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.
After a compelling international football hiatus, the Premier League returns with another full complement of fixtures this weekend.
As always, bet365 have a range of potentially lucrative individual player specials and markets available for the impending games, and as usual FST have been poring over the statistics to find you the best selections from each.
This weekend, we’re focusing specifically on the goal-getters and match-winners however, and we’ve compiled a selection of Striker Special betting tips for the weekend’s action that we think are well worth checking out.
Don’t forget – You can also take a look at all of our match previews and betting tips for the weekend’s action on our Premier League predictions page.
Sebastien Haller – over 0.5 shots on target – 4/7 (Everton vs WEST HAM)
West Ham’s club-record summer signing Sebastien Haller has quickly endeared himself to the Irons’ faithful with a string of fine performances in the Premier League.
The Frenchman tops the goalscoring charts at West Ham with four goals from his first seven league starts since August, and the 25-year old also leads the way for average attempts per game, getting 2.4 shots away per 90 minutes of top flight football overall.
A healthy 1.3 of Haller’s 2.4 attempts per game have hit the target on average, and the accomplished finisher needs to test the Toffees’ goal just once for our prediction to land in Saturday’s lunch-time kick-off at Goodison Park.
Read our comprehensive match preview for more Everton vs West Ham predictions and betting tips.
Son Heung-min to score anytime (TOTTENHAM vs Watford)
Flying South Korean attacker Son Heung-min just loves playing against Watford. The versatile forward has scored five times against the Hornets in his Spurs’ career to date, and the 27-year old hasn’t hit the net more often against any other Premier League club.
Somewhat surprisingly, Son is currently Tottenham’s highest-goalscorer in all competitions at the club’s sparkling new stadium (5), and this weekend he will back himself to add to that tally against bottom of the table Watford team that have conceded an average of 2.5 goals per game this term.
Looking for more Tottenham vs Watford betting tips? Read our experts’ match preview for Saturday’s game.
Sergio Aguero under 3.5 shots – 10/11 (Crystal Palace vs MAN CITY)
Sergio Aguero is one of the most prolific goalscorers and devastating finishers in Premier League history, yet remarkably, the Argentine always struggles to crack open the vaults at Selhurst Park.
The explosive Argentine centre-forward was unable to score in each of his last six visits to the home of Crystal Palace, and the 31-year old didn’t even muster a shot on target when the Citizens last played at Selhurst Park in April.
Aguero has averaged 3.3 shots per Man City Premier League away game so far this season, however, we expect that figure to drop considerably when the former Atletico Madrid star faces one of the division’s most robust defensive units this weekend.
Our Premier League analysts have tipped the Citizens to ultimately take maximum points against the Eagles however. Read the rest of their Crystal Palace vs Man City predictions here.
Mohamed Salah under 3.5 shots – 8/13 (Man Utd vs LIVERPOOL)
All eyes will be on Old Trafford on Sunday for the eagerly anticipated heavyweight tussle between Manchester United and Liverpool, and Egyptian attacker Mohamed Salah is expected to be a key protagonist at the Theatre of Dreams.
Salah carries a huge goal-threat with him into every game he plays and the 27-year old has averaged 3.3 attempts per 90 minutes of Premier League action so far this season.
That average drops to a more modest 2.8 in Liverpool’s away matches however, and on Sunday Salah will come up against a Man Utd defence that has given up fewer big chances than any other team in the division this term (6.18 xGA).
It’s also worth nothing that Salah hit three or fewer shots in five of his eight Premier League appearances this season, and we think the Golden Boot winner will struggle to push his attempts total any higher this weekend.
In their match preview for Sunday’s contest, our analysts detail why they think Liverpool can turn their rivals over at Old Trafford. Read all of their their Man Utd vs Liverpool predictions and betting tips here.
Oliver McBurnie over 1.5 shots – 1/2 (Sheffield United vs ARSENAL)
Scottish striker Oliver McBurnie has been feeling his way into the Premier League since his summer switch to Sheffield United from Championship outfit Swansea City.
The 22-year old has started the Blades’ last five Premier League fixtures however, and against league leaders Liverpool before the international break, McBurnie offered a glimpse of this potential, hitting four attempts in total against the Reds at Bramall Lane.
On Monday, McBurnie is expected to lead the line again against an Arsenal team that give up incredible amounts of goal-scoring chances to their opponents.
Only newly promoted pair Norwich (17.9) and Aston Villa (17.8) have conceded more shots per game on average than the Gunners (17) so far this season, and those numbers suggest McBurnie should have ample opportunity to test Bern Leno on Monday night.
