Archived Premier League Football Betting Tips

Chelsea, despite their dodgy away strip, still managed to sneak victory at Ewood Park without Drogba and Terry. They remain in touching distance of the top two but lack a cutting edge in front of goal, and the midfield are going to have to contribute more if Chelsea are to maintain a challenge for the title. The Blues are still undefeated at Stamford Bridge and the visit of Aston Villa shouldn't worry them too much. Martin O'Neill's side have experienced a dip in recent form with no win in their last 4 Premier league games. Villa relied heavily on big Jon Carew to rescue them a point against Man City and until he set an example and pulled them up they were by far second best. It looks like Villa are going through a dodgy period and O'Neill needs to sort it out lest they drop further down the table. Chelsea may be missing key players but they should edge out Villa quite comfortably.

Spurs paid their usual homage to Arsenal and came away with nothing but surprisingly gave a good account of themselves. Ramos appears to be getting the message home and even with a makeshift defence, Spurs were in it until the 76th minute and could even have taken the lead had Robbie Keane not hit the bar and converted a penalty. Spurs are now aware of their defensive duties as a team and it's already started to pay dividends at Portsmouth and Man City; coupled with their attacking intent they should put a managerless Fulham side to bed. The Cottagers have yet to win on the road and endured 3 successive defeats but since Sanchez's departure, much talk has been had regarding the players' new found freedom to express themselves. Danny Murphy will be keen to put one over his old club but Spurs have new confidence and will be aiming for a maximum.

The Hammers' away form is far better than their home form this season and their performances at Upton Park have been fairly inconsistent with just 2 points from their last 3 games. The victory at the Riverside was well earned with Scott Parker putting in a star performance and clinching the winner in injury time; it seems that the ex-Charlton and Newcastle man is not just an anchorman and has plenty of attacking potential given the opportunity. They host a Reading side that have been poor on the road this season having taken just 2 points from their 8 away fixtures. Thankfully, the Royals' home results have kept them in mid-table but Upton Park is a difficult place to go and West Ham need to start picking up home points if they are to fulfill much of their promise.

Paul Jewell's first point came at the weekend at Newcastle and surprised many; not only is it their second draw on the road but they managed to score 2 away goals courtesy of Kenny Miller and Giles Barnes with the Magpies rescuing a point in the dying minutes. Derby are still adrift by 6 points at the foot of the table but Jewell's ability with unrecognised talent shouldn't be underestimated. Unfortunately they host a Liverpool side that beat them by 6 goals without reply at Anfield. The Reds made a resurgent Portsmouth side look average at Anfield last weekend and they've dropped just 7 points on the road all season. Torres is fast becoming the new Kop hero and though Derby will try their utmost to keep the score down there's little chance of a result against a Liverpool side with much flair but still 10 points behind the league leaders.

Everton's good run finally came to an end at Old Trafford but they proved worth their salt and Tim Cahill was once again the danger man. Until that defeat the Toffees were top of the form table and it illustrates what can be achieved if a decent manager is given time. Everton have won 5 of 8 home games and take on a Bolton side slowly getting back into old habits under new manager, Gary Megson. The Bolton manager can't be faulted for his approach as his priority was to get Bolton out of the relegation situation, but it does serve to highlight that new managers can't rush in and change everything at the drop of a hat expecting everything to be dandy. Bolton's 3 goals at the Reebok eventually saw off Birmingham last weekend but they're still to score a victory on their travels and Goodison is unlikely to yield an away win.

Sunderland still find themselves in the bottom three and Roy Keane is showing signs of feeling the pressure. They missed out on a point in injury time at the Madjeski when Hunt's effort was deemed to have crossed the line although many remained sceptical. They've picked up 12 of their 14 points this season at the Stadium of Light but the thought of them adding to that when they take on United on Boxing Day looks an unlikely scenario. United are again making headlines for the wrong reasons but they can't be faulted on the pitch and are maintaining the pressure on Arsenal with just a point to separate them. On the road Fergie's men dropped points at both Arsenal and Bolton but a win at Anfield was just what the doctor ordered, and there's no reason why they won't go on and take all 3 points at Sunderland, although the Mackems will give it their all.

Birmingham don't have much that's positive to say about ex-manager, Steve Bruce, but it looks like the Wigan fans will be happy second time around as long as results keep going their way. The Latics have taken 5 points from their last 4 games and though they're still embroiled in the relegation situation, there appears to be some light at the end of tunnel. Marcus Bent is finally getting amongst the goals and is now only 4 behind top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo. They take on a Newcastle side that are showing similarities to their northeast rivals, Middlesbrough, in that they put together some good results but are then found wanting against the lesser teams. The Magpies were losing at home to Derby only to be saved by a Mark Viduka goal in the 87th minute, but the devoted Newcastle fans were disappointed and 3 points was expected. Newcastle could struggle to hold Wigan given that Blackburn conceded 5 at the JJB and a home win, though risky, could be in the bag.

Portsmouth were another side to lose their undefeated home record recently (again to Spurs); their sequence of 6 away wins was also dealt a crushing blow last weekend when they lost heavily at Anfield. Not only has Harry to worry about his side's recent dip in form but he'll be missing key players soon when the African Nations Cup kicks off next month; Benjani, Muntari and Utaka are all expected to take part. The Premier league leaders visit Fratton Park on Boxing Day after not playing particularly well last weekend but still saw off local rivals, Spurs, in a game that could have gone either way. Arsenal have lost just the once all season (at the Riverside a couple of weeks ago) and now have their full complement of players fit and available. Pompey have won only 2 games at fortress Fratton this season and Arsenal should be fancied to take advantage.

City still maintain their 100% home record in the Premier league but a Spurs side reduced to 10 men after 20 minutes proved their undoing in the Carling Cup close to the halfway stage of the season. Eriksson has been promised money in the transfer window with the intention that they build on their good start and if possible finish in the top four with the reward of Champions League football. City are sometimes found lacking in front of goal but Rolando Bianchi can't stop scoring since his position at the club was threatened. Their opponents, Blackburn, have not had a good run of form in recent weeks taking just 5 points from their last 8 Premier league fixtures; the one player to emerge from this sequence of games looking like a matchwinner has been Roque Santa Cruz and should be backed to score at Eastlands. Rovers have taken just 1 point from their last 3 on the road and despite scoring will be fortunate to take any of the points on offer.