Weekend Prem
Nigel
counts as a successful season. Aston Villa start matches strongly then
tail off, but I take them to hold out for a home win.
Blackburn v Tottenham. Blackburn's season is rapidly heading South
whereas Tottenham are treading water. With Blackburn's injury list, I
rate this a likely draw.
Bolton v Everton. Oh no, Moyes has made up with Ferguson and he's under
consideration for a place. I still think Everton have enough to earn a
draw from this.
Charlton v Leeds. Man for man they look evenly balanced, but Curbishley
has the Addicks playing as a compact, well-organised unti and Grey is
presiding over rock-bottom morale and dressing-room bust-ups. Home win.
Portsmouth v Leicester. Leicester were one of the few teams to outplay
Pompey last season, and I expect them to remember that to earn a draw at
Fratton Park.
Wolves v Newcastle. Amazingly Wolves are the form team here and
Newcastle have only a 39 hour gap after their midweek game against
Basel, but Newcastle seem to thrive on adversity and Shearer's educated
elbows - away win.
Arsenal v Fulham. Even with only half a team Arsenal continue to
outperform, and they should continue that run against Fulham.
Chelsea v Man Utd. This has all the makings of a draw, with both sides
wanting to win but desperate not to lose. But in midweek Chelsea rested
Juan Sebastian Veron, "the world's best player", specifically for this
match. Man Utd rested Phil Neville! Away win.
Liverpool v Birmingham. Much as I'd like to see Birmingham do well, I
think they won't quite have enough to take advantage of Houllier's dodgy
defensive imports. Although Owen is unlikely to be fit, Heskey is good
enough to break down most premiership defences even if his own scoring
rate is poor. Home win.
Man City v Middlesbrough. Man City are another team rapidly going sour.
Middlesbrough, meanwhile, are enjoying something of a recovery. On
balance, probably another draw.
Les Corbett
"Nigel" <use...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:jFLxb.14241$lm1.1...@wards.force9.net...
> Aston Villa v Southampton. 2 teams for which the top half of the table
> counts as a successful season. Aston Villa start matches strongly then
> tail off, but I take them to hold out for a home win.
Me too.
> Blackburn v Tottenham. Blackburn's season is rapidly heading South
> whereas Tottenham are treading water. With Blackburn's injury list, I
> rate this a likely draw.
Blackburn are still a better side than they have shown and, even though
Spurs won last time it was not very convincing. There are few prem home
teams I would fancy them to beat or even draw with right now. Two very
dodgy sides but I will take the home team to scrape through at these odds.
> Bolton v Everton. Oh no, Moyes has made up with Ferguson and he's under
> consideration for a place. I still think Everton have enough to earn a
> draw from this.
I fancy Bolton, but not a lot.
>
> Charlton v Leeds. Man for man they look evenly balanced, but Curbishley
> has the Addicks playing as a compact, well-organised unti and Grey is
> presiding over rock-bottom morale and dressing-room bust-ups. Home win.
On form the 8-11 Charlton looks almost generous. I will take it.
> Portsmouth v Leicester. Leicester were one of the few teams to outplay
> Pompey last season, and I expect them to remember that to earn a draw at
> Fratton Park.
Pompy are decent at home, or at least they were, but Leicester have
surprised me a bit with their recent revival. Think you are spot on. Draw
> Wolves v Newcastle. Amazingly Wolves are the form team here and
> Newcastle have only a 39 hour gap after their midweek game against
> Basel, but Newcastle seem to thrive on adversity and Shearer's educated
> elbows - away win.
Fancy Wolves will run themselves into the ground to earn a point. Draw
> Arsenal v Fulham. Even with only half a team Arsenal continue to
> outperform, and they should continue that run against Fulham.
Should be Arsenal but a local; to leave alone. No value and possible
upset.
> Chelsea v Man Utd. This has all the makings of a draw, with both sides
> wanting to win but desperate not to lose. But in midweek Chelsea rested
> Juan Sebastian Veron, "the world's best player", specifically for this
> match. Man Utd rested Phil Neville! Away win.
No idea, but Man U are a fair price for a team with such a good record at
The Bridge. Chelsea are still not wining with the same fluency as their 2
main rivals but we have occasionaly seen how good they can be.
A game to watch with no involvement but if I had to....a fence sitting draw.
> Liverpool v Birmingham. Much as I'd like to see Birmingham do well, I
> think they won't quite have enough to take advantage of Houllier's dodgy
> defensive imports. Although Owen is unlikely to be fit, Heskey is good
> enough to break down most premiership defences even if his own scoring
> rate is poor. Home win.
You are probibly right, but I won't be backing them.
> Man City v Middlesbrough. Man City are another team rapidly going sour.
> Middlesbrough, meanwhile, are enjoying something of a recovery. On
> balance, probably another draw.
I suspect Boro can get 3 here after that mid-week failure by City. Is this
the manager for a team who is losing confidence?
So, after a break, back to the £50 treble. Villa, Blackburn, Charlton.
Les
Les Corbett
"Les Corbett" <l.co...@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:bq9ub6$2hg$1...@hercules.btinternet.com...
.....and the 'good thing' comes unstuck...Charlton v Leeds. It's a hard
game.
Les
Nigel
> "Les Corbett" <l.co...@btinternet.com> wrote in message
> news:bq9ub6$2hg$1...@hercules.btinternet.com...
>
> .....and the 'good thing' comes unstuck...Charlton v Leeds. It's a hard
> game.
>
> Les
>
>
Good calls on the other Saturday games though. But I think Pompey v
Foxes will have fooled most people.
Nigel