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Premiership Predictions: January 22nd to 24th January (Saturday to Monday) 2011:

Match 1: Wolves – Liverpool: (Saturday January 22nd: 12.45pm):

Liverpool gained a point in a 2-2 draw with Everton in the Merseyside derby but they are still in a relegation fight as they are still only 4 points ahead of the drop zone in 13th place. Liverpool now take their dreadful away form to Wolves who have a reasonable home record with wins against Chelsea (last home game), Sunderland, Stoke, Birmingham & Manchester City. They have also drawn with West Ham & Newcastle. The defeats have come against Aston Villa, Bolton & Wigan. It is Wolves home record that is giving them a chance of staying up as they have only won one game away so far this season & that was against Liverpool over the Holiday period. Wolves unlike Liverpool are still in the FA Cup after they beat Championship side Doncaster Rovers 5-0 in their FA Cup replay on Tuesday Night.

So can Liverpool improve on their away record of only one away win at Bolton & two draws at Wigan & Birmingham. The long list of defeats which at present stands at 8 has seen them lose at Stoke, Everton, Manchester City, Manchester United, Blackburn, Blackpool, Spurs & Newcastle. Liverpool need to start winning under Dalglish & fast. They lost their last away league game 2-1 at Blackpool. They are also out of the FA Cup having lost 1-0 at Old Trafford against Manchester United & their league cup interest was ended by 4th Division Northampton Town at Anfield on penalties.

I think that this will be a close game & that both sides will cancel each other out. I think that if this fixture had taken place when Roy Hodgson was Liverpool manager then I would be predicting a Home win.

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

Match 2: Arsenal – Wigan: (Saturday January 22nd: 3pm):

Arsenal are on a three game run that could shape the future of their season. On Wednesday they Played Leeds United away in the FA Cup and won 3-1. They now face Huddersfield at home in the 4th round. On Saturday they play Wigan in the Premiership & next week they play Championship side Ipswich in an attempt to claw back a 1-0 defeat from the first semi final leg. They should win against Wigan & Ipswich.

Arsenal’s home form has improved since they lost to Spurs. They have beaten Chelsea & Fulham as well as drawing with Manchester City. Arsenal have somehow lost three times this season at home to West Brom, Newcastle & already mentioned Spurs. On the plus side they have managed to beat Fulham, Birmingham, Blackpool, West Ham, Bolton & Chelsea. Bizarrely Arsenal’s away record is better than their home form because they have only lost twice away at Manchester United & Chelsea.

Arsenal have already beaten Wigan at home this season in the League cup quarter finals when they won 2-0. They also played Wigan away over Xmas when they drew 2-2 conceding a late goal which at the time frustrated them especially when you consider Wigan’s league placing. Wigan have managed to win at Wolves & Spurs as well as draws at Birmingham, Everton & Bolton last time out away.

Can’t see Wigan making it win no three on the road & so another three points to Arsenal in their title challenge.

Match prediction: Arsenal to win
Score Prediction: Arsenal 3 Wigan 1
Attendance Prediction: 60,000

Match 3: Blackpool – Sunderland: (Saturday January 22nd: 3pm):

Blackpool lost at West Brom on Saturday but they are still in 10th place in the table on 28 points which is a wonderful return for them after 21 games. Blackpool now face Sunderland who have managed two away wins so far this season at Chelsea & last time out at Aston Villa.

Sunderland lost to Notts County in the FA cup a few weeks ago & have also just lost their top striker Darren Bent to Aston Villa which has not gone down well with Sunderland as they didn’t want to see him leave. Sunderland did draw their last game thanks to a 94th minute goal against their deadly rivals Newcastle when they drew 1-1 last Sunday. It will be interesting to see how they react in this game against Blackpool who as everybody knows are having a great season. Sunderland apart from the two away wins they have managed have also drawn at Spurs, Blackburn, Wigan, Fulham & Liverpool but have lost at Manchester United, West Brom, Wolves, Newcastle & Wigan.

Blackpool have a good home record with wins against West Brom, Wolves & Liverpool while they have drawn with Fulham & Everton. The defeats have come against Blackburn, Manchester City & Birmingham. They have in fact won more games away than at home. I think that Blackpool will catch Sunderland feeling sorry for them selves & hence win.

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

Match 4: Everton – West Ham: (Saturday January 22nd: 3pm):

Amazingly West ham’s manager is still in a job despite the press reporting that he would be leaving. Could it be that the media have got it wrong? Never they are always correct. West Ham lost at home to Arsenal as I predicted last Saturday which leaves them still bottom & adrift by two points which is not that much. There is still hope I suspect but I think they won’t survive.

West Ham are still in the FA Cup after beating Barnsley & of course play the second leg of their League cup semi final next week when they play Birmingham City with a 2-1 lead from the first leg. It is their league form that is causing concern. They have only won once away at Fulham & drawn at Stoke, Blackburn, Wolves & Birmingham. The list of defeats have been at Liverpool, Sunderland, Newcastle, Arsenal & Aston Villa. Not good.

Everton’s home form improved with the win over Spurs in their last home game which was only their third of the season after wins against Stoke & Liverpool. They have dropped points in draws against Bolton, Wigan, Manchester United, Wolves & defeats to West Brom, Newcastle & Arsenal.

I think that Everton are in better form than West Ham & are also still in the Cup after beating Scunthorpe away 4-1. A home win then for Everton & a second successive home win for them.

Match prediction: Everton to win
Score Prediction: Everton 3 West Ham 1
Attendance Prediction: 36,000

Match 5: Fulham – Stoke: (Saturday January 22nd: 3pm):

Fulham are in good form & have moved out of the relegation zone & upto 15th place. Fulham won their last home game when they thrashed West Brom 4-0 & followed that up with a 6-2 thrashing of Peterborough in the FA Cup & then drawing away at Wigan last Saturday 1-1.

