Archived Premier League Football Betting Tips

It's 7 clean sheets in their last 8 games for United with 6 of those ending in single goal victories; the only blemish has been the league cup defeat at home to Coventry and some of those reserves may have to wait some time before they get another outing. United are yet to concede a goal at Old Trafford and Rooney's first goal since April against Roma could open the floodgates; Fergie's men need to ram home their advantage against weaker sides but the goals have been scarce. Wigan must be hoping that they don't prove to be the stuffing in this encounter but it's been just 1 point away from home for Chris Hutchings's side. Marcus Bent was unfortunate to have a goal chalked off against Liverpool but his strike partner, Aghahowa, was found wanting and Emile Heskey's absence is proving to be a huge loss, as expected. Wigan will try to be competitive but United should win comfortably and by more than a single goal.

Villa will feel like they've just come off the back of a defeat after Spurs pulled it back at the Lane for a point despite being 4-1 down with 30 minutes to play. Since Villa's opening day defeat to Liverpool they've secured victory 3 out of 3 times at Villa Park, and though some fans may have been disgruntled by their side's collapse at the Lane, O'Neill remains the right man in charge and they have to accept that there will be hiccups along the way. Though Harewood's arrival may have precipitated that collapse, in that he couldn't hold the ball up, there are those that say he should start against his old club to see where his true colours lie. Harewood, of course won't be the only one to play against his old club; expect Reo-Coker to close everything down that gets within a square mile of him. This fixture will have some bite and the Hammers have suffered just the one defeat this season but expect Villa to make reparations for Monday's pseudo defeat and come out fighting.

Reading proved at the weekend that they have no problem finding the back of the net with 4 goals at Fratton Park, but conceding 7 and returning home with nil points didn't please the manager. Coppell has finally reached the end of his tether with regard to the second season syndrome issue and now has a great chance to put things right at home to a Derby side propping up the rest of the league. It's 4 defeats from 4 away games for the Rams conceding an average of 4 goals every time they step out on someone else's turf; 4 looks to be the magic number. Billy Davies described last weekend's draw at home to Bolton as a '26 pointer' but surely these games against teams just above them will become more important as the season goes on and results don't necessarily go their way. The Royals have 2 wins and 2 defeats from their 4 home games and whilst they may not win this by 4 clear goals, they should enjoy a comfortable victory.

Every game Birmingham go into they're scrapping for the points and there's little doubt that they won't stay up, which is all Steve Bruce can realistically expect to achieve. Their draw at Anfield last weekend was well deserved and they'll surprise a few people over the course of the season but their visit to Ewood Park is unlikely to bear much fruit. It's their second visit of the season to Ewood and the first, in the Carling Cup, resulted in a 3 goal defeat so unless Bruce has learnt anything in the mean time, then expect a similar result. Rovers are poised to do well this season; Hughes rested several players after performances in which he thought they weren't pulling their weight and the selected team responded by grabbing a tricky victory at the Stadium of Light. There home form hasn't been great but they should put in a repeat performance against the Blues.

If that lot from Stamford Bridge can go to the Mestalla and win 2-1 they should have no fears about a trip to the Reebok. Bolton were renowned for their 'up and at em' approach to the game but under Sammy Lee have developed an undesirable softer centre. Nicolas Anelka remains their truly golden nugget and given his transfer activity in recent years it would be no surprise to see him make a move elsewhere unless the Trotters buck up their ideas before the new year. Chelsea travel to the Reebok under a Premier league cloud of 2 successive away defeats which has to go down as a rare stat in recent times at the Bridge. Mourinho's moved on, Grant is in place, but nothing is set in stone and the Blues have eventually pulled together on the pitch to set their story straight; it's taken Terry to don his face mask and play under injury to unite the team but victory in Valencia should mark a turning point in their season and they should be expected to come away with nothing less than 3 points.

Liverpool may remain undefeated on the domestic front but their home form hasn't been as comprehensive as they would like; just 5 points from a possible 9 and a midweek defeat at home to an unfancied Marseille means Rafa will have to face some awkward questions. Injuries and suspensions mean that he hasn't been able to field his best side in recent games but his love affair with squad rotation (even at such an early stage in the season) must be partly to blame. Spurs visit Anfield after a miraculous comeback at home to Villa to claim a share of the spoils. Martin Jol's side are still in the bottom three and he'll be hoping that the performance in the last half hour of the Villa game represents a turning point in the club's fortunes. Spurs show that when they have the bit between their teeth they are very dangerous but their frailties defending their own goal come back to haunt them every time; the back four need confidence and with little of that coming from the keeper, Robbo could find himself dropped. Spurs have the luxury of playing the reserves in Europe this week after their first leg drubbing of Famagusta, so will possibly rest some key players with this fixture in mind. Spurs are more than capable of following in Marseille's footsteps but have yet to win away and Liverpool don't often lose at home.

City have shown no signs of slipping down the table and will look to consolidate their 3rd place against Boro this weekend. Sven has admitted that cracking the top four is beyond them this season but they will run them very close; they've won their 4 home games conceding just a single goal. Even under Stuart Pearce, City had a fairly rock steady defence at Eastlands, but Sven has augmented that with pacy, counter-attacking players; the signings of Petrov and Elano have been the difference. Boro travel to City with 4 defeats from 5 on the road (including the Carling Cup defeat at White Hart Lane) and with Tuncay, Aliadiere and Mido all possibly out, Southgate must be regretting letting Viduka and Yakubu go; Boro will find it difficult enough to score at Eastlands without having the handicap of no recognised strikers. Once again the Teesiders are likely to be flirting with relegation and it remains to be seen whether or not Southgate has made the best use of the funds he had available. A victory with a clean sheet looks like a nailed on result for City.

Without Arteta, Everton seem just a labour intensive side (although a good one) but the Spaniard adds another dimension that gives the Toffees so many more attacking options. Johnson could be fit again but will struggle to be selected in front of Yakubu, McFadden and Anichebe. It's 2 wins and 2 defeats for Moyes's men away from home so there's no real indicator against a Newcastle side that remain undefeated at home but are yet to convince their fans that they can challenge for honours. Owen's recovery seems well ahead of schedule but not in time for this encounter. The Magpies' defeat at Eastlands last weekend was fully deserved but at least they've had the benefit of a week's rest where as Everton have had to fulfill their UEFA Cup obligations. Allardyce's comments regarding their injury record were spot on but they seem a little wayward when the focus should be on a more purposeful approach from the players actually playing rather than waiting on those returning from injury. Could go either way but Newcastle will produce sooner or later.

After the goal fest at Fratton Park last weekend, Harry has much to live up to for the rest of the season. After scoring a magnificent seven at home they travel to Craven Cottage to play an even more entertaining side; Fulham have been scoring and conceding goals for fun, not that it's reaped dividends; just 7 points to be precise. The hat-trick hero, Benjani, could well be left on the bench if Kanu returns but it would be harsh on the young man and I'm sure he'd relish a run at the rather generous Fulham defence. Pompey have shown some consistency by again looking good early season; they currently hold 6th place although their away record has again looked flaky with just 4 points from 4 games. Fulham, under Sanchez, can rue their misfortune until the cows come home but they've had their fair slice of good luck as well. Despite all the goals conceded, they've lost just the once at the Cottage this season and I suspect there's not a lot to separate these two so the fence-sitting option seems the most attractive.