English Prem 1st/2nd October

[Swooperman]

1 Oct-15:00 Blackburn v West Brom 1.72 3.25 4.50
1 Oct-15:00 Charlton v Tottenham 2.37 3.20 2.70
1 Oct-15:00 Fulham v Man Utd 4.50 3.50 1.66
1 Oct-15:00 Portsmouth v Newcastle 2.70 3.20 2.37
1 Oct-17:15 Sunderland v West Ham 2.37 3.25 2.62
2 Oct-11:15 Man City v Everton 1.80 3.30 4.00
2 Oct-13:00 Wigan v Bolton 2.50 3.10 2.62
2 Oct-13:30 Arsenal v Birmingham 1.33 4.33 8.00
2 Oct-14:00 Aston Villa v Middlesbrough 2.10 3.20 3.20
2 Oct-16:00 Liverpool v Chelsea 3.00 3.20 2.20

all odds Bet365

[slick]

Some interesting first thoughts looking at this weeks fixtures.

Blackburn look tempting against West Brom especially after the shock win they had against utd @ the weekend , Bellamy's back and seems to be making all the difference in turning their fortunes around and Dickov seems to be hitting some form too.

Man Utd should get the points @ the cottage but i dont know whether i can trust em enough to back em on current form same goes for Newcastle away to pompey they are on a roll with 2 wins on the bounce but they still seem to be lacking something , needs more thinking about so i'll put Man U and Newcastle on the shelf while friday.

I'm very tempted to back West Ham, Sunderland now have the win they craved be it against a decent Boro side but Wesh ham have been scoring for fun with Harewood on a good run, i can see them scoring at least a couple which should clinch it.
Man city should take the points against Everton ,they have been beat last 2 times out in the prem but never outplayed, Everton @ panic stations but City will have the confidence in their own ability to take all 3 points.
Rest of the games are pretty close barring the Arsenal game but thats first thoughts for the weekend anyhow.

[GaNgStA kEeKs]

Blackburn are going to be a very inconsistent side this season i reckon Slick and they are more than likely a side i will be avoiding although the weekends game is tempting.

Your right about Bellamy, the guy maybe a twat but he is a quality player and i feel he should be in a much better side and he would do a great job aswell. No defender likes playing against pace and he has it in abundance.

West Ham were the first side that jumped out. They have adapted to the Premiership very well so far and were unlucky not to nick the win against Arsenal last week.

Sunderland have done alright and have been unlucky to be fair to them in some of the games although they did get lucky against Boro scoring their only two attempts i think it was.

Should also be noted that Chelsea are becoming known for the CL hangovers and struggling in the coming game after a match. I remember seeing Jose Mourinho being interviewed and he said last season most the points they dropped were after being involved in a CL game so that might be one too note.

So far this season it was the Charlton game and it did take them a while to get going before scoring in the 55th minute to set them on their way to a 2-0 victory, but Charlton did have some very good chances to score.

Be best though for the big clubs to wait and see the injuries for the sides after the european fixtures.

[mrmuzeman]

Thing with the 'Chelsea hangover' thing is though Kiko, they are playing Liverpool again. I dont think this hangover effect can be taken into account as we all know how badly Liverpool performed after a champions league game last season.
Also because the champs league game is at Anfield as well I dont think anything can be read into this as the teams have not even had to travel abroad or anything. I think it generally applies where a team has had to travel and neither will have had to.

As for Man City v Everton....Christianu said hed consider us at 7/2+ - you can get 4.8 after commision at betfair....but youd be a braver man than I to back us!

[GaNgStA kEeKs]

Good point on Chelsea Mr M. I didn't realise it was Liverpool - i seen the fixture but thought nothing of it for some reason.

Chelsea will be right up for this then.

Mr M - Have Everton been playing poorly and losing or losing but been playing ok and just being unlucky?

Surely their fortunes will change soon enough.

[mrmuzeman]

If you were to ask me earlier in the season then it would definitely have been playing ok/quite good but getting unlucky. (see villareal 2nd game for evidence! )

In the first half of the Dinamo Bucharest game we played well and went in at 1-1. Then we played very bad and ended up getting kicked 5-1 and this has seemed to have a massive psycholgical effect on the players. Prior to this we were playing decent and not getting results - since the 2nd half of that game weve been playing badly fullstop id say.

