Premiership Football Betting Tips

Fourth plays fifth with a Champions League place at stake and only 2 points separate them, although Arsenal do have a game in hand. Neither side has been enjoying the best of form of late and 4th place is the only reward either side can salvage from their season. Bolton tend to rely heavily on set pieces but are organised defensively and are difficult to break down. They usually do pretty well against the Gunners and Anelka will be travelling to the Emirates with a point to prove. Arsenal managed to avoid a 4th defeat in a row with a point earned at St James Park but it will be losing their undefeated Emirates record to relegation battlers, West Ham, that will have hurt Wenger and his side most. Arsenal create plenty but are missing Henry and van Persie as chances go begging; they look tired and short on confidence. Wenger would like to take all 3 points but may settle for a point; maintaining the 2 point gap could be crucial to their Champions League hopes next season.

Ironically City have won their last 3 away games but only taken 1 point from their last 5 fixtures at Eastlands. Recently, Dunne and Distin have been solid as a rock and now that Pearce has Mpenza foraging up front they look more like a Premiership side. Scoring goals has been the thorn in their side all season and Joey Barton their leading scorer with 7 in all competitions underlines the wisdom of Mpenza's signing. City now look to be safe but Pearce will want to give the home fans something to cheer about; however the prospect of playing Liverpool given City's current home form is not one guaranteed to yield points. The Reds now face Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final and managed to rest Gerrard and Mascherano against PSV, although Bellamy will not be available after being carted off injured. Away from Anfield Liverpool's Premiership away form has improved in recent weeks with 4 victories in their last 6, and now that they've snatched 3rd place from Arsenal they're bound to want to hang on to it. Despite City's improved defence, Liverpool should have the confidence and freshness to get the 3 points.

Only 2 goals separate these 2 sides in an unflattering position below mid-table although Boro do have a game in hand. Neither are likely to be dragged into the relegation dogfight but the bottom 3 places are far from cut and dried. Boro have won 4 of their last 6 at the Riverside and took advantage of a poor Watford side last weekend to win by 4 goals to 1. Southgate's side have 9 of their 16 home games and will start favourites against a Villa side that are just lacking that cutting edge. They couldn't make their 1 man advantage count against Wigan and only managed to salvage a draw after going behind; had it not been for Agbonlahor in recent games they might be more concerned as to their status next season. Villa did edge a victory at Ewood Park last weekend but before that they'd only taken 1 point from the prevous 5 games on the road. They may have drawn 8 of their 16 away games this season but the likes of Viduka will probably have too much for them and Boro should emerge with the 3 points.

Pompey stunned United last weekend with a gritty display to keep alive their hopes of UEFA Cup football next season but following that with a heavy defeat at Watford was criminal; tiredness obviously played a part after the energetic display against United. Portsmouth have never been great travellers but their record at Fratton Park is good with only 3 defeats this season. No doubt they have missed Campbell at the back but they face some other renowned poor travellers when Newcastle visit this weekend. The Magpies have lost 10 games away from St James Park this season and preceded their win at Bramall Lane with 3 defeats. Results indicate that their defence has improved as they managed to shut out Arsenal but the Gunners came very close on several occasions and it will be somewhat surprising if Pompey fail to hit the back of the Newcastle net. On an encouraging note, rumour has it that Owen will start on the bench; if this game goes as expected he's bound to make an appearance but unlikely to swing the result. Portsmouth should win comfortably.

Fulham may have been convincingly defeated at Craven Cottage by City last weekend but the sacking of Coleman came as somewhat of a surprise and maybe should have waited until the end of the season. With 5 games to go Fulham now need an impact manager if the sacking is to be vilified, and they don't come with more of a punch than Lawrie Sanchez who's masterminded victories over England, Spain and Sweden as Northern Ireland manager; the understanding is that he will be on loan to Fulham until the end of the season. No matter the managerial swapshop, Fulham have won just 1 away fixture this season and now travel to the Madjeski seeking at least a point to help ensure their Premiership safety. However, Reading are no mugs and recently brought Charlton's home winning run to an end and could have snatched victory at the death. At the Madjeski Reading have only taken 1 point from their last 2 games but preceded that with a run of 4 successive victories. A UEFA Cup place may be just out of reach this time around but Coppell is unlikely to be phase by the Fulham management changes and his side should claim their 10th home Premiership victory of the season.

Sheffield Utd are now in the bottom three and the future looks bleak for Neil Warnock's side. The loss of Rob Hulse has been a major blow; not only have they lost their target man but he was their top scorer. The Blades know that if they lose this game then West Ham will go above them and their future in the Premiership looks less and less likely. The Hammers travel to Bramall Lane after their shock win at the Emirates and it's now 2 wins on the bounce away from Upton Park; their only 2 away victories of the whole season. Curbishley's men could have left it too late but if they can keep this run going they could have timed it to perfection. There are bound to be a few more twists and turns as the season closes but if West Ham play to their potential they have that extra bit of quality that could prove the difference against the Blades.

Wigan are nervously looking over their shoulders as the likes of Charlton and West Ham have put together some good results and are dragging the teams above them into the relegation nightmare. If Wigan are to go down Paul Jewell will have felt that his team have been harshly treated away from the JJB and if some refereeing decisions had not gone against them then things might be different; some might say that these things even themselves out over the course of the season but one of them won't be the Wigan manager. The Latics have lost half their home games and take on a Spurs side just eliminated from the UEFA Cup by Sevilla. In truth, they were up against a class side and though they started the home leg badly, they did mount some sort of fight back to not lose the game. Spurs have only won 3 Premiership away games (2 victories coming in their last 3) but taking into account their UEFA Cup exit, will need to beat Wigan to keep alive their chances of UEFA Cup football next season. This game is as much a must win for Spurs as it is for Wigan, and whoever starts on the front foot will have the best chance of taking the points; Tottenham should edge it.