score three goals with an xG generated of only 0.33. Liverpool created an xG of over 3 and we’re all over them for most of the game. Chelsea beat Brighton 3-1, but they still leave gaps at the back and that will only suit Liverpool.

It’s a shame we don’t have fans back as this would make for an excellent Sunday afternoon atmosphere. Both teams have scored in a lot of Liverpool fixtures recently, although it’s hard to read too much into the final games last season as they already had the league won. Chelsea always have issues at the back, and I believe that is where the game will be won. I expect a very good game with chances at both ends, but Liverpool are a better side than Chelsea and are worth backing at 2.24.

The Striker Says:
Two points win Liverpool to beat Chelsea at 2.24 with BETDAQ Exchange.

You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQchelfc

MATCH STATS

  • Chelsea have lost each of their last three Premier League meetings with Liverpool; only once before have they lost more in a row against the Reds in the competition (four between November 2010 and May 2012).
  • After winning just one of their first 16 Premier League visits to Stamford Bridge between 1992-93 and 2007-08 (D4 L11), Liverpool have since won six of their last 12 league games away at Chelsea (D3 L3), including three of five under Jürgen Klopp (D1 L1).
  • Only Liverpool themselves (22) have won more Premier League matches against the reigning champions than Chelsea (15 – level with Manchester United); indeed, the Blues are unbeaten in their last 13 home league games against the previous season’s title- winning side (W7 D6), winning each of their last three in succession.
  • Excluding games on the opening day of a season, this will be Liverpool’s first Premier League match against a side starting the day above them in the league table since October 2018, a 0-0 draw against Manchester City.
  • Chelsea finished the 2019-20 Premier League season with six consecutive home victories, last winning seven in a row at Stamford in Bridge in the competition in December 2017 under Antonio Conte.
  • Since their 2019-20 title win was confirmed in June, Liverpool have conceded 15 goals in their eight Premier League games (W5 D1 L2) – their previous 15 league goals conceded came across a 23-game spell.
  • Only against Aston Villa and Newcastle United (both 8) has Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud scored more top-flight goals in his career than he has against Liverpool (7); indeed, the Frenchman netted the winner the last time Chelsea defeated Liverpool in the Premier League in May 2018.
  • Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino and Trent Alexander-Arnold scored home and away against Chelsea in last season’s Premier League; the last player to score in three consecutive league matches for Liverpool against the Blues was Ian Rush between December 1989- October 1990.
  • Timo Werner had 50% of Chelsea’s shots in his Premier League debut against Brighton on MD1 (5/10), though just one of these was on target.
  • Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah was involved in more shots than any other Premier League player on the opening weekend of the season (13 – 9 shots, 4 chances created), with the Egyptian finding the net with all three of his shots on target against Leeds.

LEICESTER V BURNLEY

7pm Leicester would have been delighted to get off to such a positive start last weekend with a smooth 3-0 win over West Brom. The reality is tougher challenges lie ahead and Burnley will give them a tough test today. Burnley are always a tricky side to beat, they generally get out-classed by the bigger sides but are a pretty rock-solid mid-table side. They started their season on Thursday in the League Cup with a 1-1 draw against Sheffield United, winning on penalties in the end.

Leicester managed to just concede an xG of 0.46 against West Brom, and you’d imagine Burnley will test the defence more than that. Burnley generally always play a pretty cagey game and they are masters are grinding out results in tight games. Leicester could easily out-class them if they turn up in the same form however, but the 1.67 on Leicester doesn’t make any appeal to me. I think we’ll have a very tight game to end the day here, and Under 2.5 goals is worth a small investment at 1.91.

The Striker Says:
One point win Under 2.5 goals at 1.91 with BETDAQ Exchange.

You can view all markets here -> http://bit.ly/BDQlfcbur

MATCH STATS

  • Leicester are unbeaten in nine home league games against Burnley (W5 D4), including all five of their games against them at the King Power Stadium in the Premier League (W3 D2).
  • Burnley are looking to earn back-to-back league wins over Leicester for the first time since August 2006 when they won three in a row, and the first time in the top-flight since December 1968 (also three in a row).
  • The away side opened the scoring in both Premier League meetings between Leicester and Burnley last season. However, the home side came back to win 2-1 on each occasion.
  • Leicester have lost their opening home game in just one of their last 13 Premier League campaigns (W7 D5), going down 0-5 against Bolton in 2001-02.
  • Leicester have only won both of their first two games to a Premier League campaign twice before – in 1997-98 and most recently in their title winning season of 2015-16.
  • Burnley have won their opening league game in two of the last three seasons (D1), as many as they had in their previous nine league campaigns (W2 D3 L4).
  • Burnley lost just one of their last eight Premier League away games in 2019-20 (W5 D2), going down 0-5 at Manchester City. However, the Clarets have won their first away game in just one of their six previous Premier League campaigns, beating Chelsea 3-2 in 2017-18.
  • Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has won 99 of his 209 Premier League matches in charge (D51 L59). Victory here will see him become the 23rd different manager to 100 wins in the competition, while he’d be the fourth quickest British manager to reach the milestone, after Alex Ferguson (162 games), Kenny Dalglish (197) and Kevin Keegan (209).
  • Since the start of last season, Leicester’s Jamie Vardy has scored more Premier League goals than any other player (25), scoring twice from the spot on MD1. He’s also got the best shot conversion rate in the competition in that time (min 10 goals), netting with 27.5% of his shots (25/91).
  • Burnley’s Chris Wood has scored in each of his last three Premier League games – he last scored in four consecutive league games in January 2017, with Leeds in the Championship.

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