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Premiership Predictions: March 5th to 7th: (Saturday to Monday) 2011

Match 1: Birmingham – West Brom: (Saturday March 5th: 12.45pm):

Birmingham had a fantastic result on Sunday in the League Cup final when they won 2-1 with a late goal. This was the first time that Birmingham had won a major final at Wembley & their first trophy since winning the same trophy in 1963. Well done to them as it is good that the so called lesser clubs win trophy’s.

Birmingham now play West Brom at home in a classic relegation six pointer as both sides are struggling against a drop into the Championship. Blues lost their last game at home 2-0 to improved Newcastle. Blues home form is not as strong as last season as the Newcastle defeat was their third defeat at home this season. The other defeats have come against Everton & Arsenal.

Blues have only won four home games this season & they were against Stoke, Blackpool, Chelsea & Blackburn. On a further plus note they have drawn with Manchester United, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Wigan, Spurs, Liverpool & West Ham. So their home record is not as bad as first seemed mainly because of the draws.

West Brom managed a rare point at Stoke on Monday with a late goal in a 1-1 draw. It was only their third away bore draw of the season, after draws at Manchester United & West Ham but more importantly it was only the 5th game this season that they have avoided defeat away from home in the premiership. Shocking away form but not as bad as Wolves.

I think that Blues will win this game as they will be full of confidence after their win against Arsenal last Sunday but it will be close. I also think that both clubs will stay up come the end of the season as well & in West Brom’s case probably only by a point.

Match prediction: Birmingham to win
Score Prediction: Birmingham 2 West Brom 1
Attendance Prediction: 27,000

Match 2: Arsenal – Sunderland: (Saturday March 5th: 3pm):

Arsenal are will be bitterly disappointed not to have won the League Cup final on Sunday. They gave the game away with a dreadful goalkeeping error that was more at home in the Sunday league than a Major final. However, they will have been lifted by Manchester United’s defeat at Chelsea on Tuesday night that means they are 4 points behind them but with a game in hand.

Arsenal obviously need to pick themselves off the floor & remind themselves that they are still in the title race. They now face a Sunderland side who are on a bad run. Sunderland have now lost their last 4 league games, the latest on Saturday when they went down 2-0 at Everton as predicted by yours truly. Sunderland’s away form is not too good. They have managed to win at Chelsea, Blackpool & Aston Villa. The draws have come at Liverpool, Blackburn, Wigan & Spurs but they have lost at Manchester United, Newcastle, Stoke, West Brom, Wolves & Fulham.

Arsenal’s home form is good, especially since the autumn period when they lost three times to Newcastle, Spurs & West Brom. In fact since they lost to Spurs in November they have only dropped one point at home & that was in a goalless draw with Manchester City. The wins at home then have come against Blackpool, West Ham, Birmingham, Wolves, Chelsea, Everton, Wigan, Bolton, Fulham & last time out Stoke whom they beat last Tuesday.

I think that Arsenal will start this game nervously but because of Sunderland’s recent bad form will take all three points to keep the pressure on Manchester United who play Liverpool away on Sunday.

Match prediction: A home win
Score Prediction: Arsenal 2 Sunderland 0
Attendance Prediction: 60,000

Match 3: Bolton – Aston Villa: (Saturday March 5th: 3pm):

Both sides had good results last Weekend. Bolton stopped their bad run of away defeats by drawing 1-1 at Newcastle & Villa beat Blackburn 4-1. I enjoyed the Villa win as I was at the game. These sides drew 1-1 earlier in the season at Villa Park & to be honest I can see a similar result in this game as both sides are on a good run & will probably cancel each other out.

Bolton’s home form is good with only two defeats against Liverpool & Chelsea. The wins have come against Newcastle, Stoke, West Brom, Wolves, Everton (last time out at home),Spurs & Blackburn. The draws were against Wigan, Manchester United & Blackpool. Bolton are higher in the table than Villa standing at 7th in the table opposed to Villa’s 12th place in the table.

Villa’s victory against Blackburn has lifted them to 12th as already mentioned & means they are 5 points above the relegation zone. Villa should be safe. Villa’s away record is not good with only two wins on the road at Wigan & Wolves & draws at Fulham, Chelsea, Birmingham & last time out at Blackpool 1-1. The list of defeats is long. They have been at Manchester United, Manchester City, Spurs, Blackburn, Stoke, Newcastle, Sunderland & Liverpool.

Too be fair to Villa their away record has improved since the signing of Darren Bent with the win at Wigan & two draws at Blackpool & Birmingham. The only defeat was at Manchester United which of course was expected.

Both sides to cancel each other out in a draw.

Match prediction: a Draw
Score Prediction: Bolton 1 Aston Villa 1
Attendance Prediction: 24,000

Match 4: Fulham – Blackburn: (Saturday March 5th: 3pm):

Fulham gained a very good point at Manchester City on Sunday in a 1-1 draw. I suppose it wasn’t really a surprise to Fulham fans as they are the draw specialists this season in the Prem. It was 14th draw of the season & their 8th away from home.

Fulham now play Blackburn at home hoping to pull further away from the drop zone. They are 5 points clear in 13th place. It is since the new year that Fulham’s form has improved with only defeats at Liverpool & at home to Bolton in the FA Cup 5th round. They have 6 home wins to their name against Wigan, West Brom, Stoke, Newcastle & Wolves. The draws have come against Manchester United, Birmingham, Aston Villa, Sunderland, Everton & last time out at home when they drew 0-0 with Chelsea. In fact they should have beaten Chelsea because they missed a last minute penalty to win. The defeats have come against Manchester City, West Ham & Spurs. So not a bad home record & it makes you wonder where Fulham would be in the table if they had turned a percentage of their draws into wins.

Blackburn have struggled recently with some heavy defeats mainly on Saturday when they lost 4-1 at Aston Villa. They have as a consequence dropped down the table to 14th, 4 points ahead of the bottom three. They should be safe from relegation but their recent form is of concern.

They have managed to win at Blackpool, Newcastle & West Brom but have lost at Liverpool, Stoke, Spurs, Sunderland, Aston Villa, Birmingham, Chelsea, Manchester United & Bolton.

It is Blackburn’s away record that will again let them down in this game but with Fulham it could be a draw. I am going to stick my neck out a go for a home win.

Match prediction: Fulham to win
Score Prediction: Fulham 2 Blackburn 1
Attendance Prediction: 26,000

Match 5: Newcastle – Everton: (Saturday March 5th: 3pm):

Newcastle drew at home with Bolton on Saturday which was not a good result for them as they were hoping to avenge the 5-1 defeat they suffered at Newcastle earlier in the season. Everton meanwhile had a dreadful result in the FA Cup 5th round against Championship side Reading on Tuesday when they lost 1-0 & this after they had beaten Chelsea in the 4th round at Stamford Bridge on penalties.

Everton will need to pick themselves up & to be honest I don’t think they will in this game as Newcastle’s home form has slowly improved as the season has progressed. They have beaten Aston Villa, Liverpool, Sunderland, West Ham & drawn with Bolton, Wigan, Fulham, Spurs & Chelsea. They are due a home win & I think they will in this game.

Everton’s away record is ok with a lot of draws. The draws have been at Liverpool, West Ham, Fulham, Spurs, Sunderland, Chelsea, & Blackpool. They have also won at Manchester City & Birmingham.

The list of defeats have come at Stoke, Blackburn, Aston Villa, Arsenal & last time out away at Bolton when they went down 2-0.

I think that as Everton will be low on confidence because of the Reading defeat & that Newcastle haven’t won at home since beating West Ham over the holiday period then the mags will win.

Match prediction: Newcastle to win
Score Prediction: Newcastle 2 Everton 1
Attendance Prediction: 45,000

Match 6: West Ham – Stoke: (Saturday March 5th: 3pm):

West Ham got a great win against Liverpool on Sunday when they beat them 3-1. It was a deserved win & only their 4th home win of the season & 6th overall. West ham now try to win two games on the bounce for the first time this season against a Stoke side who have a below par away record in the Premiership this season.

West Ham’s home wins have come against Wigan, Spurs, Wolves & Liverpool while the draws have come against West Brom, Everton, Fulham & Blackpool. The defeats (too many) have come against Birmingham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Newcastle & Bolton. It is West ham’s home record of six defeats that has seen them struggle for most if not all of the season. West Ham are still in the bottom three but at least they are making a fight of staying up.

