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Leeds upbeat on Gunners task

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Andy O’Brien and Simon Grayson have joined forces to insist Leeds United can pull off another FA Cup shock against Arsenal at Elland Road on Wednesday (Leeds 21/5 draw 3/1 Arsenal 8/13 – FA Cup match betting).

Players and fans alike could be forgiven for keeping an eye firmly fixed on the principal aim of returning to the Premier League, but seasoned Leeds followers will know the famous old domestic cup competition evokes fond memories (10/3 Leeds – npower Championship Promotion 2010/11).

The Whites took the prize scalp of cross-Pennines rivals Manchester United last season and held Tottenham to a 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane before finally bowing out at the hands of the north Londoners.

This time around they have the chance to send Tottenham’s capital rivals out of the FA Cup in front of what is again expected to be a white-hot atmosphere in West Yorkshire.

Arsene Wenger’s Premier League title-chasers needed a dramatic late penalty from captain and talisman Cesc Fabregas to spare their blushes at Emirates Stadium and O’Brien has warned the Gunners they can expect more of the same.

O’Brien said: “I don’t think we have missed our chance. To a certain extent, the Cup games take care of themselves. We were the underdogs but now we are playing at home with a massive support behind us.”

The winners tomorrow will be at home to in-form League One promotion-hopefuls Huddersfield Town in the fourth round, and O’Brien added: “I don’t think an FA Cup run is a hindrance. As a professional footballer, you want to stay in as many competitions as possible for as long as possible and if we’ve got a lot of games it means we are doing something right.”

Grayson added: “We have got to be underdogs because Arsenal have some fantastic players. We will look to try and get through and we will go out with the attitude that we can win it and give them a tough night, but we have to be aware of what Arsenal can do because they are a fantastic team.”

Leeds won their most important FA meeting with Arsenal in 1972 when a diving header by Allan Clarke from a Mick Jones cross was the only goal of the centenary final at Wembley.

However, Arsene Wenger has never experienced third-round defeat during his Arsenal managerial career and it is difficult to ancticipate the Gunners flopping (6/1 Arsenal – FA Cup outright).

Defender Sebastien Squillaci (hamstring), midfielder Abou Diaby (calf), goalkeeper Manuel Almunia (ankle) and centre-back Thomas Vermaelen (Achilles) remain on the sidelines, so Wenger will have to shuffle his pack.

Leeds are unbeaten in seven games in all competitions at Elland Road so the advice here is to take the 4/6 on both teams to score and cover yourself with the 2-1 (7/1) and 3-1 (10/1) Arsenal win correct scores.

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FA Cup Replays

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Leeds and Leicester managed to secure FA Cup draws with Arsenal (6/1 to win the FA Cup) and Manchester City respectively in the third round, but will either side be able to go one better and secure a spot in the fourth round after the midweek replays?

Leeds, who dumped out Manchester United and took Spurs to a replay in the Cup last season, came agonisingly close to knocking Arsenal out of the competition at the first hurdle, only for Gunners talisman Cesc Fabregas to step up and level the score at 1-1 with a last-minute penalty. Arsenal hammered Leeds for an hour at the Emirates but the Yorkshire side took a surprise lead through Robert Snodgrass early in the second half and nearly held out.

However, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger left a number of his key men out of the line-up for Leeds’ visit and the Frenchman could well name a stronger starting XI for the trip to Elland Road.

Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie could be involved on Wednesday after missing out at the Emirates while Theo Walcott and Fabregas were both introduced as second-half substitutes, but Wenger could be tempted to hand them a starting spot in a bid to ensure they progress.

The Leeds fans will get right behind their team and if the Whites can keep Arsenal quiet in the early stages they could well cause an upset, but if Wenger names his strongest line-up Arsenal should be just too strong for the high-flying Championship outfit and a Gunners victory, within 90 minutes, could well be worth some consideration (Match Betting – Leeds 21/5, draw 3/1, Arsenal 8/13).

On Tuesday Leicester City travel to Manchester City after securing an impressive 2-2 draw with the big-spending Eastlands side at the Walkers Stadium.

The Foxes have since added Yakubu to their ranks on loan for the rest of the season and the Nigerian striker scored against Preston on his debut for the Championship outfit, although he is not eligible. The tie also sees former City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson return to Eastlands and the ex-England boss will be desperate to knock out his old club, but City are a strong side on home soil and should be able to see off the Foxes on Tuesday (Match Betting – Manchester City 2/7, draw 9/2, Leciester 17/2).

