A hectic Easter weekend of Premier League action kicks off on Good Friday as Swansea City welcome Newcastle United to the Liberty Stadium. The Swans will be looking for the point they need to reach the magical 40-pointer marker, while the Magpies could go within two points of the top four with a win. We pick out the best bets from this intriguing contest.
The trip to the Liberty Stadium is the longest one any Premier League fan can make, with the Toon Army poised to cover around 700 miles in getting to and from South Wales. As a result, they will certainly be hoping it is worth it as they keep their fingers crossed Newcastle can make it three straight wins. A European spot looks all but assured after last week’s 2-0 win over Liverpool gave them a 10-point lead over seventh-placed Everton.
While the Reds were bad last week, Newcastle looked eager to end the season well having exceeded all expectations up to this point. Manager Alan Pardew has turned the Magpies into a formidable outfit with some shrewd signings, none more so than Papiss Cisse. The Senegal striker has seven goals in eight appearances since his mid-season switch from Freiburg, four of which have been the first goals of the game. As such Cisse to break the deadlock again at 11/2 may be worth an investment.
Newcastle’s last away trip resulted in a 3-1 win over West Brom but before then Pardew’s men hadn’t been prolific at picking up points on their travels recently. Before the victory at the Hawthorns they had managed two wins in a nine away matches, a run of which includes six defeats.
Given Swansea’s excellent home form this season it’s tough to see Newcastle coming away with all three points. If you do fancy Newcastle to become only the third team to win at the Liberty Stadium then they can be backed at 2/1, with the Swans 11/8 and the draw 12/5 in the match betting.
While Newcastle fans may feel they have overachieved this season then there is no doubt Swansea’s campaign has exceeded the expectations for their supporters. The Swans are on 39 points heading into the Easter weekend and, barring a remarkable comeback by those at the bottom, should be safe even if they don’t win another game.
However, manager Brendan Rodgers won’t be allowing his players to think about their summer holidays just yet and despite losing at Tottenham last week they put in a much improved display at White Hart Lane after a limp-wristed defeat against Everton at home.
In front of another bumper crowd Rodgers will be hoping his team can claim another big scalp, having beaten Arsenal and Manchester City and taken points off Chelsea and Tottenham. Having worked with opposite number Pardew while working as a coach at Reading, Rodgers might have a few ideas as to what the Toon might throw at them.
The goalless draw at St James’ Park certainly gave an indication that Rodgers’ team can stifle the north-east outfit, although there was no Cisse for the Toon that day.
The partnership of Cisse and Demba Ba could be the deciding factor but if Swansea can keep them quiet and play their own game there is no reason why they can’t get a result. Draw HT/ Swansea FT is 9/2 and could be the value bet for punters.
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It certainly is a tale of two teams in La Liga with Barcelona and Real Madrid head and shoulders above the rest and after a 5-0 win in the first ‘Clasico’ of the season, the Catalans look worthy 8/15 favourites to successfully defend their Primera Liga title.