The Premier League Punt –
Tottenham vs. Blackburn
They were spirited against Liverpool a few weeks ago but their away form remains dismal to say the least. In fact if the league was based on away results only, Blackburn would be in 18th position. They take on a Spurs side hungry for that fourth spot and the Liverpool loss on Monday would’ve given Harry and his men renewed confidence. Although City have a game in hand, Spurs still occupy that Champions League spot and a win will keep them there. I’m willing to back Rovers at Ewood Park any day, but won’t touch them away from home. A good win for Spurs to get our weekend off to a winning start!
Birmingham City vs. Everton
Birmingham will be devastated to be out of the F.A.Cup but they avenged their defeat by then going and beating Portsmouth in the league a few days later. McLeish will not let heads drop at St. Andrews, and they’ll return home where they have not lost since September. In fact, the Blues have only lost twice at St. Andrews all season. Everton are actually 2 points behind Birmingham in the league and like Blackburn, their away record does not make for pretty reading at all – Played 13, won 3, drawn 3, lost 7 !
In saying all of this though, oddly enough The Toffees are priced as favourites for this clash which we’re strongly backing against. Birmingham for the straight win at 17/10.
Bolton Wanderers vs. Wigan
They beat West Ham and Wolves but on either side of those great victories Bolton were handed thrashings by both Blackburn and Sunderland. (3-0, and 4-0 respectively) They return from the Stadium of Light with their tales firmly between their legs to entertain Wigan at the Reebok on Saturday. Wigan beat Liverpool on Monday evening, and even though Liverpool were shocking on the night, Wigan will take a lot of confidence from that result into this game. A victory for either side will leap frog them well away from the scrap happening below them but a point wouldn’t hurt either. Bolton will look to bounce straight back and Wigan… Well, you still don’t know what you are going to get with Wigan. We’re on the 11/5 stalemate.
Burnley vs. Wolves
Neither of these sides impress me at the moment and if they both went down I wouldn’t miss them next season. Burnley finally stopped a rot of five straight losses with a draw to Stoke midweek but that hardly dented their league position down in the bottom three. They desperately require a win form somewhere and this weekend presents a golden opportunity for the Clarets when they entertain Wolves. McCarthy’s men are hardly setting the world on fire no days are they? Three losses on the bounce mean they are also right in the thick of things at the bottom. Bear in mind though that two of those three were against Chelsea and United respectively and in the latter game they only lost by one. Burnley though are a different side at Turf Moor and if they can find some of their early season form they will be a tough nut for Wolves to crack. I’m backing the Clarets to win this massive 6 pointer in front of their passionate home supporters.
Chelsea vs. West Ham
United have leap frogged Chelsea at the top and are now two points ahead of the Blues having played one game more. This should be business as usual for the Londoners who won’t make a mistake this weekend. They simply can’t afford to. Their London neighbours probably won’t expect to get anything out of this match and to be honest probably won’t. Chelsea should win this one comfortably – To win by more than a goal on the handicap pays 4/6. To win by three or more will get you 8/5.
Stoke vs. Aston Villa
Stoke are out of the cup and pretty much safe in the league so I’m not too sure if there’s any mileage left for Stoke now and you’ll probably find the players will sub-consciously start ‘winding down’ to the summer break. Villa lost the Carling Cup to United but are well on track for another Wembley final appearance in the F.A version. They’ve also still got a chance of finishing fourth if they string a couple of results together. So spirits will be high in the O’Neill camp and against a Stoke outfit not looking that inspirational these days I’m willing to back the Villa away at 5/4.
Hull vs. Arsenal
Hull have now lost three on the bounce and in those three have scored one goal. It’s not looking great for poor ol’ Phil Brown and a return to the Championship is now a very real possibility after narrowly missing it last season. Arsenal demolished Porto midweek and are flying high at the moment. Quarter finals of the Champions League and only two points away from United, they’ll have the bit between their teeth now. Hull better have their A-Game on this weekend or they could get hammered. Do your self a favour and have a look at Arsenal’s run in to the end of the league – It’s littered with not exactly the biggest names of the game and at 13/5 they are a good bet for the title. With regards to this weekend though- Arsenal all the way. And by more than a goal you can get them at 11/10.
Manchester United vs. Fulham
This could be the nap of the weekend actually – Fulham were soundly beaten 3-1 by Juventus on Thursday night and will most probably have half an eye on the cup reply with Spurs next week. United on the other hand were clinical against Milan midweek and are flying high at the moment. This won’t be about the result it’s going to be about by how many – You can get United to win by three or more at 19/10, and by two or more at 3/4. Pick one depending on how adventurous you are.
Sunderland vs. Manchester City
Have Sunderland finally turned the corner? A 4-0 thrashing of Bolton seems to suggest they may have and Bruce will be a relieved man now that they’ve managed to get back to winning ways after waiting almost 4 months for a league victory. They take on one of the forerunners in the fight for fourth this weekend at The Stadium of Light. City are blowing a bit hot and cold at the moment – Besides for the win against Chelsea at the Bridge, they haven’t really turned too many heads – Draws against Liverpool and Stoke, a loss against Hull City and uninspiring victories against Pompey and Bolton of late do little to encourage us as punters. This is one of those games that could go either way really and any of the three results would not surprise me. Nothing much jumps out with the odds slightly ‘skewed’ because of the phenomenal midweek result for the Black Cats. If I was pressed for a winner I’d back Sunderland to continue their good work from Tuesday night.
Liverpool vs. Portsmouth
The Reds lost to Wigan on Monday and then followed that up by losing to Lille in the Europa Cup on Thursday night. They never scored in either and again things don’t look very good at Anfield again. They really do need to bounce back and bounce back well. You feel if they don’t that fourth spot will really be unattainable. Portsmouth are most certainly down and are 100% focused on their F.A.Cup semi final appearance in a couple of week’s time. You may just find that this is one of those games where the luck turns for the Reds and they take all the chances they create. Liverpool to win by more than a goal pays 8/11.
Weekend Quintuple:
A rather interesting but short odd quintuple – It’ll only pay out 5/2: United, Gunners, Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool. All to win in an accumulator. Go for it.
