From The Horse's Mouth - Mark Van Deventer

Last week the Goal Guru just missed the Interbet EPL 10 when visitors, Liverpool defeated Brentford in a game where a gamble was taken on a home win or the draw.

MatchWeek 8 is particularly challenging, reflected in open betting odds in six of the matches. Man City (7/10), Arsenal (4/10), Chelsea (7/10) and Manchester United (9/10) are quoted at odds on in the other four contests.

Let’s dissect each game, starting on Friday evening at 21h00 when Ipswich host Forest and culminating in the Sunday, 18h30 Sunderland v Leeds clash.

Remember, up to R2 million can be won if predicting all ten results correctly. The exact payout depends on your stake and the fixed odds of each of ten outcomes.

1. IPSWICH 35 VS NOTTINGHAM FOREST 41: The Tricky Trees have fallen to 19th on the log. They have faced a tough schedule, and their underlying metrics are not too shabby. Predictably, given the intense scrutiny managers are subjected to in the EPL, Oliver Glassner is being questioned about his role at Forest: "The results are not satisfying but I won't change my principles in life or how I see football because this is why I'm sitting here as a Premier League manager. I was just told I am the manager with the most trophies won in the last 16, 17 months. Why are there now doubts?" He will need to roust his side against Town, who have exceeded expectations by winning three of seven matches. Having Morgan Gibbs White back is a big plus + for Forest. [2 3]

2. ASTON VILLA 39 VS MANCHESTER CITY 57: The urge is to banker City who have won all seven matches this season and have a fit Haaland returning to the fray. But Aston Villa has won four of the last six meetings across all competitions against Manchester City and grabbed all three points in their last duel. [2 3]

3. ARSENAL 53 VS EVERTON 44: The Gunners who are 2nd placed on the log with 18 points, take on 8th Everton with ten points. The Gunners have a great defensive record at home, whilst David Moyes’’ sides are disciplined and often feature in low scoring games. Arsenal are tipped to find a way to win – as they usually do. [1]

4. COVENTRY CITY 27 VS FULHAM 40: Coventry are battling defensive frailties and can only muster limited attacking output, though they lead the head-to-head 2-0 and have home ground advantage. Fulham are preferred, with the draw added as back up. [2 3]

5. CHELSEA 42 VS TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 36; Palmer and Pedro are creators of chaos against rivals and together with Chelsea’s strong home form, the indications are that they will prevail over Spurs, who are battling with a lengthy disabled list.[1]

6. LIVERPOOL 44 VS BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION 63: The historic head to heads reads 23 matches played with Liverpool dominating by winning 14, 5 draws and just 4 victories for the Seagulls. But this current Brighton side is better than ever and, remarkably, top the Goal Guru Index. They also can stake a claim to being one of the top ten sides in the World, according to rating experts, Opta. [2 3]

7. CRYSTAL PALACE 25 VS NEWCASTLE 33; Both sides pass with the same frequency and accuracy, though Newcastle tends to keep possession a bit more and muster more dangerous attacks. [2 3]

8. MANCHESTER UNITED 37 VS BOURNEMOUTH 46: The knives are out after United got whipped by Como midweek. Critics should perhaps not be too scathing as the Northern Italians are a serious outfit with top players. But manager Carrick is now odds on in the sack race as United have won just two of 11 games recently. They languish in 13th, just ahead of 15th placed Bournemouth. Truth is neither side has been really inspiring this term so let’s cover all bases. [1 2 3]

9. HULL CITY 38 VS BRENTFORD 47; This could be a tight low scoring struggle with the visitors posing superior offensive stats. That could swing it their way and they are singled to keep perm costs down. [3]

10. SUNDERLAND 25 VS LEEDS UNITED 43: The home side are trying to arrest a four-game losing streak. They come up against a Leeds side that is hard to beat (lost only twice in their last 16 matches) yet are way less effective on the road than at Elland Road with only four wins from the last 25 away games. [3]

Round Nine is especially challenging and it will take some razor-sharp selections to get through this sequence.

At first glance, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Brentford and Leeds could be classed as possible bankers, but the chances of them all winning is very slim based on multiplied market odds. 

Brighton is on a roll at the moment, sporting the top G.G.I. score as they continue to play with panache. Question is, are they really as deadly as that - and can they defeat Liverpool at Anfield?

Maybe Fulham can also edge it as visitors to Coventry?

Here is the suggested perm of the Goal Guru for MatchWeek 8. 

2 3 x 2 3 x 1 x 2 3 x 1 x 2 3 x 2 3 x 1 2 3 x 3 x 3 = R96.00

It can be taken for R9.60 at the ten-cent minimum.

Good luck and enjoy the soccer!