The other two replays also see Premier League sides pitted against Championship opposition.

Cardiff have a great chance to knock out Stoke after drawing at the Britannia Stadium. The Bluesbirds have a formidable record at Cardiff City Stadium, with just two losses from their 12 league games so far, and the fans will be right behind their team for the Potters’ visit.

Cardiff have the considerable talents of Craig Bellamy, Peter Whittingham and Michael Chopra to callon and if you’re looking for a midweek FA Cup upset this could well be the fixture that provides it. Cardiff are 8/5 to get the better of Stoke within 90 minutes or 5/6 to qualify for the fourth round (Match Betting – Cardiff 8/5, draw 11/5, Stoke 8/5).

Wolves may sit second bottom of the Premier League table but they’ve beaten both Chelsea and Liverpool this season and Mick McCarthy’s side can be a very well organised unit who are difficult to break down.

However, the Molineux side have been guilty of some erratic form over the course of the campaign and Doncaster’s visit on Tuesday night could prove to be a potential banana skin for Wanderers. Wolves were reduced to 10 at the Keepmoat and they did well to hold on against Doncaster, but Rovers play some exciting, attacking football and the South Yorkshire outfit will not be daunted by visiting Molineux on Tuesday.
This is perhaps the hardest fixture to call and Doncaster certainly have the ability to get a result at Wolves. McCarthy will be keen to ensure his side stay in the Premier League and with relegation a very real possibility for Wolves, the boss may choose to rest a few of his stars ahead of the game with Liverpool at the weekend and Doncaster (2/1 to qualify for the fourth round) could well surprise a few people and see-off Wolves at Molinuex (Match Betting – Wolves 8/11, draw 13/5, Doncaster 7/2).

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Five things we’ve learned…

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It’s been another frenetic weekend of football and it’s given us more clues as who will be winning trophies, who will be going down and who is not good enough. Here’s our take on proceedings…..

1 Tottenham need new faces

Spurs may have continued their impressive home record with a goalless draw with Man Utd, but the stalemate highlighted that Harry Redknapp needs to bring in more players to mount a serious title challenge.
Tottenham (33/1 to win the Premier League) have lost just once at White Hart Lane this season and although Rafael van der Vaart looks the real deal, they still lack something in the attacking third. A stellar signing is needed this month……and not David Beckham!

2 Bolton are running out of steam

Owen Coyle has worked wonders with Wanderers this season, but their potential European bid looks to be running out of steam. Bolton (11/2 Top Six Finish) were very much second best in their 2-0 defeat at Stoke and face a tough run of fixtures in the next month, with games against Chelsea, Spurs and Everton in three of their next four league games. The Whites’ small squad looks to be feeling the pace now and the Bolton board may be reluctant to spend any major sums during the current window.

3 Beware if your team begins with a ‘W’

The bottom three in the Premier League consists of West Ham, Wolves and Wigan and don’t be surprised if it stays that way until May! ‘W’ looks to be the danger letter in the top flight, with a lack of consistency affecting all three teams. West Brom (3/1 to be relegated) may have beaten Blackpool on Saturday but their recent run, one win in seven games, suggests they should also be looking over their shoulders.

4 Any one of 15 teams can be promoted

The Championship is always a crazy, unpredictable division, but even more so this season! The battle for the three Premier League places is wide open and no fewer than 15 teams will still harbour hopes of reaching the promised land this season. QPR are the most consistent team in the league and should go up, whilst the 14 teams below them are very evenly matched. Watch out for the likes of Watford, Leicester and Hull (14/1 to win promotion) – the in-form teams in the division.

5 Walsall are doomed

It looks like Saddlers fans can start planning their trips around the League Two (Chesterfield 2/5f to go up) grounds next season, with things going from bad to worse for the Midlands outfit. Walsall were 2-0 up at home to Huddersfield on Saturday and eventually lost 4-2! That result leaves them seven points adrift of safety and still without a manager following Chris Hutchings’ recent departure. Harry Houdini would be hard pushed to escape from that position!

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Who will survive?

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When the season started many so called experts were predicting West Brom and Blackpool would be taking up 19th and 20th in the Premier League come the end of the season. However, both sides have proven the pundits wrong and given themselves real hope of staying in the top flight. We examine which side has the best chance of beating the drop after Saturday’s meeting between the two.

