Merseyside Derby at Anfield ..

And the march goes on … !!

United’s sprint to the final seems to relentless and they showed their intents with a convincing 4-0 win over Aston Villa. Though Villa are not at their best, Ronaldo’s performance was excellent with a cheeky goal and three assists. There were some worries that Alex Ferguson might rest some of key players in anticipation of the Champions League quarterfinal with Roma in midweek but thankfully, only van der Sar was rested.

In the other matches, Bolton were very unlucky to lose to 10 men Arsenal, Sunderland were very lucky with an injury time goal which will move them closer to safety and finally, Derby were relegated to the Coca-Cola League Championship !!!

Liverpool vs Everton 

The biggest game today will be the Merseyside derby where Liverpool hosts their main rival and threat to their customary 4th place. Liverpool come into this game with high hopes and good form (sans the defeat at Old Trafford where they were simply outclassed by Man Utd). However, knowing Rafa Benitez and with his favourite tournament coming up in midweek, it has to be seen if he will rest some of his players tonight.

I hope he does not do any major changes to the side since this is an important game. Mascherano is definitely out but the rest of the team that played against Utd should start this game.

Everton have a mini injury crisis with Cahill out for the rest of the season. Andrew Johnson and Steven Pienaar face late fitness tests. Everton have not won at Anfield for a very long time and I do not see them doing it in this match.

Prediction : Liverpool to win .. 2-0, 3-0 !!

Tottenham vs Newcastle

Kevin Keegan finally got his first win since his retun to St James Park when Newcastle defeated Fulham 2-0 last weekend. However, Spurs are no Fulham and under Juande Ramos they are capable of producing good football. Last week match saw the return of Mark Viduka and Keegan was able to field his attacking trio of Viduka, Owen and Martins.

Spurs might rest Ledley King but Woodgate is expected to play against his former side. Spurs’ own attacking partnership of Keane and Berbatov are expected to create havoc against a weaker Newcastle defence which sees Cacapa missing with injury.

Prediction : Spurs win over sorry Magpies !!

Chelsea vs Middlesbrough 

Nothing much to say abt this game except the fact that Chelsea are unbeaten at home for almost four years and that record is not going to be blemished today !!

Prediction : Chelsea win .. 2-0 or 3-0 !!

Battle at both ends !!

Man Utd extended their lead at the top of the League after convincing win over Liverpool which ensured that they complete their customary double over Liverpool season after season !!! .. No thanks to Mascherano for getting a needless red card and an FA charge which might extend the current ban to 3 or 4 matches … Man Utd would have won against Liverpool with or without Mascherano.

Chelsea have now become the biggest threat to Utd’s title defence as they have a much easier run to the end of the season. The game against Man Utd in late April will be very important to both the teams ..

A couple tricky games this weekend  …

Man Utd vs Arsenal

An important game for Utd which they should win to extend their lead over Chelsea. However, after the international midweek games, some of the key players will tired and needs to be seen how their performances will be. Utd have depth in strength and should win this game. Villa have been performing badly in their last few games and have virtually dropped out of the race for the UEFA spot.

Prediction : A comfortable win for Man Utd.

Bolton vs Arsenal

Arsenal are falling behind in the title race in an alarming fashion as they have yet to register a win in 5 games. 4 points out of 15 allowed Chelsea to do catch-up and they will have a daunting task to recapture the 2nd spot from Chelsea. Adebayor has lost his “power” ever since he changed his hairstyle, Van Persie is still not at his best and their record at Reebok Stadium sucks badly !!

Bolton are fighting for their lives and have been losing narrowly in recent games. They will employ their usual rough tactics and long ball strategies to unsettle Arsenal and I have a feeling they will succed in denying Arsene Wenger’s team the win ..

Prediction : Bolton to surprise !! .. +1.5

Derby vs Fulham

If there is a game that you will expect Derby to win, this is the game !! .. Derby are still rooted to the bottom of the table and relegation looks more certain with 7 games to go. However, they have been playing very well lately and Paul Jewell has done very well in the market by bringing ex-Man Utd keeper Roy Carroll to Pride Park. He will be again on the spot in this match against a goal shy Fulham team.

