Blackburn will be without their scoring ace Yakubu for the third week running and it also looks like Goodwillie will be missing again but he is not entirely ruled out. Chris Samba is fit, but he will not play tomorrow according to coach Kean. Arsenal as mega favourites? No, thank you, not these days.

Norwich – Bolton 2.10 – 3.95
It has been a while, but Norwich for once played poorly against Sunderland. The Norwich coach admitted as much after their 0-3 loss, but he was not really worried. It was bound to happen, sooner or later. Bounce back time already tomorrow? I should think so.

The Bolton defence has tightened up lately. Well, more or less at the same time that their England international defender G Cahill left them. How do you explain that? And how do you explain that Cahill is a bench warmer at Chelsea? Both the new Bolton recruits Miyaichi and M Sordell could be involved in this fixture. Not yet defender T Ream. I am not saying that this match will definitely be won by Norwich, but if I had to make a choice, the home win would be my pick.

Q P R – Wolves 2.10 – 4.34
D Cisse scored on his debut for QPR. Quite a goal it was, but knowing Cisse from his Sunderland days he will hit the target or hit the corner flag, you never really know and he is bound to drive his supporters crazy. He is simply the best, or the worst. Bobby Zamora will play his first game in the QPR shirt and in defence both Taiwo and Onuoha made their debuts in midweek against A Villa (2-2). Traore and Taarabt are also back in the equation. QPR have done some deals, most of them wise ones, since M Hughes became their manager.

I try to be positive about Wolves and Wigan every now and then, but basically these two sides are doomed, too poor for the Premiership. Their second half against Liverpool certainly gave no hope for the future. Wolves can defend away from home? Fact is that they have drawn their last three away games, all 1-1, and their opponents have been Arsenal, Bolton and Tottenham. Wolves will go on without the suspended K Henry. Bassong has joined the club from Tottenham. Backing the home win every day of the week.

Stoke – Sunderland 2.25 – 3.59
Two straight Stoke losses and I cannot imagine that coach Pulis will allow a third one on the spin. Saying that I must admit that the Stoke home form has been questionable lately. Their last three home games vs. A Villa, Wigan and WBA have resulted in only four points.

Missing quite a few players Sunderland dominated from start to finish at home to Norwich. Fit again F Campbell, out for some 18 months, scored as a substitute in the cup and as a starter against Norwich, he scored two of the Sunderland goals. They say that coach O’Neill knows how to make his players confident, but this thing with F Campbell takes the prize. Frazier Campbell, when was he a prolific goal scorer? N Bendtner, W Brown, D Vaughan and L Cattermole will miss this match but new signings W Bridge and Kyrgiakos could play some part.

Stoke have defeated Sunderland at the Britannia Stadium on a regular basis and this should be their fifth on the trot. Stoke to win.

W B A – Swansea 2.15 – 3.89
Akward game for both sides. WBA have underachieved at the Hawthorns this season (2-2-7) and Swansea are just poor travellers (1-3-7) The draw? Why not! L Ridgewell and K Andrews have signed for WBA and could be involved tomorrow. Shane Long, P Scharner and S Reid are close, according to coach Hodgson, but forget about C Brunt and Z Gera.

It is a painful business to be a betting man, every so often, and the Swansea own goal in the last minute against ten man Chelsea was one of the hurting moments. My suggestion is the draw, why not the 1-1 draw.

Wigan – Everton 3.65 – 2.20
After only one win in ten games and placed at the very bottom of the league table, no doubt, this is a must win game for Wigan. Their last home fixture was against Man City. They lost the match 0-1, but as I recall the match, Wigan had their chances of getting a positive result. Diame has come back from the African Cup and he will start on the Wigan midfield tomorrow. Also Rodallega may start the match.

It was Everton of old against Man City the other day. Taking the lead they always won their matches and that is the way it was against City. There was/is not a better side playing on the 1-0 lead. Pienaar is back for Everton, Jelavic, striker, has joined from Glasgow Rangers and Saha has gone to Tottenham. Sounds as if Everton have done some good deals. The odds on display (3.65) force me to back the home win. I just cannot accept Everton as away favourites and odds close to evens.

Manchester City – Fulham 1.30 – 12.24
City did not deserve to lose against Everton, but they did not deserve to win the match either. Where is their creative spark these days? Do we have wait till Spring time? Too late by then. They will still be without the two Toures and Balotelli. D Pizarro, ex – Roma midfielder, could come in contention for this match. He can play some great football, but I know nothing of his present form. Balotelli remains suspended.

Fulham had to play with C Demsey as their lone striker at home to WBA. Both Dembele and A Johnson were on their injury list and B Zamora had left for QPR. Their new striker, the Russian international Pogrebnyak will not take part in this game, but Dembele will be available again. Also their keeper M Schwarzer will return. Home win, I guess.

Newcastle – Aston Villa 2.10 – 4.02
Missing Tiote and Cabaye again, but hoping to include Demba Ba and P Cisse in their squad, the latest from the Newcastle camp. “We were plain lucky”, statement from their coach after their 1-0 win against Blackburn. Missing all these players and still winning away from home. Luck for sure, but says a lot about the Newcastle character this season.

A sloppy start from Villa made their task extremely difficult at home to QPR. Down 0-2 they fought back, drawing the match. Agbonlahor was missing, but fit again N’Zogbia started the match and he also scored one of their goals. Agbonlahor is once again a major injury doubt. Also Albrighton and J Collins are struggling.

Was it last season, no the season before, when Newcastle defeated Villa 6-0, with a certain A Carroll in scoring form. Villa are 3-6-2 away from home and I look upon this fixture as 1X game.

Chelsea – Manchester Utd 2.60 – 3.06
For the first time in ages I ask myself. Should Chelsea be the favourites in this encounter? Chelsea and also Arsenal, for that matter, cannot really match the top three at this moment. I am taking a risk when I am saying this, but as I said last week, I am still waiting for the really “big” Chelsea game. No A Cole for this match, no Ramires, no Lampard and we are bound to see G Cahill at last playing from the start in the Chelsea defence. John Terry could play.

United have problems of their own. Could be that their third choice keeper Amos may stand between the sticks again, as both De Gea and Lindegaard are on their injury list. Lindegaard is definitely out of this match, but it looks like De Gea will play after all. W Rooney, Nani, A Young and T Cleverley have all made a most timely return to the United squad for this match. P Jones is out injured. Looking good for United and they will get my vote in this fixture.

Liverpool – Tottenham 2.20 – 3.86
S Gerrard was rested in midweek, when Liverpool defeated Wolves 3-0. It was a dominant display and the excellent Liverpool form is intact. Gerrard will return for this Monday fixture and finally L Suarez will be back from his suspension period.

Van der Vaart, J Defoe and A Lennon will probably miss out on this match, but K Walker should be fit and hopefully Adebayor as well. Pavlyuchenko has left the club, but instead Tottenham have recruited L Saha from Everton. He could play on Monday. This fixture excites me much more than the Chelsea – Man United encounter. It is always exciting watching Spurs and you know that Liverpool will play offensive, aggressive football at Anfield. Goals from both parties, but the Liverpool squad is fitter and they are motivated favourites. Home win, say 2-1 and then a small bet on the 2-2 result.

La Liga
Atletico Madrid – Valencia 2.10 – 3.90
Easy choice. A Madrid to win their fourth successive league game. There is absolutely no reason for not backing them this time, although the odds on the home win are a bit on the low side. Then again we all are, including the bookies, aware of the hectic Valencia schedule. They played the first leg of their cup semi final in midweek against Barcelona (1-1) and in a few days time they will visit the Camp Nou for the second leg. Valencia are pretty safe in the league and no way that they will be using their best players in this league game. Definitely missing will be the suspended duo Feghouli and R Costa.

The A Madrid defence held tight again at Osasuna earlier this week. In control for most of the game they struggled a bit late in the game. For this match both Diego and Gabi will be back in contention and Fran Merida has returned to the club from his stint in Portugal.

Home winner.

Real Zaragoza – Rayo Vallecano 2.51 – 3.10
Last chance saloon for the home side. I give them a decent chance of grasping this last straw. A loss for Zaragoza and I think that their new coach Jimenez can start preparing for the second division. The Zaragoza form? Decent, I think, since Jimenez took charge of their affairs. They lost away to Real Madrid last week 1-3 and the week before that they went for the 0-0 draw at Levante. They achieved their mission. Fit striker Aranda, Apono and Dujmovic, all late signings, will play from the start in this match and A Tomas will also be available again.

Rayo have played some good football lately, but they have still ended up on the losing side. Bad luck, or poor finishing, I cannot say. Anyway, their front man Raul Tamudo will miss this game. Pacheco is back in training. Four of their last games have been away fixtures. Time for a Zaragoza home fixture and I suggest that they will be the winners.