Fulham won the previous fixture between these two sides over Christmas when they won 2-0 for their first & so far only away win this season. This should be a difficult game as Stoke are no pushovers as their 8th place in the table would suggest. Stoke have already won away at Newcastle, Blackburn & West Brom & drawn at Wigan. The defeats have come at Manchester United, Wolves, Bolton, Everton, & Chelsea. A mixed bag then.

Fulham have won only 4 games this season & three of them have been at home against West Brom, Wolves & Wigan. They have however, drawn 11 games this season which explains why they are so low in the table compared to the last few. The drawn games at home have been against Birmingham, Everton, Aston Villa, Manchester United & Sunderland. Fulham have lost against Manchester City, Spurs & West Ham. I think that Fulham’s recent return to form will just carry them over the line in this game as well as the fact that Stoke do appear venerable away.

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

Match 6: Manchester United – Birmingham: (Saturday January 22nd: 3pm):

Manchester United have only dropped two pints at home this season which was of course the 2-2 draw against West Brom, which seems a long time ago. United have won the rest. The list of teams to fail is Arsenal, Liverpool, Blackburn, Wigan, Stoke, Wolves, Sunderland, Spurs & Newcastle. If there is a reason why United are top of the table then this is it.

United now face Birmingham at home after they saw their lead reduced to goal difference after they drew 0-0 at Spurs & both Manchester City & Arsenal won. It should be United’s home record that should see them crowned as Champions come the end of the season. We will see.

Birmingham have only won one game away this season & that was last time out away against Blackpool when they won 2-1. They also won 4-1 at Championship side Millwall 4-1 which was a good result so they are not entirely clueless away. To back this up they have managed to draw at Manchester City, Sunderland, Bolton, Fulham & Aston Villa. Some of those draws were difficult places to come away with a point. The defeats have come at West Brom, Wolves, Arsenal & Stoke.

Just because United have such a good home record I think they will win.

Match prediction: Manchester United to win
Score Prediction: Manchester United 2 Birmingham 0
Attendance Prediction: 75,000

Match 7: Newcastle – Tottenham: (Sunday January 22nd: 3pm):

This should be a good game from two sides who like to attack. Spurs are higher in the table & having a better season. Newcastle were knocked out of the FA Cup by 4th division Stevenage a couple of weeks ago which was a very bad result for them. However, since the appointment of Alan Pardew their form has improved in the league. They thrashed West Ham in their last home game & last Sunday drew at Sunderland & were in fact very unlucky not to win as they only conceded to Sunderland in the 94th minute in a 1-1 draw. Newcastle have in fact only lost twice since Pardew was appointed & one of those defeats was against Spurs when they lost 1-0 away. The other defeat was a 3-1 home defeat against Manchester City.

Newcastle’s home record has seen them beat Aston Villa, Liverpool, Sunderland & of course West Ham last time out at home. They have also drawn with Fulham, Chelsea & Wigan but have lost to Blackburn, Stoke & Manchester City.

Spurs have a good away record winning at Stoke, Fulham, Aston Villa & Arsenal while drawing at Birmingham, West Brom & Birmingham. The defeats have been at Manchester United, Bolton, West Ham (?) & Everton last time out away.

I think that this game will end in a draw because sides are playing well & will cancel each other out.

Match prediction: A Score draw
Score Prediction: Newcastle 1 Spurs 1
Attendance Prediction: 46,000

Match 8: Aston Villa – Manchester City: (Saturday January 22nd: 5.30pm):

Villa managed a 1-1 draw at local rivals Birmingham City last Sunday when they came from behind for their point. This should be a very difficult game for Villa as City have the second best away record in the division behind Arsenal. City have won already at West Ham, Newcastle, Wigan, Fulham & West Brom & drawn at Arsenal, Spurs & Stoke. Their only defeats have come at Sunderland & Wolves.

So a good away record against a villa side who have lost their last two home games against Sunderland & Spurs. Thankfully the draws against Chelsea & Birmingham have kept them out of the bottom three but only just as they are 17th above the drop zone on goal difference. Their home record reads three defeats, Arsenal being the other defeat they have suffered at home. They have managed to beat West Ham, West Brom, Blackpool & Everton & drawn with Bolton, Birmingham, Manchester United & Chelsea. If Villa’s home form goes which it is looking like doing so then they will fall into the bottom three because their away form is so bad with just one win, though they did manage to win 3-1 at Sheffield United in the FA Cup.

A City win then to keep them in second place & the big question is if they will win the title at the expense of their great city rivals? No is my view.

Match prediction: A City win
Score Prediction: Aston Villa 1 Manchester City 3
Attendance Prediction: 38,000

Match 9: Blackburn – West Brom: (Sunday January 23rd: 4pm):

Blackburn are higher than West Brom in the table thanks in no small part to the 3-1 victory they had at the Hawthorns over the holiday period. Blackburn are 11th & West Brom 14th but only three points separates the two teams. My bet is that both sides will stay up this season.

West Brom won last Saturday when they beat Blackpool 3-2 to end a bad run they had been on. Perhaps it is just as well that they are out of the FA Cup as it is more important that they stay in the Premiership than the distraction of an FA Cup. Blackburn are in the 4th round however after beating Championship leaders QPR 1-0 in the last round. Last Saturday Blackburn lost 2-0 at Chelsea but I don’t think they will be too disappointed as their fans will still be celebrating their victory over Liverpool in their last home game when they won 3-1.

West Brom have managed to win this season at Arsenal & Everton & have also picked up draws at West Ham, Manchester United & that I’m afraid is it as they have lost the rest of their away games at Chelsea, Liverpool, Wigan, Bolton, West Brom & A thriller at the Villa when they lost 2-1. Ha. Not a good away record then & they come up against a Blackburn side who have beaten Liverpool, Everton, Wigan & Wolves but they have lost to Arsenal, Chelsea & Stoke. A mixed bag that includes draws with Fulham, Sunderland & West Ham.

