Derek Bilton
Weekend tips: Arsenal goalfest, Harry Kane to score
With some big games coming up this weekend in the Premier League and across Europe, we've previewed everything you need to know.
The Nap
Arsenal have been absolutely perfect to this point, and are the only Premier League team left with a 100% record after three matches. The ghastliness of the 2021/22 campaign suddenly seems a distant memory and the Gunners are piping hot 2/5 favourites to beat Fulham in Saturday’s late kick-off.
Gabriel Jesus has rightly stolen the headlines so far; scoring two goals and laying on three assists in three matches and looking like a striker with a point to prove. The Brazilian is absolute quality and has now scored 60 goals and provided 32 assists in 162 Premier League appearances.
However, William Saliba has also enjoyed an excellent start to his Arsenal career. The Frenchman arrived at the Emirates in the summer of 2019 but was then shipped out on loan three times over the past three seasons and yet suddenly now looks a Rolls Royce of a defender who reads the game well, is powerful and classy on the ball.
Fulham have made a fine start themselves and are unbeaten in three matches, claiming a spirited 2-2 draw with Liverpool on the opening weekend. They claimed their first win against Brentford last time out and should arrive in north London full of confidence.
Aleksandar Mitrovic has seemingly transferred his red-hot Championship form (Mitrovic scored a record-breaking 43 goals last season) to the Premier League and has three goals from three starts. He will relish playing at the Emirates and will provide a huge test in terms of physicality to Arsenal’s backline.
Mikel Arteta said in the wake of their 3-0 win over Bournemouth “I think in life, difficult experiences make you stronger.” Shades of Friedrich Nietzsche in that quote of course and if he was he still alive, I wonder whether the German philosopher and cultural critic would fancy a pop at Arsenal and both teams to score this weekend at 7/4? Goals look nailed on given how both of these teams set up (Arsenal have scored nine and conceded two so far while Fulham have scored five and shipped four) but looking at their respective squads, you would have to fancy Arsenal’s superior firepower in the final third to prevail.
A win on Saturday should see Arteta crowned Manager of the Month for August but with such a young and progressive side, the San Sebastian native will be hoping that bigger prizes await for him and his squad this season.
The Nap – Arsenal to win & both teams to score at 7/4 (bet365/betway/Betfred/Hills/Skybet)
Value Tip
Aston Villa and West Ham have made poor starts to the season, with the latter currently bottom of the pile without a point or indeed a goal after three games. On the face of it, David Moyes did some decent transfer business over the summer but for whatever reason the new faces have yet to really get going. There is quality all over the pitch however, and it would be a surprise to see them still at the wrong end of the table in a couple of months.
Villa’s naivety at times last season let them down and defeats already to Crystal Palace and Bournemouth suggest this could be another season of struggle. Steven Gerrard has been backed in the transfer market, but losing big summer signing Diego Carlos to injury obviously hasn’t helped.
West Ham have looked vulnerable defensively so far, particularly at set plays, so Tyrone Mings doesn’t look the worst outside bet in the world at 33/1 to score first.
Mings has scored five goals from 124 Premier League appearances and while those raw stats underline he is hardly prolific in front of the old onion bag, he remains a handful when in the
opposition penalty area and given West Ham’s horror start could be worth a small punt to notch first.
Value Tip – Tyrone Mings to score first at 33/1 (bet365/Skybet)
First Goal Flutter
Harry Kane’s 250th goal for Tottenham proved the difference as they battled to a 1-0 win over Wolves last time out. To be fair to Wolves, Spurs were second best for much of that contest, chasing shadows at times against Bruno Lage’s men. However they toughed it out to claim all three points and are currently fourth having bagged seven points from a possible nine.
It’s a decent start and Antonio Cointe’s squad has quality – headlined by Kane and Son Heung-min – and impressive depth. Ivan Perisic has also started his Spurs career with a bang. With a 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 formation, wing-backs have become an integral part of Spurs’ set-up and Perisic has been brilliant down the left.
However, Kane remains the main man up top and he looks a decent price at 16/5 to score first against Nottingham Forest on Sunday. Last weekend, the England striker broke Sergio Aguero’s record for the most Premier League goals scored for a single club (185) and he now has Alan Shearer’s record tally of 260 Premier League goals firmly in his sights.
First Goal Flutter – Kane to score first at 16/5 (Unibet)
The Euro Banker
Paris Saint-Germain’s breath-taking start to their Ligue 1 campaign has seen their odds cut for Champions League glory and they are now 6/1 second favourites behind Manchester City.
They took just eight seconds to break the deadlock against Lille last weekend, eventually cruising to a 7-1 victory and they look bankers when they host Monaco on Sunday.
The bookies have them as 1/5 favourites in the 1x2 market, and that is understandable given they’ve scored 17 goals in their opening three Ligue 1 matches.
Neymar and Kylian Mbappe had been arguing about the order of penalty takers at PSG, but looked on the same page against Lille with some delicious link up play. Christophe Galtier's men are on a different level to any other team in France right now, while Monaco have had a tough start having lost in Champions League qualifying to PSV and then suffering an embarrassing 4-1 home defeat against Lens last time out.
It all points to a cruise for PSG here, who could be worth a small go at 11/1 to win this 4-0.