Earlier in the season these teams drew 1-1 at Stoke but this time I think that West Ham will go one better and gain three points against a Stoke side who have lost 10 times already away from home this season. They have on the plus side managed to win at Newcastle, Blackburn & West Brom plus a draw at Wigan.

It is Stoke’s home form that has kept them for most of the season in the top half of the table. They are safe from relegation bar an amazing slump. They are also into the quarter finals of the FA Cup as are West Ham. In fact both sides play each other at Stoke in the Quarter finals.

A home win for West Ham then & will they survive this season?

Match prediction: A West Ham win
Score Prediction: West Ham 2 Stoke 1
Attendance Prediction: 36,000

Match 7: Manchester City – Wigan: (Saturday March 5th: 5.30pm):

City had a very disappointing 1-1 home draw with Fulham last Sunday. It now leaves them still in 4th place in the table but only two points ahead of Chelsea who also have a game in hand on them. This means that City need to get back to winning ways after defeat at Manchester United and of course the home draw with Fulham last Sunday.

They now play bottom side Wigan who fell to the bottom of the table after their 4-0 home defeat to leaders Manchester United last Saturday. I will mention the foul by Wayne Rooney that was not punished by the ref or the FA after the game in that Wigan’s chairman Dave Whelan was correct when he said that if it had been the other way around then the Wigan player would have been sent off & that there is one set of rules for United & another for the rest of the Premiership. How Alex Fergusson can complain about the ref after the Chelsea game is beyond me. What tunnel vision.

City have a good home record with wins against Chelsea, Blackpool, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Bolton, Wolves, West Brom, Liverpool & draws against Fulham, Birmingham, Manchester United & Blackburn. They have only lost twice against Arsenal & Everton.

Wigan have already lost at Arsenal, Blackburn, West Ham, Manchester United & Fulham but have won at Spurs & Wolves while drawing at Liverpool (last away game), Birmingham, Everton, Bolton & Newcastle. In fact their away record is slightly better than their home form as they have lost six times at home compared to five times away.

I think that City will bounce back to form & win this game & another nail in Wigan’s relegation battle.

Match prediction: A home win
Score Prediction: Manchester City 2 Wigan 0
Attendance Prediction: 45,000

Match 8: Liverpool – Manchester United: (Sunday March 6th: 1.30pm):

United lost 2-1 at Chelsea on Tuesday which means that they are still 4 points ahead of Arsenal but Arsenal have a game in hand now. It is looking interesting in the battle for the Title. The Chelsea defeat was only United’s second away defeat of the season & second overall as they are unbeaten at home this season & to be honest it is United’s home form that will probably see them crowned champions come the end of the season.

If United do somehow lose the title it will be their away form where the finger of blame will be pointed at. They have (for United) only won 4 games away this season which compares badly with Arsenal’s seven wins & Manchester City’s six. However, they as already mentioned only lost twice at Wolves & Chelsea even if both defeats have come recently. The rest of United’s games away have of course ended in draws & they have been at Fulham, Everton, Bolton, Birmingham, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Spurs & Sunderland.

Liverpool lost for the second time under Kenny Dalglish when they went down 3-1 at West Ham on Sunday. Liverpool despite improving under Dalglish have still got a dreadful away record with 9 defeats to their name. Liverpool have also lost at home twice to Blackpool & Wolves. However, Liverpool’s home record is good with wins against West Brom, Chelsea, Bolton, Blackburn, Fulham, West Ham, Aston Villa & Stoke.

I Can’t see United losing two away games on the trot & I also think that Liverpool are simply not that good so therefore despite Liverpool raising their game for this match I suspect it won’t be enough to prevent United taking all three betting bonus points.

Match Prediction: United to win
Score Prediction: Liverpool 1 Manchester United 2
Attendance prediction: 44,000

Match 9: Wolves – Spurs: (Sunday March 6th: 4pm):

Wolves had a great 4-0 win against Blackpool last Saturday a result that lifted them out of the bottom three only for West Brom’s draw at Stoke to put them back in the relegation zone. Wolves now face Spurs at home who lost their last away game 3-1 at Blackpool. This game will be Spurs 4th away on the trot, three in the Prem & one in Europe. They have won two of them at Sunderland & AC Milan but of course lost at Blackpool as already mentioned last week.

Spurs away form is good with wins at Blackburn, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Sunderland, Stoke & Fulham. They have also drawn at Newcastle, Birmingham & West Brom. The defeats have come at Everton, West Ham, Manchester United, Blackpool & Bolton. Spurs are 5th in the table one point behind Chelsea & are obviously fighting them for the last Champions League place.

Wolves home record is good & is the main reason that they have a chance of staying up in the Prem this season. They have beaten Manchester United, Stoke, Birmingham, Sunderland, Chelsea, Manchester City & of course Blackpool last Saturday. They have lost to Liverpool, Arsenal, Bolton & Wigan.

Last season Wolves beat Spurs in both league games but this season they have lost at White Hart Lane 3-1 earlier in the season. I think that both sides will cancel each other out & a point will not help either side in their bids at both ends of the table.

Match prediction: A draw
Score Prediction: Wolves 1 Spurs 1
Attendance Prediction: 27,000

Match 10: Blackpool – Chelsea.: (Monday March 7th: 8pm):

Blackpool had a great win against Spurs last Tuesday when they won 3-1, however, they were knocked back down to earth by getting thrashed 4-0 at Wolves on Saturday. The defeat at Wolves leaves Blackpool in 15th place just four points above the relegation zone.

Blackpool now face Chelsea who got back to winning ways on Tuesday night when they beat Manchester United 2-1 to inflict only United’s second League defeat of the season. Blackpool have a poor home record & it is in fact their away form that is keeping them out of the relegation zone. At home Blackpool have only won against Wolves, West Brom, Liverpool & of course Spurs. They have lost to Blackburn, Manchester City, Manchester United, Birmingham & West Ham. The draws have come against Fulham, Aston Villa & Everton.

Chelsea have lost five times away this season already which is simply not good enough by their recent high standards. The defeats have come at Wolves, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal & Birmingham while they have drawn at Aston Villa, Newcastle, Spurs & Fulham. On the plus side they have won at Sunderland, Blackburn, Bolton, Wigan & West Ham. I think that Chelsea will record their 6th away win in this game at Blackpool.

The big question is if Chelsea will beat Spurs in the race for that last Champions League place?

Match Prediction: A Chelsea win
Score Prediction: Blackpool 1 Chelsea 3
Attendance Prediction: 17,000

Premiership Predictions: April 9th to 11th: (Saturday to Monday) 2011

Match 1: Wolves – Everton: (Saturday April 9th: 12.45pm):

Wolves mini unbeaten run came to an end last Saturday when they went down 4-1 at Newcastle. They are still in the bottom three in 19th place but only one point from safety. A win in this game could see them move out of the bottom three as very few points as only three points separate Wigan in 20th place to Blackburn in 14th.

Wolves home record is not bad with wins against Stoke, Birmingham, Manchester City, Manchester United, Blackpool, Sunderland and Chelsea. They have also drawn against Spurs, West Ham and Newcastle. The 5 defeats have come against Bolton, Liverpool, Arsenal, Wigan and Aston Villa. So not a bad home record against an Everton side who have a good away record mainly because of a large amount of draws they have recorded. Everton have slowly improved since the new year and are now 7th in the table. I suspect they have left it too late to qualify for Europe but never the less they are in form which means that Wolves will have to play well to win this game.

Last time out at Home Wolves drew 3-3 with Spurs thanks to a late goal. A bore draw in this game would not be good for Wolves as it could leave them with more work to do in their bid to stay up for a second successive season.

Everton’s list of draws away have come at West Ham, Liverpool, Chelsea, Blackpool, Sunderland, Fulham and Spurs. The wins have come at Manchester City, Birmingham and Newcastle. On the other side of the coin they have lost at Stoke, Aston Villa, Blackburn, Bolton and Arsenal.

I think that Wolves will just sneak a win in this game but it will be a close game.

Match prediction: Wolves to win
Correct Score prediction: Wolves 2 Everton 1
Attendance prediction: 28,000

Match 2: Blackburn – Birmingham: (Saturday April 9th: 3pm):

Blackburn managed a great 0-0 draw at Arsenal last Saturday which helped them in their relegation fight and also I suspect gave them some much needed confidence in their battle to avoid the drop. They are now 14th but only two point above the drop zone. I think they will survive but it might be a bit nerve racking for their supporters.

