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Hammers to boost title hopes

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The Championship has been possibly the most exciting league in Britain this year and despite West Ham (10/11 Championship outright) currently holding a four point lead, they know that any slip-ups are sure to be punished by the chasing pack.

That slip-up could come this weekend as Sam Allardyce and his men travel to London Road to take on Peterborough, who have their own agenda as they look to avoid relegation following their promotion in the summer (Peterborough 13/5, draw 5/2, West Ham evens).

Darren Ferguson’s side have been solid rather than spectacular this season but are currently in a bit of a slump having not won since beating Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day. However, they always seem to raise their game against the top teams and will be looking to break their streak against the Hammers.

Key to their chances will be playmaker George Boyd, who has long been hailed as one of the best players outside the Premier League. The Scot has the ability to unlock any defence and West Ham will have to be wary of his threat whenever the Posh have got the ball.

The Hammers themselves have disappointed recently but have somehow maintained their position atop the table and now look almost certain to earn promotion back to the Premier League.

Sam Allardyce’s side once again proved their credentials by beating local rivals Millwall last Saturday, despite going down to ten men early on after captain Kevin Nolan’s sending off.

Nolan’s absence will pile more pressure on stand-in captain Mark Noble, who was the architect of last Saturday’s victory. He’ll once gain look to control the game and is sure to be at everything positive for his side.

Noble’s quality could prove the difference at London Road and the Hammers will be confident of success but its sure to be a close game (West Ham 7/1 to win 2-1).

Another game that jumps out from the Championship on Saturday is the clash at the Walkers Stadium which sees Leicester take on Cardiff (Leicester 5/4, draw 9/4, Cardiff 7/4).

The big-spending Foxes have disappointed this season after bringing in a number of high-profile players, while Cardiff have once again confounded the critics and are challenging for promotion to the top flight.

The East Midlands club have often struggled at the back but seem to have settled down in recent times with Sean St Ledger stepping into partner Matt Mills. The duo will be vital on Saturday and will be looking to establish themselves as the first choice defensive pair ahead of Sol Bamba’s return from the African Cup of Nations.

Cardiff’s game is based on moving the ball quickly on the ground and central to this is midfielder Peter Whittingham, who has once again proved himself to be his side’s key player. The former Aston Villa man will be looking forward to testing himself against some of the best players in Championship.

However, home advantage should prove enough and a win could help Nigel Pearson’s side make a late run for the promotion places (Leicester 8/1 to win 2-1).

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Friday’s football picks

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Southend will view the visit of Rotherham United as a chance to get back to winning ways in League Two on Friday, while Wolfsburg host SC Freiburg in Germany’s Bundesliga and FC Twente entertain Heracles Almelo in Eredivisie in the Netherlands.

Southend United v Rotherham United

Southend have hit a wall in recent weeks and are without a win in three in all competitions but have a chance to reinvigorate their promotion push when out-of-form Rotherham head to Essex.

Paul Sturrock pulled no punches with a damning assessment of his players’ second-half performance against relegation-threatened Plymouth, when they let slip a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 in the last five minutes, and will demand a response.

He told BBC Essex: “In the first half we were so dominant. We were in their faces and the right positions.

“We decided that 2-0 is what it’s about and you can’t do that. We decided we were a football team and played it square and back. We’ve paid the price.”

The Millers have only won one in five in League Two and have slipped to 13th in the table, while they have only won four away from South Yorkshire.

The 10/11 about the Shrimpers to collect maximum points (5/2 draw 3/1 Rotherham – match prices) and go, temporarily at least, to the top of the table is good enough.

Wolfsburg v SC Freiburg

It is difficult to make a case for Germany’s rock-bottom club SC Freiburg at odds of 3/1 (8/11 Wolfsburg 5/2 draw – match prices) at the Volkswagen Arena on Friday.

Breisgau-Brasilianer returned from the winter break with an encouraging win against fellow basement dwellers Augsburg but have not won in two since.

The Wolves were not disgraced when losing 2-0 to Bayern Munich and last week held Borussia Monchengladbach to a goalless draw in Lower Saxony.

They have not lost a home game in all competitions since a 3-2 defeat by Hertha Berlin at the end of October but, either side of that, have been a tough nut to crack on home soil and the return of Mario Mandzukic (11/10 – Score Anytime) will boost them in the final third.

