English Premier 1-2nd Sep

[slick]

Barclays Premier League
01 Sep 14:00 Bolton v Everton 2.40 3.20 2.87
01 Sep 14:00 Fulham v Tottenham 3.10 3.20 2.25
01 Sep 14:00 Liverpool v Derby 1.16 6.00 19.00
01 Sep 14:00 Middlesbrough v Birmingham 2.00 3.20 3.75
01 Sep 14:00 Newcastle v Wigan 1.80 3.40 4.33
01 Sep 14:00 Reading v West Ham 2.20 3.20 3.25
01 Sep 16:15 Man Utd v Sunderland 1.16 6.00 19.00
02 Sep 12:30 Arsenal v Portsmouth 1.50 3.75 7.00
02 Sep 14:00 Blackburn v Man City 2.20 3.20 3.25
02 Sep 15:00 Aston Villa v Chelsea 5.50 3.60 1.61

Odds Bet365

Very tough set of fixtures bar probably the respective Liverpool, Man U home fixtures with odds to suit.

Pompey could be worth a look at @ 7's or at least a lay on Arsenal as they were unlucky not to get something out of the Chelsea game and Arsenal should not be half as tough opponents as Man City found out last week.

The others will need a bit more looking into as i can see plenty of fors and againsts in each match.

[christianu]

or at least a lay on Arsenal as they were unlucky not to get something out of the Chelsea game and Arsenal should not be half as tough opponents as Man City found out last week.

How does that make sense? Chelsea were poor against Portsmouth and Arsenal were ok against City so therefore Arsenal will not be half as tough as them??

At least Arsenal created a number of openings against us.

Just thought id get that off my chest

[deckyh]

whatever yous do have liverpool -1 in all ure accumulators certs

[kompressaur]

-1 sounds fair decky but if you was to offer me odds of 1/10 i wouldnt take it. Offer me 4/6 and i might. What odds are they -1?

[Bigkegman]

after their decent showing at Old Trafford I could back Spurs away to Fulham. A repeat perfrmance should be enough to bag the 3 points but odds are skinny.

Will be watching the Villa v Chelsea game but again odds too skinny on away win.

[Dublin]

I'm looking at 8/11 Newcastle here on a Paddy Power coupon. Could be the bet of the weekend if the price holds. I know Wigan have had a far better start than most would have predicted, but come on, Newcastle should surely win this one, with Owen having got the monkey off his back too. Think I'll have to have a bet here.

[Wuntun]

Originally Posted by Bigkegman

after their decent showing at Old Trafford I could back Spurs away to Fulham. A repeat perfrmance should be enough to bag the 3 points but odds are skinny.

without trying to piss on your fireworks kegman, but i've always hated this fixture, every time we go over the craven cottage we get now, play shite, and look second best.
wait for lennon, boateng and dawson to all come back then spurs might be worth a punt, otherwise, save the heartache.

[slick]

Chelsea weren't poor against Porstmouth Chris, it was the same Chelsea that dragged out a lot of results last season against a decent pompey side who had more than enough chances to win if not at least get a point against them.

Arsenal aint no great shakes either and i'm saying this match should prove a lot easier opposition than Chelsea were as the Gunners don't try and grind you into the ground.

Thats not saying Portsmouth will win but Arsenal should prove easier opposition than Chelsea will as they dont have the same commitment as them, taking into account that most of Arsenals results at the emirates have come from going a goal behind.

Portsmouth are looking a decent outfit and i'm saying they are more than likely to get something from the Emirates rather than Stamford Bridge.

[slick]

I'd be wary of Spurs also Wuntun as Fulham have been pretty unlucky thus far this season and must be due a break.

Spurs put up a good show against the Rags and Berbatov looks the part at the moment as he's here there and everywhere apart from knocking it in the back of the net whiich is his forte. Spurs have the class to get out of their predicament but Fulham have shown they can give as good as they get and if it wasent for a few dodgey reffing decisions they would be higher up the league than their current standing shows.

[slick]

Same also goes for Chelsea, they top the prem once more but i've yet to see a convincing win from them yet this season.

I'd expect them to get something from Villa but i wouldent touch them at present @ 'odds on' away from home with a bargepole as Villa are more than capable of getting a point here.

[fasteddy]

Here are my thoughts on this week's matches...you can get the rest from my brand spanking new column at goal.com

...Goal.com - Match Preview - The Premiership This Weekend: Hot Tips

Bolton vs Everton

With Anelka having signed an extension to his contract the Board can rest easy now with that sorted out. The players and fans will be delighted as well, but the icing on the cake would be another win. Anelka is always a threat to score and Everton will have to be solid at the back. So far Moyes has settled his side into a nice rhythm, but they've yet to keep a clean sheet so the signs are there.

Yakubu should be making his debut in this one and will add some much needed muscle to their frontline. Great target man for Arteta and Osman to link with. Should be a tight affair, so I'll play the percentages on this one.

Everton @ 2.26 DNB ( Draw no Bet) Olympic Sports



Fulham vs Spurs

Late goals being disallowed and leads being thrown away, plus they have lost their main striker to injury for a few months...it's all looking grim after such a promising start for Fulham. Up front David Healy still looks sharp and his International goal scoring form has continued, so you know he's up for it.

Spurs have an abundance of talent in front of goals, and their midfield is not too shabby either...take a bow Steed! It will be a massive surprise if Spurs fail to breach the Fulham defence, and with the players at their disposal it could easily be another 'Derby 4-0' all over again.

