English Premier League Round 9 (17/10 - 20/10)

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


Saturday, October 17
Everton v Wolverhampton

Preview: Everton will look to feast on a poor Wolves side before embarking on a string of very difficult games, both in England and abroad. Following the visit of Wolverhampton, Everton play a string of away games at Benfica (in the Europa League), Bolton and Tottenham (League Cup) before returning to Goodison to play Aston Villa. In the teams’ last respective outings a fortnight ago, Everton had 17 shots on goal and dominated possession against a stubborn Stoke City but eventually had to settle for a 1-1 draw. The Wolves were the first side to be defeated by struggling Portsmouth this season, losing 1-0 at the Molineux Stadium.

Verdict: After three consecutive defeats in all competitions and only 7 points garnered from 8 games, Wolves fans must fear the worst already. To make matters worse, apart from Manchester City the newly promoted team has only played lower to middle tier sides. On their last away visits, Wolves lost 3-1 to Blackburn and 5-2 to Sunderland, hardly sides of the caliber of Everton. Despite consecutive 5th placed finishes in the last few seasons, Everton is still very much an underrated side by the mainstream media. With a difficult run ahead, David Moyes’ side will be eager to put the visitors to the sword and turn a -2 goal difference into a positive one. Mick McCarthy’s comments midweek about Fellaini will also help to fuel Everton’s fire.

Pick: Everton -1AH @1.87 (sbobet, 8 units)
Everton 1 - 1 Wolverhampton

Portsmouth v Tottenham

Verdict: Tottenham’s 4 away games so far have averaged a return of no less than 4 goals against the like of Hull City, West Ham, and Bolton – teams that can be categorized in the same bracket as Portsmouth. The Pompey has proven a hard nut to crack at home, surrendering to 1-0 defeats on three occasions against Fulham, Manchester City and Everton respectively, teams that are hardly prolific scorers away from home. . Following their first win of the season at Wolverhampton in Round 8, everyone involved with Portsmouth will be full of expectation and an open game should ensue. Tottenham will look to get back to winning ways following their 2-2 draw at Bolton (in Round 8). If form is anything to go by, they will need at least 2 goals to collect maximum points as they are yet to keep a cleansheet on their travels.

Pick: Over 2.5 goals @1.90 (ibcbet, 5 units)
Portsmouth 1 - 2 Tottenham

Stoke City v West Ham United

Verdict: Gianfranco Zola takes his struggling West Ham side to Stoke City on the back of one win in 7 games. Despite the Londoners’ only victory coming on their travels, The Hammers have struggled to breach the opposition with a return of 3 goals in 4 games, including two scoreless efforts at Blackburn (0-0) and Wigan Athletic (1-0). Stoke City proved in Round 8, at Everton, that they have one of the most well organized backlines in the Premier League, frustrating their Merseyside opponents to a 1-1 draw and to just a few meaningful opportunities. Just like West Ham, the problems lay in attack with just an average of a goal a game on their home turf. Strikers like Kitson, Fuller, Beattie, Cole and Diamanti aren’t really names to wet anyone’s appetite.

Pick: Under 2.5 goals @1.74 (sbobet, 5 units)
Stoke City 2 - 1 West Ham United

Sunderland v Liverpool

Preview: Liverpool will look to get back on the winning trail after suffering two consecutive away defeats, against Fiorentina (UCL) and Chelsea respectively. Worryingly, their two major striking weapons in Torres and Gerrard have groin complaints and missed midweek international football as a result. With Liverpool’s title bid arguably already on the rails, it is widely thought that both will play. Sunderland almost snatched an unlikely win at Old Trafford in Round 8, only for Anton Ferdinand to put through his own net deep into injury time. A 2-2 result was still a good point for The Black Cats as they continue to show solid form this season.

Verdict: Sunderland’s recent good results could be attributed to the form of strikers Darren Bent and Kenwyn Jones. With only 3 shots on target (and 2 goals) against Manchester United, and 8 shots on target (and 5 goals) against Wolverhampton, it is not hard to see that Sunderland are making the most of their opportunities, even though their general performance has not been fantastic. Their game against Wolves comes to mind where Wolverhampton were arguably the better team on the day, only for refereeing decisions and luck to go in the way of the home side. I think Sunderland are a little over estimated at the moment and they may just be believing their own hype. Liverpool are in desperate need of a win and when they are in this type of predicament, they usually deliver.

Picks:
Liverpool -0.5AH @2.17 (sbobet, 8 units)
Sunderland 1 - 0 Liverpool
Over 2.5 goals @2.02 (sbobet, 5 units)
Sunderland 1 - 0 Liverpool

Sunday, October 18
Blackburn v Burnley

Preview: Burnley has been perfectly symmetrical so far this season, winning four at home and losing four away. Their last scalp at home was a 2-1 result over Birmingham City but it is their away form that must be driving Clarets fans crazy. A goal difference of zero scored and 14 conceded (in 4 matches) is the worst in the league and it is something that needs to be addressed agaist a Blackburn side that has struck some form at Ewood Park. The Rovers were thrashed 6-2 at the Emirates after going ahead twice in the contest, only to be overrun by an inspired Arsenal in the second half. They can at least take some heart from the fact that they were in the game for 45 minutes and can return back to home comforts where they have recently defeated Wolverhamtpon (3-1) and Aston Villa (2-1).

Verdict: Admittedly, Burnley has played some tough opposition on their travels but a losing streak can become something of a habit. There is also an element of fortune in their perfect home run. Apart from narrow wins against Manchester United and Everton, their Round 8 contest against struggling Birmingham involved one of the misses of the season by Lee Bowyer while the game was still in the balance. David Dunn has been Blackburn’s main catalyst in recent weeks and his improved form together with the return to fitness of Brett Emerton, the home side will fancy their chances here. With fixtures against Chelsea and Manchester United on the horizon, ‘Big Sam’ (Blackburn manager, Sam Allardyce) will know that this will be his best chance of picking maximum points for at least the next fortnight.

Pick: Blackburn -0.75AH @1.97 (ibcbet, 6 units)
Blackburn 3 - 2 Burnley

Monday, October 19
Fulham v Hull City

Preview: Two struggling sides meet in the final fixture of Round 9. Hull City visit Craven Cottage on the back of a solid 2-1 win against Wigan Athletic (in Round 8) whereas Fulham were left heart-broken at West Ham as a late Stanislas goal resulted in a 2-2 draw.
Fulham boss, Roy Hodgson, has a relatively full squad to choose from with the exception of the suspended Dikgacoi and injured Simon Davies. Hull City are hoping for the return of former Fulham favourite, Jimmy Bullard, to return after his long injury lay-off while Gardner will most definitely miss out.

Verdict: Fulham face Roma midweek in the Europa League but I have no doubt that Roy Hodgson and his men prioritize the Premier League over any other competition (as was shown against Basel). Fulham will look to improve on a recent unfortunate run of results, namely the domination of Arsenal in Round 7 (0-1 loss) and the 2-2 draw against West Ham. What better way to get on track against the second-worst away side in the league.

Pick: Fulham -0.75AH @1.91 (ibcbet, 8 units)
Fulham 2 - 0 Hull City