Weekend Soccer Predictions

The Premiership
Norwich – Chelsea 6.31 – 1.62
Fantastic odds on the home win. Saying that I am not at all convinced that Norwich will be the winners and it is more correct to say that the away win is ridiculously underpriced. Norwich are at their best when they are hitting teams on the break and quite possible that it will be like that in this match with Chelsea dominating the ball possession and Norwich happy to counter attack. Hopefully for the sake of Norwich they will not start with Ayala in defence this time.

G Cahill could make his first start in the Chelsea defence, Ivanovic is fit again and we will see more of M Essien in this match. F Torres will soon be scoring goals again and the future looks quite promising for Chelsea. However I have to say that Chelsea have not impressed lately. Norwich have impressed but the expectations differ of course. Two choices for me. No bet game or something on Norwich.

Everton – Blackburn 1.60 – 7.50
Absolutely outstanding odds again, this time on the away win. Everton score at the most one goal, while you never know what to expect from Blackburn. Home or away they will go for the three points and I have go way back to find a game without a Blackburn goal. Without C Samba in defence, and down to ten men in the first half, Blackburn were able to score three goals against Fulham. The player that was red carded was their leading goal scorer Yakubu and this fact made the outcome even more unlikely. Amazing achievement and Kean and his footballers are definitely on a mission and they never seem to know when they are beaten. You just have to love this Blackburn side.

Everton’s make shift defence worked quite well against Villa last week (1-1) and with D Gibson and L Donovan in their ranks I am expecting some improved offensive displays from them, even scoring, say two goals in a game, or is that asking too much?

Modeste, Bordeaux striker, is now a Blackburn player. S Dann, the central Blackburn defender, will most likely return from a spell on the sidelines and there is a good chance that also C Samba will play tomorrow. “If he is in the right frame of mind”, the Blackburn coach said about Samba. You know me, I am always backing Blackburn.

Fulham – Newcastle 2.10 – 4.16
How could Fulham go down 1-3 at Blackburn against ten men? They were outfought, as simple as that. Squad wise Fulham were in perfect condition, but they were not as committed to the cause as the home players. The Fulham coach Jol has the opinion that they were unlucky, meaning that they were hurt by a couple of very psychologically important Blackburn goals, late in the first and early in the second half. I stick to my theory.

A fit Fulham squad looking for immediate revenge in this match.

Newcastle will be without Cabaye (probably) tomorrow. Demba Ba, Tiote and Cabaye, three very important Newcastle players, all missing this time. They have bought a great striker in Pa D Cisse, but he will join the club after the African Cup. Newcastle just about defeated QPR and I think that they will return home empty handed from this visit to Craven Cottage. Fulham to win.

Q P R – Wigan 2.05 – 4.20
Much to my surprise the new QPR coach Hughes decided to play against MK Dons in the cup with same side that lost to Newcastle the other day. Only one change, Macheda in for Helgusson upfront. I call this choice taking a risk, but I guess that Hughes needs wins, any kind of wins on his new job. QPR won the match 1-0, but the home side did not impress a bit. Tired players according to Hughes. Yes, I should think so with two games in three days.

J Barton will return for this important fixture.

Wigan were not miles from getting something from their home game against Man City and you can never really rule out Martinez’ side. OK, they lose a lot of football games, but for me personally they belong to the erratic category. They have the players that can hurt this QPR side, is my firm opinion. They are also used to playing these kind of dooms day fixtures. No Diame for Wigan and D Jones is an injury doubt. No bet for now.

Stoke – W B A 2.00 – 4.33
Excellent run of Stoke form, only beaten once in nine league games (5-3-1). Last week at Anfield it was all about defending for Stoke, but tomorrow they will of course be looking for the three points.

Players were back for WBA at home to Norwich, they dominated most of the match, but they were caught out by two fast Norwich counter attacks. The negative WBA home form continues. No C Brunt tomorrow, but key defender J Olsson should be back. Scharner, Brunt, Z Gera and S Reid will not play. Olsson back is a big plus for WBA, especially against a team like Stoke. WBA are 4-2-4 away from home with recent wins at Blackburn and Newcastle. 1X game.

Sunderland – Swansea 1.93 – 4.75
For the first time since O’Neill took charge of the Sunderland affairs his players squandered several quite good scoring chances last week away to Chelsea. This does not surprise me. I have been more surprised seeing players like McClean and Gardner scoring like it was the most natural thing in the world. Still Sunderland played a strong game against Chelsea. They lost Kilgallon, the defender, to an injury and he will be missing tomorrow. M Turner is back, so no major worries. W Brown and T Bramble could also return.

