Premier League Week 23: Expert Betting Tips by Luke Andrews

by Luke Andrews, 2 February 2024

The Premier League is spoiling us with a second game of the week for all the teams. Our resident sports expert, Luke Andrews, picks five of the top games in match week twenty-two, assessing who has the strength and depth to collect maximum points from the encounters.

The Premier League is at its peak as we focus on the top end of the table. It will be an early title decider between third-place Arsenal and the league leaders, Liverpool, two sides who have a genuine chance at the title. A win for either side will provide a huge psychological boost in their quest to claim the Premier League.

All that will be at the watch of Manchester City, who are creeping in second with a trip to Brentford on Monday night. Manchester United welcome West Ham, who sit right on top of them in the table, to Old Trafford. Tottenham travel to Goodison Park to face Everton as both sides have serious business and are desperate to make a mark at the opposite ends of the table.

Newcastle, who stood their test against Villa, welcome Luton Town, who scored the highest number of goals in a game in midweek (four) in what promises to be a goal festival.

Premier League Betting – Everton vs Tottenham

Everton sank back into the red zone despite securing a point against Fulham because of Luton Town’s emphatic win against Brighton. The Toffees are now winless in five games (two draws, three defeats), but more concerning is their frailties in front of goal, failing to score in their previous three games.

Sean Dyche has to motivate his side against Tottenham, who they haven’t found much joy playing against, with just one win in the previous twenty-two encounters (ten draws, eleven defeats). They gave a strong performance with intent, recording more shots and a higher expected goals ratio than Spurs in the reverse fixture despite the 2-1 defeat in the scoreline.

Everton has to start getting performances early, as they have failed to score in the first half in each of the last seven head-to-head encounters. England and Everton shot-stopper Jordan Pickford made six saves to move to the top of the clean sheet charts with eight.

Home team top scorer: – Dominic Calvert-Lewin, anytime goal scorer 9/4 & first goal scorer 15/2.

Tottenham has all its eggs in one basket, with the Premier League bearing its only silverware hopes of the season. The intensity is expected to be wild, especially after a poor start that shocked Ange Postecoglou’s side, who conceded first for the third consecutive game. The London side battled back to win 3-2 against Brentford, meaning they have lost just once in the last five games (three wins, one draw).

Tottenham is now back in the top four with eight points separating them, and the league leaders, Liverpool, can’t afford to falter with anything more than maximum points; Aston Villa will leapfrog them.

The travelling side has won just once in the last five away games (drawing two, losing two).

I don’t know why, but when Richarlison scores it makes me happier than when anybody else scores! pic.twitter.com/0epNvHAJqB

— TY (@thfctyrese_) February 2, 2024

Richarlison has scored seven goals in seven appearances, shadowing what was a poor start to life in London, as that tally is more than he scored in forty-seven games prior.

Away team top scorer: – Richarlison, anytime goal scorer 21/10 & first goal scorer 13/2.

Selected bets: – Everton 2/1, Draw 52/19, Tottenham 11/8. Over 2.5 4/6, Under 2.5 4/3. BTTS: No,13/8, Yes 11/20.

Premier League Betting – Newcastle vs Luton

Newcastle gave a strong performance that we were accustomed to them delivering last season to beat Champions League-chasing Aston Villa 3-1. The win was precious as it halted a run of four consecutive defeats, which ironically began against Luton Town.

The Magpies will be out for revenge, considering they have a superior head-to-head record that goes back to 1937 for the last time they lost at home to the Hatters (sixteen wins, five draws). Fabian Schar netted a brace in their midweek excellent performance and has a good record against newly promoted sides, with three of his five goals coming against such sides last season.

Home team top scorer: – Alexander Isak, anytime goal scorer 11/10 & first goal scorer 7/2.

Luton Town even surprised their fans when they thumped the flying Brighton side 4-0 at Kenilworth Road. The result moved them out of the relegation zone, and they could marshal a series of impressive performances to stay afloat, boasting of their attacking strength with four goals, the most they have scored this season.

All the excellence in attack leaves something to be desired in defence, as they stand out as one of just two teams who have yet to record an away shutout. There is more concern on the road; however, they haven’t been great, with two wins, two draws, and six defeats.

The Hatters are hopeful to go three games unbeaten on the road for the first time since 1988.