Blackburn’s home form should be enough to take the three points methinks.

Match Prediction: Blackburn to win
Score Prediction: Blackburn 2 West Brom 1
Attendance prediction: 24,000

Match 10: Bolton – Chelsea: (Monday January 24th: 8pm):

This game should be a difficult one for Chelsea as Bolton despite their recent bad away form are still doing well at home. They have in fact only lost once at home this season & that was a 1-0 defeat against Liverpool some months ago. For the rest of the season Bolton have beaten Spurs, Blackburn, West Brom, Stoke & Newcastle as well as drawing with Fulham, Manchester United, Birmingham & Wigan (Last home League Game). As mentioned the only defeat was against Liverpool.

Chelsea come into the game having beaten Blackburn at home 2-0 last Saturday & will hoping to build upon that following some bad results away from home the last month or so. They lost at Wolves last time away which was their 5th away defeat of the season & 6th overall. Chelsea because of their bad run just before & over the holidays have slipped to 4th in the table (They were top for three months) & are 7 points behind Manchester United & City. I can’t see Chelsea regaining their title & to be honest unless their chairman puts some serious money in for transfers than the natural cycle of the side will be only decline from now on in. It must be questionable if they will qualify for the Champions League.

Bolton have a good home record & Chelsea have a recent bad away one so it would seem obvious to me that Bolton must start the game as favourites.

Match Prediction: A Bolton win
Score Prediction: Bolton 2 Chelsea 1
Attendance Prediction: 26,000

Champions League Predictions: Tuesday/Wednesday March 15th/16th 2011

Match 1: Manchester United – Marseille: (agg: 0-0): (Last 16 Second Leg: Tuesday 15th March: 7.45pm):

United are still fighting on all fronts for the treble after beating Arsenal 2-0 on Saturday in the FA Cup quarter finals at Old Trafford. Can they do the treble like they did in 1999? I think they will do the double but fall in the Champions League. However, they should beat Marseille in this game to progress to the Quarter finals of the Champions League. Unless someone cane knock out Barcelona I can’t see them winning this competition.

The first leg was a boring 0-0 draw but a useful result for United. Marseille won 2-0 at Rennes on Friday night which leaves them after the weekend results 4th in the table, four points behind Lillie in top place. The win at Rennes was a great result as they are second in the table. It will be interesting to see if Marseille retain their title in what is a very close title race in France.

United have lost their last two league games away at Chelsea & Liverpool. The latest defeat was at Liverpool last Sunday when they went down 3-1. This now means that Arsenal are three points behind them but with a game in hand.

Personally I think United will win the Premiership title as Arsenal seem to have shot their bolt so to speak with defeats to Barcelona, Birmingham & United in the last two weeks which seems to have completely deflated them. We will see.

So, United to win this game reasonably easily & let’s hope for their sake they avoid Barcelona in the quarter finals.

Result Prediction: Manchester United to win
Score Prediction: Manchester United 2 Marseille 0

Match 2: Chelsea – FC Copenhagen (agg 2-0): (Last 16 Second leg: Wednesday 16th March: 7.45pm):

Chelsea won the first leg of this tie 2-0 & so should start favourites of course. Chelsea won their last league game when they beat Manchester United 2-1 at home with a very suspect second half penalty. However, it has opened up the title race but I fear that Arsenal will be unable to take advantage.

Chelsea are out of all competitions bar the Champions League & so they will obviously be putting all their resources into winning this years title of champions of Europe. Alas, I feel they are simply not good enough & will fail. They should still manage to beat Danish side FC Copenhagen however and reach the quarter finals at least.

Copenhagen won 1-0 away at the weekend which leaves them a massive 19 points clear at the top of the table. In fact they have only lost one game all season & have a massive goal difference of plus 34 & this after only 21 games played due to the winter break. Hmm, a very close Danish league then..

Apart from the Champions League Chelsea have a battle to finish 4th in the final Table to enable them to play Champions League football again next season. At present they are 4th, three points above Spurs who are 5th. The game between the two sides at Stamford Bridge could prove vital in deciding who finishes 4th.

A Chelsea win then & the only question is by how many goals Chelsea will win the game by?

Result Prediction: Chelsea to win
Score Prediction: Chelsea 3 FC Copenhagen 0

Championship Predictions for Saturday: (January 15th): 2010:

“two more correct scores in Barnsley beating Coventry 2-1 at home & Reading beating Burnley 2-1 at home as well”

Hi everybody.

I managed another two correct results last time out which means I have now managed 13 correct scorelines in just 12 weeks. This is a great average & let’s hope it continues. I also managed another 3 correct results which were Leicester beating Swansea, Crystal Palace beating Preston in the big relegation battle & Watford winning away at Scunthorpe. Let’s hope that my Championship rate of correct betting results improves even though at 45% it is higher than the Premiership at present.

See you all next week for another instalment of the race to get in the “Greed League”.

Championship Fixtures: Saturday January 15th: 2011

Match 1: Swansea – Crystal Palace: (12.45pm):

Swansea won two & lost two games over the holiday period but are still well placed in the table in 4th place, level on points with Cardiff & Norwich & only 5 points behind leaders QPR. Swansea lost their last league game 2-1 at Leicester as I predicted & will be hoping to bounce back against third from bottom Crystal Palace who won their important relegation game 1-0 against bottom club Preston last time out.

Palace have a very bad recent away record while and were knocked out of the cup away at Coventry 2-1 on Saturday who are also on a bad run. Swansea on the other hand easily beat Colchester 4-0 to progress to the 4th round. Swansea won their last home game when they beat fellow playoff hopefuls Reading 1-0.

A home win then & Palace at this rate should go down despite the changing of their manager.

