Tag Archives: point

Take Toon to make point

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There are four Premier League games on Sunday with the stand-out clash coming in the north east when Newcastle host Manchester United.

Newcastle v Man Utd (4pm)

The Magpies (3/1) may well fancy their chances of causing an upset at home against a Manchester United (10/11, draw 11/4) side who it is fair to say have yet to really get going this season.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have stumbled their way through the opening six weeks of the season and lost their second game of the campaign at Spurs last weekend.

They followed that up with just a narrow win over minnows CFR Cluj in the Champions League in midweek and will not find it easy at the Sports Direct Arena.

Alan Pardew’s side were convincing 3-0 winners over Bordeaux in the Europa League on Thursday and, in the shape of Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse, have the strikers to trouble a shaky Red Devils’ rearguard.

Goals are likely and a score draw is predicted in an exciting game.

Prediction - 2-2 at 14/1.

Southampton v Fulham (1.30pm)

Sunday’s early kick-off sees a recently-promoted Southampton (8/5), who have struggled to adapt to life back in the top flight, against a Fulham (7/4, draw 12/5) side who have had a mixed campaign so far.

Saints did see off Villa 4-1 in their last home game but that is the only high point in a series of five defeats from their opening six games and Fulham will surely relish this trip to St Mary’s.

The Cottagers only narrowly lost to champions Manchester City 2-1 last weekend and can make amends with the three points in this one.

Prediction - Fulham to win 2-0 at 11/1.

Liverpool v Stoke (3pm)

Incredibly, Liverpool (1/2, draw 16/5) have won just two league games at Anfield in 2012 and a victory for Brendan Rodgers’ side is a must against the Potters after an overall poor start to the season.

Last weekend’s 5-2 victory at Norwich points at better things to come for the Reds as they finally got the goals earlier performances had been threatening but they will be tested by a dogged Stoke (13/2) side, who are always difficult to beat under Tony Pulis.

Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch (5/2 to score anytime) is in great form and he will fancy it against his old side while ex-Reds Charlie Adam, Jermaine Pennant and Michael Owen – if he gets on – will also be fired up.

It looks like being tight and the home side will hope not to make the sort of crucial defensive mistakes that have blighted their season so far. If they manage to keep a clean sheet the Reds might just edge it.

Prediction - Liverpool to win 1-0 at 6/1.

Tottenham v Aston Villa (3pm)

Spurs (4/9) are improving under Andre Villas-Boas and, after a slow start, have begun to pick up points with last week’s win at Manchester United the highlight of an inconsistent campaign so far.

They have generally been unconvincing at home in the league, though, drawing against Norwich and West Brom, while they were lucky to see off QPR last time out after falling behind in the first half.

But Villa (7/1, draw 10/3) have hardly been pulling up trees under new boss Paul Lambert and only just scraped a 1-1 draw at home to local rivals West Brom last weekend. The midlanders were embarrassingly beaten 4-1 by newcomers Southampton on their last away trip and will want to erase that memory as quickly as possible.

Sadly, with a rejuvenated Spurs the opposition, we predict another long 90 minutes for Lambert and his players.

Prediction – Spurs to win 3-1 at 10/1.

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Toffees stuck on for point

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After watching everyone else kick-off their 2012/13 campaign over the weekend, Everton and Manchester United complete the opening round of fixtures at Goodison Park on Monday, in what is traditionally one of the most one-sided fixtures in the Premier League.

The Toffees have a dreadful record against their rivals from up the M62, winning just four times in the Premier League era, their last victory coming in February 2010 (Everton 10/3, draw 12/5, Man Utd 10/11).

Indeed United have picked up more points against Everton than any other Premier League side and go into the game bolstered by the arrival of Robin van Persie, who could make his debut at Goodison in what is a fearsome looking strike partnership with Wayne Rooney. Fellow new boys Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell are also set to be included in Ferguson’s squad.

Despite their impressive record against the Blues, it is the Red Devils who are smarting after their last encounter. Sir Alex Ferguson’s men blew a 4-2 lead at Old Trafford in April to eventually draw 4-4, a result which ultimately cost them the league title.

For Everton the battling draw was one of a number of impressive results during the tail end of the season. David Moyes’ men have a reputation for starting slowly and picking up again in the spring and last season was no different.

Their defence was largely sound – they had the third best defensive record in the league last season – it was scoring goals that was the problem in the autumn.

However, the signings of Nikica Jelavic and Steven Pienaar on transfer deadline day in January proved crucial. That added creativity and a goal threat that saw the Toffees soar up the table, with Jelavic bagging nine goals in 13 games – the 6/1 for him to score first on Monday is worth considering.

