Tag Archives: charge

Whites to stall Royals’ charge

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The Easter weekend in the Championship starts on Good Friday with games that involve teams battling it out for automatic promotion, play-off places and to avoid relegation. We take a look at two massive fixtures that will have an impact on who will be in the Premier League next season.

READING V LEEDS (2pm)

A monumental game is in store at the Madejski Stadium as Brian McDermott’s Royals can go top of the Championship table above Southampton and move seven points clear of third-placed West Ham with a win.

Reading are in impressive form with 11 wins in 13 outings going into this game, while they have won six consecutive matches in front of their own fans ahead of the Whites’ clash.

The Royals are also looking for their first-ever double over Leeds having won 1-0 at Elland Road earlier in the season.

McDermott, who celebrates his 51st birthday on Sunday, will hope to have Jem Karacan, Jimmy Kebe and Jay Tabb fit after they picked up knocks in the 4-2 win at West Ham last week.

Leeds will arrive in Berkshire in confident mood, despite looking for just a fourth win in 12 matches after last week’s 2-0 home defeat against Watford, because they have not lost or conceded away from home under Neil Warnock as they search for a third straight away win.

Warnock has problems in defence so Zac Thompson and Leigh Bromby could return for suspended duo Darren O’Dea and Paul Connolly.

It looks favourable for Reading but Leeds are doing well on the road and we would not be surprised if they snatched a share of the spoils as they look to make up the six-point gap between themselves and the play-off places.

Prediction: Draw 90 Minutes @ 11/4
Value Bet: 2-2 Draw Correct Score @ 14/1

BARNSLEY v WEST HAM (5.15pm)

The late game in the Championship sees West Ham make the trip to South Yorkshire desperate for maximum points to keep alive their bid to secure automatic promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt.

Depending on the outcome of the earlier game between Reading and Leeds, Sam Allardyce’s side could be seven points adrift of the Royals should they come out on top at the Madejski Stadium.

Even if Leeds do the Hammers a favour, they are still four points behind before a ball is kicked so they will not want to pass up this chance of three points at Oakwell.

West Ham have only won one game in seven, but have one defeat in 12, which tells you they are drawing far too many matches at the business end of the season.

However, they enjoy a good record against the Tykes with five successive wins in league and cup – including this season’s 1-0 victory at Upton Park – going into this clash.

Papa Bouba Diop, who scored the winner in December, is fit after his recovery from a hamstring injury, while defenders Winston Reid and Guy Demel are also available.

Keith Hill’s Barnsley are embroiled in a nightmare run at the moment with nine defeats and just two wins from the last 12 which leaves them nine points clear of the relegation zone.

Hill has no new injury or suspension problems, but is still without seven first-team players going into the encounter.

West Ham’s need for points is greater than Barnsley’s at this moment in time and anything less than a win for the Londoners could be catastrophic for their promotion hopes.

Prediction: West Ham Away 90 Minutes @ 4/5
Value Bet: Nolan 1st Goal West Ham 2-0 Scorecast @ 30/1

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Back Blues to continue play-off charge

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Birmingham’s 54th game of a already jam-packed season sees them travel to Lancashire on Tuesday to take on Eddie Howe’s Burnley, who are hoping to end a disappointing season on a high.

Following last season’s relegation, this campaign has seen a period of rapid change at Birmingham, with a raft of players taking their Premier League wages elsewhere and even their manager, Alex McLeish, jumping ship to their near neighbours Aston Villa.

With last season’s Carling Cup success meaning Europa League football this season, new manager Chris Hughton has had to juggle a busy domestic and European schedule as well as rebuilding a squad dismantled following relegation.

It is to his credit then that the Blues are well in contention for a play-off place. Last weekend’s 3-1 win at Doncaster lifted them fourth, with race for a top six spot becoming increasingly frantic.

Burnley, meanwhile, will be disappointed not to have been competing at the top end of the Championship this year. They were in the Premier League only two years ago but have failed to re-adapt to the rigours of the second tier since relegation.