Result Prediction: Swansea to win
Score Prediction: Swansea 2 Crystal Palace 0

Match 2: Bristol City – Middlesbrough: (3pm):

Middlesbrough had a dreadful result in the FA Cup last Saturday when they went down to two late goals to lose 2-1 at 4th division Burton Albion. Middlesbrough may have won two of their last 5 games but they are still in a relegation fight as they are in 20th place just one point above the drop zone. They managed a draw at Leeds in their last away game which was a good point considering Leeds placing in the table.

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Bristol City also lost in the FA Cup last Saturday when they went down 3-0 at home to Sheffield Wednesday. This was a bit of a shock result as City have been on a good run of late which was proved by their 2-2 draw at leaders QPR and a 3-0 thrashing of second placed Cardiff in their last home game. Bristol City are playing well at home this season especially the last 3 months or so & coupled with Middlesbrough only managing two away wins all season at Scunthorpe & Preston (Both in the bottom three) I can’t see Middlesbrough winning this game.

Result Prediction: Bristol City to win
Score Prediction: Bristol City 3 Middlesbrough 1

Match 3: Burnley – QPR: (3pm):

QPR lost again this time at Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup last Saturday. They shouldn’t be too disappointed though as they only went down 1-0 & many better sides then them will have lost at Blackburn by the end of the season than themselves.

In their last League game Rangers drew 2-2 at home with Bristol City which will have been disappointing for them as they were leading 2-1 until the 90th minute. Rangers had a mixed holiday period like Burnley. Burnley beat Sheffield United (Their last home game) & Barnsley away but lost to Scunthorpe & Reading away. Burnley unlike Rangers progressed to the next round of the Cup when they beat Port Vale 4-2 at home last Saturday.

Now that Burnley have a new manager in Eddie Howe (From Bournemouth) I expect them to climb the table from where they are now in 10th to a playoff place starting with a close win in this game.

Result Prediction: Burnley to win
Score Prediction: Burnley 2 QPR 1

Match 4: Coventry – Sheffield United: (3pm):

Coventry got back to winning ways on Saturday all be it in the Cup when they beat relegation bound Crystal Palace 2-1 at home. After 5 league games without a win this was a welcome boost for Coventry. They have now dropped to 11th place in the table after their recent defeat to Barnsley away. They are however only 4 points away from the playoff places.

They now face a Sheffield United side who are now in a relegation scrap. They managed a home draw with fellow Yorkshire side Doncaster 2-2 after being 2-0 down at one point in the game. A Much needed point for the blades but they are still only one point above the drop zone in 21st place. United’s season is getting worse & no wonder former manager Gary Speed jumped ship to become the manager of Wales. United have lost their last 2 away games 4-2 at Norwich & Burnley & I see no reason to think that they will get anything from this game.

Result Prediction: A Coventry win
Score Prediction: Coventry 2 Sheffield United 1

Match 5: Doncaster – Reading: (3pm):

Doncaster will be annoyed that they let slip a 2-0 lead in their last league game at Sheffield United when they drew 2-2. They had a good result in the FA Cup on Saturday when they held Premiership Wolves to a 2-2 draw. Doncaster are in midtable in 14th place but with a couple of games in hand on most of the sides above them so they will be happy.

Reading are of course fighting for a playoff place & have only lost once since early November when they went down 3-1 at QPR. They carried on their good form with a 2-1 victory over Burnley in their last league game & then followed that up with a 1-0 win against Premiership West Brom in the FA cup last Saturday at home.

Reading are now 8th in the table just two points behind a playoff place & as they lost their last away game 1-0 at Swansea I can’t really see them losing two away games on the bounce despite Doncaster having a good home record.

Result Prediction: A Reading win
Score Prediction: Doncaster 1 Reading 2

Match 6: Hull – Barnsley: (3pm):

Hull lost to Wigan in the FA Cup for the second successive year by losing 3-2 at home. They will hope to recover by beating Barnsley in this game. Hull have moved upto 15th place in the table away from the relegation places thanks to their recent good form over the last two months. They won their last game 3-2 away at Portsmouth which was a good result & followed up their previous away game when they won again 3-2 at Sheffield United. If only they hadn’t have lost 1-0 at home to Leicester & drawn with Reading in their two previous home games then they would be even higher in the table.

Barnsley are just below Hull in the table in 16th place but only on goals scored (Goal difference anyone?). Barnsley won their last league game 2-1 at home to out of form Coventry but went down 2-0 at Premiership West Ham 2-0 in the FA Cup last Saturday. Barnsley drew their last away game 2-2 at Nottingham Forest but they were 2-0 up & conceded two second half goals which would suggest that the defence wobbles when under pressure.

A home win then & hull could have a very different second half to the season than the first.

Result Prediction: Hull to win
Score Prediction: Hull 2 Barnsley 1

Match 7: Leeds – Scunthorpe: (3pm):

Leeds will be hoping to bounce back from their first defeat since the titanic sunk when they lost to Cardiff last time out 2-1 away. Ironically their last defeat was against Cardiff when they lost 4-0 at home to them. Leeds did however a great 1-1 draw at Arsenal in the third round of the cup. Leeds are now 5th just two points behind Cardiff in second.

Leeds now face Scunthorpe who seem to be heading for relegation with just one win since early November when which was a 2-0 win at Burnley over the holiday period. They lost their last game when they went down to a late Watford goal in a 2-1 home defeat.

As Leeds have drawn their last two home games against Portsmouth & Middlesbrough I think they will win this game easily to get their promotion charge back on track.

Result Prediction: Leeds to win
Score Prediction: Leeds 3 Scunthorpe 0

Match 8: Millwall – Ipswich: (3pm):

Millwall are bang in form in the league but they suffered a 4-1 beating by Premiership Birmingham City on Saturday which will have pissed them off I suspect. Will they bounce back against an Ipswich side who after being thrashed 7-0 by Chelsea in the FA Cup surprised everyone by somehow beating Arsenal 1-0 in the first leg of the League cup semi final on Wednesday night.

