Mark O’Haire’s football tips, best bets and tips for 29-30 November

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Football betting tips: The weekend’s best bets

Friday 20:00

2.5 points Both teams score ‘no’ in Sheffield United vs Sunderland at 20/23 (Betfair, Paddy Power)

Saturday 15:00

3 Points Over 25.5 Shots in Brentford vs Leicester on 8/11 (bet365)

2.5 points Over 2.5 goals and both teams to score in Wolves vs Bournemouth 17/20 (Betway)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair

Sunderland vs Sheffield United

A big Championship clash on Friday night as high-flying Sheffield United and Sunderland meet. Both sides have their eyes on the Premier League prize and have enjoyed an encouraging start to the season, largely built on rock-solid defense – the pair have recorded 11 and 10 second-tier clean sheets respectively, a hit rate of 62% in their combined meetings.

These formidable rearguards point to a relatively tight and cagey contest and I’m encouraged to watch BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE ‘NO’ trades at 20/23 (1.87) with Betfair/Paddy Power. This effort has won in 23 (68%) of the two teams’ combined 34 Championship matches this term, but the price implies only a 53% chance of success.

Sheff Utd are favored to have posted W6-D1-L0 at Bramall Lane, keeping six consecutive home clean sheets and allowing just 0.50 expected goals (xG) in front of their own supporters. Meanwhile, Sunderland drew a fifth game on the spin in midweek and blanked for the third time in the five-game test, again pointing to a low-scoring match-up.

Brentford vs Leicester

Brentford have been near flawless at the Community Stadium this season (W5-D1-L0), helped by a friendly home schedule that has seen the Bees face six teams in the 13th and under. Nevertheless, Thomas Frank’s side have attacked these games terrifically, plundering 18 goals while conceding 11 in the process of picking up 16 Premier League points.

That kamikaze style should be on display again on Saturday when Brentford welcome Leicester. The Foxes are set to appoint Ruud van Nistelrooy as their new head coach, so the visitors are likely to play more proactively than under their predecessor. An entertaining meeting could therefore be at stake with many shots.

The OVER 25.5 SHOT line at bet365 looks far too low considering. It has been beaten comfortably in each of Brentford’s last 11 EPL outings, averaging 30.17 attempts per. games across their campaign. At the Community Stadium, the shot totals have been 27-31-36-27-38-23, while five of Leicester’s six away league games have also seen 26+ shots.

Wolves vs Bournemouth

This should be fun. Wolves have moved outside the Premier League’s bottom three after back-to-back wins and the old gold have now been on the scoresheet in 11 consecutive top-flight games – the longest ongoing run in the division. Gary O’Neil’s side have also scored 20 goals in their first 12 games, the club’s best top-flight return since 1972.

However, the Black Country boys remain fragile and have conceded 28 times in the EPL so far, their worst tally at this stage of a season since 1983. That should encourage a Bournemouth side who lack consistency but are always capable of playing their role in an entertaining open affair. I’m quite happy to back up OVER 2.5 MEASURES and BOTH TEAMS MUST SCORE at 5/6 (1.83).

Looking at the two teams’ records in 2024/25, we can see that the pair have combined for 20 out of 24 EPL outings, picking up a solitary shutout each. A tasty 10 of Wolves’ 12 dates have paid off for BTTS backers, with eight of Bournemouth’s 12 following suit. Go back further and 18/25 (72%) of Cherries’ away days under Andoni Iraola have seen over 2.5 goals.

Odds correct at 1015 GMT (28/11/24)

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