Tag: Premier League

Premiership Preview Feb 28th – March 1st

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

What a miserable week that was for British teams in Europe! Manchester City and Arsenal are on the ropes in the Champions League while Liverpool, Tottenham and Celtic all went out of the much-maligned Europa League. City really should be dead and buried but Lionel Messi’s incredible double miss left their hopes dangling by a thread. There was no such reprieve for Arsenal and they will need to produce something spectacular to get out the hole that they have dug for themselves against Monaco.

Premiership leaders Chelsea play Tottenham in Sunday’s Capital One Cup final as Jose Mourinho bids to win his first trophy since re-joining the Blues. It can hardly be called a drought after one season but they won’t have it easy having lost 5-3 against Spurs in the league this season. Mourinho’s side will also be keeping an eye on title rivals City who could cut their lead to just two points if they win at Liverpool on Sunday.

It was ironic that Mario Balotelli was substituted before the penalty shoot-out, one of the few things that the Italian is good for. Perhaps not the most inspired piece of management by Brendan Rodgers but he won’t care if they can beat City on Sunday. The Premiership title holders seemed to be back firing on all cylinders after scoring nine goals in two Premiership matches but they looked clueless against Barcelona. If in doubt, go for the draw seems the best policy.

That could apply to a number of games this weekend with the clash between Stoke and Hull and London derby between West Ham and Crystal Palace looking evenly matched. The Hammers have flattered only to deceive on a number of occasions in recent weeks and their failure to hold on to a 2-0 lead at Tottenham last week summed up their season.

Man United stumbled against Swansea but should get back on track at home to Sunderland. There is no sign yet of the miraculous form that took the Black Cats to safety a year ago, but it is still early days in the relegation battle. Everton could end up being the sole surviving British team in Europe and they travel to Arsenal who must be stunned by their Champions League defeat. Will the Gunners be able to resume normal service? 11-2 looks a big price for Everton.

High-flying Southampton were disappointing against Liverpool last weekend and could suffer a further blow at West Brom on Saturday. Albion are looking much better under Tony Pulis and 5-2 under-estimates their chances.

West Ham v Crystal Palace DRAW @5-2 Ladbrokes

Man United to beat Sunderland @2-5 Paddy Power

Stoke v Hull City DRAW @5-2 Totesport

West Brom to beat Southampton @5-2 BetBright

Liverpool v Man City DRAW @13-5 Bet365

Everton to beat Arsenal @11-2 William Hill

Arsenal to pile the pressure on Pearson

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The Premiership title race took a big swing in Chelsea’s direction at the weekend with Man City stumbling to a draw at home to Hull City. There is still plenty of time for further twists and turns with the top two in action again on Wednesday night.

Tuesday night sees five of the bottom six teams in action with two relegation battles and Leicester visiting Arsenal. The Foxes have been in the news in recent days for media speculation surrounding the future of coach Nigel Pearson.

Pearson was involved in an undignified scuffle with Crystal Palace midfield James McArthur in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat. Rumours circulated that he had been sacked and four hours passed before the club issued a denial. The bookmakers see it as no more than delaying the inevitable and are already betting on Pearson’s successor.

A trip to the Emirates is not ideal for a manager under fire, particularly with the Gunners keen to erase memories of their weekend defeat in the North London derby. Arsenal led in that match through Mesut Ozil but two goals from Harry Kane allowed Spurs to leapfrog their rivals in the chase for a Champions League spot. With Tottenham facing a tricky visit to Anfield on Tuesday, Arsenal could easily repair the damage with a comfortable home win.

Arsene Wenger felt that the loss of Alexis Sanchez to a hamstring injury prior to Saturday’s game was a big blow. His leading scorer is fit to return to action and it will be very surprising if he is not in the starting line-up. With the likes of Ozil and Walcott approaching peak form, Arsenal can win this to pile further pressure on Pearson.

Tottenham have performed better in the big games than they have done in previous seasons but are still prone to the odd slip-up. Their recent record against Liverpool is abysmal but they managed to stop Chelsea and Arsenal in their tracks. The match is being billed as the clash between Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane but it is more likely to be contested in midfield. Liverpool lacked creativity against Everton in the bore draw at Goodison Park and could face another stalemate here.