Let’s put the record straight, Ipswich deserved the 1-0 win over Arsenal. Prior to the win over Arsenal Ipswich have been on a dreadful run with only one win in the last few months including a 1-0 defeat at bottom club Preston. As Millwall are at home & higher in the table I think that they will win this game but I suspect that it will be close. The first goal should seal a Millwall win I feel.

Result Prediction: A Millwall Win
Score Prediction: Millwall 2 Ipswich 0

Match 9: Norwich – Cardiff: (3pm):

Norwich are having a great season despite their shock 1-0 home defeat to Orient in the FA Cup last Saturday. Norwich are third behind Cardiff only on goals scored. Therefore this is a right top of the table clash. Norwich beat Leaders QPR 1-0 over the festive period & I can see them winning this game as well especially as Cardiff’s recent away form is crap with heavy defeats at Watford & Bristol City not to mention a 1-0 defeat at Middlesbrough who are of course having a really bad season at the other end of the table.

Cardiff’s home form is what is keeping them in the promotion race with recent wins against Coventry & Leeds (last time out) it has also helped that other sides around them have dropped points almost as much as themselves.

A home win because Norwich seem to be the form team going into this game despite Cardiff’s excellent 1-1 draw at Stoke in the FA Cup last Saturday which I feel was a one off in their present run.

Result Prediction: Norwich to win
Score Prediction: Norwich 2 Cardiff 0

Match 10: Nottingham Forest – Portsmouth: (3pm):

Forest won again this time at Preston 2-1 in the FA Cup last Saturday. Forest have now only lost once in their last 10 games, a run that has taken them to 7th place just two points behind a playoff place & also with games in hand. Forest won their last home game 5-2 against rivals Derby.

Portsmouth are having a bad run all of a sudden. They lost at home to Hull after being thrashed 3-0 at Watford & then were dumped out of the FA Cup 3-1 at Brighton who are of course top of League 2 (Division 3 to most of us).

Can’t see Portsmouth turning around their recent form & as Forest are on a good run I am going to go for the obvious & a Forest win.

Result Prediction: A Forest win
Score Prediction: Forest 2 Portsmouth 1

Match 11: Preston – Leicester: (3pm):

Preston are looking doomed & relegation seems to be their fate come the end of the season despite the appointment of new manager Phil Brown. They are now seven points adrift of safety. It will be a bloody great job if Brown can keep them up. They went out of the FA Cup in his first game in charge, Their last game was a crucial 1-0 defeat at relegation threatened themselves Crystal Palace.

Preston haven’t won since they beat Ipswich 1-0 just before Christmas 1-0 at home. A bad run then for them. Leicester meanwhile have had a great time compared to Preston. They drew with Manchester City 2-2 last Sunday in the FA Cup & prior to that beat Hull away to end their unbeaten run & then a 2-1 win over then second placed Swansea. All this means is that they have climbed to within 4 points of the Playoff places in 12th place.

Really can’t see Preston causing an upset in this game especially as Preston lost their last league game at home 2-1 to out of form Derby County.

Result Prediction: A Leicester win
Score Prediction: Preston 1 Leicester 2

Match 12: Watford – Derby: (3pm):

Watford are the Divisions form side. They won again on Saturday when they came from behind to beat Hartlepool 4-1 in the Cup on Saturday. Watford have now won their last 5 league games (6 in all competitions) & this great run of results has seen them climb into the playoff places in 6th place & with games in hand.

Derby are the opposite of Watford as they have lost form. They managed a win at bottom club Preston in their last away game to stop the rot & then drew 0-0 at home with inform Millwall. The consequence of their bad run is that they have dropped out of the playoff places & into midtable. Last season Derby were fighting off relegation for most of the season & Nigel Clough said that this season he was aiming for a top ten finish which to be honest I think they will achieve. I think that the media has as per usual got carried away because of the good form they showed in the autumn & is now putting the pressure on for him to be sacked. Tossers, all they want is a news story so they create pressure to try & bring about that Story.

Anyway I think that as Derby are on a bad run which included a shock 2-1 defeat at Conference side Crawley Town in the Fa Cup on Monday then they will lose. By the way I don’t think that Crawley are upto no good & that their manager is a cheat, no way. He has no previous, err….

Result Prediction: A Watford win
Score Prediction: Watford 3 Derby 1

Best Correct Predictions of the week:

“Spurs & Everton drawing 1-1 (Correct score) & Liverpool winning only their second League game of the season by the correct score of 2-1 ”

Hello everyone. Last weekend was a good one. I managed 3 correct scores & 5 correct results. The correct scores were Spurs & Everton drawing 1-1, WBA beating Fulham 2-1 & Liverpool beating Blackburn 2-1. The other two correct results were Sunderland beating Aston Villa & Chelsea beating Wolves.

My correct scores for the season now stands at 9 which is one a week. This is a better success rate than this time last season yet the correct results for the season in the Premiership are down on last year. In my defence their has been a lot of surprise results compared with last season, either that or I have got worse. I am doing better in the Champions League, Internationals & Correct scores but down in the Premiership on Correct results even though they have picked up the last couple of weeks.

You be the judge which is of course how it should it be.

Good luck for this weeks fixtures.

Match 1: Arsenal – West Ham: (Saturday October 30th: 3pm):

Arsenal are back in the title race after a great 3-0 win at Manchester City. The early sending off of Manchester City Dedryck Boyata (which in my opinion was correct) turned the game especially as it was so early in the game. Arsenal took full advantage & even had the luxury of missing a penalty. The win takes them above Manchester City into second place but behind Chelsea by 5 points. The victory was very important for Arsenal as they failed to beat City in three meetings last season as well as failing to beat Chelsea or Manchester United. The win against City should be taken with a pinch of salt however as the sending off was so early in the game but it will boost Arsenal’s confidence. Arsenal do seem to be getting some luck this season & it will be interesting to see where this luck places them come the end of the season.

