Premier League – The Weekend Preview

Aston Villa v Everton – Saturday 15.00 Villa have the advantage of a few days rest since their last game where they overcame Bristol Rovers to progress to the fourth round, Everton also progressed but had to play again in midweek against Tottenham. After a 2-0 loss there Everton will be glad of the chance to get out on the pitch and do their best to pick up some points. Both sides have their fair share of injuries but both should be able to put out a reasonable side in this match, Shay Givens possible return would give a boost to Villa although his stand in Brad guzan hasn’t done too badly in the Irishmans absence.  Everton have added to their squad with the purchase of Darron Gibson and the loan signing of Landon Donovan but their defence is looking stretched right now with Jagielka out and Distin ruled out of this one. I’m not expecting a game for the purists here and there may not be a lot of excitement on offer, I watched Everton play midweek against Tottenham and they didn’t exactly sparkle,  it’s not hard to look at this one and predict a draw, the odds aren’t great at around 3.3 so I guess the bookies have the same idea as I do.  If I felt like pushing the boat out and taking a risk I’d be going for the odds of 3 available for the under 1.5 goals market but I’m not going to take the risk here.  My prediction?  A draw. Joses View Two out of form sides meet at Villa Park in what is sure to be a close game. Both sides are really struggling for goals, Villa have only scores 5 goals in their last 9 games and 3 of those came in 1 game which was a shock away win at Chelsea. Emile Heskey is out so I suppose you could look at that being a plus for Villa. Villa have lost their last 4 home games but 3 of those games were against Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, the other being Swansea. Everton have only 1 win at Villa Park in 19 premier league meetings and their recent form suggests this wont be easy. I can see this game being played out as a draw, under 2.5 goals.   Blackburn v Fulham – Saturday 15.00 Blackburn have undergone a mini renaissance recently with good results against both Liverpool and Manchester United, perversely I think that actually harms their chances of winning this match as there is no chance the Fulham team will be taking this game lightly now. Blackburn have done well to bring through some younger players and blood them in big matches, Bunn looks solid in goal and Henley also looks a good player.  I hope for their sake they have a young centre back of similar quality coming through as with Samba looking like he’s heading to London one way or another, they are going to need someone to play in the centre and Danns unfortunate injury (ouch) means he will be out for a while yet. Fulham look to have finally settled under Martin Jol and results have turned in their favour, a deserved win against Arsenal and a stroll against Charlton in the Cup mean that they go into this game in good form.  Schwarzer may still be missing but they have a very able deputy in Stockdale to hold the fort. This is another “no-bet” game for me as Blackburn could be highly impressive or they could revert to early season form,  I think the doubt surrounding certain players futures at the club will swing things in favour of Fulham so i’m tipping a Fulham win but won’t be putting any money on it. Joses View Blackburn seem to be performing much better on their travels and I would put that down to the lack of animosity being heard from the stands. At Ewood Park the fans don’t seem to be backing their team or manager and that is definitely playing a part. they currently sit rock bottom of the league and only 1 home win since September. Fulham on the other hand are unbeaten in 3 games and 2 of those were against Chelsea and Arsenal, they salvaged a late comeback to beat Arsenal 2-1 at home last time out. An early goal would get an already irritated home support even more irritated and that would play straight into Fulham’s hands. I fancy a Fulham victory here, maybe by the odd goal.   