thfc

Don't like the prices on any of the teams playing on Saturday. I initially wanted to go with Bournemouth given Everton's woeful home form, but they are far shorter than I thought they would be, to the point I almost like the Everton price. Ultimately, you can't trust either team based on this seasons form so i'm staying away from the outright market. Decided instead to go with under 2.5 goals on four matches on Saturday- Everton/Bournemouth, Burnley/Chelsea, Fulham/Sheff Utd and Palace/Forest. I just can't see many goals in these matches with teams being of a similar calibre in 3 of the 4 games, and Chelsea have gone under 2.5 goals in most of their games this season. One bet I do like is spurs to win but both teams to score at 2.75. Luton have shown they can score at this level, and Spurs allow a high number of shots against so I see Luton getting a goal. But I fully expect Spurs to win this one, especially as Luton played in midweek and lost at home to Burnley which will have deflated them after their first win at the weekend.

Feels like a tough week to be confident on any outright selections. I'm going to give Sheffield United and Bournemouth a go, both at +1 handicap. Sheffield Utd are 2.88 with skybet, Bournemouth are 3.2 with BetVictor. Sheffield Utd have given both Spurs and Man City a tough game, and Newcastle are not exactly on good form at the moment, so I think Sheffield can get at least a draw at home, if not the win. Bournemouth is a bit more speculative, but I think they are doing better than is being perceived. They've had a really tough fixture list to start the season, but picked up 3 draws against teams they lost to last year. And they probably should have beaten Brentford away. Brighton have played in Europe and were without Dunk, which seemed to make a big difference to their performance. They don't have the biggest squad and aren't used to playing in Europe so fatigue might be a bit of an issue for them. I believe Dunk (and Ferguson) are major doubts for Brighton, while Bournemouth should be fresh after not playing since last weekend. Brighton do throw in the odd really bad performance (i'm thinking back to the 5-1 home loss to Everton last season!), and I think Bournemouth are capable of going to Brighton and getting at least a draw.

I like the look of Brentford +1 on the handicap as @Charon84 has put up. I also like the look of Bournemouth +1 @2.1. Chelsea just can't be trusted at short odds at the moment- sure they beat Luton at home, but lost at home to Forest last time out (who I think i'm right in saying had the worst away record last season). Bournemouth were a bit unlucky not to win at Brentford last time out, and this could be a good time to play Chelsea right after the international break. Until Luton can show they are capable of playing at this level, i'll be backing their opposition, especially when they are away from home. Fulham at around 1.67 feels fairly generous.

Fair enough! I do feel Leeds are my main punt in being out of line with expectations, though some would say Palace and Everton should be higher. One thing is for sure, there is going to be at least 1 team who do much better/worse than the likes of SPIN's predictions. I thought it would be a 5 minute job to to the 1-20 prediction, but actually found it really hard from 6-20 as realistically I think a lot of teams are on a similar level and could be argued to be better or worse than my own rankings. All can change with the transfer window still having plenty of time. I'll be happy with 2 or 3 of these end up being right at the end of the season!