- Blackpool

Who’d have thought that at the midway point in the Premier League Blackpool (10/3 to be relegated) would be looking good to secure a top ten finish. The Seasiders were a stupidly short price to go straight back to the Championship before a ball was kicked this season and perhaps with good reason given their build-up to the campaign. Before the arrival of a boatload of new players the Seasiders couldn’t beg, borrow or steal someone to add to their squad.

However, as it turns out, other than DJ Campbell, Ian Holloway had the players he would need already at the club. The likes of Charlie Adam, David Vaughan and Ian Evatt have made the step up to the Premier League with consummate ease. Holloway’s not found himself out of his depth either and his attacking brand of football, while high risk, has been a unanimous success. Who would have thought that Blackpool would do the double over Liverpool or win away at places like Stoke, Sunderland and Newcastle.

While fans at Bloomfield Road have got a little carried away, with talk of Europe emanating from some quarters, they will start to believe that another season in the Premier League is possible. The bookies have also got behind the Tangerines to beat the drop, with Totesport pricing them at 1/5 to avoid a return to the Championship.

Comparisons between West Brom and Blackpool are easy to make, their attractive styles of play are easy on the eye and neither know how to play defensively. However, while Blackpool have had ten different goalscorers this season the Baggies have become increasingly reliant on top scorer Peter Odemwingie. That was in evidence in Saturday’s 3-2 win for the Baggies over Blackpool, the Nigeria international grabbing a brace to secure their first win in six league matches.

However, nothing seems to get Blackpool down and due to the wintery weather which engulfed Bloomfield Road they have as many as two games in hand on some of their fellow strugglers. The Seasiders have the advantage at the moment but with 17 games still to come there is still hope for everyone down at the bottom, a point which brings us nicely on to West Brom.

- West Brom

West Brom (3/1 to be relegated) have been the epitome of a yo-yo side in the last decade. Four times they have been promoted to the Premier League and on two of those occasions they have gone straight back down. The other season saw them pull off the great escape, in no small part thanks to Kevin Campbell (remember him?) and Kieran Richardson. However, their joy only lasted a season and they were unceremoniously sent back down to the Championship the following year.

No matter what they have tried they haven’t managed to establish themselves in the top flight and this season could be no different. The Baggies have arguably achieved as many impressive results as Blackpool this season, the highlight of which was a 3-2 win at Arsenal. However, while Blackpool have managed to maintain their positive start to the season things have gone rapidly downhill for the Baggies.

While Saturday’s win over Blackpool will have lifted some of the gloom at the Hawthorns the coming months will easily be the biggest challenge of Roberto Di Matteo’s short managerial career. West Brom’s cause hasn’t been helped by owner Jeremy Peace deciding to keep a firm grasp on his money belt rather than back Di Matteo this month.

The transfer window could be the deciding factor as to who avoids the drop out of these two sides. While Blackpool have taken the scatter gun approach to the market and should bring in at least two players the arrivals door at the Hawthorns is likely to be gathering dust.

While there are plenty of other clubs who have just as many problems as West Brom the Baggies are starting to slightly resemble a sinking ship. You can never say never but if you had to answer to question of who is the more likely to stay up you’d have to say the Premier League is more likely to be enjoying a day at the seaside rather than in the Black Country this time next year.

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Top games in Europe on Sunday

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While there is a massive day of action in the English Premier League on Sunday, it is worth noting that several fixtures across Europe could also have a huge bearing on the outcome of their respective league’s title races.

Here are the top five games taking place on the continent that are worth checking out.

Almeria v Real Madrid (6pm)

Jose Mourinho’s side sit two points behind rivals Barcelona in the race for the Primera Liga crown (Real 6/4 Outright) after 18 matches and they will be fully expected to leap-frog Pep Guardiola’s side for a short time on Sunday when they travel to face lowly Almeria.

Real have won six on their travels so far, while second-bottom Almeria have no wins on home soil from their opening eight matches to date so it appears that an away-day banker is on the cards.

Prediction: Cristiano Ronaldo 1st Goal & Real To Win 3-0 Scorecast @ 14/1

Barcelona v Malaga (8pm)

The reigning champions (1/2 Outright) are not expected to be off top spot for too long on Sunday as their home game against lowly Malaga kicks off shortly after Real’s game against Almeria concludes.