Thankfully for Blackburn they have an ok home record with wins against Liverpool, Everton, Aston Villa, Wolves, West Brom and Wigan while they have drawn with Fulham, Blackpoll (Last home game), Newcastle, Sunderland and West Ham. The defeats have come against Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs and Stoke. Not as good a home record as last season and hence why they are lower down the table then last term.

Birmingham won a vital game against Bolton last Saturday as I predicted and this result moved them out of the bottom three to 15th place. It was also revenge for Birmingham as they had lost at home to Bolton in the quarter finals of the FA Cup only a few weeks before hand.

Birmingham have only won two away games this season at Blackpool and West Ham, both of these wins have come in the second half of the season. Last time out away Blues lost 2-1 at bottom placed Wigan which it goes without saying was a bad result for them. Blues have drawn away a few times at Everton, Manchester City, Sunderland, Bolton, Aston Villa and Fulham but have lost at Manchester United, Wigan, Arsenal, Wolves, West Brom and Stoke. A mixed bag really and it is their away form that has generally let them down this season with the large amount of draws.

A home win but I think that come the end of the season both sides will survive.

Match prediction: A home win
Correct Score prediction: Blackburn 2 Birmingham 0
Attendance prediction: 24,000

Match 3: Bolton – West Ham: (Saturday April 9th: 3pm):

Bolton’s bad away run (apart from the FA Cup) continued last Saturday when they lost again, this time at relegation threatened Birmingham City. It was Bolton’s 9th away defeat of the season. However, at home Bolton have been a different beast with 8 wins and only two defeats to Liverpool and Chelsea. The eight wins have come against Everton, Newcastle, Wolves, West Brom, Stoke, Spurs, Blackburn and last time out at home 3-2 against struggling Aston Villa. Bolton are also into the FA Cup semi finals and play Stoke City at Wembley the week after this. It will be a game that will give Bolton a chance of reaching their first FA Cup final since they beat Manchester United 2-0 in the 1958 final (I think?).

West Ham come to Bolton with a relegation away record but they did manage a draw at Spurs in their last away game in a 0-0 scoreline. They failed to build on that good result however, when they threw away a 2-0 half time lead to lose 4-2 at home last Saturday to Manchester United. That result dumped them back into the relegation places again.

West Ham have managed only two away wins this season at Fulham and Blackpool but have drawn seven times at Blackburn, Everton, Wolves, Stoke, Birmingham, West Brom and of course Spurs in their last away game. The defeats have come at Liverpool, Arsenal, Sunderland, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Manchester United. If only West ham could have turned a few of their draws into wins then they would be out of the bottom three.

As West Ham had such a bad result last weekend and Bolton are so strong at home I think that Bolton will win and no I don’t think that West Ham are going to stay up.

Match prediction: a home win
Correct Score prediction: Bolton 3 West Ham 1
Attendance prediction: 25,000

Match 4: Chelsea – Wigan: (Saturday April 9th: 3pm):

Chelsea had a bad result on Wednesday when they lost 1-0 at home to Manchester United in the first leg of their Champions League quarter final. Can’t see Chelsea winning the second leg and going through which means that Chelsea are set to win nothing this season after claiming the double last year.

Chelsea are more or less out of the Premiership title race as well after dropping two points at Stoke last Saturday which leaves them in 4th place some 11 points adrift of leaders Manchester United. Yes they have a game in hand but I feel that at this stage of the season it is too big a gap to bridge for Chelsea.

Chelsea should however qualify for the Champions league for next season which at one point this season was something they might not achieve. They have a 5 point lead over Spurs who are fading fast. The game between the two sides at Stamford Bridge before the season ends will I suspect confirm their 4th place finish. Chelsea have a good home record with only 2 league defeats to Sunderland and Liverpool and 2 draws against Everton and Aston Villa. The wins total at home stands at 10 which is up their with the best this season. It is away where they have dropped too many points.

Wigan come to Chelsea with a record of just two wins and six defeats which helps explain why they are bottom of the table and heading for the Championship. The two wins cam at Spurs and Wolves.

I really can’t see Wigan winning this game or even drawing, so a home win and further confirmation if any needed that Wigan will be relegated.

Match prediction: Chelsea to win
Correct Score prediction: Chelsea 3 Wigan 0
Attendance prediction: 41,000

Match 5: Manchester United – Fulham: (Saturday April 9th: 3pm):

United are more or less their in terms of winning the title that they lost to Chelsea last season. Last Saturday they came from 2-0 down at half time away at West Ham to win 4-2. Never mind that the penalty to put them in the lead was a bit harsh as they would have won anyway. With Arsenal failing to win again in a 0-0 draw against Blackburn, United have taken a seven point lead at the top. This will be enough I think for them to win the title as Arsenal can’t win to save their lives and United are on fire.

United also had a great result in the week when they won 1-0 at Chelsea in the quarter finals of the Champions League. I think they will finish the job at home in the second leg. They are also in the FA Cup semi finals against Manchester City and it is looking more and more like 1999 for United.

United have the best home record in the Premiership with 14 wins and only the draw against West Brom out of 15 games. It is this impressive home record that has enabled United to stay top despite a below average away record (for them).

Fulham now arrive at Old Trafford with a good away record mainly down to the large amount of draws they have recorded on their travels this season., eight in total. They have only won one game away at Stoke but the eight draws have come at Blackburn, Blackpool, West Ham, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Wigan, Bolton and impressively Manchester City. Last Sunday they beat Blackpool 3-0 at home to move upto 10th place in the table. In their last away game they lost 2-1 at Everton, which was their 6th away defeat.

I really can’t see Fulham gaining a draw or heaven forbid a win in this game despite the fact that United struggled to beat Bolton in their last game 1-0 at with a very late goal. An easy home win for United then and another three points towards the title.

Match prediction: A home win
Correct Score prediction: Manchester United 2 Fulham 0
Attendance prediction: 73,000

Match 6: Sunderland – West Brom: (Saturday April 9th: 3pm):

Sunderland were thrashed 5-0 at Manchester City last Sunday and they have now gone 7 games without a win since beating Blackpool away in late January. This run of form has coincided with the departure of Darren Bent so it is not hard to see where the problem lies for them. In fact they have failed to score in their last 4 games and have only gained one point in this 7 game run which was a 0-0 draw at Arsenal which says more about Arsenal’s season then it does Sunderland’s.

Sunderland have a good home record but they have started losing at home recently after going the first half of the season unbeaten at home. They have now lost 4 times at home since Christmas to Blackpool, Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea. The wins this season at home have come against Aston Villa, West Ham, Blackburn, Manchester City, Bolton and Stoke. No home win since they beat Blackburn over the holiday period. Can’t see them winning this game either as West Brom have improved greatly since Roy Hodgson took over.

West Brom are beginning to look like they will stay up after they came from behind to beat Liverpool at home last Saturday. They have now moved upto 13th, some 4 points ahead of the bottom three. They still have some work to do but I think they are going to make it. In West Brom’s last away game they had a great 3-1 at Birmingham which was only their 3rd away win this season but a very timely one. Their other wins were at Arsenal and Everton while they have drawn at West Ham, Stoke and somehow Manchester United earlier in the season when they were 2-0 down at half time. In fact they are the only side to take points off Manchester United at home.

I think that both sides will cancel each other out. The point will be useful for West Brom but for Sunderland it will a most unwelcome addition to their winless run.

Match prediction: A draw
Correct Score prediction: Sunderland 1 West Brom 1
Attendance prediction: 36,000

Match 7: Spurs – Stoke: (Saturday April 9th: 3pm):

Spurs had a dreadful result on Tuesday night in the Champions League when they went down 4-0 to Real Madrid with some massive help from the referee. He decided to send their top striker off in the first half when the score was only 1-0 for a foul that looked to me pretty harmless. Funny that Arsenal had their striker sent off against Barcelona for an even more stupid reason as well as two English clubs meeting at the quarter final stage and you could believe to wonder that UEFA does not like English clubs? No way, UEFA are as decent and fair as FIFA. They are both the same, i.e., corrupt and evil…

Spurs will never go through in the second leg so they need to somehow recover and beat Stoke or they will fail to get back into the Champions league for next season as they are 5 points adrift of Chelsea in 5th place. Spurs have now gone 4 games in the league without a win (6 if you include Europe). They have not won since the 2-1 win at Sunderland on the 12th February. Thankfully for them Chelsea dropped two points last Saturday which of course helped them.

Spurs now play a Stoke side who are happier as they are in the FA Cup semi finals and happily safe in midtable well away from the relegation dog fight at the bottom of the table. Stoke have a good home record but a poor away one. They have lost 11 times already this season away having only recorded 3 wins at Newcastle, Blackburn and West Brom.

