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Arsenal v Fulham

The gunners go into this game following a result which, on paper, is a fairly good one. A 2-2 draw away to Schalke is very much welcome despite Arsenal being 2-0 up at one point. The dismissal of Wilshere against Manchester United means the young Englishman will sit this game out. Doubts over the return of Kieran Gibbs are still flying around which means Vermaelen may fill-in at left-back following Santos’ abysmal performances of late. Cazorla, after being substituted against Schalke, was running on empty gas; I reckon he’ll be given a rest in the London derby. This could see Arshavin, who’s impressed in Arsenal’s two league cup games this season and a sub appearance in the Premier League, start just behind Olivier Giroud – the Frenchman seems to have found his feet in English football.

Fulham come off the back of a superb result against high-flying Everton. The Cottagers have had a great start to the season and find themselves even on points with Arsenal. The men to watch for Fulham are, undoubtedly, former Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov, Bryan Ruiz and Brede Hangeland. The latter always has above-average performances against Arsenal; if he’s not scoring, he’s keeping Arsenal at bay. The flairy Bulgarian, Dimitar Berbatov, is an incredibly intelligent, yet lazy, player. Bryan Ruiz is the instigator to many Fulham attacks; if he’s not setting them up, he’s firing them in.

All in all, I reckon we’re in for a mouth watering London derby. Arsenal haven’t been in the best form lately and Fulham will undoubtedly take the game to Arsenal. Arsenal’s impotent attack seems to have gained some venom, though. Walcott and Podolski either side of Giroud will cause Fulham’s defence all sorts of problems. The same could be said for Arsenal. Berbatov will look to bamboozle Thomas Vermaelen who’s been in horrid form lately, should he start at centre-back.

I think Arsenal will start to find their feet again after a very impressive attacking performance against Schalke. So, for that reason alone, I’m going to predict a 2-0 Arsenal win with Theo Walcott grabbing both goals. Written by @GB1886

Match PredictionsLooking at this one on paper, you’d think an Arsenal win would be an odds on banker, but when you delve into the form of the two sides, the uncertainty grows.

Both teams have almost identical Premier League form, with Arsenal one place above Fulham on goal difference. History makes you lean towards Arsenal, with the home team undefeated in their last 11 home matches between the two, but in a game where anything could happen, we’ll stay away from the full time result market. Arsenal are usually strong at home, so we would expect goals, and with over 2.5 goals in 9 of Fulham’s last 10 matches, we will choose this bet at around 1.6.

I really want Arsene to realise that Walcott has the potential to be a decent Premier League striker, if he’s given the chance. He scored midweek, so hopefully he will start and we will back him to score at any time.

www.flickr.com/photos/cliche

Everton v Sunderland

Everton vs Sunderland, a fixture that usually would be a mid-table clash – one that doesn’t really set the world alight – however, after Evertons great start to the season, putting them in fourth place and Sunderlands dip in form as of late, leaving them sixteenth, this could be an interesting game, a game that both sides will see as winnable, but who will gain the valuable three points?

Everton have started the season in sensational form, fourth in the table and playing some great football (not like Stoke, Stevie) – the typical Everton season is starting badly, but ending brilliantly, and after always hearing ‘imagine if Everton started well’ it seems they have finally done that, so what is the limit for this Everton side? If they want to beat Sunderland they’ll need left-back Leighton Baines to be on form. Baines has been the most creative player in the league this year, just edging ahead of Arsenal star Santi Cazorla, which is a huge feat and even bigger from a defensive position. Averaging 4.4 key passes per game, they’ll need him to be on form if they want to return to winning ways, after drawing their last four games.

Sunderland looked promising after the signings of Adam Johnson and Steven Fletcher in the summer transfer window and after starting well the optimism must have only risen, however, lately their form has come to a halt, and it seems they’ve already become too reliant on Fletcher to finish off chances. To beat Everton they’ll need Fletcher to be clinical and take his chances, as he may not get too many at Goodison Park, however, a big problem for Sunderland this season has been finding goals from other positions with Fletchers 5 goals being an 83% contribution - the highest in the league. Sunderland are still four points above the drop zone, however, a win could see them move back into mid-table (11th being the highest possible) and with Everton, despite their good start to the season, not winning in four, the chance could be there if Sunderland can turn up.

Written by @Playedofthepark

Match PredictionsIf I was a Sunderland fan, I’d be worried about this season. There lack of goals, or rather lack of goalscorers leaves them in a lowly 16th position, which may get even worse this weekend against a strong Everton side.