Real Mallorca – Real Betis 2.26 – 3.52
Betis were awful last week and I have Mallorca as winners in this game. The home win is over priced. Calatayud will replace the suspended Aouate in the Mallorca goal. Betis will travel without their wing back Nacho.

An old cliche, but Mallorca are stronger than their league position indicates and on the island they usually handle team like Betis quite well. They should defeat them. Home winner.

Serie A
Cesena – Catania 2.55 – 3.10
I do not know if Cesena had given up or what, but Mutu did not play against Napoli in midweek. The match ended in a 0-0 draw, an excellent result for Cesena. Mutu will start in this game and Iaquinta will be part of their squad. Moras is out injured and Guana will sit out a suspension.

The Siena – Catania fixture was cancelled. Almiron and Legrottaglie will be back playing for Catania and Capuano could also be involved. Considering the relatively poor away results for Catania one has to say that the odds on the home win is worth backing. Home winner.

Roma – Inter 2.50 – 3.00
Cannot say that I was surprised to see Roma going down 2-4 against Cagliari. I am aware of the fact that I suggested the draw result, but I have said more than once lately that Roma are not the same when De Rossi is missing. Now de Rossi will be back tomorrow and also Pjanic should be available again.

In a wintery game of football Inter drew 4-4 against the notorious poor travellers from Palermo. Coach Ranieri was pleased, great game of football, according to him. Samuel was missing in their defence, but he is expected back for this match. Sneijder suffered an injury, but according to the player, he should be fit. Motta has gone to Paris, but Palombo will cover for him. Suggesting the score draw.

Genoa – Lazio 2.70 – 2.85
No game for Genoa in midweek and they will have the same group of players available for this game as was intended against Atalanta. Some defensive worries, in other words.

Without the injured M Klose Lazio managed to defeat Milan 2-0. I was thinking about backing Lazio until I found out that Klose was missing. Who said that betting on football is easy? Both Klose and Hernanes are doubts for this game. Genoa playing and an over game is on the cards again. 3-2, 2-2 or 2-3!

Chievo – Parma 2.35 – 3.35
Rare away win for Chievo last night. Hopeless Novara were beaten 2-1 and Chievo were full value for their win. Chievo will miss the suspended Hetemaj.

Zaccardo will be back in the Parma defence and Mariga, in from Inter, will be part of the Parma squad. Donadoni will probably use Biabiany, Giovinco and Floccari in their front line again. Donadoni’s Parma have played three games, still unbeaten and both the away fixtures have ended in draws. My guess is that Parma will not lose this match.

Fiorentina – Udinese 2.55 – 3.00
The Bologna – Fiorentina fixture was postponed, while Udinese won their home game against Lecce earlier this week. Fiorentina will face Udinese with Amauri and Jovetic as their two front runners. Armero will be back in the Udinese midfield joining among others new Udinese midfielder Pazienza, who scored on his debut against Lecce. Defence man Benatia is back from Africa, but his colleague Danilo will be suspended this time. Ferronetti will be his replacement. Abdi will probably be preferred to Floro Flores behind Di Natale. Fiorentina traditionally win this fixture and 2.55 on the home win is worth backing.

Juventus – Siena 1.31 – 11.50
Match free midweek for both these sides. It worked to the better for Juventus, as their main rivals Milan were beaten and then they will also have the previously injured forward Vucinic back for this match.

Siena miss the injured Bolzoni. Bogdani is nowadays a Siena player. Siena are 0-4-6 away from home and how do you find argument for a positive Siena result? You do not!

Lecce – Bologna 2.35 – 3.35
Quite good Lecce form despite their loss against Udinese. They won their last home game, 1-0 vs. Inter. Both Cuadrado and new singing Delvecchio will most likely start on their midfield in this match. Blasi and Carozzieri could also start and Bojinov will also be included in their squad. Upfront the ever productive Di Michele and Muriel, but maybe we will also see Bojinov in action. Nothing new on the Bologna horizon. They will pick from the same squad that they had in mind against Fiorentina the other day. 1X game.

Novara – Cagliari 2.70 – 2.80
New coach, synthetic pitch and freezing conditions, surely the home side Novara ought to have won their home game against Chievo, or at least avoided the defeat. No, Novara lost the six pointer game and they are now seven points from safety. Their cause is a lost one, is it not? Jensen will replace the suspended Radovanovic in this game. The only good thing yesterday was that Mascara scored their goal vs. Chievo.

Cagliari will be without their play maker Cossu, who will be suspended. He has a lot of the ball when he is playing and it is definitely a big disadvantage for Cagliari that he is out of this match. Ekdal will cover for Cossu. Novara need more than Cossu’s absence to win this match. X2 game.

Palermo – Atalanta 1.90 – 4.75
Miccoli, the Palermo ace, had one of those special days away to Inter. He scored three of their four goals and on his day he is close to unstoppable. No guarantee, no guarantee at all, that he will be on song in this match.

Palermo will go on with an unchanged squad missing Migliaccio, Hernandez and Bacinovic.

Atalanta will play without their leading striker Denis and then Padoin has left the club. Sounds like we will have a home win in this match.

Milan – Napoli 1.75 – 5.75
I guess that the word “uninspired” summons up the Milan effort against Lazio. Why, I do not know, maybe it was too cold. Van Bommel, Ambrosini and Nocerino, not the most creative midfield around, I would say. Emanuelson will probably start in this match, Seedorf as well. Mexes will replace Nesta in their defence.

Mazzarri’s Napoli keep on playing poorly in the league. Waiting for Chelsea and the Champions League? Sure thing, but how about being in form, when you will be facing Chelsea. Rest assured that their famous trio Hamsik, Lavezzi and Cavani will start against Milan. Key defender Cannavaro could be missing again. Napoli will enjoy playing this match and we all know they have the winning potential. Anyway the odds on the home win are a joke.

The Championship
Birmingham – Southampton 2.20 – 3.78
Backing the home side. Birmingham are in fantastic form. Home or away, they have been putting away the goals lately with eighteen goals scored in their last five games. In midweek Zigic scored all their four goals away to Leeds and the Leeds manager was all of sudden an unemployed man. You know the Birmingham home statistics (9-4-0). Zigic suffered an injury scoring his fourth goal, but according to coach Hughton there is every chance that Zigic will recover in time for this big game. Marlon King, striker of course, will also be available and N’Daw is back from the African Cup.

Billy Sharp will make his debut in the Southampton offence. One of the best in the Championship. Also D Hammond will be back in contention. Southampton have struggled lately and they probably needed a player like Sharp to kick start their season again. Southampton away from home? 4-4-5, and that is not impressive. Birmingham will be my pick.

Derby – Nottingham Forrest 2.31 – 3.75
Just because it is a hot derby game the odds on the home win are hugely overpriced. Maximum 1.80 on the home win would be my suggestion. Nottingham have been in terrible form of late and their change of manager made absolutely no difference.

Derby are seventeen points ahead of Nottingham in the league table and they can still reach the play offs. I do not think that they are good enough to reach this target, but their problems are of a different kind than the Nottingham worries who risk going down to division one. W Morgan, key defender, has just left Nottingham and instead they have recruited the Stoke defender Higginbotham. Gueidora and S Wooton are also new Nottingham players. Captain L Chambers will be back for this match.

N Tyson could be back in the Derby front line, but top scorer T Robinson is a major doubt also this week. Derby are 8-2-4 at home. Reasonably strong home side, in other words. Derby to win.

QPR were toothless against Chelsea in the cup. No wonder as their strikers, Helgusson, Bothroyd and DJ Campbell are on their injury list. Buzsaky is a major injury doubt. They hope to sing D Cisse in time for this game. Signing Cisse, that is taking a big risk. Diakite, Nancy midfielder, has joined QPR and it looks like B Zamora is on his way to QPR. Zamora would be a great signing. So maybe QPR will have a fit striker tomorrow? Many question marks at this stage. Villa ought to win this fixture.

Blackburn – Newcastle 2.70 – 2.79
Fittest Blackburn squad of the season at the moment. They have to manage without the suspended front man Yakubu and that is of course a big blow, but they managed reasonably well without the Nigerian against Everton. Chris Samba, playing or not? Probably not.

Newcastle hope to play with their two Africans D Ba and P D Cisse tomorrow. It does not look likely though. Coloccini will hopefully be available again.

Blackburn defeated Newcastle in the Carling Cup after extra time, but they were knocked out by Newcastle in the FA Cup, with Newcastle scoring a very late winning goal. Blackburn fielded mostly fringe players. You know me, I like backing Blackburn.

