Premiership Preview by Matthew Chapple (1-2 November) (Thursday, October 30, 2008)

Premiership Fixtures - Saturday 1st/ Sunday 2nd November 2008 Everton V Fulham - Saturday 12:45PM Sky Sports 1 Everton manager David Moyes will have seen some positives in their performance against Manchester United last weekend and will be hoping his players improve on that result and pick up some vital points against Fulham this Saturday. With both sides sitting just above the drop zone, both will be eager to claim all three points. Everton's result against Manchester United last Saturday will have provided David Moyes with some positives and negatives. His side were abysmal in the opening 45 minutes but vastly improved in the second half to draw level and earn a respectable point against the current league champions. If they are to get the result which most punters expect this coming Saturday then they have to make a better start then they did last weekend. Their passing in the first half was poor while their defence was left exposed on several occasions. Fulham may not be a free scoring side right now but another first half performance like that could see Fulham spring a surprise. Roy Hodgeson takes his Fulham side to Merseyside in search of points in what looks a tough task despite Everton not performing to their full potential. They managed to pick up their first away point on Sunday against Portsmouth but it did little to their overall position in the table. Their previous 3 away league fixtures have seen them pick up no points and conceded 5 with just 2 in return. Early league performances indicate that Fulham will find survival tough this season. A lack of goals seems to be the key issue after scoring just 6 goals from their opening 8 league fixtures. Andy Johnson appeared to be a half decent capture from their match opponents Everton but he has hardly featured after injuries. It is hard to look elsewhere for regular goalscorers in the Fulham squad. Match odds - Everton 4/5 Bet365 Draw 13/5 Paddypower Fulham 9/2 Paddypower Prediction - Draw Chelsea V Sunderland - Saturday 15:00PM Luis Felipe Scolari will be in unfamiliar ground after his Chelsea side suffered an early blow to their Premiership title bid. Liverpool broke their 4 year undefeated home record to go 3 points clear of Chelsea at the top of the table. With that result in mind, the win today will be even more crucial against a Sunderland side that last beat Chelsea back in 2001. The last 7 league fixtures between the two sides have gone Chelsea's way. A trend Roy Keane will be desperate to buck this Saturday. The narrow home defeat to Liverpool at Stamford Bridge will be a massive blow for the Chelsea players and Scolari will have to find a way of getting his players to put that result behind them and fired up for the match against Sunderland. The match itself was a fairly even contest with deflected Alonso strike goal giving Liverpool all the spoils. Their second half performance though left a lot to be desired and Liverpool could have stretched their lead further. Bar that result they have been performing superbly and are justified favourites for the match. They attack in numbers and rarely miss guilt edge chances. I do have my concerns about their main source of goals in Nicolas Anelka. He doesn't work hard enough for me to get into goalscoring positions. The sooner Didier Drogba returns, the better for Chelsea. Roy Keane will be delighted with his sides recent result against close rivals Newcastle on Saturday. The second of the early kick off's seen Sunderland take the spoils 2-1 and move into the top half of the table. They are also undefeated in 3 league games but have just the one away victory this season against an out of sorts Tottenham at the start of the season. Roy Keane does tend to set his side up rather defensively when they play away and against a top side in Chelsea we expect something similar this Saturday. Good service to the pacey Djibril Cisse could be key if they are to cause Chelsea any problems. Match odds - Chelsea 2/9 Coral Draw 5/1 Paddypower Sunderland 15/1 Paddypower Prediction - Chelsea Manchester United V Hull City - Saturday 15:00PM Sir Alex Ferguson probably never though his side would be welcoming a side such as Hull City to Old Trafford for a Premiership fixture but that day has come and Hull City have fully deserved to be their judging by their early performances in the league. Manchester United cannot afford to drop any further behind leaders Liverpool and will be looking to damper Hull's recent high spirits this Saturday afternoon. Manchester United started brightly against Everton at the weekend but their lack lustred second half performance cost them all three points as they let Everton back into the game. That result has left them 8 points a drift of Liverpool and 5 points behind their match opponents Hull. They simply cannot afford to drop points and we expect them to go out all guns blazing this Saturday. Cristiano Ronaldo picked up the World Player of the Year award on Monday but has yet to put in a display which seen his achieve that award. It would appear that the defenders has clocked his skilful ways and he is heavily marked nowadays. Wayne Rooney though is in a rich vein of form and will be a key player for the home side this weekend. They have so many attacking options with the likes of Rooney, Ronaldo, Berbatov, Giggs and Tevez and aren't shy in front of goal. Hull City just can't help but surprise the footballing nation week in week out and have raced to third in the league table. Level on points with Chelsea and just three behind leaders Liverpool. Their 3-0 away win over West Brom at the weekend didn't provide a fair reflection on what was a tight game. Once Hull scored the opener though West Brom defence just opened up and Hull City ran out comfortable winners. They are also on a four match win streak in the league picking up wins against 3 London clubs in Arsenal, Tottenham and West Ham. They have yet to lose away from home and there is nothing stopping them from pulling off another remarkable result this Saturday. Match odds - Manchester United ¼ Bet365 Draw 5/1 Coral Hull City 15/1 Paddypower Prediction - Man United Middlesborough V West Ham - Saturday 15:00PM Gareth Southgate'ss Middlesborough side will have to recover from conceding a late goal on Saturday evening against Blackburn to face Gianfranco Zola's West Ham side at The Riverside. A match which has seen West Ham win the previous three league encounters between the two sides with Middlesborough last victory over West Ham at home coming in 2006. Middlesborough were desperately unlucky not to hang on in the match with Blackburn on Saturday evening. That match summed up Middlesborough's start to the season. They have put in some valiant displays in the league only to drop points late on. Their last home game will also be a massive weight on the players shoulders after they were smashed for five by Chelsea two weeks ago. A match which could have seen Chelsea possibly reach double figures for goals. We are shocked by the start Alfonso Alves has made to the season. We had high expectations for the forward but he has yet to spark into life although did pick up his side's only goal at the weekend. West Ham fans will be bitterly disappointed with their sides 2-0 home defeat to Arsenal on Sunday. They gave as good as they had for an hour but collapsed within the final third of the game to throw away, what could have been a decent point. West Ham do look weak up front and we did expect Arsenal to come away from Upton park with the points but West Ham put up more of a fight then we expected. They passed the ball around nicely which is something they haven't done in their previous games. If they can get the ball down and provide decent service to Craig Bellamy then they could have a chance. They will be without the suspended Carlton Cole though after he was sent off late on in the match with Arsenal. Match odds - Middlesborough 11/10 Bet365 Draw 23/10 Paddypower West Ham 13/5 Paddypower Prediction - Draw Portsmouth V Wigan Athletic - Saturday 15:00PM A manager-less Portsmouth will welcome Steve Bruce's Wigan side to Fratton park this Saturday afternoon in a bid to put their poor 0-0 draw against Fulham at the weekend well behind them along with the loss of their manager Harry Redknapp. Wigan on the other hand will have to bounce back from a