You have more chance of getting a fair price on corner kick markets in the Premier League than you do on match winner prices where the layers very rarely make mistakes. This week’s column focuses on corner kick patterns thus far this season.
Of the home match corner totals the top achievers are Aston Villa with a mammoth average of 17.75 corners per home match. Tottenham sit second with 14 per home match average followed by their London rivals Arsenal on 13.75.
At the lower end of the scale least flag kick action has been witnessed at the DW stadium with Wigan only averaging 6 corners per Premier League game though that figure is skewed by their match with Chelsea where amazingly no corners were won by either side. Other low home corner total teams surprisingly are Manchester Utd on 8 and Blackburn with 8.25.
In terms of home corners supremacy it’s no surprise to see the aforementioned Manchester United having gathered most flag-kicks in all four of their league matches at Old Trafford and Arsenal with the same record at the Emirates.
Arsenal look worth backing for handicap purposes averaging 10 corners at home and conceding 3.75. Liverpool have not lost on corners supremacy in front of the Kop this season winning four and drawing two and Spurs are also undefeated with three wins and two draws.
From the teams regarded as the lesser lights in the league West Bromwich Albion have won four from five corner counts at the Hawthorns stadium including the last four on the trot suggesting they have found their feet at home in the Premier League.
Wigan may have low counts but have won four, drawn two and lost none while Wolves are also strong on corners at home winning corner supremacy in three from four matches with the other game a tie. At the other end of the spectrum Fulham have not won corners supremacy in four home matches.
Away from home the largest number of match corner figures belong to Blackburn with an average of 16. They tend to concede a lot of flag kicks with an average loss of 9.8 per match and not one of their five away league matches have resulted in under 14 corners. Next highest average sees Arsenal on 15.8 corners per match. Manchester United average 14.5 corners per match away from home with Wigan on 14.33 both teams in contrast to their low home corner averages.
West Ham matches average 13.75 and London rivals Spurs sit on 13.25. West Bromwich Albion have lost all four away corner counts reflecting a more defensive strategy on their travels, likewise West Ham losing all five. One strange statistic is that of Wolves who have drawn all five corner counts away from Molineux including away to Chelsea on the weekend just past. Lowest corner count in away matches falls surprisingly to Chelsea with 6.75 although that figure is again skewed with there being no corners in the match away to Wigan. Sunderland and Birmingham are set up very tight on the road with match corner average counts of 7 and 7.5 respectively.
Two statistics which stand out for me are Wolves have not lost a corner count in the Premier League this season after nine matches played and for all that Owen Coyle has Bolton playing more attractive football than on show in recent years they have only won corners supremacy in one of their nine matches contested.
