English Prem 13th/14th/15th Feb

[GaNgStA kEeKs]

Originally Posted by JohnB2

Any word on Arsenals african defenders going awol after the cup of nations.
Players tend to after this sort of thing....hopefully will do in this case.......Going against arsenal will be much better proposition if the two africans are missing

Well they have been named in the squad so i would imagine that they hav arrived back although i have no confirmation of that.

Toure is a huge boost but my thoughts on Eboue have taking a huge nosedive from his African nations cup performances.

[fasteddy]

I agree with WAS on this one, and also el Guapo....

watching Liverpool against Wigan I never felt confident that they were in control ay any point. Gerrard didn't look his usual fiery self, with quite a few misplaced passes and often appearing to be pissed off at some of his colleagues play. He is very much the 'key' to their success when he plays , so if not on his game they do suffer a little.
He may get fired up for Arsenal , who knows, but in general I don't rate Liverpool as being in top form at the moment.
Cisse is not a player I like, even if he does have pace , as it's not used effectively enough and he strikes me as a selfish twat. Riise and Kewell are definitely off the boil as well, plus you add in someone like Hamann and you can see where Arsenal could look to getting an advantage with younger, fresher legs and attitude.

Arsenal will be missing Bergkamp and Reyes as well for this , leaving Wegner with a real mish mash to select from. Youthful, light weight , lanky Bambi's in the shape of Adebayour and Diaby!
Pires and Freddie have to play from the start...no questions.The defence will struggle against the experience of either Morientes or Fowler...or both..hopefully. while the midfield trio of Fabregas, Larsson, Silva lacks real physical threat , often showing a lack of maturity in the battle of the 'minds'.

Neither of these sides are in top form, so the odds should reflect that a bit more , but with Arsenal's away record so poor , it seems they bookies have gone too far in the Reds' favour.

Anfield is a different ballgame for Liverpool and I expect them to raise their standars, but they will have a tough time on their hands ...tougher than Wigan or Birmingham.
It's should be remembered that since the turn of the year Liverpool have played 9 times: 3 Home 6 Away...going 4-2-3 and 2 of the defeats were away to Manyoo and Chelsea...but they haven't impressed in goalscoring lately, so there it's not like they are THAT big a favourite over a side that still has Henry/Pires/Freddie.

So what have we got?...well for me it will all be about who starts up front for Liverpool. If it's Morientes/Fowler then I see them getting a result early on. These two may not have the pace , but they are brilliant at getting into position for good deliveries, which Liverpool will have no problem doing. Both are crafty, intelligent and have that rare 'touch' when it comes to getting the goals.
If Cisse + 1 then I don't think it will be so easy as he hasn't scored in 8 games, and he just isn't a player that I feel compliments any of the other strikers style.

As for Arsenal: Adebayour is still adjusting to life in EPL, his style's not best suited as he likes to dig the ball out from under his feet rather than get into a more flowing one touch pass mode. He moves well enough , but just too light and frail to stay on the ball when pressed..he gets rid of it sharpish when closed down...that's for sure!
If the defence stands firm and doesn't panic...Liverpool will again find the goals hard to come by.

I'll wait for the team news and make a decision then, but I just feel that Arsenal's price is too big overall. Got to be worth a small punt.

[edinlichtie]

How about this for a wee sneaky bet...

Lay Crouch to score tonight at 5.2 (or less) on betfair.

He is absolutely wank, and doesn't stand a chance of scoring on any normal day, so surely even less chance when there are 3 better strikers in the squad, the game is going to be a low scoring affair, and he might miss the game through injury?

[GaNgStA kEeKs]

Originally Posted by edinlichtie

How about this for a wee sneaky bet...

Lay Crouch to score tonight at 5.2 (or less) on betfair.

He is absolutely wank, and doesn't stand a chance of scoring on any normal day, so surely even less chance when there are 3 better strikers in the squad, the game is going to be a low scoring affair, and he might miss the game through injury?

The way i see it is i haven't been impressed with Crouch in recent weeks, especially his finishing but its a dangerous bet as all you need is a little break against you and there he is nipping in with a goal.

I think there are far safer bets to put your money on than that.

Have to say aswell its good to see a difference of opinion on tonights game between a few of us. It allows people to see different sides of the bet and lets them make up there own opinion.

Good luck with your bets tonight guys

[all_funkt_up]

I love losing money on Liverpool but I think I will give this one a miss. I think we can control the game and out muscle Arsenal, but its a case of 'what happens next....' for me. Without any wingers or a real 'outlet' they struggle to create chances. Then when the chances do come, they are missed

Before New Year, we would beat teams (Boro, Newcastle, Pompey) but missed scores of chances. I would honestly say we scored 1-in-5. Now those chances arent in such abundance and we are struggling.