FC Twente v Heracles Almelo

Steve McClaren’s FC Twente have been in sparkling form since the return of the top flight in the Netherlands – scoring nine and conceding once – and can go level on points with PSV and AZ with victory on Friday against Heracles at De Grolsch Veste.

The match prices – FC Twente 2/9 draw 21/5 Heracles 17/2 – would indicate this is a formality for the Tukkers and even a cursory look at Heracles’ shambolic recent away form would back this up.

Heraclieden have not win in five on the road in the top flight and McClaren’s men should have little trouble franking their recent form.

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Chelsea ‘best of the rest’

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The race for the Premier League title appears to be a two-horse race between Manchester City and Manchester United, with 17/1 shots Tottenham having work to do to gatecrash the party, but who is set to finish in the top four with them?

Assuming the two Manchester clubs and Spurs don’t blow up over the last 14 games of the season, one of them will be crowned as the champions of England, with City the current 1/2 favourites to secure the title in May.

Third-placed Tottenham, who saw boss Harry Redknapp cleared of tax evasion charges on Wednesday, have a seven-point cushion over Chelsea at the moment, so if it’s a case of just one top-four spot being up for grabs who will grab it?

The race, so it seems, is between Andre Villas-Boas’ Blues, Newcastle, Arsenal and Liverpool, with the answer set to be known in just over three months time.

Chelsea (4/9)

For the first time in years, Chelsea are not challenging for the top prize by virtue of the fact they are 14 points worse off than the league leaders.

This season was always going to be about rebuilding under Villas-Boas and he appears to be safe as long as he makes it into the top four and gives the Champions League a real crack.

The Blues certainly need a fresh injection of funds to freshen up a squad that can no longer rely on the likes of Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard to reproduce their magic given their advancing years.

But the west Londoners should have enough, although it may go down to the fire as they face Newcastle, Arsenal and Liverpool in three of their last five Premier League games of the season.

Newcastle (14/1)

The Magpies have been the surprise package of the season although there were real doubts they could compete following the exits of a number of first-team stars and owner Mike Ashley’s sometimes strange decisions.

But the Toon Army have new heroes to worship following the departures of the likes of Andy Carroll, Kevin Nolan, Jose Enrique and Joey Barton since January 2011 – although it appears the top four is beyond them for the time being.

That said, boss Alan Pardew, who was not the most popular man on Tyneside after replacing Chris Hughton, deserves huge credit for the side’s form.

However, tough-looking games at Spurs and Arsenal plus the home derby against in-form Sunderland between now and the middle of March will probably put a different complexion on matters.

Arsenal (5/2)

Boss Arsene Wenger reckons his side have a great chance of breaking back into the top four and while his side is bubbling with confidence after destroying Blackburn, it must be remembered Rovers have won just four games this term.

Interestingly, one of those victories was against the Gunners at Ewood Park back at the start of the season, with the north Londoners enduring a dreadful August by also losing to Liverpool and Manchester United while being held by Newcastle.

It must also be pointed out Arsenal are back in Champions League action this month while they have a tough run in the league, with trips to Sunderland and Liverpool plus the small matter of a home derby against Spurs on February 26 at the Emirates.

The best they can probably hope for is an FA Cup run, with Wenger’s boys 11/2 to go all the way to Wembley and win the most famous of football trophies.

Liverpool (2/1)

Kenny Dalglish’s outfit have spent a lot of money to fail to reach the Champions League after an absence of a couple of seasons.

Lesser characters in the game – and at Anfield in particular – might have come under more pressure given the Reds’ woeful form on their own patch.

Like Chelsea, Liverpool’s strongest characters around the club – Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard – are knocking on a bit but there does not appear to be too many ready-made replacements in terms of leadership.

Gerrard, though, still has a few more years in him, but he will be fortunate to feature again at Champions League level again before hanging up his boots.

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Capello quits England job

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England remain 8/1 shots to win Euro 2012 following the resignation of boss Fabio Capello with immediate effect.

The Italian has gone after a fall-out over the decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy last week, with the Chelsea skipper facing a trial over alleged racist comments made to QPR’s Anton Ferdinand earlier in the season.

The FA must now find a man to prepare the Three Lions for the European Championships and also the programme of international friendlies ahead of the showpiece tournament in Poland and Ukraine this summer.