It's been a night to remember for Elijah Adebayo ⚽️⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/QepDBrGngA

— LiveScore (@livescore) January 30, 2024

Elijah Adebayo bagged a top-flight hat trick for Luton town.

Away team top scorer: Elijah Adebayo, anytime goal scorer 4/1 & first goal scorer 12/1.

Selected bets: – Newcastle 4/9, Draw 4/1, Luton 13/2. Over 2.5 4/7, Under 2.5 6/4. BTTS: No 23/20, Yes 31/40.

Premier League Betting – Manchester United vs West Ham

Manchester United did a double against Wolves to beat them 4-3 in midweek and will try to prevent West Ham from doing a double against them when they play over the weekend.

A concern for Erik ten Hag would be that his side letting a two-goal lead slip away twice in the match definitely would be a worry. However, the team played passionately, and you could feel the emotion when they celebrated every goal, showing fight and desire, something lacking in the Red Devils’ camp. Even more impressively is Marcus Rashford starting and scoring the opening goal after the issues surrounding his absence in their FA Cup encounter.

Manchester United’s goal is Champions League qualification. They are currently eight points adrift, so they must be consistent to close the gap. Kobbie Mainoo scored an impressive solo goal to win the match in the seventh minute of additional time. The youngster has been a revelation in the United midfield.

Home team top scorer: – Scott McTominay, anytime goal scorer 3/1 & first goal scorer 9/1.

A battle between sixth and seventh is upon us as West Ham travel to the Theatre of Dreams. David Moyes’ side has been winless in the last five games (four draws, one defeat) in all competitions since they beat Arsenal and Manchester United in quick succession.

Their most recent encounter saw them battle from a goal down in a Kalvin Philips debut that became a howler to see them draw 1-1.

It seems the Hammers lost a chance to tighten their grip with three draws in the league, meaning they have dropped some crucial points that could have elevated them to be within the top four (seven points). Now, the London side hopes to repeat their excellent performance that saw them beat United 2-0 at the London stadium.

🇬🇭 Mohammed Kudus first start after the AFCON

• Penalty won
• Most dribbles completed
• Most duels won
• Most fouled player pic.twitter.com/w95Rqkilfk

— Maverick Sports Center (@Maverick_SC2020) February 2, 2024

Mohammed Kudus should be available for selection, having returned from the AFCON games as a player who inspired confidence in their winning run and have struggled without him.

Away team top scorer: – Jarrod Bowen, anytime goal scorer 12/5 & first goal scorer 17/2.

Selected bets: Manchester United 4/5, Draw 31/10, West Ham 7/2. Over 2.5 4/6, Under 2.5 4/3. BTTS: No 29/20, Yes 13/20.

Premier League Betting – Arsenal vs Liverpool

Arsenal and Liverpool are in the centre of the Premier League title, with this match set to have severe implications for the destiny of the ever-intensifying title race. Five points stand between the two sides, with the Gunners playing host to the league leaders, who they beat 3-2 in this fixture last season.

The most recent encounter didn’t go the host’s way, as they were bundled out of the FA Cup after a 2-0 defeat in this arena. More excitement is that this will be the two hundredth meeting between the two English giants.

Mikel Arteta has benefitted from quick, intensive starts against the Reds, scoring within the first ten minutes in each of the last three head-to-head in the Premier League. They will be battling against a fierce side that has won more points (nineteen) from losing positions; thus, a quick start doesn’t guarantee points.

The motivating factor for the hosts is that they can cut the gap at the top to just two points. Gabriel Jesus has six goals against their weekend visitors, with five coming in the first half, which could highlight another fast start for Arsenal.

Home team top scorer: – Bukayo Saka, anytime goal scorer 11/4 & first goal scorer 8/1.

Liverpool started the season on a high note, and just as things got better, their manager, Jurgen Klopp, announced his retirement, which could trigger the player’s positive response to win the title in honour of their manager.

The Reds beat Chelsea 4-1 in midweek and will be full of confidence heading to London for the second game in the same week. The travelling side has lost just once of their last nineteen away games (winning eleven, drawing seven) and will have a tough time against the hosts that have managed six shutouts in their previous ten home games.

Liverpool has a reliable attacking force that has found the back of the net in sixteen consecutive games against Arsenal and is the highest scorer against them in history (108 goals).

