Archived Premiership Football Betting Tips (2nd January 2006)

Only 3 points separate these two in the wrong half of the table and sometimes form goes out of the window for these local derbies. Villa have only won 2 away games and have to go to a West Brom side that have only 1 defeat in their last 6 home games; they have the scalps of Arsenal and more recently Spurs. Villa may have got a draw on Saturday at home to Arsenal but it was against a Gunners side that didn't really compete; West Brom will give them far more food for thought and it's difficult to see them losing and they should continue their good home form.

West Ham's form has dipped over the Christmas period and the quick succession of games hasn't helped with injuries; unlike Chelsea they don't have the same strength in depth. West Ham have lost their last 3 home games on the bounce and it's unlikely that they can turn over a Chelsea side that have only 1 Premiership defeat this season, conceding only 3 away goals during that time. Cole will be fired up to show Mourinho that he can follow instructions and expect him to inspire Chelsea to another win.

This is a game between 2 very poor sides and could go either way. If Sunderland's finishing had been better Everton would have suffered another heavy defeat but luck shined on them and they scored a winner in injury time despite being under the cosh for much of the second half. Everton have only 2 home wins this season and are finding it difficult to keep the ball out of the net at their own end and get it into the net at the other end. Charlton have also endured some heavy defeats of late and though they managed to beat the Hammers 2-0 on Saturday the level of the game was poor; only Darren Bent showed some sparkle. Charlton have yet to draw a game on the road and despite their 5 away wins from 8 games, these 2 sides should make hard work of things . A bore draw.

Fulham have an injury crisis at the moment with key players from most positions unavailable; Bouba Diop and Collins could return but are still doubtful. Fulham may be in 15th place but their home form is reasonably good with only 2 defeats and none in the last 5. They face Sunderland who are dead certs to be relegated and are rooted to the bottom of the Premiership with 6 points. To be fair they have injury problems of their own with Bassila now in the treatment room, but they brought back Le Tallec for the game against Everton and he didn't fail to up the level of their performance; their problem is that they fail to take their chances and the Everton defeat could well have damaged their confidence irrecoverably. Fulham to win comfortably.

Yet again injuries have hit Souness's side hard with both Owen and Given being added to the injury list and Dyer enuring yet another setback. They lacked ideas at Spurs despite their attacking potential and losing their talisman (Owen) could be a vital blow. Boro have been largely inconsistent this season and cannot be relied on for any result, home or away; they have only 2 away wins and have lost the last 4 successive away games. Though Newcastle have their problems they should be backed with home advantage.

Blackburn have had a great festive period with 2 wins at Boro followed by an emphatic 0-3 win at Wigan. Additionally they have won 5 of their 8 home games and seem to have rediscovered their zest for the competitive aspect of the game. The return of Dickov and Savage's kick up the backside have probably kickstarted this but if they keep playing this way they will be hard to beat. Portsmouth have enjoyed a mini revival at home under Harry Redknapp but there is still a lot of work for him to do; his priority will be to win the home games but away from home they lack confidence and have lost 7 from 10. They are close to getting out of the drop zone but this looks like being another defeat.

This fixture is still probably one of the most eagerly awaited of the season but after Wenger's virtual admission that his side are out of the title race and their extremely poor performance at Villa Park, it doesn't seem to have the same appeal. On Saturday almost the whole Arsenal 11 looked way below what should be expected of them; there was no pace, no bite in midfield and no inspiration. Up against a United side who seem to be in fairly potent goal-scoring form, the Arsenal defence will also have to perform much better. Despite these hiccups Arsenal have only lost to Chelsea at home but United do have the best Premiership away form with 7 wins, 2 draws and a single defeat in 10 games. Assuming van Nistelrooy is available he should be fresh after sitting out the win at home to Bolton. Should be a tight affair but United could edge it.