Bet365 are offering as low as 1/6 for Sunderland to score less than two goals which looks a good bet, but represents no value. I’d rather go for Everton to score two or more which is trading at around 4/7.

Fellaini bagged a couple last weekend, and with Jelavic going through a bit of a rough patch, we’ll back him to get his third in two matches this weekend as a bit of an outsider.


Reading v Norwich

Saturday sees Chris Hughton’s Norwich side travel to Reading, who are still yet to win a league game this season.

It’s been a tough start to life in the Premier League for Brian McDermott and his Reading side; No wins in their opening 9 fixtures suggests that they lack a certain cutting edge, and the know-how to go out and get the right result; a characteristic within the squad which treated them really well last season as they stormed to promotion. Not full of big-name players, McDermott has learned to get the best possible performances out of his bunch; Jay Tabb’s performance at QPR last week a perfect example of this, and the players really want to put in a shift for him, so despite their run without a win the spirit within the team is as strong as ever. They haven’t been very far off of getting the wins that they need, and have at least been competitive; they have drawn 5 of the 9 games and gave a great account of themselves in the crazy Capital One Cup tie against Arsenal, so that vital first three points is just around the corner for them.

As for Norwich, they have started to hit some strong form of late with wins against Arsenal, Stoke and also Spurs in the Capital One Cup, so will be coming into this tie with a lot of confidence in their ability to get a result. Summer signing Robert Snodgrass is proving to be a real threat to defences on his day, and is the type of player that can be the difference in this type of game. That being said, Wes Hoolahan is also a match-winner so The Canaries will be a threat in some periods in this game.

This will be a good game I think, and we will see a lot of goal action, and I think Reading will claim the points here, but not without a fight.PREDICTION: 3-2 Reading

Written by @Liam1992LUFC

Match PredictionsThis game looks like a cracker for goals, and while Liam is predicting a Reading win, I’m going to wuss out and stick to the goals market.

Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals look pretty solid for this game, with both teams needing to go for a win in this game. This is one of those that people may look back on at the end of the season as a season changing match, so end to end football with plenty of goals is what we’ll be hoping to see.

I thought Jason Roberts looked a yard off the pace last weekend against QPR, and I’d be surprised to see him start again this weekend. If Pogrebnyak gets to start again, we’ll go for him to score at any time.


Southampton v Swansea

This could be Nigel Adkins’ do or die moment as Southampton boss.

The physio-turned-manager has worked wonders in transforming the Saints from League One fodder to Premiership material. Unfortunately, a string of defeats have left the spectacled sorcerer needing to massage one last big performance from his players.

Adkins has reportedly been quoted as saying that “he doesn’t fear the sack”. Two weeks ago, he stated that he “was probably favourite” to be the next Premier league chief for the boot. Goodness knows what he’ll be musing on this time next week. Messrs Benitez, Redknapp and even Vialli watch with baited breath.

Swansea, meanwhile, have had a very peaceful start to life under Michael Laudrup. Sitting comfortably in mid-table, the Swans have found one of the breakout players of the season so far in Spanish midfielder Michu, who has weighed in with seven goals already this campaign.

Even a win for Southampton won’t be enough to see them climb out of the bottom three, but Swansea’s goal-shy form on the road will be music to the Saints’ ears. The Welsh side have only scored five goals in four games on their travels – and have lost three of those.

Southampton’s defence remains a concern however, as 28 goals conceded in just ten games testifies. So expect them to try and outscore their opponents, with Adam Lallana and Gaston Ramirez providing the ammo for Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez.

These two sides have only met twice in the last 30 years, when the duo were plying their trade in the Championship back in 2009. Their last encounter finished 2-2. Adkins in particular will be looking to go one better this time out.

Written by @itsrouteone

Match PredictionsSouthampton really have to go for this one, and it could go one of two ways. The sides will either cancel each other out and we will end up with quite a dull game, or both teams will just go for it and we’ll have a great game with plenty of goals.

I’m going to go with the goals, and will back both teams to score, which looks like quite a safe bet with attacking nature of both of these sides.

Michu has made a huge difference to Swansea this season, and although they have slowed down after an incredible start, Michu is always likely to pop up with a goal, especially against a defence as leaky as the Southampton one. We’ll back him to score at any time.


Stoke v QPR

Winless QPR have the tough task of travelling to The Brittania this weekend against Stoke City, whose season has slightly hit the buffers.