Bolton – Arsenal 5.58 – 1.73
Just above the drop zone, at last for Bolton. This may be the case, but they still need reinforcements in my opinion. I respect their coach, but they have never really been able to replace Elmander and Sturridge. And nowadays no Cahill. New American defender T Ream is not likely to play tomorrow, but fellow defender T Mears could earn his first starting role and most likely fit again Jaaskelainen in their goal.

What happened to Arsenal against Villa could prove to a most pivotal moment for the Gunners’ season. So close to suffering their third loss on the trot and I do not even want to think about all the negative effects from such a loss. Now there is relief around the Emirates again, but we must not forget that Arsenal have on going scoring problems at the moment. Two goals vs. Villa were penalties and their third goal just a fluke goal. B Sagna is fit again and he could play tomorrow. Maybe Arsenal should win this game, but this 1.73 will not do.

Fulham – W B A 1.91 – 4.77
A typical home team against a typical away side. Strange head line, but after 22 league rounds it is absolutely correct to call WBA a very strong side on their travels (5-2-4 this far). Fulham? One of the most one sided Premiership sides these last couple of seasons. Dembele and O Sa remain sidelined for Fulham.

I get the feeling that the WBA coach Hodgson was quite pleased after their cup loss against Norwich. He took no risks, starting with mostly fringe players. J Olsson, Odemwingie, S Long and so on, they will all be back for this match, but C Brunt and Z Gera are injured. Major doubts are Scharner, J Thomas and Jara-Reyes The outcome? Do not know really, but the odds on the home win are way too short.

Sunderland – Norwich 1.94 – 4.75
Funny odds! Norwich to win and odds like 4.75. A must not avoid price. N Bendtner, W Brown, D Vaughan and L Cattermole look set to miss tomorrow’s match. Cattermole has the best chance of recovering. Wayne Bridge is about to sign for Sunderland.

Norwich are 4-2-0 in their last competitive games, one of the form cards in this division, in other words. Coach Lambert used a mixed side in the cup vs. WBA, while Sunderland relied on their A – teamers vs. Boro in the derby. Advantage Norwich tomorrow and they have a quite fit squad at their disposal. Backing the away win.

Serie A
Atalanta – Genoa 2.39 – 3.48
Back on the winning track again, this Atalanta side, after their 1-0 win at Cesena. They just about deserved the three points. Their leading scorer Denis will be suspended for this game and veteran striker Tiribocchi will most likely replace him upfront.

Lovely side Genoa. My over bets , both involving Genoa, never were in danger with thirteen goals scored in their last two games. Tomorrow? No over bet this time. Constant could be back for tomorrow’s game, but Bovo, Dainelli, Rossi and Veloso remain on the sidelines. Belluschi (Porto) and a Brazilian, P Carvalho are about to sign for the club.

Denis playing for the home side and the home win would be my choice, but now I will rest my case.

Bologna – Fiorentina 2.78 – 3.00
A bit surprisingly maybe, but Bologna absolutely deserved their point away to Roma. For this match they will able to call on one of their best offensive assets G Ramirez again.

Amauri was immediately thrown into action alongside Jovetic for his new club Fiorentina. Say what you like about Amauri, but he definitely needs a lot of marking in the penalty area. Good thing for Jovetic.

Olivera has joined Fiorentina from Lecce, but he will be suspended for this game. Quite possible that there will be snow on the Bologna pitch tomorrow. This match looks destined to end in a draw, a 1-1 draw.

Cagliari – Roma 3.10 – 2.57
Away to Milan Cagliari never seemed to be in real danger after some 30 minutes, but after the Ibrahimovic wonder goal there was never any way back for the Sardinians. I do not know what to say about their overall contribution. Looking for the 0-0 probably.

Roma without De Rossi go down in quality, no doubt about that, and he will be missing again. Pjanic is a serious doubt, with Perrotta likely to join Simplicio and Gago on their midfield.

Poor Italians, they are not used to playing twice a week and we could have some upsets in this midweek round. This match has also a draw written all over it. The odds are 3.27.

Inter – Palermo 1.50 – 8.28
Despite a very dominant performance Inter ended up on the losing side away to Lecce. Two Inter goals were disallowed and the Lecce keeper played an outstanding game. A fit Sneijder was substituted at half time, not a popular choice with the Dutchman.

Ranieri, the Tinker man, is doing things his way, but he is usually at his best, when he is “repairing “ his teams, in the early days. T Motta is back in their squad.

Budan has started to score goals for Palermo and this I could never foresee. Miccoli and Budan will play in the Palermo front line again backed up by Ilicic. Very likely home win, yes, even a banker.

Lazio – Milan 3.33 – 2.40
When will Lazio defeat one of the top sides in Serie A? As they are defeating most of the other teams Lazio are still in contention for a place in the Champions League next season.

Brocchi and Mauri remain out and D Cisse has been sold to QPR. Honda will replace Cisse (not in this game) and that is good business by Lazio.

Milan will have T Silva back in their defence for this match sending Mexes to the bench. Maxi Lopez could play his first minutes in the Milan shirt. Ambrosini is a likely starter.

Milan, fielding a mixed side, defeated Lazio in the cup last week, 3-1, at the San Siro stadium. Ibrahimovic scored their third goal late in the game, coming on as a late substitute. I cannot really accept Milan as away favourites against Lazio.

Napoli – Cesena 1.36 – 13.08
Keeping Cavani on the bench for most of the game against Genoa was not a wise choice by the Napoli coach Mazzarri. Also Inler was kept out of their starting line up. Cavani and Inler will start tomorrow, but Napoli have to manage without the suspended Lavezzi. Cannavaro will be rested with Fernandez replacing him in defence.

Rossi will be back in the Cesena defence. Mutu and Malonga upfront this time. Iaquinta, the Juve striker, has just joined the club.

Napoli cannot be trusted when it comes to the league, but I guess that they want to bounce back from their loss against Genoa. Then again who needs this 1.36 on the home win!

Siena – Catania 2.15 – 4.03
Derby loss for Siena at Fiorentina. They had a lot of the ball, but Fiorentina were the dangerous side of the two and deserved their 2-1 win. Siena look alright ahead of this six pointer game, but defence man Terzi is considered a major doubt.

Both Legrottaglie and Almiron will be back from their suspensions and could start for Catania again. Capuano is not yet fit. Decent home side, Siena and they will get my vote this time.

Udinese – Lecce 1.46 – 8.73
Missing their Africans, the injured Pinzi and now also the suspended Armero, Udinese are a bit stretched ahead of this match. Udinese matched Juventus all the way last week despite their absentees. Batocchio will earn his first starting role.

Two Lecce starters against Inter, Cruzado and Olivera, will not be involved in this game. Obodo and Bertolacci will start on their midfield and Blasi is a slight doubt. Bojinov, striker, has rejoined Lecce.

Udinese are 9-1-0 at home, deserved favourites in other words, but they are missing four-five starting players, are they not?

Novara – Chievo 2.70 – 3.02
Must win game for Novara. Well, all their home games from now on are must win games. They were better than Palermo in the first half at the weekend, but they could not find the Palermo net. In the second half Palermo took over the match.

We are still waiting on the first Mascara and Caracciolo goals in the Novara shirt. The Novara coach has been sacked and they will have a new manager, Mondonico, leading the team on Thursday. He will have Gemiti back in the line up. Rigoni risks missing also this match for Chievo. New coach and everything. OK, backing Novara for once.

Copa del Rey, semi final, first leg
Valencia – Barcelona 6.00 – 1.67
I guess that I have to make an attempt with the outsider. OK, it was more fun backing Villarreal, as the odds were more than double this 6.00. Then again Valencia in a single game are probably more than 100% better than Villarreal, so it evens out.

High pressing will be the Valencia tactics. You need courage and workaholics to play like that against Barcelona, but it has worked before. Barcelona have played a lot lately, so have Valencia, but their two quarter finals against Levante were like summer picnics, while Barcelona were forced to empty their resources 100% against the “league winners” Real Madrid. Barcelona will travel without Pedro, Iniesta and D Villa. Not to ignore, Pinto will stand between the sticks.

Rest assured that the Valencia coach will pick his eleven hardest workers for this match. It is a two legged affair and it is not the end of the world for the Catalans, should they lose this match by the odd goal. Home winner.

Chelsea are doing alright, I guess, but not much better than that. I am waiting for their big game, but it never comes. Chelsea could have F Lampard back (50/50 chance), but they have lost his midfield colleague Ramirez to an injury.

Swansea scored three goals against Arsenal, but I do not think that the Chelsea defence will be as generous as their Arsenal colleagues. This match can go either way and consequently the odds on the home win have to backed.

Tottenham – Wigan 1.25 – 16.44
Spurs played a terrible cup game against Watford. Quality players like Modric and Adebayor were a joke. Tottenham won the match 1-0, but a similar effort against Wigan and they will definitely end up on the losing side. I do not think that it will be like that, but a warning is called for.

