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Weekend Soccer – By Chris

The Premiership

Birmingham   -   Fulham         2.00   -   4.50
I have absolutely nothing positive to say about Fulham and consequently there is only one possible outcome here, the home win (2.00). Fulham just cannot play decent football away from home. They are 0-3-6 this season and it has been the same for the last three seasons. At the moment they are only playing marginally better at Craven Cottage, 0-1 vs Newcastle and 1-1 with Wigan in their last two home games. M Voltz is suspended for this match and we are still waiting on J Bullard.

I would not call Birmingham a banker against any Premiership side but they come to this match in a confident mood after their 3-0 Boxing Day win against Middlesbrough. McSheffrey is in great form again and that is good for the Brums. "This is like a cup final", says interim Fulham boss Lewington. He is correct, but I cannot recommend a bet on Fulham. Home win! (2.00).

Birmingham 1 Fulham 1

Chelsea   -   Newcastle         1.44  -   9.30
With Carvalho, A Cole and J Terry out of the picture, which defenders are available for Chelsea?  Alex, Ferreira, Ben Haim and W Bridge, I guess. From time to time Essien is also used as a defender. F Lampard is also ruled out of this match. Keeper Cech is costing Chelsea points at the moment and who would have believed that some time ago. He was at fault when Gallas scored the winner for Arsenal and he looked like Shaking Stevens the other day at home to A Villa.

Another inept Newcastle performance the other day and you have to say that Allardyce has done a poor job with his new club. After four months of league football his underachieving footballers manage just one point against "high flyers" Derby and Wigan. Pretty awful!

Damien Duff was back for the Wigan game which was some good news and tomorrow M Owen will return, starting on the bench. N Butt will also feature, but J Barton will be left out this time. Chelsea with a make shift defence as mega favourites? Betting wise, I cannot handle this fixture. No bet!

Chelsea 2 Newcastle 1

Everton   -   Arsenal        3.53  -   2.20
No doubt for me. I have to oppose my club, Arsenal (3.53). Why? Arsenal are not in good form and they are looking a bit ineffective at the moment. Arsenal get these spells when they play fancy football without creating much in the final third. Why did Wenger not send on Bendther earlier against Portsmouth? Bendtner is my dream come true, a strong,  physical player in the penalty area. With Bendtner playing, Arsenal can finally send some long balls into the penalty area as an alternative to the short passing game, and he is technically brilliant into the bargin.  Van Persie will not be involved tomorrow and W Gallas is considered a major injury doubt.

Everton are in top form, their key players are all in good shape and I do not expect the Evertonians to give Arsenal more openings than Portsmouth did the other day, but I expect Everton to find the net. Home win (3.53).

Everton 1 Arsenal 4

Portsmouth   -   Middlesbrough        1.71   -   6.00
After their unbelievable 7-4 win against Reading, Portsmouth have played five successive home games without scoring one single goal. A fact that cannot be ignored. R Hughes was preferred to Utaka against Arsenal but the rest of the starting line up was the expected one. Pompey were happy to play out a 0-0 draw with Arsenal but I should think that winning this match is a must for Redknapp and his players. They have to produce a long overdue positive result in front of their faithful fans.

Middlesbrough continue to blow hot and cold and at Birmingham they offered a freezing cold display. Woodgate is not 100 % fit, but at least R Huth is back playing again. Tomorrow their midfielder G Boateng is out, suspended. I am not totally convinced, but my choice has to be the home win (1.71).

Portsmouth 0 Middlesbrough 1

Sunderland   -   Bolton         2.69  -   2.88
Sunderland are winless in their last twelve games while Bolton have yet to win an away game (0-2-7). They are clubs with a similar attitude, hard work is what matters the most. Bolton have the stronger profiles but Sunderland of course have the home advantage. The previously suspended L Miller will be back for the home side. Kieran Richardson is fit again and the ex - United footballer came on as a substitute the other day. He will play some part tomorrow again. My suggestion will be the draw (3.30).