The two relegation battles are difficult to call, particularly in the light of fine performances from Aston Villa and Hull at the weekend. Villa emerged with credit despite losing at home to Chelsea and ended their long wait for a goal just minutes short of eleven hours. Hull were desperately unlucky not to win at the Etihad and they will also be encouraged. A draw looks the most likely outcome.

QPR’s away form is the stuff of legends with no points in twelve matches. Sunderland are the hosts this time and Gus Poyet’s team could take a giant step towards safety with three points here. The signing of Jermain Defoe is looking like a good piece of business and the Black Cats are taken to edge it by a single goal.

Sunderland to win by a single goal @13-5 BetVictor

Jermain Defoe to score at any time @7-5 Paddy Power

Alexis Sanchez to score and Arsenal win @5-4 Ladbrokes

Arsenal 3 Leicester 0 @8-1 Bet365

Hull v Aston Villa DRAW @9-4 Bet365

Liverpool v Tottenham DRAW @29-10 Bet365

Premiership Preview February 7th

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Last weekend’s top of the table Premiership clash between Chelsea and Man City proved something of a damp squib. The absence of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa sowed the seeds of doubt in the mind of Jose Mourinho and he elected to play for a draw. The Blues went ahead through Loic Remy but never threatened once City had drawn level, seemingly content to protect their five-point lead at the top.

Costa is serving the second of his three-match ban at Villa Park tomorrow when the Blues face Aston Villa. The home side were put to the sword by Arsenal last week and will need to pick themselves up quickly if they are to avoid further embarrassment. The good news for Chelsea fans is that Fabregas returns and Chelsea should win relatively comfortably.

Rivals Man City are at home to another struggling side in Hull City. The visitors have never won at the Etihad and have not scored in 400 minutes of football. City were poor against Arsenal recently but will take heart from their draw at Stamford Bridge and have a fully fit squad. It would be no surprise to seem them resume normal service with Aguero and Dzeko back on the scoresheet.

Assuming there are no dramas at the Chelsea and City games, it is the two big derby games that will get most of the media attention. Steven Gerrard plays his final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park against an Everton side that tasted victory for the first time this year on Saturday. An early goal from Romelu Lukaku was enough to beat Crystal Palace and the Toffees will be looking to build on that against their old rivals.

Despite a good run, Liverpool are still not entirely convincing and came perilously close to being knocked out of the FA Cup by an injury-hit Bolton in midweek. Everton will be up for this one and a draw could be the value bet.

The early kick-off is the North London derby between Spurs and Arsenal. The Gunners have a much stronger squad than they did at the season with several long-term injuries having returned to action. Arsene Wenger’s biggest problem will be team selection and he could probably afford to leave out Sanchez even if he passes a late test. This game finished 3-3 last year and it would be no surprise to see another goal feast here. Arsenal just look the stronger side and can grab three vital points in the battle for a Champions League place.

Arsenal to beat Tottenham @13-10 Bet365

Chelsea (-1.0 handicap) to beat Aston Villa @11-10 William Hill

Man City (-2.0 handicap) to beat Hull City @6-4 Paddy Power

Everton v Liverpool DRAW @5-2 Stan James

Premier League Preview 17th-19th January

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Chelsea have an opportunity to move five points clear at the top of the Premier League on Saturday when they visit Swansea. Their task seems to have been made a little easier by the sale of Wilfried Bony to Man City in midweek, although the Blues still need to banish their nightmare performance at White Hart Lane from their minds.

Victories over Watford and Newcastle have steadied the ship and both were achieved without conceding. It will be interesting to see whether Petr Cech is allowed to keep his place with Courtois fit to resume between the posts. After a sleepy first half last week against the Magpies, the Blues turned on the style in the second half with Diego Costa looking particularly sharp. He does not look happy until he’s scored and he can continue to be a thorn in the bookmakers’ side.

