Football Tips: Brighton and Palace to secure away wins for 10/1 double

We fancy a pair of away wins in Wednesday's late kick-offs.

*All odds in copy are correct at time of publication and they’re always bang on with our clever betting banners.

If you could group together the four most unpredictable clubs on a week-to-week basis and put them in a midweek double, it would probably resemble something like: Fulham v Brighton and West Ham v Crystal Palace. Well guess what, kids? That time has come and I am feeling as confident as I’ve the right to be.

The problem with a side like Brighton is that they’re so focused on a philosophy, that their lack of pragmatism in games that are there for them to force three points from often go by the wayside. The problem with Fulham is that, up until a fortnight or so ago, nobody thought they’d ever pick up a Premier League point again – and then they should have stuck Liverpool for six.

While we’re at it, the problem with West Ham is that there is absolutely no hope in hell that David Moyes isn’t going to do something completely stupid around February and see them from go from shoo-ins for European competition to scraping out of a relegation scrap. And I can’t even begin to talk about Palace’s problems.

Wednesday 8pm: Fulham v Brighton
Amazon Prime Video

Brighton to Win

Ah, yes. Finally, a pitch small enough to accommodate both Brighton’s intricacies, bizarre accuracy from crosses and their front two’s dribbling capabilities.

Is my steer on this simply because I like the dimensions of Craven Cottage? Maybe, but I also fancy that Fulham’s effort against Liverpool will be felt in the legs for a while yet, and given that Brighton press you high, they could struggle to build-up like Scott Parker wants them to.

And you know what that means? About 70 or so minutes in, Scotty will have a look at his FitBit that absolutely doesn’t match the colour scheme of his needless three-piece suit and introduce an angry Serbian talisman who is somehow still only 26 and they’ll fall to pieces. As is the Fulham way.

Wednesday 8pm: West Ham v Crystal Palace
Amazon Prime Video

Palace to Win

Palace turned a corner with that Spurs result. You could see it in them. The reliance on counter-attacking football is so ingrained in them, that often they come unstuck when a side asks them to break them down.

West Ham will do similar here, because they don’t have players in the middle of the pitch to move the ball at a tempo required to get in behind Palace’s full-backs. This is where that point at the weekend proves so crucial, because the likes of Eze are good enough with the ball at their feet to actually run at defenders and shoot from distance.

They may not have believed it before, but a result like that can often turn a manager’s head in terms of his playing style – and given Roy Hodgson is the most famous manager of all-time to feature heavily in a GIF where he turns his head – well, you know it makes sense.

Wednesday’s 8pm double

Fulham v Brighton: Brighton to Win
West Ham v Crystal Palace: Palace to Win

*All odds in copy are correct at time of publication and they’re always bang on with our clever betting banners.

More top tips for Wednesday

More top tips for Wednesday

Thursday’s best bets

Sheffield United v Man Utd

Aston Villa v Burnley

Read More

    The latest Premier League odds are on PaddyPower.com now

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