Spurs have a good home record with 7 wins six draws and only the one defeat to Wigan against their name. Because of this I think that even though Spurs will struggle in this game because of confidence being low they will win a close game.

Match prediction: A Spurs win
Correct Score prediction: Spurs 2 Stoke 1
Attendance prediction: 36,000

Match 8: Blackpool – Arsenal: (Sunday April 10th: 1.30pm):

Arsenal have more or less blown their title chances after failing to beat lowly Blackburn at home last Saturday in a 0-0 draw. The gunners have now gone 3 league games without a win and six overall which has seen them get knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona, beaten 2-1 by Birmingham in the League cup final and knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United. The three league games they have failed to win have all ended in draws and you have to ask has any club been on a more deflating run in recent years?

Arsenal are now 7 points behind Manchester United in second place with a game in hand and the way they are playing it is I suspect a gap too big for them to bridge in the title race. They now take to Blackpool the best away record in the League as they have won seven and drawn five while only losing two at Chelsea and Manchester United. The seven wins have come at Birmingham, West Ham, Wolves, Blackburn, Everton, Manchester City and Aston Villa. Last time out away Arsenal came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at West Brom.

Blackpool lost again on Sunday, this time 3-0 at Fulham and are now staring relegation in the face as they are in 17th place just one point above the drop zone. After a great first half to the season It is looking like Blackpool are going to do what Burnley did last season and get relegated after a good first half of the season. That would be a shame for the club and their fans.

Blackpool have an average home record with wins against Spurs, Liverpool, Wolves, West Brom and draws against Everton, Fulham, Aston Villa while losing to Sunderland, Birmingham, West Ham, Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City and Blackburn. More games lost at home than won.

I think that as Blackpool are on a bad run and that Arsenal have to win sooner or later than Arsenal will prevail and come away with a win but I suspect that it will be a close game.

Match prediction: Arsenal to win
Correct Score prediction: Blackpool 1 Arsenal 2
Attendance prediction: 17,000

Match 9: Aston Villa – Newcastle: (Sunday April 10th: 4pm):

Aston Villa grabbed a much needed point at Everton last Saturday when they drew 2-2. It still leaves Villa in trouble at the bottom of the table though as they are in 16th place just two points above safety. Villa now play Newcastle at home in a game they have to win to put some daylight between themselves and the bottom three. Villa lost their last home game 1-0 to Wolves which was a crap result. Villa have now lost 4 times at home this season, the other defeats coming against Arsenal, Sunderland and Spurs. They have however managed to beat West Ham, West Brom, Blackburn, Manchester City, Everton and Blackpool while drawing with Fulham, Birmingham, Manchester United, Chelsea and Bolton. Not a bad home record then but undermined by their away form where they have only managed two wins.

Newcastle are safely in midtable after their 4-1 win over relegation threatened Wolves last Saturday. Newcastle have a average away record. They have won at Everton, West Ham, Wigan , Birmingham and Arsenal but lost at West Brom, Fulham, Manchester United, Manchester City, Spurs, Bolton and Stoke which was their last away game when they were hammered 4-0. To even things out they have managed draws at Sunderland, Blackburn and Wolves.

I think that Villa will win this game, just but it will be a much needed win for Villa. The big question is if the win will keep the locals happy as they are pissed off with their manager. I don’t think so and if I was in charge at Villa I would be seriously looking at Changing the manager in the summer.

Match prediction: A home win
Correct Score prediction: Aston Villa 2 Newcastle 1
Attendance Prediction: 36,000

Match 10: Liverpool – Manchester City: (Monday April 11th: 8pm):

City bounced back from their defeat to Chelsea by thrashing luckless Sunderland 5-0 at home last Sunday which took them above Chelsea into third place, one point above Chelsea who of course could only draw at Stoke on the Saturday. City are also through to the FA Cup semi finals where they play their bitter city rivals United at Wembley.

City drew this fixture last season 2-2 and have beaten Liverpool at home 3-0 already this season so Liverpool will be hoping for some revenge in this game. They might have trouble getting it. Liverpool have a good home record as apposed to their dreadful away form where they have lost 10 times already, the latest being last Saturday when they lost 2-1 at West Brom despite taking the lead. At home Liverpool have only lost twice to Blackpool and Wolves. They have drawn with Arsenal, Everton, Sunderland and Wigan but on the plus side they have won nine. The nine wins have come against Manchester United, Chelsea, Bolton, Blackburn, Stoke, Aston Villa, West Ham, West Brom and Fulham. Under Dalglish Liverpool have not lost at home and as City’s away form has dipped a bit in the last few games I think they will both cancel each other out in this game.

City have a good away record with 6 wins but they have lost five times and three of those defeats have come recently at Aston Villa, Manchester United and Chelsea. The other two defeats came earlier in the season at Sunderland and Wolves. The six wins for the record have come at Wigan, Blackpool, Newcastle, West Ham, Fulham and West Brom.

I think that both sides will cancel each other out and for city they should be playing in the Champions League next season which should piss off Liverpool fans as they think they should be doing just that.

Match prediction: A draw
Correct Score prediction: Liverpool 2 Manchester City 2
Attendance Prediction: 44,000

Match 1: Sunderland – Bolton: (Saturday December 18th: 12.45pm):

Sunderland gained a precious away point in their 0-0 draw at Fulham. This was their 4th draw away this season. It is at home that Sunderland are playing really well as they are unbeaten. They beat West Ham 1-0 in their last home game which followed wins against Manchester City, Aston Villa & Stoke. They other home games have all ended in draws against Manchester United, Arsenal , Everton & Birmingham.

So this game should end in a draw or a home win. Bolton recovered from their away defeat at Manchester City to beat Blackburn 2-1 at home last Sunday to keep them above Sunderland by two points in 6th place.

Bolton have won away this season at West Ham, Wolves & drawn at Wigan, Aston Villa, West Brom & Everton. Their only two away defeats have been at Arsenal & Manchester City. In fact they have only lost three games all season in the League. A great effort by Bolton so far.

I think this game will end in a draw as Bolton are proving so hard to beat & Sunderland are unbeaten at home.

Match prediction: A score draw
Score Prediction: Sunderland 1 Bolton 1
Attendance Prediction: 39,000

Match 2: Arsenal – Stoke City: (Saturday December 18th: 3pm):

Arsenal lost at Manchester United 1-0 on Monday to lose top place. They are now second. I can’t be bothered to say much about the penalty award against Arsenal other than the decision would probably not have been given at the other end of the pitch. At least justice was done with Rooney missing the Penalty.

Arsenal need to get back to winning ways after defeat, something that they don’t do that often after a defeat. This time though I think they will. Arsenal as you will all know have been having bad results at home this season with three defeats already to Spurs, Newcastle & West Brom. They did however beat Fulham in their last home game but they did struggle in the 2-1 win. They will probably struggle for periods in this game against Stoke.

Arsenal’s other home wins apart from Fulham have been against Blackpool, West Ham, Birmingham & Bolton. Stoke meanwhile lost for the first time in 6 games when they lost at home to Blackpool 1-0 last Saturday. They have won away so far this season at Newcastle & West Brom & a draw at Wigan (last away game). They have lost at Everton, Wolves, Chelsea, Sunderland & Bolton.

Another away defeat for Stoke then but they will easily stay up & come midtable but as for Arsenal I can’t see them winning anything other than the League cup which is better than nothing.

Match prediction: Arsenal to win
Score Prediction: Arsenal 2 Stoke City 0
Attendance Prediction: 60,000

Match 3: Birmingham – Newcastle: (Saturday December 18th: 3pm):

Newcastle had a great 3-1 win against a Liverpool side who are playing dreadful away from home this season. The Newcastle defeat was their 6th away defeat this season. Ha. Newcastle now face a difficult away game at Birmingham who even though they are low in the table in 16th place but are showing good form at home again.

Birmingham have only lost once at home this season (Everton) & have beaten Chelsea, Blackburn & Blackpool at Home. Their draws have been against Liverpool, Wigan, Spurs & West Ham. Spurs was their last home game & they scored late to deny Spurs the three points.

Newcastle’s away form is ok with wins at Everton & Arsenal and a draw at Wolves. They have suffered defeats at Bolton, West Brom, Manchester United & Manchester City.

I think that Birmingham will be keen to bounce back from their defeat at Wolves last Sunday & get three points at home which they need as they have been drawing too many games this season, hence their low placing in the table.

