The English Premier League continues this weekend after the international break, so take a look at our tips and predictions for the Tottenham Hotspur vs. Bournemouth and Watford vs. Arsenal matches. With plenty of picks and markets to choose from, don’t waste your time and join the action at Get More Sports.
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Bournemouth
Three-Way: 1: Tottenham -357; X: +700 Draw; 2: Bournemouth +1600
Spread -2: Tottenham +100; Bournemouth +100
Total +3.5: Over +112; Under -118
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Spurs are in a fantastic form of four consecutive wins, and their striker Harry Kane is on fire recently, as it seems that no one can stop him from scoring at both club and international level. Tottenham is without a loss since August and 1-2 home defeat to Chelsea, while they are marching on in the Champions League as well. The latest Premier League match at Huddersfield was a routine 4-0 victory for Mauricio Pochettino’s men in which Kane recorded a brace and launched his team to the 3rd position behind Man City and Man United. Spurs are facing Bournemouth who is playing below expectations and is struggling at the moment, so anything but a win for the hosts would be surprising.
Tottenham played ten games so far in the 2017/18 season, recording seven wins, two draws, and one loss, with a goal difference of 21:6, which is 2.7 goals per contest on average. While their defense is not as solid as it was the case last year, Tottenham’s attack is looking great of late, as they scored ten goals in the previous three games. However, these matches were away from Wembley, where Spurs don’t have a perfect record; only a pair of victories in five outings. Still, the fans shouldn’t be worried about that because Bournemouth’s away form is disastrous, and Tottenham won three out of last four H2H meetings with just one goal allowed.
Harry Kane is simply unstoppable for both Tottenham and England, and his form even brought him the England’s captain armband. He bagged 11 goals in nine matches for Spurs, seven in the previous three games, so Harry is undoubtedly the best striker in the Premier League, and even Real Madrid expressed interest in bringing him to Santiago Bernabeu. Reportedly, the Galacticos are prepared to send Benzema, Bale, and Modric in return, but Pochettinho’s opinion about that story is still unknown. Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen are also playing vital roles for Spurs in 2017/18, as they combined for five goals and five assists, while Ben Davies has been excellent on the left-back with a couple of goals and assists to his name. Moussa Dembele could find a place on the bench after missing a few weeks with an ankle injury, while Victor Wanyama (knee), Danny Rose (knee), and Erik Lamela (hip) are still sidelined, but their return is expected in the coming weeks.
BOURNEMOUTH
The Cherries have just one win in the Premier League thus far, and as a result of a poor form, they are currently sitting in the 19th place with miserable four points. The only positive from the start of this season is the fact that Bournemouth managed to reach the 1/8 finals of the Carabao Cup, where they eliminated Birmingham and Brighton. The latest EPL match against Leicester City additionally frustrated Bournemouth fans as it finished 0-0, despite the 61% of ball possession and even 19 attempts on Schmeichel’s goal. Prior to that stalemate, the Cherries suffered a 2-1 loss at Goodison Park even though they were leading 1-0 in the second half, so it is only a matter of time when the Bournemouth hierarchy will lose the patience with Eddie Howe.
Bournemouth played nine games in this campaign, recording three victories, one draw, and five defeats, with a goal difference of 7:12, which is a bit over 2.3 goals per contest on average. The problems for the Cherries occur when they are playing away from Vitality Stadium as they lost all three EPL matches as guests, scoring just once. They failed to score in the previous two visits to Spurs and allowed seven, so Bournemouth will have a lot of work to do to contain red-hot Kane and escape from Wembley undefeated.
Joshua King is currently the team’s leading scorer with a pair of goals to his name, but he sustained a thigh muscle strain injury in the WC qualifying tilt between Norway and San Marino. The injury forced him to sit out the next WC clash with Northern Ireland and is doubtful to feature on Saturday, which would be a huge blow for Howe, especially with Jermain Defoe’s poor form. Defoe scored a mere one goal in eight appearances for the Cherries, and he must improve and justify money Bournemouth paid for his services. The reserve keeper Adam Federici is out with a knee injury and will be out for two more months, Callum Wilson’s return is unknown, while Tyrone Mings is near to returning to the pitch, but Howe cannot count on him for this duel.
