Final round of the English Premier League season is on the schedule for Sunday and as always we have prepared for you couple of double-match analysis in order to fatten your piggy bank. Clashes between Leicester City and Bournemouth at King Power Stadium and Chelsea and Sunderland at Stamford Bridge should provide us with some interesting off-pressure soccer plays that should be very responsive to our betting tips having in mind that there is no result imperative in this games for any of the teams, so let’s take a closer look.
LEICESTER CITY FC vs. BOURNEMOUTH FC
3-Way: 1: Leicester City FC +100; X: +285 Draw; 2: Bournemouth FC +309
Spread -0.5: Leicester City FC +100; Bournemouth FC +100
Total +3: Over -105; Under +100
LEICESTER CITY FC
No one expected that Leicester City FC can repeat the success they accomplished last year when they won the English Premier League (first time since 1995 that someone outside of the “Big four” won the title) but ending the season at the No. 11 spot is also not expected because we can’t run away from the impression that they underperformed.
They can jump two spots up if the results go their way tomorrow as they currently have 43 points in 37 games, two less than No. 8 West Bromwich and No. 9 Bournemouth, their next opponent. Team is 3-1-4 in last eight games and 3-0-1 in last four home matches but they are coming off from a midweek shipwreck at home soil against Tottenham, 1:6.
Overall record at the King Power is 10-3-5 with 30-24 goal difference (47-62) and they rank eighth in the home league table with 33 of 54 possible points earned. 67% of Leicester’s home games had over 2.5 goals and every third home match had over 3.5 goals while both teams scored in every second Filbert’s matchup this season. Most common result at home is a 3:1 win (occurred three times) and most common score at the halftime was 1:0 lead (occurred six times).
English striker Jamie Vardy tops the team in scoring with 12 goals scored in the English Premier League while Islam Slimani has seven in his accounts. Marc Albrighton leads the team in assisting with six while passing segment belongs to Daniel Drinkwater with team-high 1355 total passes. Goalies Kasper Schmeichel (29 appearances) and Ron-Robert Zieler (nine appearances) collected 124 saves along with nine games with clean sheets combined.
Molla Wague (Shoulder), Namplays Mendy (Ankle), Wes Morgan (Hamstring), Danny Drinkwater (Thigh) and Robert Huth (Foot) are all out for the final round while Andy King (Hamstring) is listed as a slight doubt.
BOURNEMOUTH FC
The Bournemouth FC team had a pretty solid year when we sum everything up. First three quarters of the season went a bit bumpy but then came the period of very good performances that made the Cherries propel to the upper half of the league table with only two losses in last 11 matchups.
Currently, they rank 10th in the English Premier League with 45 points in 37 games and if they manage to get some kind of a positive result (if they don’t suffer defeat) in the final round against Leicester, they will stay at that position. Team is 3-3-2 in the last eight games with only two defeats coming from first two squads in the league table (Chelsea and Tottenham) and they are 1-2-1 in the last four road games.
Overall record when visiting is 3-5-10 with 19-37 goal difference and they also rank 13th in the away league table with 14 of 54 possible points earned. 61% of Cherries’ road matches had over 2.5 goals and 44% of their away games had over 3.5 goals in total while both teams scored in every second Bournemouth’s visiting game. Most common results on the road were 2:2 draw and 3:1 loss (both occurred twice) while most common score at the halftime was 1:1 (occurred four times).
Joshua King leads the team in scoring with 16 goals while Junior Stanislas, Ryan Fraser and Adam Smith hold the pole position in assisting with five each. Midfielder Harry Arter is a passing machine with 1785 total passes while goalies Artur Boruc (35 appearances) and Adam Federici (two appearances) collected 117 total saves along with 10 games with clean sheets combined.
Adam Federici (Cartilage knee), Callum Wilson (ACL knee), Andrew Surman (Knee) and Jack Wilshere (Leg) are all out for Sunday while Benik Afobe (Hamtring) will have a late fitness test.
