Premiership Preview for the weekend 27/28 September 2008
Everton V Liverpool (Saturday 12.45pm)
By far the the most appealing game of the weekend as the Merseyside derby makes it's first appearance for the season. Everton will be the host in what is called the friendly Derby where both sets of fans mix in the stands but on the pitch is a totally different kettle of fish. There have been many red cards in the past when these sides have met and it is always a feisty affair which shouldn't be any different this weekend.
Everton will be pleased on the whole with their result last week against Hull considering that they were 2-0 down. Before the game i'm sure Moyes would have seen the game as a great opportunity to get 3 points. They haven't made the best of starts after picking up just 7 points from a possible 15 and have already had two home defeats against Blackburn and Portsmouth. They will be boosted by the return of Tim Cahill though who scored last weekend. They will need to up their performance if they are to get a result though and they should find it easy to get up for a game like this.
Liverpool will be gutted by last weekends result with Stoke at Anfield. A dull 0-0 draw was not expected by anyone and even though they had a dubious goal disallowed after just 2 minutes, they will be disappointed with the lack of clear cut chances they created. Steven Gerrard was rested for the Carling Cup clash with Crewe so should be fresh going into the game while Torres got a run out for 15 minutes in an attempt to get him back to full fitness. Robbie Keane is still to claim his first Liverpool goal and there is no better time to get one then against Everton this Saturday.
Liverpool completed the league double of Everton this year and we fancy them to do it again this time around. Everton have looked very vulnerable at the back this season and they will find it tough to keep the likes of Gerrard and Torres at bay and a Liverpool win at 6/5 with Skybet looks good value. Robbie Keane has to break his goalscoring duct soon as looks a decent punt at 6/1 with Bet365 to open the scoring.
(Saturday 3:00PM)
Aston Villa V Sunderland
Two sides coming off the back of wins meet as Sunderland make the trip to Villa Park to take on Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa. Two sides separated by just 3 points.
Aston Villa look the best of the rest so to speak and it looks as though they will be the ones that might challenge the so called big four along with the new rich boys Manchester City. They out played Spurs at White Hart Lane and duly deserved the win and the managed a good result at West Brom beating them 2-1. They have picked up two straight away wins and have to be full of confidence going into this game. They have two strikers in superb form with Agbonlahor on 4 goals for the season and John Carew on 3. The best striking partnership in the league at the moment.
Sunderland were a bit unfortunate not to get all 3 points against Wigan last weekend. They led up till the 80th minute when Zaki levelled for Wigan. Roy Keane has spent a lot over the summer on reinforcements and he will be expected to at least finish in mid-table and preferably in the top half. Keane won't be happy with the teams performance in mid-week though when they could only manage a draw in normal time against Northampton but did win eventually in extra time 3-2.
Aston Villa are the in form team and have been made 4/6 favourites with Partybets which look a good price. With both strikers in form it is hard to see them not making the score sheet and you can get around 6/4 with Bet365 for Gabriel Agbonlahor to score any time in the match.
Fulham V West Ham
West Ham make the short trip to Fulham in what looks a rather unattractive tie. Fulham hit a high after beating Arsenal and then Bolton to record their first back-to-back win of the season. West Ham on the other hand have picked up 9 points to put themselves in 6th position.
Fulham have won both of their first two home matches at Craven Cottage beating Arsenal 1-0 and Bolton 2-1. They looked very solid when they played Arsenal in what was their best team performance of the season so far. Andy Johnson is back from injury and will provide them with an alternative option in the final third while the in form Zolton Gera looks set to start just behind him. They were narrowly beaten last weekend at Ewood Park by Blackburn and will be looking to avoid their first back-to-back defeats of the season.
West Ham won't be happy with the heavy fine they will be given over their transfer of Carlos Tevez two seasons ago and could lose up to £30,000,000. Their performances on the pitch though have been decent but only at home. All of their 9 points gained this season have been at Upton park and have lost both of their two away games. A 3-0 drubbing to Manchester City and a open match against West Brom a fortnight ago ended 3-2 in West Brom's favour. They were comfortable winners against Newcastle last Saturday and new manager Gianfranco Zola will be looking for a similar performance as his side look to get their first points away from home for the season.
This is a tough one to call with neither side jumping out at me. The home side can be found at odds of 11/8 with Skybet which isn't a bad price for a home side in the premiership with West Ham 11/5 with Bet365. This could be a tight game and we will be neutral and stick out money on the draw at 9/4 with Bet365.
Manchester United V Bolton Wanderers
The current league champions haven't won since they beat Portsmouth 1-0 at Fratton Park over 3 weeks ago but won;t have a better opportunity then this Saturday when they face a Bolton Wanderers side that haven't won at Manchester United since 11 September 2002. Since then they have failed to pick up any points at Old Trafford which has to be a good omen for Ferguson men. Not that they should need one.
