We have waited 90 days to see our beloved Hammers kick a ball in the 2013/14 Premier League season and, at long last, it’s finally here!
After a pre-season where we’ve been linked with everyone bar Messi, our leaders have landed us with, from a betting point of view, two players who could win us some money this season.
We all know that a fit Andy Carroll will score us goals if given the right service and, with Matt Jarvis and Stewart Downing supplying the crosses, it’s surely a given Andy will land us a large share of first and last goal bets.
Alas, this is West Ham United and we know things never go as planned. This is the team that has regularly broken more hearts than all the girls in the East End of London on a Saturday night.
But, like all Hammers, we here at West Ham World are full of optimism for the season ahead. Due to alphabetic order, we start the league at the bottom so the only way for us is up and that’s what we hope this betting blog will do to your wallet. “Fill it Up” over the course of the season.
Let’s first look at some ante-post odds. It can be good to pick a bet that will at least give you some value over the season. The most popular of these is top goal scorer. Andy Carroll can be got at odds ranging from 66/1 (Coral) to 50/1 (Boyle Sports) so it’s worth shopping around.
What about Andy Carroll to be leading English Scorer at 12/1 with Paddy Power?
Stan James have West Ham at 8/1 for a top-eight finish with our additional signings and, with a fit Andy Carroll, we would hope for an improvement on last year’s finish.
The banker of the season to put in to all multiple bets has to be Andy Carroll to be top West Ham scorer, which can be found at 8/11 with Boyle Sports.
A new market that has got popular is the assist market so, if we think our main chance of goals is Carroll, then maybe a punt on new boy Stewart Downing for most assists in the season at 50/1 Boyle Sports might be a fun interest. Downing completed close to 500 more passes than Jarvis last season and had less game time. In 17 appearances last season he put in 89 crosses which created 40 goal scoring chances. Worth a punt, surely?
So what about the opening day game against Cardiff City?
With little to go on at this early stage, it’s hard to see where the money is, but the stats over our last 20 home games can give us some indication:
- West Ham have won 50%, drawn 30% and lost 20% of their last 20 home fixtures
- The Hammers have kept a clean sheet in 30% of their last 20 home games
- Sam Allardyce’s side have failed to score in 10% of their last 20 games
So we have to look at this game without Andy Carroll and wonder where are the goals going to come from?
Well, last season 33% of our goals game from midfield so, without Andy Carroll its best to look at midfield for our first goal on Saturday and 13/2 for Kevin Nolan.
An outside first goal scorer bet might be James Collins if Jarvis and Downing can deliver good corners and he can be got at 25/1 with most layers.
For a correct score, 1-0 seems to be the one that stands out as West Ham have scored exactly one goal in 35% of their last 20 home games. Most layers offer 13/2 for the Hammers to win by that scoreline.
Finally, how about a real outside bet to give us an interest all season? Ravel Morrison is 40/1 with Paddy Power to win PFA Young Player of the Year. He has had a great pre- season and this is the boy who excited Alex Ferguson so much that he said he was one of the best prospects to come out of United.
So, to summarise the first betting guide of the season, here’s my pick of the bunch for both the entire season and Saturday’s Premier League opener against Cardiff:
- West Ham to beat Cardiff 1-0 – 13/2 with Coral, Ladbrokes, Boyle Sports and Paddy Power
- Kevin Nolan first goalscorer against Cardiff – 13/2 with most layers
- A score cast of 1-0 and Nolan to score is 20/1 with Coral, Paddy Power and Boyle Sports
- Andy Carroll to be top English goalscorer – 12/1 with all layers
- Ravel Morrison PFA Young Player of the Year – 40-1 with Paddy Power
- Andy Carroll to be top West Ham goalscorer – 8/11 with Boyle Sports
- West Ham to finish in the top-eight – 8/1 with Stan James
Good Luck with whatever bets you do and let us know how you get on through our Facebook and Twitter accounts or better leave your tips below in the comments section.
Go easy and remember, it’s a long season. Use your head and not your Claret and Blue heart when doing those bets.