Swansea took the game to Arsenal, kept the ball within in the team much like Arsenal and they won the match rather deservedly. Hard to digest for the Arsenal coach, but there was nothing suspect about the Arsenal loss. They were beaten by a team playing their football like Arsenal, but a bit better. The Chelsea midfielder McEachran has just signed on for Swansea and he will be part of their squad tomorrow. Direct route to the goal, the Sunderland way, or the masters of the passing game, Swansea. The Oscar goes to Swansea. Great odds.

Wolves – Aston Villa 2.60 – 3.01
Full points to Wolves for their 1-1 draw at Tottenham. Over the 90 minutes, I have rarely seen Tottenham creating so few open scoring chances. The Wolves defence must have done something right. Wolves fielded fringe players in a mid week cup game, but for this match they will of course recall their strongest players, including R Johnson, M Jarvis and K Foley.

Villa at home to Everton, mostly a bore. The first half definitely. What else could be expected? Goal shy Everton and Villa playing with the hand break on. Quite possible that Robbie Keane will start for Villa tomorrow. C Herd and E Heskey are injured. Villa are 2-6-2 away from home. Not easily beaten, in other words.

Wolves are winless in their last nine games, including their two cup fixtures against Birmingham, and their coach is under pressure. Business as usual, in other words. Nothing wrong with the Wolves work rate, but Villa have the stronger individuals in their side.

X2 game.

Bolton – Liverpool 6.85 – 1.67
Looks tough for Bolton. With the Cahill money available, buy two offensive footballers and do it right away? Their present offensive line up will not be able to defeat Liverpool and that is my firm opinion.

The Liverpool coach Dalglish is not my favourite. He is too keen picking strange looking starting line ups. I mean, D Kuyt as their lone striker last week vs. Stoke? Kuyt against Shawcross, Huth and the other Stoke defenders, what was the secret? Would not A Carroll be the only natural choice against a team like Stoke? In general I prefer backing Liverpool away from home. J Spearing is their only injury doubt. Away win, but indifferent odds.

Manchester City – Tottenham 1.91 – 4.40
Remember the good old Man City days? When they were scoring three-four goals in every game. Now they have to work hard to score a single goal in their matches. That is bound to change, but for the time being no doubt that Man City are struggling for goals. D Silva was back against Wigan and for this match both M Richards and Balotelli will return. Tottenham have to manage without Adebayor.

City won 5-1 away to Tottenham in an early season game, but surely the Tottenham players have not forgotten. I expect a cracking game. How do you oppose a team like Man City, a team that has won all their ten league home fixtures? You do not!

Arsenal – Manchester Utd 2.92 – 2.63
Talking about previous results. What about the 2-8 loss for Arsenal at Old Trafford? Arsenal must be desperate for revenge, but they will not be helped by their many injuries and their relatively poor form. The Arsenal defence, without the injured Vermaelen, is not much stronger than the one that was outclassed by United. The overall team is stronger, but they need to up their game, or they will get beaten again.

I would not suggest that Man United are in top form either. Most Premiership sides, including United and Arsenal, are besides their best form, typical January form, I would call it. Both C Smalling and P Jones will be available again for United.

At this very moment I am a bit pessimistic about the Arsenal future. I should think that Wenger has to buy one or two top players (Demba Ba is mentioned), or Van Persie will leave. Reading between these lines I get the feeling that Vermaelen could be back for this important fixture. “Let us hope for some good news on Sunday”, Wenger said. No Arteta, however. Pessimism or not, this 2.92 is quite a price on the home win. Arsenal then.

Serie A
Atalanta – Juventus 4.77 – 1.95
Third top club in a row facing Atalanta. They lost to Milan and Lazio and they must avoid their third straight defeat. They will be without their suspended defender Lucchini, but Manfredini will be fit to replace him. Moralez could start instead of Marilungo just behind leading striker Denis. Bonaventura and Raimondi could both earn starting roles.

Juventus will be able to call on their Italian international defender Chiellini again. Juventus looked devoid of creative ideas at home to Cagliari and I thought for myself, forget about the Scudetto. Atalanta also created very little against Lazio. X2 game.

Bologna – Parma 2.53 – 3.20
Missing quite a few players Bologna took a very strong point away to Napoli. They could easily have won the match. Defender Portanova will be back for this game and new defender, ex –Juve player F Sörensen will be in contention for this game. Cherubin and Morleo are suspended, Pulzetti and Loria remain sidelined, but both Crespo and Diamanti will be available again. Galloppa will be back in the Parma midfield.

