English Premier League Round 31 (27/03 - 28/03)

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


Saturday, March 27

Hull City v Fulham

Verdict: With 8 games remaining, five of those at the KC Stadium, Hull City must feel they are a still a chance of staying in this division. The Tigers remain 3pts from safety but have a significantly worse GD than West Ham United, meaning that they will need to finish the season at least 4pts better off than their London rivals to assure safety. Fulham remain one of the worst travelling sides in the division with only a single victory at doomed Portsmouth (on the first day of the season) to hang their hat on. In addition, Fulham FC will play the biggest game in the club's history in 5 days time, a Europa quarter-final clash against Wolfsburg.

Fulham are a massive 13pts away from 7th placed Aston Villa so qualification for next season's Europa League is out of the question (unless of coarse if they win it). I believe the fixture against Wolfsburg will take precedence for the visitors so I don't expect a 100% Fulham side. Hull City have key players Altidore and Hunt ready to return to the squad and I believe the motivational/hunger factor should give them the 3pts.

Pick: Hull City DNB @1.76 (betsson, 10 units)
Hull City 2 - 0 Fulham

West Ham United v Stoke City

Verdict: West Ham United's poor season reached a new low at Upton Park midweek. The Hammers lost 1-3 to relegation rivals Wolves, condemning the London side to their 5th defeat on the trot and just 3pts above relegation. Today's visitors, Stoke City, are also on a 5 game winless streak but can afford to be as they lie 12pts above the drop zone.

Upton Park has seen more goals than any other venue in the bottom half of the table, a massive 50 goals in 15 fixtures. Stoke City have scored 8 and only conceded 16 on their travels but The Potters can now afford to play care free football. In addition, they have only kept four clean sheets in their 14 away games while the Hammers have the second worst defensive home record in the division. With West Ham United chasing the game and Stoke City playing with nothing to lose, I expect at least 3 goals here.

Pick: Over 2.25 goals @ 1.85 (sbobet, 10 units)
West Ham United 0 - 1 Stoke City

Wolverhampton v Everton

Verdict: Wolverhampton's improved form has seen them steer clear of the dreaded drop zone, lying 7pts from the drop. Their fine 3-1 win at relegation rivals West Ham United further enforced the fact that the Wolves are serious about avoiding the drop. Everton have arguably been the form side of the division since the turn of the year, especially after they put in an astute performance at Manchester City to win 2-0. With just 3pts seperating them from local rivals Liverpool and 7th placed Aston Villa, Europe is now a distinct possibility for the Merseysiders.

Wolverhampton is the only team in the division to have a better away record (4-4-8) than home record (4-3-8). The Wolves also boast the most limp strike force in the division which is bad news as Everton have managed two clean sheets in succession. The relatively new central pairing partnership of Jagielka and Distin have begun to find their feet since the return of the former from injury. I expect Wolves to have trouble breaking the visitors down while the Blues do have numerous scoring options, led by in-form Mikel Arteta, to breach the hosts.

Picks:
Everton -0.5AH @2.09 (sbobet, 10 units)
Wolverhampton 0 - 0 Everton