They eventually finished last season in seventh place, above neighbours Liverpool for only the second time in 25 years. They have also won seven of their last nine league games at Goodison Park and are unbeaten in nine league games in all. The reason behind their poor starts is often speculation surrounding their best players and lack of funds to bring in any new faces.

However, on this occasion boss David Moyes has actually been able to strengthen, sealing a permanent deal for Pienaar and snapping up Steven Naismith from the now defunct Rangers. Jack Rodwell was sold to Manchester City last week for £12million but Moyes has already spent £6million of that on Belgian forward Kevin Mirallas, with the promises of further new faces.

The air of optimism – instead of despair – hanging over Goodison should be enough to ensure a raucous atmosphere during the game.

Van Persie aside, the ace card for United will undoubtedly be former Toffees striker Wayne Rooney. The England star has scored 14 goals in his last 14 Premier League games and loves to start the season with a bang – he has hit 10 goals in his last nine Premier League games in August.

He is unsurprisingly therefore the 4/1 favourite to open the scoring first on Merseyside, though value could be found in the scorecast. With the Toffees capable of grabbing a point, a Wayne Rooney 1-1 scorecast is priced at tempting 22/1.

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Blues to make point in Cardiff

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Cardiff host Birmingham City on Sunday looking to consolidate their position in the Championship play-off zone. The two clubs experienced differing fortunes in midweek as we take a look at who might come out on top this weekend (Cardiff Evens, Birmingham 13/5, draw 5/2 Match Prices).

Cardiff’s 2-0 victory over Premier League strugglers Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday night has put them into the semi-finals of the Carling Cup for the first time since 1966 and they will face Crystal Palace for a place at Wembley.

Although a trip to north London would be a fantastic occasion for the Welsh club, boss Malky Mackay would surely trade that one day of glory for a season or two in the English top-flight after the club’s recent near misses.

Cardiff will head into Sunday’s clash with high hopes of taking the spoils as they have won four of their past five Championship games, with just a draw away at Coventry on November 22 preventing a clean sweep in recent times.

Home form has been solid with six wins, two draws and just one defeat at the Cardiff City Stadium and they have averaged two goals per game on their own patch.

But they have also conceded 10, and that will give Blues hope that they can add to the 12 goals that they have scored on their travels this term.

History is not on the hosts’ side as Cardiff have won only one of their last 16 league and cup matches against the midlanders and that was back in 2006.

But they are the in-form team of the pair and have rightly been installed as favourites.

Mark Hudson and Rudy Gestede could return to the squad after recovering from hamstring injuries but may have to settle for a place on the bench.

Birmingham may well be in mid-table at present but they have ‘owned’ Cardiff away from home in recent times, with six wins from their last seven league visits to the Welsh capital.

Birmingham have picked up five points from their past three games and have avoided defeat in nine of their last 10 league games and so it could well be a tight affair on Sunday.

Stephen Carr has a sore knee while Liam Ridgewell has a thigh problem and both face late fitness tests ahead of the clash, with boss Chris Hughton keen to have both available to play some part in proceedings.

It is obvious that Birmingham are are stronger unit at St Andrew’s as they have yet to be beaten at home but they managed a creditable 2-2 draw away at Blackpool last time out and will look to build on that.

Their midweek defeat to Braga in the Europa League has left qualification out of their hands and it would probably aid their promotion push if they did crash out of that competition (Birmingham 150/1 Europa League Outright).

The Championship table is tight and it looks like it will a tough race for play-off places this term and it would surprise nobody if Birmingham were right in the mix during the run-in to the end of the season.

Victory on Sunday would be a great boost but this one looks like it could be a draw with Cardiff flying at present.

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Blues to make a point on Tyneside

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There are seven Premier League matches on Saturday with league leaders Manchester City likely to secure three points against Norwich at the Etihad Stadium, but the stand-out games in our treble sees the under-fire Andre Villas-Boas take his Chelsea side to Newcastle, rock-bottom Blackburn host Swansea and Manchester United travel to Aston Villa.

NEWCASTLE V CHELSEA (12.45pm)

It is set to be an emotional afternoon on Tyneside as the Magpies play their first game since the sad and untimely death of former midfielder Gary Speed.

And, while the club’s planned tribute has been put back until the visit of Swansea on December 17 at the request of Speed’s widow Louise, there will still be a highly-charged atmosphere at St James’ Park with a 50,000-plus sell-out crowd guaranteed earlier in the week.

