Chelsea, United & Liverpool face crunch times, Man City & Arsenal cruise

Published on: 01 December 2011

 

Football betting is a world in itself. Odds fluctuate up and down many times in the span of 90 minutes. Going into the first weekend of December 2011, the odds seem pretty straight-forward for most of the games in the English Premier League. Or are they?

Newcastle United v Chelsea

Alan Pardew’s outfit host the struggling Blues for the early kick-off on Saturday as the visitors attempt to leapfrog the Magpies. Drawing at Old Trafford will have Newcastle brimming with confidence and Chelsea’s well-documented patchy form this season could see the home side winning this game.

Andre Villas-Boas hit a new low after losing 2-0 to an understrength Liverpool midweek. The away team have 25 points on the Premier League table while the hosts have 26 and are 4th place. United will be without Jonas Gutierrez (suspension) as well as Cheik Tiote and Michael Williamson for this fixture.

The Pensioners have no new absentees since their last few outings other than Josh McEachran who is undergoing tests to prove his fitness for the trip to St. James’ Park.

Blackburn v Swansea City

Steve Kean’s club welcome the Welsh side to Ewood Park as the home team are rooted to the bottom of the table. Kean is under immense pressure to get a result from this game but Brendan Rodgers men will be confident of getting a result in Lancashire.

Having soundly beaten West Brom and Stoke City, they’ve also held Liverpool at Anfield while the Rovers had been nothing short of abysmal. The hosts have just 7 points to their name while the visitors have 14 are in 13th position in the table. Christopher Samba, Michel Salgado and Martin Olsson could return for Blackburn who have no fresh injury worries.

Angel Rangel will be out for 4 weeks for Swansea after coming off injured against Aston Villa recently while Danny Graham is expected to shake off a knock picked up in the same game.

Manchester City v Norwich City

The Citizens take on the Canaries at the Etihad Staidum as the Manchester club look to maintain their position at the top of the table. Little more could be said about the magnificent hosts who have blitzed almost everyone, with the exception of Fulham and Liverpool only last weekend, en route to topping the table.

Recently promoted Norwich have enjoyed fine wins over Sunderland, Bolton and most recently QPR. They are in 10th place in the league table. City have the rare luxury of a fully-fit squad for the first time this season but they remain without the ill-disciplined Carlos Tevez.

Elliot Ward is indefinitely ruled out for Paul Lambert’s side but Richie De Laet is in frame to return to the first team squad.

QPR v West Brom

QPR are very much the Jekyll and Hyde team this season as they face-off against struggling West Brom at Loftus Road. Standing in 11th place, the R’s have beaten Everton, Chelsea and Stoke away in some huge wins for the club. However they’ve also been hammered against Bolton and Fulham.

In contrast Roy Hodgson’s men have been unspectacular this season, beating teams like Norwich, Wolves and Bolton but proving no match for greater opposition. Rob Hulse and Shaun Wright-Phillips could return for Neil Warnock’s side but they will not be able to call upon the services of DJ Campbell, Paddy Kenny or Kieron Dyer.

Tottenham v Bolton

The renaissance is unfolding at White Hart Lane as lowly Bolton visit the Londoners. The hosts have won their last 5 games on the spin as they sit prettily 7 points off top spot, but with a game in hand. Meanwhile Owen Coyle’s men are in the relegation zone on 9 points, losing 10 of their opening 13 games.

A big 5-0 win against Stoke is their sole highlight of a so far miserable season. Rafael van der Vaart and Roman Pavlyuchenko should be fit but Spurs still won’t have Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone and Niko Kranjcar for the fixture. Bolton’s injury-ravaged squad could be eased this weekend as David N’Gog and Dedryck Boyata could play a part on Saturday.

Wigan v Arsenal

Two teams at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of form clash at the DW Stadium when Roberto Martinez’ Latics square up to Arsene Wenger’s Gunners. A win against Sunderland last weekend has given Dave Whelan’s club a glimmer of hopebut they remain stuck in 19th place with just 2 wins to their name.

Meanwhile Arsenal won 6 games in a row before last Sunday’s draw with Fulham as their revival has brought them up to 7th in the table. The north Londoners have no fresh injury concerns since their last outing against City in the Carling Cup. Antolin Alacaraz has one more game to sit out for his ban as Martinez also has nobody new on the treatment table.

Aston Villa v Manchester United

Alex McLeish’s stuttering Villans welcome the champions to Villa Park who are also experiencing troubles of their own. The hosts have won a single game in their last 6 but thanks to their early season solidity, are 8th in the table. Alex Ferguson’s men have stumbled in recent weeks as 2 draws followed by a loss to Crystal Palace in the Carling Cup suggest they are faltering coming up to Christmas.

They are second in the table, still 5 points behind City. Stiliyan Petrov could make a timely return to the home side’s line-up but several others, including Habib Beye, are still a while away from full fitness. Berbatov and the da Silva twins picked up knocks in their Carling Cup defeat and it is uncertain if they will travel to Birmingham as their injury list mounts.

Everton v Stoke City

The Toffees welcome the Potters on Sunday to Goodison Park as they battle it out for three vital points. Neither side have done particularly well this season but are respectably in 9th and 12 position in the table. David Moyes’ team have won back-to-back Premier League games as they confidently approach this game.

Tony Pulis’ men have lost 3 of their last 4 games in slightly worrying slump for the physical outfit. Jack Rodwell, Phil Neville and Sylvain Dstin are set to return to the matchday squad but Victor Anichebe is not expected to be ready until the festive season. Stoke are only without Mamady Sidibe in a virtually fully-fit squad.

Wolves v Sunderland

Mick McCarthy’s side take on a team in disarray as the managerless Black Cats visit Molineux on Sunday. The home side have won a single game of their last 9 as they hover in 17th position, two points above the drop zone.

Steve Bruce-less Sunderland hit a new low last weekend, losing to Wigan at the death which spelt the end of the retired centre-back as he leaves them in 16th place, also 2 points above the relegation zone. Karl Henry is out through suspension as Wolves are only just missing Kevin Foley as well.

The Mackems injury list isn’t shrinking this weekend as Connor Wichkam, Fraizer Campbell and Simon Mignolet are missing for the depleted visitors.

Fulham v Liverpool

The hosts have been solid if unspectacular this season under Martin Jol while the Reds are enjoying a great period with Kenny Dalglish as his summer of spending seems to have paid off. The Cottagers pulled off an excellent draw at the Emirates Stadium last Sunday to ensure they don’t fall any further than 15th in the table where they are now.

Meanwhile the Scousers have beaten Chelsea twice and drawn with City in their last 3 games as their new arrivals begin to gel at last. They are just 6th in the table on 23 points as they look to make an assault on the Champions League places this season. Stephen Kelly and Damien Duff are in line to reappear for the Londoners in this Monday night game but Simon Davies and Zdenek Grygera are still out.

Liverpool were dealt a big blow with the news that Lucas Leiva is out for the rest of the season and with Steven Gerrard also out, their midfield depth could be tested this winter as nobody is set to come off the injury table for this game.

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