Fulham have not won away this season and will be looking for a win against Derby to extend the relegation fight to the end of the season. They do not have enough firepower in front and a lot of dependance is on McBride.

Prediction : Derby to sneak their second win of the season .. +1.5 !!

Other Games :

Sunderland vs West Ham - Sunderland Narrow Win

Birmingham vs Man City – Draw

Portsmouth vs Wigan – Portsmouth Win

Reading vs Blackburn – Tough one to call but I am going with Reading home win !!

Grand Slam Sunday !!

With eight matches to go, there is no clear indication where the BPL title is heading to … though the destiny of the title seems to be in Man Utd’s hands … Chelsea’s resurgence was halted at White Hart Lane by some slack defending .. Arsenal’s title run has also been somewhat disrupted by Eduardo’s broken ankle and Adebayor’s loss of form  … Liverpool’s title run ?? …to be honest, they were never in it at all, right from the beginning !!!

Manchester Utd vs Liverpool

Man Utd were in good form recently until the FA Cup loss to Portsmouth at home. How they lost that game is still a mystery !! Goals have dried up a bit lately though they are creating a lot of chances in recent games.

Expect the attacking trio of Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez being unleashed against a Liverpool defence which will miss Daniel Agger. Carragher and Skertel (or Hyppia) will have a tough time against United’s dangerous trio.

United might have to do without Ferdinand as he has not recovered from his back injury. Wes Brown might partner Vidic at the center of defence with Evra and O’Shea slotting in the full-back roles. Anderson did a reasonable job in shutting out Gerrard in the last meeting at Anfield and he would be doing the same in this game.

Liverpool will depend heavily on Torres and Gerrard to score goals against a very mean Man Utd (only 5 goals let in at Old Trafford this season). Liverpool have also scored fewer goals away from home this season (only 17 goals), with Man City and West Ham scoring fewer goals than Liverpool in the top 10.

It’s gonna be tough game but with the high stakes, Man Utd will prevail. A draw is not good for Liverpool but you never know what Rafa Benitez is thinking.

Prediction : Man Utd to win it 2-1.

Chelsea vs Arsenal

Another London derby for Chelsea though this one is at home. Avram Grant against the Big Four is very poor and that is set to continue. Chelsea’s home record is unbelievable but that record was possible due Jose Mouriho !! .. All good things should come to an end and this game could see an end to that record.

However, Arsenal are not in great form either with four successive League draws .. though the win against AC Milan at San Siro is sandwiched between those four draws, the gunners are finding it hard to win. The loss of Eduardo has meant that Adebayor and Bendtner will spearhead the attack, with a lot of concerns arising from Emirates with the loss of form of Adebayor (the so called ‘Samson’ effect).

This game looks like a draw from the onset and only a moment of brilliance (or error) can change that !!

Prediction : Draw game !! 

Battle @ the Bottom !

With the Big Four playing each other on Sunday, Saturday will see a few relegation battles with a lot of surprises ….

Tottenham vs Portsmouth

Tottenham held Chelsea to a 4-4 draw in midweek and were lucky to have scored 4 goals. Cudicini and the Chelsea defence lost the plot in the last few minutes of the game and Chelsea fans would be hoping for the swift return of Petr Cech !!

Portsmouth are building well for their FA Cup semi-final and would be relishing this game at White Hart Lane as their away form this season is pretty good. Jermaine Defoe will miss this game against his former team due to FA regulations and it is a pity as he has been scoring in all the games he has played for Pompey ! 

Portsmouth are fresh after a week’s rest while Spurs had a tough game against Chelsea over the midweek. Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate played in the midweek game (and let in 4 goals !!) and it would be interesting to see if Juande Ramos will play them again in this match.

Prediction : Pompey to take advantage of Spurs tiredness and sneak a narrow win !!

Blackburn vs Wigan

Blackburn have dropped points in their last 2 games, losing to West Ham and drawing at home to Fulham. The loss of Ryan Nelson at the back has disrupted their rhythm and it will continue this weekend against the resurgent Wigan team.