An FA statement confirming Capello’s resignation was issued by the FA on Wednesday evening.

It read: “The Football Association can confirm that Fabio Capello has today resigned as England Manager.

“This follows a meeting involving FA Chairman David Bernstein, FA General Secretary Alex Horne and Fabio Capello at Wembley Stadium.

“The discussions focused on The FA Board’s decision to remove the England team captaincy from John Terry, and Fabio Capello’s response through an Italian broadcast interview.

“In a meeting for over an hour, Fabio’s resignation was accepted and he will leave the post of England Manager with immediate effect.”

Spain are the current 9/4 favourites to win Euro 2012.

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Lennon issues Celtic warning

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Celtic may well be on an impressive run of form in the Scottish Premier League this season but manager Neil Lennon has urged his players to avoid complacency when they make the trip to Hearts on Wednesday (Hearts 4/1, draw 5/2, Celtic 8/11 – Match Betting).

The Hoops have worked wonders in recent months as they managed to overturn Rangers’ (10/3 – SPL Outright) 15-point lead at the top of the table to go top of the pile, with four points being the difference if they can win at Tynecastle.

It’s the level of consistency that has been so impressive for Celtic after a slow start to the campaign, as they have dominated most sides from start to finish in recent weeks.

Gary Hooper (10/3 – First Goalscorer) has been the star striker for Celtic since his move from Scunthorpe United, however he has been backed up by decent performances from Georgios Samaras and Anthony Stokes.

Goals have not been hard to come by for Hooper and Stokes, who have 33 goals between them in all competitions this term, and Hearts will be fully aware of the duo.

It has not only been in the attacking areas of the field where Celtic (1/5 – SPL Outright) have looked strong, as the Old Firm side have only conceded two goals in their last five outings, which will be a worrying sign for a Hearts side who have been making headline for the wrong reasons this week.

The Edinburgh outfit continue to struggle with financial restraints off the field, with players reportedly not being paid on time and now a fresh court case against them from the Inland Revenue for alleged unpaid tax.

Considering their monetary woes, the Hearts players should take great credit for their performances on the field, as they currently sit in fourth place in the SPL table.

The Jambos find themselves six points off Motherwell and will be keen to close down the gap on the Steelmen before their trip to St Mirren on Saturday.

Hearts head into this match following a 1-1 draw with St Johnstone, in what was a frustrating afternoon for manager Paulo Sergio, who saw his side have a man advantage for the final 15 minutes of the game.

One bright spark for Hearts was the 23-year-old David Templeton scoring the opening goal of the game against the Perth club. The attacking midfielder is highly rated and Celtic will have to be aware of the threat he will pose on Wednesday night.

Czech midfielder Rudi Skacel (15/2 – First Goalscorer) is currently the club’s leading goalscorer this term with nine and he will also be looking to find a way through that sturdy Celtic defence.

Considering their form the Hoops are firm favourites to win Wednesday’s encounter at Tyncastle and it’s hard to see them not coming away with the three points.

Hearts have struggled for goals so a clean sheet for Celtic would not be surprising, as they look to extend their lead at the top of the table and go a step close to claiming the SPL title.

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Black Cats to feast on bare bones

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Wednesday’s FA Cup fourth round replay sees North-East rivals Middlesbrough and Sunderland go head-to-head at the Riverside Stadium for the right to face Arsenal on home soil in round five (match prices).

Tony Mowbray’s Championship side pulled off a surprise result at the Stadium of Light just over a week ago when they held their in-form Premier League neighbours to a 1-1 draw when Barry Robson’s first half volley for Boro was cancelled out by fit-again Black Cats hitman Fraizer Campbell in the second half.

However, while Boro might have felt they had a great chance to finish the job in front of their own fans this week, circumstances have cruelly gone against the Teessiders over the past 10 days with Mowbray admitting his squad is now “down to the bare bones”.

Robson, fellow midfielder Faris Haroun, goalkeeper Danny Coyne and strike duo Scott McDonald and Marvin Emnes, who all started the original tie, have picked up injuries and look set to miss out to add to the costly absence of influential midfielder Nicky Bailey and striker Bart Ogbeche.

