Hayley O’Connor takes on the might of the JOE sports team each week in a Premier League betting challenge. It being Christmas, it was about time one of us was feeling a little generous.
It only took eight weeks, but the win-o-meter belatedly sparked into life last weekend when all of Hayley’s picks did the business and finally gave her something to cheer about just in time for Christmas.
Buoyed by that win, Hayley is feeling extra confident about her chances this weekend, while so disappointed was Sean at being left behind, he decided to hand over responsibility to his colleague Conor Heneghan while he has a long, hard look at himself over the Christmas holidays.
Here’s Hayley’s picks for Week 9:
Liverpool to beat Cardiff, 2/9
The Reds have been great at home this season, Luis Suarez is in irresitible form and the situation at Cardiff is not what you’d call stable right now. All signs point to a comfortable home win.
Man United to beat West Ham, 4/11
David Moyes’ side got back on track against Villa last weekend and we expect that the momentum will carry them through against the Hammers on Saturday.
Man City to beat Fulham, 2/5
On their day, City are arguably the best side in the league and if they’re in the same mood as they were last weekend, there will only be one winner at Craven Cottage.
All told, that treble comes in at odds of a little over 2/1; not huge admittedly, but it has the look of a banker if there ever was one.
And here’s JOE’s picks:
Manchester United to beat West Ham, 4/11
Three wins and three clean sheets on the bounce have gone some way to restoring confidence at Old Trafford and David Moyes’ men can ill-afford to lose any more games at this stage.
Sunderland to beat Norwich, 11/10
Norwich are on a decent run of form at the moment, but the Mackems will be buoyed by the victory over Chelsea in the week and badly need three points to keep in touch with the rest of the strugglers at the bottom of the league.
Chelsea to beat Arsenal, 21/10
The Blues have a brilliant record at the Emirates, having won four out of their last six games there, and Arsenal could still be reeling from the chastening defeat to Manchester City last weekend.
Those three picks come out just short of 9/1 and you’ll have the winnings in your pocket in enough time to do the Christmas shopping that we know you’ve left ‘til the last minute.
We’ll know for sure next week so check back then for an update, when JOE will hopefully follow Hayley’s lead and ensure that our arses are unstuck from the bottom of the win-o-meter before too long.
