Wigan Athletic v MiddlesbroughSunderland v Arsenal
West Ham United v Bolton
Tottenham v Hull City
Portsmouth v Stoke City
Round 6 was business as usual for three of the 'big four' where the other was involved in the upset of the season. Arsenal succumbed to lowly Hull City 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium! There were no such surprises though for Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool as they cruised to 2-0 victories in their respective encounters. In other games, Tottenham's woes continued with a 2-0 loss at home to Villa and Manchester City's money train was brought to a grinding halt at Wigan Athletic. In Round 7, Man City will try and redeem themselves in what promises to be a spicy encounter against Liverpool. Other exciting encounters include Chelsea and Europe chasing Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge, Manchester United against Blackburn at the always hostile Ewood Park, and bottom of the table Spurs trying to save their bacon against giant killers Hull City.
EPL quick pick. Due to time constraints, full analysis of this pick is not available.
Saturday, October 4
Wigan Athletic v Middlesbrough
Quick Summary: Quiet achievers Wigan Athletic will look to continue their good form against an out of sorts Middlesbrough. Middlesbrough's only points this season have come against struggling sides Tottenham and Stoke City. Wigan are playing inventive football and scoring lots of goals in the process.
Pick: Wigan to Win
Wigan 0 - 1 Middlesbrough
Sunderland v Arsenal
Quick Summary: Arsenal will be out to prove a point to the rest of the Premier League after been embarrased by Hull City in Round 6. After dispatching Porto 4-0 in the Champions League midweek, Arsenal come into this encounter in a buoyant mood. The 'Black Cats' have shown signs of falling away from their good early season form in recent weeks and with injuries mounting, they would be hard pressed to stop a hungry Arsenal team here.
Pick: Arsenal to Win (-1 goal hcp)
Sunderland 1 - 1 Arsenal
Picks supplied on behalf of FootyAnalysis_TT
Sunday, October 5
West Ham United v Bolton Wanderers
Summary: Gianfranco Zola and West Ham go into this encounter on the back of two wins in a row, against struggling sides Fulham and Newcastle United. The Hammers also boast an impressive home record of three victories out of three, scoring 9 and only conceding 3 in the process. Bolton are struggling this season and will feel especially hard done by after last week's 2-0 defeat to Manchester United, following the penalty decision that was awarded against them. For this encounter, Bolton manager Gary Megson will be buoyed by the fact that he has a full compliment of players to choose from for the first time this season. Record Bolton signing, Johan Elmander, and full back Matt Taylor should be passed fit. West Ham are unchanged with Dean Ashton, Kieron Dyer, and Danny Gabbidon still on the sidelines.
Form:
West Ham
Sep 27, 2008 Premiership Fulham 1 - 2 West Ham United
Sep 23, 2008 League Cup Watford 1 - 0 West Ham United
Sep 20, 2008 Premiership West Ham United 3 - 1 Newcastle United
Sep 13, 2008 Premiership West Bromwich 3 - 2 West Ham United
Aug 30, 2008 Premiership West Ham United 4 - 1 Blackburn Rovers
Bolton
Sep 27, 2008 Premiership Manchester United 2 - 0 Bolton Wanderers
Sep 20, 2008 Premiership Bolton Wanderers 1 - 3 Arsenal
Sep 13, 2008 Premiership Fulham 2 - 1 Bolton Wanderers
Aug 30, 2008 Premiership Bolton Wanderers 0 - 0 West Bromwich
Aug 26, 2008 League Cup Bolton Wanderers 1 - 2 Northampton Town
Verdict: West Ham have had a good early season draw which credit to them they have take full advantage of. They currently sit 5th on the table which is a testament to the London club but even the most ardent West Ham supporter would not expect them to stay there for long. In contrast, Bolton have played Manchester United and Arsenal in the last two games and will be eager to repeat something akin to their 1-0 success at West Ham last season.
