Archived Premier League Football Betting Tips

The Gunners emerged from Super Sunday still top of the pile after a single goal victory over London rivals, Chelsea, and how ironic was it that Chelsea old boy, William Gallas, grabbed the winner; another vital contribution from the Arsenal captain. Arsenal have dropped just 2 points at the Emirates this season, that draw coming against the only other contenders in this increasingly likely 2 horse race (United). Fabregas, Flamini and Hleb all returned for the Chelsea fixture so the outlook doesn't look too promising for a Spurs side that have picked up under new manager, Ramos, in recent weeks. Spurs' win at Fratton Park was their first on the road this season and it marked the first time they'd registered back to back victories. Spurs may be up to 12th but just 5 points separates them from relegation; however, they are now looking up the table but the visit to the Emirates is bound to knock them off course. Their makeshift central defensive pairing kept a clean sheet at Portsmouth but the attacking threat of Arsenal are far more likely to yield dividends. North London derbies haven't really gone Spurs' way in recent seasons and that's unlikely to change despite it being Christmas.

Villa could count themselves fortunate to leave the Stadium of Light with a point after Sunderland were denied a last minute winner which Steve Bennett chose to disallow for a debatable foul on Scott Carson. Villa have lost their last 2 home games, to Portsmouth and Arsenal, but they should be expected to turn it around and have a good chance against a City side with just 1 victory on the road this season. Allegedly, Eriksson has been promised a job for life by Shinawatra and a £30m transfer kitty for January; this seems a little excessive when you consider that the cream of Europe's players are unlikely to move due to Champions League commitments. The City manager has already signed Castillo, the Shakhtar Donetsk striker, on a year long loan and this is certainly an area in which City are weak, but it's difficult to see any upside in their away form at Villa Park.

Bolton gave City a scare at Eastlands and the game was far from over until City scored their fourth in injury time. Gary Megson is slowly but surely beginning to turn things around at the Reebok and it's 2 wins and 2 draws from their last 4 home games. The Trotters are now 1 point and 2 places above the drop zone but their are 9 sides still threatened by relegation so the pressure is on to get points on the board. Birmingham are just 1 place and 1 point above Bolton and though McLeish got off to a great start at White Hart Lane, the Blues have taken just 1 point from their 2 subsequent games. McLeish has certainly improved Birmingham's fortunes but the ex-Scotland manager is fast realising the additional demands of the Premier league. Both of these clubs are experiencing an upturn but Bolton are further along that road and home advantage should play into their hands.

Liverpool's defeat at home to United leaves them lying in 5th place and 10 points behind league leaders, Arsenal; in fact they have the same number of points as this weekend's opponents despite being 2 places above them. Benitez probably has to concede that the Premier league title is no longer their prime objective and that they need to make the most of their Champions League opportunity. The Reds were undefeated at home in the Premier league prior to the United game but their form at Anfield has hardly been rip-roaring, goal-scoring except against the weakest of opponents. The visitors to Anfield this weekend are far from the weakest on the road and despite losing their undefeated home record to Spurs last weekend, Portsmouth have won 6 successive away games. Pompey obviously like to play given a bit of space so Liverpool's brief should be to keep it tight and be patient. No doubt Portsmouth are worth being backed to pull off a shock but Liverpool need to bounce back after the United defeat and should have too much.

Everyone at the Riverside seemed unsurprised by their home victory against Arsenal and the common consensus was that they finally got a deserved result. They then went to Pride Park and took all 3 points for only their second away victory of the season. A key element in their turnaround has been the performances of Tuncay Sanli. When he first came to the club he was deemed unfit; subsequently, he's worked on his fitness and after breaking back into the first eleven has scored 3 goals in as many games and showed a willingness to defend from the front. Their opponents, West Ham, are still suffering from inconsistency and recently suffered 2 home defeats against Everton despite having key players return to first team action. Of the two sides, Boro must be longer on confidence and a bigger crowd at the Riverside should see them to victory.

Roy Keane has managed to maintain a quiet demeanor since taking over at Sunderland but he failed to hold his tongue when Steve Bennett denied his side a perfectly valid last minute winner at home to Villa; those 2 extra points would have carried them up to 15th and given them just a tad more breathing space, not to mention instilling some confidence after what would have been their 4th win of the season. Regardless of what would have been, Sunderland are now out of the relegation places (albeit by a single point) but have lost their last 5 successive away fixtures so a trip to Berkshire won't be that appealing. Reading finally arrested their poor away form with a point at St Andrews but they've been fairly reliable at the Madjeski with just 1 defeat from their last 6 home fixtures. Early on in the season there was talk of second season syndrome but the Royals have put that behind them and should take all 3 points at home to Sunderland, though the Mackems will not make it easy.

United are maintaining constant pressure on Arsenal as we near the halfway point in the Premier league title race. Only 1 point separates them and United now have 5 points between themselves and nearest challengers for second, Chelsea. United have dropped just 2 points and conceded only 2 goals at home all season; they've won every home game since the opening day draw with Reading. This weekend United will be looking to take on the blue half of Merseyside after securing a 1-0 victory at Anfield last weekend. Everton have had success on the road recently with 2 wins at Upton Park (including the Carling Cup quarter final) and no defeat in 4 Premier league away fixtures. Yakubu and Cahill have been the influence behind the Toffees resurgence and they now occupy 6th place; just 1 position behind local rivals, Liverpool, and just 2 goals separating them on 30 points. Despite Everton's recent good form it's unlikely they'll get anything at Old Trafford.

It wasn't so long ago that many thought Big Sam was perilously close to losing his job at St James Park but since that time the Magpies have picked up 7 out of 9 points including a draw at home to Arsenal. The game at Craven Cottage was their first away clean sheet of the season and despite not dominating Fulham, they still managed an injury time winner courtesy of a Joey Barton penalty. Dare I say the Magpies are beginning to cut out the defensive mistakes and are at least becoming harder to beat. Allardyce will be without 4 players during next month's African Nations Cup so 3 points at home to Derby could prove vital. The Rams lost at home to relegation rivals, Boro, at the weekend and Paul Jewell has certainly not opted for an easy ride. They remain rooted to the bottom on 6 points and have taken just 1 point on the road, although when they last travelled (to Old Trafford) they did score their first away goal of the season. It's difficult to see any hope for Derby and Newcastle will be expecting a home win.

Both these sides lost at the weekend but it has been Rovers' dip in form that will give most concern to the respective managers. Santa Cruz grabbed a hat-trick at Wigan but Blackburn were still edged out 5-3; it could have been a different story had McCarthy converted a penalty early on and Emerton not got sent off when they were at 3-3. Blackburn have lost 2 of their last 3 home games and given their current levels of confidence, it may not be the best time to take on a Chelsea side licking their wounds after the Arsenal defeat. It looks like Terry won't be available after a crude tackle by Eboue put him out of the game (and several more by the looks of it), and maybe Rovers have half a chance especially since Drogba is also out recovering from knee surgery. Chelsea have won 4 out of their last 5 on the road but that defeat at the Emirates leaves them 6 points adrift of the leaders; the title may look rather distant but the Blues won't give up and should register 3 points at Ewood Park.