Tony Pulis has done a fantastic job in his time at Stoke, but his side have become the league’s draw specialists this season, accumulating a total of 6 draws in their opening 10 games. It’s no secret that this frustrating statistic is down to the lack of goals in the team, just 8 goals scored so far this season, and are lacking the cutting edge to open teams up and take their chances. Pulis will be hoping to eradicate this at the weekend, and see his attacking players firing again as they search to find positive form. Despite their problems in front of goal, their defence is doing a fairly solid job as ever, and have single-handedly claimed some of their points this season; notably at Anfield, so the attackers can take confidence in having an in-form back four behind them.

Mark Hughes has endured a really tough time at QPR in the opening couple of months this season, but believes that there is no crisis at the club. He may be right to adopt this calm approach, but in his position considering the amount of money he has had available to him, results need to improve, and fast. The likes of Adel Taarabt, Esteban Granero and Djibril Cisse are players that can change the game in a second, but haven’t been so far, which raises concerns as they still search to claim their first win of the season. They need a result soon or pressure will surely mount, and they will hope that a win at Stoke could boost their confidence.

The bookies will surely see this as a home win, but you can’t rule QPR out with the talent that they have in the squad. One player could win this game for them, but the cohesion within the team looks worrying.PREDICTION: 1-1 Draw

Written by @Liam1992LUFC

Match PredictionsAs Liam says, this is one of those games that is quite tough to call. QPR on paper probably have the better side, but the sheer number of signings is meaning that they are struggling to bond, therefore a Stoke win is probably more likely in this one.

Rather than backing the outright win, personally I’m going to play it safe and back stoke as a draw no bet, therefore the bet will just be void in the event of a draw.

Taraabt has this week been linked with a move to Arsenal, and after his performance last weekend, I can understand why. The criticism of Taraabt is he only seems to play well when he wants to, but we’ll be taking the gamble this weekend and backing him to get on the scoresheet.


Wigan v West Brom

Steve Clark’s high flying West Brom travel to the DW Stadium for what should be a close, well fought out game.

Steve Clark’s Baggies currently sit fifth in the table, ahead of Tottenham and Arsenal. Their latest win was against struggling Southampton, and West Brom were prolific in front of goal in that match and looked very dangerous throughout the game, resulting in a 2-0 win. West Brom haven’t quite set the league alight when it comes to their away form, having picked up two draws and two defeats, the losses coming from Newcastle and Fulham, and their record is something that Clark will want to improve.

However, they have ten different scorers this season in all competitions, and Steve Clark will be really pleased with that. Shane Long is top of the pack with five goals so far, and he will be looking to add to that on Saturday. Romelu Lukaku, who is on-loan from Chelsea, has scored an impressive three goals, and Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo will be scratching his head as to why he let him go out on-loan.

Meanwhile, Roberto Martinez’s Wigan Athletic occupy 13th spot, despite defeating the likes of Tottenham and West Ham convincingly. Wigan’s only home win so far this season in the league was against the Hammers, where they won 2-1.

The Latics also haven’t struggled for goals either as they have eleven different scorers of their own in all competitions, three of those netting three times. Their leading league goal scorer is Franco Di Santo and his goal record was rewarded by Argentina boss Alejandro Sabella with a call-up to the national squad.

Written by @AMay132

Match PredictionsAt the start of the season, people will have looked at this game as a relegation 6 pointer, but after fairly strong starts, especially for West Brom, we should be in for a great game. Wigan have hit a bit of form in the last two matches, and with the home advantage, they should prove tough competition for West Brom

Rather than having a random guess at which team will take the points, we will go for goals. This should be an attacking game, and the final score certainly won’t be 0-0, with both sides wanting to have a go at each other to further boost their position in the table. Over 2.5 goals can currently be backed at 1.8.

Forward Kone has netted three times in the league, and his performances have been really impressive, he’s been a key factor in the team’s solid showings and we’ll back him to get on the scoresheet this weekend.


Aston Villa v Man Utd

In Saturday’s late kick off, struggling Aston Villa welcome table topping Manchester United to Villa Park. Paul Lambert’s side will be right up against it, with just one win in their last 33 meetings with the Red Devils.