Match prediction: A Birmingham win
Score Prediction: Birmingham 2 Newcastle 1
Attendance Prediction: 25,000

Match 4: Blackburn – West Ham: (Saturday December 18th: 3pm):

Blackburn’s new owners sacked Manager Sam Allardyce earlier in the week which seemed very harsh as he had done a good job at Blackburn in keeping them up in the Premiership in midtable for two seasons. Personally I was not too bothered for Allardyce as I don’t like him as I believe him to be corrupt & also the type of football he plays is crap.

So, how will Blackburn react. They are placed in 13th place & under Allardyce I would have said that they would have easily have stayed up but now it depends on the new manager that will be appointed but with not too much money to spend I am fearing for them. Blackburn have a good home record with wins against Wolves, Everton, Aston Villa & Wigan. The draws have been against Fulham & Sunderland. The two home defeats were against Arsenal & Chelsea.

As West Ham have failed to win away & have only drawn away at Stoke, Birmingham & Wolves. The list of defeats is as follows: Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal & Aston Villa. Relegation form as I have said before.

A home win then & I suspect that the new owners at Blackburn should become very unpopular by February as I like most Blackburn supporters have my questions as to why they have got involved. Why do the premiership keep on allowing our clubs to be acquired by suspect foreign buyers? Simple, Money.

Match prediction: Blackburn to win
Score Prediction: Blackburn 2 West Ham 0
Attendance Prediction: 25,000

Match 5: Wigan – Aston Villa: (Saturday December 18th: 3pm):

Wigan got another useful point away last Saturday at Everton in a 0-0 draw but the result still leaves them in the bottom three. I still think that Wigan will go down this season but not obviously without a fight. Wigan now face an Aston Villa side who won last Saturday against West Brom to put a bit of daylight between themselves & the bottom three.

The problem for Aston Villa is their away record which is very bad with only one victory at Wolves to their name (Wolves) & a Fulham. They have therefore lost at Liverpool, Stoke, Blackburn, Newcastle & Sunderland. Not good & I can see it being defeat number 6 as Wigan despite their lowly placing in the table are doing ok at home.

Wigan have beaten West Brom & Wolves & drawn with Liverpool, Stoke & Bolton. The defeats to Chelsea & Wigan even though they were heavy were in the first month of the season which proves that they have improved at home since then.

A home win then & Wigan could be out of the bottom three by 5pm on Saturday but it must raise questions over Villa’s appointment of manager.

Match prediction: Wigan to win
Score Prediction: Wigan 2 Aston Villa 1
Attendance Prediction: 16,000

Match 6: Liverpool – Fulham: (Saturday December 18th: 5.30pm):

Liverpool’s dreadful away form continued with another defeat (as I predicted), this time at Newcastle when they went down 3-1. Thankfully for Liverpool their home form has been good this season otherwise they would be fighting a relegation battle.

Liverpool have only lost once this at home to Blackpool & just the two draws against Sunderland & Arsenal. Their wins have been against Chelsea (which was a good result at the time), West Ham, Aston Villa, Blackburn & West Brom.

With Fulham yet to win away yet this season I really can’t see anything other than a home victory. Fulham have managed draws at Newcastle, Blackburn, Blackpool, West Ham & Bolton but have lost at West Brom Arsenal & Chelsea. It must also be added that Fulham’s defeats away have all been recently so they are losing form away from home after a good start with the above draws.

Match prediction: a Liverpool win
Score Prediction: Liverpool 3 Fulham 0
Attendance Prediction: 44,000

Match 7: West Brom – Wolves: (Sunday December 19th: 12.00pm):

This is the first time that these great rivals have played each other in the Premiership. They have of course played in the old first Division in the 1980’s, you know life before the Premiership did exist.

This should be a close game as you would expect from a derby game. Albion lost rather surprisingly at Aston Villa last Saturday which ended their mini winning run. Albion are 12th in the table & to be honest I think they will stay up this season which of course is what they hoped to do at the start of the season. Albion have only lost twice at home this season to Manchester City & Stoke. Their wins have been against Birmingham, Fulham, Sunderland & last time out against Newcastle. Their home draws for the record have been against Bolton & Spurs. Wolves have a crap away record & have only gained one point on their travels, a 1-1 draw at Everton. They did however win for the 4th time at home this season against Birmingham last Sunday in a 1-0 win.

I think that Albion will win this game to put another small nail in Wolves hopes of staying up for the second consecutive season. They are of course 2nd from bottom of the table & that is where I suspect they will finish this season.

The big question is if they will dare play “Liquidator” over the tannoy system which unless you are an Albion or a Wolves fan you won’t know what I mean.

Match prediction: A West Brom win
Score Prediction: West Brom 2 Wolves 1
Attendance Prediction: 27,000

Match 8: Blackpool – Tottenham: (Sunday December 19th: 1.30pm):

Blackpool won their 4th away game of the season last Saturday when they won 1-0 at Stoke. I am now seriously going to have to think about my prediction of Blackpool going down come the end of the season. They now face a Spurs side who carried on their good run with a 1-1 draw at home with Chelsea last Sunday when they could have so easily lost as Chelsea missed a late penalty.

Spurs are 5th, four points behind Chelsea who are dropping like a stone. Spurs have a good away record with wins at Stoke, Arsenal & Wolves. Their draws have been against West Brom, Aston Villa & Birmingham which was their last away game. The defeats have been at Manchester United & Bolton. They should have enough to beat Blackpool but Blackpool are a very difficult side to predict this season.

Blackpool’s home form has improved since the early weeks of the season. They lost to Blackburn & Manchester City early on but since then they have beaten Wolves & West Brom as well as a draw with Everton.

I think that Spurs will just sneak this game as the distraction of the Champions League has been moved to the knock out stages in the new year but it should be a good game with Blackpool running Spurs close.

Match prediction: A Spurs win
Score Prediction: Blackpool 1 Spurs 2
Attendance Prediction: 16,000

Match 9: Chelsea – Manchester United: (Sunday December 19th: 4pm):

This is a very interesting game which has a lot riding on it. Chelsea need a win, any win in the League & Manchester United need the win to open up the gap between themselves & Arsenal after they had beaten them 1-0 on Monday night to overtake them at the top of the table.

Chelsea failed to win again, this time away at Spurs. They drew 1-1 but missed a late penalty which means that they have now dropped to 4th in the table. They drew their last home game with Everton 1-1 & will really be hoping that the return of Frank Lampard will help them turn the corner.

The facts are that Manchester United have not lost in the League this season even though they have only won once away at Stoke. All their other away games have resulted in draws. United have to lose sooner or later & Chelsea can’t keep on failing to win & so that is why I am going to go for a shock Chelsea win.

Match Prediction: Chelsea to win
Score Prediction: Chelsea 2 Manchester United 1
Attendance prediction: 42,000

Match 10: Manchester City – Everton: (Monday December 20h: 8pm):

City will be very disappointed that their star player from Argentina wants to leave as without him they would be in midtable, such is his influence. Despite all that City carried on their winning run with a great 3-1 win at West Ham (as I predicted) to remain third in the table but only two points behind their nearest & not so dearest neighbours Manchester United.

City won their last home game 1-0 against a good Bolton side & I don’t need to tell you whom scored the only goal of the game. Last season Everton won this game but despite Everton’s good away form this season I can’t see a repeat.

Everton have won at Birmingham (the only side to do so) & drawn at Spurs, Blackpool, Sunderland & Fulham. These were good away draws for Everton at difficult places so they might surprise City in this game & I think they might manage a draw especially as City have a mixed home record this season with defeat to Arsenal & draws against Manchester United, Birmingham & Blackburn.

I am going to go for a home win but it will be close.

Match Prediction: Manchester City to win
Score Prediction: Manchester City 2 Everton 1
Attendance Prediction: 46,000

Douglas Martin

Premiership Predictions: January 15th & 16th January (Saturday & Sunday) 2011:

Best Correct Prediction(s) for the last Round of Fixtures:

“Blackburn adding to Liverpool‘s woes by beating them as I said they would plus Fulham winning only their 4th game of the season by beating West Brom”

Hello everyone & welcome to week 23 of the Premiership & the first Saturday fixtures of 2011. Last time out before the Fa Cup third round games I managed 4 out of 10 in correct results & no Correct scorelines. However, I still have 17 correct scorelines to my credit for this season.

The 4 correct results were Newcastle beating West Ham, Blackburn beating Liverpool, Manchester United beating Stoke & Fulham beating West Brom for only their 4th win of the season.