Jol has seen his players under perform many times, but this shouldn't be one of them.

Spurs @ 2.375 betfred



Middlesbrough vs Birmingham

Leaky defences, but still scoring goals... that best describes these two. Neither side has kept a clean sheet so far, but they have seen the net bulge for them. Boro came back well last week vs Newcastle, while Birmingham responded well to a previous 1-0 defeat by West Ham to secure 3pts in what was a possible banana skin match vs Derby. Mido for Boro, Forssell/Jerome/O'Connor for Birmingham......well , The Blues have the better striking options but the bet for me will be that clean sheets yet again fail to be kept.

Both teams to score @ 1.80 Bet1128

[kompressaur]

class Eddie. Nice work if you can get it

Good luck Eddie. Here's another fella just like Eddie who's tips and previews impressed people and he got a job for a big site. If you'd like to do as Eddie or this fella does then a good place to start is on The Daily Punt so lets see how much you know about your weekly football pics folks.

I think Wuntun was already wary of Fulham Slick Looks like another usual over 2.5 goals to me Spurs/Fulham.

Arsenal v Portsmouth
On the face of it Arsenal look to have made a cracking start to the season.

They've taken seven points from their first three games and have booked their place in the group stages of the Champions League.

The bookies have certainly been impressed because all the double figure prices about the Gunners winning the title have gone, with 8/1 now the best price available, but we're not so sure.

They made desperately hard work of beating Fulham first up, then struggled to come to terms with Blackburn's physical approach once again and last weekend took 80 minutes to break down Manchester City.

Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has already made two howlers in three games and at the other end of the pitch they are still struggling to move on post-Thierry Henry.

And the beauty of getting with Portsmouth - at either a whopping 13/2 on the 90 minute market or 9/2 with 'draw no bet' - is that while Arsenal may have been flattered by their bare results, the opposite is true of Pompey.

They've actually played really well despite taking only five points from their opening four games - being more than a match for both Chelsea and Manchester United in what's been an incredibly tough start to the campaign.

They look a team very much on the up to us and it's also worth pointing out that they were 2-0 up at the Emirates last season before having to settle for a draw, their third successive game with the Gunners which has ended with honours even.

With that in mind it probably makes sense to head for the 'draw no bet' option at 9/2.

Verdict: Arsenal 1 Portsmouth 2 (JT)

Aston Villa v Chelsea
You have to go back to 1999 for the last time Chelsea won in the league at Villa Park so despite their fine start to the season they don't look the safest of odds-on shots in this.

Indeed despite topping the table they haven't been overly convincing yet this term.

They fell behind in each of their first two games with Birmingham and Reading, were indebted to a ludicrous penalty award for their draw with Liverpool and looked second best for large chunks of last week's match with Portsmouth.

Clearly it's massively to their credit that despite all of that they've managed 10 points out of 12 but equally it also suggests we shouldn't get carried away either.

And Villa continue to move in the right direction under Martin O'Neill, bouncing back well from an opening-day defeat by Liverpool to draw at Newcastle and then beat Fulham last time.

They were 5-0 winners over Wrexham in the Carling Cup in midweek which can't have done their confidence any harm and it also illustrated there's plenty more strength in depth to the squad these days.

And they'll be further buoyed by the fact that Chelsea aren't yet rock solid at the back, with just one clean sheet so far.

So given the Blues' recent record at Villa Park and their failure to win any game this season by more than one goal,, the way to go in this has to be the Asian handicaps where Villa (+0.5, +1) is on offer at 9/10 with bet365.

Verdict: Aston Villa 1 Chelsea 1 (JT)

Blackburn v Man City
Blackburn and Manchester City have enjoyed positive starts to the new season and it's a hard job picking a winner in this Ewood Park clash.

Rovers remain undefeated following their opening three Premier League games while they've safely negotiated their way through to the first round proper of the UEFA Cup.

Thursday night's comfortable 2-0 victory over European minnows MyPa has got them back to winning ways although the recent 1-1 draws against Arsenal and Everton must be looked upon as encouraging results.

Mark Hughes' men are strong at the back, resolute and creative in midfield and have plenty of quality up front with the likes of Benni McCarthy, Roque Santa Cruz, Jason Roberts and Matt Derbyshire all jostling for starting places.

Despite all this, they'll find it extremely hard to break down a Manchester City side who are full of confidence under Sven Goran Eriksson.

Sure, the Eastlands outfit fell to a 1-0 defeat Arsenal last weekend thanks to Cesc Fabregas' late strike but their steely performance proved what a tough nut to crack they've been this season.

Added to this they've re-discovered the knack of scoring goals, which deserted them for the majority of last season, while they head into Sunday's clash on the back of a 2-1 away win at Bristol City in the Carling Cup.

With all this in mind we're going to say this one will end all-square and will confidently take the 9/4 available with betdirect.

Verdict: Blackburn 1 Man City 1 (CH)

Bettingzone

[Wuntun]

Nice one Eddie, i knew you'd make it into the bigtime the moment i saw you in Millwalls mascot outfit last season! lol

GL with it all mate.

[keemanan]

United and Pool will win but only Arsenal will be on my coupon as I think the price isn't rubbish

[anothamug]

prices in general are rubbish, the worst is surely newcastle home to wigan. They have done nothing to merit that quote, wigan line up similar to villa and will cause problems. With Newcastle lining up in a way that suits them more away, the home fans expectation of pretty football and results I really would hate to be on that one.