The Premier League – Who to follow, and updated bets

By Josh Bradley: http://bradleysbettingblog.wordpress.com/ https://twitter.com/JoshBradley10

The Premier League is well under way and it is clear to see there are numerous surprise packages and potential superstars in the offing, as-well as established top class players, cementing their status.

Five Key Men:

1) Nikica Jelavic: The Everton man has started this season, the way he finished the last. He has bagged 4 goals already, even with missing out two weeks of the season through injury. His one touch finishing is a key factor for Everton’s success this season, and with the support he is receiving from Fellaini he looks set to continue shooting up the goalscoring charts. I advised a bet on the Croatian before the season started to finish top-scorer at 28/1 and he is now a best priced 16/1, so you can afford to lay the bet off for a small profit if you wish. But with Everton’s fixture list, it may pay to wait until more towards Christmas time after the Croat has banged in a fair few more goals.

2) Santi Cazorla: The Arsenal creative midfielder has been one of the finds of the year. After impressing in his first season at Malaga last year, Arsene Wenger seen enough potential to bring the Spaniard to the Emirates in an attempt to fill the void left by Fabregas. He is key to any success Arsenal will have this year, with the link-up play he is going to have, between Ramsey/Arteta and the front three. He knows where the goal is, as shown by his return of 9 goals last year from Midfield when still at Malaga. He has already scored two this year for new club Arsenal and could reach double figures before the end of the season.

3) Fernando Torres: After enduring a torrid opening to his Chelsea career, El Nino has finally began to regain the form he showed at Liverpool. His finishing is exceptional, and he will create chances out of nothing. His partnership with Eden Hazard is enough to scare any defenders and the fact that Chelsea are already four points clear is partly down to the Spaniard finding his shooting boots. He has bagged four so far this season in the Prem, and the 11/1 I advised pre-season has now disappeared and he is now a best priced 13/2. This still looks a brilliant bet, with the way Chelsea have started the season, and I expect him to score 20+.

4) Rickie Lambert: The ex-Beetroot factory worker has answered all his critics who questioned just how well he would when stepping up to the Premier League. The Liverpudlian has been key in Southampton’s opening few games, and has managed to help his side out of the relegation zone, although they still sit in a precarious 17th place. He can play as a lone striker with great conviction and comparisons with Grant Holt at Norwich are fair, as both have magnificent hold up play as well as tremendous power and a deadly finish. If Southampton are to stay up, Lambert will be the key man to keep them up.

5) Joe Hart: Many people’s choice as the Worlds best goalkeeper, and it is hard to disagree after the consistent performances the Englishman has put in. He has started the season in inspired form and although City have conceded a lot more goals than they would have liked, it could have been a lot worse had it not been for Hart. His positioning is second-to-none and it allows him to make plenty of saves that other ‘keepers would have no chance of getting near. Manchester City have conceded twice as many goals as Chelsea have, and Mancini will be looking to shape up his defence. However, if Manchester City are to retain their title, a lot of it will come down to the performances of Joe Hart.

Five to watch:

1) David de Gea: David de Gea has responded well to the heavy criticism he faced due to a number of poor performances last year, staking his claim to keep the number one spot this year, ahead of Anders Lindegaard. De Gea has always been renowned as a brilliant shot-stopper, but his positional awareness and command of his box, has often been disappointing. He lost his place against Spurs, as Fergie opted to give Lindegaard his chance between the sticks, but after conceding three, it looks likely he will be be relegated to the bench once more. If United are to mount a serious challenge to claim their 20th league title, a lot will rest on clean sheets, so de Gea will be of key importance. He knows this is his chance to prove himself as a world-class ‘keeper, and this will be a massive season for him.