LEICESTER CITY FC vs. BOURNEMOUTH FC – Match Prediction
With no result implications for any of the two teams, the pressure will be off and a win in a season finale would only be a treat for the unselfish support of their fans throughout the season.
Both teams should be looking to attack and play more offensively, which is a good setup for a lot of goals. Therefore, I will take the over but also will pick the home team to close the curtain on the turbulent English Premier League season with a win.
MY PICK: Leicester City (+100)
Total: Over 3 goals (-105)
CHELSEA FC vs. SUNDERLAND AFC
3-Way: 1: Chelsea FC -500; X: +915 Draw; 2: Sunderland AFC +2500
Spread -2.5: Chelsea FC +100; Sunderland AFC -103
Total +3.5: Over -105; Under +102
CHELSEA FC
New champion of the English Premier League, Chelsea FC, will have a chance to celebrate their title after a match-up with the bottom ranked Sunderland team that has been relegated to the Championship. The Blues showed the strength and consistency this season and they definitely deserve the title the most.
South London team earned 90 points in 37 games (seven more than nearest opponent) and a final round win in front of their own crowd should come as an icing on the cake. When it comes to the recent form, the team is 7-0-1 in last eight overall games and 4-0-0 in last four home soil matches. They have managed to score at least one goal in every Stamford Bridge matchup this season and they have scored an opening goal in 81% of their matches.
Overall record at home is 16-0-2 with 50-16 goal difference (80-32 overall) and they rank second in the home league table with 48 of possible 54 points earned. Most common result at home was a 3:0 win (occurred four times) and most common scores at the halftime were 2:0 leads and 1:0 leads (both occurred four times).
Spanish striker Diego Costa tops the team in scoring with 20 goals scored in the English Premier League, while Belgian national Eden Hazard has 15 in his account. Cesc Fabregas and Pedro lead the team in assisting with 11 and eight while passing segment belongs to Cesar Azpilicueta who collected 2129 total passes so far. Goalies Thibaut Courtois (35 appearances) and Asmir Begovic (two appearances) collected 68 saves along with 16 games with clean sheets combined.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek is expected to be back in October 2017.
SUNDERLAND AFC
The Sunderland AFC team will play in the Championship next season and the board and the fans have already set their minds on how to get back to the English Premier League as soon as possible. Truth is that they have one more match-up before the end of the season and to tell you the truth, I feel a little bit sorry for the Black Cats’ fans because they will have to watch the Blues fans celebrating the title while their team packs their bags to the lower level of competition.
When we look at the stat sheet we can see why the Black Cats can be named the worst team of the English Premier League this season. They are 1-1-6 in last eight games and 1-0-3 in last four road matches. Overall stat on the road is 3-1-14 with 12-30 goal difference (28-64 overall) and they rank 17th in the road league table with 10 of 54 possible pints earned. Most common result away is 2:0 loss (occurred six times) while most common score at the halftime was 0:0 (occurred nine times).
Striker Jermain Defoe tops the team in scoring with 15 goals while Adnan Januzaj collected team-high three assists so far. Passing segment belongs to Patrick Van Aanholt with 975 total passes while goalkeepers Jordan Pickford (28 appearances) and Vito Manone (nine appearances) collected league-high 172 saves as they only have six games with clean sheets combined.
11 Sunderland’s players are on the injury list for this final round as Paddy McNair (ACL Knee), Duncan Watmore (ACL knee) Jan Kirchoff (cartilage knee), Steven Pienaar (Ankle), George Honeyman (back), Jason Denayer (Knock) and Victor Anichebe (Hamstring) are all listed as major doubts. Wahbi Khazri (Knock), Papy Djilobodji (Knock), Didier N’Dong (Dead leg) and Lamine Kone (Dead leg) will have late fitness tests.
CHELSEA FC vs. SUNDERLAND AFC – Match Prediction
Anything except a celebrating home win for the Champions would be a big upset. However, the Black Cats will not say goodbye to the English Premier League without a fired bullet, so look for the visitors to score at least one goal.
In my own expectations, this should be another high scoring match-up and the +3.5 goals set should be topped easily.
MY PICK: Over 3.5 goals (-105)
