Slaven Bilic revives a bit of faith at West Ham United
Southampton v Bournemouth: Pre-Match Betting Analysis
In Saturday’s late kick-off, the Premier League’s two south coast clubs meets Bournemouth travel to Southampton. Claude Puel’s Saints side have experienced an underwhelming campaign in the league and have struggled with the sale of captain Jose Fonte and star man Virgil Van Dijk. Southampton lost 3-2 at Wembley to Man Utd in the final of the EFL Cup last month after an impressive performance. Manolo Gabbiadini has proved a revelation up top, the striker scored 6 goals in his first 4 games in English football however will miss out this Saturday through injury. The Saints’ recent Premier League results indicate they are playing more freely as the season draws to a close. Their last 6 have seen Over 2.5 goals, with both teams scoring in 4 of those. At St Mary’s Southampton have actually lost 3 of their last 4 in the league with both sides scoring on each occasion. Shane Long will deputise in the absence of Gabbiadini; Nathan Redmond and Dusan Tadic will operate behind him.
Eddie Howe picked up the March Manager of the Month Award as his Bournemouth side went unbeaten throughout the Month. Their two most recent wins were long overdue as The Cherries were 8 games without a win and were increasingly looking like getting dragged into a relegation battle. Since the injury of Callum Wilson, Josh King has flourished in a more advanced role, he has 7 goals in his last 6 league games. Each of Bournemouth’s last 4 away matches have seen both sides score, with 3 of those occasions also seeing over 2.5 goals. Bournemouth have lost 6 of their last 7 against Southampton and have not scored in any of their last 3 at St Mary’s.
An interesting angle I like here is Over 1.5 first half goals. Each of Southampton’s last 4 league games have seen Over 1.5 first half goals, while each of Bournemouth’s last 5 away matches have seen that feat. With Southampton’s unconvincing centre-back pairing and Bournemouth’s tendency to be very open, I think Over 1.5 first half goals at 17/10 could prove profitable.
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