humiliating home defeat to Aston Villa. Last season Portsmouth completed the league double over Wigan. Something Steve Bruce will be desperate amend. Portsmouth football club and its fans have had to deal with a difficult week after losing their beloved manager to Tottenham on the eve of their game with Fulham. That off the pitch matter obviously didn't help and Portsmouth suffered, dropping two points at home to Fulham. Before that game they were looking bright and on the up. Jermaine Defoe and Peter Crouch were forming a good partnership up front while their defence was keeping it tight at the back conceding just 1 in three. The midweek defeat to Braga will undoubtedly have left the players exhausted both physically and mentally. Wigan were awful at the weekend when Aston Villa hammered them at the JJB. Wigan never came close to threatening Martin O'Neill's side and they looked especially vulnerable at the back. Something which hasn't been a problem up until now. Martin O'Neill may have exposed one of Wigan weaknesses in using pace to break through the Wigan rearguard. They couldn't handle Agbonlahor at times. That result meant they have now lost three league games on the bounce and have dropped down into 15th in the league. If they put in another below par performance this Saturday then they could see themselves free falling in the league table. Match odds - Portsmouth 10/11 Paddypower Draw 12/5 Bet365 Wigan Athletic 10/3 Coral Prediction - Portsmouth Stoke V Arsenal - Saturday 15:00PM Arsene Wenger takes his Arsenal youngsters to Stoke this Saturday in search of three vital points which will keep his side in touch of the league leaders. Stoke on the other hand will be desperate to pick up points after dropping into 18th position in the league table after losing 3-0 away to Manchester City. This will be the first time these two sides have met in the league with both sides eager for a good result. Steve Pulis will have foreseen a tough season ahead but will have hoped his side will have picked up a few more points then they currently have done. Two wins and one draw leaves them with just 7 points from their opening 9 league fixtures. They also posses the second worse defensive record in the league with 18 and do struggle for goals in open play. Their main source of goals tends to come from set plays and against a side in Arsenal who like to play football. They could struggle. Arsenal have made an inconsistent start to the league campaign having picked up a respectable 19 points from a maximum of 27. They do however find themselves 4 points off league leaders Liverpool and have already lost twice this season with one of those defeats being at the Emirates. Since that defeat they have upped their performances some what having come from behind to draw with Sunderland and picking up some decent wins over Everton and West Ham. Adebayor is starting to look like a threat in front of goal once more while Fabregas has returned to his usual sprightly self in the centre of midfield. If they play the fast flowing football that we are used to then Stoke could find it hard to hold out for the full 90 minutes. Match odds - Stoke - 15/2 Paddypower Draw 10/3 Paddypower Arsenal 8/15 Coral Prediction - Arsenal West Brom V Blackburn Rovers - Saturday 15:00PM Tony Mowbray prepares his West Brom side for a tough match against Paul Ince's Blackburn side this weekend. With both sides failing to pick up three points at home on the previous weekend, both will be eager to make amends and bring home the bacon this Saturday. West Brom were completely out played in the second half on Saturday losing 3-0 to Hull City. A match they would have seen as a great opportunity for three points and a chance to push away from the bottom three. They now find themselves just 3 points off the drop zone and another slip could see them falling straight into the positions no one wants to be in. They can get the ball down and play football but they fail to put the chances they do create away. If they are to get something from this match then they will need to dramatically improve in front of goal. Blackburn will be disappointed with the draw with Middlesborough at Ewood Park on Saturday despite scoring late into injury time to earn the point. Middlesborough don' travel to well and it was a fantastic chance for Paul Ince's side to pick up some valuable three points. After that result they find themselves in mid table with one of the poorer goalscoring records in the league currently. Roque Santa Cruz has yet to hit the sort of form which seen him score on a regular basis while David Bentley on the wing is already proving a massive loss. Match odds - West Brom 6/4 Skybet Draw 9/4 Bet365 Blackburn Rovers 9/5 Paddypower Prediction - draw Tottenham Hotspur V Liverpool - Saturday 17:30PM Setanta Sports 1 New Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp will be looking for another league victory when his side host the in form side of Liverpool at White Hart Lane. A match which will be made more interesting by the return of Robbie Keane to his old stomping ground. A match which Liverpool haven't lost in 8 straight league games. Tottenham will be in a rather buoyant mood after securing their first league victory of the campaign and will be eager to push out of the drop zone with a win over Liverpool this Saturday. With a new regime in place they should steer well away from the bottom three in time. Although they do have some tough matches to contend with first. They still look a tad shaky at the back and their forwards still lack that cutting edge in front of goal. Harry Redknapp's boys will need to be playing 110% if they are to get anything from this tough fixture. Liverpool are now the in form team and other are already starting to take notice. They are undefeated in the league still and have been getting wins without one of their key players available in Fernando Torres. Their defence is playing remarkable while their talisman, Steven Gerrard is on top of his game. Their victory over Chelsea is by far their best result of the season and that should spur them on even further. The confidence will be with the reds and we would be surprised if they were to lose their unbeaten start to Spurs. Match odds - Tottenham 3/1 Coral Draw 12/5 Bet365 Liverpool Evens Bet365 Prediction - Liverpool Bolton Wanderers V Manchester City - Sunday 16:00PM Sky Sports 1 Gary Megson's Bolton side will need to make a quick recovery after being the first team in the league to lose to Tottenham on Saturday. Mark Hughes on the other hand will be hoping to continue their form and pick up another valuable three points in search of European football next term. Bolton had several chances against Tottenham but failed to convert any and paid the penalty. The sending off didn't help but they didn't really deserve anything form the game. Their main problem at the moment is their options up front. We doubt Johan Elmander's striking ability and struggle to see where the goals will come from for Bolton. To make matters worse their defence isn't too strong neither and they have the perfect formula for relegation. This will be a very tough match for Bolton. Manchester City were very impressive against Stoke City at home but have let themselves down on occasions. Especially on their travels. They will be looking for Robinho to carry his goalscoring form into this match with the little play maker scoring 4 in two matches for the blues. Four wins from 9 has left them in 8th position which is below where they want to be but they have showed more in the last few matches then Bolton have and we expect Manchester City to really push Bolton this Sunday. Match odds - Bolton Wanderers 21/10 Bet365 Draw 12/5 Coral Manchester City 69/50 Bet365 Prediction - Man City Labels: premier-league-betting, premier-league-preview, premiership-betting, premiership-preview Posted by soccerbetting.info @ 4:23 PM

Premiership Preview by Matthew Chapple (25/26 October) (Thursday, October 23, 2008)

