Saturday, August 29, 2009

English Premiership predictions

Another round of the English Premiership is here and so far it is shaping up to be an interesting season with Spurs, Arsenal, United and Chelsea setting the early pace.

Here are a couple of our predictions for the weekend:

Saturday fixtures

  • Chelsea vs Burnley - Chelsea win (2-0 or 3-0) - First goalscorer - Nicolas Anelka assuming he starts
  • Blackburn vs Westham - West Ham to win 1-0
  • Bolton vs Liverpool - Draw (1-1)
  • Stoke vs Sunderland - Stoke 1-0
  • Tottenham vs Birmingham - Tottenham to win 2-0 or 2-1 with Robbie Keane as first goalscorer
  • Wolves vs Hull - 1-1
  • Manchester United vs Arsenal - 2-2 draw or 2-3 Arsenal with first goalscorer Michael Owen


Sunday

  • Portsmouth vs Man City - 1-1 draw
  • Everton vs Wigan - Everton win 2-0
  • Aston Villa vs Fulham - Villa to win 2-0 or 2-1

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Champions League picks

Another round of the Champions League is here today and there look like some pretty straightforward soccer picks for tonight.

  • Apoel Nicosia vs FC Copenhagen - Draw
  • Arsenal vs Celtic - Arsenal win (2-0, 3-0, Da Silva Eduardo as first goalscorer)
  • Fiorentina vs Sporting - Fiorentina (1-0)
  • Olympiakos vs FC Sheriff - Olympiakos to win 2-0
  • Stuttgart vs Timisoara - Stuttgart to win (2-0, 3-0)

Friday, August 21, 2009

MTN 8 picks

The MTN 8 final is getting interesting and I hate to say it but the Chiefs vs Ajax Cape Town game has the feeling of a "final" of sorts.

No disrespect inteded to the Golden Arrows and Amazulu sides but one wonders whether either of them could take the winner of the Chiefs / Ajax game.

Our picks for the weekend:

Arrows to beat Amazulu (2-0)
Chiefs to beat Ajax (2-0)

Final prediction would be that the winner of the Chiefs / Ajax game will go on to bag the tournament.

Its going to be interesting though...

English Premiership Predictions

Another weekend of the English Premiership is here.

After Manchester Uniteds shock loss during the week, we expect Fergie to have read them the riot act and I wouldn't be surprised if they bounce back hard.

Arsenal were good last weekend and Portsmouth are probably not relishing their trip to take on the Gunners.

For the Sunday game we're backing Chelsea to trip up against Fulham for a draw and for Monday we're betting with our hearts not our heads to say Villa will trip up Liverpool

These are the picks for the Saturday through to Monday games and recommended score-lines:

Saturday
Wigan vs Manchester United - United Win: 2-0
Arsenal vs Portsmouth - Arsenal win: 3-0 / 4-0
Birmingham vs Stoke - Stoke win: 1-0
Man City vs Wolves - Draw: 1-1
Hull vs Bolton - Hull win 1-0
Sunderland vs Blackburn - Draw: 1-1

Sunday
West Ham vs Tottenham - Spurs win 2-1
Burnley vs Everton - Everton win 1-0
Fulham vs Chelsea - Draw: 1-1, 2-2

Monday
Aston Villa - Win 1-0 or 2-1

Monday, August 17, 2009

Predictions for the season

By Tom Mallows

The waiting is over, are you ready?

The 2009/10 season is upon and with the World Cup at the end of it it promises to be an exciting year. But what will happen in the Premier League? Well I'm going to get my crystal ball out and make a few bold (if almost certainly inaccurate) predictions:

First off I reckon Burnley and Wolves will stay up. Burnley have an excellent manager in Owen Coyle who I believe has a David Moyesesque ability of getting the best out of his players. They have a small squad so injuries could prove crucial but I believe they will do enough. Wolves are reaping the rewards for being patient with boss Mick McCarthy. He has built this side slowly over the past 3-4 years, bringing youngsters in and seeing them develop. After missing out on the playoffs last year previous regimes would have got rid, but by giving McCarthy the time to build a side they will be ok this season.

Players to watch:
Burnley's Chris Eagles and Wade Elliot
Wolves' Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Michael Kightly.