Manager Brian Laws was sacked in December 2010 after a poor start to that campaign and highly-rated boss Eddie Howe was brought in from Bournemouth to guide the Clarets up the table. An eventual 8th place finish raised hopes of a sustained promotion push this campaign.

However, they find themselves well out of the play-off picture down in 16th place – well clear of relegation trouble but 10 points off the top six.

They will go into this game full of confidence after a 5-1 hammering of relegation-threatened Portsmouth at Fratton Park on Saturday – their first win in eight games – as Howe aims for a strong finish to a below par year.

Their form at Turf Moor is a concern and a principal reason for their lowly league position. Only four sides have won less games on their home ground the Burnley this season. They have, however, only conceded 22 goals on home turf, with only two sides in the bottom half conceding less.

Those stats therefore would point to a narrow Birmingham victory but it pays to note that the Midlanders have built their promotion challenge on solid home form rather than away results; with 11 wins, eight draws and just one defeat at St Andrew’s this season. On the road they have already lost nine games – more than any other side in the top ten.

With poor home form meeting poor away form, making an accurate forecast is tricky, but with the season reaching its conclusion, City’s push for the play-offs could prove decisive.

Their spot in the play-off places is only secured by goal difference, with Blackpool, Brighton and Middlesbrough all joining the Blues on 63 points. Therefore the chance to move three points clear is one City will be loathed to turn down.

Therefore our tip is a narrow 1-0 to the Blues priced at 6/1, with the draw/Birmingham HT/FT forecast also worth considering at 9/2.

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Hoops to maintain SPL charge

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Celtic travel to Kilmarnock on Wednesday evening looking for maximum points to keep their Scottish Premier League title bid (8/15 Outright) on track ahead of Sunday’s make-or-break Old Firm derby with Rangers.

Neil Lennon’s side remain on course for a league and Scottish Cup (Celtic 1/4 Winner) double following Sunday’s 4-0 semi-final win against 10-man Aberdeen at Hampden Park which set up a final date against Motherwell next month.

And, while they will know how important it is to secure three points at Rugby Park on Wednesday after Rangers travel to Dundee United on Tuesday, the Hoops will no doubt be going all out for the win regardless.

A win for Walter Smith’s Gers at Tannadice will move them four points clear at the top of the SPL (11/8 Outright), but Celtic will have two games in hand, including the trip to face Killie, to try and overhaul their Glasgow rivals.

It is all set for a nervous climax to the campaign for the Bhoys and the loss of key midfielder Joe Ledley to a hamstring problem picked up against Aberdeen will not help matters.

But Lennon is boosted by Shaun Maloney’s (11/8 Anytime Goalscorer) timely return from a long-term injury and he is ready to fill the void for the final seven matches if required.

Celtic head into the Killie clash in good form of late having won five and lost one of their last six games – including four wins on the bounce with only one goal conceded.

The Hoops secured a narrow 2-1 win at Rugby Park earlier in the season, but will go into this latest encounter on the back of a three-match winning streak on their travels.

Kilmarnock sit in fifth position in the SPL and held Celtic to a 1-1 draw in their last meeting at Parkhead on December 21 so they will not be overawed going into this match.

Caretaker boss Kenny Shiels, who is aiming to ensure he is named permanent boss having replacing Finland-bound Mixu Paatelainen in March, will do his chances the power of good by following up two draws with the prized scalp of Celtic (13/2 Home Win 90 Minutes).

They are unbeaten in their last four home games with two wins and three draws (18/5 Draw 90 Minutes) from the last six played at Rugby Park so they will not be rolling over for Celtic.

Despite the hosts being hard to beat, Celtic will have built up a head of steam after that Scottish Cup win and they should edge a narrow game to secure the points.

Prediction: Celtic/Celtic Half-Time/Full-Time @ Evens

Value Bet: Celtic To Win 2-1 @ 7/1

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Shakhtar can halt Gunners’ charge

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Arsenal have been at their scintillating best so far in the Champions League but expect them to come unstuck when they travel to Ukraine to take on in-form Shakhtar Donetsk (19/10 match betting) on Wednesday.

