Three shots on target tips for Gameweek 5 in the Premier League
The Premier League is back, praise the lord
Now that the wretched international break is done and dusted, proper football returns to our screens this weekend which means that we can all enjoy some enthralling Premier League betting action.
As always, I’ve put together three shots on target tips for you to digest. These tips are all priced up as singles, but combining them in a treble pays just under 14/1 with Paddy Power. Shall we get started?
I’m kicking off my trio of selections with Chelsea’s Jorginho to register one or more SOT against Southampton on Saturday.
The Italy international has so far registered four shots on target this season, making him the second-highest rated midfielder in this particular market. This is largely due to the fact that he is Chelsea’s penalty taker, and has been one of the main beneficiaries of this season’s bizarre flurry of dubious spot-kicks.
Jorginho has so far scored three goals in 2020-21, but will line up against a Southampton side (5/1 to win) who enter this match in good form having won their last two games without conceding. Chelsea, though, were emphatic before the international break, beating Crystal Palace 4-0 so enter this fixture as odds-on favourites (1/2).
Jorginho put in a Man of the Match performance against the Eagles a fortnight ago, scoring twice from the spot, which means that he should be brimming with confidence heading into this clash on home soil. Not afraid to get a shot away from distance when bursting through from midfield, the 28-year-old poses a threat from range as well as from the spot, giving this selection an added bit of flavour.
West Ham’s Michail Antonio has flown out of the blocks this season, scoring two goals in his first four appearances for the Hammers. More impressively, however, is the fact that Antonio has registered a total of eight shots on target - an average of two per game - which highlights just how much he is getting in behind opposing lines to create goalscoring opportunities.
Tasked with playing a more centralised striker's position under David Moyes rather than one out wide, the Englishman is flourishing in his new role at the London Stadium, starting this season just as well as he finished 2019-20 (eight goals in final nine games during Project Restart).
Antonio’s xG rating is currently 2.6 this season, ranking him in the top-eight players in the top-flight for expected goals. It’s clear to see why - with 15 shots taken in just four appearances this term and over half of those being on target, the 30-year-old is clearly a man in form and his confidence levels are through the roof.
Should he continue with this impressive form, he will surely become impossible for Gareth Southgate to ignore ahead of next summer's European Championships. At just 1/6 to register 1+ on target against Spurs, the value certainly lies with backing him to have 2 or more at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend, which sees Antonio slot nicely into my trio of fancies for Gameweek 5.
To round things off I’m throwing Leeds United’s versatile wing-back Stuart Dallas to have 1 or more shot(s) on target into the mix, priced at 13/10.
Leeds have lived up to expectation this season by starting brightly. Marcelo Bielsa’s exciting side have won two, drawn one and lost one of their opening four games, with that solitary defeat coming in a hard-fought battle away to champions Liverpool on the opening day.
Just before the international break, the Whites went toe-to-toe with another of the division’s gargantuans, Man City, showing great character to bounce back from a goal behind to rescue a point at Elland Road.
Stuart Dallas was fantastic in that match, registering a successful dribble, one key pass and one shot on target against the Cityzens, to take his tally for SOT to four in four appearances this time out. Due to the fact that the Northern Irishman is naturally more of a midfielder, Dallas is always looking to bomb forward and join the attack when he reaches the final third, and even when playing as a full-back in Bielsa’s dynamic system he is always keen to get shots away on the angle.
Wolves have so far been disappointing this season, obtaining just one win from their opening three matches whilst conceding seven goals. I fancy Leeds to prevail on Monday, and can envisage an onslaught of attacking opportunities from the hosts, and should that prove to be the case then I’d fancy Dallas to add to his SOT haul. Here’s hoping...
