With Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool occupying the top three places in the Premier League standings, there is an argument that results in the top flight have not been any more unpredictable than usual. However, there have been marginally more away victories than at home this season, an indication that the lack of crowds are still having a direct effect on the campaign. With bookmakers generally offering better betting odds for an away win, it is something which will naturally be taken into consideration by punters, but it is also worth not jumping to conclusions, instead taking each match on its merits. With that in mind, which bets should you be placing on Matchday 23 of the Premier League?
Just like you can take calculated gambles with Dunder casino, we feel that punters should be looking at 'draw no bet' options for Aston Villa versus Arsenal. With the Gunners missing Bernd Leno, David Luiz and potentially Kieran Tierney, there are several reasons why you may feel inclined to back the home side, but the Gunners offered enough against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday evening to suggest that the defeat was a minor blip in the grand scheme of things. Rest periods are also important during the current climate, and having an extra 24 hours recuperation should only benefit Mikel Arteta's team. Some bookmakers are offering 11/10 for a Gunners win, draw no bet, but Evens is still big enough to get our attention.
We feel the same when it comes to Sheffield United's encounter against Chelsea. The Blades, on the back of three wins from five matches, are on a high and motivated to pull off the greatest of escapes, and Chris Wilder's men have made an impression against Chelsea in each of their three fixtures against them since their return to the top flight. While many football supporters will feel inclined to jump on the Thomas Tuchel bandwagon, Chelsea have 48 hours less to prepare for this game after a London derby with Tottenham Hotspur. It's clearly not ideal circumstances for Chelsea, and the 6/1 on offer for Sheffield United is far too attractive to dismiss. You can also get draw no bet at around 4/1, odds which surely will not remain as high in the days leading up to kickoff on Sunday evening.
Earlier in the day, Liverpool welcome Manchester City to Anfield for what feels like the most important game of the season so far. Given Liverpool's issues in the centre of defence, it is no surprise that City are the marginal favourites to prevail on Merseyside, and it encourages us to take a look at more complicated markets. You can get around 3/1 for City to win with both teams to score, and Liverpool's recent resurgence in the final third makes us think that is the most likely result. Guardiola's frequent rotation of his squad means that it is difficult to predict which players will feature in the starting lineup, but we like Ilkay Gundogan as an anytime goalscorer at 13/5. The midfielder has netted seven times since the middle of December, and his responsibility from the penalty spot gives us the nudge to take a risk on him this weekend.
