Both Manchester City and Liverpool won their matches in Week 31, keeping the race atop the Premier League table just a point apart. City has 73, while the Reds are staying close behind with 72.
Near the top of the standings, the big news is down in fourth place where Arsenal squandered a golden opportunity to hang onto the last Champions League seat. Instead, the Gunners fell stunningly in a 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace. Meanwhile, Tottenham cruised to a 5-1 thrashing of overmatched Newcastle United to pull themselves into an all-important fourth-place tie.
And we've still got seven weeks to go. Strap in because we've got two best bets as we hope for yet another high-scoring weekend in the Premier League.
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Newcastle United / Wolverhampton: Both Teams to Score (+105; BetMGM)
It's not often we're banking on two of the league's worst teams to score, and it's even rarer when one of them is Wolverhampton. But the Wanderers have been surprisingly pouring in the goals of late, and now they'll get the chance to stay hot against one of the Premier League's worst defenses.
Wolves are just 14th in the league in goals for and 17th in expected goals for. But that's precisely why I think we're getting an extremely strong price on this bet. They've quietly scored seven times over their last three games and have been shut out just three times over their previous 12. And now they'll battle a Newcastle United team who've posted just four clean sheets in 30 matches and are coming off a 5-1 crushing at the hands of Tottenham.
This is an excellent spot for Wolverhampton to continue their torrid pace on offense and Newcastle to put one in the back of the net as well. They'll be motivated to avenge being embarrassed last weekend and allowing five goals; they'll want to perform much better in front of their home supporters.
These two played to a 2-1 Wolves victory earlier in the year. I expect much of the same on Friday, so play this one down to -110.
Watford / Leeds United Over 2.5 (-125; DraftKings)
We're laying a bit of juice here, but it's worth it considering we have two teams that have been absolute factories towards the over this year, especially of late.
Watford is split 15-15 on overs this year, but 13 of their last 20 matches have cashed over tickets, including their most recent three against Arsenal, Wolves, and Southampton. They also give up goals by the truckload and are one of just three teams in the entire league to have an expected goals-against mark of above 50 on the year. There are also only three teams that have allowed more goals than the Hornets this season – Norwich City, who's in last place and are locked into a relegation seat, and Watford's opponent this weekend, Leeds United.
Leeds is one of the most passionate football clubs at any level in the United Kingdom, and their promotion to the Premier League for the first time since 2004 started off with a band. Leeds finished ninth in the league last season, but this year has been a mess, and while they're still eight points clear of relegation, they're still just 16th in the league and have allowed the most goals of any team by a wide margin. They've allowed 68 into the back of their net, five more than any other team and one of just two clubs to allow 60-plus.
Leeds hasn't posted a clean sheet since November 30th, and in the 16 games since their last shut out, they've conceded 47 goals or 2.94 per game. They've allowed four or more goals six different times this year, and while I don't expect Watford to notch the seventh such occasion, I don't expect Leeds to post a clean sheet.
What's more – both these teams are motivated despite being 16th and 18th in the standings. Leeds is aiming to stay clear of relegation, as is Watford. As it stands, the Hornets are three points back of safety and need wins – not draws. Both teams will be pushing hard to score, and I would play this one down to -135.
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Mike Wagenman is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @mjwags23.