Archived Premier League Football Betting Tips

Three points at home to Boro has propelled Birmingham a little closer to safety and a successive home fixture (against Fulham) gives them the chance to consolidate their position. McLeish appears to have improved the mood at St Andrews and 4 points from their last 2 home games stands them in good stead for the visit of the managerless Cottagers. Fulham have not won an away fixture in 15 months and Al Fayed must be worried about attracting a manager with a decent track record. Fulham's heavy defeat at White Hart Lane, coupled with Wigan's victory over Newcastle, means that the away side slip into the bottom three; ironic considering that the reasoning behind Sanchez's dismissal was that they avoid relegation at all costs. Fulham are fairly poor on the road and a similar performance to that by Birmingham over last weekend's opponents, Boro, should be expected.

Chelsea's title challenge is in tatters after the home draw with Villa and so is their defence after both Carvalho and Ashley Cole saw red. Lampard was substituted on 26 minutes with a thigh strain which leaves the Blues minus those three plus Terry and Drogba; however there was good news for Grant with a scoring return from injury by Michael Balalck plus Shevchenko started to look like a player worth all the hype several seasons ago. Chelsea are fortunate that they host Newcastle this weekend, a side that lacks consistency and are plain awful on the road. A point at home to Derby followed by defeat at the JJB has done little for the Christmas spirit amongst the Newcastle fans and with just 4 points from their last 6 away fixtures, the result should swing the way of the home side at Stamford Bridge despite them missing key players.

Spurs home win over Fulham kept them in 13th place and made it 3 wins from their last 4 games in all competitions; just the defeat at the Emirates blotts their recent form. They were rarely troubled by a managerless Fulham side but the big bonus for Juande Ramos and the rest of the squad was the return of an injury free Ledley King, although not yet 100% match fit. Under Ramos, Spurs have gone from fat to fit and they're starting to reap the dividends. Their opponents, Reading, are unbeaten in five but are yet to record a victory on the road. Gunnarsson will be unavailable after being sent off for a 2 footed challenge in the draw at Upton Park, and despite going down to 10 men Coppell will draw positives from their bright play and passion that earned them a point. Tottenham are heading in the right direction and Reading are unlikely to stop them.

The Hammers' record at Upton Park this season has been disappointing with just 2 victories to their name. They looked like they were heading for 3 points against 10 man Reading but the away side played with a passion that West Ham failed to match. Curbishley must be feeling the pressure and now they face 4 of the top 5 sides in their next 5 games starting with United on Saturday. Christmas has come and gone and the Red Devils now lead the Premier league by a point after showing no signs of festive charity at the Stadium of Light. Ronaldo leads the golden boot by 2 clear goals and there seems no holding him back; maybe Fergie had the sense not to wager with the young man after losing out last season. West Ham managed the double over United last season but this time around the forecast looks strictly in United's favour.

Wigan have climbed out of the relegation places but it's still very tight at the bottom. It's all been down to Wigan's home form since Steve Bruce took over with 7 points from their last 3 games at the JJB. The newly installed Wigan manager is bound to get some stick from the travelling fans but he'll find Villa a tougher proposition than Newcastle were. Villa have experienced a slight dip in recent form but they showed they were back to their best at Stamford Bridge where they had Chelsea on the ropes for the first 45 minutes; so they were eventually pegged back but Barry showed a deal of nerve in slotting the equalising penalty iin injury time. If Villa reproduce the same sort of performance Wigan could find them to difficult to live with and O'Neill's men should be expected to sneak it.

Everton now find themselves in 6th position after the thoroughly deserved victory at home to Bolton. They've won 5 of their last 6 Premier league fixtures and their recent form has been outstanding. The Toffees are high on confidence and are capable of giving Arsenal a run for their money. Everton are capable of playing a high tempo pressing game and Arsenal have shown a vulnerability in recent weeks when the space is squeezed and their midfield is closed down. The Gunners have lost top spot to United and taken just 2 points from their last 3 away fixtures including that defeat at the Riverside. They could probably count themselves fortunate to have come away from Fratton Park with a point but this time Arsenal could well lose out.

Derby may still be rooted to the foot of the table on 7 points but they've shown some definite improvement under new manager, Paul Jewell. They came away from St James Park with a point after being pulled back from a winning position in the 87th minute and at Pride Park they were holding Liverpool to a draw until Gerrard popped up with a winner in injury time; however, they'll not see the fruits of that improvement unless they concentrate for 90 minutes. The Rams have lost their last 5 successive home games and it won't be easy against a Blackburn side keen to pick up maximum points. Rovers haven't enjoyed a very good sequence of results recently although the draw at Eastlands will have restored some confidence. Roque Santa Cruz once again saved the day and grabbed another brace with his tally now reaching 9 for the season. Whilst Derby will strive to make life difficult, Blackburn will be anxious to get another win on the board.

City lost their Premier league 100% home record to Blackburn this week when Roque Santa Cruz came up with an equaliser 6 minutes from time; it shouldn't be forgotten that Spurs also beat City at Eastlands recently in the Carling Cup. The draw against Rovers meant that City could not reclaim 4th spot and one wonders if the Eriksson honeymoon is over. If City beat Liverpool this Saturday they'll leapfrog their opponents into a Champions League place but the Reds have dropped just 7 points on the road this season and become more resilient away from the safety of Anfield. Liverpool have some defensive problems with Hyypia, Agger and Arbeloa all possibly out injured. This could prove to be a tricky prediction so I'm not going to stick my head above the parapet; a draw looks the safe bet.