Sunderland 3 Bolton 1

Tottenham   -   Reading         1.53   -   7.50
I reckon that we will see a home win in this match but I am not happy with the odds (1.53). I could back Tottenham at 1.50 against Fulham the other day but Reading are much tougher opponents than Fulham. Anyway, new Spurs coach Ramos never needed four months to get going. Tottenham are doing great and their unlucky loss vs. Arsenal was soon forgotten on Boxing Day when they outclassed Fulham, 5-1. Ledley King made his long awaited come back in the Spurs defence. He played for some 75 minutes. No guarantee that he will play tomorrow, but I should think so.

Down to ten men, Reading deservedly drew away to W Ham. Their away form has let them down this season but the fact is that they have drawn their last two away games and before that they lost to an injury time goal at the Manchester City stadium. Tomorrow they will be without the suspended B Gunnarsson. Likely home win, but disappointing odds (1.53).

Tottenham 6 Reading 4

West Ham   -   Manchester Utd        7.00  -   1.57
The home side has not won more than two home games this season and this will not be their third. No, United seem to be in their own division right now (1.57). However the Hammers belong to the category of teams that can trouble the big sides, but probably not at this instant. With Bellamy, K Dyer, Bowyer and Etherington fit and playing, maybe they would stand a chance, but not now.

R Ferdinand was back the other day and with Vidic and Ferdinand for United you do not have to worry about their defence, although van der Saar is still missing. Saha replaced Tevez against Sunderland but tomorrow we will  see Tevez again, maybe Giggs and fit again Hargreaves as well. It does not really matter as long as Ronaldo and Rooney are playing and that is about it. Away win, but not great odds (1.57).

West Ham 2 Man Utd 1

Wigan   -   Aston Villa        3.20   -   2.40
I was 100% certain that I would back Wigan against Newcastle, if Heskey would be back in the team. He was not and I became a bit hesitant. Too bad as Wigan ran out the 1-0 winners. Coach Bruce has enjoyed a positive start with eight points from his first five games. That is good work, because Wigan are basically a very poor side, in desperate need of reinforcements. Heskey is touch and go for this match and J Koumas will probably be missing again.

Villa were involved in the match of the season, the 4-4 draw with Chelsea. Great result of course but fact is that Villa are winless in their last five league fixtures. Zat Knight, the big defender, will most likely be suspended for this match.

No winner in my opinion and the draw looks the best call (3.30).

Wigan 1 Aston Villa 2

Derby   -   Blackburn        4.39   -   1.95
Derby still have a Championship standard squad but I admit their football has improved since Jewell took charge of business. Brave effort against Liverpool a few days ago and a deserved draw at Newcastle before that. S Pearson, R Earnshaw and D Bywater all suffered injuries in the Liverpool encounter and they all look like missing this match.

I am sure that the Blackburn boss Hughes was happy with a point vs. M City last night. A pleasing result, but their overall contribution was quite poor. Sloppy passing meant they constantly gave away the ball too easily. Santa Cruz, one of the best finishers in the business, is carrying Blackburn on his shoulders. He has scored seven goals in their last four matches. That is quite simply amazing considering the poor Blackburn form. M Richards and R Dunne could not prevent S Cruz from scoring with two headers last night. Blackburn welcome back S Warnock and R Savage for this match. It is Derby vs. Santa Cruz on Sunday and I will back the home team (4.39).

Derby 1 Blackburn 2

Manchester City   -   Liverpool         3.75   -   2.15
Hyypia is added to the Liverpool injury list, Arbeloa should be back, but still no D Agger. Arbeloa has been down with the flu but he more or less has to return for this match joining Carragher in the middle of defence. City will most likely recall Elano and D Hamann to their starting line up but M Johnson remain sidelined.

There are question marks when it comes to the Liverpool defence but the way I see it, Liverpool will be the dominant force in this match and it will be the City defence that will be put under pressure. I will back the away win (2.15).

Man City 0 Liverpool 0

The Championship

Norwich   -   Wolves         2.63   -  2.80
One loss in their last eight matches and the Norwich season has changed for the better under Roeder. Maybe they should have defeated Chalrton on Boxing Day as Charlton were down to ten men for an hour or so. The match ended in a 1-1 draw with Norwich dominating. J Cureton was preferred to D Dublin up front alongside C Evans, but it looks like Dublin will be recalled tomorrow. Norwich will once again have to do without their injured captain Fotheringham.

