Born in the south east of Ireland, Simon put his life-long love of football to good use when he started a successful independent blog in 2010. That opened up an alternative route to a career in journalism, and having had work published across a number of sites and publications, Simon joined the staff at Spotlight Sports Group in 2018.
With Carabao Cup commitments shelved for another few weeks, attentions turn again to more familiar Premier League endeavours this weekend.
As per the norm, there is an exciting programme of top-level football to consume this weekend, with ten fixtures split over Saturday and Sunday.
Today, we’re focusing on Saturday’s televised action and supporters are being treated to a pair of fascinating looking Premier League contests in the lunchtime and evening kickoffs.
First up, all eyes will be on the Vitality Stadium where Bournemouth will be out to halt Manchester United’s mini-resurgence, and a few hours after that south-coast skirmish, the division’s bottom club Watford will host high-flying Chelsea at Vicarage Road.
As always, bet365 have a range of potentially lucrative individual player specials and markets available for Saturday’s televised games, and as usual FST have been poring over the statistics to find you the best selections from each.
Check out selection of player special betting tips for Saturday’s televised Premier League fixtures below:
Want more Premier League betting tips? Check out our Premier League predictions page for our expert’s latest match previews.
Bournemouth vs Manchester United
Ryan Fraser under 0.5 shots on target
Scottish attacking midfielder Ryan Fraser has statistically been one of the Premier League’s most inventive players in terms of chance creation over the past couple of seasons.
But while Fraser is always good for an assist, his direct goal threat is relatively limited. The 25-year old notched twice as many assists as goals for the Cherries last term (14-7), and the winger has rattled the net only once for his club since the summer.
When you analyse Fraser’s average attempts per game statistics, his low goal-scoring return starts to make a little more sense. Fraser has averaged just 1.0 attempt on goal on average per Premier League game since August, and the Scot hit just three shots on target in total across his nine top-flight appearances.
Harry Maguire over 0.5 tackles
Manchester United’s towering centre-half Harry Maguire has averaged just 0.4 tackles per Premier League appearance for the Red Devils since his money-spinning switch from Leicester in the summer.
That figure might appear on the low side, though the average is largely in keeping with his central defensive counterparts at other clubs across the Premier League.
However, in mid-week, Maguire was forced to make a season-high three tackles against Chelsea at Stamford Bride, and his workload at the back seemed to visibly increase against the Blues’ pacey front line.
On Saturday, Maguire comes up against another rapid attacking duo in Cherries’ pair Callum Wilson and Joshua King, and we think the England international will tackle his way past our target with relative ease.
Bournemouth’s meeting with Man Utd also features in our Premier League Stat Attack article this week, complete with a 30/1 4-fold acca!
Nathan Ake over 42.5 passes
Nathan Ake is one of Bournemouth’s most consistent operators, and alongside his defensive priorities, the classy 24-year old is quite often the starting point for the Cherries’ passing moves from the back.
Ake tops the charts at Bournemouth for average passes played per Premier League game this season with 46.2, and that average climbs slightly to 47 passes per 90 minutes for the Cherries’ league matches at home.
In his last two starts against Manchester United at the Vitality Stadium, Ake played 49 and 48 passes respectively, and we’re tipping the Dutch defender to at least hit a similar figure against a United side that likes to cede possession and counter attack on the road.
Read our experts’ comprehensive match preview for more Bournemouth vs Manchester United predictions and betting tips.
Watford vs Chelsea
Tammy Abraham over 2.5 shots
Chelsea’s top-scorer Tammy Abraham should be fully rested and ready to explode back into the groove after seeing just 12 minutes of Carabao Cup action from the bench in midweek.
The 22-year old has been in devastating form for Chelsea since being made the club’s first choice centre-forward and Abraham has scored eight times in the league already this term.
Abraham is also Chelsea’s most prolific player in terms of attempts, averaging 3.1 shots per Premier League match overall since August.
The Blues’ academy product should be in a prime position to maintain that healthy average against the division’s second worst defence on Saturday.
Kurt Zouma under 79.5 passes
The statistics suggest that Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma is way overpriced to play under 79.5 passes for the Blues at Vicarage Road this weekend.
The French centre-back has averaged 60.7 passes per Premier League appearance for Frank Lampard’s side so far this season, though that average drops to much more modest 54.6 passes per 90 minutes in away matches.
Zouma has in fact, played over 79.5 passes in only two of Chelsea’s Premier League fixtures to date in 2019/20.
The 25-year old distributed his way past that total in the Blues’ home matches against Newcastle and Sheffield United – games that Chelsea enjoyed 66% of possession in on average.
We expect Zouma’s distribution total to be closer to his away game average (54.6) again for Chelsea when they visit Watford on Saturday.
Jose Holebas to get booked
Veteran Watford wing-back Jose Holebas certainly fits the profile of a Hornets’ player, and the 35-year old spend much of his time buzzing around the pitch and hitting opponents with stinging tackles.
Holebas has fouled an opposing player 1.1 times on average per Premier League game for Watford this season, which makes him the 6th most prolific purveyor of pain at the club, though the Greek defender is out on his own in the bookings stakes.
Holebas has been shown a yellow cards five times already for the Hornets in just eight Premier League starts, and he is already well on his way to matching his 12 and 14 yellow card totals from the 2018/19 and 2017/18 seasons respectively.
The former Roma star is always worth backing in the yellow card market, and Holebas is a prime candidate to be cautioned this weekend against a very attacking Chelsea team.
You can find more betting tips for Watford’s clash with Chelsea in our analysts’ match preview.