Boro do have first-choice goalkeeper Jason Steele back fit, while Julio Arca is available to face his former club having served a three-match suspension and 19-year-old striker Curtis Main (8/1 First Goalscorer) is set to be handed his first start alongside January signing Lukas Jutkiewicz (15/8 Anytime Goalscorer) in attack.

The form book is not too good for Boro as Saturday’s goalless draw against Crystal Palace was their third successive stalemate in all competitions, while they have not won a league game since the 1-0 Boxing Day home victory against Hull City.

Boro have struggled for Championship wins at home all season as they have drawn eight times at the Riverside, while they have not scored more than one goal on home soil in their last seven outings.

On the other hand Sunderland make the short trip down the A19 from Wearside still brimming with confidence from a magnificent run of form inspired by the arrival of new boss Martin O’Neill in December.

The Northern Irishman has guided the Black Cats to seven Premier League wins in 10 games at the helm, while Saturday’s 1-0 success at Stoke means they have won four of their last five on the road.

O’Neill also has selection problems to contend with as loan signings Wayne Bridge and Sotirios Kyrgiakos are ineligible, while skipper Lee Cattermole’s hamstring injury will again deny him a run out against his former club.

Nicklas Bendtner, Wes Brown, David Vaughan, Matt Kilgallon and Titus Bramble all remain on the sidelines.

However the original tie’s goal hero Campbell (11/2 Last Goalscorer) is set to feature and O’Neill is likely to stick with young winger James McClean (9/4 Anytime Goalscorer), who scored the winner at Stoke and caused plenty of problems for Boro at the Stadium of Light.

In recent meetings at the Riverside, Boro have not beaten their local rivals since a 3-0 win in September 2002, while there have been two draws and a Sunderland victory in the following three fixtures.

The two sides have met four times in the FA Cup over the years with the record standing at two wins apiece.

Following the original tie, we anticipated another close encounter between the two sides with even the prospect of extra times and penalties (23/10 Draw 90 Minutes).

However, while both teams have further depleted squads to select from, we now feel the loss of at least five regular first-team players will leave Boro too short to pull off an upset and fully expect Sunderland to get the job done within 90 minutes.

Prediction: Sunderland Away 90 Minutes @ 21/20
Value Bet: Campbell 1st Goal Sunderland 2-0 Scorecast @ 33/1

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FA Cup fourth-round replays

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There are two FA Cup fourth-round replays on Tuesday with Sheffield Wednesday hosting Blackpool and Millwall travelling to Southampton. Both ties ended up 1-1 first time around so we will take a look at who might prevail this time and make it into the fifth round (Tottenham 3/1 fav FA Cup Outright).

Sheffield Wednesday v Blackpool

Wednesday ignored the fact that they were playing a side riding high in the Championship when they earned a share of the spoils in the first match to bring the Seasiders back to Hillsborough.

Indeed it looked as though they would down Ian Holloway’s men until Kevin Phillips scored a stoppage-time penalty to prolong the tie.

The Owls will be confident of causing an upset on Tuesday as they are second in League One at present and look set for as return to the second tier of English football next season.

However, Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Yeovil was only their second league win in five attempts and they appear to be stuttering towards the end-of-season run-in.

The FA Cup could prove a welcome distraction with a high-profile clash with Premier League side Everton up next for the winners of this match.

The Tangerines are in decent form themselves, with three wins and two draws in their last five matches in all competitions.

Back-to-back league wins have propelled them into fourth place in the Championship standings and it remains to be seen what sort of side Holloway puts out in South Yorkshire, with promotion clearly the number one priority this term.

He made eight changes for the first encounter with Gary Megson’s men and there seems no reason to suggest that he will do anything different this week.

With Wednesday also unlikely to field a first-choice starting XI it is difficult to call this one but home advantage might just tip it in the Owls’ favour.

Match prices: Wednesday 6/4, Blackpool 17/10, draw 12/5

Southampton v Millwall

Rickie Lambert looked to have booked the Saints a place in round five back in late January only for Darius Henderson to bag an 86th-minute equaliser and force the replay at St Mary’s.

It was the last thing that either side wanted, with the south coast club battling for promotion to the Premier League and the Londoners in the thick of a relegation scrap.

Despite their position in the Championship table, Southampton have stumbled of late and have taken just five points from their past five games.

