Thanks to the quick turnaround from the midweek fixtures, strange things might occur in the Premier League this weekend. There could be some very tired players going through the motions if a match gets away from their side.
Look at the corresponding match week from 12 months ago if you don’t believe me. Fulham put five goals past West Ham! Sheffield United won a game! Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!
In the Saturday 3pm slot, Bournemouth beat Manchester United 3-0 but maybe that wasn’t so weird. We’ve got three games at the traditional kick-off time this week, with a bet for each which you can combine in an accumulator.
Football accumulator tips
Aston Villa v Southampton – Ollie Watkins to score first
Brentford v Newcastle – Over 1.5 first half goals
Crystal Palace v Manchester City – Over 3.5 goals
- An acca with these bets pays at approximately 25/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
Aston Villa v Southampton – Watkins to score first
We start at Villa Park. Aston Villa had been on a terrible run of eight games without a win in all competitions before Wednesday. Brentford then arrived in the west Midlands and were duly swept aside 3-1, with the home side three goals up inside the opening 35 minutes.
And how’s this for good fortune for Villa? The Bees are one of only two teams in the Premier League without an away win this season, and here comes Southampton on Saturday, the other.
The Saints are on a far lower plain than Brentford as they are so prone to making comical mistakes. Across the last seven seasons, only 14 teams in the top flight made more Opta-defined defensive errors than Southampton have made in just 14 games in 2024/25.
Villa are very capable of taking advantage, particularly through Ollie Watkins. He scored the only goal of the game when these teams last met, the opener in the Villa Park clash the season before that and again on home turf in his first campaign with the club.
Having broken the deadlock in two of the last three meetings, Watkins can score the first goal on Saturday.
Brentford v Newcastle – over 1.5 first half goals
The England international scored from the penalty spot against his former club in midweek. Brentford are the weirdest team in the Premier League this season, as they are second bottom of the away game table but top of the home equivalent.
This isn’t that weird when you look at their fixtures. Most games at the Gtech Stadium have been against struggling teams, while many of their away trips have been to face good sides. Where midtable Newcastle fit into this on Saturday afternoon remains to be seen.
The Magpies have been very erratic. A good win at Nottingham Forest was followed by a home defeat by West Ham and a match at Crystal Palace in which they somehow earned a point despite taking just one shot.
Newcastle were better against Liverpool on Wednesday, but those teams usually serve up classics regardless of form. Whatever happens in this match, it will likely happen early. Brentford’s games have seen the most first half goals in the division this season, an average of 2.2 per game.
They scored once in the opening 45 minutes of their first three home matches but since then the totals have gone crazy. The Bees’ last four half time scores on their own patch have been 4-2, 2-2, 1-1 and 3-1. With that form, there should be over 1.5 first half goals easily enough.
Crystal Palace v Manchester City – Over 3.5 goals
We finish at Crystal Palace. Six league games ago the Eagles were winless, yet in the period since they have collected more points than Manchester City.
The champions looked more like their old selves when beating Nottingham Forest at the Etihad last time out. Having lost their last five away games in all competitions, there remains an enormous question mark over their form on the road though.
Palace’s league matches have seen fewer goals than any other top flight club’s this season but these teams usually have high scoring games. There were 10 in the meetings last term, with three of the last four clashes seeing at least four goals.
And that was against a City team that could defend and wasn’t so knackered. Palace have created far more than they’ve scored at Selhurst Park in 2024/25 so might cash in that shortfall. Whichever team happens to score more, there should be over 3.5 goals in total.
Football accumulator tips
Aston Villa v Southampton – Ollie Watkins to score first
Brentford v Newcastle – Over 1.5 first half goals
Crystal Palace v Manchester City – Over 3.5 goals
- An acca with these bets pays at approximately 25/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
*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.
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