On paper it is possibly the last place Villas-Boas will want to take his embattled Chelsea side following a dismal run of form which has raised question marks over his future at Stamford Bridge only a few months after he replaced Carlo Ancelotti.

The Blues have lost five of their last nine games in all competitions, although they did thrash Wolves 3-0 at home in the league last weekend to remain 10 points behind leaders Manchester City.

Villas-Boas, who will have his skipper John Terry back from suspension for the game, will be encouraged by Chelsea’s good form against Newcastle as they have gone eight games unbeaten against them stretching back to May 2006.

However, Alan Pardew will feel it is the right time for his Newcastle side to take maximum points off the Londoners, despite again being without injured midfield talisman Cheick Tiote.

A point at Manchester United last Saturday means the Magpies have lost only once in 16 Premier League games and they are also formidable at home with just one defeat in front of their own fans so far in 2011.

A close game is in store and with the two sides sharing the spoils in both league fixtures last season, we expect that trend to continue on Saturday.

Prediction: Draw 90 Minutes @ 12/5
Value Bet: Ba 1st Goal 1-1 Scorecast @ 33/1

BLACKBURN V SWANSEA (3pm)

A game of massive importance for Steve Kean’s Blackburn at the wrong end of the Premier League sees Swansea arrive at Ewood Park on Saturday.

The Rovers boss has pin-pointed this game as his side’s ‘Cup Final’ following their Carling Cup exit at the hands of Swansea’s South Wales neighbours Cardiff on Tuesday as he bids to drag the team off the foot of the Premier League.

Kean opted to keep defensive trio Christopher Samba, Martin Olsson and Michel Salgado fresh for the game following their recovery from respective hamstring problems and he will no doubt hope they can make the difference.

Rovers, who are four points adrift of safety, have only won one game in 13 league outings to date; they have lost their last three games at Ewood Park and have gone 16 games without keeping a clean sheet.

However, Kean can take heart from the fact that Brendan Rodgers’ side arrives with the worst away record in the Premier League, with just two points from a possible 18, while they have failed to score in their last three winless games.

Striker Danny Graham and full-back Angel Rangel are notable absentees as the Swans aim for a first win at Ewood Park since September 1971.

Rovers have won 13 of the 16 previous home games against Swansea, who have remained unbeaten against teams in the bottom-half of the Premier League this term.

There are pros and cons for both sides which makes it difficult to pick anything between them.

However, we’ll give Kean the benefit of the doubt to rally his troops to pull out a result in what he has virtually admitted is a must-win encounter – but don’t expect it to be pretty!

Prediction: Home Win 90 Minutes @ 6/5
Value Bet: Yakubu 1st Goal 1-0 Blackburn Scorecast @ 25/1

ASTON VILLA V MAN UNITED (5.20pm)

The late Premier League game is historically an away-day banker for Sir Alex Ferguson’s United at Villa Park, where they have not lost since the opening day of the 1995-96 season.

However, the Red Devils go into this latest game on the back of some suspect results at Old Trafford with draws against Benfica and Newcastle followed up by Wednesday’s shock 2-1 Carling Cup exit at the hands of Crystal Palace.

United fans will argue that the team which was defeated by the Eagles contained 10 changes, but the first-choice players have hardly been firing on all cylinders despite them suffering only one defeat in 16 league games.

They have scored just one goal in each of their last six league games, while Wayne Rooney (7/2 First /Last Goalscorer) has not found the target in the last seven.

Villa boss Alex McLeish will look to put one over on his former Aberdeen manager and improve a league record of just one win in 29 matches against United.

However, his side are not in the greatest form going into the match with just five points taken from their last six outings.

Skipper Stiliyan Petrov is set to return to the midfield engine room, whilst McLeish will hope Darren Bent (7/4 Anytime Goalscorer) can add to the five goals he has scored at Villa Park so far this season.

The last three games at Villa have ended in draws, but we fancy United to nick the three points given that the match kicks off later and they will have the incentive of trying to stay within five points of neighbours Manchester City who are well fancied at 2/11 with Totesport to defeat Norwich in the 3pm kick-off.

Prediction: Away Win 90 Minutes @ 8/11
Value Bet: Man United To Win 2-1 Correct Score @ 6/1

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Mancini to make his point

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The Premier League season is reaching its climax with issues still be sorted out and on Tuesday the race for Champions League qualification could finally be decided when Manchester City host Tottenham at Eastlands.

Roberto Mancini’s men are almost certain of finishing in the top four, holding a six-point cushion over Spurs and seven over Liverpool with three games to go – the Fat Lady is definitely warbling.

By the time the game kicks off, Liverpool could have closed the gap to four points following their clash at Fulham on Monday night but City will seal their berth if they were to win on Tuesday.

