Matchweek 13 Premier League free tips & first goalscorer bets

ANOTHER week, another new leader in this amazing race for the 2016-17 English Premier League title.

Draws to Liverpool and Arsenal allowed Chelsea to scale the summit with a hard-fought win over Middlesbrough.

Antonio Conte’s men are one point ahead of both the Reds and Manchester City, who eked out a 2-1 victory against a self-imploding Crystal Palace side.

At the other end of affairs, a team that had no wins after 11 rounds now shares the second longest active winning streak in the division.

Sunderland’s 3-0 salute over Hull City puts them only a game shy of Boro, Palace and West Ham United, although a difficult trip to Anfield awaits the Black Cats this week.

Let us dive right into our featured games for week 13, with match odds, special bets and first goalscorer tips from Australia’s best online bookmakers.

Premier League betting odds – Matchweek 13

Markets courtesy of Sportsbet.com.au

Burnley $10 – Draw $5.50 – Man City $1.30

Hull City $2.75 – Draw $3.25 – West Brom $2.62

Leicester City $1.83 – Draw $3.60 – Middlesbrough $4.33

Liverpool $1.14 – Draw $8.60 – Sunderland $17

Swansea City $2.62 – Draw $3.25 – Crystal Palace $2.75

Chelsea $1.73 – Draw $3.75 – Tottenham $5

Watford $2.37 – Draw $3.25 – Stoke City $3.10

Arsenal $1.33 – Draw $5 – Bournemouth $9.50

Southampton $2 – Draw $3.50 – Everton $3.75

Man United $1.44 – Draw $4.50 – West Ham $7.50

Liverpool vs. Sunderland

2am AEDT on Sunday, November 27, 2016 at Anfield

• Liverpool 3-1 correct score – $12 at Bet365
• Sadio Mane first goalscorer – $5

Only twice this season have Liverpool been held to a goalless draw, and both cases share a common denominator: no Adam Lallana in the starting eleven.

The former Southampton man didn’t feature at all last Sunday as the Reds squandered several gilt-edged chances down at St. Mary’s.

They will have to make do without him for a little while yet, with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp confirming this week that Lallana’s groin problem will keep him out until December.

That could mean rare first-team minutes for Daniel Sturridge if Klopp decides he needs to push Philippe Coutinho deeper to provide more thrust from midfield.

They will want to be a little sharper in front of goal this week against a Sunderland side that has tripped over a winning formula.

The strike pairing of Victor Anichebe and Jermain Defoe is working wonders for the Mackems, with both on the score sheet for the second game running in the win over Hull.

Anichebe’s size and strength will ask questions of a Liverpool back line that has struggled in aerial duels at times, while Defoe’s goal-mouth instincts are as good as anyone’s.

The problem is whether Sunderland have the quality elsewhere on the pitch, especially with Fabio Borini, Lee Cattermole, Paddy McNair, Jack Rodwell and the suspended Papiss Djilobodji all out of action.

Then there is the Wearside club’s top flight record at Anfield: no wins in 17 visits, the last coming way back in 1983.

Chelsea vs. Tottenham Hotspur

4:30am AEDT on Sunday, November 27, 2016 at Stamford Bridge

• Half-time draw/full-time Chelsea – $4.50 at Bet365
• Pedro Rodriguez first goalscorer – $7.50

It’s safe to say now that Chelsea are on something of a roll.

Since losing 3-0 to Arsenal back in September, the Blues have put on a perfect run to go from outliers to pace-setters in the space of six EPL fixtures.

Most remarkable of all is the fact they haven’t conceded a single goal in that time.

It wasn’t easy against Middlesbrough last week, but a lone strike from the imperious Diego Costa – his 10th of the season – was enough to get it done.

Now they face a tougher task still in a Tottenham side who won’t be on the greatest of terms with the fixture programmers right now.

This will be the third London derby in as many Premier League outings for Spurs, who edged past West Ham last weekend in a five-goal thriller at White Hart Lane.

That win broke a worrying streak of seven matches in all competitions without a single win.

They look a far bigger threat in front of goal with Harry Kane back in action, but there are other personnel issues for head coach Mauricio Pochettino.

Star centre-half Toby Alderweireld is probably another week from returning, while both Danny Rose (suspended) and Ben Davies (ankle) are out.

That leaves a hole at left fullback that Jan Vertonghen will most likely fill, but the question is whether Eric Dier and Kevin Wimmer – the central pairing for the midweek defeat to Monaco – can do the job in the heart of defence.

As if the outlook wasn’t murky enough already for the Lilywhites, they haven’t tasted victory at Stamford Bridge in any format since 1990.

Arsenal vs. Bournemouth

1:15am AEDT on Monday, November 28, 2016 at Emirates Stadium

• Arsenal win/both teams to score – $2.75 at William Hill
• Alexis Sanchez first goalscorer – $4.50

Arsenal can consider themselves very fortunate to have walked away from Old Trafford last weekend with a point.

Again it was Olivier Giroud to the rescue, the Frenchman coming off the bench to head home a late equaliser and paper over what was an otherwise ordinary display from the Gunners.

He scored another in midweek against Paris Saint-Germain to make it five goals from six games in all comps, so Arsene Wenger has a decision to make about whether to keep playing Alexis Sanchez as a centre forward in the EPL.

Hector Bellerin’s injury troubles mean perpetual loan-bait Carl Jenkinson is enjoying a rare run at right fullback, and that’s an area Bournemouth may look to exploit.

The Cherries returned to winning ways against Stoke last week after a frustrating stretch that included avoidable defeats to Middlesbrough and Sunderland.

Their chances of halving the midfield battle won’t be helped by the absence of Jack Wilshere, who is on loan from Arsenal and thus ineligible to face them in league play.

But they should have Jordon Ibe back from illness to prowl Jenkinson’s flank in tandem with Charlie Daniels – always an attacking threat from left fullback.

Last season was the first time these two clubs had ever met in competitive play. Arsenal won both fixtures 2-0, with Mesut Ozil scoring in each.

Manchester United vs. West Ham United

3:30am AEDT on Monday, November 28, 2016 at Old Trafford

Man United outplayed Arsenal in just about every aspect last weekend, yet a 1-1 draw is all they have to show for it.

Spanish stars Ander Herrera and Juan Mata were especially impressive, while Michael Carrick proved his worth yet again with a typically measured showing in midfield.

Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford got the nod ahead of Wayne Rooney and the suspended Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but it seems unlikely that both will start again this weekend.

Argentine stopper Marcus Rojo is yet to put in a wholly convincing 90 minutes in the absence of Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling, so the versatile Daley Blind could be in line for a recall to the centre of defence.

Whomever starts will be dealing with a West Ham desperate to put some space between themselves and the relegation zone.

Slaven Bilic’s men have only three wins for the season, and some of the defensive efforts against Tottenham last time out highlighted just why that is.

But they have attacking quality in Dimitri Payet, Manuel Lanzini and Michail Antonio, who scored yet again at Spurs to take his tally to six goals for the season.

The Irons may also take some inspiration from the fact they trumped United 3-2 at Upton Park last term, although they haven’t won at Old Trafford since 2007.

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