Chelsea v Sunderland – Saturday 15.00 This one is a tough one to call for me (maybe it’s just me), Chelsea flit between the side that can hand Manchester City their first league loss and the side that draws against Wigan and loses to Aston Villa. Sunderland are experiencing the new manager bounce and I see no reason why it can’t continue, ok they don’t have a reliable striker to call on and their defence can occasionally creak but up against a Chelsea side that will be without Drogba or Kalou and will be relying on the horribly out of form Torres to score their goals, who knows what will happen. Of course that’s doing a disservice to Daniel Sturridge who, along with Mata, has been Chelseas bright spark this season. Chelsea really need to win, Sunderland don’t want to lose lest they get sucked back into the relegation dogfight just as it starts to heat up. Bookies are heavily fancying Chelsea for the win here and I agree with them, no bet though as the odds are too short. Joses View Great game in store at Stamford Bridge. A revitalised Sunderland side look a completely different outfit since Martin O Neill took over, their playing with a lot of confidence, very well organised and defending for their lives as Manchester City can vouch for. I see the game being a tight one but Chelsea have won only 4 of their last 9 games in all competitions at home and kept just 1 clean sheet in their last 12 home league games. Both sides a few injury problems and Chelsea have lost Drogba and Kalou to the African Nations. Im going to go with a draw for this one, 2-2 maybe?   Liverpool v Stoke – Saturday 15.00 Those of you that follow the SBR videos we participate in will already know about Oddsmakers tip for this one, he’s gone for the under 2.5 goals market, if he hadn’t already gone there, I would have, Stoke are a decent side who can struggle away from home where they get vociferous backing.  Liverpool are missing their best striker and Andy Carroll just isn’t cutting it at the club right now. The bookies have this one at 1.44 for a Liverpool win, I can actually see this game ending in a draw so I’m going to be laying those odds with a few of my own hard earned pounds.   Joses View Liverpool will take a lot of confidence from their 1st half performance at Manchester City midweek but just where are the goals going to come from? Andy Carroll is suffering from a complete lack of confidence and that will only come by banging the goals in, but in order to score goals he needs service and thats something hes not really been getting. Steven Gerrard being back in the side will certainly help his cause. Now to Stoke, the worlds greatest pub team are performing quite well this season with their direct style of play, only 1 defeat in 8 games and 5 wins in the process, strong at the back with Huth and Shawcross and they now have Peter Crouch getting into goalscoring form, they are certainly hard to beat. I can see a draw at Anfield.   Manchester United v Bolton – Saturday 15.00 Manchester United are easily the strongest favourites for all of the weekends games and after they slipped up over the Christmas period, you just know that they are going to be up for this one.  Bolton are, I believe, strong enough to get out of their current relegation troubles but I don’t think they are going to be picking up any points here to help themselves. Rio Ferdinand will be doing his boss a big favour if he can shake off a stomach problem and be fit enough to feature in this one, he may not be the commanding presence he once was but he is still a top defender and United could really do with one of those right now. Bolton will have a chance if Ferdinand is out and Kevin Davies starts, not many defenders can cope with the Bolton front mans physical game but Jones may be one who relishes that kind of battle, that would mean a space opening up in central midfield though. No bet for me as the odds just don’t offer enough value for the Manchester United win I expect. Joses View United have 2 League defeats on the bounce to put right here, and I certainly expect them to do just that. Bolton really are in deep trouble although winning their last 2 away games has given them a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. United cannot afford to slip up here if they are to keep the pressure on leaders City. I expect United to run out comfortable winners.     Tottenham v Wolverhampton – Saturday 15.00 Tottenham have been in great form since their loss to Stoke a while back, they are now sitting level with Manchester United on points at the top end of the table, most Spurs fans would be very happy for the season to end now, guaranteeing them participation in next seasons Champions League group stages. Instead they are going to have to continue to navigate matches like this and Wolves will certainly be a match for them. Wolves have often proved to be a thorn in Tottenhams side, often coming along and putting a pin in their good form, if Spurs can pick up all the points here then certainly the jokes about Tottenhams soft centre can be put away for a while. I don’t bet on Tottenham matches generally but I would take a look at the odds for a 2-1 home win.   Joses View In my opinion Tottenham are playing some of the best football on the continent right now. Nobody before the start of the campaign expected them to be challenging for the title but thats exactly what they are doing. I love the width that they play with, Lennon down one side and Bale down the other it really does cause all sorts of problems for the full backs. Wolves have been performing quite well this season without getting the results, only 1 defeat in 4 but no wins. I think they will be outclassed here.   