Premiership Preview for the weekend 25/26 October 2008 Everton V Manchester United (Saturday, 25 October, 12pm) Sir Alex Ferguson's men make the short trip to Merseyside this Saturday when they take on the blue side of Liverpool in Everton at Goodison Park. The match will be live on Sky Sports in what should be a lively encounter. A match which has seen Manchester United dominate in recent years winning 9 of the previous 12 league matches between the two sides. Everton go into this tough home fixture in terrible form having gone without a win for 4 games picking up just 8 points from their opening 8 league games. Defeats in the league to Arsenal and Liverpool weren't too surprising but dropping points at home to Newcastle and only managing a draw at Hull will have left some fans bitter. It would appear that their defence is at fault for their recent poor run of results. They have conceded a total of 18 goals so far from just 8 games. That is over 2 a game and currently the worst defensive record in the Premiership. The lack of signings over the summer seems to be telling and they already appear to be losing their grip over fifth position. Manchester United made a rather sketchy start but have slowly started to get back into gear. They thrashed West Brom at the weekend to record their third successive league victory and progress up the table into fifth. Wayne Rooney has been scoring goals for fun of late and against a side with a poor defensive record, we fancy him to bag another. Christiano Ronaldo has been back to full fitness for a while now but has yet to hit the sort of form which seen him score over 40 goals in just one season. Fergie should have no fresh injury worries and will look to field a full strength side this Saturday. Everton's defence is too vulnerable right now to be backing them and a Manchester United away win at 8/13 with Skybet looks decent value. This will be an open affair and the odds of for their to be 3 or more goals in the match looks great value at 4/5 with Bet365. Sunderland V Newcastle (Saturday, 25 October, 12.45pm) A local Derby in Tyneside as Newcastle make the short trip to the Stadium of Light to face Roy Keane's Sunderland side who have never beaten Newcastle in the Premiership. Their best ever result in the league came last season when they managed to draw 1-1 at home against the Magpies. Sunderland could only manage a point at the weekend against Fulham and they find themselves in the bottom half of the table in 12th position. Their home form this season has been inconsistent with their last home fixture ending 1-1 against Arsenal. They did however lose both of their first two home league games but did follow that up with a win over Middlesborough. The loan of Djibril Cisse looks to be a good capture as he adds pace to their attack while it is good to see Kieran Richardson back to full fitness and was desperately unlucky not to score on Saturday when he had a perfectly good goal ruled out. Newcastle have finally started to pick up points and did surprisingly well on Monday to pick up a point after going down to 10 men after just 15 minutes. They were slightly unfortunate not to win the game only to see Stephen Ireland score late on to level the match. Joe Kinnear certainly knows how to rant but it would appear that he has restored some confidence back into the players and although they haven't picked up a win since their victory over Bolton at the start of the season. Things are starting to look a lot brighter for Newcastle. With Newcastle playing a lot better football we think they will come out on top in the Tyneside derby. It will be a tight affair but an away win at 12/5 with Bet365 is our pick. A home win is 5/4 with Bluesquare. West Brom V Hull (Saturday, 25 October, 3pm) Two sides who have so far surpassed expectations in the league. West Brom are currently settled in mid table while Hull are remarkable third in the league above current champions Manchester United. Undoubtedly that will all change but it would appear that they are already pretty safe for survival this season. West Brom did well to hold Manchester United to 0-0 at Half-Time on Saturday but couldn't last the full 90 minutes and were thumped in the second half 4-0. They can play football, especially at home and they will be looking to get the ball down and play some decent football against a side they are more then capable of beating. Hull keep banging in surprise results and another league victory this Saturday wouldn't be a shock. A Dawson header was all that was needed to secure all 3 points on Sunday against West ham and they will be looking to carry their good form which has seen them win their last three league games and climb to third in the league. This is a tough match to call. You have to think that Hull's recent run of results has to end soon and for West Brom to do so this Saturday at 11/8 with Coral looks good odds. We won't be backing against Hull though and an away win is currently 9/4 with Skybet. The draw looks the most appealing at 12/5. We fancy these two sides to cancel each other out. Blackburn V Middlesborough (Saturday, 25 October, 5.30pm) Both of these sides go into the game with very little form as Middlesborough make the trip to Ewood Park to face Paul Ince's Blackburn side. A match which has seen Blackburn win 7 of the previous 12 league encounters between the two sides. Middlesborough winning just 3 with their last victory over Blackburn coming over 3 years ago in 2005. Blackburn could only manage a dull 0-0 draw on Saturday against Bolton which brought their points tally up to 11 in the league. No doubt that Paul Ince's main target for the season will be to get an automatic birth into the UEFA Cup via the league and they will need to up their performance level if they are to come close to achieving that target. Blackburn have managed just three league wins from their first 8 games and have struggled some what for goals scoring just 8 with only two of those being at home. Middlesborough's confidence will have taken a battering after their abysmal display against Chelsea at home last Saturday. They were completely outplayed and the 5-0 scoreline really could have been worse. With 5 defeats from 8 they will also be looking for a vast improvement in performances. Alfonso Alves has yet to show that he is worth the money they spent on him while they only real player worth noting this season is David Wheater who looks to be progressing into a fine defender. A tough match to call in which we will narrowly edge towards the home side. A home win is currently 11/10 with Coral while an away win is 11/4 with Bet365. Chelsea V Liverpool (Sunday, 26 October, 1.30pm) By far the most attractive match of the weekend as Liverpool have the tough task of ending Chelsea's long running undefeated home record and extending their win streak in the league to four games while Chelsea will be hoping to do exactly the same. Chelsea have been unstoppable this season and their performance against Middlesborough at The Riverside proved that they are indeed the team to beat this season. Despite several injuries to key players, they still had enough to demolish a full strength Middlesborough side. They are undefeated in the league this season and have only dropped points twice. However, both of those occasions were at home so Liverpool will take that small positive into the game at Stamford Bridge. Ashley Cole should return while Drogba and Ballack remain out injured for the long term. Having scored 19 and conceding just 3. Liverpool will know they have a mountain to climb if they are to get all three points this Sunday. Liverpool performed another spectacular comeback to see off a battling Wigan side at Anfield on Saturday. Another late Dirk Kuyt goal insured the points went home with the reds. Liverpool are also undefeated so far this season and are level on points with Chelsea at the top with only their inferior goal difference separating them. They will be without Fernando Torres who will be missed but if they are to be League champions then they will need to beat teams when they are without key players. Chelsea are justified favourites but whenever one of these sides has dropped points, so has the other. This one will be closer then some expect. A home win for Chelsea is 19/20 with Centrebet while an away win is currently 4/1 with Skybet which looks good, the most obvious option possibly the draw (3.40 at Coral). Really difficult to decide. Wigan V Aston Villa (Sunday, 26 October, 3pm) Martin O'Neill's men make the trip up to Wigan as he aims to edge closer to securing that elusive fifth spot. Wigan will also be gunning for the points this weekend in search of stretching the gap between them and the bottom three. An intriguing match it would appear. Steve Bruce will have been devastated that his