2) Matt Jarvis: Jarvis turned heads in the summer when breaking West Ham’s club record transfer fee, for over £10 million. He had a successful career but will be under a substantial amount of pressure from the Hammers faithful to deliver. However, he seems to have slotted in to the way Allardyce goes about his football perfectly. Last season he was the most accurate Premier League crosser, and the most frequent, with 56 finding a team-mate out of 218 crosses, and with the loan addition of Andy Carroll, he will have a brilliant target to aim at. He never fails to track back and his work-rate is excellent, he looks set to be in for a brilliant season which could really kick-start the 26 year-old’s career.

3) Suso: Brendan Rodgers has put his faith in the products of the Liverpool youth academy and Suso is possibly the most exciting prospect. The Spaniard slipped under the radar following all of the fuss about 17 year-old Raheem Sterling, but the creativeness of Suso is something that Liverpool have lacked for a long time. He is one step ahead of defenders and has the talent to actually create an end product in the final third. His debut against Manchester United was incredibly impressive, and he didn’t let the occasion overwhelm him as he showed he was fearless, with his direct running at some of the best midfielder’s and defenders in the world. He has put in numerous brilliant performances at Youth and Reserve level, and the partnership he struck up with Suarez during the Norwich game was enough to excite Liverpool fans across the globe. He looks set to be given plenty more chances by Rodgers and by the end of the season he could well have established himself as a key first-team member.

4) Romelu Lukaku: The West Brom forward who is on-loan from Chelsea is one of the rawest talents in the league. His physical presence is massive and the 19 year-old Belgian has the perfect mix of pace and power. He failed to cement a starting place at Stamford Bridge but Steve Clarke has said Lukaku will be getting a number of first-team opportunities at The Hawthorns. He often brushes past defences with his direct running style, but his finishing often lets him down. Clarke will aim to get the best out of the big man during his time at the club and if he can improve his finishing, he will be a massive hit. He has the potential to become one of the best target-men in the league, as he has incredible pace to go with his strength and tremendous aerial ability. It is going to be a massive season, and it would be no surprise to see him become a massive success, and we could well see him partnering Fernando Torres up-top next season at the Bridge.

5) Michu: One of the shrewdest pieces of business during the transfer windows has to be Laudrup bringing in ex Rayo Vallenco star Michu. He was the highest scoring midfielder in La Liga last season with 15 goals, alongside his 3 assists and 5 Man of the Match performances. He has adapted well to the English game and has already scored 5 this season, impressing pundits with his passionate performances, intricate passing and brilliant finishing. He will be key to Swansea’s attempt to avoid relegation and he is more than a fitting replacement for Gylfi Sigurdsson. A big season is in store for the Spaniard and he will be hoping his decision to turn down bigger clubs for the Swans, will be a worthwhile venture.

Tips:

0.5 points: Santi Cazorla – PFA Player of the Year @ 14/1 – Paddy Power

0.5 points: Fernando Torres – PFA Player of the Year @ 16/1 – Paddy Power

3 points: West Brom – Top Midlands Club @ Evens – BetVictor

Arsenal Grab Important Win At Upton Park Thanks To Cameo From Theo Walcott

Arsenal came from behind to beat West Ham 3-1 at Upton Park in a feisty London derby. A cameo substitute appearance from unsettled winger Theo Walcott turned the game in the Gunners's favour as he claimed a goal and an assist. The win lifts Arsenal to fifth in the Premier League table, just two points behind fourth-placed West Brom.

Arsenal started the match on the front foot and carved out the first meaningful chance in the sixth minute when Santi Cazorla found space on the edge of the box but saw his right-footed drive deflected behind for a corner.

It was only 15 minutes later when Mohamed Diame gave the Hammers the lead with a magnificent curling strike after nut-megging Aaron Ramsey to score from the tightest of angles and send the bubble-blowing contingent of Upton Park into raptures. He was then booked for an over-exuberant celebration. West Ham then found themselves in the driving seat, but could not convert a flurry of well-placed set-pieces into clear-cut opportunities.