I was at the Pompey game and we were pretty shocking, werent much better at Arsenal. I hear vs Wigan it could have gone one of three ways but apparently as soon as we conceded heads again dropped.

I have no confidence in us coming back from behind at the moment, a facet which we used to be so strong, never giving up.

Having said all this though I definitely wouldnt be backing City at odds on after their 3 defeats on the bounce. No way hose! I reckon we might sneak a draw here.

[Swooperman]

Think Newcastle look good @ 2.37, really do. I might not get much agreement but I think Pompey are in deep trouble & I dont think Perrin will turn out to be the real deal personally. Newcastle could well have players returning & I dont think Fratton Park is the fortress it was.
Also like Wigan @ home to Bolton, & I really think Villa @ odds against are a good bet v Boro, even though Phillips is out again.

[slick]

Your right about Blackburn Kiko, i was tempted but i shouldent have read into the Man U game as they were probably up for it and Man U did miss a string of chances , ive put it down as a rethink as i think Bellamy could turn there season but it was only a fornight ago when Newcastle did em by 3 @ home but they should beat West Brom Jeez i'm straying again



Wigan could be a good bet Swoops as when they played us after their last Euro match they looked completely shattered and this time they have to travel , that added to the injuries they have picked up lately with Campo , Hunt and namely Speed , should make it a good bet especially if they pick up any more in Europe.

[ONEDUNME]

Apologies in advance for the length of this post gents but this is the proper forum for it.

BLACKBURN V WBA - Saturday 3pm

There will have been one Man United lover crying even louder than the rest after their shock defeat at home to Blackburn on Saturday. That man will be Bryan Robson whose West Brom side travel to Blackburn on Saturday to face a team who have just received the biggest confidence boost since erm, since that Aussie bloke fell over a cricket ball.

The Baggies haven't yet won on their Premiership travels this season and Saturday's game is unlikely to be the one that breaks their duck.

Having said that, Blackburn are not the most prolific of scorers and if the price of 4/5 or 5/6 ish is too short for your liking, why not go for the draw with WBA a goal start in the handicap, which means that you would collect if Blackburn were to win by only one goal.

Recommend.
10 pts Home win 4/5 bet365 and bluesquare
5pts Handicap wba +1, draw 13/5 Bluesquare
1st Goalscorer Craig Bellamy to net his first league goal of the campaign

FULHAM V MAN UTD - Saturday 3pm

Pick up a newspaper on Saturday and read the football pages and it'll be a bloody miracle if you manage to avoid the word "backlash". I disagree and I'm not so sure that Fulham will bounce back to paste United (that's a joke by the way )

Most astute punters will be expecting an easy away victory in this one, as will most not-so-bright punters, which is why I'm going along with the flow and also backing the away win. In fact, I'm so confident that I intend to go for the half time away/full time away for the better price.

Whilst I'm pretty confident about the result, I'm not so sure that there will be an avalanche of goals (given United's current poor form) and I'm also happy to have a dabble on the 0-2 scoreline.

Van the man hasn't scored a league goal for a week, so his big old horse face will be chomping at the bit and he's my first goalscorer bet.

Recommend
10 pts half time/full time Away/Away 8/5 Bet365
5 pts 0-2 correct score 6/1 bluewsquare
5 pts RVN first goalscorer

And now it's time for some gratuitous puns on Chris Coleman's name. Whether or not he cuts the mustard on Saturday, I'm sure it won't be enough to get the Coleman the sack as the Fulham board will surely cut him some Slack, but it will be no miner feat for him to pit his wits against Fergie, and I'm sure both managers will share a coke at the bar after the game.

Lump on.

PORTSMOUTH V NEWCASTLE – Saturday 3pm

When Pompey are relegated in May, their fans will point to a long list of games that they have either drawn or lost by the odd goal and say "if only we'd have put those chances away, we wouldn't be having to travel to such a God-forsaken place as Hull.