Goal difference is also very much with City at the moment and with Spurs also having to travel to Anfield on Sunday, the pressure is very much on the visitors to go for the three points at Eastlands.

History is with Spurs (14/5 in the match betting) going into the match as they have won 19 Premier League matches against City with only Arsenal having won more, while they have won 11 of the last 13 in the top flight and six of their last seven in Manchester.

But City (10/11 favourites to take the three points) are a much different proposition this time around under Roberto Mancini, especially with the money that has been invested in the squad, and Spurs’ season is in very real danger of ending with a whimper.

The Blues have lost only twice at home since Spurs won this fixture almost a year ago – against Arsenal, when down to 10 men, and Everton – and will be difficult to break down with a defence set to be boosted by the return of Micah Richards and Gareth Barry, who have recovered from hamstring injuries.

Spurs, on the other hand, look set to be without potent threat Gareth Bale for the remainder of the season and are in a hugely disappointing run of form.

Harry Redknapp’s men, who have won six times on the road this season, have emerged victorious in  just one of their last 12 matches in all competitions, with six draws in the last eight games.

Rafael van der Vaart remains the club’s top scorer but his early, blistering form has tailed off while Heurelho Gomes is enduring the kind of run that would fill a blooper video all on its own.

City might have one eye on the FA Cup final against Stoke on Saturday but Mancini has made no secret of the fact Champions League football is the long-term aim of the club and is unlikely to let complacency slip in.

The Italian tactician is also likely to be conservative in his approach to the game as a point serves his club more than Spurs, so at 12/5 backing the draw is the best course of action to take.

A goalless affair is a bit of risk with the attacking talent available to both sides, but at 9/1 is certainly worth considering, depending on the team news – and the unpredictable nature of Gomes.

Carlos Tevez is set for a late fitness test to determine his availability for both this match and the Cup final – and has got to be looked at in the goalscoring markets (4/1 First/Last, Evens Anytime goalscorer) if he plays as he has scored more than Roman Pavlyuchenko, Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch combined.

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Championship promotion race reaching boiling point

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Bet on the ChampionshipWith most teams in the Championship having just 10 games to go before the end of the season, who will win the race for promotion and be playing Premier League football next season?

Queens Park Rangers (1/12 to win promotion) are still leading the way as they have done for much of the season. Neil Warnock’s men are seven points clear of the playoffs and have the best goal difference in the league by some way.

It’s hard to see them throwing their position away and they should go on to lift the Championship trophy come the end of the season.

The race for the second automatic spot, however, appears less clear-cut as all the top clubs vying for it have slipped up recently.

Swansea (6/5 to win promotion) dropped two points on Tuesday night as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Watford at the Liberty Stadium as the Welsh side missed a chance to consolidate their position in the top two but they are still ahead of Norwich City on goal difference.

Norwich (9/4 to win promotion) managed to secure all three points in their tough away trip to the Walkers Stadium in a 3-2 victory over Leicester, who look like they are going to struggle to make the play-offs despite investment in the side and a fine recent record under Sven Goran Eriksson.

With striker Grant Holt continuing to find the back of the net for the Canaries and their never-say-die attitude, it looks like Norwich will push the Swans all the way for that second automatic spot.

Cardiff City (5/4 to win promotion) have hit a blip at a bad time in the season as the Bluebirds suffered their third consecutive defeat on Tuesday at the hands of struggling Crystal Palace.

After being comfortably clear of the play-off places just a couple of months ago, Cardiff will have to be careful that they don’t fall completely out of the top six before the end of the season.

Leeds United (7/2 to win promotion) suffered a setback to their promotion hopes when they were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Swansea last month but the Whites bounced back and produced successive victories over Doncaster Rovers and Preston.

Leeds will be desperate to avoid the drama of the play-offs if they can, due to their poor record in them in previous attempts in the Championship and League One.

With the likes of Max Gradel, Robert Snodgrass and Luciano Becchio in good form, though, they remain lively outsiders to bag automatic promotion.

Nottingham Forest (2/1 to win promotion) will be kicking themselves they did not make a goal lead count against Sheffield United, as they lost 2-1 at Bramall Lane and Billy Davies’ side are now on the verge of dropping out of the top six with Burnley in a strong position with two games in hand.

Forest and Burnley will be battling out for that final play-off place with Reading, Hull and Leicester, at this stage anyway, off the pace in the race for that crucial sixth spot.

It is still not clear who will be playing against the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool next season but what is is that there will be plenty more drama, considering what is at stake, before the season is over.

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