Premier League Odds and Tips 17-19 Sept 2011

[shel]

Blackburn v Arsenal
Saturday 17th September 2011 KO 12:45 at Ewood Park

Rooted to the bottom of the table Blackburn desperately need a win and with Arsenal out of sorts, after having one of their worst starts to a Premier League season, Rovers would hope to capitalise on their current state. Arsenal look to pick up the pieces and another win after last week’s victory, which some may describe as lucky, would do no harm. With both teams lacking fire power up front I cannot see a big win here and I think either team would be happy with a 1-0 victory.


Aston Villa v Newcastle
Saturday 17th September 2011 KO 15:00 at Villa Park

Both teams are in good form at present with neither walking away pointless from their first four league games. The Villains have had the better of this fixture winning 37 games to Newcastle’s 18 and with having lost only four games at home last season I can’t see them settling for no less than a point on Saturday. Newcastle have had a good start to the season and their defence has been pretty mean having only conceding a single goal in the opening four games. I feel this game will be settled on the decisiveness of the strikers and in saying that I would go with a home victory.


Bolton v Norwich
Saturday 17th September 2011 KO 15:00 at the Reebok Stadium

Bolton have shown their good and ugly side so far this season with an impressive start courtesy of a 4-0 thrashing away at QPR and last week’s 5-0 mauling at home against Man United – no doubt they’d be licking their wounds after that result. Norwich, a point behind have been quite the opposite in terms of goals for and against, unfortunately for them their scoring record is merely stemming the damage and they’ve yet to win a game. Ruddy will be back in goal after serving a one match suspension, but with Bolton out to appease the home crowd, Norwich look set for a difficult afternoon.


Everton v Wigan
Saturday 17th September 2011 KO 15:00 at Goodison Park

Everton head into this game on four points and will be looking to take the maximum three against Wigan knowing that the following games will see them face Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea respectively. After a good start, Wigan were knocked down a peg, but who could blame them after facing an in-form Man City side last week? Martinez would be aware of his team’s away record, having once again been tipped to be involved in this seasons relegation battle and with Everton’s renowned bad starts he’d be forgiven for looking to gain a point or more at Goodison.


Swansea v West Bromwich Albion
Saturday 17th September 2011 KO 15:00 at the Liberty Stadium

West Brom go into this match in a slightly better position on paper, but it’s far from good times for Swansea who not only have yet to bag three points from a game, but, even more worryingly, they’re the only team in the league who have yet to score a single goal. Having said that they do have two points, which you can interpret as having a decent defence. After a convincing away victory against newly-promoted Norwich City, West Brom will be giving Swansea their own special welcome to the top flight and the pace of Odemwingle may again be vital for them in clinching another victory this weekend.


Wolves v QPR
Saturday 17th September 2011 KO 15:00 at Molineux Stadium

Wolves has had a very good start to this year’s campaign having one two of their opening four games, one of which was an away victory to Blackburn. Their second home game in succession sees them face a QPR side who have so far performed the best out of all three newly promoted premier league teams and the only one to have had a victory. This may well be due to the influx of players into the club, all of whom have had previous Premier League experience, barring Jason Puncheon and Jay Bothroyd. However, one thing Rangers lack are goals and they’d be looking to the creativity of Barton and Wright-Phillips to break down the organised Wolves defence. This one may go to the wire and result in a score draw, but if one team were to take it I’d fancy the home side with a late Kevin Doyle winner.


Spurs v Liverpool
Sunday 18th September 2011 KO 13:30 at White Hart Lane

Early to mid 2000, you’d put your house on Liverpool walking away with nothing less than a point from this fixture, however since 2008 it’s been a different story and therefore somewhat hard to distinguish a winner. Last season at Anfield with Liverpool in good form and Tottenham on the decline, Harry managed to bag a victory which guaranteed them a UEFA place. This highlights a quality which both teams find a difficulty possessing – consistency.

Tottenham kicked off the season slow and it wasn’t only due to the riots, which saw their opening game postponed. Facing both Manchester sides in their first two games was never going to do much in boosting team morale and with the aforementioned eager to outdo each other, Spurs suddenly found themselves on a goal difference of minus seven. They’ve managed to pick up the pieces and show their quality last weekend against Wolves, cruising to a comfortable three points, which saw them propel off the foot of the table.

Liverpool got off to a good start, but after a large summer shopping spree a home draw against Sunderland may not have been to the fans liking, though a win at the Emirates and at home to Bolton gave the Kop something to smile about. Once again however, consistency struck as they suffered their first league defeat at the hands of Stoke City, who may warrant the title of “Liverpool’s bogey team”, on analysis of their head-to-head stats. With all that said picking a winner still proves a difficulty, but I feel Redknapp has the knack of spotting Liverpool’s weaknesses and I sense a well-fought home win.

Fulham v Manchester City
Sunday 18th September 2011 KO 15:00 at Craven Cottage

Manchester City have started the campaign in fine style and the accusations of negativity levelled against boss Mancini last season now a distant memory. They have gone about their business with style and an attacking intent which has brought them a staggering 15 goals in 4 Premier League games and with their wealth of attacking options it could easily have been more. Fulham have been tepid in comparison, a relatively benign start with games against Villa, Newcastle, Wolves and Blackburn has failed to produce a win and with only two gaols it seems that European exertions are already weighing heavy on Martin Jol’s small squad. It is hard to comprehend anything other than a routine City win here.


Sunderland v Stoke
Sunday 18th September 2011 KO 15:00 at the Stadium of Light

Losing one front line striker can happen, losing two is careless, losing three in such a short space of time is frankly baffling. Asamoah Gyan joined Kenwyne Jones and Darren Bent in the front man revolving door at the Stadium of Light last week and serious questions are now being asked about Steve Bruce’s suitability to see out the job on Wearside. Winless and seemingly clueless, this has been a disastrous start to the season for the Mackems.

Stoke on the other hand continue to fire on all fronts, progressing in Europe and still unbeaten, after what looked like a tricky start in the Premier League. The Potters though are not to be trusted on the road and despite a late win in their last away game at the Hawthorns, they can not be backed with any confidence to complete back to back away wins for the first time in the Premier League.

Manchester United v Chelsea
Sunday 18th September 2011 KO 16:00 at Old Trafford

Manchester Utd are buoyant at present and Alex Ferguson seems to have worked the oracle again with a string of high class acquisitions. At first sight the best price 17/20 for them to continue their 100% start to the season looks a solid selection and is most definitely a price you won’t see the layers quoting too often again over the next 8 months.

However, rumours of Chelsea’s demise seem grossly exaggerated and an impressive effort against beleaguered Sunderland at the Stadium of Light suggest that AVB might finally getting his ageing team of stars back to their best. Utd were able to rest key players in their European sojourn midweek and will come into this fresh but Chelsea can definitely give them something to think about.