Arsenal now face West Ham who are struggling in the bottom three. West Ham have only won one game all season & that was a 1-0 win over Tottenham. They lost their last game at home to Newcastle last Saturday. Last season Arsenal took 4 points of West Ham & knocked them out of the FA Cup 2-1 at Upton Park. Can’t really see West Ham getting anything out of this game. Arsenal have lost once at home already to WBA & I really can’t see them losing a second game surprisingly. They (Arsenal) won 2-1 against Birmingham in their last home game.

Arsenal to win then & I really think that poor old West Ham are going to go down.

Match prediction: Arsenal to win
Score Prediction: Arsenal 3 West Ham 1
Attendance Prediction: 60,000

Match 2: Blackburn – Chelsea: (Saturday October 30th: 3pm):

Chelsea won again last weekend as I predicted against Wolves but Wolves did well to keep the score down to 2-0. Chelsea are now 5 points clear at the top of the premiership having only dropped 5 points all season, against Manchester City & Aston Villa. I do feel that Chelsea are looking good to retain their title but some caution should be added to that as they a have had an easier start to the season than their rivals so far in terms of fixtures.

Chelsea now play a potential difficult fixture in Blackburn away. Blackburn have slipped in the table in recent weeks not helped by their failure to win since they won at Blackpool 4 games ago. Since then they have lost at Stoke & Liverpool (both defeats predicted by my good self) & only drawn at home with travel shy Sunderland. They need a win as they are 17th in the table above third from bottom Liverpool on goal Difference. The problem is that they now face Chelsea.

Last season Blackburn drew at home with Chelsea as well as also holding Manchester United, Liverpool & beating Arsenal. This season though they have already lost at home to Arsenal 2-1 (my first correct score of season) so it doesn’t bode well for Blackburn in this game.

I think Chelsea will win this game & without too much trouble. Hopefully defeat will shut up their manager but don’t bet on it.

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

Match 3: Everton – Stoke: (Saturday October 30th: 3pm):

Everton continued their improvement with a good point in the 1-1 draw at high flying Spurs. That draw was their third game unbeaten after wins against Birmingham & Liverpool (both predicted by me) This run of results has seen Everton move upto 11th in the table.

Everton now face a Stoke side who after a good run themselves have lost two on the bounce, away at Bolton & at home to Manchester United last Sunday 2-1. Everton have now gone above Stoke in the table. Stoke drew this fixture last season but this time around I think that Everton will turn the tables & win as they seem to have rediscovered their confidence which they showed in great style in the second half of the last season in abundance.

Both sides should easily stay up this season but I think Everton could challenge for a place in Europe especially if Tim Cahill stays fit for the rest of the season.

A home win then & happy days for Everton fans especially as Liverpool are doing so badly.

Match prediction: Everton to win
Score Prediction: Everton 2 Stoke 1
Attendance Prediction: 36,000

Match 4: Fulham – Wigan: (Saturday October 30th: 3pm):

After staying unbeaten for the first 7 games of the season Fulham have now lost their last two. They lost their unbeaten record when losing at home to Spurs & then lost again last Saturday against WBA, a result which I predicted.

Fulham therefore need to get back to winning ways especially as they have only won one game so far against Wolves 2-0 at home. Because 6 of their games in their unbeaten run were draws they have slipped to 16th in the table. It goes without saying that Fulham need to win this game to move back up the table.

They (Fulham) now face a Wigan side who won on Tuesday night in the League cup when they beat Swansea from the Championship 2-0. Wigan drew at home with Bolton 1-1 last Saturday which means are on 10 points above Fulham by just the one point. Wigan have won two games this season, 1-0 at Spurs & 2-0 against Wolves at home. They have improved after a really bad start but I still think they will struggle to stay up. We will see.

A home win then & Fulham will obviously go above Wigan in the table.

Match prediction: Fulham to win
Score Prediction: Fulham 2 Wigan 0
Attendance Prediction: 26,000

Match 5: Wolves – Manchester City: (Saturday October 30th: 3pm):

City will be upset at losing at home to Arsenal last Sunday as it means that they have dropped from 2nd to 4th in the table. It was their second defeat of the season after they had lost at Sunderland earlier in the season. City can ill afford many more defeats in their quest for honours this season.

Wolves their opponents in this game are struggling despite by many accounts playing well. However, their record is that they have not won since the opening day of the season when they beat Stoke 2-1. They lost at Chelsea 2-0 last Saturday but played well by all accounts & did well to keep the score down to just 2-0.

I think that City will bounce back in this game after the Arsenal defeat & add more woes to Wolves who are more & more looking like they are going to struggle to stay up this season. If they do go down it will obviously please their rivals West Brom.

Match prediction: Manchester City to win
Score Prediction: Wolves 1 Manchester City 3
Attendance Prediction: 27,000

Match 6: Manchester United – Spurs: (Saturday October 30th: 5.30pm):

Manchester united won their first away game of the season when they won 2-1 at Stoke last Sunday all be it with a very late goal after Stoke had drawn level. This ended their four game drawing sequence. They have moved above their neighbours City into third place behind Arsenal & Chelsea.

They now face Spurs at home whom they always seem to beat at Old Trafford. United may be without Wayne Rooney who is still out injured. United drew at home with West Brom in their last home game after being 2-0 up. Since then they have had a major boost with Wayne Rooney saying that he wants to stay. This boost I feel will mean they will win this game but Spurs will make it hard for them as they are having a good season despite the distraction of playing in the Champions League where they are doing well.

A home victory then & don’t ask me when Spurs are going to win at Old Trafford.