Champions Man City do not play until Sunday when they welcome Arsenal to the Etihad. The Gunners have looked good against mediocre opposition but their defeat to Southampton was a reminder that they still have to improve to cement a top four spot. City were held last week by Everton despite the return of Aguero in the second half. He may need a couple of games to get back to full fitness and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Arsenal grab a point from this one.

The match of the day this week could be at Loftus Road where Harry Redknapp’s QPR host Man United. Rangers extended their awful away form to ten successive defeats at Burnley but are tough to beat at home, suffering only two defeats so far this season. United faltered at home to a well organised Southampton side on Sunday and this could be quite a scrap. I’m going for goals in this one and United to escape with a 3-2 victory.

The rest of the weekend’s fixtures are less inspiring and it may be worth linking several of them up as draws. Liverpool may make hard work of beating Aston Villa and the same goes for Tottenham at home to Sunderland. The games at Leicester, Burnley and Newcastle could all go the same way. Southampton may have been impressive at Old Trafford but the Magpies put up a good fight at Stamford Bridge and won’t be a pushover.

The Monday night game sees Everton host West Brom with the spotlight still on Roberto Martinez after their unlucky FA Cup exit at West Ham. They showed battling spirit in that match and against City last weekend but are no certainty to beat Albion.

Liverpool to beat Villa by one goal @13-5 Ladbrokes

Burnley v Crystal Palace DRAW @9-4 Bet365

Leicester v Stoke DRAW @12-5 Betfred

QPR 2 Man United 3 @28-1 Bet365

QPR v Man United over 3.5 goals at 21-10 BetVictor

Diego Costa scores and Chelsea win @13-8 Paddy Power

Swansea 0 Chelsea 2 @13-2 BetVictor

Newcastle v Southampton DRAW @12-5 Ladbrokes

Tottenham to beat Sunderland by one goal @14-5 BetVictor

West Ham v Hull DRAW @11-4 Bet365

Man City v Arsenal DRAW @3-1 Betfair

Everton v West Brom DRAW @13-5 Coral

FA Cup 3rd Round Preview

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The 3rd Round of the FA Cup has provided plenty of shocks down the years as the Premier League clubs entered the competition. Most of the big guns do not play until Sunday following a dramatic week of Premiership action.

West Brom will be desperate to avoid any embarrassment with the visit of Gateshead while the all-Premiership clash between Leicester and Newcastle is the pick of Saturday’s ties. Both teams were involved in entertaining draws on New Year’s Day, Leicester pulling back a two-goal deficit at Anfield and the Magpies being pegged back to a 3-3 draw by Burnley. Newcastle look decidedly shaky at the moment but will Leicester be keen to get involved in a Cup run with the threat of relegation hanging over them? My guess is no so I’m siding with Newcastle.

Swansea are the only other Premier League team in action on Saturday and they face a tricky encounter at Tranmere. The Swans received a late boost with the news that Wayne Routledge’s red card against QPR has been rescinded and he is free to play on Saturday. Garry Monk is expected to make wholesale changes but they can still prove too strong for a Tranmere side that languishes third from bottom of League Two.

Neil Lennon has brought about some dramatic improvement at Bolton since he took over. They have only dropped two t home in their last six matches and can see off an out-of-sorts Wigan at the Macron Stadium.

Chelsea fans will still be reeling from that 5-3 defeat at Tottenham when the Blues take on Watford at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea’s second XI are good enough to compete with most Premiership sides so any number of changes won’t affect the result here. Jose Mourinho will demand a response from their New Year’s Day nightmare and it may be worth chancing a big win with the likes of Remy and Schurrle keen to impress.

Man City have clawed their way back level with the Blues in the Premiership and can see off Sheffield Wednesday despite their continuing lack of a front-line striker. Jovetic can make the most of his opportunity in the absence of Aguero and Dzeko.

Man United’s all-stars travel to lowly Yeovil and can also score a decisive victory but Southampton and Arsenal look more vulnerable. The Saints have resurrected their league form but don’t have the strength in depth to afford too many changes against Ipswich while the Gunners face last year’s Cup finalists Hull. It may be worth taking a chance on the draw in both games.