Wigan performed admirably with 10 men for almost 85 mins of the game against Bolton at the JJB Stadium and full marks need to given to Steve Bruce for turning the tide at Wigan.

In a duel between two former Man Utd greats, Steve Bruce’s team are in better form and they will not lose this game.

Prediction : Wigan not to lose, +1.5 on Wigan

Reading vs Birmingham City

Steve Coppell has effectively stamped his authority on Reading which has seen some good performances lately, 2 wins and 1 narrow defeat against Liverpool. Reading are usually hard to beat at the Madjeski Stadium and are now performing better after recent slump.

Birmingham have performed below their best after losing Martin Taylor in the recent matches. They will find it difficult to break down a resolute Reading team away from home. They have an awful away record (2 w, 3 D, 10 L) and their last win was against Spurs some 3 months ago.

Prediction : A comfortable Reading Win (No surprises here !!)

Other Matches :

• Middlesbrough vs Derby – Draw
• Bolton vs Man City – Bolton Win
• Villa vs Sunderland – Draw
• Newcastle vs Fulham – Draw
• Everton vs West Ham – Everton Win 

BPL – Midweek Games – 19th Mar 08

what a week of surprises !! .. Utd were very lucky to have left Pride Park with all three points and you have to credit Derby for such an excellant performance. Utd are struggling to score and it was a surprise to see Tevez and Ferdinand not featuring during the entire game. A case of over-confidence ??

On the other hand, Arsenal seem to be more interested giving the title to Utd on a platter. Successive four drawn games in the league have seen their advantage at the top of the table eroded and they are in danger of losing the 2nd position to the ever improving Chelsea team. The coming weeks are going to be crucial to the top three teams and two of them are involved in the midweek games.

Man Utd vs Bolton

Bolton were pathetic as they were unable to take advantage of a 1o men Wigan team for almost 85 mins of the game. With Jussi Jaaskelinen out for the entire season (strong rumours of a move to Old Trafford to replace Van Der Sar next season), rookie keeper Al Habsi will take over the goalkeeping role for the remainder of the season. Though a good keeper, he needs to be an excellent when he is trying to stop the terrorising Utd front line tomorrow ..

Anticipating the arrival of the resurgent Liverpool team on Sunday, some of the key players might be rested tomorrow .. three points is the target tomorrow and Sir Alex will not be bothered if it is a 1-0 win again. However, considering the state of Bolton, I am sure they can beat them comfortably at home with the so-called ’second stringers’ !!

Tottenham vs Chelsea

Revenge of the Roman’s army ? Spurs were lucky to win the Carling Cup at the expense of Chelsea and another season without trophy will not make Roman Abromovich happy. A few things to consider before betting on this game …..

• This is a derby match
• Chelsea are playing at White Hart Lane.
• Spurs have lost the motivation to play anymore after winning the Carling Cup which has confirmed European participation next season.
• Chelsea are keen to take the automatic Champ League place by finishing as runner-up in the league.

$1.95 on Chelsea win is very tempting and you cannot rule out that possibility. Go for a 1-0 Chelsea win !!

BPL Barclays’ Premier League – 15th March 08

Just when you thought it is safe to bet on a strong Aston Villa team to beat Boro, in comes a Titus Bramble play-alike called Zat Knight to spoil my plans of making money. Curtis Davies’ injury has caused Martin O’Neill to make some changes to the backline but I was expecting Olof Mellberg to replace Davies and not Knight.

Anyway, it’s no good to dwell on the past and let’s look forward to another week of exciting English football ! ..

