Saturday FA Cup picks

It is FA Cup weekened again and there is no shortage of excitement around the big Manchester United versus Liverpool game tomorrow. Personal opinion is Liverpool will get drilled but who knows, maybe they pull a rabbit out of the hat.

For today I've made the following picks:

Blackburn to beat QPR
Fulham to beat Peterborough
Everton to beat Scunthorpe
Arsenal to beat Leeds (no repeat of 2010 heroics methinks)
Aston Villa to be Sheffield United (although they sure as hell better than they played against Sunderland!)

Will post my Sunday picks later in the day.

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English Premiership punts

Some big games tonight in the English Premiership and all eyes are going to be on the Arsenal versus Manchester City fixture.

In all honesty I have no idea how to call this fixture so I am steering clear of taking a punt on it.

I have split my bets over a Yankee combination of the following results:

Blackburn to beat Liverpool
Aston Villa to beat Sunderland
Newcastle to beat West Ham
Chelsea to beat Wolves

Was tempted to include Spurs to beat Everton but chickened out with Everton having home ground advantage...

Chelsea got lucky

Aston Villa had Chelsea on the run for probably 90% of that game…

….the only time they had any kind of let-up was when they caught their breath while Jon Carew was taking the penalty!

I thought Villa played well, kept Chelsea thinking hard about where goals 5, 6 and 7 were going to come from.

Before Chelsea fans get all excited, its part of a well thought out Villa plan to lull The Blues into a state of cockiness so when we play them in the FA Cup semi-final on 10 April. Then we will have our revenge.

Plus we also now know that their keeper is weak against penalties.

Like Julius Malema and his mines story I remain ever-confident!

Goals on the cards in Spurs vs. Villa fixture

The Mighty Mighty Aston Villa are up against Spurs tonight in a fixture that has a lot of promise with both sides pushing for European qualification.

My prediction is that there are going to be a lot of goals in this match up and the odds look really attractive for those with a risky appetite:

From World Sports Betting:

• 2-2 (15/1)
• 3-1 (18/1)
• 3-2 (25/1)
• 2-3 (35/1)

I’ve put a few bucks down on each of these permutations.

Come on Villa you good thing!

Who’s excited for the soccer!?

Liverpool vs Aston Villa …

Hahahhaha I have been ribbing the Liverpool supporters all day and the prize comment today has to be when one of them came out and said: “The Pool are the under-dogs for today so its not really a big game for them!”

I laughed… I got money on Villa to take it 1-0/2-0 or 2-1… C’mon boys!

What a day in the EPL!

Yes please! Liverpool down, Aston Villa wins and believe it or not Fulham even managed to give Manchester United carrots.

I missed this last night but I believe that Mark Hughes has been sacked as the Manchester City boss… the year hasn’t really worked out for them in quite the way their big spending backers would have liked.

Just on the subject of managers, I am not totally up to speed on what managers signed what but somebody was saying last night that part of the reason why Rafa Benitez can’t be fired as the Liverpool manager is because he signed a new contract last year and Liverpool would need to pay him out a massive amount if they tried to fire him now?

Big game today

Manchester United play host to my team – Aston Villa – today and I’m expecting an upset… even if United have the home ground advantage….

C’mon the Villains…

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

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!

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.

Mighty Aston Villa!

Sir Alex Ferguson insists Villa are "as close as anyone" to breaking the Big Four's supremacy.

Ferguson says O'Neill will not be happy with the way his side have fallen away in the past few weeks because he is a winner - but believes Villa will make big strides in the coming seasons.

He said: "Martin has seen his high hopes of a spot in next season's Champions League slip back a little. He won't be happy with that because he is a winner - it's the nature of the man.

"But no matter how the season ends for them, he had done a fantastic job at Villa.

"He launched a rebuilding programme when he first arrived and there is a lot of youth in his squad.

"He is as close as anyone to breaking into the top four and they will get better. He has a team for the future."

Source: Aston Villa media

MON's Chelsea Shock

Martin O'Neill never envisaged dramatic changes at Chelsea as he disconsolately trudged off the Stamford Bridge pitch in October 2008.