Great start for new Parma coach Donadoni and his new system. Giovinco enjoyed his role and he was man of the match. Parma are 1-1-6 away from home and one has to say that the value is on the home win. Value or not, I will probably stay away from this match, betting wise.

Cagliari – Fiorentina 2.46 – 3.42
Finally Cagliari have woken up from their slumber. First the 3-0 vs. Genoa and then this great result away to Juventus. (1-1) Important central midfielder Conti is expected back for this match.

Fiorentina dominated at home to Lecce. Who would have thought anything else? They could not score on the day and their overall display was a huge disappointment. Coach Delio Rossi used a 3-5-2 system with Jovetic and Llajic upfront. It did not work against Lecce, but the formation will get one more chance at Sardinia. I prefer the home win alternative.

Lecce – Chievo 2.65 – 3.05
Strange side Lecce. Their win against Fiorentina was their third away win this season and that is mighty good. A team like Napoli have won three away games, Udinese two and then you know what I mean. At home however, Lecce are winless (0-1-7).

Oddo will be back in their defence, but Carozzieri remains on the sidelines. Corvia is new on their injury list and Mesbah has left for Milan. Giacomazzi will sit out a suspension. Di Michele and Muriel will go forward again.

Chievo look good with Rigoni their only slight doubt. This season Chievo are more one dimensional than previous seasons, meaning that they almost exclusively pick up their three pointers at home in Verona. Lecce will be my choice.

Novara – Milan 8.66 – 1.46
In midweek these two played a Coppa Italia game. Milan were the home team and they won the match after extra time. A much changed Milan side of course. Only Nesta and Emanuelson remained from the derby squad On Sunday we will of course see their first strings again, but both Boateng and Nesta will be suspended. Abbiati, Pato, Aquilani, among others,are injured at the moment. Amelia between the sticks. Seedorf is fit again and Merkel, Mesbah and Strasser are now officially playing for Milan again. Could be that El Shaarawy will start upfront.

Novara also fielded a changed side in the cup, but they could not afford to make as many changes as Milan. For this match Novara will be without the suspended duo Dellafiore and Paci, both defenders. Garcia and Centurioni will be their replacements. Look out for the new Novara strike force, Mascara and Caracciolo. They did not play in the cup. This will be their first home game together. Novara have conceded plenty of goals lately and there is nothing that their strikers can do about that. And missing those defenders? Away win, I guess, but depressing odds, considering the many Milan absentees.

Palermo – Genoa 2.15 – 4.03
The Palermo season is going nowhere, or to put it bluntly, they are nearing the drop zone. Selling players and constantly changing their manager, it is bound to back fire, sooner or later and we are there now. Donati has joined the club and he will start in their midfield. Could be that Ilicic will back up Miccoli and Budan upfront with Pinilla on the bench. Bacinovic is their latest casualty.

Genoa will continue without their trio of defenders, Bovo, Dainelli and Kaladze. Captain M Rossi will be suspended. Sculli has joined the club from Lazio and their present strike force looks interesting. Sculli (or Jankovic), Gilardino and Palacio will do the attacking job. Genoa have conceded eleven goals in their last three games and they look a bit weakened defensively this time. Goals? Yes, I expect quite a few goals. My over game of the week.

Palermo ought to win this fixture. Say 3-2!

Roma – Cesena 1.40 – 11.25
Borini could be preferred to Bojan in the Roma front line joining Lamela and Totti. Their best player, De Rossi, will miss this match. He is one of the few players around that would strengthen any side, including Barcelona. The Cesena squad is quite fit only missing Malonga and Ghezzal.

Roma had to work hard away to Catania to maintain the 1-1 result. The rain was pouring down and then I really mean pouring down and I was impressed by the Roma work rate. Likely home win.

Siena – Napoli 3.87 – 2.20
We all remember the last Siena home game, do we not? They outclassed Lazio 4-0 and their two strikers impressed hugely. In hindsight one has to say that Lazio were hopelessly poor and their starting line up was not up to the usual standard. Siena will miss the suspended Gazzi and Rossettini. Brienza is a doubt. Vergassola and D’Agostino will form their central midfield.

Napoli looked very sterile and short on ideas at home to Bologna. Their old disease, they just cannot dictate their games. Now they missed Lavezzi, their most creative player, the one that can change the rhythm in the game. On Sunday he will be able to make his come back.

If Siena are overly offensive display they will get punished, but a more cautious approach from the home side and they could get something from this match. OK, the draw.

Udinese – Catania 1.71 – 6.00
Still missing their two Africans, but hoping that their defender Domizzi will be fit to play. Isla, a slight doubt. That is Udinese. Catania played a strong game at home to Roma, their best for quite some time. It was one of those Catania home games, when they are almost impossible to defeat and Roma were probably happy that the match was interrupted.