Tottenham started without wing players at Watford, but at least G Bale is expected back for this match. A Lennon is a major doubt, hamstring problem, and this has happened to J Defoe as well. Ledley King could return. Beausejour, the former Birmingham midfielder, has joined Wigan and he will be in their squad for this game. Missing will be Alcaraz and Diame.

I have no intention of backing this 1.25 on the home win, but it has to do with the rotten odds. Likely home winner.

Wolves – Liverpool 5.22 – 1.77
This is going to be interesting. I do not think that I am the only one that expects Liverpool to offer a below par display after their cup heroics last week. It has happened before this season that Liverpool have underperformed away from home (5-1-5 so far). Dalglish will be desperate to lift his players, but he did not have much success last time around at Bolton. Squad wise Liverpool are OK, only missing the injured Spearing and the suspended L Suarez. Dalglish will most certainly freshen things up for this match. He made four changes at the weekend and there will be something similar tomorrow.

Wolves played no game at the weekend. They will be without the suspended K Henry.

You know Wolves and their qualities or lack of qualities, but rest assured that they will offer a committed, spirited display tomorrow and if their opponents are not ready to take the fight, the battles, then Wolves could cause an upset. I am closer to backing the home win.

Everton – Manchester City 4.75 – 1.90
Deserved cup win for Everton against Fulham. Their dead ball situations always caused big problems for the Fulham defenders. Coach Moyes gave Stracqualursi a chance to splay from the start in their front line and he rewarded Moyes by scoring his first goal in the Everton shirt. The Everton injury list remains the same.

For once Man City enjoyed a match free weekend and they will extra optimistic ahead of this game, as Kompany will return from his suspension. No Balotelli, however. I could never back Chelsea away to Swansea or Liverpool away to Wolves, but this away win will get my support.

Manchester Utd – Stoke 1.29 – 14.75
To win the league title you need an excellent goal keeper and that is why Man United probably can forget about winning the title this season. The Liverpool equaliser the other day was a horrible goal to concede for a keeper, any keeper.

W Rooney did not play vs. Liverpool and, together with P Jones, he also risks missing this match. R Ferdinand is more likely to be available. No Nani.

You recall how Stoke recently managed a 0-0 draw at Anfield. They had little or practically no offensive ambition, but it worked just fine and fact is that Liverpool created very few openings. I have said it before. Stoke achieve better results this season away from home than previous seasons. One injury doubt for Stoke and that is their winger M Etherington. So maybe United will be the winners, but 1.29 will not do.

Serie A
Parma – Juventus 5.09 – 1.83
Donadoni’s Parma remain unbeaten after three games. Just the results that an Italian coach is looking for, two away draws and one home win. This will of course be the first real test for his Parma side. Biabiany, Floccari and Giovinco, their front men. Dangerous? I think so. Okaka and Jonathan, their new signings both featured as substitutes last week. Defender Zaccardo will return from his suspension and their keeper Mirante is fit again.

Juventus will include both Marchisio and Pepe in their squad, but Vucinic looks set to miss out again. X2 game.

Okaka, the Roma striker, has joined Parma and Jonathan as well. The defender Zaccardo, will be suspended for this match and Brandao or Jonathan will replace him. Donadoni’s Parma remain unbeaten, but winning at home to Siena and drawing at Bologna, I consider quite normal results. Still positive vibes at the Parma club. Catania played a strong game in their last home fixture, the interrupted 1-1 vs. Roma and they will get my vote this time.

Juventus – Udinese 1.70 – 6.97
A much changed Juventus side dominated in the cup against Roma (3-0 win). Del Piero and Borriello, for instance, played in their front line. Marchisio and Pepe are on their way of recovering for this match and it now looks like only Vucinic is sure to be missing. Vidal a doubt though.

Udinese will continue without their two Africans and now also Pinzi will be unavailable for this big fixture. Isla is considered a major injury doubt and young Batocchio is on stand bye.

Thanks to their outstanding home results Udinese belong to the top group in Serie A, but away from home they have not played like a top side (2-4-3 this far). Likely home win, but disappointing odds.

Fiorentina – Siena 1.83 – 5.43
Without their injured offensive ace Jovetic Fiorentina were happy to play out a 0-0 draw at Cagliari last week. Jovetic is expected back for this match and Amauri, the once great Brazilian striker, has joined Fiorentina. I say once, because it has been a while since Amauri was a big threat. Well, he has not played much lately, not at all this season. Anyway he could be a hit for the home club, later on, I mean. Munari will be suspended.

Siena will be able to call on their previously suspended duo Gazzi and Rosettini. This derby finished 0-0 in December, but I should think that Fiorentina will be the winners on Sunday.

Cesena – Atalanta 2.70 – 2.98
Outclassed, almost humiliated last week, Cesena away to Roma (1-5). Since then Eder has left the club, but it is definitely no tragedy, if you know what I mean. Pudil, the Czech international, has joined Cesena and he will play from the start in their defence. A second defender, Moras, has joined the club and he will also make his debut in this match. V Rennella, never heard of him, could play upfront alongside Mutu. So quite a few changes for Cesena.

Atalanta have played and lost against three top clubs on the trot and they are desperately hoping to return to winning ways again. Bellini, Brighi and Capelli remain on the sidelines, but Lucchini returns from his suspension. To avoid losing this match is crucial for both teams. I can see myself backing the draw.

Genoa – Napoli 3.56 – 2.30
Their Georgian defender Kaladze will be back in the Genoa defence, possibly also M Rossi, but Constant, Veloso, Dainelli and Bovo will not make it. Napoli played against Inter in the cup in midweek (2-0 winners) and their squad could be a bit stretched on Sunday. Napoli rarely enjoy playing twice a week and so far they have lost points on a regular basis after midweek encounters.

I do not expect eight goals like last week, but the over alternative looks like a likely outcome again. Genoa have some decent strikers, but their defensive line cannot be trusted. Napoli will be happy to hit Genoa on the break and they will get their openings. I prefer the odds on the home win.

Lecce – Inter 6.46 – 1.62
Down 0-2 at home to Chievo last week it looked like the usual routine for Lecce. Losing their home games, I mean. This time they fought back and managed a very late equaliser.

Lecce are 0-2-7 at home and it cannot be worse than that, can it? They will miss Ferrario, Esposito and Corvia this time, but Giacomazzi will return. Blasi amd Miglionico have signed on for the club.

Inter played against Napoli in the cup, using a very strong side. For this match they will hopefully be able to call on Lucio, Pazzini and Nagatomo again. They were not fit to play in midweek. Likely away win, no doubt about that.

Roma – Bologna 1.45 – 10.50
The Roma starting line up against Juventus in the Coppa Italia looked stronger than the Juventus line up. The games are not decided on paper and the comfortable 3-0 win for Juventus is all the proof you need. Roma have to manage without their ace De Rossi again. Borini and Juan will probably send Bojan and S Kjaer to the bench. Cassetti is fit again.

No G Ramirez for Bologna, but Diamanti is back and, together with their big talent Taider, he will back up their front man Di Vaio. The Roma league form has been quite excellent and I will more or less ignore their cup loss, suggesting a very likely home win.

Milan – Cagliari 1.36 – 13.60
Fielding a side dominated by second choices Milan defeated Lazio in the cup. Their injury list contains quite a few strong names, but Milan will be able to send out a decent starting line up vs. Cagliari. Looking like their winning side at Novara plus the returning defender Nesta. Seedorf impressed in midweek and he may start again. Could be that El Shaarawy, Robinho and Ibrahimovic will start in their front line.

Conti or Ekdal on the Cagliari midfield? Only unsettled issue. Pinilla has left Palermo and he is now officially a Cagliari player. Cagliari just recently managed a 1-1 draw at Juventus, rather deservedly so, and this 1.36 on the home win is way too short. I prefer 1.45 on the Roma home win, even 1.62 on the Inter away win to this 1.36.

Chievo – Lazio 3.07 – 2.68
Much like their opponents Siena, Chievo changed their side on basically all positions in their midweek cup quarter final. We are in Italy and this procedure seems to be OK for all parties. Chievo are in healthy form and they have been quite a force home in Verona this far (5-3-1). Traditionally, however, they struggle at home to Lazio. The important duo Pelissier and Rigoni are struggling with injuries and they will probably miss this match.

Lazio continue losing against the top teams in Serie A. This week they have been beaten by Inter and Milan. A bit unlucky against Inter, but their rather strong squad should have done better against Milan in midweek. They like facing Chievo, they do not mind playing away from home and my pick will be the away win.

Palermo – Novara 1.57 – 8.77
Just in time Mutti’s Palermo came alive last week scoring five goals at home to Genoa. The only slight problem is that they conceded three goals. Pisano, their defender, will be back for this match hopefully strengthening the Palermo defence. Zahavi will also be available again.