And with that in mind it would seem that boss Nigel Adkins will rest a few of his stars as they look to keep their two-point advantage over third-place Cardiff City in the standings, with a clash against play-off chasing Burnley at the weekend.

Millwall are five points above the drop zone at present but boss Kenny Jacket knows only too well how quickly his side could slip into the bottom three and it is unlikely that he will put out his strongest side either.

And they will go into the match with no form whatsoever, with four defeats in their past five Championship outings, including the 6-0 mauling at home to Birmingham City.

They lost 2-1 to neighbours West Ham on Saturday and the alarm bells will certainly be ringing at the Den that it could be a real struggle to avoid slipping into League One.

A cup run would certainly help to boost the players’ confidence but Jacket will probably want to put all his eggs in one basket and just concentrate on picking up league points.

It would be wrong to say that these clubs could do with losing this match and they will undoubtedly be giving it their all to win, but both managers could probably do without the distraction of the cup with so much at stake elsewhere.

Match prices: Southampton 4/6, Millwall 4/1, draw 11/4

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Zigic back to punish Pompey

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Birmingham City have been one of the in-form sides in the Championship since they crashed out of the Europa League and now manager Chris Hughton will be looking for a further three points when they host Portsmouth on Tuesday (match prices – Birmingham 4/6, draw 13/5, Portsmouth 9/2).

Blues have been frantically playing catch-up after their journey in Europe came to an end but, despite a hectic schedule, the West Midlands outfit have been climbing the Championship table with great affect.

Birmingham were held to a goalless draw in a bitterly cold encounter with Southampton at St Andrew’s on Saturday despite having some great chances to win the game, especially when the visitors went down to 10-men with the sending off of Danny Fox.

Hughton will be looking for a far more clinical effort from his highly attacking side who have managed to score three or more goal against Leeds United, Sheffield United and Watford in recent weeks.

Blues were without Nikola Zigic (5/1 first goalscorer) for their stalemate with Southampton, and his return could spark goals for the home side, after he scored an impressive four goals at Elland Road in his last outing.

The Serbian striker picked up a knock in the 4-1 win over Leeds but could make a return for Birmingham and he will look to cause plenty of problems for the Portsmouth defence.

As for Pompey their financial problems off the field seem to be never ending and reports on Monday have suggested the players have not been paid their wages for January.

Portsmouth fans will be hoping the ongoing troubles behind the scenes will not affect the players on the pitch but it’s hard to see how they wouldn’t.

Fortunately the south-coast outfit have 10 points between themselves and the relegation zone but they will be determined to make sure that gap does not get any smaller in the coming weeks.

Manager Michael Appleton saw his side put in an impressive performance in their last outing, with a 3-0 away victory over Peterborough thanks to a brace from Erik Huseklepp (10/1 first goalscorer).

The Norwegian playmaker has been a key figure for his side but the fact he is the club?s joint leading goalscorer with five in the league tells its own story.

Despite struggling for goals in the striking department, the midfield with David Norris and former Stoke City star Liam Lawrence will cause problems for Blues, in what will be an interesting midfield battle.

Pompey have some important games coming up against teams around them in the league with Ipswich Town and Barnsley on the horizon.

Appleton will be determined to cause an upset on Tuesday night but they might have one eye on more winnable games in the coming weeks.

Birmingham (6/1 Championship outright) are in fine form and it’s hard to the see them not winning this one at St Andrew’s, so expect Pompey to get the Blues on another cold night in the Midlands.