Barca have been in good form of late with a 4-0 win at Deportivo La Coruna last weekend consolidating their two point lead at the top of the table.

They should have far too much for Malaga, but it might not be as clear-cut as you would think as the opposition go into the match having won their last away game 2-1 at Sporting Gijon, while Barca struggled to see of Levante 2-1 in their last outing at the Nou Camp.

Prediction: Barca To Win 3-1 @ 11/1

Marseille v Bordeaux (8pm)

We will take a giant leap across The Pyrenees and into the south of France for our next game as the only match on Sunday sees a clash between two sides firmly embroiled in what is becoming a very congested battle for the French Ligue 1 crown.

Marseille (21/10 French Ligue 1 Outright) sit in fifth position but are only three points off Lille in top spot ahead of this weekend’s action which brings an end to the winter break.

Marseille went into the break having drawn two on the bounce, while seventh-placed Bordeaux did the same so it is set to be a close encounter at the Stade Velodrome.

Bordeaux could jump above Marseille in the table with a win so it is all to play for.

Prediction: Draw 1-1 @ 5/1

Lecce v AC Milan (7.45pm)

Into Italy’s Serie A now and all eyes will be on lowly Lecce as they look to try and slow down the Rossoneri’s march towards the title (10/11 Serie A Outright) on Sunday evening.

Milan are four points clear of the chasing pack but returned from the winter break last weekend looking out-of-sorts as they were forced to fight back from 3-1 down to eventually snatch an injury-time 4-4 draw against Udinese at the San Siro.

Meanwhile, Lecce may sit third-bottom in the table but they stunned third-placed Lazio with a 2-1 win at the Stadio Olimpico to boost their survival fight.

It is set to be closer than you would think but Milan should just about nick it.

Prediction: Milan To Win 2-1 @ 7/1

Eintracht Frankfurt v Hannover (2.30pm)

Moving up to Germany’s Bundesliga and, with Borussia Dortmund 13 points clear at the top, it does not look like there will be much of a title race in the second half of the campaign.

However, there is still an interesting battle for the Champions League and Europa League places going on beneath them and these two sides are firmly in the mix.

Eintracht Frankfurt are in seventh spot – but only seven points off second position – while Hannover are sitting pretty in fourth on 31 points.

Frankfurt inflicted Dortmund’s first away defeat of the season after eight successive wins just before the winter break in December so will return to action brimming with confidence after that 1-0 success.

Hannover have won four and lost four with no draws on their travels to date, but lost 3-1 at Nuremberg last time out on December 18.

Everything points to a home win, but I feel the visitors are long overdue an away-day draw.

Prediction: Draw @ 23/10

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Hoops look for capital gains

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There are six games in the SPL on Saturday with both Old Firm clubs in action. Leaders Celtic head to Edinburgh to face Hibs, here’s our take on that and the other key fixtures at both ends of the table……

Hibernian v Celtic

Celtic were held to a surprising 1-1 draw at Hamilton last time out, but it is only a couple of weeks since they beat Rangers, so confidence in the squad should still be high. They are top of the table by five points, but have played three games more than their Glasgow rivals. Hibs have won only twice at home all season, scoring just nine goals and surely the Bhoys will have far too much ammunition.

Odds: Celtic 4/9 to win
Value bet: Celtic Evens to keep a clean sheet

Aberdeen v St Mirren

The Dons have rescued their season to a certain extent with seven points out of a possible nine, including two away wins and they should have too much for a St Mirren side, who are just one point below them in the table. The Buddies are struggling at the moment and have won just once in five top-flight games, with three defeats and a draw, and this has the makings of a tight affair at Pittodrie. Goals may be at a premium but the home side are tipped to sneak this one.

Odds: Aberdeen 4/5 to win
Value bet: Aberdeen 7/4 to win to nil

Dundee United v Hearts

United finally managed to take all three points last time out against Motherwell after four successive draws and they are comfortably in mid-table at present, but face the in-form team north of the Border. Hearts have won eight of their last nine SPL games, with one draw, but they lost last time out in the Scottish Cup. However, that was surely just a blip and the Jambos should take this one comfortably by at least two goals.

