Southampton saw West Ham United leapfrog themselves to claim top spot in the Championship table but they will be able to go top of the pile if they can pick up the three points against Leicester City on Monday night (Southampton 5/6, draw 13/5, Leicester 16/5).
The Saints had to watch as the Hammers ran out 2-1 winners over struggling Nottingham Forest on Saturday and now they find themselves chasing down the London outfit. It’s not going to be an easy task against a Foxes side who be full of confidence following their 4-0 FA Cup thrashing of Forest in midweek.
Former Leeds United and Everton striker Jermaine Beckford bagged himself a hat-trick against their East Midlands rivals and when the forward gets in the goals he tends to go on a run. Beckford (15/2 First Goalscorer) has great ability in the air and on either feet and expect him to be a threat for the Southampton defense at St Mary’s. The 28-year-old will be a key figure for a Foxes side who are struggling with injuries and players away on international duty ahead of the trip to the south coast.
Andy King is set to miss the clash with an Achilles injury, whilst defenders Sol Bamba and John Pantsil are away at the African Nations Cup for next few weeks. Nigel Pearson will certainly have some important selection decisions to make if his side are to get something against a Saints team who welcome back star striker Rickie Lambert. The 29-year-old has completed his three-match ban and will be looking to add to his 15 goals in the Championship this term.
Saints boss Nigel Adkins has been in the hunt for a new striker in the January transfer market, with Celtic man Gary Hooper at the top of the wish-list. It looks highly unlikely the former Scunthorpe United forward will join up with the former Irons manager and Adkins may have to look elsewhere for a potential strike partner for Lambert.
Monday’s game is set to have plenty of goals if their previous encounter in the league is anything to go by, with the Foxes running out 3-2 winner at the King Power Stadium.
Southampton (9/4 Championship Outright) have not been on the best run of form with just two victories in their last seven outings in the Championship. What will hold the home side in good stead is the fact that Leicester have never picked up all three points at St Marys.
This game has goals written all over it, with City scoring a goal in all of their last 10 games in the Championship and Southampton seeing the return of Lambert. Once again another close encounter between these two very attacking side is expected but absent players could play a key role in this clash. With a host of big game players missing for the visitors, expect the Saints to just edge this one as they look to march back to the top of the table.
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настает самый подходящий момент! Много десятков лет «Тоттенхэм» 4.00 оказывался между «небом и землей», как было сказано в одном небезызвестном фильме… «не вылетали из высшего дивизиона, но и не выигрывали ничего». На этот раз в Манчестере наступает час икс, подопечные Харри Реднаппа должны, как минимум, не проиграть в матче с лидером чемпионата.
Four of the Premier League’s top five clash on Sunday in what could be one of the most significant weekends of the season so far, not least because of the extraordinary results we witnessed in the reverse fixtures last August.
While there continues to be little action on the transfer front this month the games are coming thick and fast, with eight Premier League matches scheduled for Saturday. We pick out the three best bets for the weekend, starting with Chelsea’s trip to Carrow Road to take on Norwich.
The three teams in The Championship’s bottom three desperately need to start picking up the points if they are to stand any chance of survival, but expect the trio to struggle this weekend.
так это в том, что им противостоит лучшая команда в истории мирового футбола. Хотя с другой стороны, что здесь удивительного??? Чемпионы Мира – испанцы! Чемпионы Европы – испанцы! И если в составе «Реала» – это Серхио Рамос, Икер Касильяс и Хаби Алонсо, а остальная часть сборной есть ничто иное как «Барселона»!
Spain’s two giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona, meet again on Wednesday, this time in the Copa Del Rey, and both sides will be looking to get one over on their bitter rivals (Real Madrid 13/8, drew 23/10, Barca 13/10 – match prices).
Following their goalless draw at St Andrew’s in their first FA Cup encounter earlier this month, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Birmingham City are set to do battle once again in the replay clash at Molineux on Wednesday night (Wolves 21/20, draw 12/5, Birmingham 13/5 – Match Betting).
Can Yellow Submarine sink Gijon?
It has been a miserable campaign for the Yellow Submarine, whose supporters over the years have been more used to battling it out for Champions League football at the top end of the table. However this fixture is arguably as big as any tussles they may have had in the past to push for a top-four finish as they are in desperate need of the maximum points in this clash at El Madrigal.
Jose Francisco Molina’s side continued their struggles after the winter break after they followed up a creditable 2-2 derby home draw against high-flying neighbours Valencia with a dismal 3-0 drubbing away at Atletico Madrid last week, to leave them in perilous trouble in 19th position, but not cut adrift of safety just yet.
Therefore a win against the team directly above them would be just the tonic for Villarreal and they are set to be boosted by the fitness of leading scorer Marco Ruben, as the Argentinian has shaken off a muscular problem and is feeling in good shape.
Looking ahead to the important fixture, Ruben said: “This game is worth three points, we know and we are clear the difficulty [Sporting will pose]. But these are the games you have to win and go all for it.”
Villarreal’s task will be made all the more difficult by the fact Sporting Gijon will arrive on the back of a morale-boosting 2-1 home win against a big-spending Malaga side last weekend.
However, they marked their return from the break with a 2-0 defeat at mid-table Real Betis so need to rediscover the away form which has helped them pick up two wins on the road from eight games this term.
Sporting Gijon coach Manuel Preciado will be hampered slightly on the injury front as he assembles a 22-man squad for the trip as Ricardo and Gaston Sangoy are unlikely to feature. Looking ahead to the game and both sides know a win would enhance their survival hopes, but that could result in a touch of nerves from both sets of players which will not make for a classic encounter.
The previous meetings between these two sides have been closely-fought matches with last season’s head-to-head at El Madrigal ending in a 1-1 draw, while the return fixture also finished with the same score-line. The 2009/10 season saw both sides win their respective home games 1-0, while Villarreal did the double on Sporting Gijon in the previous campaign but the winning margin has only ever been by one goal.
All the signs are that it will not be a classic and it could be that both sides will have to settle for a share of the spoils.
Prediction: Draw 90 Minutes @ 12/5
Value Bet: Villarreal/Draw HT/FT @ 16/1
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