Although Novara certainly look doomed they will keep on trying. Away from home they have managed two draws and that is all (0-2-7). Lisuzzo could return for this match, Dellafiore and Paci definitely, but Ludi, Centurioni and Marianini are on their injury list.

Trusting Palermo as big favourites is not easily done, but Mascara and Caracciolo have to improve immensely for Novara, or they will lose again.

La Liga
Osasuna – Atletico Madrid 3.32 – 2.50
Quite happy with the odds on the away win. Backing Atletico Madrid for the third week running. Simeone’s A Madrid have yet to concede a single goal and after their 0-0 draw at Malaga they have scored seven goals in two games. Falcao, their top scorer, A Turan and Mirandes have been away this week, but they will all be back for this Monday fixture. Tiago, midfielder, will return from his suspension, but two other midfielders Gabi and Diego will be suspended for this match. Maybe M Suarez will continue on their midfield, or Koke, Pizzi or Salvio will get the nod. No Diego is a bit of a blow, I admit that, but at the moment A Madrid can manage without the talented Brazilian.

Osasuna played a drab game again, this time at home to Valencia. The match ended in a 1-1 draw and Osasuna were as goodor as bad as Valencia, deserving their late equaliser. K Sola, Echaide, Masoud, Roversio and the important Ibrahim remain on the sidelines. Nekounam has been cleared to play. What can Osasuna do to stop A Madrid? Not much in my opinion. Away winner.

Levante – Getafe 2.59 – 3.20
Backing the away win. Getafe play their season best football with 3-2-0 in their last five league games. Last week they deservedly won their second away game of the season, this time against Racing Santander. Squad wise they look OK ahead of this game.

Levante played their third league game on the spin without scoring at the weekend, 0-0 at home to Zaragoza, it was a terrible affair. Maybe they suffered a bit after their cup game at Valencia, but it will be the same thing this week, as Levante played the second leg against Valencia earlier this week. They lost again, this time 0-3. Lousy Levante form and too many games lately. Botelho and Serrano, no world beaters, have joined the club and veteran defender Ballesteros and Juanfran will be available again. Missing among others, Valdo, Juanlu and Barkero. Getafe to win.

Valencia will travel to Santander for a game against Racing. The odds on the away win are 2.25. Valencia started with several of their best players on the bench in their midweek cup derby game against Levante. They were 2-0 up after half an hour and the match turned out to be more of a training session for Valencia. Usually I call midweek fixtures a disadvantage, but not this time. Soldado, Jonas, Banega, Feghouli and Rami were placed on the bench vs. Levante. Albelda will be missing for this match.

Racing will be able to call on their ever running Munitis again, but instead Colsa and Stuani are injury doubts. Difference in class here and my choice will be the away win.

Villarreal at home to Barcelona? Now is it not possible that Barcelona for once will offer a below par display this weekend after their cup encounters vs. Real Madrid? By the way. How could they be 2-0 up at half time against Real? Anyway both Iniesta and A Sanchez will be missing for Barcelona.

Villarreal were an improved side earlier this week winning with ease against S Gijon, but they have to tighten up their defence for this fixture. The odds on the home win are 14.50 and that is the interesting part.

FA Cup fixtures
Stevenage – Notts Co 2.05 – 3.88
League one clash and the home win will be my choice. Both knocked out Championship sides in the previous round. Notts won away to Doncaster and Stevenage took a bigger scalp, winning away to Reading.

Stevenage have lost once in their last fifteen games and in midweek they impressed hugely defeating play off rivals MK Dons 4-2. Not many sides are scoring four goals against the Dons. Gary Smith is their new manager. He watched the game against the Dons from the stands and this will be his first game in charge. Players like D Cowan, S Long, C Aneke and R Shroot hope to involved, but why should their new boss make any changes?

Notts also played a midweek game at home to Preston and the match ended 0-0. Two wins in their last ten games explain why Stevenage are eleven points ahead of Notts in the league table. The cup tied defender K Freeman will not play tomorrow, but J Kelly could be back. Their injury list remains the same. Stevenage to win.

Bolton – Swansea 2.48 – 3.01
The Swansea boss is openly declaring that he will shuffle his pack for this cup game. His side will face Chelsea on Tuesday, while Bolton are up against Arsenal Wednesday night. My guess is that Swansea will make more changes than Bolton and the home win is probably overpriced here.

Bolton defeated Liverpool 3-1 in their last league game and we can forget about their earlier home complex. They have signed a strong American defender Tim Ream, but he will not play tomorrow. J Jaaskelainen could be back in the Bolton goal. Alan Tate will make his come back for Swansea in this game, but S Caulker will not be available. Bolton will be my choice.

Everton – Fulham 2.10 – 4.08
The home side will go on without the injured P Jagielka, S Distin, L Osman and J Rodwell, but T Hibbert is expected back to their squad. Fulham miss O Sa, Dembele and M Schwarzer. Everton are 1-2-2 in their last five home games and then you should know that they have not played against any of the strongest sides, with Stoke being the highest place side of their opponents. You know what I am saying about Everton, they score maximum one goal per game. Boring side.

Fulham have stronger offensive potential than Everton, no doubt about that, but they too often underperform on their travels (1-5-5). Everton won away to Fulham in the league and maybe they will defeat Jol’s side again.

Liverpool – Manchester Utd 2.70 – 2.86
We all know the circumstances. No midweek game for United, while Liverpool played the second leg of the Carling Cup semi final against Man City. Advantage United tomorrow for sure, but it would have been a bigger advantage, had Liverpool not reached the final.

The best Liverpool player the other day, C Bellamy, will most likely be rested tomorrow and there will be one more or additional changes, I am sure of that.

United can not depend on Nani and both R Ferdinand and P Jones are struggling with injuries. Facing United, surely Liverpool will play a committed game again. On Tuesday, however, when they will travel to Wolves, there is every chance that they will underperfom, like they did against Bolton. Early kick off on Saturday and I expect a replay in ten days.

Arsenal – Aston Villa 1.62 – 6.31
There is something about Arsenal at the moment. Short on confidence, it seems, and the away win is hugely overpriced, in my opinion. Villa have nothing to lose, they have match winners in their side and they can pose a big threat to any Premiership side on their day. Not so long ago they visited Stamford Bridge for a game with Chelsea and Villa returned home with a 3-1 win. Both E Heskey and S Ireland will be back for this cup game, but N’Zogbia will be missing.

Sunderland play in the cup and they will face their Northern rivals Middlesbrough. Hot derby game and the 1.73 offered on the Sunderland home win could be a trap. At least I was thinking along these lines. Now Middlesbrough are in their worst form of the season and they have to manage without two midfielders on Sunday, J Arca and K Thomson, both suspended. A third midfielder, N Bailey, is injured at the moment.

Sunderland are doing great and although they will be without their front man N Bendtner they will get my vote. C Wickham already replaced Bendther after 12 minutes against Swansea and he could do so again, or Ji, or fit again F Campbell will be alternatives. Very likely home win.

W B A – Norwich 2.00 – 4.11
Just recently WBA lost to Norwich 1-2 at the Hawthorns. The home side dominated the match, they should have had three penalties, according to their coach Hodgson, but Norwich won the game thanks to two beautiful counter attacks. Now the WBA coach is saying that he will pick his players very carefully for this cup game. What’s important is their two league games next week and we will see a much changed WBA side tomorrow. A side not as strong as the one that defeated Cardiff in the previous round. S Reid and B Jones could make their come backs, but players like Scharner, S Long and J Olsson could be rested.

Norwich will also rotate their squad, but how many changes they will actually make you never really know. The instinct says that WBA will have their revenge tomorrow, but their poor home form scares me off from backing them.

Tottenham play tonight at the Vicarage Road against Watford. The odds on the away win are 1.55. Chelsea will travel to the Road for a cup game against QPR and the odds on the away win are 1.63. Take a look at these odds! I cannot understand the odds, the tiny difference. You can certainly compare Chelsea and Tottenham these days, but you cannot compare Watford to QPR, especially not this “new coached “ QPR side.

Chelsea will fear facing QPR (they have already lost vs QPR in the league), but I cannot imagine that Tottenham have any qualms about facing Watford. I cannot guarantee that Tottenham and Chelsea will be fully motivated, but in general the top teams and their managers respect the FA Cup.

Derby welcome Stoke for a cup fixture and the odds are 3.50 – 2.34. Rather tempting odds on the away win. Cannot be easy for any Championship side facing the Stoke aerial machine. Stoke demonstrated last season that they mean business in this cup tournament. They reached the final, but Man City were too strong for Stoke. The Stoke squad is healthy at the moment and coach Pulis has promised to field a strong side against Derby. Well, he has to, some 5.500 Stoke fans will make the journey.

