Saturday
Fixture: Aston Villa 2-1 WBA
Venue: Villa Park (Villa home)
Kick-off: 12.45pm GMT
Verdict: An absurd but inevitable price awaits Aston Villa (4/9) on their return to the Premiership. It's not surprising considering their excellent form, but this is a Midlands derby match and the bookies are being too rich for me.
Betting Advice: no bet
Fixture: Arsenal 1-0 Bolton
Venue: Emirates Stadium (Arsenal home)
Kick-off: 3pm GMT
Verdict: Arsenal (2/7) did us well with a big bet before the FA Cup break, but I fail to see the point in backing a team that short at home against a club that have upset them in the past. Avoid.
Betting Advice: no bet
Fixture: Everton 2-0 Hull
Venue: Goodison Park (Everton home)
Kick-off: 3pm GMT
Verdict: If Everton were a stock then I would put them down as a buy for the rest of the season. They appear to have broken their home hoodoo, without which they would have surely been vying for a top three place. Likewise, as just before Christmas, I am advocating a general selling of Hull for the rest of the season. The bubble continues to burst although they seem safe-ish from the drop.
Betting Advice: 5pts Everton win at 4/6 (1.67 at Boylesports, Paddy Power and Skybet)
Fixture: Fulham P-P Blackburn
Venue: Craven Cottage (Fulham home)
Kick-off: 3pm GMT
Verdict: Fulham have proved resilient of late. Back them to sneak past a Blackburn side that have improved slightly since Paul Ince left, but not enough.
Betting Advice: 2pts Fulham to win at 11/10 (2.1 generally)
Fixture: Middlesbrough 1-1 Sunderland
Venue: Riverside Stadium (Boro home)
Kick-off: 3pm GMT
Verdict: Two of the Premiership's most inconsistent performers meet here. Hard to get excited about either betting-wise or football-wise. Best avoided.
Betting Advice: no bet
Fixture: Newcastle 2-2 West Ham
Venue: St James' Park (Newcastle home)
Kick-off: 3pm GMT
Verdict: We are still liking the look of Newcastle's generous odds at the moment their poor start to the season has left the bookies fearing the worst every time they take the park. West Ham have their own troubles, but have been holding up well of late, with good wins against Portsmouth, Stoke and Barnsley in the FA Cup. Their away form isn't bad either but Newcastle just shade this on good home form and value.
Betting Advice: 3pts Newcastle to win at 6/5 (2.2 generally)
Fixture: Portsmouth P-P Man City
Venue: Fratton Park (Portsmouth home)
Kick-off: 3pm GMT
Verdict: Another match best avoided. Man City have been absolutely appalling of late, but they have been distracted by constant paper talk. If they were playing against anyone other than Portsmouth, managed by Mad Tony Adams, I'd put them down for a loss.
Betting Advice: no bet
Fixture: Stoke 0-0 Liverpool
Venue: Britannia Stadium (Stoke home)
Kick-off: 5.30pm GMT
Verdict: From here on in there will be little value in backing Liverpool (4/9) against the minnows. The bookies have come up with an appallingly stingy range of odds on BOTH sides for this game. Almost outpricing both sides, which would suggest they are expecting big money on Liverpool and strange dodgy bets on marginal calls. One of these stands out for me as a mere flutter. Back the home side to be leading at half-time and fail to win. It's a fair price, the only one there.
Betting Advice: 1pt Stoke to lead at half-time and fail to win (12.0 at Paddy Power)
Sunday
Fixture: Wigan 1-0 Tottenham
Venue: JJB Stadium (Wigan home)
Kick-off: 1.30pm GMT
Verdict: Tottenham are leaky, which is not a good sign when going to the JJB, which is turning into a fortress for Wigan in recent weeks. Back the home side to continue their good run now that the Harry Redknapp bubble has burst.
Betting Advice: 1pt Wigan to win at 6/4 (2.5 generally)
Fixture: Man Utd 3-0 Chelsea
Venue: Old Trafford (Hull home)
Kick-off: 4pm GMT
Verdict: While I've not been too impressed with either side in the last few weeks, Chelsea shade it on the fact that they still look confident away from their fickle home fans. But you can never be super confident backing against Man Utd at home, so I'm hedging my bets.
Betting Advice: 3pts Chelsea win (draw no bet) at 6/4 (2.5 at Boylesports)