To make matters worse, Villa will be without Eric Lichaj and Joe Bennett who are both struggling with injuries. Darren Bent is also likely to miss out with an ankle problem. It means Belgian striker Christian Benteke will once again lead the line for Villa, he has four goals in all competitions so far this season.Paul Lambert will also be relying on the rejuvenated Gabriel Agbonlahor for fire power on Saturday. The striker endured a torrid season last year which was plagued by injury, but Agbonlahor has netted four times this season and looks to be getting back to his best.

After coming from behind again to beat Braga in midweek, Sir Alex Ferguson’s United will be on top form, especially having leapfrogged Chelsea into first place after the Blues slipped up against Swansea. They are currently just one point ahead of Chelsea but will be hoping that Liverpool can do them a favour on Sunday and take points off of Di Matteo’s side.United themselves however must concentrate on their own job and they will have to do without winger Nani who is suffering with a hamstring problem. He joins Shinji Kagawa, Phil Jones and Nemanja Vidic on the sidelines.

Robin Van Persie will most likely start alongside Wayne Rooney again for United as the pair’s relationship continues to blossom. Dutchman Van Persie has scored an incredible 11 goals since his big money move from Arsenal in the summer and has been terrifying defences all season. In Rooney he has a strike partner who is just as able to create goals as he is score them. United can also rely on Javier Hernandez for goals, the little Mexican has seven goals this season when many thought he would fade away after the club signed Van Persie.

Written by @SebBudd

Match PredictionsAfter a win against Sunderland last weekend, Villa will have gained a bit of confidence going into this game, and with the home advantage, could cause Man utd a few problems. Saying that, Man utd did beat Arsenal with ease last weekend so they should maintain the lead at least for another weekend.

Man utd have been very leaky at the back this season, so a both teams to score bet also looks like a good one for th is game.

One man springs to mind to get on the scoresheet when you look at this one, Robin Van Persie. I’ll admit that I didn’t think that he would take to the Man utd philosophy so quickly, but he has been in exceptional form since his first appearance, and another goal this weekend wouldn’t be a surprise.


Man City v Tottenham

After only managing a draw at home to Ajax on Tuesday, City look to be crashing out of the Champions League in the Group stages and Roberto Mancini’s impromptu run on to the pitch at the final whistle that day demonstrated the huge pressure the Citizens are under.

Similarly at Spurs, Andre Villas- Boas has been criticised for not producing the results expected after his appointment. The Portugese, who is very single minded in the tactical approach he has to games has struggled to coax the best out of his side on many occasions this season, with last week’s home loss to Wigan the lowest point of the season. The biggest issue Spurs have is consistency, as they have proved with a win against Manchester United that they have the quality to beat the best sides.

Both these managers come head to head this Sunday in what promises to be one of the ties of the weekend. Last year’s corresponding fixture ended 3-2 to City with Balotelli scoring an injury time penalty to claim victory after Spurs had grafted to claw back the initial 2 goal deficit.

Spurs fans would have felt very hard done by that day and entertainment levels are expected to reach similar heights this weekend with the Spurs attacking Trio of Bale-Defoe-Lennon packing bags of speed and skill, whilst City can rely on a squad which has incredible strength in depth, up-front alone they have the choice of Aguero, Tevez, Balotelli and Dzeko.

Written by @JW1987

Match PredictionsManchester City are still unbeaten in this seasons Premier League, yet have failed to convince on more than one occasion. Spurs will take heart from the instability at the Etihad caused by the Champions League campaign and from their confidence boosting victory in the Europa League on Thursday.

Spurs have already taken three points in Manchester this season and I believe that they are capable of doing it again this weekend.

Spurs to win is trading at roughly 9/2 and worth a flutter, while Bale to Score at anytime for 14/5 also looks good value.

Prediction: Spurs to win 2-1.


Newcastle v West Ham

Sunday afternoon Newcastle take on West Ham at the Sports Direct Arena, big Sam heads to the North East to take on one of his former clubs.

Old boys Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan will be looking to inflict some damage to their former club. Carroll will no doubt be given a warm welcome back by the Geordie faithful. Carroll has played in this fixture twice before for Newcastle, netting on both occasions. Kevin Nolan has also played in this fixture twice and he too has two goals to his name.

Newcastle will have several key players out of action. Fabricio Coloccini and Chieck Tiote are definitely out of action due to suspension while Demba Ba, Yohan Cabaye and James Perch are all doubts to face the Hammers. With these absentees the presence of Carroll and Nolan could cause the Newcastle defence plenty of problems should the likes of Jarvis for West Ham get the chance to provide the service to the attackers.

