Are you ready for some more English Premier League action over the weekend? If so, get ready for several exciting matchups scheduled for this round. The last seasons’ champion of the English Premier League, Chelsea is traveling to Stoke to try to keep their good run going. The same day, Swansea will try not to lose the match against Watford, which will take place in Wales.
You can be sure that Chelsea is traveling to Stoke to grab all 3 points. Their morale is boosted by the return of Eden Hazard, which means that Stoke will have a really hard time, keeping their net safe. It’s a similar case with Swansea, who will have to work hard not to lose when Watford comes to town!
Stoke vs. Chelsea
Three-Way: 1: Stoke +520; x: +334 Draw; 2: Chelsea -139
Spread +1: Stoke -112; Chelsea +110
Total +2.5: Over -115; Under +114
STOKE
Stoke definitely has a number of amazing players on their team, but should they hope for anything in the duel with the reigning English Premier League champion? Not unless they improve their form. They’ve been playing badly recently, losing two games in a row – to Newcastle United in the Premier League and to Bristol City in the League Cup.
What gives them hope is that they’ve been playing well in front of their audience. In fact, this season, they won against Arsenal at the Bet365 Stadium and played a draw with Manchester City. Obviously, this team likes playing big matches, although they recent meetings with Chelsea suggest otherwise.
Chelsea won two previous duels with Stoke, but this team has managed to score in each of those games. Stoke are hoping to do the same on Saturday. Still, if they want to grab at least a point against Chelsea, they will need to improve their defense. Stoke has scored in 4 out of 5 Premier League matches this season, Unfortunately, their defense was leaky in the same number of games.
Stoke do have problems with injuries, with Cameron, Ireland, Affelay, and Haugaard definitely out of the game. Ngoy and Shawcross might be ready to come back, but they’re severely lacking match fitness.
CHELSEA
Before the Premier League season started, not many pundits thought Chelsea had what it takes to challenge the title once again. However, they have been proving everyone wrong, at least for the moment. Chelsea is on the 3rd spot on the table, with 10 points that they earned by winning 3 games and playing one draw. In fact, the only bad performance they had was in the opening round, when they lost to Burnley.
What gives Chelsea a lot of confidence ahead of this game is that one of their best players is back after an injury. I’m talking about Eden Hazard, who seems to be back in the shape. He came in as a substitute last weekend in the duel with Arsenal, but now look ready to start the game from the very beginning.
The return of Hazard is very important, as Pedro will miss this duel due to an injury. Now that I’m on the subject of absentees, it’s important to mention that Drinkwater is injured, while Luiz is out because of a suspension.
Stoke vs. Chelsea – Match Prediction
I’m sure that this is not going to be an easy game for Chelsea because Stoke does have a number of talented players in their team. Still, the quality (and the good form) is on the side of the away team. That’s why my pick is going to be Chelsea win.
MY PICK: Chelsea to win (-139)
Swansea vs. Watford
Three-Way: 1: Swansea +150; x: +240 Draw; 2: Watford +229
Spread 0: Swansea -137; Watford +133
Total +2.5: Over +121; Under -125
SWANSEA
Swansea looks like a team that’s going to have massive relegation worries later in the season. But, so far, they’ve been doing relatively well. They’re in the midsection of the Premier League table, with 5 points after 5 matches. Considering that their squad is not as good as it was the last season when they had Sigurdsson and Llorente, this team has done well so far.
It’s fair to say that Swansea is far from being a dangerous team. They have scored only 2 goals so far this season. Their main plan seems to be to keep their net safe at any cost. In fact, that is what they did in the clash with Tottenham last weekend. They had zero shots on the goal in that match but still managed to get away with 1 point.
If Tottenham fails to score against Swansea, Watford is going to have even bigger problems. Especially because the game is played in Wales, where the Swans always have massive support. Still, so far in the 2017/2018 season, they haven’t been using the home turf advantage. In fact, Swansea lost both of their home games this season.
WATFORD
This team started the new Premier League season in the 5th gear, playing 3:3 with Liverpool in the opening round. They also played draw with Brighton and managed to beat Southampton and Bournemouth. Their only defeat came in the previous round when they got thrashed 6:0 by Manchester City.
Watford is hoping to bounce right back from that defeat. In order to do that, they need to beat Swansea. I believe that they’re traveling to Wales to grab all three points. They do have the player quality needed for that, although certain injury problems are troubling them at the moment.
A number of Swansea players are unavailable for this match because of injuries. Hoban and Kaboul are definitely out, while Cathcart, Prodl, and Zarate are still not 100% fit for playing all 90 minutes.
Swansea vs. Watford – Match Prediction
Both Swansea and Watford are in search for some valuable points. When it comes to the players quality of both teams, I think that Watford currently holds the advantage. The problem is that beating Swansea is certainly not going to be an easy job, as the Welsh side’s strongest link is their defense. Because of that, I think the only wise betting choice is to focus on a low number of goals, which is why I am taking the under 2.5 goals.
MY PICK: Under 2.5 Goals (-125)