Go on then, i've got some time so i'll have a go at the 1-20 prediction: 1. Man City- I think they win quite comfortably with Haaland making a great team even better. 2. Liverpool- Next best but I think they drop back a bit in terms of total points. Mane is a big loss and Nunez might need some time to hit the ground running. 3. Spurs- best of the rest. Very pleased with the signings made so far, and with a full season under Conte I will be hoping to push Liverpool close for second 4. Arsenal- I think they have recruited well so far and have a stronger squad than last year when they finished 5th, so up one to 4th for me 5. Chelsea- Not impressed with their business thus far. The loss of Rudiger in particular will be tough to replace, and I don't think Sterling coming in is going to be the answer to their striker problems. Maybe Chelsea's time towards the top end of the PL is coming to an end? 6. Newcastle- Still time to spend more money on improving the squad but you have to appreciate what Howe has done since he came in with the squad he already has. Pope is a solid addition and Botman is highly rated so I think they are going to be defensively solid, but a bit light up front as things stand 7. Man Utd- Still looks like a squad that is not entirely harmonious- Ronaldo wants out but will probably have to stay put, they haven't signed anyone of note yet, and it's tough to know if Ten Hag is all that good when anyone can win the league with Ajax! 7th feels a generous placing! 8. Leicester City- no business done as yet, but they always seem to invest wisely so I expect them to be a strong team once again, and their current team (assuming Vardy is fit and Tielemans stays) is strong 9. West Ham- I have no idea who their big signing (Aguerd) is, but Moyes is a shrewd manager so a top half finish looks likely for West Ham, but not challenging for Europe as they have been in recent years 10. Leeds- Going to take a punt and say Leeds are going to improve quite a bit on last season. They lost Phillips but he was injured most of last season anyway. They look like they have recruited quite well with a few RB Salzburg/Leipzig players and have a stronger squad than last season 11. Aston Villa- Don't see them improving too much on their position from last season. A good team but still a long way off the top 6. 12. Wolves- Another solid team but until they can start scoring some more goals, they won't get into the top half 13. Brighton- I don't know what to make of Brighton, other than they are surely a worse team for losing Bissouma. Another team that really need a good striker to push on. 14. Nottingham Forest- Forest look to have recruited really well. Henderson in goal is solid, we saw what a difference he made to Sheff Utd in their first season in the PL a few years ago. The nigerian guy from Berlin has a good goalscoring record in Germany so if he can hit the ground running in the PL, I think Forest will be this season's Brentford and stay up fairly comfortably 15. Southampton- tough to know what to make of their signings so far, they still need a decent striker to replace Ings in my opinion. But should have enough about them to finish clear of the relegation zone. 16. Brentford- Losing Eriksen will be a blow, but I like the signing of Hickey. I think they have enough about them (with Toney in particular) to stay up. 17. Crystal Palace- Assuming they don't get Gallagher back, i'm putting Palace as a team to slip backwards from their comfortable mid table finish last season, but just about stay up. 18. Everton- I don't rate Frank Lampard! Losing Richarlison weakens the team and I think they are struggling financially with the new stadium so probably don't have that much to invest in strengthening a squad that only just escaped last year. It wouldn't be a massive shock to see them go this time around. 19. Fulham- Classic yo-yo club. I admit I don't know much about their current team so i've put them here because of that more than anything else! Mitrovic will have to improve on his last PL efforts if they are to survive. I think they will be a bit like Norwich- far too naive defensively but capable of scoring a few and will entertain along the way. 20. Bournemouth- Again they don't look to have signed anyone of note as yet. Clearly a very good championship team, but players like Solanke have been in the PL before and failed to impress, so I can't see them doing anything other than being relegated. After the top 5, I found this quite a tough exercise, so look forward to seeing a few other opinions on who finishes where.

To be fair Arsenal have been bigger bottlers than we have this season! But i'm not going to lie, I am a bit nervous! As a spurs fan of 30+ years we are good at this sort of thing! I've even heard rumours of food poisoning in the spurs camp, surely not another dodgy lasagne? Personally, i'm not so sure that Arsenal will win. They needed to win on Monday but didn't play like it. The atmosphere might be either flat or hostile, and the players just don't seem up for it. Everton will be on a high after their comeback, and although it is a quick turnaround for them, I think they can get a draw here. Arsenal don't score many so a 0-0 or 1-1 seems more than achievable for Everton here, maybe even a win, especially if it is clear quite early on that spurs are not going to lose their game.

Interesting to see Southampton are a whole point bigger vs Man Utd on Saturday than Brighton are against Man Utd on Tuesday. That instinctively feels wrong to me, as i'd say Brighton and Southampton are similar ability teams. I can't see Man Utd winning both their upcoming home games, as they are just so inconsistent and not playing particularly well. I'd take a draw or win for both Saints and Brighton and expect at least one of those bets to come through.