Odds: Hearts 6/4 to win
Value bet: Hearts to score in both halves 11/4

Kilmarnock v St Johnstone

Killie are on an excellent run at present and have won four out of their last five top-flight games with a draw against Celtic, preventing their chances of a perfect five. Rugby Park has not exactly been a fortress this term, however, with four wins and five defeats, and it is their away form that has seen them reach fourth place in the table. St Johnstone are also on a decent run with three wins, a draw and a defeat in their past five matches and this one has draw written all over it.

Odds: Draw 5/2
Value bet: Correct Score 1-1 11/2

Motherwell v Inverness CT

This one sees fifth take on sixth in the table and it should be a competitive affair at Fir Park. ‘Well have lost four of their last five league contests with just one draw for their troubles, but they have faced the top three and so not too much should be read into their results. Caley have also suffered of late and have taken just two points from a possible 15, but they too have faced the top sides. Inverness are better away from home and are tipped to take this one by the odd goal.

Odds: ICT 23/10 to win
Value bet: Inverness 8/1 to win 1-0

Rangers v Hamilton

The Ibrox club will be annoyed to have slipped five points behind Celtic and will want to make sure they do not fall further behind, despite having three games in hand. A home clash with the bottom side would seem the perfect way to bounce back following the Old Firm defeat and it would be a brave man to back against Walter Smith’s men, when they play Accies at home. The visitors have scored just six away goals all season and it would be a major surprise to see them add to that tally on Saturday.

Odds: Rangers 1/7 to win
Value bet: Two or more goals at half time 6/5.

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Blues hope to change fortunes

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Bet on the Premier LeagueCarlo Ancelotti will be praying Chelsea can turn their poor Premier League form around when they take on Blackburn Rovers at Stamford Bridge on Saturday (Chelsea 3/10, draw 4/1, Blackburn 8/1).

The Blues have been in mid-table form over the last couple of months, having only won one game in their last nine outings in the top flight.

Chelsea have been boosted by the return of Frank Lampard, who believes that the team are suffering from a lack of confidence.

This mindset will have to change very soon before Premier League frontrunners Manchester United extend their lead over the Blues even further.

Blackburn will welcome the return of their prodigal son Roque Santa Cruz, who completed a loan move from Manchester City on Friday and he will be desperate to play after becoming a professional bench warmer at Eastlands this season.

If Blackburn can keep Chelsea out for the first half hour, they could frustrate the home supporters, which would make life pretty difficult for Ancelotti and his men.

With confidence low and Rovers being difficult to beat, this one could be a draw and this would mean more dropped points for Chelsea.

Fellow title challengers Manchester City can close the gap on United at the top of the table if they beat Wolves at Eastlands on Saturday (Dzeko 3/1 to score the first goal).

City welcome their new signing Edin Dzeko, who is likely to make his debut for his new club as Mario Balotelli is sidelined with a recurrent knee injury.

The Bosnian striker could partner Carlos Tevez up front in what is likely to be a very attacking line-up against a struggling Wolves side.

Mick McCarthy’s side have lost more games this season than any other club in the league and currently sit just above the relegation zone in 17th place.

Despite Wolves having won two of their last three games with shock victories over Liverpool at Anfield and Chelsea at Molineux, a win against an attacking City side will be extremely difficult to achieve and the home side should come out on top in this one.

Arsenal have had a difficult week by their standards. After scraping a 1-1 draw against Leeds United in the FA Cup, they went down 1-0 in the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final against Ipswich Town in midweek.

Although they have found playing against Championship opposition heavy-going, they should come out on top against West Ham United at Upton Park on Saturday.

The Hammers have started to get some results in the Premier League and remain the only side to have beaten Manchester United this season, albeit in the Carling Cup.

Avram Grant’s side remain rock bottom of the Premier League table though and are likely to stay there for at least another week unless they can pull off a shock victory over the Gunners (West Ham 5/1, draw 14/5, Arsenal 8/15).

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Brown faces tough start

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The Championship is looking as closely fought as most people expected before a ball was kicked, with only 14 points separating play-off places and the relegation zone. Any team putting together a good run can catapult themselves up the table, so which teams are set to be celebrating on Saturday evening…….

Preston v Leicester

Preston are really struggling this season and Phil Brown has a task on his hands to turn things around. Take a look at the strikers each respective team has brought in this week – Sven has persuaded Yakubu to drop down to play for Leicester, while Brown has got Nathan Ellington from Greek side Skoda Xanthi.
Leicester are a growing force, they beat Swansea a fortnight ago before drawing with Manchester City in the FA Cup. You would expect Sven’s boys to have too much and take all three points to add to Preston’s misery (Leicester are Evs to win the game).