side couldn't contain Liverpool for the final few minutes when his side had the lead but went on to lose the match in the dyeing minutes of the match. His side have put in some valiant displays this season but have failed to get the results to match on some occasions. Amr Zaki is by far the buy of the season to date with 7 goals already. He bagged two at Anfield on Saturday and we wouldn't be surprised if he bagged at least one this weekend. Aston Villa have made a decent start to their league campaign picking up 14 points from their opening 8 league games and are currently 6th in the table. They are a side brimming with young talent and full of pace with Agbonlahor and Ashley Young. Their defence is a slight concern though and havn't managed to keep a clean sheet in any of their away games this season. An even bigger cocnern is that match they played on Thursday in the UEFA Cup against Ajax. If the players manage to recover and regain fitness then they should make this a good game but if they show any signs of tiredness then Wigan could punish them. With Villa playing in the UEFA Cup we fancy Wigan to take something from this game. They are currently 81/50 with Paddypower for the win while an away win is 9/5 with Boylesports. We fancy the odds for Wigan to win or draw at 9/20 with SportingBet. Tottenham V Bolton (Sunday, 26 October, 3pm) Where do we start with this fixture. Two sides at the foot of the table with one especially in serious trouble. Gary Megson takes his Bolton side to White Hart Lane to face a Tottenham side that has yet to register a league victory this season. Bolton will also take the good omen that Bolton have the better head-t0-head record with their 7 wins to Spurs's 3. Tottenham really are a club in crisis with last Sunday's 2-1 away defeat to Stoke digging Juande Ramos an even deeper pit. Tottenham are currently the only side in the Premiership who have yet to win and have picked up just two points all season. For a club predicted to push the top four they are a million miles away from where they want and expected to be. It is hard to nail down the problem but the obvious one is confidence. The players are seriously lacking it and a win could ignite their season. Whether they get it this Sunday is another matter but they will have to pick up a win sooner rather then later else Ramos could be heading out the club. Bolton are only 5 positions above Spurs in the league but are 6 points clear of their opponents. They were also expected to be thereabouts so there position of 15th isn't a shock. They have only managed two wins so far with their biggest problem being the lack of quality forwards at the club. Johan Elmander has suffered several injuries while Davies won't bag you 15 goals a season. It is hard to see who will get the goals for them and we wouldn't be surprised if they went to Tottenham this Sunday and defended in numbers. Tottenham are too short to be backing with their current form. They are 21/10 with Bet365 while an away win for Bolton is 10/3 with Betdirect. We fancy the draw at 12/5 with Coral. Both of their league meetings last season ended 1-1 and another result like that wouldn't be a shock. Manchester City V Stoke (Sunday, 26 October, 3pm) The richest club in the world are all set to welcome Tony Pulis Stoke City. The two sides have never met in the league before and both will be eager to register their first league win over the other. Mark Hughes will be bitterly disappointed with the draw at St.James Park. Newcastle went down to 10 men early on in the game and City failed to put their opponents to the sword and paid the price. The defeat before the international break to Liverpool will have knocked the players for six also but they will see this as a game which should provide them with 3 points. Robinho came to City full of promise but has failed to deliver some what at this early stage although Shaun Wright-Phillips has looked lively down the right flank. Stoke City picked up a massive 3 points on Sunday beating a struggling Tottenham side 2-1 at home. Their opponents also went down to 10 men early on and they also struggled to take advantage of their superior numerical advantage. They did eventually get the winner late into the second half but they still remain in the bottom three. Stoke aren't a side who play attractive football. They have a habit of using the long ball and rely heavily on set pieces for goals. They could get outplayed if they are not careful this Sunday. Manchester City have to be backed despite being firm favourites for the match. They are currently ½ with Boylesports while an away win is 13/2 with Bet365. A little short in my opinion. West Ham V Arsenal (Sunday, 26 October, 4pm) Arsenal make the short trip to take on West Ham United at Upton Park this Sunday in what looks a tough match for the home side. West Ham do have a decent league record over Arsenal though with both side winning 3 of the previous 8 league encounters. West Ham are still without Dean Ashton through injury and will be looking in the direction of Craig Bellamy for the goals in what looks a poor strike force currently. Carlton Cole isn't and never will be a regular goalscorer while Luis Boa Morte only strikes every leap year it would appear. I do have concerns over West Ham right now especially after two back-to-back league defeats against sides they would have expected to pick up points against. They are surprisingly flimsy at the back and look bewildered up front. Arsenal shouldn't have too many problems exploiting West Ham's frailties. Arsenal will be in a buoyant mood after securing an impressive Champions League victory over Fenerbache in Turkey on Tuesday with a relatively young side. They also did well to come from behind on Saturday to beat Everton at The Emirates. Adebayor appears to gone back to his goal scoring manner while Nasri's return to fitness has boosted their midfield numbers. Arsenal last away game in the league did finish 1-1 against Sunderland but we fancy them to take all the spoils this Sunday. Arsenal really shouldn't have too many problems and an away win at 13/20 looks a decent proposition. If you want to take your chances with a home win then you can get it at a big price of 6/1 with Skybet. Portsmouth V Fulham (Sunday, 26 October, 5pm) Fulham make the trip down South to take on Harry Redknapp's Portsmouth side at Fratton Park. With both sides only managing to pick up one point after draws with Aston Villa and Bolton respectively, both will be eager to take all the spoils on Sunday. Portsmouth picked up a decent point on Saturday when they held Aston Villa at home. After their last away game seen them shop 6 goals, it was a vast improvement. Their away performances have been poor so far though with just the one win on their travels so far and have conceded 10. Jermaine Defoe and Peter Crouch have already settled down and started scoring which is more then can be said for the Fulham strikers. The match on Thursday in the UEFA Cup could take affect so punters will have to be wary of that factor. Fulham will have the benefit of having a week to rest while Portsmouth has a European game in mid-week. They are currently one off the relegation places and Gary Hodgeson will be desperate to enforce a gap on his rivals. They have however succumb to 3 straight successive league defeats away from home and have managed just one goal in three away games. They will have to pull something out of the hat though if they are to come away from Fratton Park with all three points. A home win looks rather appealing despite Portsmouth being odds on at 4/5 with Centrebet. An away win at 4/1 looks to small in our opinion for a side that is has lost three successive away games. Get on the home win in what should be a comfortable win for Pompey. Labels: premier-league-betting, premier-league-preview, premiership-betting, premiership-preview Posted by soccerbetting.info @ 4:28 PM

Premiership Preview by Matthew Chapple (18-20 October) (Thursday, October 16, 2008)

