Julian Alvarez can open the scoring against the Bees (Picture: Getty Images)
It’s always wise to think twice and then check once more what you’ve written before putting a post on social media.
That may prove to be a painful lesson for Brentford striker Neal Maupay after he taunted Tottenham’s James Maddison following the Bees’ 3-2 loss at Spurs last Wednesday.
England midfielder Maddison claimed Maupay mimicked his darts-throwing celebration after tucking away the game’s opener because he had not scored enough goals in his career to have an original way of marking his own achievements on the pitch.
Maupay then countered by pointing out he had never been relegated, a dig at Maddison being part of the Leicester team which dropped into the Championship last season.
Well, Brentford go into their Monday night match with Manchester City just three points above the relegation zone and with two victories from their last ten top-flight outings.
Their next batch of fixtures include a trip to Wolves followed by a home game with league leaders Liverpool then more difficult away days at City and West Ham before further London derbies at home to Chelsea and away at Arsenal. Urgh.
By the time they go to Burnley in the middle of March they may well be in the bottom three and odds of 11/1 with Betfred, Betfair and Paddy Power for the Bees to be relegated will be long gone by then.
Neal Maupay taunts Tottenham after scoring for Brentford (Picture: Getty Images)
Brentford did the double over City in the league last season but Pep Guardiola’s champions are building up a formidable head of steam after winning their last eight games in all competitions.
They have also won their last three league games on the road as well as finally gaining victory at their bogey ground, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in the FA Cup and should be backed at 11/10 with bet365 to lead HT/FT and the same price with the same firm to win by more than one goal.
Julian Alvarez, who celebrated his 24th birthday with a brace in Wednesday’s 3-1 win at home to Burnley, is 9/2 with Sky Bet to break the deadlock and 27/20 with Unibet, BetUK and BetMGM to score at any time.
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Meanwhile, Ivan Toney is available at 13/5 with bet365, Betfair and Paddy Power to score in a third straight game but that may be scant consolation and the visitors are 11/1 with William Hill to travel back to the north west with a 3-1 victory.
• It’s Super Bowl week and we’ll have a roll of the dice on Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice hauling in a reception from Patrick Mahomes for over 21.5 yards at 5/6 with Betway. He’s also worth an interest at 10/11 with William Hill to go over 66.5 yards in what promises to be a humdinger with the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas.
• Portsmouth may have played more games than any of their League One rivals but they are four points clear at the top after thumping Northampton 4-1 at Fratton Park on Saturday despite having a player sent off. Pompey strengthened their squad last month and are worth supporting at 10/3 with Paddy Power, Betfair and 888Sport to go up as champions.
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