Shortly before half-time came the moment that all Arsenal fans have been waiting for since the start of the season. Olivier Giroud scored his first goal for Arsenal since his big money summer transfer from Montpellier after sliding in to meet a low Lukas Podolski cross at the near post.

West Ham were surprisingly the team that put Arsenal under pressure at the start of the second half with a flurry of corners before Andy Carroll appeared to miss a great chance in the 54th minute after Nolan had seen his effort blocked, but  the former Bolton midfielder had already been flagged offside.

The home side came out at the start of the second half by far the stronger and immediately piled the pressure on the Gunners. Their first decent effort of the second 45 was when a long throw from Demel was flicked on by Carroll, only for club record signing Matt Jarvis to smash his shot into the stands.

Arsenal hit the Hammers on the counter-attack in the 65th minute, just minutes after Wenger had introduced Walcott and the substitute accidentally blocked a Cazorla shot. But he back-heeled the ball to Giroud who did well to get a shot away on the slide from a tight angle, only for his effort to find the side-netting.

In his first start since his home debut against Fulham Andy Carroll missed a glorious opportunity to give the home side the lead. He leaped above Vito Mannone, and with the goal gaping, drifted his header wide of the far post. Kevin Nolan was the next West Ham man to spurn a great chance when, after getting in behind the Arsenal defence, tried to cut inside and lost the ball when he should have shot.

Those missed chances seemed to push Arsenal into action and they were screaming for a penalty when Aaron Ramsey went down on the edge of the area, but Phil Dowd waved away the appeals. 

After Lukas Podolski had seen a low drive stopped by Jussi Jaaskelainen, Olivier Giroud sprung Walcott clear with an inch-perfect through-ball which the England winger duly converted as he slotted low to give Arsenal a precious lead with just 13 minutes remaining.

Sam Allardyce's team had a great chance to respond quickly, as less than two minutes after Walcott's strike the ball fell to Nolan, but he again wasted the chance and shot high over the cross-bar. 

The game was basically over in the 83rd minute as Walcott cut inside and laid the ball off to Santi Cazorla who thumped in a stunning strike into the far top corner to give the Gunners a two-goal cushion going into the final minutes. 

Giroud missed one last one-on-one in stoppage time, but it didn't matter as Arsenal comfortably held on to seal a crucial three points.

Clinical Arsenal Beat An Uninspiring Liverpool at Anfield

Arsenal produced a disciplined and clinical display to comfortably beat Liverpool at Anfield. Goals from new signings Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla gave them their first three points of the season in a cagey game of few chances.

A year ago Liverpool travelled to the Emirates and beat an Arsenal side in transition 2-0 and this time it was the other way around as the Gunners disposed of a side lacking in creativity and menace. The game started slowly and besides a couple of Liverpool free-kicks that came to nothing there was little to suggest a goal was coming when Steven Gerrard needlessly gave the ball away deep in the Arsenal half. Podolski found Cazorla who turned into space before picking the perfect moment to slip the ball back to his team-mate, who  in turn, duly slotted in to give his team a 31st minute lead. 

Brendan Rodgers's Liverpool continued to press and push men forward but without much end product, the best moment a Raheem Sterling turn and shot that found the outside of the post. Arsenal could have doubled their lead before half-time but Olivier Giroud spurned a great chance when he shot wide when he should have done better. 

Arsenal came out quickly in the second half and Reina was forced into a smart save from Cazorla. On 68 minutes Cazorla played a neat one-two with Podolski and burst into the left-hand side of the area before shooting low under Reina at the near-post. 

A home come-back never looked like materialising and it was Arsene Wenger's men that nearly scored again when Giroud headed over when in acres of space. The only bright sparks for Rodgers was another virtuoso display by 17-year-old winger Raheem Sterling and a good late cameo by Jonjo Shelvey.

Arsenal answered many questions, especially to the people who thought that they could not score enough goals. Liverpool meanwhile just showed that letting Andy Carroll go to Upton Park leaves them with no Plan B and a lack of fire-power.