Manchester United narrowly went through in the Carling Cup in midweek when they saw off Middlesborough with a late Ryan Giggs goal. They have had two very tough fixtures of late with playing both Liverpool and Chelsea away. They were outplayed at Anfield but they were more then a match for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Vidic will be banned for the game so Gary Neville or John O'Shea may fill in. Christiano Ronaldo is back but is lacking fitness and may take a couple of games before he is back to his full self. Manchester United are 7 points behind league leaders Arsenal with a game in hand but they cannot afford to drop any more points.
Bolton started the season brightly when beating Stoke City 4-1 at home but haven't matched that performance when they have travelled. They have lost both of their two away matches losing 1-0 to Newcastle United and 2-1 to Fulham. Johan Elmander may start after recovering from his injury but they still lack a prolific striker that will score regularly. Kevin Davies scored the opening goal on Saturday evening when they went down 3-1 at the Reebok to Arsenal but he doesn't score enough. Bolton will go to Old Trafford with a defensive mentality and they will have to defend extremely well if they are to get a result.
Manchester United are short priced favourites at 13/50 with Centrebet but should be a safe bet. They don't represent much value but they are 4/6 with Skybet to make a good start and win HT/FT. I can't see anything other then a home win and we fancy Manchester United to come out of the blocks early.
Middlesborough V West Brom
Gareth Southgate will be licking his lips at the opportunity of getting 3 points this Saturday when they welcome West Brom to the Riverside. A tie which has seen Middlesborough win 4 of the last 6 games between the two sides. However, they last time these sides did meet at the Riverside ended 2-2 in 2005.
Middlesborough have had some unlucky results this season with defeats at Liverpool and Sunderland in matches which they deserved a result. Stewart Downing missed a second half penalty against Sunderland which led to Sunderland going on to win the match 2-0. Their home form is very good so far with two straight victory's. Beating both Tottenham and Stoke City by a 2-1 scoreline. Southgate will be disappointed with Alves performances of late and the Brazilian striker has yet to score this season.
West Brom have yet to win after two away games. They were slightly unlucky losing 1-0 to Arsenal on the opening day and had a good opportunity to get the win at Bolton when it ended 0-0. Two first half goals saw them go down 2-1 at home to Aston Villa last weekend and Tony Mowbray will be looking for a much better display if his side are to get a decent result against Middlesborough this Saturday.
Middlesborough should really win this match and at 4/5 with Bet365 looks fantastic value. Stewart Downing missed a penalty last weekend but at 12/1 to open the scoring with Bet365, we will punt on him to make amends this Saturday,
Newcastle V Blackburn Rovers
Newcastle fans will reluctantly welcome Blackburn Rovers to St. James Park this Saturday as Newcastle look for their first win since the 23rd August. Over a month ago when they narrowly beat Bolton at home.
Newcastle are club in turmoil right now with the Chairman desperately trying to sell the club while the players on the pitch fail week after week to get a victory. Their midweek game against Tottenham in the Carling Cup saw their lowest ever attendance of just over 20,000. I is clear that the fans have lost patience with everything at Newcastle. Their performances of late have been abysmal with 3 straight defeats including a 2-1 defeat to Hull City. Possibly the shock result of the league so far. They are still without a permanents manager and the players morale must be at a all time low in this moment in time.
Paul Ince will see this as a great opportunity to get 3 points on the board against a side in disarray right now. They will come into the game on the back of a 1-0 win to Fulham last weekend at Ewood Park but they were comfortably beaten in their last away game 4-1 by West Ham and were thrashed by Arsenal 4-1 at home two weeks ago. Blackburn have yet to hit the sort of form they had last year which seen them finish 7th. Roque Santa Cruz isn't scoring and they lack the creativity of David Bentley who was sold to Tottenham over the summer.
This match could really go either way with neither side in sparkling form right now. Newcastle have too many problems and it seems to be getting to the players so we will edge towards Blackburn for this game. The away side are 47/25 with Bet365 but wouldn't recommend lumping on either side.
Stoke V Chelsea
Chelsea go into this away game with Stoke in fantastic form. They were brilliant against Portsmouth on Wednesday beating Pompey 4-0 at Fratton Park. They came back from 1-0 to draw 1-1 with title rivals Manchester United in Sundays big clash but overcame the threat of Manchester City at the City of Manchester two weeks ago beating them 3-1.
Didier Drogba is back for the blues in what has to be a huge boost for Scolari. Nicolas Anelka hasn't done enough in the lone striker role and it would appear Drogba will go straight back into the fray this Saturday. It is rather frightening that they have done so well without him so he will add even more attacking options to a side who has already scored 17 goals this season. One small ray of light for the home side will be that Chelsea have conceded one goal in their last three league games but they have managed to score more in return.
Stoke did amazingly well last weekend to get a draw at Anfield despite conceding after just two minutes to see the goal ruled out for offside. They were fortunate as it looked a perfectly good goal. They are very strong especially in the air and Rory Delap's throw ins could cause Chelsea some problems this Saturday. They will be a threat from Set pieces but i can't see them creating enough chances in open play to cause Chelsea any problems.
