English Premier League Round 6 (19/09 - 20/09)

Burnley v Sunderland
Arsenal v Wigan Athletic
Aston Villa v Portsmouth
Bolton v Stoke City
Hull City v Birmingham City
West Ham United v Liverpool
Manchester United v Manchester City
Wolverhampton v Fulham
Everton v Blackburn
Chelsea v Tottenham


Saturday, September 19
Burnley v Sunderland

Verdict: The fixture list has not been kind to Burnley, having played four of last season's top six sides already. The Clarets will rely on their strong home form to stay up in this division, there's no doubting that. With two home wins from as many games against Manchester United and Everton, Burnley will not be daunted by the task of facing Sunderland. Sunderland defeated a struggling Hull City 4-1 at The Stadium of Light last weekend with Darren Bent scoring a brace and taking his goal tally to four for the season. Playing at Turf Moor though will be a tougher proposition for the visitors, as Burnley look to continue their fine form in front of their supporters.

Pick: Burnley DNB @2.130 (ibcbet, 5 units)
Burnley 3 - 1 Sunderland

Hull City v Birmingham

Verdict: Big game looms for two teams close in terms of points (4), calibre, and standard. Birmingham lost 1-0 to Aston Villa in somewhat unfortunate circumstances whereas Hull City were thumped away to Sunderland. Birmingham have many injuries to contend with including strikers McFadden and Jerome,
captain Quedrue and fellow defender Martin Taylor. As for the Tigers, they have better luck on the injury front with only Folan and Anthony Gardner the latest casualties. Former Celtic star, Vennegoor of Hesselink, is likely to make his debut for the home side in what seems like a must win game with a tough few fixtures on the horizon.

Pick: Hull City -0.25AH @2.020 (ibcbet, 4 units)
Hull City 0 - 1 Birmingham

Arsenal v Wigan Athletic

Verdict: Arsenal will look to avenge their injust defeats to the two Manchester teams over the past few weeks when they clash with Wigan. Arsenal were unfortunate to lose 4-2 to Manchester City last week while Wigan had a solid 1-0 win against West Ham. Wigan play an open style of game which I think will suit Arsenal. Arsenal ofcoarse do have keeper Almunia out with an injury so stand-in keeper, Vito Mannone, will make his Premiership debut. I think we are likely to see many goals here as the Gunners go about resurrecting their Premiership campaign.

Pick: Over 2.5 goals @1.60 (Expekt, 5 units)
Arsenal 4 - 0 Wigan Athletic

Sunday, September 20
Everton v Blackburn Rovers

Verdict: On the back of a confidence boosting 4-0 win over AEK Athens, Everton will look to continue in similar vein against Blackburn. Blackburn has been Everton's bogee team in the past but the Toffees are looking to get their season back on track before embarking on a fixture list that sees them make three away trips in succession. The team from the blue half of Merseyside are beginning to build a handy squad with the acquisitions of Heitinga, Belyaletdinov, Distin and most recently, Lucas Neil. Yakubu is also nearing peak fitness after a solid cameo appearance in Everton's Europa fixture midweek. Blackburn notched up their first win of the season last week, a 3-1 home victory against new boys Wolverhampton. Everton, in front a rocking Goodison Park, will be a totally different proposition though for the Rovers.

Pick: Everton 1X2 @1.85 (expekt, 8 units)
Everton 3 - 0 Blackburn

Manchester City v Manchester United

Verdict: Billed as the biggest Manchester derby in a long time, the Red Devils go head to head against the Sky Blues. Manchester City find themselves in a bit of a striker crisis with Adebayor suspended, and both Bellamy and Robinho most likely to miss out with injuries. United will have to make do with without Scholes who is serving a suspension while Ferdinand is extremely doubtful. Manchester City have a perfect record until now but can count themselves a little fortunate as they rode their luck in the 4-2 victory over Arsenal last week. In contrast, Manchester United put in an assured performance in their 3-1 win at Tottenham. In their 1-0 win at Besiktas midweek, Manchester United rested some key men in the like of Fletcher, Giggs and Berbatov who will most definitely play today. Manchester City are by no means the finished article as new players continue to adapt to new playing styles, new surroundings, etc. Manchester United are the more settled outfit and with injuries robbing the visitors of their main weapons, it is likely that the red half of Manchester will be celebrating this evening.

Pick: Manchester United 1X2 @1.60 (expekt, 8 units)
Manchester United 4 - 3 Manchester City