Second-half goals at Tottenham and a penalty at Old Trafford predicted
Saturday 14 September 2019 17:13, UK
Having a punt this weekend on the football? What betting opportunities are out there? If anyone knows, Jones Knows.
"Only bet what you can afford to lose."
No matter to what level you're betting to, whether you're a once-a-week accumulator dabbler or a professional trading thousands of pounds a week, that aforementioned piece of advice must be adhered too. No matter what.
Don't be like Henry Dhabasani. Jones Knows doesn't want followers like Henry Dhabasani.
Mr Dhabasani made me recover pretty easily from the frustration of backing a loser at Doncaster on Thursday when I read his story.
According to a report in the Uganda Observer, Henry and Rashit Yiga decided to have a wager on the Manchester United vs Arsenal clash in 2013 and things quickly spiralled out of control.
With hard cash seemingly not tasty enough for these two, Henry ended up staking his house on Arsenal while Rashit put his car and….his wife on the table for a United home win.
Such was the seriousness of both parties, the bet was ratified by a legal consultant and the council.
Robin van Persie's winning goal was no doubt roundly cheered by Rashit and, I'm assuming, his wife, as United ran out the victors.
Poor Henry had to sign his house over Rashit. Now, I've had some explaining to do to the wife in my time, but that one takes the biscuit. Perspective gained.
I'm planning to have a better result than Henry Dhabasani this weekend as we try to get this column into the green. I'm very excited about an angle for second-half goals at Tottenham.
Remember, whatever I tip, I back. We are in this together, comrades. Dim the lights, it's time to see if Jones Knows....
Tottenham look very vulnerable odds-on shots against superb travellers Crystal Palace, who have won eight of their last 26 Premier League games (D2 L16) away to the 'big six' since 2015 - in that period only Manchester City (9) have won more away games away at 'big six' sides.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has described Spurs as "lethargic" at times this season and my colleague Nick Wright penned a brilliant analysis about how Tottenham's pressing game has dropped a level in the past few months. They've won just four of their last 16 Premier League games since February 23.
However, you can't keep Mauricio Pochettino down for long and a Spurs reaction is probably on the horizon, so my eyes are drawn to another market to try and profit from a lack of early confidence in Tottenham's play.
Slow starts are a common theme for both Spurs and Palace.
Since moving to their new stadium, if you had backed the second half to produce the most goals in all Tottenham matches you would have been collecting six out of seven times, recording a very healthy level stakes profit.
Perhaps the players are still acclimatising to their new home but looking at data that stretches back through all of last season it seems a controlled start to matches is a common theme for Pochettino.
First halves at a Tottenham home game last season produced the second lowest amount of goals scored of all Premier League teams - just 18 were seen in their 18 home games. And, guess which team produced less? Yes, Crystal Palace.
In their home games, just 14 goals were scored but they also ranked bottom of the table for overall number of goals across all their Premier League fixtures in the first half with just 33 goals in their 38 matches.
In comparison, 71 goals were scored in the second half of Palace matches last season while just one first-half goal has been scored in all of Palace's four games this campaign, further proving that Roy Hodgson's side tend to keep it tight early on then open up in the second period when necessary.
Sky Bet are offering Evens on the second half producing more goals than the first - that simply can't be ignored. Everything is ripe for this bet to land - like it did in the corresponding fixture last season when Tottenham won 2-0, thanks to two second-half strikes.
So, not only is this going in the Jones Knows double, I'm advising those that like attacking a 'double your money' shots to go in with confident stakes.
Being across relevant news lines forms a big part of a successful punters' armoury. That crucial bit of team news or reported problems in the dressing room are all important information to use, along with statistical analysis and of course your own eyes.
Ahead of the return of Premier League football at the weekend, referee head honcho Mike Riley has been happy to talk in the media about the mistakes so far made by VAR. No doubt, that's a bit of a message to his band of merry men in the VAR booth.
Riley admitted to two errors in the decision not to award Manchester City a penalty when Jefferson Lerma stood on David Silva's foot and a decision not to give West Ham a penalty when Sebastien Haller was brought down by Norwich's Tom Trybull. VAR has been seemingly unwilling to overturn the on-field call but judging by Riley's comments, that is about to change. I'm expecting more penalties to be awarded this weekend and a big red circle has been drawn around the clash at Old Trafford in terms of the most likely destination of a spot-kick.
Since the start of last season, Manchester United have been awarded 15 penalties - that's four more than any other team in the Premier League and 14 more than Watford! Many of you will pull the 'typical Manchester United' card but there is logic behind their ability to win spot-kicks. They possess an attack full of pace and trickery which is being utilised under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has seen his side already win three penalties this season.
With Leicester likely to cause a threat up the other end too with Jamie Vardy's pace and James Maddison's clever play in and around box, the chances of a penalty in the current VAR climate must rate more likely than odds-against (5/4).
No, this isn't some wild accumulator I'm tipping up, this is all about the Super 6, which is giving away £2m this weekend for predicting six correct scores.
It is free to play so do not miss out on a free hit at the largest Super 6 jackpot to date. Follow the link below to get involved.