This should be a safe away win for Chelsea. They have looked superb this season and are 2/5 on with Bet365 to win against Stoke. That looks a good bet despite the short odds. We fancy Chelsea to put Stoke to the sword very early on in the match so get on them at HT/FT at odds of Evens with Skybet.
Arsenal V Hull City (Saturday 5:30PM Setanta Sports 1)
Hull City will be looking forward to their trip to the Emirate despite being classed as the underdogs for the match. Arsenal are currently top and are playing some extravagant football but Hull have also been getting some decent results and will be looking to prove a few wrong on Saturday.
Arsenal played the youngest ever side in the Carlin Cup on Tuesday and they were magnificent. They played fantastic football and their finishing was sublime. Yes they were playing against a side that are 15th in the league below but their overall performance was immense. They did well to overcome Bolton last weekend when they fell behind early to a Kevin Davies goal after just 14 minutes. They had the strength of mind to come back and win the game 3-1 to put themselves top of the league above Chelsea and Liverpool. They had a small blip when they played Fulham away but other then that they have been performing well and look the best side in the league with the exception of Chelsea.
Hull have surpassed all expectations so far and have surprisingly picked up 8 points from a possible 15. They showed their inexperience last weekend when they let a 2-0 lead slip against Everton. Their win over Newcastle was very good but Wigan have already showed that Hull City can be beaten when they thrashed them 5-0 at Hull and with Arsenal in the form they are in, we can't see anything other then a home win.
Arsenal are justified favourites at ¼ with Centrebet and look a safe bet for the win. Arsenal shouldn't have too many problems this Saturday and at 8/13 with Skybet for Arsenal to win HT/FT looks good value.
Portsmouth V Tottenham (Sunday 1:00PM Sky Sports)
Harry Redknapp's Portsmouth get set to welcome Juande Ramos's Tottenham to Fratton park with both sides eager to get a crucial three points in search of a European spot next season. This is a match which in the past has seen Tottenham get the better results. Spurs have won the 7 meetings between the two sides with the last game being played at Fratton Park ending 1-0 to Spurs. They also completed a league double over them last year beating them 2-0 at White Hart Lane.
Portsmouth have had some very tricky opening fixtures and haven't picked up many points from them. They lost narrowly at home to Manchester United 1-0, 4-0 to Chelsea on the opening day and were thumped 6-0 by Manchester City at the City of Manchester stadium. Harry will also be disappointed with their recent performance against Chelsea in the Carling Cup on Wednesday which seen his side roll over and gift Chelsea the match which ended 4-0 to Chelsea. They have another tricky match against a side who have yet to win the league this season.
Tottenham were disappointing when they last played in the league drawing 0-0 at home to Wigan. They have spent a lot over the summer but Ramos's side has yet to really gel and start playing the football that everyone is expecting. They got a very good result at St. James Park on Wednesday beating Newcastle 2-1 which seen Pavyluchenko score his first spurs goal. Their last away game saw them pick up a decent point at Chelsea and Ramos's will be looking for an even better performance this Saturday when his side look to get their first win of the season.
Portsmouth have had some terrible results of late and have a few key players with knocks. Tottenham should come good after a good result in midweek and they are our pick for the match at 9/4 with Skybet.
Wigan V Manchester City (Sunday 4:00PM Sky Sports)
Wigan Athletic welcome the new rich boys to the JJB stadium when they meet Mark Hughes's Manchester City side. Two sides with two completely different objectives for the season but both have the same target for this match which is to get a vital 3 points.
Wigan will go into this home match off the back of two decent results. They comfortably beat Championship side Ipswich 4-1 at Portman Road while got a very good draw at White lane drawing 0-0 with Tottenham Hotspur. Steve Bruce has a good set up going at the moment with Valencia and Palacios bombing down the wings and whipping in crosses at every opportunity for the likes of Heskey and Zaki. Heskey has had a few knocks but Zaki has hit the ground running score 4 in 5 matches.
Manchester City demolished Portsmouth last Sunday 6-0 which seen Wright-Philips and Robinho score a goal each. They played some very good football at a phenomenal pace. Wright Philips and Robinho down the wings looks to be a scary proposition and could cause most teams a serious problem this season. They were completely outplayed in their last home game when they lost 3-1 to Chelsea and Hughes will be disgusted with his sides defeat in the Carling Cup to league one outfit Brighton after City lost on penalties. Despite that, they do go into the game with the better form and have the better squad and should really win.
Manchester City have been made favourites with Bet365 at 69/50. On the other hand odds of 12/5 for Wigan at Skybet are tempting. This one depends on your risk attitude, if you have an aversion to risk, you possibly should not bet on this one. In any case Manchester City have the ability to score at will while i can't see Wigan not getting at least one at home. Over 2.5 goals is 62/53 with Canbet.Labels: premier-league-betting, premier-league-preview
Posted by soccerbetting.info @ 1:31 PM
 
<< Home
| 