Pick: Bolton +0.5
West Ham United 1 - 3 Bolton Wanderers
Tottenham v Hull City
Summary: Tottenham manager, Juande Ramos, finds himself under incredible pressure after his side's rediculously poor start season which sees them bottom of the table. In total contrast, Hull City are riding a wave of confidence after bringing the high flying Arsenal down to earth with a 2-1 win, and at the Emirates Stadium may I add! On the injury front, Tottenham will line up without Alan Hutton (injured) and Ledley King who is widely thought to be rested. As for Hull City, they will need to make do without the services of Marlon King, Nick Barmby and Anthony Gardner.
Form:
Tottenham
Oct 2, 2008 UEFA Cup Wisla Kraków SSA 1 - 1 Tottenham Hotspur
Sep 28, 2008 Premiership Portsmouth 2 - 0 Tottenham Hotspur
Sep 24, 2008 League Cup Newcastle United 1 - 2 Tottenham Hotspur
Sep 21, 2008 Premiership Tottenham Hotspur 0 - 0 Wigan Athletic
Sep 18, 2008 UEFA Cup Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 1 Wisla Kraków SSA
Hull City
Sep 27, 2008 Premiership Arsenal 1 - 2 Hull City
Sep 21, 2008 Premiership Hull City 2 - 2 Everton
Sep 13, 2008 Premiership Newcastle United 1 - 2 Hull City
Aug 30, 2008 Premiership Hull City 0 - 5 Wigan Athletic
Aug 26, 2008 League Cup Swansea City E 2 - 1 E Hull City
Verdict: Tottenham squeaked through to the UEFA Cup group stages midweek after a tentative 1-1 draw away to Polish side, Wisla Krakow. When the chips are down, any sort of good news is a breath of fresh air. Spurs can look at this fixture as a perfect opportunity to bring the feel good factor back to White Hart Lane. Hull City are 3 games undefeated but how often is it that we see an underdog cause a major upset one week, then come crashing back down to earth the next?
Pick: Tottenham to Win
Tottenham 0 - 1 Hull City
Portsmouth v Stoke City
Summary: After two heavy defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea, Portsmouth steadied the sinking ship with a 2-0 home triumph. Stoke City have been competitive this season but were no match for a slick Chelsea unit, going down 2-0 at home in their last outing. A flu bug has swept through the Stoke City unit which is not good news for the promoted side. Keeper Thomas Sorensen and midfielder Salid Diao sit this one out for Stoke due to illness. Portsmouth lose Utaka through injury and the important Diarra through suspension but Papa Bouba Diop is passed fit.
Form:
Portsmouth
Oct 2, 2008 UEFA Cup Vitoria Guimaraes E 2 - 2 E Portsmouth
Sep 28, 2008 Premiership Portsmouth 2 - 0 Tottenham Hotspur
Sep 24, 2008 League Cup Portsmouth 0 - 4 Chelsea
Sep 21, 2008 Premiership Manchester City 6 - 0 Portsmouth
Sep 18, 2008 UEFA Cup Portsmouth 2 - 0 Vitoria Guimaraes
Stoke City
Sep 27, 2008 Premiership Stoke City 0 - 2 Chelsea
Sep 23, 2008 League Cup Stoke City P 2 - 2 P Reading
Sep 20, 2008 Premiership Liverpool 0 - 0 Stoke City
Sep 14, 2008 Premiership Stoke City 2 - 3 Everton
Aug 30, 2008 Premiership Middlesbrough 2 - 1 Stoke City
Verdict: Stoke City are a physical side who play direct, long ball football from the back and from the sides with Delap's missile like throws. Portsmouth are a big, strong side themselves so I think they will be able to repel their opponents tactics quite comfortably. Portsmouth may have a lot in common with their opponents but they are a class apart in terms of personel and technical ability.
Pick: Portsmouth to Win
Portsmouth 2 - 1 Stoke City
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