English Premier
2011-10-22 - Wolves vs Swansea
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Premier League
Saturday 22 October 2011 - Kickoff 12:45pm
This game is live on TV
Wolves
Mick McCarthy could find his seat in the Manager's office at Molineaux feeling a little bit warmer if he cannot arrest a slide that has taken away all the positive feelings around the club at the beginning of the season. Many fans expected Wolves to avoid another relegation battle this season, but it looks like that will not be the case after all.
Wolves have dropped down to 16th in the Premier League and all the positives of their start have been erased by a poor run of form. Wolves have 7 points this season but the majority of those have come away from home. They are 1-0-3 at home this season, scoring 3 goals and conceding 7, and only QPR have scored less goals in front of their own fans this season.
The team have lost their last 5 Premier League games in a row after going unbeaten in their first 3 games and there has to be a worry that they have conceded at least 2 goals in each of those defeats since the 0-0 draw at Aston Villa. Wolves have scored just 1 goal and conceded 7 in their last 3 home games, but they could feel aggrieved they didn't get more out of their home game with Newcastle when a couple of bad decisions cost them the 1-2 defeat.
Steven Fletcher has been ruled out and is joined by Kevin Foley and Ronald Zubar. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake is pushing for a starting spot alongside Kevin Doyle.
Swansea
Brendan Rodgers will be pleased with the home form Swansea have displayed in recent weeks, but he will now look for them to improve away from home. Keeping clean sheets have been a problem and this was highlighted at Norwich last week when they were 2-0 down inside the first 10 minutes of the game.
The Swans dropped to 13th in the table following their 3-1 loss last week at Carrow Road, but their 8 point tally is respectable considering they were one of the clear favourites for relegation. All of their points have been gained at the Liberty Stadium, where the team remain undefeated, but they have lost all 4 away games, scoring 2 goals and conceding 12. Only Arsenal have conceded more goals away from home so far this season.
Swansea have won their last 2 home games with clean sheets to boot, but they have conceded 7 in their last 2 away games between those results. Brendan Rodgers can at least feel a little better that his side have found their shooting boots after failing to score in the first 4 League games. They have since scored 7 goals in their next 4 games.
Steven Caulker will miss out for Swansea who could have Vangelis Moras making his debut. Stephen Dobbie, Alan Tate and Kemy Agustien have all been ruled out.
Head to Head
Wolves and Swansea last met in the 2008/09 Championship season, with both sides winning high scoring games at home.
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake scored the 2 goals that led Wolves to a 2-1 home win that season.
Prediction
While this does not look the most appealing game to watch on paper, I feel it could be one that provides a few goals as neither side is playing well defensively and are capable of getting themselves on the scoresheet.
Wolves have struggled to stop teams scoring 2 goals a game at the moment, let alone keeping clean sheets, while Swansea's struggles away from home have been well documented.
Both teams have long streaks that they would be desperate to end, with Wolves losing 5 in a row overall and Swansea losing all 4 away games they have played this season.
I expect both sides are capable of getting on the scoresheet here, and I also expect they will want to end their streaks in style so I do expect to see a winner at the end of the game. Therefore, the Over 2.5 Goals looks the best way to get on this game.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Wolves 3-2 Swansea
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Over 2.5 Goals @ 2.10
