Tag Archives: Raheem Sterling

William Hill Boosted Bet Raheem Sterling To Have Over 2 Shots On Target (90 Mins) – Was 9/2

With 3 goals to his name Raheem Sterling seems to have gone from a press induced no hoper case to a serious contender for the Golden Boot. It is true that his season at Manchester City did not match up to the hype given at the start of the season but he has replied to his critics with a resounding middle finger by becoming England’s top scorer in the European Championships. This bet is all about shots on target and while you might be suckered into the belief that shots on target are a better bet than actual goals you may be surprised at how few shots on target by individual players there are.
To begin with I will look at the Total shots on target recorded by England in the tournament so far

England v Croatia 1-0
There were a total of 8 shots AT goal in this game but only 2 were on target

England v Scotland 0-0
There were a total of 9 shots AT goal in this game but only 1 was on target

Czech Republic v England 0-1
There were a total of 5 shots AT goal in this game but only 3 were on target

England v Germany 2-0
There were a total of 5 shots AT goal in this game and 4 of them were on Target

As you can see England have steadily improved their shooting accuracy but these figures show shots on target for the whole team not one player. Without taking anything away from Sterling as I think he is a star player in this England Squad, if we look at his season stats for Man City last season in the UEFA Champions League he averaged just 1.1 shot on target. If you couple this with the assumption that The Czech Republic will see him as the biggest threat to their goal I cannot see him having many chances and will in inimitable Sterling style wait for his given opportunity and score when they least expect it
In my opinion to expect 3 shots on target from any player in this tournament in a single game is a bit of a stretch and is worth considerably more than a measly 6/1 (7.0)

Mohamed Salah, Raheem Sterling & Mason Mount each to have 1 or more shots on target

This one looks interesting from Paddy Power, they have boosted this bet from 4.0 (3/1) to 6.0 (5/1). As is usual with Paddy Power they have not given any pointers as to past performances with all players playing for different teams in two seperate games.

Mo Salah is currently the leading premiership goal scorer and averages 3.7 shots at goal converting that into 1.7 shots on target. Liverpool play Man City at Anfield on Sunday and should prove to be an exciting match as they will both be looking to advance their respective positions in the league. A disappointing performance by Liverpool against Brighton will galvanise the team effort. That said however Salah did have 4 attempts at goal in that match having 2 of them blocked but unfortunately none were on target. His performance against the reverse fixture at Etihad Stadium did see him have 2 attempts at goal with one being on target. This bet has ensured that we cannot wait to see the team sheets so will Salah start this game as Liverpool take on Leicester City next Saturday? I suspect that he will as it is an opportunity not to be missed as Man City play Swansea City in the F.A. Cup in 3 days and as such will Pep Guardiola rest some of his players in preparation.

Mason Mount is Chelsea’s attacking Midfielder with an average shots on target figure of 0.6. Having scored only twice this season in the premiership and having 19 1st team appearances his ability to fulfil his part of the bet seems dubious. Chelsea play Sheffield Utd Away late Sunday night and their last meeting at Stamford Bridge saw Chelsea put 4 goals past the Sheffield keeper but none were scored by Mount but he did manage a shot on target and 2 blocked shots. Chelsea also have an F.A. Cup clash next week against Barnsley. His performance against Tottenham 3 days ago was better than most with 3 shots at goal getting one on target. Going back further to the 2-0 win over Burnley, he still seemed to struggle to get on target after 4 attempts. I think that this choice of player by P.P. is the one that they hope to fail his performances against sides that are defensively weaker than Chelsea can be lack-lustre at best.

Last but by no means least is Raheem Sterling who’s’ average shots on goal are 2.4 with 1.1 shots on target match average. In the match at the Etihad Stadium he didnt score for City as Salah scored for Liverpool but he did manage a shot on target. His ability to score goals is beyond doubt as he has 7 to his credit this premiership season. A bit of a brutal schedule this week for Man City may see some substitutions in the City ranks so again perhaps a clever selection by Paddy Power.

Paddy power have no doubt put this bet up early to entice the Saturday Morning punters to perhaps punt a small stake before any team sheets are posted. Will probably risk a quid to win 5 but no more 🙂