This game won't be on that list. There is no doubt that Pompey's home form has done them proud during their Premiership years. Unfortunately, they are destined to become the only team who have held the FA cup for more consecutive years than they've stayed in the Premiership.

I'm going for the away win and a dabble on correct score of 0-2 and 1-3.

Recommend
10 pts away win 7/5 Bet365
3 pts on 0-2 10/1 Bluesquare
2 pts on 1-3 20/1 Bet365


CHARLTON V SPURS -Saturday 3pm

Gazing into my crystal ball, I see a goal fest in this game. A strange thing to say, given that Charlton have scored only one goal in their opening two home league games but the fact that they have been scoring freely in their away games (and Carling Cup game) points to the fact they they are more than capable in front of goal and with Spurs being the kind of team likely to attack them, get on over 2.5 goals in this one.

Recommend
15 pts Over 2.5 goals 2.3 @ Betfair

MAN CITY V EVERTON - Sunday 11.15am

It seems that Everton have given new definition to the term "Yo Yo Club". Underachieving one season, overachieving the next, underachieving the next.

Life at Everton is never boring but the same can be said for Man City and I'm fancying the home win in this one. Everton won't be lacking in effort though, as they bid to shake off their sluggish start to the season and you could do worse then to put a little bit of your hard earned on perennial substitute BDF (Big Duncan Ferguson) to score the last goal of the game as Everton press to get back in it.

Recommend
15 pts Home win 5/6
5 pts Ferguson to score last goal of the game

LIVERPOOL V CHELSEA – Sunday 4pm

The clash of the tight uns

Between them, both teams have only conceded 3 goals in the 12 games played in the Premiership so far. No doubt Wednesday's match between them will be analysed, re-analysed and - to be honest - over-analysed in a bid to find the clues that will lead to a winning punt on Sunday's rematch.

That's not for me. My mind is made up already. No doubt some will put forward the theory that Liverpool need to win to give them any hope at all of getting within reach of Chelsea. My view is that they'd be more than happy to take a point off the Champions and then worry about picking wins up later on.


Recommend
10 pts on the draw 11/5 Bet365
2 pts first goalscorer John Arne Riise

ASTON VILLA V M'BORO - Sunday 2pm

Steve McLaren has succeeded in stealing David O'Leary's old catchphrase of "Oh I've got so many injuries and my poor squad is depleted" (To be fair, probably the third worst catchphrase ever, behind Larry Grayson's "Bloody hell it's draughty in here" and Jimmy Cricket's "Come back, I've not finished talking yet"). He'll also be after stealing a point from the affable Irishman away from home.

Both manager's have been touted as possible contenders for Sven's seat when he's eventually put out to grass (or should that be out to stud )
which proves, if proof were needed, why the FA needed to look outside these little group of islands for an England manager in the first place.

There's no such thing as a nailed-on draw but if there was, it would look something like this.

Recommend
10 pts draw 9/4 bet365


Cheers.

[kompressaur]

Excellent stuff ODM You looked just like Mark Lawernson there

The clash of the tight uns

I laughed at that one before i even got the pun.

Paddy Power have paid out early on Chelsea winning the Premier

[ONEDUNME]

Originally Posted by kompressaur

Excellent stuff ODM You looked just like Mark Lawernson there

Fuckin hell Komp, that's a bit harsh

[mrmuzeman]

Why the hell do Paddy Power pay out on stuff early? They did it in 2003 on Arsenal and then got stung when Man U came back to win.

I mean it makes people think theyre nice to punters etc but will that really cover their losses if theyre wrong? Very strange!

[Swooperman]

I really fancied Villa on sunday but now Hendrie is out, as well as Phillips & Hughes, & thats just off the radio without looking on the net

[Betfly]

I too fancy the Newcastle away win.11/8 VC or for more cautious 8/11 DNB.

Kieron Dyer may be back for this.

Portsmouth's Lua Lua is out with malaria.ALso Laurent Robert cant play due to the loan deal with Newcastle

So away the boys!

[ONEDUNME]

Originally Posted by Betfly

Portsmouth's Lua Lua is out with malaria.

Fcuk me. They get all the good weather down on the south coast