This fixture in the past not been very profitable for West Ham, to get something out of this is would have to be a top drawer performance, however you can never rule out Newcastle with a depleted side. Newcastle will look to Hatem Ben Arfa to create the chances and Papiss Cisse to score the goals, they will test the West Ham defence who will have to have their work cut out on Sunday.

Sam Allardyce’s injury worries could be eased by the return of two key first team players ahead of this weekend’s trip to Newcastle. The Hammers could see them without defenders James Tomkins and James Collins, both injured during last weekend’s goalless draw against Manchester City. Big Sam will also be without Jack Collison, Ricardo Vaz Te, and Guy Demel all on the injury list.Matt Taylor and James Tomkins make the squad for the trip to Newcastle despite their injury worries. Written by @nigelsmalley

Match PredictionsNewcastle have lost just one of the last 13 Premier League games against West Ham (W7 D5 L1). Sam Allardyce has won his last four matches as a Premier League coach against Newcastle, including the two games since they fired him in January 2008. West Ham have only won three of their last 41 Premier League games away from Upton Park, with two of those wins coming against fellow London sides.

The Magpies have won 11 and lost just two of their last 15 Premier League home games, with those defeats coming against Manchester United and Manchester City.

Newcastle 2 – 1 West Ham: Cisse CarrollBen Arfa


Chelsea v Liverpool

Liverpool visit Stamford Bridge on Sunday in what promises to be one of the most tantalising clashes of the season so far. It will be the first time the clubs have met since last season’s FA Cup final in which Chelsea won under rather controversial circumstances. The Reds will be out for revenge but it will be no easy task.

The Blues are fresh off the back of a hard fought victory over Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk which gave them a great chance of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League. They will be hoping their winning ways can be continued here and that they can get one over on former youth team coach Brendan Rogers.

They may welcome back skipper John Terry who is able to compete again in domestic affairs after completing his four game suspension. Terry was dropped for the midweek tie however and Di Matteo could opt to keep David Luiz and Gary Cahill together. Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole are still missing through injury.Former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres is likely to lead the line for the Blues, for whom he has never scored against his former employers. The Spaniard scored a somewhat fortuitous goal against Shakhtar but his confidence will be high and he will be looking to silence the hostile Liverpool fans.

Pepe Reina could return for Liverpool after a spell on the sidelines, and there could also be a recall for Glen Johnson to face his old side. Liverpool lost 1-0 to Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala in midweek and will be desperate to shake off their midweek blues.Luis Suarez leads the way in terms of goals this season for Liverpool, the controversial striker has ten goals so far and looks to be in red hot form.

Chelsea will be furious at conceding a late goal at Swansea last week and falling to second in the table. Di Matteo’s men will be going hammer and tongs at Liverpool to make sure they don’t lose any more ground on Manchester United. Written by @SebBudd

Match PredictionsA great Sunday of football comes to an end with this corker of a fixture. Chelsea need to win to stay within touching distance of Man Utd, Liverpool need to win to keep the fans happy and shoot them up the league. Personally I think Chelsea will win this one, but I would prefer to play it safe by betting on the goals markets.

Both teams to score looks a good bet for this one, with both teams posessing enough quality to get at least one goal.

Quite a few decent chances of picking a goal scorer in this one, so many quality players will be on show, so your gut feeling might be worth going with. Juan Mata consistently puts in world class performances and has been called up to the Spain squad again, so we will go for him to get another this weekend.


Acca’s Galore!

Stoke v QPR

Cardiff v Hull

Plymouth v Gillingham

Aston Villa v Man Utd

Peterborough v Crystal Palace

Brentford v Carlisle

Yeovil v Hartlepool

Cheltenham v Burton

Forest Green v Stockport

Grimsby v Woking

Stoke

Cardiff

Gillingham

Man Utd

Crystal Palace

Brentford

Yeovil

Cheltenham

Forest Green

Grimsby

10/11

1/1

1/1

4/9

5/4

8/11

5/6

19/20

8/11

8/11

Betfred Goals Galore Banker Coupon

Coventry v Scunthorpe

Brentford v Carlisle

Dagenham v Rotherham

Doncaster v Bournemouth

Oldham v Tranmere

Stevenage v Preston

Stoke - Win - 10/11

Cardiff - Win - 1/1

Gillingham - Win - 1/1

Weekend Long Shot

10-fold pays 456.22/1

6-fold pays 28/1 6-fold pays 6.62/1

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Football Fans Today - Premier League Preview