Let’s hope that the second half of the season sees an increase in correct betting results to go along with the excellent record so far for Correct scorelines.

Enjoy your football whoever you support.

Match 1: Chelsea – Blackburn: (Saturday January 15th: 3pm):

Chelsea got back to form by thrashing poor Ipswich 7-0 in the FA Cup third round after having a very bad holiday period. The holiday period presented Chelsea with two defeats against Arsenal & Wolves as well as a home draw with Aston Villa. Their only three point haul was against Bolton whom they beat 1-0 at home. The consequence of this poor run of results means that Chelsea are now 5th in the table, two points above Sunderland in 6th & 9 points behind leaders Manchester United.

Chelsea now play Blackburn who won two of their holiday games against West Brom away & last time out against Liverpool at home when they won 3-1. The defeats were against Stoke at home & Sunderland away. In the FA cup on Saturday Blackburn had a good result when they beat Championship leaders QPR 1-0 at home.

Blackburn have managed away wins so far this season at Newcastle, Blackpool & of course West Brom. They have also managed a draw at Manchester City. The defeats have come at Liverpool, Manchester United, Birmingham, Spurs, Bolton & Sunderland. Even though Blackburn’s away form is better than other sides, Liverpool for example, they are still lightweight on average away. Chelsea have only lost once at home but have drawn recently with Everton & Aston Villa.

A Chelsea win but I think they have shot their bolt in terms of the Title race.

Match prediction: A Chelsea win
Score Prediction: Chelsea 3 Blackburn 0
Attendance Prediction: 41,000

Match 2: Manchester City – Wolves: (Saturday January 15th: 3pm):

City drew their last league game away at Arsenal 0-0 which was a good result as they needed to not lose. They drew their FA Cup third round game at Championship side Leicester 2-2 so are still in the FA Cup as well as Europe of course.

City are second just two points behind leaders Manchester United. City are therefore in a position to challenge for the title & maybe win it for the first time since the 1960’s (Can’t remember the year). City now face Wolves who had a great win over Chelsea in their last game 1-0 at home. Coupled with their deserved win at Liverpool Wolves have now climbed out of the bottom three to 21st place. This is the first time they have been out of the relegation places for some months.

Wolves despite their win at Liverpool have only gained one other point on their travels & that was a 1-1 draw at Everton early in the season. The defeats have been at Spurs, Manchester United, Chelsea, Blackpool, Blackburn, Wigan, Fulham & West ham last time out.

City have a good home record but they have lost twice to Everton & Arsenal but with all respect to Wolves both Everton & Arsenal are better sides than them. A home win then & three successive home wins on the trot for City who have beaten Blackpool & Aston Villa previously over the holiday period.

Match prediction: A Manchester City win
Score Prediction: Manchester City 2 Wolves 0
Attendance Prediction: 46,000

Match 3: Stoke – Bolton: (Saturday January 15th: 3pm):

Bolton only just managed to beat Conference side York City in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday & I should know as I was at the game. If they play like that for the rest of the season then they will be lucky to win again.

Bolton drew their last league game when they drew 1-1 with lowly Wigan. Bolton’s home form is good & so was their away form until they lost at Manchester City since when they have lost three since making it four away games on the bounce they have lost. The other three defeats have come at Sunderland, Liverpool & Chelsea. Bolton now find themselves in 7th place but still plenty to play for before the end of the season.

Stoke are below Bolton in the table in 12th place. They won two of their holiday games by beating Blackburn away & Everton at home. Stoke have a steady home record with wins against Liverpool, Blackburn, Birmingham, Aston Villa & draws with Manchester City, Wigan & West Ham. The defeats have come against Spurs, Manchester United, Blackpool & Fulham.

I think that as Bolton’s away form has dipped & Stoke’s home form has improved with the win against Everton then Stoke will win.

Match prediction: A home win
Score Prediction: Stoke 2 Bolton 1
Attendance Prediction: 26,000

Match 4: West Brom – Blackpool: (Saturday January 15th: 3pm):

This is a big game for West Brom who have slipped down the table to 16th only one point above the drop zone. They lost all their games over the holiday period the latest defeat being a 4-0 thrashing at Fulham. They are in trouble. They also lost at Championship side Reading 1-0 in the FA Cup on Saturday which was not good.

Albion now play a Blackpool side who beat Liverpool 2-1 on Wednesday to move them upto 9th in the table. This is an amazing feat for Blackpool & has made me & others take my words back that they would be relegated come the end of the season. Blackpool have a good away record this season with wins at Liverpool, Newcastle, Wigan, Stoke & very impressively Sunderland.

West Brom lost their last home game 2-1 against Manchester United where they were unlucky to not get a draw as they missed a penalty when the score was 1-1. West Brom have so far beaten Birmingham, Newcastle, Sunderland & Fulham at home. The Newcastle win was the last time they won in the league. A bad run they are on then.

I think that with the way Blackpool play & the fact that they beat Albion 2-1 at home earlier in the season that they will gain a second successive league double.

Match prediction: Blackpool to win
Score Prediction: West Brom 1 Blackpool 2
Attendance Prediction: 25,000

Match 5: Wigan – Fulham: (Saturday January 15th: 3pm):

This game is a big one for both sides especially when you look at their places in the table. Wigan are second from bottom while Fulham’s recent run has seen them climb out of the bottom three to 14th place but still only one point above Wigan such is the closeness of the table this season.

Both sides won their FA Cup ties last weekend with Fulham thrashing Peterborough & Wigan beating Hull City away to knock poor hull out of the Cup for the second successive season. Fulham won their last game 4-0 against West Brom while Wigan drew away at Bolton which was a good point considering Bolton’s home form.

Fulham have only managed one away win this season at Stoke over the holiday period but they have also drawn at Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn, Blackpool & West Ham.

Wigan had a mixed holiday period with a win at Wolves & a draw at Bolton but they lost at home to Newcastle last time out at home which was a bad result. Earlier in the season Wigan lost 2-1 at Fulham but this time out I can see a repeat of the draw that these sides managed in this fixture last season. A 1-1 draw then & I think that Fulham will survive this season but for Wigan I can only see relegation.

Match prediction: A score draw
Score Prediction: Wigan 1 Fulham 1
Attendance Prediction: 16,000

Match 6: West Ham – Arsenal: (Saturday January 15th: 5.30pm):

Arsenal drew their last league game against Manchester City 0-0 at home but they did manager good wins against Chelsea & Birmingham over the holiday period. Unbeaten were Arsenal then as they drew their other game 2-2 at Wigan which they will have seen as two dropped points.

Arsenal could only draw at home with Leeds in the FA Cup last Saturday & then somehow lost 1-0 at struggling Championship side Ipswich in the first leg of their League Cup Semi final. So are Arsenal beginning to struggle?

They (Arsenal) now play bottom club West Ham away which could be a dress rehearsal for the League Cup final. West ham unlike Arsenal won their first leg semi final 2-1 against Birmingham but they were at home. Arsenal beat West Ham 1-0 at home in their previous league meeting earlier in the season. Last season theses two sides 2-2 in this fixture & then Arsenal won 2-1 in a FA Cup third round game. Arsenal have a great away record this season with only two defeats at Manchester United & Chelsea while West Ham have only won 3 games at home against Wolves, Wigan & Spurs. They have lost to Chelsea, Bolton, Manchester City & Newcastle. This should be defeat number 5 for them.

Match prediction: arsenal to win
Score Prediction: West Ham 1 Arsenal 2
Attendance Prediction: 35,000

Match 7: Birmingham – Aston Villa: (Sunday January 16th: 12pm):

Birmingham had a great 4-1 win at Millwall in the FA Cup last Saturday which on paper looked like a game they could have lost especially as they have won only one away game in the league all season. However, that win was at Blackpool in their last away game when they won 2-1. In midweek on Tuesday Birmingham lost 2-1 at West Ham in the first leg of their league cup semi final. So Birmingham still have plenty to play for despite being in a relegation fight.

Birmingham lost their last home game 3-0 against Arsenal when they were completely outplayed for only their second defeat at home since September 2009. Birmingham now need to build upon their win at Blackpool by beating their nearest & dearest rivals Aston Villa who are in a right mess at Present. Birmingham knocked out villa in the Quarter Finals of the League cup before Xmas so they will be hoping for a repeat. Birmingham have lost twice at home but have beaten Blackburn, Blackpool & Chelsea while drawing with Wigan, Manchester United, Liverpool, West Ham & Spurs. It is the draws that are costing Birmingham both home & away & hence why they are in a relegation fight. At least they are out of the bottom three.