Derby risk being without their striker T Robinson. His likely replacement, R Noble, has not been allowed to play by his other club and Derby look short upfront. Derby are doing surprisingly well in the Championship and they strike me as a quite mean side, happy to win their games 1-0. In fact they are 5-1-0 in their last six games, but they have only scored six goals in these six games and still five wins. Sounds like this match will end 0-1.

City will miss the two Toures, Kompany and the suspended Balotelli. Man City probably played one of their worst forty five minutes of the season in the first leg, but they improved vastly in the second half. Saying that they did not create that many clear cut scoring chances, but this had a lot to do with some excellent Liverpool defending. Anyway their poor start to the game proved costly. Man City are out of the FA Cup and have no game this weekend and the way I see it, they should be able to offer a strong, determined performance tomorrow. At least in theory.

A Wembley final would give Liverpool a 100% satisfaction, but for City, say 80%. I just want do point out that the Liverpool motivation for tomorrow’s game cannot be beaten. The fact that Man City are a stronger team is of course a factor that you cannot dismiss and I cannot picture a more open game than this semi final. City know that they have the capacity to beat Liverpool away from home, but there is no limit to what Liverpool can achieve, when they are having one of those great midweek nights at Anfield. Mancini vs Dalglish? Always Mancini for this writer.

Copa del Rey – second leg
Barcelona – Real Madrid 1.70 – 5.70
It was certainly not Ronaldo’s fault that Real lost the first leg 1-2. He scored their goal and Ronaldo gave a good account of himself. No, it just seems impossible for Real to match Barcelona for the whole 90 minutes. They seem to tire in the second half and all of sudden the Barcelona players are finding more space. No coming back for Real at that stage, or Mourinho has yet to find the right recipe, if there is one. Rumours say that Mourinho will leave in June.

Arbeloa will be back in the Real defence, but it looks like Di Maria and Khedira will be missing again. Pepe is struggling with an injury and he is considered a major injury doubt. Or Mourinho will leave him out, difficult to say really. Players like Xavi, Fabregas and Puyol were rested when Barca defeated Malaga at the weekend. Pedro was fit again and they will all be in contention for this cup game.

Offensive Real tomorrow? Could be. Mourinho has to go for broke. More goals than in the first leg? As a consequence, yes. This 1.70, I cannot use. Real have cost me more than once in this ever going battle of the giants, but 5.70 is always worth considering.

Coppa Italia quarter final
Napoli – Inter 2.50 – 3.17
The home side is struggling of late just about drawing their last two league games at home to Bologna and away to Siena. Nothing can stop Inter from winning their games at the moment. They did not play particularly well against Lazio, but thanks to an offside goal they picked their seventh league win on the trot.

Now which side will be the most motivated in this cup fixture? Lavezzi will start for the home side and their coach is indicating that he will only make marginal changes to his line up. Zuniga and Dzemali could get a chance in their midfield, maybe Fernandez or Britos will start in defence. Inter will travel with a 21 man squad, only missing Forlan, Nagatomo and Stankovic. The actual starting eleven? Who knows!

Napoli are seventh in the league table at the moment, while Inter have rocketed up the table, now on the fourth spot. Inter have Scudetto ambitions, but no longer Napoli. Cup success could be the right tonic for Napoli, but probably not for Inter. This speculation, because it is speculation, will lead me to backing the home win.

Chievo play against Siena in another cup quarter final. Chievo have the home advantage and the odds are 2.43 – 3.36. The home win is over priced and that is a fact. Chievo are 5-3-1 at home, while Siena are 0-4-5 away from home. So why 2.43? OK, Siena defeated Palermo in Sicily in a previous round, but Chievo bettered this by winning away to Udinese. Siena will play their big derby game against Fiorentina in a few days and this fact could also slightly favour Chievo. Siena will travel with a 26 man squad. Why so many? Second choices could dominate their actual starting line up, but this probably goes for Chievo as well. Anyway, my choice will be the home win.

On Thursday the fourth Coppa Italia quarter final will take place between the home side, Milan and Lazio. The odds are 1.91 – 5.00. Milan just about defeated Novara in the previous round. Milan had the home advantage, but they needed extra time to win the match. Milan had changed their line up in ten positions and I expect Allegri to field a much changed, a weakened side also in this match.

Lazio reached this quarter final by defeating Verona 3-2. Their winning goal arrived very late. They played with a strong side against the Serie B side, much stronger than I had expected. No guarantee that they will do so again. You never really know when it comes to Italian cup games, but Lazio will be much stronger than Novara, that is almost a guarantee. My choice in this quarter final would be the away win.

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.

Real will not be able to call on Di Maria again. He was sorely missed against Mallorca and he has not recovered. Arbeloa and Khedira will also and Pepe, key defender, is considered a major injury doubt. D Villa, Pedro, Afellay and Keita are out for Barcelona.

No Pepe for Real? Well, they can call on S Ramos, Coentrao, Albiol and Marcelo, Varane as well so it’s not the end of the world. I think that Pepe will play, but maybe on the midfield.

Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic have one thing in common, they rarely play their best football against top opponents. I hate to criticize Ronaldo, he is such a fantastic goal scorer, but he has to deliver against teams like Barcelona. He missed two excellent scoring opportunities against Barca in the league, confirming the complex theory. Real are playing the best football this season, but their talisman has to deliver tomorrow. Sorry, no bet.

Wolves play at home to Birmingham, it is a cup replay and the odds on the home win are 2.13. Is not the home win overpriced? There was not much between the two sides in the first leg (0-0), but the Birmingham keeper saved his team late in the game on at least two occasions. Both teams fielded alternative sides and they will do so again tomorrow. Birmingham have played so many games this season due to their Europa League campaign and now, when they are starting to advance in the Championship table, they do no not need more cup games. They never say it openly, but that is the way it is. Not that Wolves need cup success either, but they have a bigger squad at their disposal. Home win will be my call.

Brighton have a host of injury worries and I am pretty confident that they will field a much changed side tomorrow reminding of their first leg side. Wrexham would of course love to reach the fourth round of the FA –Cup. They had for example 2.000 of their fans attending the first leg. J Speight, Wrexham striker, is an injury doubt, but hopefully he will be able to line up tomorrow.

QPR played last night. They went to Newcastle, played a decent game, but ended up losing again. No QPR goal scored and that is their main problem, finding the net. MK Dons did not have a league game at the weekend and that should be a big advantage. The Dons played the better football in the first leg and the late QPR equaliser came rather surprisingly.

Well, QPR just have to defeat Wigan on Saturday and this cup game could be seen more as a distraction. No way that coach Hughes will be fielding his best eleven tomorrow. The stakes are unbelievable for the Dons, as Chelsea are waiting in the next round. Anyway there is 5.00 on the away win for MK Dons.

Everton lost expectedly to Tottenham in midweek. They were alright, but they are not better than that. Add the defender S Distin to their already lengthy injury list. D Gibson, M United midfielder, has signed for Everton and I take it for granted that he will be involved tomorrow. Backing the home win.

Blackburn – Fulham 3.07 – 2.60
Without their two aces Chris Samba and Yakubu Blackburn were only seconds away from getting a cup replay vs. Newcastle. Tomorrow they will return and it also looks like J Hoilett, P Robinson and D Dunn will be available again. M Olsson was back against Newcastle. Blackburn lost their last home game in the league against Stoke. They just cannot afford to lose this home fixture, it is as simple as that, but do they have enough to defeat this rather hard to beat Fulham side?

Fulham come to this match in full form having defeated Arsenal at Craven Cottage and drawn their last two away games at Chelsea and Norwich. B Zamora was back against Arsenal and tomorrow both A Johnson and S Davies will return. Fulham are 1-5-4 on their travels and should they really be favourites away from home? An important question and, as I want Blackburn to succeed, I cannot ignore the odds on the home win. May well be that last game in the Blackburn shirt for C Samba Blackburn to win.

Chelsea – Sunderland 1.40 – 9.50
D Drogba and S Kalou have left for the African Cup and Ivanovic is struggling with an injury. Chelsea can handle these absentees. Malouda is considered an injury doubt.

P Bardsley, S Larsson and K Richardson were back in the Sunderland starting line up at Peterborough last week. N Bendtner was rested and W Brown was not yet fit to play. Sunderland impressed again, winning their third game on the trot and the S Larsson set pieces once again proved effective. Bendtner should be back for this game. At the moment it does not seem to be a good idea opposing O’Neill’s Sunderland.

Liverpool – Stoke 1.50 – 8.95
Less than 72 hours after their cup semi final against Man City Liverpool have to face this physical Stoke side. It can be quite an ordeal facing Stoke and you need fresh and motivated players when you are up against this uncompromising Stoke side. This season Stoke have been more of a threat in their away games than earlier seasons. In fact they have won four of their six away fixtures.

