Five weekend selections…

Christopher Samba could earn punters some Fantasy Football points this weekend when Blackburn look to frustrate goal-shy and injury-hit Spurs (0-0 Correct Score 10/1).

Fresh from victory at Newcastle, Rovers will head to the Lane full of confidence and with just one up front.

2) Andy Carroll will come up against Fulham on Saturday, looking to score in three consecutive matches. The Newcastle man (Evs to score at anytime) will be desperate to prove to Fabio Capello that he deserves an England call-up.

3) It is imperative that Manchester City defeat Birmingham at Eastlands on Saturday and Carlos Tevez is due a goal (Tevez 3/1 First Goalscorer). The Argentinian’s last league strike came on October 17, but it won’t be long until he is on the scoresheet again.

4) Manchester United have got an unbelievable record at Aston Villa (13/2 Utd to win 2-0), with Fergie’s men unbeaten in their last 14 league visits, winning nine of those. Edwin van der Sar kept a clean sheet against City in midweek and with Villa’s injury problems up front, another blank is on the cards for the Dutchman.

5) Hugo Rodallega (13/2 to score 2 or more) proved a real handful for the Liverpool defence on Wednesday and Wigan have shown signs of coming to life in their last two games. Roberto Martinez’s men, if they turn up, should pick up three crucial points against West Brom.

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10 Football Bets This Weekend

1) Bolton to continue their great run at home against Spurs and upset the midweek Champions League winners, who will not like it up ‘em (Bolton 19/10 to win)

2) Fulham have lost only once at home and can take the three points against Aston Villa, who have no fit strikers and have already lost four on their travels.

3) Sunderland to bounce back from their 5-1 mauling at Newcastle when they return to familiar surroundings to take on poor travellers Stoke.

4) The loan signing of David Healy can help Doncaster Rovers (Evens in the match betting) continue their impressive home form against Millwall (13/5 to win, 23/10 the draw).
5) Leicester have also delved into the loanmarket and the arrivals of Darius Vassell and Curtis Davies can earn the win at Barnsley.

6) In a real relegation battle, the last side Preston want to take on is Bristol City as the Robins have lost only one of the last 25 matches against North End.

7) Cristiano Ronaldo is on fire at the moment, scoring 10 goals in his last four games in the Primera Liga, and the former Manchester United ace can lead Real to glory in the Madrid derby.

8) Bayern Munich have turned a corner since their defeat to league leaders Borussia Dortmund and can continue their unbeaten run, winning four of the last five, against basement outfit Borussia Monchengladbach.

9) Schalke 04 have endured a disappointing start to the campaign but the side that finished second last year can still call on the likes of Raul and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and should justify favouritism against Bundesliga new boys St Pauli.

10) Bristol Rovers have made a solid start to their League One campaign and can be backed at 10/11 to prevent an FA Cup shock at Darlington, who have already lost three at home and lie mid-table in the Conference.

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10 Best Football Bets This Weekend

1) Bolton to continue their great run at home against Spurs and upset the midweek Champions League winners, who will not like it up ‘em (Bolton 19/10 to win)

2) Fulham have lost only once at home and can take the three points against Aston Villa, who have no fit strikers and have already lost four on their travels.

3) Sunderland to bounce back from their 5-1 mauling at Newcastle when they return to familiar surroundings to take on poor travellers Stoke.

4) The loan signing of David Healy can help Doncaster Rovers (Evens in the match betting) continue their impressive home form against Millwall (13/5 to win, 23/10 the draw).
5) Leicester have also delved into the loanmarket and the arrivals of Darius Vassell and Curtis Davies can earn the win at Barnsley.

6) In a real relegation battle, the last side Preston want to take on is Bristol City as the Robins have lost only one of the last 25 matches against North End.

7) Cristiano Ronaldo is on fire at the moment, scoring 10 goals in his last four games in the Primera Liga, and the former Manchester United ace can lead Real to glory in the Madrid derby.

8) Bayern Munich have turned a corner since their defeat to league leaders Borussia Dortmund and can continue their unbeaten run, winning four of the last five, against basement outfit Borussia Monchengladbach.

9) Schalke 04 have endured a disappointing start to the campaign but the side that finished second last year can still call on the likes of Raul and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and should justify favouritism against Bundesliga new boys St Pauli.

10) Bristol Rovers have made a solid start to their League One campaign and can be backed at 10/11 to prevent an FA Cup shock at Darlington, who have already lost three at home and lie mid-table in the Conference.