Villa were well beaten by Big Phil Scolari's highly-polished Blues side that day.

Yet four months later there was a major upheaval in west London as Scolari was replaced by Guus Hiddink.

MON said: "The really interesting thing for me is that Chelsea are the only side who have really outplayed us this season.

"That doesn't seem that long ago - yet they have had a change of manager in that time.

"Who would have thought that would have happened.

"Chelsea played excellently on that particular day and you would never would have foreseen the problems they have encountered.

"To now be two points ahead of them is great testament to our side.

"In reality, I don't think they have been as bad as people have made them out to be. I think it is a perception thing.

"They have won trophies over the past few years and now it feels like they have slipped up a little bit and allowed teams to get much closer to them.

"I think Villa striving to get up that table is the only real change though."

Source: http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk

C'mon Villa from your number 1 SA fan....

Sports Trader premiership picks

Aston Villa and Chelsea go head to head this weekend in a fixture that could ultimately make or break the Championship runs for both these sides. If either side loses today, they'll effectively lose any real chance of staying in touch with Manchester United.

Sports Trader makes its picks for the weekends and picking three high profile draws in the top 6.

Saturday fixtures:
Aston Villa v Chelsea Villa Park - Draw
Arsenal v Sunderland - Draw
Stoke v Portsmouth - Stoke win
Bolton v West Ham - West Ham win
Middlesbrough v Wigan - Middlesbrough win
Man Utd v Blackburn - Manchester United win

As you can see we're hedging our bets here... We think Villa and Chelsea will draw as will Arsenal and Sunderland.

Man Utd should carry on their winning ways against Blackburn.

Sunday 22 February
Fulham v West Brom - Fulham win
Liverpool v Man City - Draw
Newcastle v Everton - Everton win

Liverpool and Man City.... hhhhmmmmm we're probably not making too many fans with our negative views around Liverpool but they've had some scares in the last few games with last gasp goals. No Gerrard today, so we're going for the draw.

Everton should carry on their winning ways at Newcastle.

Monday 23 February
Hull v Tottenham - Draw

Another draw on the cards here.

Happy hunting....

Sports Trader picks

The English Premiership is really starting to get exciting and some big name fixtures on the cards:

Sports Trader makes its picks for the weekends fixtures.

Saturday 21 February
Aston Villa v Chelsea - Draw
Stoke v Portsmouth - Stoke win
Arsenal v Sunderland - Arsenal win
Bolton v West Ham - West Ham win
Middlesbrough v Wigan - Middlesbrough win
Man Utd v Blackburn - Manchester United win

The Aston Villa vs Chelsea fixture is the pick of the Saturday fixtures. We're calling a draw here which might irritate the Chelsea fans but we think it's a fair call.

Sunday 22 February
Fulham v West Brom - Draw
Liverpool v Man City - Draw
Newcastle v Everton - Everton win

Man City have the capacity to surprise and we think they are going to surprise Liverpool at Anfield this weekend.

Everton are on hot form and they should be able to put one over Newcastle.

Monday 23 February
Hull v Tottenham - Tottenham win

Tottenham are back in the game and should be able to beat Hull even away from home...

Geez Everton

Everton are looking like a late season threat to the Top 5 and won't be offering any easy points. They've beaten Aston Villa 3-1 in the FA Cup and having beaten Liverpool in the previous round, they've sent a clear warning to anybody expecting points off them...

Have to hand it to them - they've done well....

Martin O'Neill : We're Explosive

Martin O'Neill comments after his Aston Villa side beat Blackburn 2-0 to move above Chelsea and stay firmly in the championship race:

Source: Aston Villa website:

Martin O'Neill accepts that an explosive counter-attacking style is a major reason for Villa's terrific record on the road.

And the Villa boss was quick to point out that it was a similar story for Manchester United in the early years of Sir Alex Ferguson's reign.

He said: "The teams we are playing sense a danger with us around and I think they set up in a fashion which helps us.