Not the same thing away from home for Catania, but they have only lost three of their nine away fixtures. No Lanzafame, no Capuano for Catania. Udinese are 8-1-0 at home and I would not bet against the home side.

Inter – Lazio 1.71 – 6.01
Happy to hit Milan on the break Inter won the derby. It was not pretty, but it worked. Well, that is the way that Mourinho’s Inter defeated Barcelona, was it not? T Motta will be suspended for this game. Poli or Faraoni could be his replacement. Sneijder from the start?

Lazio miss Brocchi and Mauri, but Hernanes, Cisse and Konko, they are all expected to be fit for this big game. Dias, key defender, will hopefully be fit to play. Lazio will address this game the same way that Inter played against Milan, happy to sit back and wait for the right offensive opportunities. Then find Klose as fast as possible. Lazio have not defeated Inter away from home for more than a decade (0-5-6). 1X game.

The Championship
Peterborough – Brighton 2.10 – 3.77
My choice will be the home win. “We were excellent”, said the Peterboro boss Ferguson after their 0-1 loss against Hull. Right or wrong, but we at least know that Peterboro are not out of form ahead of this match. Both Tomlin and Little were back last week and skipper McCann, as well as T Rowe, could be available for this game.

Brighton, fielding their strongest side, equalised late in their midweek cup game at Wrexham. It was their first real chance of the match and then you should realise how lucky Brighton were drawing the match. They won after the penalty shoot out and 120 minutes of football. Skipper G Greer will return for this game. Surely Peterboro will be the fresher side, the hungrier, better side tomorrow. Backing the home win.

Reading – Hull 2.06 – 4.00
Home win again. Seven league wins out of nine, pretty good Reading form in other words. Hull? After three league losses on the bounce they won at home to Peterborough last week, 1-0 We were fortuitous, said their coach Barmby. Anyway, it was their first goal scored in their last four matches, but obviously not good enough, as Barmby has signed the young Man United striker J King on a loan deal. McAnuff will once again be missing for Reading.

What can I say? Reading are a better side than Hull.

Blackpool at home to Crystal Palace looks like a banker. The odds on the home win are 1.80. Palace, missing the suspended S Scannell, will play the second leg of their all important cup game against Cardiff on Tuesday and there is every reason to question their commitment ahead of tomorrow’s league game. Zaha could be rested for Palace, while Blackpool will be able to call on their skipper B Ferguson. First choice keeper M Gilks will also be available again. Home win for Blackpool.

La Liga
Real Sociedad – Atletico Madrid 3.14 – 2.50
Continuing with my new pastime, backing A Madrid. I cannot really suggest that there is much value on the away win considering the poor away results for A Madrid. Now it looks like A Madrid are a different, more solid side since Simeone became their coach. Simeone’s Atletico have played two games, away to Malaga and at home to Villarreal and they have yet to concede a goal. To keep a clean sheet was practically impossible during the previous regime and their away results were woeful (20 goals conceded in seven away games).

Tiago will not be available for this game and Mario Suarez will most likely be his replacement. Both Dominguez and Perea return from their suspensions Also Silvio is available again. Expect their great offensive foursome to play from the start again.

Real Sociedad are 2-4-2 at home and their home fixtures have been no goal feasts. 7-7, the goals. At the end of the day this A Madrid side are hoping to play in Europe next season, while Real will be happy to avoid the drop. Away win.

Villarreal – Sporting Gijon 1.94 – 4.75
Suggesting the home win alternative. Saddest Villarreal season possible, but they can still be considered a strong home team (3-4-1 at home, despite all). For this match they will able to call on their previously suspended striker M Ruben again and he will join Nilmar in their front line. Still missing are G Rossi and Camunas.

S Gijon have a fit squad at their disposal welcoming back Botia, Lora and Carmelo from suspensions. In my little world Sporting Gijon will always return home pointless from their visit to Villarreal. Villarreal to win.

I seem to be catching Osasuna on their poor days. They played poorly again last week at home to Racing Santander. They lost the match 0-2, their first home loss, and I asked myself, how could they avoid defeat in the other eight home fixtures? Have to oppose Osasuna in the next round! They will play a home game again, this time against Valencia. Terrific, I thought, must be an away win.

Now Valencia played a cup game last night against local rivals Levante. They won the match 4-1, but the question is of course, if they will be 100% ready again for this Sunday fixture, or not. They had it easy against Levante, but two games per week is almost always a concern for me. Anyway, the odds on the Valencia away win is 2.40.