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Bournemouth – Match Prediction
Spurs are playing fantastic football lately, and it would take a much better team than Bournemouth to stop their winning run, so I am backing the hosts to win big here.
MY PICK: Tottenham AH -2 (+100)
Watford vs. Arsenal
Three-Way: 1: Watford +450; X: +334 Draw; 2: Arsenal -133
Spread +1: Watford -120; Arsenal +116
Total +3: Over -102; Under -104
WATFORD
The Hornets are playing very well, and I could say above expectations as they suffered only one loss in the English Premier League thus far, the heavy one at home to Man City, 0-6. Other than that, Watford impressed, and they are currently in the 8th place with 12 points, just one behind Arsenal. The young Brazilian Richarlison was their savior in the previous two matches; he first scored a 90th-minute winner at Swansea and then bagged the goal in the 95th minute to save a point at West Brom, even though the Hornets were down by two goals after the first 20 minutes.
Watford played eight games so far in the 2017/18 Premier League campaign, recording three wins, three draws, and two losses, one of which came in the Carabao Cup. They scored 13 and conceded 15 goals, which is 3.5 goals per contest on average, but the interesting thing is that the Hornets are still without a home win this season. They recorded a pair of draws and couple of defeats, while they lost the previous two H2H meeting with Arsenal at Vicarage Road.
Richarlison and Abdoulaye Doucoure are the team’s leading scorers with three goals to their respective names, while Etienne Capoue is right behind them with two. Marco Silva cannot count on Nathaniel Chalobah (knee), Younes Kaboul (thigh), Isaac Success (knee), Craig Cathcart, and Tommie Hoban (cruciate ligaments), while Stefano Okaka and Camilo Zuniga are suspended and unavailable for this clash.
ARSENAL
The Gunners drastically improved following the 0:4 loss to Liverpool at Anfield, and since then, they recorded six victories and a draw, allowing just three goals in the process. Arsenal is in the 5th spot with 13 points, six behind the leading teams Man City and Man United, and are favorites to win at Vicarage Road on Saturday. Arsenal easily beat Brighton 2:0 in the latest English Premier League match, thanks to goals from Nacho Monreal and Alex Iwobi, and even though the Seagulls had a few good opportunities to score, Petr Cech kept his net intact for the fourth time this season.
Arsenal has played 11 games in the 2017/18 so far, recording eight wins, a draw, and two losses, with a goal difference of 21:12, which is exactly three goals per contest on average. Considering Watford’s goal difference and the way they’re playing at the moment, I expect to see plenty of goals at Vicarage Road on Saturday. The Gunners won three, while the Hornets secured two victories in the last five H2H meetings, but Arsenal was more successful at Watford than the hosts.
The French forward Alexandre Lacazette is Arsenal’s top scorer with four goals to his name, but what is concerning for Arsene Wenger and fans is that he failed to score an away goal yet, so the players who like to bet on goal-scorers, should have Lacazette in mind for this tilt. Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck are following the former Lyon striker with three goals each, while Granit Xhaka is the team’s best assist-maker with three. Welbeck missed the previous four matches due to a hip injury, but he could feature here as his recovery is almost complete. Wenger lost the defender Shkodran Mustafi as he sustained a muscle injury while on international duty with Germany, and the 25-year-old is definitely out for this encounter. Laurent Koscielny (Achilles tendon) and Mesut Ozil (knee) are doubtful, while Calum Chambers and Santi Cazorla are long-term absentees.
Watford vs. Arsenal – Match Prediction
The games between these teams are usually entertaining and with a bunch of goals; there were three or more in the last five H2H duels. So, I believe we will see at least three on this one as well.
MY PICK: Over 3 goals (-102)