1. Derby vs Man Utd
   • Nothing much to say abt this game as Utd should win this game to put more pressure on Arsenal who will be playing later. With the incentive of going to the top of the table, I do not see Utd dropping any points or letting in any goals.
   • Man Utd to win 3-0/4-0 (clean sheet provided Van Der Sar is in goal) !!
2. Birmingham vs Newcastle
   • Birmingham under Alex McLeish have been playing well at home and this is a good opportunity for them to get the three points which will move them away from the releagation zone.
   • Newcastle under Kevin Keegan are hopeless and it was a hasty move by the Newcastle board !! .. It would be a great achievement if he keep them in the League !
   • Birmingham to win narrowly 1-0 or 2-1
3. Arsenal vs Middlesbrough
   • Arsenal will be playing catch up by the time this games starts. Boro were gifted a lucky point by Villa in midweek and I do not foresee Arsenal similarly being generous. The drop of two points against Wigan would have disappointed Arsene Wenger and that kind of mistake will not happen this weekend against the toothless Boro team.
   • Arsenal to win 2-0, 3-0
4. Portsmouth vs Aston Villa – Draw
5. Liverpool vs Reading – Narrow win for Liverpool, +1.5 Reading
6. Sunderland vs Chelsea - Chelsea win
7. West Ham vs Blackburn - Draw
8. Fulham vs Everton - Everton Away Win
9. Man City vs Tottenham - Spurs Away Win
10. Wigan vs Bolton - Wigan Home Win

BPL – Midweek Games – 5th March ‘08

With all the FA Cup upsets over the weekend, it’s time to look at the BPL in this midweek matchday where three matches are being played. With none of the top 4 still involved in the FA Cup, the number of UEFA Cup slots will be only this season and the fight for that sole spot has heated up.

Aston Villa vs Middlesboro 

The safest mantra for betting on Villa games is ‘if Ashley Young plays, Villa will not lose” ! .. definitely not against a toothless Boro team. The goals Boro conceded against Cardiff City were so silly that I am confidently predicting that Villa will win this game comfortably without conceding ..

Prediction : Home win, -1.5

Chelsea vs Derby

The FA Cup exit will be a hard blow for Roman Abromovich and Chelsea could end this season without a trophy !! .. They will beat Chelsea but the question is by how many goals ? .. To make matters worse, Derby have nothing to play for and relegation to League Championship is more or less confirmed.  Chelsea players would like to make amends to their fans and win this for them even though, they have stopped playing for their coach !! Avram Grant is the unofficial seat warmer for Frank Rijkaard and he has lost the total confidence of his players.

Prediction : Chelsea to win .. by 2/3 goals (They have a long unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge which is due to be broken by Arsenal on Mar 23 or by Man Utd on April 26 !!!)

Portsmouth vs Birmingham

Portsmouth have more or realised that FA Cup is their only logical option to playing in Europe next season and will be trying to avoid any serious injuries to key players while playing the league matches. With Everton and Liverpool fighting neck and neck for the 4th UEFA Champions League spot, the loser of the battle will be the obvious choice for the UEFA Cup place. Defoe and Baros will be playing in most of the league matches from now on so that Kanu is kept fresh for FA Cup matches.

Birmingham have registerd some key results in the last few matches and are slowly moving away from relegation. Even 1 point is good enough for McLeish’s men and they will be playing for a draw.

Prediction : Draw 

FA Cup double whammy !!

What a great night it was for the underdogs as both the favourites for the FA Cup this season, Man Utd and Chelsea were beaten by Portsmouth and Barnsley respectively. Though Utd played well, they could not convert their chances and were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty. Chelsea, however, were aweful against Barnsley and were missing Drogba badly.

A couple more games are being played tonite …

FA Cup 

• Middlesbrough vs Cardiff – Draw
  • Boro strikeforce is weak with Aliadiere suspended and Afonso Alves still not match-fit yet. They have come to this stage after an own goal by Sheff Utd’s Paddy Kenny in extra-time in the last round.
  • Cardiff are in equally bad state and have not won their last three matches. However they are relatively safe from relegation and are not in position for the playoffs either. Cup run is the only saving grace and if they managed to hold Boro for a draw at Riverside, they will be able to beat them at their home ground on the return leg.
•  Bristol Rovers vs West Bromwich – Home Win
  • Going for a home win here as ‘The Pirates’ are formidable in their home ground which they share with the local rugby team. The rough pitch will play a major part in this game and also the timing of the game.
  • This is the FA Cup after all and so far, two favourites have been disposed. Why not another two ?