Premiership Preview for the weekend 18-20 October 2008 Middlesborough V Chelsea (Saturday, 18 October, 12.45pm) Gareth Southgate's side haven't made a good start to the season and won't appreciate having to face a Chelsea side playing great football and in superb form. A match which has seen Chelsea dominate in the past with Chelsea winning 8 of the previous 12 meetings. Middlesborough last league victory over Chelsea came over two years ago. Middlesborough have made a terrible start to the season by their standards and their fans won't be too optimistic about their sides chances this coming Saturday. They come into the game off the back of an away win but they did lose their previous three league games. Some of their performances this season have been good but they fail to put the chances they do get away and they can't afford to be wasting chances against good sides. Alves has been drastically disappointing so far and they do lack a regular goalscorer at this moment in time. Chelsea aren't struggling for goals and have scored 14 already this term. They keep it very tight at the back as well conceding just the three. Frank Lampard has returned to his goalscoring ways for his club and although they will be without Didier Drogba, they should have enough in front of goal to see off Middlesborough. Bosinwga looks dangerous when he bombs forward along with Malouda down the left who finally looks as if he is coming good for the blues. Nicolas Anelka is contributing with odd goal and they will be relying on him to bag the goals with the absence of Drogba. Chelsea are a decent price at 3/5 with Gamebookers which should be taken on. They have won their previous three away games and look good value to continue that form. A home win is 13/2 with Coral. Liverpool V Wigan (Saturday, 18 October, 3pm) Steve Bruce's Wigan side make the trip up north this Saturday to take on the red side of Merseyside in Liverpool. The last 6 league meetings between the two sides have seen Wigan pick up just the single point which was however their last ever league meeting. Liverpool have won the other 5 and dominate the head-to-head. Liverpool also go into this home fixture at Anfield in superb form. They are flying high in the champions league after winning their opening two fixtures and are currently undefeated in the league, level on points with league leaders Chelsea. Liverpool, are dare we say it, starting to look like they could be serious title contenders this season and have to ensure that this Saturday they get all three points if they are to keep up with Chelsea. Fernando Torres has finally hit form and has scored 4 in his last two league fixtures and their last game at Manchester City, which seen them come from two behind to win 3-2, will only boost their already high morale. Wigan on the other hand come into this tough fixture off the back of a disappointing home defeat to an out of sorts Middlesborough side at home. They have put in some decent displays so far this season and early indication shows that they should be ok for premiership survival this term. They will find this a massive challenge though and it will more then likely;y be too much for them to get any sort of result. Liverpool are around 3/1 with Boylesports which actually looks decent value. Fernando Torres has got his scoring boots on and looks a good bet to score at any time in the match at EVENS with Bet365, but you should decide on that bet only if Torres will definitely play (he picked up a thigh injury on international duty). Fulham V Sunderland (Saturday, 18 October, 3pm) A rather dull fixture sees Fulham entertain Sunderland this Saturday. Two sides who don't tend to play attractive football and both are very inconsistent. These two sides have only met six times in the league with Fulham edging the head-to-head with 4 wins to Sunderland's 3. However, Roy Keane will take the positive of having beaten Fulham in their previous league meeting. Fulham come into the match with 3 straight league defeats behind them and despite them managing to pick up a win against Arsenal, they failed to make any strides forward. Their narrow 1-0 defeat to West Brom leaves them in 17th position in the league. Just one point off the drop. It is still early days but their early performances haven't given us much faith. They have managed just 5 goals from their opening 7 league games. Sunderland were very unlucky not to pick up all three points in their last league fixture against Arsenal and Roy Keane will be expecting a similar level of performance this weekend if his side are to take something positive away from Craven Cottage this weekend. They have failed to win away from since beating Tottenham in the second set of matches. They have strengthened their side though and they will get the nod in this match. We won't be taking neither side on with any real confidence but we slightly edge towards an away win. Sunderland are currently 23/10 with Bet365 while a home win is 13/10 with Boylesports. Bolton V Blackburn (Saturday, 18 October, 3pm) Paul Ince's men make the trip to Bolton this Saturday in search of three points. Bolton will be desperate for the three points in order to provide some temporary breathing space above the bottom three while Blackburn need to keep up with the likes of Manchester City and Aston Villa for that fifth spot. Bolton do come into the game off the back of a very impressive 3-1 away win against West Ham and will need to continue that form if they are to overcome a very tough test this weekend. Bolton have failed to beat Blackburn in their last 3 matches. A trend which Gary Megson will be looking to put to bed. They do lack a potent striker and we seriously doubt they have enough up front to pick up enough points this season. They did tremendously well at Upton Park but this could be a disappointing home fixture for them this weekend. Blackburn started brightly but have dropped off the pace slightly with just two wins from their last five league fixtures. Their away form is narrowly better then their home form and they do come into the game off the back of a 2-1 victory at St. James Park. Roque Santa Cruz certainly has talent but has yet to start firing in the goals like he was last season. Pedersen has gone quiet while the loss of Bentley on the wing appears to have restricted Blackburn's creativity. Home advantage could be key but if Blackburn can provide the strikers with some decent chances then they could sneak an away victory. A home win is 7/5 with Bet365 while an away win is currently 2/1 with the same bookmaker. We are slightly edging towards an away win but at 4/7 for Blackburn to win or draw looks to represent decent value. Arsenal V Everton (Saturday, 18 October, 3pm) An interesting tie on paper as Everton make the trip down south to London to take on Arsenal at the Emirates. The last 12 previous league meetings between the two sides have seen Arsenal pick up 7 victory's to Everton's 3. Everton have also never beaten Arsenal away from home since the Premiership was formed. Neither side has made an impressive start to the season with both being several league positions away from were they want to be. Arsenal have already lost two league games including a humiliating 2-1 home defeat to new boys Hull on their own turf. Their last league game was away to Sunderland and they were some what fortunate to take a point away from that fixture. It took a late Fabregas header to give Wenger's men an undeserved point. Their big players have fialed to perform consistently and despite their last home fixture being a comprehensive 4-0 win over FC Porto, they could find themselves a drift of the top two if they fail to perform this weekend. Everton go into this game with no form what so ever after failing to win in the league in their last three fixtures including a bitter home defeat to Liverpool. For a team that finished 5th last season, they have seriously under-performed and they find themselves in a disappointing 15th position. Their last league victory came away at Stoke and they are actually undefeated away from home this season. Despite that, we fancy a comfortable home win. Everton lack fire-power in front of goal and we would be surprised if they posed Wenger's men any threats. A home win is 10/27 with Coral and looks a pretty safe bet despite the price being fairly short. An away for Everton is currently 9/1 with Bet365. For the odds on offer i would rather bet on Everton with a very small stake but Arsenal should really win this. Aston Villa V Portsmouth (Saturday, 18 October, 3pm) Martin O'Neill 's Aston Villa are all set to host Portsmouth this weekend as Harry Redknapp's men make the trip to Villa Park. A match which seen them take all three points last season in a 3-1 victory. Although Aston Villa do lead the head-to-head with 4 