Tottenham v BlackburnBirmingham City v Everton
Burnley v Wolverhampton
Chelsea v West Ham United
Stoke City v Aston Villa
Hull City v Arsenal
Manchester United v Fulham
Sunderland v Manchester City
Liverpool v Portsmouth
Wigan Athletic v Aston Villa
Saturday, March 13
Birmingham City v Everton
Verdict: With both sides battling to qualify for Europe, an intriguing game is in prospect. Lying in 8th spot, Birmingham City will hope their solid home form of 7-5-2 will be enough to see off the challenge of 9th placed Everton. Birmingham City have noticibly dropped off the impressive form they displayed mid-season.
Old heads in Carr, Bowyer, and Ferguson have been ever presents in the Birmingham side and it looks as if they along with others are beginning to tire. Their 2-1 win at Portsmouth midweek will not help the team's cause in terms of recovery.
Everton are coming off their biggest win of the season, a 5-1 mauling of Hull City. Everton looked very sprightly in this game, especially Mikel Arteta who was back to his best with 2 goals and a hand in another. Players such as Arteta, Jagielka, Yakubu, Anichebe, and Donovan seem to have boosted Everton's energy levels in the last few months (since returning from injury) and I expect the Merseysiders to run the season out well.
Heitinga has impressed in the holding role for Everton in the last few games and I expect him to be the main catalyst for the visitors. His presence will allow the creative players of Arteta, Pienaar, and Donovan or Bilyaletdinov to express themselves. The midfield battle will be key and I expect the visitors to have the upper hand.
Pick: Everton -0.25AH @2.10 (stanjames, 10 units)
Birmingham City 2 - 2 Everton
Stoke City v Aston Villa
Verdict: Europe chasing Aston Villa face the most physical test the Premier League has to offer when they visit Stoke City. The Villains will be hoping that Stoke City's 1-1 draw at Burnley, on a poor pitch just 3 days ago, will have drawn some of the sting from the home team. If this is the case, then Aston Villa have the personel and the game to really punish the hosts.
Aston Villa are currently on a run of 6 league games with out defeat, following their 5-2 thrashing of Burnley just less than 3 weeks ago. Stoke City have had a lean run since December with only 3 wins to their name. In team news, the home side are still with out the suspended Shawcross and injured Higginbotham where as Agbonlahor is expected to return for the visitors. I believe Villa are catching the hosts at a good time and I expect players like Huth, Faye, and Wilkinson to struggle against the pace and movement of the Villa forward line.
Pick: Aston Villa -0.25AH @ 2.07 (10 units, sbobet)
Stoke City 0 - 0 Aston Villa
Sunday, March 14
Manchester United v Fulham
Verdict: Following Arsenal's 2-1 win at Hull City and Chelsea 4-1 win over West Ham United, Manchester United have now slipped into 3rd position. The Red Devils were ruthless against Milan midweek, winning 4-0 and even managing to rest some bodies in time for this game. Fulham's winless streak stretched to four games after they were outclassed in Turin by Juventus, in a 3-1 score line. The return leg will be played on Wednesday evening in London, so it will be interesting to see what approach manager Roy Hodgson takes into this game.
Fulham have done remarkably well to still be competing in 3 different competitions with such as small squad but I feel it's starting to catch up on them. The Cottagers have only a single victory to their name (on the road) and have scored only twice away from home in their last six games (excluding 3-1 win over Accrington Stanley). I also feel that Manchester United has a score to settle here as they have been humbled by Fulham on the last two occassions, losing 2-0 in December and 3-0 last season. The visitors are likely to rest captain Murphy who has a slight groin problem while Dempsey will return to the fold after his some what rusty performance in Turin. Manchester United regain the services of Carrick who is likely to take the place of Scholes.
I find both teams in contrasting form and motivation. Manchester United have a Championship to fight for where as Fulham are lying 10th and too far away from the European spots.
Pick: Manchester United -1.75AH @2.0 (stanjames, 10 units)
Manchester United 3 - 0 Fulham
Manchester United v Fulham (Over pick)
Verdict: Fulham may have one of the best defensive records at home but their organisation on their travels is in total contrast. The Cottagers have only managed to keep 3 clean sheets on their travels all season - against poor sides Portsmouth, Bolton and Sunderland. To add to this, the Londoners let in some poor goals midweek against Juventus. Two of them came from set-pieces where as the other resulted from no one making a challenge on the ball carrier.
Just 3 days after this poor performance, Fulham must face a Manchester United side that is scoring goals for fun at the moment, especially Wayne Rooney. With only one point seperating the top 3 title contenders, goal difference may prove to be a deciding factor come the end of the season. I feel there will be not letting up from The Red Devils here so a fast, open game should unfold. Fulham will get chances on the break too but I expect the majority of the scoring to be done by the home side.
Over 2.75 @1.77 (10bet, 10 units)
Manchester United 3 - 0 Fulham
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