Football Tips: Our belting 18/1 Bet Builder for Friday’s Brentford v Watford clash

Our tipster Andrew Cunneen looks to sparkle under the Friday night lights.

* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.

Football progresses, you know. Rafa Benitez is no longer a plucky, overachieving underdog – he’s merely an irritant to a club that somehow expects more. Jesse Lingard is no longer a Twitch streamer and part-time footballer on the weekends, but a desired professional in the top-tier of England. But above all of that, Brentford v Watford has evolved more than anything else in the game.

Even the perception of it. You feel Brentford and Watford should really be played on a Wednesday evening in the p***ing rain in front of 8,000 people paying half-price, on a slate alongside six other Championship fixtures featuring midtable teams.

NEW TO PADDY POWER?

The latest football odds are on PaddyPower.com right now

And yet here we are, actively thanking it for being the Premier League segue into the weekend’s fixtures. The world is full of surprises. Unless of course you’re Arsenal – where their entire seasons have been predictable now for the bones of fifteen years.

Fair play. Not the consistency you want, but maybe the consistency you deserve. Friday is to celebrate the end of the week, and also to prepare us for the two days ahead. Here’s your Friday night bet-builder.

* A Bet Builder on these four best bets pays at approximately 18/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.

Friday 8pm: Brentford v Watford
Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League

Brentford to Win

It’s easy to forget Watford’s season being so poor for a few reasons. The first is that everyone immediately remembers the Manchester United game. They were in crisis and the final game before a manager is sacked is never something you should factor into long-term consideration.

Secondly, they don’t draw games – so the fact they’ve four wins stands them in good stead points-wise, but the manner of their victories is unsustainable. And thirdly, their run of fixtures post-United have been against Leicester, Chelsea and Man City – so they’re kind of handed a free pass.

But in truth, they’re really not cohesive and in a lull. I’ll take a home team facing that dressing room every day of the week as Brentford Win.

Half-Time: Brentford

In each of Brentford’s four wins to date, they’ve been leading at half-time. When Brentford need to chase goals, they’re generally stung. Their discipline in shape is what helps them and to get control of games is necessary.

That’s why they generally force themselves into high-xG scenarios earlier in games and rely on their ability to keep the ball thereafter. If this goes the way I suspect we’ll likely see Half-Time: Brentford.

Under 2.5 Goals

The logic is dual-pronged. Three of Brentford’s four wins have come to-nil; all of which have been under 2.5 goals, and the other victory saw two goals arrive in the final ten minutes of games.

And Watford’s four wins have come in games with an average of over five goals a game. Expect the home side to have it their way and Under 2.5 Goals.

Bookings Odds: Over 40 Points

There’ve been an average of five bookings a game in Brentford victories so far, and that shoots up if you discount the opening day of the season. Their possession-based control of games makes opposition sides kick out, and they’re cynical enough to chop down anyone who’s a danger.

Watford have picked up 33 yellows this year – the fifth-worst tally in the league. All this boils down to Over 40 Points in the Booking markets.

Brentford v Watford Tips

Brentford to Win
Half-time: Brentford
Under 2.5 Goals
Bookings Odds: Over 40 Points

* A Bet Builder on these four best bets pays at approximately 18/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.

NOT SURE WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT? CLICK HERE TO LEARN ALL ABOUT WHAT A BET BUILDER IS

FREE BET IF 1 LEG LETS YOU DOWN

If one leg of your 4+ fold Bet Builder fails to land, you get up to £/€10 back as a free bet. Customers can qualify for 1 Bet Builder Free Bet If 1 Leg Lets You Down per day up to £/€10. The free bets will be credited by 12pm the following day.

* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.

Friday flutters

Saturday’s Selections

Sunday football tips

LIKE PADDY POWER NEWS? OR MAYBE YOU JUST WANT A MOAN? TELL US WHAT YOU THINK IN OUR READER SURVEY

The latest football odds are on PaddyPower.com right now

The Paddy Power Guide To Safer Gambling – Everything You Need To Know