Villa’s away record is crap even though they drew their last away game 3-3 at Chelsea which despite Chelsea’s bad run was a great result. Villa have only managed one away win & that was a 2-1 win at Wolves plus draws at Fulham & Chelsea. They did however win 3-1 at Sheffield United in the FA Cup last Saturday. Earlier in the season Birmingham drew 0-0 at Villa Park but this time out I think they will go one better & gain three valuable points.

Match prediction: A Birmingham win
Score Prediction: Birmingham 2 Aston Villa 1
Attendance Prediction: 30,000

Match 8: Sunderland – Newcastle: (Sunday January 16th: 12pm):

Sunderland had a great 2-0 win at Aston villa in their last league game but then had a dreadful result in the FA Cup when they went down 2-1 at home to Notts County. Just as well Newcastle lost as Stevenage which was just as bad a result.

Sunderland will obviously be looking for revenge after they were thrashed 5-1 at Newcastle earlier in the season. Sunderland’s away form is slowly improving & hence why they are higher in the table than Newcastle. Sunderland have only lost once at home this season & that was recently when they lost 1-0 to Blackpool. They recovered from that loss to beat Blackburn 3-0 at home so they do go into this game with two successive wins in the League under their belt as do Newcastle who beat Wigan away & then thrashed West Ham 5-0 to put the hammers back on the bottom of the table.

Newcastle have managed wins this season at Everton, Wigan, Arsenal & West Ham while the defeats have come at West Brom, Manchester United, Manchester City, Spurs & Bolton.

Last time these sides met in this fixture Sunderland won 2-1 & I can see a similar result in this game. Another away defeat then for Newcastle & yes I think that Sunderland will come higher than Newcastle come the end of the season.

Match prediction: A Sunderland win
Score Prediction: Sunderland 2 Newcastle 1
Attendance Prediction: 45,000

Match 9: Liverpool – Everton: (Sunday January 16th: 2.05pm):

Three derby games on one Sunday, who says that the fixtures are fixed or does nobody bother asking anymore because it is so obvious that they are fixed. Such is the way of the money twats involved in the game today.

Liverpool are now in serious trouble despite the appointment of Kenny Dalglish who has seen them lose to Manchester United last Sunday in the FA Cup & at Blackpool in the League on Wednesday 2-1. The Blackpool defeat was their 7th defeat away already this season & their ninth in the league overall this season. The facts are that Liverpool apart from two or three players are crap & the blame for that is their last manager & I don’t mean poor Roy Hodgson.

Liverpool are in relegation fight and the sooner they realise it the better. They could go down because they don’t appear to have the players who are up for the fight. We will see. Everton are picking up slowly & beat Spurs at Home last time out in the league which only their third home win of the season. Their away form is great with wins at Manchester City & Birmingham as well as draws at Spurs, Blackpool, West Ham, Sunderland, Fulham, all difficult places to get results as is Anfield of course, well it was until wolves managed to win there over Xmas.

I can’t remember the last time that Everton won at Liverpool but I think they are going to win this game to go along with their 2-0 home victory over Liverpool earlier in the season.

Match Prediction: Everton to win
Score Prediction: Liverpool 1 Everton 2
Attendance prediction: 44,000

Match 10: Spurs – Manchester United: (Sunday January 16th: 4.10pm):

As everybody knows Manchester United are unbeaten in the league & have only suffered one defeat in all competitions this season & that was a surprising 4-0 defeat at West Ham in the League cup quarter Finals. United had a great holiday period only dropping points in the 1-1 draw at Birmingham. United beat Liverpool 1-0 at home in the FA Cup with another joke penalty. I wished I knew who appoints these referees for United home games?

United have won twice away this season but importantly have drawn the rest which has meant that they have drawn at Birmingham, Bolton, Fulham, Manchester City, Sunderland, Everton & Aston Villa. No matter they are top & that is all that matters. I think that this will be another away day draw for United.

Spurs have managed to beat Wolves, Fulham, Blackburn, Aston Villa & Liverpool at home & drawn with Sunderland, Manchester City & Everton. Their only defeat was somehow against Wigan who they of course beat 9-1 in the same fixture last season. Spurs are like United through to the next round of the Champions League and the FA Cup after they beat Charlton 3-0 at home last Sunday.

A score draw then & will there be any decisions in favour of Manchester in this game? Probably but remember there is no bias, just ask Manchester United fans as they are objective.

Match Prediction: A score draw
Score Prediction: Spurs 1 Manchester United 1
Attendance Prediction: 36,000

See you all for the next round of the Premiership next Thursday

Douglas Martin

January 13th 2011

dap martin@hotmail.co.uk

PREMIERSHIP PREDICTIONS FOR WEEK 2

Hello everyone. Welcome to the second preview article of the season. I only managed 4 out of 10 in correct results at the weekend. Not that great but it could have been better if Birmingham hadn’t have grabbed a late goal to draw 2-2 at Sunderland after I had predicted a Sunderland home win. The correct results then were Manchester United beating Newcastle, Chelsea beating WBA, Wolves beating Stoke & Aston Villa beating West Ham. Just one goal out on the correct scoreline for Manchester United beating Newcastle. 

I have decided to add a new feature this week for a trial to see what you think? I will be putting in the prediction for the Attendance. Some gates are easy to predict as some teams almost always have capacity gates but there is of course the others. See what you think? I have predicted the gate to the nearest thousand. So here we go for week 2. Good Luck & see you all next week. 

Match 1: Arsenal – Blackpool: (Saturday 21st August – 3pm):

Blackpool amazed me & most other people by winning 4-0 at a very poor Wigan 4-0. I still think that Blackpool will go down but they will win a few more games than I thought they might. I said similar comments regarding Burnley last season when they started well by beating Manchester United & Everton at home. This shouldn’t however take away the credit they deserve from an excellent result at Wigan whose fans must be wondering how their season is going to end. They now face a Arsenal side who in the end were lucky to get a 1-1 draw at Liverpool last Sunday thanks to a late own goal from Liverpool. Their first half performance deserved a draw but they were poor in the second half. Can’t see Blackpool getting anything from this game but I remember Hull winning at Arsenal on their first visit a few seasons back. Could be a close game but Arsenal should come out on top. 

Result Prediction: Arsenal to win
Score Prediction: Arsenal 2 Blackpool 0
Attendance Prediction: 60,000 

Match 2: Birmingham – Blackburn: (Saturday 21st August – 3pm):

Birmingham gained a very good point at Sunderland in their first game which addressed their bad run of away results from the last third of last season. Blackburn had a very good home win against Everton which avenged their 3-2 defeat at the end of last season. Blackburn as most people know had a great home record last season which they appear to have carried into this season but their away form was not good. I think they only won at Burnley (which was a good one for their fans) & Portsmouth? Blackburn lost this fixture 1-0 last season & I can see a similar scoreline & result in this game. It will be interesting to see if Birmingham are able to continue the progress they made last season. They have a good home record & are undefeated since last September. This has included draws against Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United & Chelsea. A Birmingham win then but I don’t think there will be many goals in this game. Will the admission prices reflect this? No chance as we are living in the world of the Premiership which is controlled by the Money men. 

Result Prediction: Birmingham to win
Score Prediction: Birmingham 2 Blackburn 0
Attendance Prediction: 23,000 

Match 3: Everton – Wolves: (Saturday 21st August : 3pm): 

Wolves had a good start to the season by beating Stoke 2-1 on Saturday which was a good result as Stoke are a difficult side to play against, well apart from when they play away against Chelsea. Wolves drew this fixture last season 1-1 which was a good point for them. Wolves away form last season wasn’t too bad with wins at Spurs, Burnley, Wigan & West Ham. They also drew at Hull, Stoke, Aston Villa, Fulham & of course Everton. Everton will be very disappointed at the way they lost 1-0 at Blackburn last Saturday but will obviously be hoping to bounce back in this game & to be honest I think they will. They will be hoping that their poor first half of the season is not repeated this one as it cost them a European place in the end. I think as already mentioned last week that Wolves will stay up (again) because there are far more worse sides than them in the Premiership this season. A home win then to kick start Everton’s season. 