Darwin Nunez, who Klopp said he was “more than happy with him”, despite the player hitting the woodwork four times against Chelsea, a record number, is a doubt for the game.

Klopp on Diogo Jota:

"He is literally flying. Everything looks light, fresh, explosive. He’s an extremely smart footballer. If the world looks to a country where it has extremely smart players it should be Portugal. The amount of players in comparison to people is crazy." pic.twitter.com/bgrkWzy41d

— Anything Liverpool (@AnythingLFC_) February 2, 2024

Diogo Jota’s ten-goal contributions (eight goals, two assists) against Arsenal stand out as the most he has managed against any other team.

Away team top scorer: – Darwin Nunez, anytime goal scorer 12/5 & first goal scorer 7/1(he Is doubtful for the game).

Selected bets: – Arsenal 13/10, Draw 27/10, Liverpool 21/10. Over 2.5 7/10, Under 2.5 6/5. BTTS: No 31/20, Yes 3/5.

Premier League Betting – Brentford vs Manchester City

Brentford had a short-lived honeymoon period reuniting with Ivan Toney, winning on his long-awaited debut but losing their most recent encounter 3-2 against Tottenham. The maestro has scored in both games and would once against a leading man as they work on improving their four-point gap from the bottom three.

The defeat means the Bees have lost seven of their last nine games (one win, one draw), which is quite a worrying stat for Thomas Frank.

Heading to the weekend to face a second top-six opposition for the second game in a row wouldn’t be a worry as they have an excellent head-to-head record against Manchester City, winning the last two games.

🗣️ Guglielmo Vicario on what he said to Ivan Toney at full-time:

“He was talking to me a lot during the match. When it was over, I just told him I hope he didn’t bet on that result.” 😅 pic.twitter.com/c7mHIltFl4

— Football Talk (@FootballTalkHQ) February 1, 2024

Toney scored a brace to take all three points against the Champions (2-1) the last time he featured against them.

Home team top scorer: – Ivan Toney, anytime goal scorer 13/5 with bet365 & first goal scorer, 17/2.

“Toney is certainly making up for lost time with two goals in two games since returning from his lengthy ban. I will back him making it three in three with an anytime scoring bet @ 13/5. ” – Luke Andrews, Betting Expert – UK Market.

Manchester City has been a silent creeper in the Premier League title race, sneaking between Liverpool and Arsenal and sitting right between the sides. The team has been in impressive form, winning the last eight games and being unbeaten in eleven (one draw).

We have become accustomed to these kinds of winning runs by Pep Guardiola’s team in the second half of the season to build momentum on their way to winning the title. Ironically, Kevin De Bruyne usually gets injured early in the season and recovers just in time, as he has this season. He has influenced the side coming off the bench to inspire the win against Newcastle.

The Citizens have their entire squad for selection with real depth, and it is pretty worrying that the opposition is just five points off the top and, with a game in hand, could likely set us up for an exciting title charge.

Away team top scorer: – Erling Haaland, anytime goal scorer, 4/5 & first goal scorer, 14/5.

Selected bets: – Brentford 13/2, Draw 4/1, Manchester city 9/20. Over 2.5 3/5, Under 2.5 7/5. BTTS: No 11/10, Yes 4/5.

The scene is set for yet another exhilarating weekend of football. The highlight will be Arsenal against Liverpool, which should prove to be a cracker. If Liverpool wins, they gain a significant edge over one of their title rivals. However, if Arsenal win, the gap is just two points.

If Manchester City wins, they could be just two points behind the leaders. They have their entire squad, but Brentford has been tricky opposition for them in the past.

Newcastle and Luton are geared for a high-scoring encounter, while Everton, with their relegation struggles, plays Tottenham, who occupy the last Champions League spot.

Manchester United’s match against West Ham is perhaps the most challenging game to predict. The Hammers could do a league double over the hosts, while the Red Devils will hope to build on the feel-good factor after a thrilling win over Wolves.

All stats are taken from SoccerSTATS.com and WhoScored.com, and the odds are from bet365 and are correct at the time of writing but can fluctuate, especially in play.

All tips are provided as entertainment only; the author’s opinion should not be considered financial guidance. Always bet responsibly; if you need help with problem gambling, you can find organisations that offer support in this page’s footer.