Swansea v Crystal Palace

New Palace boss Dougie Freedman faces a tough trip to South Wales, as Swansea are riding high in the table and bounced back from their defeat to Leicester by beating Colchester 4-0 in the FA Cup last time out. The Swans (4/7 to win the game) have lost some consistency in recent weeks, but Scott Sinclair remains a striker in form capable of hurting a leaky defence – something which Palace possess.
Brendan Rodgers has the perfect motivation for improvement and that is the fact Swansea could overtake second-placed Cardiff if they win and Norwich do them a favour – something that could happen as Paul Lambert’s side are riding high themselves this season. (Norwich 5/4 to beat Cardiff)

Bristol City v Middlesbrough

Both these teams need to put some results together to help them begin to climb the Championship table and lower league opposition in the FA Cup last weekend beat both. The statistics for this game show that Bristol City are inconsistent at home and Boro are terrible on the road, but Tony Mowbray’s side have struggled to score goals on the road. All pointers suggest a draw in this clash at 23/10.

Burnley v QPR

Managerless Burnley face a tall order against top-of-the-table QPR on Saturday, but the loss of Jamie Mackie could have a large impact on Neil Warnock’s side. Nevertheless, you would expect the attacking flair of Rangers (7/4 for the win) to be too much for a Burnley side, who seem to follow a win with a loss, according to their recent form.

The Best of The Rest

Across the rest of the games, Leeds (1/2 to win) should get their season back on track following a faltering period by beating a struggling Scunthorpe side, who are short of real firepower.
Ipswich will be on a high after their Carling Cup win over Arsenal and the ‘new manager syndrome’ should be enough to get them at least a draw at Millwall – priced at 12/5.
Doncaster (7/5 to win) play host to Reading and the home side should come out on top, while another home victory in Yorkshire seems on the cards as Hull face Barnsley at the KC Stadium (Hull 4/5 to gain the points).
Sheffield United (11/5 to win) have only won once on the road all season, but could add to that when they travel to an inconsistent Coventry.
Watford (20/23) will beat Derby and continue the plaudits for Malky Mackay, while Nottingham Forest (8/11) should boost their promotion chances with a win over struggling Portsmouth.

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Top five transfers so far

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The 2011 January transfer window has been a bit of a strange one so far, despite numerous rumours and plenty of speculation, very little business has been done. There have been a couple of deals that have gone through though, and here is a run through of what the new faces could do for their respective Premier League clubs.

Manchester City – Edin Dzeko (£27m from Wolfsburg)

City have been chasing Dzeko for some time and the Bosnian striker could well prove to be a big hit at Eastlands. He’s already endeared himself to the City fans without even kicking a ball, by having a dig at arch rivals Manchester United and he could be a massive asset for the Eastlands side.

Dzeko has a prolific record in the Bundesliga with 66 goals in 111 appearances in his three and a half year stint with Wolfsburg, he also has an impressive record for Bosnia with 17 goals in 31 games.

The 24-year-old is not blessed with great speed, but he is a fantastic target man who knows where the goal is and could prove to be the perfect foil for Carlos Tevez, who has shouldered much of the goal scoring responsibility for City this season.

Dzeko could make his debut when City host Wolves on Saturday, as boss Roberto Mancini is expected to throw him straight into action, he will also have fresh legs having just had the benefit of the Bundesliga’s winter break (can Dzeko fire City to glory? – 7/1 to win the Premier League).

Stoke City – Jermaine Pennant (£1.75m from Real Zaragoza)

Potters boss Tony Pulis picked up Pennant as soon as the transfer window opened, after a successful four month stint on loan at the Britannia.  The former Liverpool and Birmingham man has added a bit of quality to the Stoke midfield and has an excellent delivery.

We’ve already seen what Pennant can do in the first half of the season and Stoke would certainly have noticed his absence had he left, and at £1.75million Pennant could prove a great bit of business at the end of the campaign.

Fulham – Steve Sidwell (Undisclosed from Aston Villa)

Sidwell was regarded as a quality midfielder when he left Reading for Chelsea back in 2007.  He never managed to secure regular football at Stamford Bridge and moved to Villa, where again he could not get into the side.