Wolves are struggling at the moment, winless in five games. Why, I do not know, but scoring goals has become increasingly difficult for McCarthy' s footballers. Defenders G Breen and J Craddock could be back for this encounter. On Boxing Day Wolves lost their away game at Hull 0-2, after another poor display. They will recover one of these days but I am happy to oppose Wolves for now. Home win (2.63).

Norwich 1 Wolves 1

Hull   -   Sheffield Wednesday         2.05   -   3.80
Hull are 3-3-0 in their last 6 home games and tomorrow I am prepared to back them again (2.05). D Windass could be recalled for this match, but it is not by any means certain that coach Brown will leave out F Campbell or Folan. N Barmby is also very much in contention. Asbee however, is an injury doubt.

S Wednesday could have both their strikers A Sodje and F Jeffers back but they will miss W Small. S Watson will have a late fitness test. With S Wednesday you never really know, but the fact is that they are without a win in their last five league games. Hull it is then (2.05).

Hull 1 Sheffield Wednesday 0

Leicester   -   Charlton       2.60   -   2.75
A Much needed win for Leicester at home to Ipswich (2-0) and they should be able to build on that result by winning this, their second home tie in five days. Expect an unchanged Leicester squad, plus the returning Wesolowski.

Charlton will be without the suspended defender Sodje and the injured A Reid. J Fortune is available again but D Mills has been recalled to M City. Iwelumo, their big striker, continues to be an injury doubt but he is usually there when it is time for kick off.

Some time ago Charlton looked like the strongest side in the Championship, before that it was Watford and now it is definitely WBA that have the edge. Personally I do not think that there is much between many of the sides in this league, including Leicester. A good betting strategy is to back teams on a good run. Have Leicester just started a run? Hopefully. Home win (2.60).

Leicester 1 Charlton 1

Sheffield Utd   -   Crystal Palace     2.25   -   3.20
This could be an exciting affair. Palace boss Warnock, brought Sheffield United to the Premiership which was a major achievement and their fans think highly of him. The same cannot be said for the present United boss, B Robson. He is not the most popular man in Yorkshire as his club has mostly let the fans down this season. To sum it up, S United are in trouble in almost all their fixtures, regardless of their opponents. On Boxing Day they were eleven vs. ten against Blackpool but this fact did not prevent Blackpool from equalising in the second half. A Typical S United day at the office. Leading United striker J Beattie will miss this match with R Hulse coming in instead.

Crystal Palace have gone eleven matches without tasting defeat and coach Warnock has used the same starting line  up in their last four matches. He took his chances in the beginning by fielding plenty of youth players, but at the moment only two of his regular starters belong to that category. One of them, S Scannell, will probably be replaced by P Ifill tomorrow. The previous Palace coach would certainly be familiar with the present players, but not their recent excellent results. Backing the away win (3.20).

Sheffield Utd 0 Crystal Palace 1

The next for round of games will be played on New Years Day and on Wednesday.

Newcastle welcome Man City to St James Park. With M Owen and D Duff playing again, it could be time for Newcastle to register a home win.

Arsenal face West Ham at the Emirates Stadium. Last season W Ham, thanks to C Tevez, won this fixture. Can they do it again? Not very likely, but I guess that both teams will be extremely tired after Saturday's big games with Everton and M United.

I prefer Tottenham away to Villa, but it will a difficult task for Spurs.

Everton will put 100% energy into tomorrow's game with Arsenal and the New Years day visit to the Riverside risks being treated a little lightly by the Evertonians. Perhaps a chance for a desperate Middlesbrough side to collect the three points.

What will be in the minds of the Reading and Portsmouth players ahead of their meeting on Tuesday? Not letting in goals I guess as Pompey defeated Reading 7-4 not so long ago. I prefer Portsmouth.

Blackburn face Sunderland at Ewood Park and I have no confidence in Blackburn at the moment.

Bolton should defeat Derby while Liverpool and Man United have easy tasks against Wigan and Birmingham.

Chelsea travel to Craven Cottage for a meeting with Fulham. Mourinho was in charge when Chelsea drew their home game with Fulham, 0-0. Chelsea should of course win this time.

Chris.