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.
Fans of the Premier League have some mid-week football to enjoy on Tuesday and Wednesday, with 4 fixtures scheduled to be played across two evenings of top-flight football over the next 48 hours.
As always, bet365 have a range of potentially lucrative individual player specials and markets available for mid-week’s televised games, and as usual FST have been poring over the statistics to find you the best selections from each.
The first of this week’s televised fixtures kicks off on Tuesday evening in North London, where Tottenham Hotspur host Brighton in a clash that could have a huge impact on developments at both ends of the table.
On Wednesday evening, title chasing City cross Manchester to take on bitter rivals United at Old Trafford in what looks like a season defining fixture for both clubs.
Check out selection of player special betting tips for Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s televised Premier League fixtures below:
Son Heung-min – over 3.5 shots – 4/6 (TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR vs Brighton)
A greater weight of goalscoring responsibility has been placed on Tottenham’s Son Heung-min’s shoulders of late in the absence of the injured Harry Kane, and the South Korean has been revelling in his task.
Son rattled the net 4 times in his last 5 appearances for Spurs, a sequence that included 3 goals in 3 games against Manchester City in the clubs’ recent trio of domestic and continental tussles.
The 26-year old has always offered a considerable goal-threat to match his incessant work-rate. Son’s attempts on goal average of 2.3 per 90 minutes of Premier League action puts him second behind Harry Kane in that metric for Spurs, though that figure jumps to 2.8 per contest in Spurs’ home games.
Interestingly, Son’s output has spiked in recent weeks, and the attacker registered and average of 3.8 attempts on goal in his last 5 appearances for Spurs on home turf.
Against relegation threatened Brighton this evening, Tottenham will expect to dominate from the first whistle.
Their superiority should allow Son to do what he does best, and we think the former Leverkusen star looks great value at 4/6 with bet365 to maintain his impressive recent attempts average by registering over 3.5 shots against the Seagulls.
Read our detailed Tottenham Hotspur match preview, predictions and betting tips here.
Yves Bissouma to get booked – 2/1 (Tottenham Hotspur vs BRIGHTON)
22-year old Malian international Yves Bissouma will have less than fond memories from his only previous appearances against Tottenham Hotspur.
The combative midfielder started for the Seagulls when they played Spurs at the Amex Stadium in late September last year in a game that the hosts eventually lost 1-2, though Bissouma looked off the pace and out of sorts throughout.
After a completely ineffective performance where he touched the ball just 33 times, Bissouma was booked in the 74th minute on the south coast, before he was hauled off just 5 minutes later by Chris Hughton.
Bissouma will be keen to restore some personal pride in Brighton’s return match with Spurs this week, though we think there is a big chance that overenthusiasm could lead to some reckless challenges.
With that considered, we believe Bissouma is priced brilliantly at 2/1 with bet365 to have his name taken by the referee again.
Fernandinho – over 2.5 tackles – 1/1 (Man Utd vs MAN CITY)
Having failed to make Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City starting XI for the Citizen’s last 3 fixtures, Fernandinho is almost certain to reprise his role as the team’s midfield destroyer on Wednesday.
In a Manchester Derby that promises to be an intensely contested skirmish, both teams will need all of their battle-hardened players at the ready. Veteran midfielder Fernandinho falls firmly into that category, and the 33-year old will be out to make his mark at Old Trafford.
Fernandinho has averaged 2 tackles per Premier League fixture for City this season, though it’s worth noting that the Brazilian averaged 3.125 challenges per appearance against the other teams from the Premier League’s big 6.
Even more noteworthy are Fernandinho’s tackling figures from games against the division’s leading lights away from the Etihad – the anchor-man averaged 4.6 tackles per 90 minutes in those crucial contests against clubs from the big 6 on their own patch.
We expect Fernandinho to be in the thick of the action again at Old Trafford, making him a great bet at 1/1 with bet365 to make at least 2.5 tackles against United.
Read our detailed Man Utd vs Man City match preview for more predictions and betting tips here.
Raheem Sterling to score anytime – 11/10 (Man Utd vs MAN CITY)
Raheem Sterling needs just 1 more Premier League goal to match last season’s career high campaign total of 18 for Manchester City, and we think the flying winger could grab that decisive goal in Wednesday’s Derby.
With 4 goals in his last 3 starts for City, Sterling is a man in red-hot scoring form and the 24-year old’s recent streak has moved him to within 2 goals of City’s leading Premier League scorer Sergio Aguero.
Remarkably, Sterling has never scored a goal against Manchester United for either City or his former employers Liverpool. Last season, Sterling missed a trio a guilt-edged chances for the Citizens in their 2-3 reverse against United at the Etihad Stadium, in a defeat that pushed back City’s title winning confirmation and celebration.
On Wednesday, Sterling has an opportunity to banish some of those frustrating, lingering memories by helping his side record what would be a monumentally important win at Old Trafford. The England international is in scintillating scoring form, and that makes him great value at 11/10 with bet365 to score anytime at the Theatre of Dreams.