Match prediction: Manchester United to win
Score Prediction: Manchester United 3 Spurs 1
Attendance Prediction: 72,000

Match 7: Aston Villa – Birmingham: (Sunday October 31st: 12pm):

Aston Villa lost again away, this time away at Sunderland last Saturday. They have now lost three times away & only managed the one win at Wolves. Villa’s home form is however better than their away form as they are unbeaten. They have beaten West Ham, Everton & drawn with Bolton & Chelsea. The Chelsea game was their last home game & was a good point as only Manchester City have taken points off Chelsea this season.

Villa now face Birmingham who like themselves are through to the League Cup quarter finals after winning in mid week. Birmingham needed penalties to beat 3rd division Brentford. Birmingham stopped their winless run by beating Blackpool 2-0 last Saturday, a three points they needed.

Last season Villa won this game 1-0 with a very late penalty. Birmingham will be looking for revenge but I fear they won’t get it as their away form has dropped back to last seasons levels with defeats at Arsenal & West Brom. A third away defeat for Birmingham then.

Match prediction: Aston Villa to win
Score Prediction: Aston Villa 2 Birmingham 1
Attendance Prediction: 39,000

Match 8: Newcastle – Sunderland: (Sunday Octobe 31st: 1.30pm):

This is the big one in the North east with all due respect to Hartlepool & Darlington’s derby fixture. Newcastle lost again at home, this time to Arsenal 4-0 in the League cup. Admittedly Newcastle fielded a weakened side from the weekend win at West Ham but it was still a thumping defeat to go with league defeats to Stoke & Blackpool. Newcastle’s away form is good & that is why they are in the top half of the table just one point behind Sunderland who are 7th .

Sunderland won at home against Aston Villa last Saturday for their second home win of the season & the continuation of their unbeaten home record which has seen them beat Manchester City & draws with Manchester United, Birmingham & Arsenal. Away they have just lost the once at WBA & drawn at Blackburn, Liverpool & Wigan.

I think that Sunderland will get their first win at Newcastle in a long time & win this game which will be their first away win of the season & break their run of bad luck on Tyneside. The last time these sides played it was a 1-1 draw at Newcastle & I should know because I was there.

Match prediction: Sunderland to win
Score Prediction: Newcastle 1 Sunderland 2
Attendance Prediction: 53,000

Match 9: Bolton – Liverpool : (Sunday October 31st: 4pm):

Liverpool won only their second game of the season last Sunday when they managed to beat the might of Blackburn 2-1. They now face Bolton away. Liverpool have also have new owners & they will be hoping that it helps them get out of the relegation places & improve their season which so far has been dreadful. They have lost 4 times already this season, at home to Blackpool & away at Everton, Manchester United & Manchester City. In fact they have failed to win away so far & to be honest I can’t see them breaking that record in this game.

Bolton are having a much better season than Liverpool & lie in 8th place. They have only lost once so far this season & that was at Arsenal. They beat Stoke in their last home game 2-1 for their first home win of the season after drawing with Fulham, Manchester United & Birmingham in their previous home games. Away they have won at West Ham & drawn at Wigan, WBA & Aston Villa. There record so far this season proves that they are difficult to beat & this is why I can’t see Liverpool winning this fixture.

Very tough times for Liverpool but they can’t go down? Can they?

Match Prediction: Bolton to win
Score Prediction: Bolton 2 Liverpool 1
Attendance prediction: 25,000

Match 10: Blackpool – West Brom: (Monday November 1st: 8pm):

Blackpool are slipping after two successive defeats to Manchester City & away last weekend at Birmingham. They are now 14th in the table just one point above the trap door where I think they will end come the end of the season.

West Brom whom they play in this game are on a great run & continued that with a 4-1 win at Leicester in the League Cup on Tuesday & with an under Strength side. West Brom beat Fulham last Saturday (as I predicted) & are now 6th in the table only behind Tottenham on goal difference. West Brom without stating the obvious are having a bloody great start to the season & are proving everyone wrong. They have lost twice so far this season & they were both early on when they were beat at Chelsea & Liverpool. Since then they have beaten Arsenal away, Sunderland, Birmingham & Fulham at home & drawn away at Manchester United when they were 2-0 down.

Blackpool have managed three wins so far, all of them away. Their wins were at Newcastle, Wigan & Liverpool. Their only other point was a 2-2 home draw with Fulham. They have lost all their other games bar the Fulham game. The defeats were to Blackburn & Manchester City.

I think West Brom will prove too hard a nut for Blackpool to crack & so it could be bottom three for Blackpool come the end of the weekend.

Match Prediction: WBA to win
Score Prediction: Blackpool 1 WBA 2
Attendance Prediction: 17,000

That’s all for this week everybody.

See you all on Monday for more Champions League previews.

Douglas Martin

October 28th 2010

Best Champions League Prediction of previous Matches: “Glasgow Rangers winning for the First time at home in the Champions League since 2007 & Spurs winning their first Champions League game at home” 

Hello everyone & welcome to the third Champions League prediction article of the season. Last time out I predicted correctly 4 out of 5 games correct in terms of results. They were Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea & Glasgow Rangers all winning. The odd one out was Manchester United winning when I said they would lose. This means that so far this season in the Champions League I have correctly predicted 6 out of 10 games correct for results. 

Let’s hope for the same rate of Predictions this time around. 

See you all for the premiership on Thursday which has seen a good weekend (written before Blackburn – Sunderland game) for the weekends predictions with 2 correct scores out of 4 correct results so far. More details on Thursday but just for the record I correctly Predicted Everton to beat Liverpool 2-0 & Bolton to beat Stoke 2-1 as well as the correct results for Manchester City winning at Blackpool & Arsenal beating Birmingham. 

