New manager bounce for WBA

Slaven Bilic became the first managerial casualty of the 2020/21 season after his dismissal from West Bromwich Albion last Wednesday. The news came as a shock as he was shown the door only hours after a credible 1-1 draw against Manchester City. The next news came as less of a shock: he would be replaced by survival expert Sam Allardyce.

Big Sam has become somewhat of an internet sensation following his different survival stories at Premier League clubs. He’s managed eight Premier League teams and has never been relegated. 

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>When Big Sam reads the word &quot;sack&quot;. . . <a href=”https://t.co/xxzV9KJNo3″>pic.twitter.com/xxzV9KJNo3</a></p>&mdash; Casumo Sports (@CasumoSports) <a href=”https://twitter.com/CasumoSports/status/1339175106669580288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>December 16, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

West Brom turn to him for survival, and in 2017 he laid his survival tips bare on Sky Sports for all to see. The blueprint is:

• Clean sheets
• Don’t lose possession in own half
• Play the first pass forward
• Win knock-down & transitions
• Set pieces
• Exploit the opposition’s weaknesses 
• Quality in the final third

He’s signed an 18 month contract but can walk away if WBA do get relegated. Naturally it might take a while for the blueprint to become a reality, but we feel the new manager bounce can impactWBA immediately and feel WBA will get their second league win of the season against Aston Villa.

Correct score: WBA 1-0 Aston Villa is at 23/2 or 12.5

West Brom are now at 2/5 or 1.4 to get relegated and you can also place bets on which manager you think will be sacked next. Look away Arsenal fans, Mike Arteta is at 5/4 or 2.25

Arsenal are getting desperate

Arsenal, who managed to dampen the rot slightly against Southampton play Everon next. The Gunners are without a win in SIX Premier League games, and have had two red cards on the bounce. We typed that Arsenal are in a relegated battle last week and if they keep shooting themselves in the foot then the trapdoor will loom large, both for Mikel Arteta’s position, and the club’s Premier League status.

Everton’s form is encouraging again. They had two tough tests against Chelsea and Leicester and came out shining bright: Six points with no goal conceded. You can get Everton to win to nil with odds of 16/5 or 4.2.

Fast United v Slow United – Man United v Leeds is back!

This will be a throwback for many fans of these old rivals. Leeds being back in the Premier League is one of the most exciting things that happened in 2020. Not only is their football unique and completely different from the current norm, but they also re new their old rivalry with Manchester United. 

Marcelo Bielsa’s brand of football is slick, fast and totally attack minded. Its organised chaos and Leeds United are up for it. A 5-2 win over Newcastle summed them up brilliantly. Manchester United play a totally opposite style, if you can call it a style. They are often extremely slow to start games and Leeds will do well to expose this ugly habit. 

It seems whenever Leeds play goals are guaranteed so over 3.5 goals here is 7/5 or 2.4. They are as slippery as a bar of soap, and with United being labelled as slow, clumsy and rigid at the back, we’re not sure they want to try to pick up that bar. You can back Leeds to win at 15/4 or 4.75… oh and remember those odds showing the next managerial sacking? Well Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is priced at 7/1 or 8.00, in case you were curious!

 

.