The sack race:
Paul Hart. He is on to a loser with crisis club Pompey who are rapidly becoming the new Leeds. I reckon he will be gone by October but whoever comes in will not have enough to save them.

Relegation

They will be joined by Hull and Birmingham. The Tigers collapsed spectacularly last year and I believe that poor form ill continue now the novelty of the Premier League has worn off. Birmingham I feel are still haunted by relegations past and are desperate to lose that yo-yo club tag. But I have to say I have been under whelmed by the players they have brought in so far and fear for Boss Alex McCleish, Another one who could be gone before the clocks go back.

Surprise package - al la Fulham last season.

Hmmm I'm going for West Ham. They have not spent a lot of money but Zola comes across as an astute coach and with the benefit of a full pre-season with his players, I believe they can push for a Europa League spot.

Get those passports ready
The usual suspects will again buzz around the top six. I feel Spurs will do better this year after the nightmare start last time round. Villa will continue to improve and Everton will be as consistent as ever, though doubts remain over the depth of their squad, especially with the extra games in the Europa league this season. However the trump card is Man City who I believe will join the pack but fall just short of a Champions League spot this time round.
5th City
6th Everton
7th Villa
8th Spurs

Champions?
Well I feel Arsenal will just be happy to maintain that flow of Champions League cash and bag 4th. Liverpool I don't feel have strengthened their squad enough and still rely too heavily on Torres and Gerrard. If either of them gets injured I don't feel they have enough back up. Man United also have had a 40 goal hole blasted into their side with the departures of Tevez and Ronaldso. Owen Obertan and Valencia are good, but not good enough to make up the gap. Second place for me. That leaves Chelsea, who would have made a decent fist of things last season if it wasn't for that nightmare winter under Scolari. Ancelotti seems like a canny boss who should get the best out of his talented, if aging players. They are my tip for the top.

1st Chelsea
2ndMan United
3rdLiverpool
4th Arsenal

Agree? disagree? Please leave your comments below, all I can say is my predictions last year proved wildly wrong so you have every right to question my guesses this time round!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Weekend English Premiership predictions

From The Betting Hub blog

The eagerly anticipated start of the new season of the English Premiership is here and it is being viewed as potentially one of the most open in many years.

Chelsea and Manchester United are viewed as the favourites but neither side appears to have the same quality and "steel" they have had in previous years.

These are our picks and our recommended score margins in brackets for todays fixtures:

Chelsea vs Hull - Chelsea win (2-0, 4-0)
Aston Villa vs Wigan - Villa win (2-0)
Blackburn vs. Man City - Draw (1-1)
Portsmouth vs Fulham - Draw (0-0)
Stoke vs Burnley - Stoke win (2-0, 2-1)
Wolves vs West Ham - West Ham win (0-1)
Bolton vs Sunderland - Sunderland win (0-1)
Everton vs Arsenal - Everton win (1-0, 2-0, 2-1)

And for Sunday
Manchester United vs. Birmingham - Man Utd win (2-0, 3-0)
Tottenham vs. Liverpool - Tottenham win (1-0, 2-1)

Happy hunting punters!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

English Premiership - Outright

The English Premiership kicks off next weekend and the following odds on offer from World Sports Betting to win the league outright:

  • Chelsea - 2/1
  • Manchester United - 2/1
  • Liverpool - 3/1
  • Arsenal - 8/1
  • Manchester City - 10/1
  • Tottenham - 100/1
  • Everton - 200/1
  • Aston Villa - 200/1

Yeah I am a little biased toward Aston Villa Must say that I am very surprised that shorter odds weren't offered for either Villa or Everton and I reckon they don't present the worst value around.

The league I think is going to be far more open than people have given consideration to and while I don't have the highest expectations around for them to actually win the league, I think that these odds are various generous.

I put a few bucks down on each of them.

Saturday Picks - Absa Premierhsip

The 2009 Absa Premiership kicks off again this weeekend and we take a look at our picks for the Saturday games.

  • Sundowns vs. Black Aces - Sundowns to win 3-0
  • Ajax Cape Town vs. Orlando Pirate - Ajax to win 1-0
  • Amazulu vs. Wits - Wits to win 2-0
  • Kaizer Chiefs vs Santos - Chiefs to win 2-0

Obviously it is the start of the season so it is tough to weigh up the sides so it will be an interesting Saturday