Premier League Betting Preview: Chelsea to bounce back against Wolves? City to beat the Baggies?
Latest odds and preview ahead of tonight’s Premier League matches
Wolves and Chelsea must still be rueing not taking their chances at the weekend, slumping to defeats against Aston Villa and Everton respectively.
But the festive Premier League fixture list is unrelenting, meaning neither side has had time dwell on their weekend defeat before a chance to bounce back at Molineux tonight. In tonight’s other fixture, Manchester City take on West Bromwich Albion, who have lost their last two.
Ahead of tonight’s action, we’ve previewed the games in more detail in our Premier League Betting Preview…
Wolves v Chelsea – 18:00
Sixteen shots with seven on target wasn’t enough for Wolves to break through Aston Villa’s resolve at the weekend, eventually losing 1-0 in the 94th minute, but they had their chances in and on another day, could have come away with all three points. They’ve lost two of their last three, and only won once in their last five matches.
As for Chelsea, a fantastic defensive display from Everton saw them slump to their first defeat in 10 Premier League matches, though only three shots on target tells you that it wasn’t Jordan Pickford who prevented a breakthrough. They may have dropped from third to fifth, but Liverpool and Spurs only managed a point, only stretching the gap to three.
Chelsea are odds-on 7/10 favourites for three points, with Wolves available at 9/2 and the draw found at 27/10.
Wolves are still without Jonny and Raul Jimenez, with his presence up front a real miss for the Wanderers. They’ll also be without Joao Moutinho, who picked up a red card in the dying embers of their defeat against Aston Villa.
For the away side, they’re still missing Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi, although Frank Lampard has claimed Christian Pulisic could play a role.
Timo Werner is the 7/2 favourite to score first despite managing only four Premier League goals so far. Kurt Zouma is level with the striker in that respect, and he’s 15/2 anytime. Tammy Abraham scored a hat-trick in this fixture last year, and he’s 10/1 to score two or more again.
Pedro Neto looks the most likely to find the net for Wolves, with the Portuguese winger 8/1 to score first, or there’s 16/5 anytime. Daniel Podence can be found at 10/3 anytime, alongside Jimenez’s stand-in Fabio Silva.
Manchester City v West Bromwich Albion – 20:00
With Rodri and Fernandinho in the middle of the park against Manchester United, Pep Guardiola seemed to set up more defensively than usual. Against West Brom, will the experienced Brazilian step aside for Ilkay Gundogan to allow for more attacking flow and a freedom through the midfield?
They’ll have to keep one eye on Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher, who has really found his feet in the Premier League in recent weeks, becoming the focal point of the Baggies’ forays forward. After beating Sheffield United, they’ve slipped back to losing ways, and will look to cause a shock to stop their slide, similar to Norwich last season.
Manchester City are odds-on 1/9 favourites to win, with the draw at 9/1 and a West Brom win at 25/1.
The Cityzens are only without Eric Garcia, while there’ll be a late call on whether Sergio Aguero will be fit enough to play a part here. Phil Foden and Ferran Torres could come in from the start as Guardiola looks to rotate during the festive period.
Slaven Bilic will still be without Conor Townsend and Hal Robson-Kanu through injury, while Matheus Pereira remains suspended. Sam Field will have a late fitness check to see if he’s available.
Despite questions over his fitness, Aguero is the 12/5 favourite to score first, while strike partner Gabriel Jesus is 7/10 anytime, with Kevin De Bruyne Evens to find the net.
Callum Robinson is favourite to open the scoring for the visitors at 16/1, while Karlan Ahearne-Grant is 5/1 to score anytime. Fancy Manchester City to Win to Nil? That’s 4/6.
View the latest Premier League odds.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication.