My reasoning leads me to believe that the home win is somewhat underpriced in this match. J Enrique will start for Liverpool and C Adam will probably play from the start instead of the injured Spearing. A Wilkinson will be back in the Stoke defence, but Shotton, Woodgate and M Wilson are all injury concerns. Backing Stoke? No, I do not think so.

Manchester Utd – Bolton 1.18 – 21.75
Having lost their last two league games there is absolutely no doubt that United have to win this match. It is rarely a formality to win in the Premiership, but defeating Bolton at Old Trafford comes close. OK, United lost at home to Blackburn, as underpriced as this time, but Ferguson fielded a very strange looking side at that time, taking his chances. It back fired, but United have more players at their disposal at this moment than three weeks ago. I expect United to play with their strongest available side and that will do. C Smalling, Anderson and P Jones are slight injury concerns.

Gary Cahill, the Bolton defender, is on the verge of joining Chelsea and I do not expect him to be playing in this match. Bolton have done better away from home than at the Reebok Stadium, but it will not matter tomorrow. Home win, of course.

Tottenham – Wolves 1.33 – 13.00
Wolves are winless in their last six league games. Away from home they are 1-3-6, but the fact is that they have drawn their last two away games, 1-1 at Arsenal and Bolton. Milijas returns from his suspension for this game and there is every chance that R Johnson will be fit to play, D Edwards as well.

Livermore replaced the injured S Parker /and/or Sandro when Tottenham defeated Everton earlier this week. Sandro will be sidelined again and I figure that Redknapp will give Parker one more week in the treatment room. Conclusion: Spurs will probably field an unchanged starting eleven tomorrow. Likely home win.

W B A – Norwich 2.10 – 3.92
Tough game for the home side considering their many injured players and doubtful starters. Without S Long in their line up S Cox excelled at the weekend vs. Cardiff scoring three of the WBA goals. Expect Odemwingie and Cox to continue in the WBA front line tomorrow. C Brunt remains sidelined, but there is some hope that Mulumbu, Mc Auley, J Olsson, J Thomas, P Scharner and S Long will be available again. They will all be assessed. My guess is that Long will be back, maybe Thomas, Scharner and McAuley.

Norwich have lost to the top sides Arsenal, Man City and Tottenham these last two months, but that is about it. No losses against the so called “human” sides, or teams out side the top six. WBA of course belong to that category. The official starting line ups will be interesting, but I am leaning towards the away win. WBA have played quite poorly at home this season.

Norwich to win.

Newcastle – Q P R 1.81 – 5.00
There are two reasons for backing the outsider. No Demba Ba or Tiote in the Newcastle squad. There is a new QPR manager, Mark Hughes, and this will be his first game in charge.

Too bad that he has to manage without four players, Faurlin, Taarabt, Traore and J Barton. On another day they would all play from the start. Tricky situation for Hughes to do without all these missing midfielders. Advantage Newcastle, but they have become over rated favourites this time.

Swansea – Arsenal 5.50 – 1.85
This will be very interesting. The slick masters of possession football, Swansea, up against this rather ineffective Arsenal side. Arsenal have on going scoring problems at the moment, but they have at least been able to create plenty of openings. It will be tougher creating scoring possibilities in this match because Arsenal will not be able to dominate the ball possession, like they usually do.

They lost Coquelin to an injury earlier this week, their fifth wing back, or something like that. Fortunately Djorou will be available again. Van Persie will of course also be back, but Gervinho has left for the African Cup. Arshavin? He looked promising against Leeds, but his fast moves are leading nowhere. I, for one, have given up. I was as moved as everyone else watching Henry scoring for Arsenal. Just to have the legend in the dressing room will be a major boost for Arsenal.

Swansea are 4-5-1 at home and their sole loss was against Man United, 0-1. They never deserved to lose, but that is another story. 1X game, in my opinion.

Wigan – Manchester City 10.00 – 1.44
Are we supposed to write off the Wigan chances now after their last sluggish displays vs. Sunderland and Swindon? Both losses and 1-6 the score line. It is tempting to do just that but Martinez’ side almost always seem to come back from adversity. At least it has been like that. Not so long ago, for example, they drew their home games with Chelsea and Liverpool. Crusat should be available again, but no Diame.

Man City lacked energy against Liverpool in the cup. Their first half display was uncharacteristically poor. They got better in the second half, or Liverpool stopped thinking in offensive terms, I do not know. Anyway without D Silva City lose a lot, but their main creator is expected back for this Monday fixture. Balotelli looks set to miss out while Kompany and the two Toures remain absentees. It is a worrying time for Mancini and his City team, but with Silva playing again, their winning chances have improved.

Backing City? Out of the question. To back this 1.44 the least you need is a team in form and City have gone down in both form and quality lately, due to their absentees and their hectic schedule.

Serie A
Catania – Roma 3.44 – 2.40
“Our worst game of the season” said the Catania coach Montella after their loss against Bologna at the weekend. Two offensive players, Biagianti and Marchese, will be suspended for this game. Suazo, forward, will finally be back in contention. Maxi Lopez is still a Catania player and he will start in their front line again.

Roma keep winning. It took two Totti penalties to defeat Chievo at the Olympic Stadium. In midweek they defeated Fiorentina in the cup, with Lamela scoring twice. Their boss has alternatives for this match, Borini or Bojan upfront, Taddei or J Angel in defence and Simplicio or Gago on their midfield.

I recall last season. I backed Catania at home to Roma. They were down 0-1, but they found a way of scoring two very late goals. Sweet memories. I have no plans backing Catania this time. Looks like a low scoring affair. 1-1 or 0-1.

Lazio – Atalanta 1.81 – 5.60
“Blame the loss on me”, words from the Lazio coach after their embarrassing 0-4 loss against Siena. He is right. He picked a very odd starting line up. Why, I do not really know.

Dias, Hernanes, Gonzalez, Rocchi, among others are expected back for this match. Fit again Marchetti will replace the suspended Bizarri between the Lazio sticks. Radu, Sculli and Hernanes are late injury doubts.

Atalanta will most likely start with the same side that lost to Milan, or Lucchini will replace Manfredini in their defence. Atalanta did not play a poor game against Milan, to be fair to them.

Lazio are 3-4-2 at home and they are not easily backed in Rome. They just about defeated Verona the other day in the cup 3-2, the winning goal arrived in the dying minutes. 1X game.

Cesena – Novara 2.10 – 4.36
Decent odds on the home win. Down to ten men Cesena were no match for Udinese last weekend. The red carded Lauro will be suspended for this fixture, but Martinez should be available again.

Novara played a quite hopeless game at home to Fiorentina and their only hope at the moment is Mascara. They have just signed the former Catania and Napoli forward. Caracciolo and Rinaudo have also joined the newcomers. So Novara have reacted, trying to improve their difficult situation.

Cesena are on the same points, but they have gone from really bad to just poor since they changed their coach. I will stick to my home win suggestion despite the Novara signings.

Chievo – Palermo 2.20 – 3.85
No worries for the home side ahead of this game and they are quite confident home in Verona. So far they are 4-3-1 at home. Palermo will be able to call on two of their previously missing forwards, Ilicic and Pinilla for this game, but Hernandez and Zahavi remain sidelined along with defender Pisano. It was a better looking Palermo offence on Sunday, but then we have this on going Palermo problem, their inability to win or even score away from home. I can only make a case for the home win, but it is definitely not the first game on my betting list.

Fiorentina – Lecce 1.45 – 9.94
So finally Delio Rossi has found his Fiorentina team. I am thinking along those lines after their 3-0 win at Novara, their first away win of the season. They had managed to score one away goal in their previous eight away games and now three goals in one single game. Their ace Jovetic scored two of the goals.

Lecce will miss the suspended Oddo and the injured Giandonato and Strasser. Carozzieri is a major injury doubt. Fiorentina, most likely unchanged, will win this match.

Genoa – Udinese 3.20 – 2.63
Poor Genoa display away to Cagliari. They were not helped by the Moretti red card, but new signing Gilardino, for example, was no better than during his recent Fiorentina days. Moretti and his defensive colleague Kaladze will both miss this fixture. A third defender, Dainelli, is a major doubt, but their striker Palacio could be back. Palacio and Gilardinio together ought to be able to create some problems for the Serie A defenders. Biondini has joined the club from Cagliari.

Udinese won with ease against ten man Cesena. Asamoah and Benatia, both important players, have left for the African Cup. Udinese have only won two away games this season (2-4-2) and I am not comfortable backing them as away favourites. No bet game for now, but I am closer to backing the home win.

Juventus – Cagliari 1.33 – 14.86
The only unbeaten Serie A side, Juventus, will be without their suspended defender Chiellini. De Ceglie is favourite to replace him as wing back. Quagliarella is new on their injury list, but fellow striker Borriello is included in the Juve squad for this match.

