Football Tips: 7/2 Vardy to get among the goals for Leicester v West Brom

*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widget, while in-copy odds are accurate at the time of publication but subject to change

NEW TO PADDY POWER?

Click here for our £/€20 sign up offer

There’s a lot to be said about the destruction capitalist venturing in football; where the elite who believe they’re untouchable fall flat on their faces after trying to steal the sport from the people who love it most.

There’s a lot to be said for pundits and fans alike uniting under a single cause and ripping into billionaires left, right and centre.

There’s a lot to be said for players standing up and risking their careers for the sake of keeping football alive in the countries their clubs represent.

20:00: Leicester v West Brom
BT Sport 1

But there isn’t a whole lot to be said for watching Leicester and West Brom on a Thursday. You’d miss the Super League, wouldn’t you?

As of right now, the fight to finish in the four is back in everyone’s focus because it actually matters and while the Premier League title seemed on the horizon by default, Leicester’s consolation prize is that they’re at least in pole position to claim a Champions League spot next year.

The only thing standing in their way is the trojan figure of a desperate Sam Allardyce. The most British of British situations, really. What a week. Here are your three best bets for this potential banana skin.

Short-priced punt: Over 2.5 Goals

It’s safe because West Brom’s only strength is throwing two banks of five behind the ball and hoping Semi Ajayi nods in from a corner. That is it. That is, up until recently when they’ve stuck eight past Chelsea and Southampton in their last two games. No, I don’t understand it either but it’s clearly going to motivate the Baggies to be more forward-thinking because they’ve got some element of football in them – however limited it may be.

They need to win now. Having clawed themselves back into a position where Sam Allardyce can do what Sam Allardyce does, draws are no longer on the agenda. That should lead to the most open game of football you’ll ever see West Bromwich Albion contest.

Value Punt: Jamie Vardy to Score 2 or More

His goal drought is starting to become a storyline and in order for him to end that, he’ll need a side who play a back four, who are desperate so will push their full-backs forward and don’t possess a mobile enough six to cover the flanks he normally exploits.

Mr. Vardy, please meet relegation-threatened West Bromwich Albion. It’s a match made in heaven, quite literally – and you know full-well even taking away the logistics of his matchup, he’s not going to be off the scoresheet for much longer. When it rains, it pours.

Long Shot: Kyle Bartley to Score First

He came off in the Baggies’ last Premier League game as a precaution and I simply refuse to believe that West Brom – a team managed by Sam – will be escaping from the relegation mire without a centre half heading a ball into a net from a set-piece.

Won’t somebody think of the compilation? Bartley’s got the best leap in the division and it’s a tasty little price for a man who only found the net a few weeks ago.