wins to Portsmouth's 3. Aston Villa do into this game off the back off a defeat to current league leaders Chelsea and were completely outplayed in that match. Martin O'neill will be hoping that, that defeat won't have affected his teams confidence. They are however undefeated at home this season and will take all the beating this weekend. They have a young side full of pace and with the experience of John Carew up front they seem to have put together a good formula in an attempt to snatch the fifth spot in the league. They have beaten both Manchester City and Sunderland at home and have held Liverpool to 0-0 draw. Portsmouth haven't travelled well so far this season. They have lost two of their three away league fixtures conceding 10 in the process. They were impressive against Everton at Goodison Park when they won 3-0 but have been vastly poor recently on their travels. Jermaine Defoe and Peter Crouch are in goalscoring form and the pair will be key if they are to take anything from Villa Park this weekend. Aston Villa have been playing very well this season, especially at home and we fancy them to be too strong for Portsmouth. A home win is 5/6 with Coral while a Portsmouth win is 4/1 with Bet365. Manchester United V West Brom (Saturday, 18 October, 5.30pm) West Brom make the trip to Manchester in what looks a straight forward match for the home side. West Brom have never beaten Manchester United since the Premiership was formed with Manchester United winning 5 of the previous 6 meetings between the two sides. Fergie's men have dropped off the pace slightly and currently find themselves six points off the two leaders. They do however have a game in hand. Alex Ferguson will be desperate for the three points this Saturday and with Ronaldo back to full fitness and Rooney finally back to scoring ways, they should have no problems here. They will be without Paul Scholes with Darren Fletcher or Ryan Giggs likely to fill the void. West Brom will need to pick up points where ever they can but them themselves will have seen this fixture as one they probably won;t get anything from. Despite that they will give it everything but we fancy them to fall short once more. They do come into the game with two wins behind them but to far inferior sides. Manchester United are far too short to be lumping on but do look a safe bet. The value looks to be with the HT/FT at 31/50 with Paddypower. An away win is a massive 18/1 but looks a long shot. Hull V West Ham (Sunday, 19 October, 3pm) Up till this point, Hull have been the the surprise package and have pulled off some unbelievable results to climb up to 3rd in the league table. This Sunday they will host West Ham with both hoping to get their first ever win over their opponents in the league with no previous league encounters between the two sides being played before. Hull City have been tremendous so far which has largely been down to some superb long range efforts from summer signing Geovanni. He has already scored two crackers against both Arsenal and Tottenham and another strike this Sunday could ensure the result they will be desperate for. Hull are undefeated in four league games and will be looking to make it 3 straight league wins. They do defend well in numbers and can punish teams on the break and we won't back against them pulling off another great result this weekend. West Ham's new manager Gianfraco Zola will be looking for a massive improvement from his players after they were spanked by Bolton at home. Their away form has been poor this season losing two of their three away league fixtures. Without Dean Ashton they lack the presence of a regular goal scorer. Craig Bellamy has returned to fitness but he will need a couple more matches before he returns to his old goal scoring manner. This is a tough game to call and we can't find any case for West ham right now. Hull have been the surprise package this season we expect them to get some sort of result this Sunday. A home win is 6/4 with Bet365 and an away win is 2/1 with Skybet. Stoke V Tottenham (Sunday, 19 October, 4pm) This is a match we will reluctantly predict. We have two sides who have have only avoided defeat on two occasions so far. A win for either side looks to be so elusive right now. This will be the first ever Premiership encounter between then two sides and in all honesty it could go either way. Stoke go into this match with two back-to-back home defeats and despite some valiant displays, they fail to put chances to bed and continuously fail to keep a clean sheet. They have only kept one clean sheet so far this season. Their last home game was a tough match against Chelsea but it ended in another defeat. Their main goal threat will be from the air. Rory Delap's long throws and corners will be pretty much their only means of getting a goal. They don't have anyone who can cut defences open and create clear cut chances. Tottenham are the only side in the Premiership this season to not have registered a league win. Picking up just two points in 7 games has left them rooted to the bottom of the table. Something that was unthinkable at the start of the season. They have spent a lot over the summer on players, which would appear, don't play well together. Their last home game was embarrasing for the fans when they went down 1-0 to Hull. This is a fantastic opportunity for Juande Ramos to pick up his first three points. If they fail to do so then the pressure will seriously be on the manager. I've lost count of the number of times we have backed Tottenham to finally win. They won't have a better chance then this and at 13/10 we will reluctantly edge towards them. A home win is 9/4 with Bet365. Newcastle V Manchester City (Monday, 20 October, 8pm) Manchester City look a decent price as they make the short trip to Tyneside to take on Newcastle United this Sunday. Joe Kinner's rants lately have taken some of the lime light of Newcastle's off pitch concerns but they are still without a win since the 23rd August. Newcastle will be looking to put their horrendous form behind them and pick up a result on Monday. The game will be live on Setanta in what should be a very open and attacking affair. Newcastle's last league game was at Everton when they picked up a point in what was a decent result for them. That was their first point in five matches. Fans will be hoping that, that result will ignite their season and hopefully return to winnings ways. Manchester City will have to get over the 3-2 home defeat to Liverpool and overcome the fact that they will be without Zabaleta after he was sent off for a tough challenge on Xabi Alonso. Despite the loss, they did play very well in the opening 45 minutes and another performances like that could see them walk away with the win. Their league form is a lot better then Newcastle's but it could certainly be better. Wright-Philips and Robinho look to have form a deadly partnership down the wings already and Newcastle could find them hard to deal with. A home win is 2/1 with Bet365 which looks a good price. However, they are still under-performing and lacking confidence and we will take our chances with Mark Hughes's men at 6/4 with Coral. Labels: premier-league-betting, premier-league-preview, premiership-betting, premiership-preview Posted by soccerbetting.info @ 10:09 PM

Premiership Preview by Matthew Chapple (4-5 October) (Thursday, October 02, 2008)

