Archived Premier League Football Betting Tips

Benitez's automatic rotation policy is coming back to bite him, and having prioritised both the Premier league and the Champions League (or perhaps prioritising neither) has lead to below par performances in recent games. They remain undefeated domestically this season but were fortunate to rescue a point at home to Spurs in the dying seconds. Too much squad rotation has resulted in dropped points and they need to start picking up victories; the derby game at Goodison is one of their most difficult of the season but Benitez will no doubt use the ready made excuse of 'international games' and 'an early Saturday kick off' if the game doesn't go to plan. At home, Everton have lost just the once (to United) but the Toffees look better equipped to dig out a result in a very tense derby fixture. A draw looks to be the favourite result but Liverpool have not been convincing of late and Everton at home could well just have the edge.

Bolton are still second from bottom and Sammy Lee's position as manager must be in the balance (Oh dear! At the time of writing this he's just parted company by 'mutual consent'). They've registered just 1 victory from 9 games and it's just 1 point from 4 games on the road; not the sort of record they want to take into the match at the Emirates. There has been much talk of disquiet in and around the Reebok; Speed, Campo and Nolan have all been dropped at some stage and Sam Allardyce has allegedly offered Gary Speed a coaching job at Newcastle. Arsenal are currently 2 points clear at the top and have a 100% home record; the only blot remains just 2 points dropped in their first away fixture of the season. Much has been made of the young Guns this season, and deservedly so, but maybe the Trotters can draw some hope from Sunderland's fighting spirit when they managed to pull it back to 2-2 before succumbing to an Arsenal winner in the 80th minute. Nicolas Anelka, Bolton's only player showing any pedigree this season, could be missing after a thigh strain playing for France; a bitter blow that will only increase the likelihood that Arsenal take all 3 points.

Derby remain rooted to the foot of the Premier league and their away form is woeful; 5 successive defeats on the road means that they can only get better and their slender 1-0 loss at Reading at least showed some improvement defensively after heavy defeats at Spurs, Liverpool and Arsenal. The bottom line is that Derby won't be involved in top flight football next season and have to be realistic in terms of investing for life in the Championship. Similarly, Fulham are not having the best time of it and Sanchez must feel his job is already under threat but this remains his best chance this season of chalking up 3 points. Fulham have registered just 1 victory from their 9 games so far and though lady luck has not smiled on them too often, they need to shut up shop if they are to climb out of the bottom three. They've conceded 11 goals at home this season (more than any other Premier league side) so Derby will fancy their chances if they can register any shots on target. However, Fulham should win with ease.

City are exceeding all expectations and have even opened a 3 point gap over nearest rivals, Liverpool, although the Reds do have a game in hand. Eriksson's men have won all 5 home games conceding just 2 goals in the process; they've even scotched criticisms that they don't score enough by tucking away 6 in their last 2 home games. Elano has proved the orchestrator in midfield and complemented his creativity with a couple of goals to boot, but it is the defence that has been the foundation of Eriksson's strategy. Birmingham have had an indifferent season so far, results wise anyway, but they have shown plenty of appetite despite results not going their way. They may be in the lower half of the table and victory or defeat could have a big impact on their league position, but they have the fighting spirit to give it a go and should stay up. All that aside, City should be too good for them at Eastlands and a Blues defeat looks on the cards.

Boro have held the 'indian sign' over Chelsea in recent seasons at the Riverside and their results have always come as underdogs; though Chelsea have had their own ups and downs of late, Boro will again start as underdogs given their recent form. Southgate's men have won just 2 games this season and are a poorer outfit for the departures of Viduka and Yakubu; the signings of Mido and Aliadiere just don't match up to their predecessors. A less than happy Chelsea, according to Drogba, travel to the Riverside with Ashley Cole, Terry and Essien all out injured. They have to put the away defeats at Old Trafford and Villa Park to the back of their minds but realistically, they should have too much for a pretty poor Boro side. Drogba states that 'something is broken with Chelsea' but they should go some way to repairing any damage with a maximum.

Wigan have shown this season that they will compete with teams for as long as possible and hopefully nick a result in the process. Unfortunately, they only managed to hold out until the 54th minute at Old Trafford before finally succumbing to a barrage of goals; in the end it could have more than four. At the JJB, results went their way early season but since then it's been just 1 point from the last 2 home games. This is in stark contrast to a Portsmouth side who have unusually found some form on the road in winning their last 2, and as a result ensuring that their 5th position is no fluke. It's not goals galore when Harry's men play away from home but he now has players capable of keeping it tight and nicking a goal on the break. No doubt Hutchings's side will hold out for some time but Pompey should be capable of coming away with all 3 points.

Villa have suffered just 1 defeat at home, on the opening day of the season to Liverpool, but have followed that with 4 successive victories. One pundit was heard to be saying that Barry should move to a big club if he wants to further his England career; a season or two ago that may have been true but Villa look like a club going somewhere under O'Neill and Barry deserves reward for his loyalty. O'Neill's stewardship is guaranteed to deliver in the long term, although the visit of United could be coming at the wrong time. A heavy international break won't serve their lightweight squad too well but they've already shown they can mix it with the big boys by beating Chelsea at Villa Park. United, however, are a different proposition and have far more attacking options than a below par Chelsea side. Ferguson's men are chasing hard on Arsenal's tails and have rediscovered their goal touch; it's 2 successive wins on the road for United and though Villa will push them hard, United have the edge to sneak the 3 points.

The Hammers seem unable to develop any level of consistency; their mid-table position has more to do with away performances than those at Upton Park. Ashton and Bellamy could still be out injured but the Hammers have taken just 4 points at home and the game at home to Sunderland shouldn't necessarily read as a certain 3 points. Sunderland will scrap for every ball and Keane's men have shown that when they play with passion (as they did at Arsenal and United, although losing by the the odd goal each time) they stand a chance of getting some reward for their effort. The bare facts remain that Sunderland are fifth from bottom and are yet to emerge victorious on the road but their attitude could easily gain them a point if West Ham put in another below par performance.

Spurs remain the sort of team that can either tear you to pieces or give you the 3 points on a plate. Martin Jol's future could be decided on the outcome of this one; if he'd secured the 3 points at Anfield he would've been safe for the rest of the season but throwing away 2 points in the dying minutes reinforces a recurring theme that Spurs are chokers and have no self-belief. Jol will not want to lose this; they are yet to win on the road but their last 3 away fixtures have all ended in draws. Newcastle have flattered to deceive this season and though they may be undergoing a certain amount of transition under Sam Allardyce, they are yet to convince that they have the players to suit a more direct approach. Against Everton they were poor but came from nowhere in the last quarter of the game to take all 3 points. They are yet to lose at home and though Spurs are capable of upsetting the odds they're also capable of choking on the big occasion, and this is undoubtedly a big occasion for Martin Jol. It's 'do or die' time and Spurs may well have to limp back home to London.