Archived Premiership Football Betting Tips (18th March 2006)

It's not often that Arsenal have the luxury of no midweek game, especially now that they are the only Premiership side left in the Champions League. Their younger players look to be settling in after poor away form and deserve their starting places; additionally it doesn't look like it will be long before some of Arsenal's renowned defenders return from injury. The Gunners clinched a vital win last weekend at home to Liverpool and with 10 wins from 14 games it looks difficult for a Charlton side who have only won 5 games on the road; in fact they have only taken 3 points from the last 6 away fixtures. Charlton rely too much on the Darren Bent's goals but this is unlikely to prove enough against a rejuvenated young Arsenal.

Blackburn were excellent away at Spurs and got nothing, then were awful at home to Villa and snatched all 3 points. It just goes to prove that possession and territory don't always guarantee victory. Blackburn have impressive home form with 10 wins from 14 games and have already beaten Boro twice at the Riverside. They've only dropped 2 points in their last 6 games at Ewood Park and should be fancied to beat a Boro side who may be feeling the effects of a long European campaign. Boro managed to scrape past Roma on away goals and although they are still in Europe, their domestic form has suffered as a consequence. With 7 losses from 13 games on the road this could be yet another domestic fixture that passes them by.

Because of the Hammers' success in the FA Cup this will be their 3rd of 4 games in 9 days. Alan Pardew claims that he'll be sending out a full strength side against Portsmouth but the truth of that remains to be seen. For the purposes of this we'll have to assume that he won't be doing a West Ham old boy a favour and that they'll start favourites. Portsmouth managed a surprising home win last weekend but it's been a heavy losing streak on their travels and with 12 losses from 16 away games Harry has a lot to do to pull a victory out of the bag against his old club. As long as West Ham aren't too distracted by their FA Cup success (so far) then they should take the points, but Portsmouth will give it a go.

It is becoming more conceivable by the week that Fulham could get caught up in the relegation battle as the season nears its close. The only Premiership team without an away win faltered last time out at Craven Cottage with a 4 goal defeat at the hands of Arsenal. Until then their home form had been good with 9 wins from 13 games but with Chelsea the next visitors to the Cottage it looks like another home defeat. It is not inconceivable that Chelsea may drop points as the run in approaches but they seem to be able to pull points out of the bag when it's least expected; most notably at home to Spurs last weekend in injury time. Chelsea have 10 wins from 14 games on the road and if Fulham are to get anything they should take heart from Boro's convincing victory over the Blues; from a betting perspective stay safe with Chelsea.