Premiership Preview for the weekend 4/5 October 2008 (Saturday, 4 October, 3.00pm) Wigan V Middlesborough Two sides with contrasting forms of late as Middlesborough make the trip to the JJB stadium where they take on Wigan Athletic. A venue which has seen them pick up 4 points from their last three visits. However, the last match at the JJB did finish 1-0 to the home side. Wigan come into the game off the back of a great 2-1 result over the richest club in the land in Manchester City. They were rather fortunate with receiving the penalty. Wilson Palacios clearly dived in what was a disgraceful attempt at trying to con the referee but he did unfortunately succeed. Despite that poor display of sportsmanship, they did play generally well and look very sprightly on the break. They posses great pace on the wings with Valencia and Palacios and have a strike who can score in Amr Zaki who has already notched up 5 league goals for the season already. They are also undefeated in their last four league games and will be looking for their first back-to-back victory of the season. Middlesborough however come into the game without gaining a point from their previous three league games. Three straight defeats in the league have seen them drop to 16th in the league and have managed just 6 points from their first 6 games of the season. They have also lost all three of their away fixtures this season scoring just twice. Alfonso Alves has been disappointing while there usually in form winger Stewart Downing is surprisingly out of form. They lack creativity at this moment in time and when they do make chances they fail to stick them in the net. Wigan look a much better side this time around then they did last season. Amr Zaki provides them with another attacking option other then Emile Heskey and looks potent in front of goal. Wigan at 11/10 with Bet365 looks good value considering the form of the two sides of late. West Brom V Fulham Two sides, who will more then likely be down near the bottom of the table by the time the season hits it's closure. They lack star quality and will rely heavily on beating the teams around them for points. Both of these sides will see this as a possible six pointer despite the Premiership being just 6 games old. West Brom have already been beaten twice at home this season with defeats to both Aston Villa and Everton. They did however manage a surprise at The Riverside when they narrowly saw of Gareth Southgate's lack lustred Middlesborough side. Middlesborough were widely tipped to cruise through that game and at least get the 3 points but West Brom restricted the Northerners to very few shots on goal. West Brom will see this as a better opportunity then Fulham what with home advantage being behind them. Fulham will be massively disappointed with their weekend performance against West Ham at Craven Cottage. West Ham pretty much sowed the game up at half time and finished the game 2-1 victors. Fulham will also have to deal with the fact that Andy Johnson will be unavailable for their next three league games after being sent off on Saturday for two bookable offences. Although he could have seen a straight red after his first poor attempt of a challenge on a West Ham defender. Fulham have lost all three of their away games in the league this season and we like the odds of 13/10 with Paddypower for this trend to continue with a West Brom win this Saturday. Roman Bednar takes all of West Brom penalty's and gets into some useful positions when West Brom attack and at 2/1 to score any time, looks a good value bet. Sunderland V Arsenal Both of these sides will come into this match at the Stadium of Light with defeats from last weekend on their minds. Hull City produced the shock of the Premiership so far with the 2-1 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday evening with not many predicting that result. Sunderland's 2-1 away defeat to Aston Villa was less surprising but Roy Keane will still be disappointed that his side could only keep hold of their early advantage for just a few minutes. If Arsenal had of got the result that they should have against Hull City then Arsene Wenger would have seen his side keep hold of the top spot. Arsenal in all fairness were poor. They were being too fancy and they were only interested in walking the ball into the net and barely registered any shots on goal in the first half. They only really came to life when Hull City took the lead on the hour mark after Giovanni had levelled the match with a stunning drive from around 30 yards. Arsenal also look very vulnerable this season from set plays. They fail to attack in coming balls and this could be something others managers will look into when they play Arsenal. Roy Keane has criticised both the Sunderland players and their fans after some bad results of late after managing to scrape past league two outfit Northampton in the Carling Cup and then losing 2-1 away to Aston Villa. A game which they were always going to find hard getting a result from. They did however take the lead very early on in the match but failed to keep hold of it and went into half time 2-1 down. Keane has spent over the summer but they still lack some who can attack opposition defences and create chances for the forwards. Sunderland have already lost two of their first 3 home league games this season and while Arsenal were largely disappointing last week, they do usually bounce back and we fancy them at 4/6 with Skybet to make amends this weekend. Blackburn Rovers V Manchester United Two sides coming off the back of wins despite both having their fair share of luck in achieving the wins. Manchester United saw off Bolton Wanderers but needed a dubious penalty to finally break the deadlock. Wayne Rooney was dropped but showed what Ferguson was missing when he came on around the hour mark and scored United's second of the game with a stunning low curling shot into the bottom right hand corner. Paul Ince's Blackburn took the lead early in the first half when Christopher Samba headed in their opener but replays showed he was offside. Santa Cruz headed their second while Newcastle could only managed a Michael Owen penalty and the match finished 2-1 to Blackburn. Both sides have made an inconsistent start to the season with Blackburn picking up 10 points from 6 games while Man United have notched up a disappointing 8 points from their opening 5 league fixtures. Blackburn have done well to overcome their two heavy defeats to West Ham and to Arsenal and have won their last two league fixtures. Manchester United have had some tough fixtures of late with Bolton being their first against one of the potential relegation teams. They welcome back Christiano Ronaldo to the side who has already scored from the spot to open his tally for the season. Manchester United tend to struggle against Blackburn with 5 of last meeting between the two ending in Man United favour while four have gone to Blackburn. Manchester United haven't lost to Blackburn though in their last 4 meetings and we expect them to get something today. At 4/6 with Skybet, they look a good price for the win. West Ham V Bolton Wanderers (Sunday, 5 October, 1.30pm) Another very tricky match for Gary Megson's Bolton side when they make the trip to London to take on West Ham United. A match which has however seen Bolton win 5 of the last 8 encounters. Their last match finishing 1-0 to Bolton at the Reebok. West Ham broke their away duct by beating Fulham at Craven Cottage last Saturday 2-1 and looked a very food side for the first 45 minutes. Fulham did pile the pressure in the second half but Zola's West Ham hung on in there for all three points. They have won all three of their home games beating Wigan, Blackburn and Newcastle. Craig Bellamy is fit again and looks set to start in place of Dean Ashton who is currently unavailable due to injury. Bolton have made an abysmal start to the season winning just 1 of their opening 6 league fixtures. That victory came on the opening day against Stoke City. Since that win they have picked up just one point in a draw with West Brom. Three straight defeats have left them in 17th position and it looks clear from their first few performances that they will more then likely be involved in a relegation scrap come the end of the season. This is a game we find hard to predict. Neither side play particularly good football and we have to slightly edge towards West Ham due to their better form. A home win is 4/5 with Bet365 while a Bolton win is 4/1 with Bet365. (Sunday, 5 October, 3.00pm) Chelsea V Aston Villa A potentially difficult game ahead for Scolari's Chelsea when they welcome Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge. Aston Villa have stood their ground on their last two visits to Chelsea drawing the previous two matches 1-1 and the most recent, 4-4. Aston Villa also beat Chelsea at home last season 2-0 so it would appear Villa are some what of a bogey team for Chelsea. Chelsea have been in sparkling form though this season with some emphatic results. They thrashed Portsmouth on the opening day 4-0 while they cruised past the French Ligue 1 runners up Bordeaux 4-0 at Stamford Bridge. Deco and Bosingwa have added more attacking options with Bosingwa making forward runs down the right at every opportunity and scored his first Chelsea goal last weekend at Stoke. They are one of just two sides that are undefeated so far this season but have drawn