It’s EPL galore in December as we get another mid-week round to sink our teeth into. Week 17 will be played this Wednesday and Thursday morning and offers some great matchups. We preview some of the key games of the round and give our betting tips below.
EPL Week 17 Betting Tips
Huddersfield vs Chelsea (Wednesday 7am AEDT)
Chelsea suffered a shock loss to West Ham on the weekend and now trail ladder leaders Manchester City by a whopping 11 points. They’ll look to bounce back here as they face Huddersfield away from home on Wednesday morning. Huddersfield have won three of their last four at home and currently sit 12th in the table, already a great output considering their recent promotion.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte will need to sort his team out before the clash after going into the game against West Ham with some interesting team selections, Cesar Azpilicuueta playing a central defensive role the foremost of which. Chelsea have been playing way too defensive of late, which is not the style of play that saw them capture the title last year, and against a team that has allowed just eight goals at home all season, they’ll need to be much better.
This will be the first top flight meeting between the two sides since 1972, so recent history isn’t much to go on here. Huddersfield have been impressive at home lately but did go down to a talented Arsenal side 5-0 just a few weeks ago. We can see Chelsea overcompensating for a lack of offensive prowess last weekend, which could possibly open the flood gates for both teams.
TIP: Total goals OVER 3.5 - $3 at Sportsbet
Southampton vs Leicester (Thursday 6.45am AEDT)
Two teams that have been quietly going about their business so far this season are Leicester and Southampton. They sit 8th and 11th respectively and Leicester in particular can really put up a challenge to the top four with a win here. They currently sit just 7 points behind Liverpool in 4th place and another chance in the Champions League will be tantalising to them.
Southampton grinded out a 1-1 draw with the Gunners last weekend to maintain their spot on the table, and will be hunting a home win here as they sit just five points clear of the relegation zone. They have won just 2 of their last 10 matches and face Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham in their next five games.
The home side is undefeated in the last six clashes between these two teams, with two draws being played out in that time, one at each venue. Leicester come into the game with more form and secured a great comeback away win against Newcastle last weekend. We like them to break the trend and capture an away win here.
TIP: Leicester to win - $3.75 at Ladbrokes
Swansea vs Manchester City (Thursday 6.45am AEDT)
Manchester City asserted their dominance over the EPL when they outplayed arguably their only rivals for the title, downing Manchester United 2-1 on the weekend. They’ll get a much easier away matchup here against Swansea, who currently sit second last on the table with 12 points.
It’ll be an interesting game for City coach Pep Guardiola, who might want to give some of his key players rest ahead of a massive game against the Spurs on the weekend. In any scenario though, the Manchester City squad is so full of depth that a few changes to the team would like see the likes of Yaya Toure and Gundogan start against the Swans, yikes.
There’s no point discussing the history or form between these two teams. Manchester City are on another level completely and even with a somewhat makeshift team in for this game, they should still win comfortably here.
TIP: Man City to win and both teams to score - $2.63 at Sportsbet
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