The action continues on Monday with Burnley hosting Tottenham and Wimbledon welcoming Liverpool. On Tuesday Everton play West Ham in another all-Premiership clash. Everton are really struggling lately while West Ham have been playing well without getting the results. A combination of poor refereeing and poor finishing cost them points against Arsenal and they should have beaten West Brom on New Year’s Day.

Bolton to beat Wigan @6-4 Bet365

Newcastle to beat Leicester @2-1 Coral

Swansea (-2.0 handicap) to beat Tranmere @11-4 Skybet

Man City (-2.0 handicap) to beat Sheffield Wednesday @6-5 Bet365

Stevan Jovetic to score and Man City win @11-10 Bwin

Southampton v Ipswich DRAW @15-4 BetVictor

Man United (-2.0 handicap) to beat Yeovil @13-8 Skybet

Chelsea (-2.0 handicap) to beat Watford @6-5 Bet365

Andre Schurrle to score and Chelsea win @7-5 Bwin

Arsenal v Hull DRAW @9-2 Bet365

West Ham to beat Everton @3-1 Totesport

Hazard to keep Chelsea on course for title

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Sunday’s Premiership football did not exactly go to plan for punters with Chelsea, Man City and Man United all held. The Blues can count themselves unlucky after the Cesc Fabregas penalty incident but they received a late Christmas present from the Etihad when Burnley completed an unlikely comeback to draw 2-2 with the champions.

Once again, City appear to have much the easier task on New Year’s Day with a home game against Sunderland. The injuries to Aguero and Dzeko have left Manuel Pellegrini’s side looking extremely light up front but the fixture list has contrived to put them up against five of the bottom seven teams in recent matches. Sunderland have improved considerably from their nightmare 8-0 defeat at Southampton and will try to emulate Burnley but it looks like another three points for City. David Silva has been outstanding in recent matches and can again get on the scoresheet.

Chelsea are in the late kick-off at White Hart Lane where they face a Tottenham side who are unbeaten in seven matches since losing 3-0 at Stamford Bridge. Spurs had chances to take a shock lead that night but were outclassed once Chelsea engaged top gear. The home side have an appalling record against Chelsea over the years but look a tougher side to beat this season. Eden Hazard is in top form and he could be worth a bet in the goalscorer markets.

It’s been a hectic week in the hiring and firing stakes with Newcastle, Crystal Palace and West Brom all involved. Alan Pardew’s imminent departure from the Magpies probably suits both he and the club after a turbulent couple of seasons. He did well to come through an early-season crisis and leaves the club in the top ten while Newcastle will receive compensation for ending his contract early. I think Newcastle may struggle against Burnley on Thursday as a result and you have to admire the Clarets for battling away at Man City.

Liverpool hit form with a 4-1 win over Swansea on Monday night and, like Man City, are enjoying a very soft run of fixtures. They should be too strong for Leicester while Man United can overcome Stoke at the Britannia Stadium. Louis van Gaal and Wayne Rooney have both been having a moan about the fixture list this week but United are still in fine form and can take all three points.

West Ham impressed me against Arsenal and were desperately unlucky to lose 2-1. They should have gone ahead when Alex Song’s fired home from 25 yards only to have the goal ruled out for a controversial offside decision. They battled back well from 2-0 and had late chances to snatch a point.

They have yet to register a point over Christmas but can put matters right when they face manager-less West Brom. Arsenal face a tricky visit to Southampton who managed to hang on for a point against Chelsea. The key player here could be Alexis Sanchez who has scored in both previous games against the Saints.

Burnley to beat Newcastle @17-4 Bet365

Spurs 1 Chelsea 2 @8-1 Bet365

Eden Hazard to score first @13-2 Bet365

Man City (-1.0 handicap) to beat Sunderland @8-13 Bet365

David Silva to score first @11-2 Bet365

Man United to beat Stoke @21-10 BetVictor

Liverpool (-1.0 handicap) to beat Leicester @6-5 Spreadex

West Ham (-1.0 Handicap) to beat West Brom @9-4 Paddy Power

Alexis Sanchez to score first @11-2 Bet365