their previous two home league games. Both games against Tottenham and Man United ending 1-1. Drogba and Ballack are back in the fray so Chelsea appear to look to have a far superior side on paper. Aston Villa have made a great start to the season and they currently find themselves in 3rd position. Their only defeat of the season came away to Stoke City two games in. They have won their last three league games seeing off Tottenham, West Brom and Sunderland. They showed great character coming from behind to beat Sunderland last weekend and with both of their strikers in superb form, they stand a good chance of getting a result from the game. Aston Villa look like the side who will push the top four and have the potential to be the only side capable of maybe sneaking a Champions league spot. They do lack quality in depth though and with the size of Chelsea's squad they should see off Villa this Saturday. Chelsea are firm favourites with 11/25 with Gamebookers while Villa can be found at 17/2 with Skybet. Manchester City V Liverpool This is one of the more appealing games on offer this weekend as Mark Hughes's Manchester City host a Liverpool side on a high after their Merseyside Derby victory over Everton. This is a match that has been dominated by Liverpool in recent years. Liverpool have won 6 out of the last 10 league encounters between the two sides. Manchester City's one and only league victory over Liverpool came three years ago on the 25th of November 2005. Man City were rather unlucky not to get a result from Wigan last Sunday when they went down 2-1 at the JJB stadium. A blatant dive by Wilson Palacios handed Wigan the points. Robinho has made a lively start and himself and Wright-Philips already look to have a good partnership forming on the wings with both possessing fantastic pace and the ability to take a defender on. Jo has finally started scoring although they do need another striker who can score regularly to partner him. Benjani is currently unavailable while Sturridge lacks experience. Liverpool players will be in a buoyant mood after overcoming the test of Everton at Goodison Park. Fernando Torres broke his 6 game goal drought and bagged a brace while Robbie Keane is still to score his first goal at the club. They did well to pick themselves up from a disappointing draw at home to Stoke the following week and if they can play like they did in the second half of Saturday then they should come out of this game with all three points. An away win is 13/10 with SportingBet. It is a little short for a side playing away especially a side as inconsistent as Liverpool. The home win is valued around 9/4. Liverpool have a knack of drawing the majority of their games and i wouldn't be surprised if it ended in a draw this weekend. The 23/10 with Bet365 which looks a good bet. Portsmouth V Stoke City Harry Redknapp's Portsmouth side welcomes new boys Stoke City to Fratton Park this Sunday. This will be the first time these two sides have met in the Premiership and both will be desperate to secure all three points. Portsmouth picked themselves up from a 6-0 drubbing against Manchester City and comfortably beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at home. Despite the scoreline being fairly low, Tottenham never really posed much of a threat going forward. They played with one up front and Portsmouth dealt with it comfortably. Jermiane Defoe continued his goal scoring form by scoring a penalty while Crouch bagged the second. The two look to be forming a good partnership and Harry Redknapp will see this as a great opportunity for these two to get on the score sheet again this Sunday. Stoke City have put on some valiant displays in their first few league games but that counts for nothing if they don't pick up results. Their only win of the season came at home on the second day of the season against Aston Villa but did pick up a massive point away to Liverpool. Chelsea were just too good last Saturday and Stoke never looked like scoring enough to even make a match out of it. They do defend very well and in numbers and we expect them to put men behind the ball and try and hold out for a point and possibly attack on the break. Portsmouth would have seen this game as a great opportunity to pick up three points and we fancy them to do so at 4/6 with Paddypower. Jermaine Defoe is scoring goals for fun somewhat lately but his odds are too short for our liking. Get on Peter Crouch to add to his tally at 11/10 with Bet365 to score any time in the match. Tottenham Hotspur V Hull City The price of the weekend appears to be in this match as Tottenham go in search of their first 3 points of the season when they take on high flying Hull City. Spurs have made their worst start to a season in 53 years and a defeat this Sunday would severely put Ramos's managerial career at Tottenham in jeopardy. Tottenham form of late was unthinkable at the start of the season. I can't imagine anyone would of predicted that a club as big as spurs would go 6 league games without a win. They have picked up just two points with draws at Chelsea and a home draw against Wigan. They have so much quality at the club but it would appear that Juande Ramos doesn't know what his best side is. One week Jenas is dropped then the following week Modric will be dropped. This can only damage team morale and he will need to start picking his best eleven sooner rather then later. They are a far better side on paper then Hull City and just have to get a win this weekend. Hull City have been the surprise package of the league so far. They were odds on favourites to finish bottom of the league but after 6 games they find themselves 7 points clear of the bottom three and are currently in a UEFA Cup spot. We doubt they will continue to play and get the result they currently are but they have already notched up more points in six games then Derby did all season. Their 2-1 away victory over Arsenal was sublime and by far the shock result of the season to date. Despite that great result we think this will be a match too far for them. Tottenham don't have a hope at all if the form book is anything to go by but they have so much quality that the price of a home win at 4/5 with 888Sport is hard to ignore. Hull City have done incredibly well so far but they will have to put on another valiant display if they are to get a result at White Hart Lane. Everton V Newcastle (Sunday, 5 October, 4.00pm) These two sides are a hundred miles away from where they expected to be at the start of the season with both lying in the lower half of the table. Everton were the closest out of all the sides in the league to get close to the top four finishing in fifth position but after a poor start to the new season they find themselves in 14th. Newcastle are a club that requires regular European football and they are far from achieving that. They are a club in turmoil who lack confidence. Everton players and fans will be devastated with last Saturdays performances against Liverpool at Goodison Park. They were outplayed and out fought in a match that was predicted to be closer then it actually was. Two Torres goals in the second half put the match to bed while Tim Cahill will miss the next three league games after being sent off for a rash challenge on Xabi Alonso. They have lost all three of the home games so far conceding 8 in the process. Moyes failed to bring in more talent over the summer and it would appear they are starting to pay the price. Where do we start with Newcastle United. A club without a permanent manager, fans on strike and a owner that now doesn't want anything to do with the club. All this controversy is certainly getting to the players. They started the season with a fantastic result against Manchester United drawing 1-1 at Old Trafford but since Kevin Keegan has walked out they have failed to pick up a single win domestically. They have conceded six in their last two away league fixtures and we wouldn't be surprised if they shipped a few more this Saturday. This really should be an Everton win. There is no better time to play a club like Newcastle then now. A home win is 4/5 with BetFred although with both having fairly poor defences records this season we fancy their to be goals. You can get 47/50 with CanBet on there being 3 or more goals in the match. Labels: premier-league-betting, premier-league-preview Posted by soccerbetting.info @ 9:53 AM