The Gunners’ perfect record of three victories out of three in Group H means a win is not a must this week and, with talisman Cesc Fabregas not playing due to a minor hamstring problem, the game will present Shakhtar with a great chance of causing an upset (Shakhtar to win 2-1 – 9/1).

They too are well placed to qualify from the group along with Arsene Wenger’s men, having won two out of three games to date, and will be eager to make up for the 5-1 thumping dished out by Arsenal at the Emirates a couple of weeks ago – that loss being just their second in 30 games in all competitions.

Mircea Lucescu’s side are top of the table in Ukraine once again – five points clear of Dynamo Kiev – and look red-hot favourites to win back-to-back titles, especially if they maintain their superb early-season form.

Shakhtar have kept clean sheets in nine of their ten home games this season and Arsenal, who were soundly beaten 3-0 on their only previous trip to Donetsk in the competition back in 2000, will not have it anywhere near as easy as they did in the first game between the two sides.

Chelsea’s European campaign has been equally as smooth as Arsenal’s thus far and another win, that would secure their qualification out of Group F, is expected when Spartak Moscow visit Stamford Bridge.

The Blues are once again proving the team to match in the Premier League, having slipped up only at Manchester City so far, and it has been a similar story in Europe.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side (2/9 match betting) are again set to progress through their group with the minimum of fuss and another win against the Russian side (14/1) seems very much on the cards on Wednesday.

The three points will mean qualification is in the bag and then everyone at the club can concentrate on the tough league trip to an improving Liverpool on Sunday.

Probably the game of the night on Wednesday comes at the San Siro when Real Madrid (4/1 – Champions League outright) take on AC Milan (28/1 – outright) with the Italians out to make amends following the 2-0 reverse at the Bernabeu earlier in Group G.

Jose Mourinho took a while to win over some of the more stubborn Real fans with his brand of effective, but often negative, football, but recent high-scoring wins over Racing and Malaga prove he can win in style as well.

And Another victory this week, as he chases his third Champions League triumph, would further underline the fact that he is the best club coach on the planet.

Matchday four also sees crucial games for Auxerre and Partizan, who must win against Ajax and Zilina respectively to stand any chance of making it through, while Bayern Munich (1/10 Group E winner), who have a perfect record so far, should also book their place in the next stage with a win over Romanian outfit CFR Cluj.

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Wenger eyes title charge

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Arsenal are 6/1 to win the Premier League title this season and Gunners boss Arsene Wenger believes they have a good chance of doing so.

The Gunners have not won a trophy since beating Manchester United in the FA Cup Final in 2005 and have not lifted the title since the ‘Invincibles’ swept away all before them the season before.

Despite playing free-flowing attacking football that excites crowds up and down the country, the pressure is starting to mount on Wenger to win some silverware.

Just a trophy would be nice but bringing the title to the Emirates Stadium would be the ultimate achievement and Wenger says such a scenario is not out of the question.

“I believe we have a good chance,” Wenger revealed. “The most important thing is that we have that belief. We finished third last season, so we have two stairs to climb and I am confident that we can do it.”

Arsenal’s chances of winning the title have no doubt been boosted by the news that Cesc Fabregas will be staying on board for at least one more season.

Wenger fought hard to keep the talented Spaniard but there is every chance he will leave for Barcelona in 12 months time, so this could be his last chance to win the Premier League title.

Arsenal have also been boosted by the news that Robin van Persie is back from injury and with Marouane Chamakh also on board after arriving from Bordeaux, the Gunners should have no problem scoring goals.

It is in defence where Wenger could have problems though and it is widely thought that the Frenchman needs to get another central defender on board before the transfer window closes.

Arsenal kick off the campaign with a tough clash at Liverpool and a positive result could be the springboard they need to mount a successful challenge.

The Gunners are 7/4 to win at Anfield but may have to do it without both Fabregas and van Persie, who are struggling with their fitness having only just returned to training.

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