 BPL

• Wigan Athletic vs Arsenal – Draw
  • Bruce has done a decent job at the JJB stadium since he took over but they are not safe yet. Arsenal will be the favourites to win but they have stuttered on their away trips and Steve Bruce has always troubled Arsenal during his Birmingham days.
  • Tottenham vs West Ham – Spurs, -1.5
    • Spurs will like to bounce back from their midweek disaster against PSV and there is no better team to show their anger against than their local London rivals West Ham.
    • West Ham have lost their last two games by 4-0 margins to Chelsea and Liverpool and are not in great form either with a massive list of injuries.
    • Spurs’ return leg against PSV could be postponed as the local police in Eindhoven are planning to have a strike. So Juande Ramos will not have to rest any players for the midweek game, but I still believe Woodgate and King will be rested. 
• Sunderland vs Everton – Sunderland, +1.5
  • Sunderland are not in the bottom three today because of their excellent home form. They have bought reasonably well during January and have been playing well in recent games.
  • Everton were convincingly beated by Fiorentina in midweek and David Moyes will have a hard time to decide on his priorities, 4th place or UEFA Cup.

Weekend football matches – 8th March

An array of intriguing matches are to be played this weekend with both FA Cup and BPL matches in store. Man Utd and Chelsea are involved in the FA Cup while Arsenal and Liverpool are in BPL matches.

Man Utd vs Portsmouth

Sir Alex rested a majority of the players in the last FA Cup tie against Arsenal and they still came up with an emphatic 4-0 win. Nothing is known about Utd’s starting lineup but I believe Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez will start. 

Portsmouth have a very bad away record and they look even worse with the departure of Benjani Mwaruwari. As Jermain Defoe is cup tied, Kanu might start as the lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation.

Prediction : Home win for Utd, -1.5 possible if all the stars play.

Liverpool vs Newcastle

Liverpool were awesome against West Ham with Fernando Torres grabbing a hattrick. If Benitez plays a similar squad against Newcastle, similar result is possible. One player definitely out is Javier Mascherano who picked up a muscle injury in the midweek game.

With a trip to San Siro beckoning for Liverpool, it will be tough to predict the lineup Benitez is going to start with. However, with the race for the last Championship spot to be also considered, I believe Rafa will start with a strong squad, get a healthy lead and then rest the star players in the last third period of the game.

Newcastle have been aweful lately and are without key players like Given, Barton, Viduka, Emre and Carr. Michael Owen returns to Anfield to make amends for his horrendous performance against Blackburn where he missed a couple of good chances.

Prediction : Liverpool are on a roll and this should be 3 points in the bag. -1.5 is possible if Benitez starts with a strong squad.

Other Games

BPL

• Reading vs Man City – Draw
• Blackburn vs Fulham – Blackburn

FA Cup

• Barnsley vs Chelsea – Chelsea

BPL – Midweek Game – Liverpool vs West Ham

Hello Everyone !!

Today’s game sees FIFTH-PLACED Liverpool meeting West Ham in a postponed match. A win tonight against West Ham will see Liverpool move above Everton in the league table on goal difference.

Betting on Liverpool is like making a bet on when Britney Spears will snap again. They are so inconsistent that it’s hard to tell what kind of changes Benitez will make every game. Though, he has come out and said that he will reduce the frequency of rotation, today’s match is the 2nd of 5 matches to be played in a fortnight. With a trip to San Siro sandwiched between two home games against Newcastle and Reading, I am sure Benitez will make some changes in the lineup.

The Hammers were ‘hammerred’ by Chelsea 4-0 at their own ground and the number of injuries are piling up for Alan Curbishley’s team. West Ham have nothing to play for this season as they have already secured the magic 40 points and they do not look like having the capacity to fight for the UEFA spot.

West Ham’s confidence should be low after the home thrashing and Liverpool’s should be high after convincingly beating Bolton at Reebok Stadium.

Prediction : A comfortable Home Win. -1.5 possible if Liverpool field a strong first team.