Result Prediction: Everton to win 
Score Prediction: Everton 3 Wolves 1
Attendance Prediction: 35,000 

Match 4: Stoke – Spurs: (Saturday 21st August: 3pm):

Stoke will be hopefully looking to bounce back after their surprise defeat to Wolves last Saturday (Not to me as I predicted their defeat). Stoke lost this fixture 2-1 last season and will be hoping for a better result on Saturday. Tottenham I fear will have trouble doing as well as last season when they finished 4th. They drew their opening game at home to Manchester City 0-0. On Tuesday night they lost 3-2 away in the first leg of their European Champions League Qualifier. It could have been a whole lot worse for them as they were 3-0 down early in the first half. They should win the second leg & qualify but I suspect they will have their mind on that game which will aid Stoke. As everybody knows Stoke are a very physical side but personally I don’t care as they don’t have the resources to buy players & compete so they have had to find another way to stay in the Premiership & the way they have found works. The real culprits are the clubs that have created the situation by their obscene spending that has semi forced clubs like Stoke to take the action they have. A home win then for one of the Countries oldest Clubs. 

Result Prediction: Stoke to win 
Score Prediction: Stoke 2 Spurs 1
Attendance Prediction: 26,000 

Match 5: WBA – Sunderland: (Saturday 21st August: 3pm):

Sunderland were denied three points by Birmingham’s late goal on Saturday in their 2-2 draw. Last season their away form was bad. If my memory serves me right they only managed one away win & that was at Bolton on the opening day of the season. They managed a few draws at Manchester United (?) & Blackburn but that was it. They now face a WBA side who have (again) bounced back with promotion after being relegated the season before from the Premiership. Will WBA stay up? I don’t think so after their 6-0 thrashing at Chelsea last Saturday but they will try to play nice football along the way. I think this game will be a draw as Sunderland are not very good away & West Brom struggle. Personally I hope both sides do well as they have good support & history. I am too young to remember Sunderland winning the FA Cup in 1973 but I do remember them reaching the League Cup final in 1985 when they lost to Norwich City 1-0 (they missed a penalty) & 1992 when they reached the FA Cup final only to lose to Liverpool 2-0. MY WBA Memories are of the late 1970’s when they had a great side with the likes of Laurie Cunningham, Bryan Robson etc,etc & a great 5-3 win at Manchester United as well as a FA Cup Semi final appearance in 1978. They challenged for the title in 1979/80 season but ended up third behind Liverpool & Notts Forest who pipped them for second place with a vital win over them late in the season. Enough of the Memory section. A score draw. 

Result Prediction: A Score draw
Score Prediction: WBA 1 Sunderland 1
Attendance Prediction: 24,000 

Match 6: West Ham – Bolton: (Saturday 21st August: 3pm):

A tough game to call this one. West Ham were bad against Aston Villa last week in losing 3-0 & Bolton failed to beat a Fulham side who were bad travellers last season (Apart from Europe) in a 0-0 draw. West Ham are not looking good & I can see them losing this game. They had some bad home results at home last season including a very bad 3-1 defeat to Wolves. However, on the other side of the coin they did manage draws at home to Arsenal & Chelsea. Bolton struggled against the drop last season but pulled clear thanks mainly to the appointment of manager Owen Coyle. I think they will win this game as West Ham’s form is looking so bad. It really could be a tough season for West Ham & I can see them going down. This would be a shame as I like West Ham’s support who are very loyal despite being asked like a lot of other fans to pay disgusting admission prices. My West Ham Memories are of them winning the FA Cup as a second division club in 1980 against Arsenal 1-0. They had a good side then & went up the following season as champions as well as reaching the League cup final & taking Liverpool to a replay before losing 2-1. In 1985/86 season only fixture congestion stooped them from winning the title. I remember Bolton in the forth division in the 1980’s so their progress as a constant in the Premiership must seam a miracle to their fans from those days. An away win then & some tough times in East London. 

Result Prediction: Bolton to win 
Score Prediction: West Ham 1 Bolton 2
Attendance Prediction: 28,000 

Match 7: Wigan – Chelsea: (Saturday 21st August: 5.15pm):

Wigan are going to struggle this season which seems really obvious after their 4-0 defeat to newly promoted Blackpool last Saturday. They struggled for a lot of last season as you all know & just stayed up in the end. Amazingly they beat Chelsea 3-1 at home last season but I can’t see a repeat of that result this Saturday. Chelsea started their season with a bang by beating poor old WBA 6-0 at home. We will be told this season that there are no easy games at this level by so called “Experts” but Chelsea scored 7 goals four times last season as well as the 6-0 thrashing of WBA last Saturday. This is a lie. Who says money talks. I still think that Manchester United will win the title ahead of Chelsea but Chelsea will still be there fighting for their title come the end of the season. They should be joint top with Manchester United come the end of the weekends fixtures. I remember Wigan playing at their old ground Springfield Park which was one of the worst grounds in the League at the time (even worse than Halifax!). They struggled along in the lower leagues for some years until their present manager came along & took them to where they are now. Doesn’t seem the same club to me. The only time I have been to Stamford Bridge was in the 1980’s when they played Southampton in a 1-1 draw in front of 12,000. How times change. Poor Wigan. Maybe their fans would rather be in the Championship as there are more genuine teams etc,etc. A home defeat again. 

Result Prediction: A Chelsea win 
Score Prediction: Wigan 0 Chelsea 3 
Attendance Prediction: 17,000 

Match 8: Newcastle – Aston Villa: (Sunday 22nd August: 1.30pm):

Newcastle lost at Manchester United as I predicted on Monday night. They now need to beat an Aston Villa side who will be on a high after winning well against West Ham 3-0 on Saturday. Newcastle did well last season in being promoted as champions but they haven’t really strengthened since promotion because their chairman is a twat. This could end in disaster for them come the end of the season as the reasons they were relegated in the first place still remain (mainly). Aston Villa are still a good side despite the departure of Martin O’Neil. That should be proved in this game. It could be a long hard season for Newcastle but there are some worse sides than them in the premiership & that could be their saving grace. My memories of Villa are of them winning the Title in 1981 & the European Cup the following year. That is something that would & couldn’t happen now which is why football is poorer in this country. The same sides winning the trophies means we are turning into another version of the Scottish Premier League. God help us. A home defeat for Newcastle then & some unhappy home fans. Cue more demo’s against their loveable chairman. 

Result Prediction: Villa to win 
Score Prediction: Newcastle 1 Aston Villa 2 
Attendance Prediction: 51,000 

Match 9: Fulham – Manchester United: (Sunday 22nd August: 4pm):

Last season Fulham amazed me & a lot of other people by beating Manchester United 3-0 in this fixture. That result would appear to sum up why United failed to win the title. Fulham started the season with a 0-0 at Bolton which was a good result under new manager Mark Hughes who is of course a former Manchester United player & to be honest a former favourite of mine even though I don’t support the Club. I think that Fulham will be hard pressed to get a result in this game as Manchester United started their season well with a 3-0 victory over Newcastle on Monday night. Fulham will stay up this season by almost certainly finishing in a similar mid table position. They have appointed a good manager in Mark Hughes to replace Roy Hodgson who has of course gone to Liverpool. He might regret that move. I feel sorry for Manchester United fans who go to their games because of the amount of games that are moved for TV. Who wants to go down to London on a Sunday when you have to be at work on the Monday? Anyway, a Manchester United win but Fulham fans won’t be to concerned as they will stay up & might, just might have another cup run.

Result Prediction: A United win 
Score Prediction: Fulham 0 Manchester United 2 
Attendance Prediction: 24,000 

Match 10: Manchester City – Liverpool: (Monday 23rd August: 8pm): 

Manchester City & Liverpool play the Monday night game. Oh joy, the “Sky” Monday night game is back. Rejoice, unless you are one of the forty odd thousand people who have to attend the game rather than on a Saturday. Both sides started the season with draws but Manchester City will have been the happiest with their point as it was away at Spurs (0-0). Liverpool were unlucky in having Joe Cole sent off & conceding a last minute own goal to draw at home against Arsenal. Last season this fixture ended in a very bad 0-0 draw. It was so bad that both teams were lucky to get nil. Should be a better game this time around. I think Manchester City are the stronger side at present as Liverpool are still rebuilding after a very bad season last year. A home win then & I think that City will crack the top four this season at the expense of Liverpool & Spurs. That is their target pure & simple. This game should help build the launch pad for that target. A home win then & some pissed of Liverpool fans hoping that their American owners can piss off just like Manchester United’s. 

Result Prediction: Manchester City to win
Score Prediction: Manchester City 2 Liverpool 1 
Attendance Prediction: 47,000 

That’s all for this week. Good luck & see you all in a few days. 

Douglas Martin