"The onus is on the home team to come out and attack and we seem to be getting a little bit more room.

"We have been able to exploit that.

"Speed on the counter attack is one of our main attributes - absolutely.

"While we haven't got it off to a fine art, we are certainly explosive and very, very dangerous.

"We have respect but no fear and we travel with optimism in every game.

"In the early years of Manchester United eking out championships, their game was built on counter-attacking, no question about that.

"They looked like they were hemmed into their own penalty area and then they broke with such speed and ferocity and they had players who could finish the moves off - that's the most important thing.

"They based their game on that."

Premiership predictions

Another weekend of the Premiership is here and things are getting really exciting at the top of the table.

Sports Trader makes its Premiership predictions.

The Chelsea / Liverpool clash is being dubbed as the "Make or Break" fixture - particularly for Liverpool - but we've got some interest in the Manchester United / Everton fixture which we believe could surprise....

Saturday fixtures:

Bolton v Tottenham - Draw
Middlesbrough v Blackburn - Middlesbrough win
Fulham v Portsmouth - Fulham Win
Arsenal v West Ham - Arsenal win
Hull v West Brom - Hull win
Aston Villa v Wigan - Villa win
Man Utd v Everton - Draw

Sunday fixture:
Chelsea / Liverpool - Chelsea win

We're looking for a draw in the Manchester United / Everton fixture and that would throw the championship wide open.

If Liverpool go down and the rest of our fixtures play out correctly, the Premiership will read as follows:

1. Manchester United - 51 points (23 games)
2. Chelsea - 51 points (24 games)
3. Aston Villa - 50 points (24 games)
4. Liverpool - 48 points (24 games)
5. Arsenal - 45 points (24 games)

Helluva interesting table if it plays out like this....

Martin O'Neill on the 1-0 victory over Portsmouth

artin O'Neill was delighted with the immediate impact of goal hero Emile Heskey - but revealed he was lost for words when it came to congratulating him.

He told AVTV: "Emile's goal was a great finish and it was a super display from him.

"He had never played with Gabby before but I thought there was an instant rapport.

"It wasn't just his fantastic finish - I thought he helped Gabby out enormously. I was delighted with his overall performance.

"He was great, particularly when you consider he doesn't know the team at all. I was delighted for him.

"When he came off, I just said: "Brilliant Emile!" I haven't got the word power of a Wordsworth, Milton or Chaucer, so I just told him he was brilliant."

While MON was obviously thrilled by his new signing's all-action display, he was also glowing in his praise of a host of claret and blue heroes.

He added: "There were loads of brilliant performances - Carlos Cuellar and Zat Knight to start.

"Luke Young at left-back was terrific and the captain Gareth Barry was fantastic.

"His opening 20 minutes set the tone for the game. He was going in and winning challenges he had no right to win.

"Stiliyan Petrov was excellent and James Milner was fantastic - absolutely fantastic."

Sigh

I see that Aston Villa were held 0-0 in their FA Cup fixture away to Doncaster....

C'mon guys - DONCASTER?!

How sad - We really should have won it - every extra game we have to play this season is going to count against us. Should have done better here but hopefully with the home fans behind us next time we should annihilate them....

Go Villa

Villa signs Heskey

Aston Villa have confirmed the signing of England international striker Emile Heskey as manager Martin O'Neill's first signing of the January transfer window.

Heskey joins Villa on a three-and-a-half year deal from Wigan Athletic and links up again with his former Leicester boss.

O'Neill told Aston Villa fans: "I am absolutely delighted. He has been a brilliant player for a number of years and this is great news. "It gives us all a big boost - the football club, myself and the players."

Heskey will wear the number 18 shirt.

It's an interesting signing in that he has been something of a journeyman in the last few years. He didn't exactly shine for Wigan, but that may be a a function of how Wigan performed as a team rather than weaker performances from him. On form he could be a great addition to the Aston Villa line-up to support Agbonlahor upfront.

He definately brings some muscle which gives Martin O'Neill a bit more room to work.

Will see how he does...