Everton to do the double over its former boss

Everton fans have been waiting for Sunday 20 April 2014 to roll around ever since the release of the English Premier League fixture list because they cannot wait to see their team beat the Manchester United side of David Moyes at Goodison Park in what will be an electric atmosphere.

That Everton defeated Manchester United 1-0 in the reverse English Premier League fixture at Old Trafford would have put a smile on the dial of Toffees supporters but they are itching to see Moyes and his Red Devils succumb at Goodison Park in front of many more thousands of Evertonians.

Remarkably, Manchester United has the best away record in the English Premier League having won 10 and drawn three of its 17 road matches. Normally that may be sufficient to dissuade one from opposing Manchester United on its travels but this is a big occasion, the odds are wrong and Everton’s home record is the top flight’s fourth best and even better than the away record of its opponent. Everton has won 12 and drawn three of its 16 English Premier League home games.

One says that it is a special occasion because it is a huge match and Everton fans had 11 and a bit years of seeing the Toffees lose huge matches under Moyes. Remember how Everton failed to win any of its games against Liverpool at Anfield during the trophy-less period that Moyes led the Toffees.

The English Premier League ladder does not lie this far into a season and, consequently, Everton has every right to be at odds of around 2.00 to beat Manchester United at Goodison Park. However, Everton is available at odds of 2.40 with several bookmakers, including Bwin and Sky Bet.

Both Aston Villa and Southampton will line up without its most potent striker, Christian Benteke and Jay Rodriguez respectively, so one wants to bet on under two and a half goals at odds of 1.91 with William Hill when the Villans entertain the Saints in the English Premier League.

The reverse English Premier League fixture at St Mary’s in December ended 3-2 in favour of Aston Villa but the return game could be a polar opposite without Benteke and Rodriguez on show for the fourteenth and eighth-placed teams. Aston Villa has scored only one goal in its back-to-back top-flight losses to Fulham and Crystal Palace since Benteke ruptured his Achilles tendon during a training session. Southampton has lost 1-4 away to Manchester City and 0-1 at home to Cardiff since Rodriguez sustained a serious knee injury.

One is getting good odds about Aston Villa and Southampton going under two and a half goals because, if the Villans and the Saints were able to field their strongest sides, one would be inclined to bet on over two and a half goals. But neither Aston Villa nor Southampton has that luxury.

Finally, the English FA Cup final rehearsal between Hull and Arsenal is an English Premier League match in which betting on the draw at odds of 4.00 with Betfair’s sportsbook is an appealing play. Arsenal is odds on across the board but its recent form is not that of an odds-on away favourite, with the Gunners requiring a penalty competition to qualify for the English FA Cup final at the expense of second-tier Wigan. Arsenal has won just one of its last eight games across all competitions played elsewhere than its Emirates Stadium. Arsenal does not strike one as a betting vehicle.

That leaves one to choose between Hull and the draw. Hull has lost more English Premier League matches than it has won and drawn combined so one leans towards the draw at odds of 4.00. It would not surprise if the English Premier League clash were a cagey one given that Hull and Arsenal will go head to head in the English FA Cup final next month.