Good luck 

Match 1: Spartak Moscow – Chelsea: (Group F: Tuesday 19th October: 5.30pm): 

Chelsea are still top of the Premiership after a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa on Saturday. Their lead has however been cut by two points because both Manchester City & Arsenal both won. I suspect this won’t bother Chelsea too much. They now play their third Champions League game after winning the first two. They have a difficult game away to Spartak Moscow on the ground where they lost the Champions League final to Manchester United in 2007. Hopefully they will come away with better memories of Moscow after this game. 

Spartak are on a good league run & won 3-0 on Friday but they are well of the pace in the Russian Championship. Like Chelsea they have maximum points from their first two Champions League games having beaten Marseille 1-0 away & Zilina at home. I can see Chelsea going for victory to cement their qualification from the group in order to concentrate on the Premiership before the next round of the Champions league begins. 

Chelsea like last season are proving difficult to beat & I suspect that they will go further in the Champions League than last season & might even win it. We will see. 

Result Prediction: Chelsea to win 
Score Prediction: Spartak Moscow 1 Chelsea 2 

Match 2: Arsenal – Shakhtar Donetsk: (Group H: Tuesday 19th October: 7.45pm): 

Arsenal got back to winning ways in the Premiership on Saturday by coming from behind to beat Birmingham 2-1. Birmingham will clearly feel hard done by as Arsenal’s first goal, a Penalty which was clearly an incorrect decision and you thought it was just Manchester United that got bad decisions in their favour at home. 

Shakhtar are runaway leaders of the Ukraine league & look set to retain their title. Shakhtar won the UEFA cup in 2009 when they beat Werder Bremen in the final to become the last winners of the UEFA cup before it changed name. Shakhtar therefore have European pedigree like Arsenal. This season they have won both their games like Arsenal & look set to qualify from the group as runners behind Arsenal. 

Last season they qualified from their Champions League group to reach the last 32. Arsenal should win this game as they are very strong at home both domestically & in Europe. 

Shakhtar won 2-0 on Friday in the League so like Arsenal will come into the game on a winning result. Arsenal to win I think but it should be a closer game then their last one at home in the Champions League when they beat Braga 6-0. 

Result Prediction: Arsenal to win 
Score Prediction: Arsenal 2 Shakhtar Donetsk 0 

Match 3: Inter Milan – Spurs : (Group A: Wednesday 20th October: 7.45pm): 

This game is the reason why Spurs got so exited about finishing 4th last season. Spurs have had a good start to their first Champions League Campaign, they drew in Germany against Werder Bremen 2-2 & then beat FC Twente 4-1 at home in their last game. 

Inter have the same amount of points after drawing 2-2 in Holland with Twente & then hammering Bremen 4-0 at home. A crunch game then but I suspect that the return at White hart Lane will be a deciding game. Inter have won the Italian league for the last 4 years but this season are third at present despite winning at Cagliari 1-0 on Sunday. They are however only two points off the to. They have lost once this season & that was away to Roma 1-0 who are struggling in 15th place. Their new manager who left Liverpool in such a mess appears to be on the surface making a mess of Inter. I hope he isn’t as I like Inter. Can’t see Inter retaining their European crown under Rafa Benitez despite his record of winning the title with them in 2005. 

Inter I feel will have too much for Spurs in this game but Spurs fans shouldn’t be too down if they lose this game as they stand a good chance of qualifying from the group by coming second. Spurs fans should also be cheered by their league form which has picked up really well after a shaky start. They continued the good run by beating Fulham 2-1 on Saturday which means they have won three out of their last four league games. 

Spurs should make a good account of themselves in this game but Inter’s experience will come out on top I feel. 

Result Prediction: Inter to win 
Score Prediction: Inter 3 Spurs 1 

Match 4: Manchester United – Bursaspor: (Group C: Wednesday 20th October: 7.45pm): 

As I have said before this season Manchester United are not firing on all cylinders. This was again proved on Saturday when they threw away a two goal lead to draw at home with WBA 2-2. This was their 5th draw of the season & third on the trot. It must be pointed out however that United have not lost this season in all competitions so their form is not as bad as some people are making out. 

In their previous champions league game United beat Valencia away 1-0 which was a good result for them after they had only drawn at home with Glasgow Rangers in their first C/L game. 

United now face Turkish side Bursaspor who are top of their domestic league having won again at the weekend. They are unbeaten domestically this season but they have lost both their Champions League games, 4-0 at home to Valencia & 1-0 at Glasgow rangers last time out. 

I can’t see United not winning this game as I feel that despite United’s recent form they are still more than a match for the Turkish side despite Wayne Rooney obviously not playing well. 

A home win then. 

Result Prediction: Manchester United to win 
Score Prediction: Manchester United 3 Bursaspor 0 

Match 5: Valencia – Glasgow Rangers: (Group C: Wednesday 20th October: 7.45pm): 

Valencia lost at the weekend to Barcelona 2-1 despite taking the lead. They have now dropped to third in the table behind Barcelona & Real Madrid all be it by just a point. The Barcelona defeat was their first of the season. 

Valencia have won one & lost one so far in their Champions league games so far. They lost at home to Manchester United 1-0 to a very late goal last time out after they had beat Bursaspor 4-0 away in their opening game. 

Rangers won 4-1 at the weekend against Motherwell to remain top above Celtic on goal difference. Rangers have won all eight games in the Scottish premier this season as have Celtic which says a lot about the gap between the “Old Firm” & the rest of the Scottish sides. I think that Rangers will play like they did against Manchester United at old Trafford & basically put a lot of men behind the ball & try to sneak a goal on the break. This style of play served them well in their UEFA Cup run a couple of seasons ago & so far this season in the Champions League. However, I think their run will end in this game & they will lose. Could be a boring game though as Valencia try to break them down. 

Don’t bother watching this game on the telly as you might fall a sleep. 

Result Prediction: Valencia to win 

Score Prediction: Valencia 1 Glasgow rangers 0 

That’s all from the champions league for a couple of weeks. See you all for the Premiership On Thursday. 

Cheers 

Douglas Martin