The Cagliari home win against Genoa was absolutely essential for the club. A big relief, quite simply. Conti, Perico, Nene and Sampaio are not yet fit. Likely home win, but quite indifferent odds.

Parma – Siena 2.30 – 3.60
New Parma coach and not just anybody. Donadoni is their new main man. He will have their key defender Lucarelli available again, but he has to manage without the suspended Galloppa. Musacci, never heard of him, will replace Galloppa on the midfield. Mirante or Pavarini between the Parma sticks.

D’Agostino and Vitiello will return for this six pointer game, but the Siena midfielder Bolzoni is out injured. Siena could also have Vergassola available again for this important fixture. It was a joy to watch the two Siena strikers Calaio and Destro against Lazio. They scored two goals each. New manager effect, I guess and I will probably back the home win.

Milan – Inter 2.20 – 3.81
This derby could not be played at a better time. Both teams are on great winning runs and fans from both camps have every reason to feel optimistic. The league leaders Milan welcome back Abate, Seedorf, Gattuso and Ambrosini to their squad and only Aquilani is an injury doubt.

D Forlan will be back for Inter and Sneijder has finally been cleared to play. Lucio and Samuel, remember those two, will line up in their central defence with Ranocchia sent to the bench. Sneijder has been sidelined for quite some time and it will be interesting to see if Ranieri will include the Dutchman in his starting line up. Pazzini or Sneijder, I guess.

D Milito is back in full form again looking as strong as during the Mourinho days and the Inter offence looks a bit stronger than the Milan strike force, but that is only my personal opinion. It is just that Robinho and Pato are besides their best form. Right or wrong, I prefer the away I win. I mean there is 3.81 on the Inter win in a 100% open game and there is no home advantage. Inter to win.

Napoli – Bologna 1.35 – 12.00
I was impressed by the Napoli performance at Palermo last week. Chelsea will have problems, rest assured of that. Pandev, in for the injured Lavezzi, looked surprisingly sharp and Cavani? He is the player that Chelsea hoped F Torres would be. No Lavezzi this time either and Pandev will be in his position once again.

Bologna will be without both their defenders Loria and Portanova. Now also their play maker Diamanti will miss out on this game Home win, of course, but the odds have killed the match.

The Championship
Doncaster – Cardiff 3.94 – 2.10
I will back two outsiders in the Championship and this is the first of them. Backing Doncaster at the Keepmoat Stadium has been a profitable pastime lately and this could be their fourth home win on the bounce. Forget about their home loss in the FA Cup last week. They rested tons of important players. The all important Billy Sharp will play upfront most likely alongside Hadji-Diouf. M Woods and J Oster, both crucial Doncaster players , made their come backs as substitutes last week and they will be in contention for this match. D Plessis, once playing for Liverpool, has just joined Doncaster.

Cardiff played and lost the first Carling Cup semi final against Crystal Palace earlier this week. I can imagine that Cardiff will struggle a bit at Doncaster, at least to begin with. The Doncaster aggressiveness will be too much for Cardiff, at least I hope as much. Home win!

Nottingham Forrest – Southampton 3.10 – 2.47
The home win will be my call. After a dreadful negative run Nottingham won comfortably away to Ipswich in their last league game. The flood gates will open, or something like that? Not necessarily, but I expect improved Nottingham displays now and in the future. G Cunningham, left back, should be back for this game, but probably not their forward R Findley. Forget about W Morgan, C Cohen and Moloney.

Southampton, winless in their last four away fixtures in the league, have to manage without their suspended top striker R Lambert (17 goals). Jaidi, Seabourne and Chaplow look set to miss this game. Southampton have not played like the top side they are, away from home that is (3-4-5 so far). Nottingham to win.

West Ham have struggled lately. Suspensions and injuries have made life difficult for their coach Allardyce. Tomorrow he will be able to pick from his strongest squad for ages. One can even talk about problems of abundance. Home or away does not seem to matter for West Ham. They are 7-3-3 away from home and they should have a decent chance of winning away to Portsmouth tomorrow. The odds on the away win are 2.56.

Derby (7-2-4 at home) face the worst away side in the Championship and that is of course Coventry (0-3-9). Derby are on a positive run and their coach Clough will be able to draw from an unchanged squad. The home win looks very likely and the odds are 1.96.

La Liga
Granada – Rayo Vallecano 2.43 – 3.50
Open game, this I admit, but I will opt for the home win. Diakhate, Granada defender, has left for the African Cup, but his colleague Inigo Lopez will be fit to play. Their keeper Roberto has been a doubt, but he has been cleared to play. Jara will be back from his suspension, playing on the midfield.

Rayo will be without three offensive players Pacheco, Bangoura and Koke. Veteran striker Tamudo will play, though. Granada winning by the odd goal.

Atletico Madrid – Villarreal 1.75 – 5.50
Backing the home win. Depressing odds? Yes, I know. A Madrid kind of impressed last week away to Malaga despite the 0-0 result. New coach Simeone has brought stability to the side and they looked more likely to win the match. I recall at least two 100% clear scoring possibilities missed. Adrian and Falcao could play upfront. Diego and Arda Turan also from the start in an offensive line up. Defenders L Perea and Dominguez are out suspended and we will most likely find Juanfran, Godin, F Luis and Miranda playing from the start in the home defence.

M Ruben, the Villarreal striker, will be suspended for this fixture, G Rossi is not yet fit and Nilmar is the only available Villarreal striker this time. No Camunas. Villarreal are 0-3-6 away from home and that is why A Madrid have become the big favourites. Home winner.

Tottenham could be forced to play without one of their prime assets, S Parker. He will have a late fitness test. Ledley King could be back. Too many WBA regulars will be missing and Tottenham will have their three points.

Wigan – Sunderland 2.63 – 2.80
As expected Wigan offered an improved display away to Stoke (2-2). Down to ten men they forced home an equaliser. They will be without their suspended defence G Caldwell tomorrow.

It was unbelievable that the make shift Sunderland defence could withstand all the Man City pressure. Already missing P Bardsley, K Richardson and T Bramble, Wes Brown was forced to withdraw from the City encounter in the first half. C Gardner, Colback and Kilgallon joined their only regular, O’Shea in the Sunderland defence. K Richardson could be back for this game. Will this new defensive unit hold tight again? Not likely. Advantage Wigan and they will get my vote.

Manchester City – Liverpool 1.80 – 5.00
The City goal machine has all of a sudden dried up. Instead of six very likely away points at WBA and Sunderland they only picked up one single point and no City goal scored. I cannot imagine that Balotelli would have missed all the clear cut chances that Dzeko wasted against Sunderland. I should think that we will see Balotelli, Aguero, Silva, Milner and M Richards playing from the start again in this match.

The City coach Mancini has a point. Liverpool, playing last Friday, will probably come in better shape for this match. When S Gerrard and D Kuyt were introduced in the second half against Newcastle, I thought for myself that Liverpool have some decent substitutes. L Suarez will be available again for this game. Cannot really say that I trust Man City at this very moment. The momentum has shifted lately.

Everton – Bolton 1.57 – 7.10
One of the most typical 0-0 fixtures that I have ever witnessed ended in a 1-0 home win for Everton. I do not think that the Everton goal keeper had to make one single save and the WBA keeper was not over worked either. However the positive Everton run continues.

Donovan, on loan from USA, could feature in this match, Rodwell was already back against WBA, but Fellaini will be missing again, maybe also Drenthe.

The Bolton coach changed his defence in a couple of positions against Wolves. Was the new look Bolton defence any better? I would not know. They faced Wolves, a side as goal shy as Everton. Everton winning by the odd goal, will be my call.

Newcastle – Manchester Utd 5.50 – 1.75
Tempting odds on the home win. Newcastle were not miles from getting a positive result away to Liverpool. They dominated the ball possession for long periods and Demba Ba was so close to scoring a second goal, equalising the Liverpool 2-1 lead.

W Rooney and R Giggs are expected back for Man United. They are missing as many as four central defenders and that is why Carrick has to play in defence. They need him on the midfield and we saw a strange looking United midfield against Blackburn. Anyway, with Giggs and Rooney available again, United will look better upfront, more intact tomorrow. Their defence continues to be a case for concern though. I may be wrong of course, but I look upon this match as a 50/50 game. Goals? Yes, both teams on the score sheet.

The Championship
Bristol City – Millwall 2.35 – 3.39
The home team will draw from the same squad that defeated Southampton last week. L Carey will once again step in for their captain L Fontaine. S Pearson will play on their midfield and what I know, their front man N Maynard is still very much a Bristol City player.

No D Henderson for Milwall. Makes it easier for me. Millwall lose a lot when their big target man is not playing. Backing Bristol City!