English Premier League Round 15 (5/12 - 6/12)

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


Saturday, December 5

Portsmouth v Burnley
Team news: Portsmouth - Kaboul (OUT), Finnan (doubtful), Diop (doubtful), James (doubtful) -- Burnley - Caldwell (susp.), Nugent (OUT), McCann (doubtful)

Verdict: Bottom of the table Portsmouth face a key game in their season against Burnley, ahead of a tough fixture list during the Christmas period. The Pompey travel to the like of Chelsea, Fulham and Sunderland with home fixtures against Liverpool and Arsenal sandwiched in between. Both teams were on the reverse of heavy defeats in their last outings, Portsmouth losing 2-4 to Villa in the League Cup while Burnley were defeated 5-3 at West Ham United. Big news coming from the South Coast is that all Portsmouth players have been paid their overdue wages and the financial side of things atleast is looking brighter. It's a must win situation for Portsmouth here and I sense that the players will feel better about themselves about finally getting paid. On the same token, I feel Burnley's season is petering out a bit as the Clarets have conceded 15 goals in their last 6 games to the like of Wigan, West Ham and Blackburn.

Pick: Portsmouth -0.5AH @1.94 (sbobet, 6 units)
Portsmouth 2 - 0 Burnley

West Ham United v Manchester United
Team news: West Ham Utd - Cole (OUT), Upson (OUT), Diamanti (doubtful) -- Manchester Utd - Vad der Sar (IN), Evans (OUT), O'Shea (OUT)

Verdict: Exciting West Ham take on a Manchester United side eager to stay on the coat tails of Chelsea. West Ham have been an exciting team to watch this season thanks to the philosophy of their manager, Gianfranco Zola. Defence though has been a concern for the Hammers this season and with captain Matthew Upson, and striker Carlton Cole ruled out, West Ham really have a mountain to climb. Rooney scored a hat-trick last week in Manchester's 4-1 win at Portsmouth and will be the key man for the visitors today. Berbatov also made a successfull return from injury midweek while Anderson was also impressive in the Red Devils League Cup victory over Tottenham. West Ham have conceded 13 goals in their last 6 and against a hungry Manchester side beginning to click into gear, I see a comfortable win for the visitors.

Pick: Manchester United -1AH @1.79 (8 units, sbobet)
West Ham United 0 - 4 Manchester United