The 28-year-old was also a target for West Ham and Wolves but instead opted to move to Fulham, it remains to be seen if he can have an impact at Craven Cottage but boss Mark Hughes will no doubt already be delighted to have beaten two rivals in the battle against the drop to the midfielder’s signature (Fulham are 7/2 to be relegated)

Newcastle United – Hatem Ben Arfa (£5.75m Marseille)

French winger Ben Arfa was regarded as one of the brightest prospects in France a few years ago but a series of bust ups, first at Lyon then at Marseille, have hampered his career and progress to a degree. The gifted playmaker joined on loan in the summer and made an immediate impact at St James’ Park with a few moments of brilliance, including a sublime strike against Everton.

The midfielder suffered a leg break in October following a challenge from Nigel de Jong in Newcastle’s loss to Manchester City, and there were fears he could miss the season.

However, Ben Arfa is making good progress and could return to action in February, where he will surely hand boss Alan Pardew a massive boost if he can rediscover the kind of form he was showing before his untimely injury (Newcastle face Sunderland in their next fixture – Match Betting – Sunderland 11/10, draw 23/10, Newcastle 23/10).

That is pretty much it!  Aside from the four done deals above the only other business that has been done in the January transfer window is the capture of South African defender Bongani Khumalo by Spurs in a £1.5million deal from SuperSport United, while Manchester United have snapped up goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard  from Aalesunds for an undisclosed fee. Manchester City have also captured former Barcelona youngster Gai Assulin as a free agent but it remains to be seen if the young Israeli will break into the team this season, while Khumalo and Lindegaard are also thought to be ones for the future.

The transfers should pick up as we enter the latter half of the month, but at the moment the Premier League has been very quiet in terms of movement.

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The Sack Race

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Newcastle, Liverpool and Blackburn have already got twitchy and replaced their managers this season – but who will be the next club to wield the axe in the Premier League?

As sure as night follows day, the survival chances of any football manager are about as precarious as Jordan, sorry, Katie Price’s latest husband, but factor in the millions of pounds washing around in the English top flight these days, well you get the drift.

Chris Hughton, ‘Big’ Sam Allardyce and Roy Hodgson have all been handed their P45s – with Alan Pardew, Steve Kean and ‘King’ Kenny Dalglish profiting from their downfalls – but they will not be the last this season – fact!

So who will be the next boss heading off to Dubai to lick his wounds? Well, I reckon it’s between Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Martinez, with Mick McCarthy, Mark Hughes and Avram Grant also candidates for their own private ’squeaky bum’ time.

Carlo Ancelotti

Chelsea head honcho Roman Abramovich did not become one of the wealthiest men in the galaxy by being a charity case and even though the Italian scooped the double last season, he is still in deep trouble.

Captain John Terry has now come out and said results – one win in nine league games – are not good enough and it’s never a good sign when the former England captain goes on record like that.

Quite how Ancelotti has managed to hang on and not pay the price is a mystery – maybe it’s a question of brinkmanship to see who blinks first?

Anyway, Chelsea (3/10 – match betting) should win their next game which is against Blackburn (8/1) at Stamford Bridge, but will it buy him much more time?

Roberto Martinez

Wigan supremo Dave Whelan went on record last season when he appointed Martinez to assure the Spaniard he would not be sacked if he took Latics back into the Championship. And he didn’t have to pack the likeable 37-year-old back off to Catalonia following a 16th-placed finish.

This term Wigan got off to a terrible start by shipping 10 goals in their first two games which included a 4-0 defeat by new boys Blackpool on the opening day.

Latics started 2011 in the bottom three and while Whelan would not want to dispense with Martinez, is he really going to stomach more of the same between now and May?

Wigan (7/5 – match betting) face a six-pointer against Fulham (9/5) at the DW Stadium this weekend.

McCarthy, Hughes and Grant

These three must all fear being turned away at the gates of the training ground on a daily basis, but they probably don’t have much to fear.

McCarthy is not exactly everyone’s cup of tea (ask Roy Keane) but keeping Wolves up last season must count for something following promotion the season before?

Hughes is in the early stages of his job at Craven Cottage but they should have enough to stay up and continue rebuilding in the summer under ‘Sparky’.

And Grant would surely have gone before now – even given his Carling Cup run – if the Hammers could afford to pay off the remaining three-and-a-half years of the four-year deal he was handed a matter of months ago?

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