West Brom v Norwich – Saturday 15.00 Both of these sides are well organized and led by very smart managers, one I think is destined for the England job after the summer and the other is destined to one day be a manager of a very big club, no prizes for guessing who is who! West Brom will be hoping that Mulumbu will be fit in time to start in this match and add steel to their midfield, the Baggies have a host of other injuries and players that are rated doubtful including Shane Long who has to be one of the buys of the season. I’m sure Norwich fans would be happier if De Laet was going to be fit enough for this one but it looks as though this particular match has come just a little too soon for him. I can see this game being a high scoring affair with the home side coming out on top so I’m going for two bets in this game, a West Brom home win at 2.1 with Bet365 and over 2.5 goals at 1.83 with BWin. Joses View Tricky game at the Hawthorns, Norwich have only 1 defeat in 6 games and are performing really well as their 9th place position would suggest. Shane Long returns from injury for West Brom to partner Odemwingie up front and I think that could be the partnership that will see them take the 3 points. Norwich are yet to keep a clean sheet all season and I think that run will continue here. Home win for me.     Newcastle V Queens Park Rangers – Sunday 13.30 Sundays early game has me rooting for the home side, not because I’m a particular fan of Newcastle, I’m not although I do appreciate the work that is being done up there.  Instead I just want to see Q.P.R. beaten as a point of principle, at the start of the season when the club was sold, assurances were made that Warnock would stay in charge because “he was the right man for the job”, Neil Warnock might have his critics but very few can say that the job he did at Q.P.R. was not exemplary, they were a side seriously underperforming when he took them over and he took them to promotion, he then brought in a few experienced heads and has made them reasonably tough to beat, they have had some very good performances this season and been unlucky at times. So, I’m hoping for a Newcastle win but as I always say that emotion and betting needs to be kept strictly seperate, I won’t be betting. Joses View Could we see the new manager factor bounce straight into action here at the Sports Direct Arena? Not for me! When 34 year old Heidar Helguson is your top goalscorer you know you have problems. He has 8 goals and next on the list is Joey Barton with 2, they just dont score enough and thats represented in their league postion. Both sides have players out, Newcastle are missing Ba and Tiote and QPR are missing Taarabt and Traore all to the African Nations. Joey Barton suspended for return to his former club. Home win.     Swansea v Arsenal – Sunday 16.00 Swansea have proven to be a tough side to crack at the Liberty Stadium, their performances there have been exemplary and not many sides have come away with all the points, it’s not been down to defensive tactics either, Swansea play some great football and have a few class acts in their side, Joe Allan in particular has really impressed me this season and I’m sure a few clubs have their eye on him for a summer transfer.  Swansea also have pace and guile on the wings with Dyer and Sinclair flourishing in the Premier League. Arsenal also have plenty of pace on the flanks, or at least they did until Gervinho went off on international duty, now the misfiring Russian Arshavin will get another chance to show his capabilities, if he can be bothered. Of course everyone wants to see if Thierry Henry can still cut it at this level,  I think he still has the finishing ability even if he doesn’t have the searing pace that so used to frighten defenders.  If Arsenals wingers can do his running for him, I think Henry will get chances and if he gets on the pitch, I wouldn’t put it past him to notch a goal. In the end I think this game will end in either a draw or a narrow Arsenal win,  my ability to pick a winner in games involving Arsenal is rubbish so no bet for me but I’ll say an Arsenal win in any case. Joses View The Liberty Stadium has been suprisingly a tough place to go to this season. Swansea have only 1 defeat at home and that was against Champions Manchester United, Brendan Rodgers really has got them organised and difficult to beat. Having said that, Arsenal should be too strong here, the loan signing of a certain Mr Henry seems to have given the whole club a lift and with RVP on the form hes in I expect Arsenal to sneak this by the odd goal.]]>