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Potential weekend shocks

Tottenham caused a bit of a shock in midweek with a 3-1 win over holders Inter Milan in the Champions League, with Gareth Bale putting in another impressive display against the Italians to become the reported subject of potential bids by the so-called giants of the game.

However, Spurs could be on the end of a shock this weekend when they return to Premier League duty as they face a tricky trip north to take on party-poopers Bolton (19/10 in the match betting).

It is one thing taking on the defending champions in Europe’s elite competition in front of a packed home stadium, but now the players have to come down from that feeling of euphoria for more ‘mundane’ domestic matters.

Spurs have an awful record at Bolton, never having won at the Reebok Stadium in the top-flight while the last league away win came way back in 1996.

Bolton have made themselves hard to beat this season, with just one narrow defeat at home to Liverpool last weekend spurring them on, while they have the added incentive of joining fifth-placed Spurs on 15 points, and can continue their 11-match unbeaten run.

West Ham United may be staring up at the rest of the Premier League table but they can have cause for optimism going into Saturday’s clash at Birmingham City.

Avram Grant’s men have lost their last two top-flight matches but a good win at home against Stoke booked their place in the Carling Cup quarter-finals and the players can take heart from their performance at the Emirates, going down 1-0 to an 88th-minute winner.

The Hammers (11/4 in the match betting) seem to enjoy the trip to St Andrews, having won five and drawing one of their last seven matches there, and could upset the odds again.

Taking a bit of a chance on which side will turn up at the weekend but Wigan (10/3 to beat Rovers) could potentially cause a surprise when they travel to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, despite having a pretty awful record at Ewood Park.

The Latics’ six-match unbeaten streak came to an end last weekend but any side which can win at White Hart Lane this season has got to have a chance of taking the three points from a club that has registered just one home win this season, and taken just one point from a possible 12.

West Bromwich Albion have surprised all on their return to the top-flight, particularly after suffering a 6-0 hammering at Chelsea on the opening day of the season, but now lie sixth in the table after an impressive run of form.

The Baggies (14/5 in the match betting) have made the Hawthorns a fortress this season, having won three and drawn two of five in the league, while they have also marched into the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup.

An eight-match unbeaten streak, which included wins over Arsenal and City as well as a draw at Old Trafford, only came to an end on Monday because the side was reduced to nine men – and even then they only lost 2-1 to Blackpool.

City have suffered back-to-back defeats in the Premier League, the second of which was at West Brom’s Black Country rivals Wolves despite taking the lead, while there remains constant talk of a rift in the visiting camp.

And finally a big shock it would be but Wolves (16/1 to win, 5/1 the draw) may have enough to get something out of a trip to Old Trafford when they take on Manchester United.

Mick McCarthy’s men can only have taken confidence from coming from behind to beat big-spending Man City, while they gave United a real run for their money in the Carling Cup, only to lose 3-2 to a last-minute Javier Hernandez strike.

United on the face of it have turned a corner, winning their last five matches in all competitions, but have yet to really hit their straps this season and have a number of injuries to contend with, after Luis Nani and Darren Fletcher joined the casualty list in midweek.

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10 things we’ve learned from the Premier League this weekend

1)      Sunderland (8/1 Top Six Finish) need to improve defensively and Steve Bruce is this week’s most unpopular person on Wearside.

2)      Feuding Manchester City are far from the finished article and don’t look title contenders (City 2/5 Top Four Finish).

3)      Manchester United are not the same team without Wayne Rooney (Rooney 16/1 Premier League Top Scorer), but is Nani the new Ronaldo?

4)      Liverpool need Fernando Torres fit and on form to qualify for Europe….as there’s nobody else!

5)      Tottenham are not good enough to mount a title challenge and will never get a refereeing decision at Old Trafford!

6)      Aston Villa are going to take a while to get to grips with what Monsieur Houllier requires!  Not sure the fans will remain patient though (Villa 14/1 Top Four Finish).

7)      Start counting your money if you’ve backed West Ham to be relegated – not even Scott Parker or Rob Green can save the Hammers from the drop (Hammers 10/11 to be relegated).

8)      Blackburn can actually play some football and Benjani could keep them in the top flight this season.

9)      Fabio Capello hopefully has a short memory, as Joey Barton looks good enough for a call-up to the England squad (1/6 to win Euro 2012 Qualifying Group G).

10)   Everton are the in-form team in the league but don’t count your chickens on a European place – a lack of goals could cost them.

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