Saturday Premier League betting preview
Portsmouth v Liverpool 12.45pm
Was Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Wigan the start of a resurgence or just another false dawn? We’ll start to find out on Saturday, where a tricky trip to Fratton Park awaits the Reds. The odds about an away win (8/13 Blue Square) suggest a comfortable home win, although we are talking about a team not good enough to make the Champions League knockout stages this season. The Reds have only won three of their eight away matches on the road, although they’re likely to have the talented Mr Torres back in the starting XI for this game. The Spaniard was rested during the week, although he’s 4/1 (Coral) to break the deadlock against a creaking Pompey defence.
Yossi Benayoun (10/1 Coral) also catches the eye on the First Goalscorer list, with the Israeli having bagged six for the season so far. He’s likely to be selected ahead of Alberto Aquilani, who has apparently been pencilled in for a start against Fulham on Sunday 11th April 2010. Pool have certainly tightened up at the back in recent weeks (not withstanding the Arsenal match) and they are even money (Ladbrokes) to keep their third consecutive clean sheet on the road. Perhaps Rafael Benitez will continue with Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger in central defence, with Jamie Carragher playing at right-back.
Pompey are available at an eye-catching 11/2 (bet365), which seems a big price considering they played well when losing 2-1 at Chelsea on Wednesday. Avram Grant is sure to field an attacking line-up against a team that haven’t looked too clever on the road and the Over 2.5 Goals quote (21/20 bet365) looks value considering this fixture ended 2-3 last term.
Arsenal v Hull City 5.30pm
Looking at this fixture, it’s impossible not to recall last season’s game where Hull pulled off arguably the biggest shock in Premier League history by winning at the Emirates. It was a victory which made them believe they could compete in the top flight and it’s 18/1 (Stan James) that they repeat the trick on Saturday evening. City will be spared having to face Robin Van Persie and Cesc Fabregas, with the latter pulling a hamstring at Burnley on Wednesday, although Andrey Arshavin will be playing in a forward role and he looks a cracking each-way bet at 5/1 (Bet Fred) to score first. This price might not last for too long!
Despite a spate of injuries, the Gunners are sure to be popular at 1/5 (Sky Bet) to win this match, although they are looking shaky in defence, with Thomas Vermaelen and William Gallas unlikely to help them to the title. Although Aaron Ramsey (12/1 Blue Square) will come into the team in place of Fabregas, it might take Arsene Wenger’s team a while to make the breakthrough, with Stan James offering 4/1 that the match is level at half-time and then the home team kick on to win in full-time.
Aston Villa v Stoke City 3pm
The Villans were matched at 1/100 on betfair to win this fixture last season, with Martin O’Neill’s team leading 2-0 with two minutes left. However, Stoke showed immense battling qualities to draw 2-2 and the Potters are 10/3 (Stan James) to come away with a draw again. City have landed a point at Everton and Blackburn, while they won at Tottenham, so this match should hold no fear for them. However, they will be up against a Villa team who are bang in form after winning at Old Trafford and the Stadium of Light. Ladbrokes and totesport go a best price 4/9 to make no mistakes against the same opposition this season and give their supporters an early Christmas present of another three points.
It will be interesting to see how Stoke cope with Villa’s offensive players, with Gabby Agbonlahor (9/2 Paddy Power) and James Milner (8/1 Sky Bet) both pressing claims for a seat on the plane to South Africa next summer. The Midlands side are 9/1 (totesport) to win by a 3-0 scoreline, something that they managed against Wolves in their last home match, and it’s easy to overlook the fact that the Villans are keeping plenty of clean sheets at the moment. Totesport go 6/4 that they win to nil on Saturday.
Blackburn v Tottenham 3pm
Spurs produced arguably their best performance of the season to beat Manchester City on Wednesday and they are the 13/10 favourites (Sky Bet) to follow this up with victory at Ewood Park. While they should have plenty of momentum going into this match, the north London team do have a poor record at this ground, failing to win on any of the last four visits. Indeed, three of these games have resulted in draws and this could be better value (9/4 Sky Bet) given Blackburn’s penchant for goalless encounters this season. Rovers’ last two home matches have produced a stalemate and it’s 10/1 (Paddy Power) that there is No Goalscorer.
Sam Allardyce’s team will be looking to get stuck into a Tottenham side who are still a bit flaky on the road and it should be noted that they have lost just once at home all season. Blackburn are overpriced at 9/4 (bet365), while you can insure yourself against the draw by backing the Lancashire team at 5/4 (Victor Chandler) on the Draw No Bet market. Others might take a different view, with Niko Kranjcar (14/1 Bet Fred) looking overpriced to open the scoring after his brace against City.
Fulham v Manchester United 3pm
The Cottagers are way too big at 6/1 (Stan James) to give their fans some festive cheer with victory over the champions. They managed a 2-0 win against the Red Devils last term and will be looking to take advantage of United’s woes in defence. The only concern with backing Roy Hodgson’s men is that the players are likely to be tired after an outstanding 3-2 victory in Basel to qualify for the UEFA Cup last 32. However, Victor Chandler offering Fulham and the draw at 6/4 seems pretty generous, with Ritchie de Laet and Michael Carrick likely to be the central defence pairing. Bobby Zamora is in the form of his life and can’t be ignored to open the scoring at 10/1 (Sky Bet).
While Manchester United easily brushed aside a second string Wolves team on Tuesday, it’s hard to describe the 4/7 (Ladbrokes) about Sir Alex Ferguson’s team as a value bet. The champions might have a big squad, although they’re down to the bare bones in defence and any sort of win will do for the manager. Wayne Rooney is on penalty duties for the visitors and is 4/1 (Coral) to open the scoring on Saturday, although Antonio Valencia (10/1 Bet Fred) might be a better each-way option. Still, I’ll be having a few quid on Fulham winning this game 2-0 (80/1 Paddy Power).
Manchester City v Sunderland 3pm
The pressure is on Mark Hughes after his team’s mediocre performance at White Hart Lane, although the bookies aren’t taking any chances when it comes to a backlash. It’s a best price 1/2 (bet365) that they get back on track with victory against Sunderland, although they only have a 57% success rate at Eastlands this season, with Hull, Burnley and Fulham all managing a point. Perhaps it’s a good fixture for City, who are up against a team that have lost six of eight away matches this term. Steve Bruce’s side just can’t seem to get things right on their travels, although they are 7/1 (Stan James) to make it an unhappy Christmas for Mark Hughes and 10/3 (William Hill) to subject City to their ninth draw in eleven matches.