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Malaga to edge derby spoils

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Monday’s Spanish Primera Division action sees Malaga bid to keep their push for a European place on track with a tricky derby trip to face struggling Andalusian rivals Granada.
Manuel Pellegrini’s big-spending Malaga outfit have stuttered of late, but he will hope last weekend’s first win in seven outings against Sevilla will mark the start of a good run of results given that they currently sit just four points behind Levante who occupy fourth spot in the standings.
However, their task will not be helped by the continued absence of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Julio Baptista and Joaquin as the trio continue to work their way back to full fitness following injury problems.
The loss of Joaquin in particular is significant given that he scored a brace, along with midfielder Santi Cazorla, in a comprehensive 4-0 victory at La Rosaleda in the corresponding clash earlier in the season.
However, defender Weligton is confident that Malaga will travel to face Granada in good heart looking to pick up as many points as they possibly can from the ‘important’ next five or six fixtures.
But he is expecting a tough encounter against a side which could be back in the relegation places by the time the match kicks off at Los Carmenes on Monday evening.
He said on the club’s website: “They’re playing at home with a new manager (Abel Resino) who’s motivating the team and it’s going to be a very difficult match.
“Everyone sets out their own objective, of being as high up as possible, but we know that we have to win the next match.
“It’s close, we have to be focused and we know the importance of getting the win.”
Granada benefitted from new manager syndrome in their previous outing after recording a valuable 2-1 win against Real Betis to end their own run of poor results.
Resino bolstered El Grana with a transfer deadline day loan swoop for Sao Paulo’s exciting 20-year-old Brazilian striker Henrique, who could well make his first-team debut in the encounter.
As we mentioned earlier, Malaga were comfortable winners in the most recent Andalusian derby in September, but the two sides’ overall Primera Division record is very even with both teams enjoying four wins apiece with five draws.
We expect a tight game with both sides desperate for points to help their respective targets for the remainder of the campaign, but Malaga should have just enough to edge the points.
Prediction: Malaga Away Win 90 Minutes @ 13/10
Value Bet: Malaga To Win 2-1 Correct Score @ 8/1

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Spurs to show title credentials

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Tottenham's Jermain DefoeThere is one tasty looking fixture left in this weekend’s round of Premier League fixtures as Liverpool entertain Tottenham on Monday night in a match that will go a long way to determining both clubs’ chances of attaining their respective goals.

Spurs still retain hopes of winning the Premier League title after bouncing back from the unlucky and controversial 3-2 defeat at Manchester City with a 3-1 home win over strugglers Wigan.

City of course had slipped up against Everton in midweek but pulled eight points clear of Spurs with the 3-0 win over Fulham on Saturday night.

Harry Redknapp knows that his side can ill-afford too many slip-ups but a draw may not be considered good enough when trying to claw back the deficit, even though Liverpool remain unbeaten at home.

A top-four finish was perhaps the expectation at the start of the season for the Lilywhites but, having performed so well in the league to date, barring the opening defeats against United and City, there is still enough time to land the ultimate prize in domestic football.

That used to be expected in Liverpool but their star has fallen somewhat and the Reds now face a battle to even qualify for the Champions League after making a slow start to a campaign, which began with hopes of a title tilt after a summer spending spree – added to the outlay made last January.

Inconsistency has been a problem for Dalglish’s men while a lack of goals has not helped the cause, and they could go into Monday’s fixture seven points behind fourth-placed Chelsea (depending on the Blues’ result against United on Sunday).

The Reds are unbeaten at home and consequently have been installed as 11/10 favourites in the match betting, with Spurs on offer at a tempting 13/5 and the draw at 12/5 in the match betting.

Liverpool’s unbeaten home record does mask the fact that they have been held seven times at Anfield with just four wins in the 11 matches played there, scoring just 14 goals in the process.

Spurs have scored 20 on their travels and lost just three games, none of which would necessarily be considered surprising – at United, City and Stoke – while they were the last team to win at Anfield, winning 2-0 in May last season.

The north Londoners’ record is hardly great though as that win was their only one in their last 17 visits to Anfield, but this a different Spurs team and there is plenty of value about them taking something from the game.

Tottenham of course put Liverpool’s early-season pretensions into perspective with a 4-0 drubbing at White Hart Lane, and have lost only one of the last five Premier League games againstthe Reds and are looking to complete the double over them for the second consecutive season.

A lot could depend on the team news as Spurs are sweating on Aaron Lennon, Jermain Defoe, Emmanuel Adebayor and Rafael van der Vaart, while William Gallas and Tom Huddlestone are definitely ruled out.

Louis Saha was a deadline-day capture from Everton and could make his debut, and he is an 8/1 shot in the First/Last Goalscorer betting and 5/2 to score Anytime.

However, much of the pre-match hype is bound to surround the return of Luis Suarez (5/1 First/Last, 11/8 Anytime Goalscorer) from his lengthy ban, although whether he is thrust straight back into the team is open to question.

The Uruguayan is regarded as a key player for Liverpool but goals have been a problem this season, even for him, as he has managed just five in the top-flight this term.

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