Between them, Liverpool's front 3 have made 63 starts and scored 11 goals. I think that speaks for itself really doesnt it. A few injuries has meant we havent been able to rotate the team and so those that are playing are tired. Our season started in July remember. Gerrard has played 40 games in total this season!

Still no sign of Garcia being fit and TBH I am not all that optomistic. On the face of things, I would say we can keep it tight but fail to score. Henry tends to drift in from the left (our right) and this is where we are strongest and fastestat the back. Between them, Carra and Finnan should have him under control (famous last words ). If there is a worry, its our left side and the relationship between Hypia and our left back. Rafa hasnt played the same LB consistantly and this has got to be detrimental to the understanding at the back. No co-incidence that the bumbled Own Goal last week was as a result of a mixup on our left side.


I would dearly love to see a 4 minute hat trick from Robbie again, sadly 0-0 or even 0-1 is the way I see it going tonight

[all_funkt_up]

Originally Posted by edinlichtie

How about this for a wee sneaky bet...

Lay Crouch to score tonight at 5.2 (or less) on betfair.

He is absolutely wank, and doesn't stand a chance of scoring on any normal day, so surely even less chance when there are 3 better strikers in the squad, the game is going to be a low scoring affair, and he might miss the game through injury?

I will have 6/1 on Crouch to score tonight (anytime) if you're offering (Only valid if he starts?)

[all_funkt_up]

From Le Beeb

Striker Peter Crouch is still a doubt having missed the game against Wigan with a heel injury.

Luis Garcia is out with a knee problem, while Stephen Warnock has recovered from a groin injury.

Arsenal welcome back defenders Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue from African Nations Cup duty.

Jose Antonio Reyes is out after hurting his leg against Bolton, Robin van Persie is not fit and fellow striker Dennis Bergkamp has a calf problem.

[GaNgStA kEeKs]

Blackburn v Sunderland

Not a game i will be involved with as the 1.50 is a bit too short for me to get involved with on Blackburns current form but i will add my thoughts for anyone considering the game tonight.

Blackburn since that excellent win at home in the league to Man Utd have fallen back a bit and gone with 4 losses in their last 5. More worryingly is that they have failed to score in their last 2 league games.

WBA they got exactly what they deserved and were lucky they didn't lose that by more. Everton they were unlucky in a way as it is difficult playing against 10 men for so much of the game and mybe deserved to get more from that game.

A big reason for their lack of form i would say has been the loss of Gamdst Pedersen through injury. He looks set to return tonight which is a huge boost to the side as he is one of their creative sparks who gets up and helps out the front pairing very well and chips in with his fair share of goals.

Steven reid is a doubt though for the game which would be a blow as he has been excellent this season but Pedersens return is more important imo.

Another factor in their current demise though is their 4 games with loss have come away from home and as you can see below their home form is excellent by anyones standards and it should motivate them a lot to be back at home.

02-01 Blackburn 4-3 Man.Utd
01-14 Blackburn 0-0 Bolton
01-02 Blackburn 2-1 Portsmouth
12-10 Blackburn 3-2 West Ham
12-03 Blackburn 0-2 Everton
11-05 Blackburn 4-1 Charlton
10-22 Blackburn 2-0 Birmingham
10-01 Blackburn 2-0 West Brom.
09-18 Blackburn 0-3 Newcastle
08-24 Blackburn 0-0 Tottenham
08-20 Blackburn 2-1 Fulham

Looks like it will be Bellamy and Bentley as the front pairig and although there isn't an out and out goalscorer here i still think there is enough firepower in the side to overcome the bassment side.

As for Sunderland, there isn't much you can say. They are the poorest side as far as i can remember in this league and i just don't see where goals can come from this side. It is going to take some spectacular goal i feel they need every game to score as they have no penetration or creativty in that side.

A 2-0-9 away record says a lot about how abysmal they are on the road although to be fair to them they have put in some decent performances particularly against Newcastle and Spurs away for example.

Morale should be high i guess after the point at Spurs but they were lucky as Spurs should've killed them off earlier which has been the story of much of Spurs season so far.

Defensively Sunderland have some big players of their side returning from suspension in Caldwell and Wright but i don't think this will have much effect.

To me the game is there for Blackburn and its down to how they approach it. They should win, and maybe by a few goals but the odds are too small for me to get involved.

Hope this helps anyone interested

Recommended bets

Blackburn to win @ 1.52 Betfair

[edinlichtie]

Originally Posted by all_funkt_up

I will have 6/1 on Crouch to score tonight (anytime) if you're offering (Only valid if he starts?)

only valid if he played any part in the game.

oh well, good to see another terrible preview from bbc getting half the injuries wrong

[zonker84]

Originally Posted by JohnB2

While i remeber Champs Lge knockout stage.
Galitocs vs Arsenal
Reaaaaaaaaal available @2.10 to win the home leg is just buying money. I can see many goals, Arseanl will truley be exposed for what they are....

What's that then John?