English Premier League Round 7 (02-03/10)

Wigan Athletic v Wolverhampton
Birmingham City v Everton
Stoke City v Blackburn
Sunderland v Manchester United
Tottenham v Aston Villa
WBA v Bolton
West Ham United v Fulham
Manchester City v Newcastle United
Liverpool v Blackpool
Chelsea v Arsenal


Saturday, October 2

West Ham United v Fulham

Verdict: Avraam Grant's newly constructed West Ham side seem to be hitting their straps with a run of three games undefeated, including last week's 2-1 League Cup win at Sunderland. The Irons were very impressive in the 1-0 win over Spurs on the weekend and will take alot of confidence going into this game. Injury has cruelly taken away Fulham's most potent weapons in Dembele and Zamora. It showed in the scoreless draw against Everton on the weekend, and in the 2-0 defeat at Stoke City in the midweek League Cup fixture.

There were impressive performances all over the park for West Ham on Saturday which bodes well for the rest of the season. Fulham were very fortunate to draw against Everton at Craven Cottage so things don't look good for them for their trip to Upton Park. To emphasise Fulham's predicament, they have not won a Premier League fixture on their travels since the 31st of August, 2009, making it 21 away games without a win.

Pick: West Ham United DNB @1.76 (sbobet, 10 units)
West Ham United 1 - 1 Fulham


Sunderland v Manchester United

Verdict: Manchester United's defensive woes continued as they conceded two soft goals at Bolton, resulting in a 2-2 draw. That makes it 7 goals conceded in 3 away games for the Red Devils. Sunderland has made a solid start to their season with only a single defeat, and earning points against Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool. In regards to the latter, Sunderland deserved all 3pts as they dominated the game and were undone by an incredible error by referee Stuart Atwell.

Darren Bent already has 5 goals to his name this season and will definitely be a thorn in Manchester United's leaking backline. Evans and O'Shea have been the main culprits but the midfield may be partly to blame for a lack of cover. Going the other way, Manchester United have done reasonably well, finding the net on 16 occassions and Berbatov leading the league scoring charts with 6 goals. Sunderland have some issues in defence with first choice defenders in Mensah and Richardson very doubtul with recurring hamstring strains, and Anton Ferdinand also unlikely to play any part. Sunderland have the confidence to force the issue here which will make for an open game.

Pick: Over 2.5 goals @1.95 (sbobet, 5 units)
Sunderland 0 - 0 Manchester United


Sunday, October 3

Liverpool v Blackpool

Verdict: Amazingly, Liverpool sit 1pt and one place behind newly promoted Blackpool going into this game. Liverpool's 1-0 win over WBA, last month, is their solitary win so far as their struggles continued on the weekend against Sunderland. Thanks to a favourable refereeing decision and a slice of luck, Liverpool salvaged a 2-2 draw from a game where the visitors looked like the home side for large parts. Blackpool conceded a calamitous Charlie Adam own goal, and a late Brett Emerton strike to condemn them to a 1-2 home defeat to Blackburn. It was cruel on the Tangerines but they have now conceded 14 goals from 6 games, the most in the Premier League.

A game against Blackpool is possibly the perfect antidote for Liverpool in their current state, and with a Merseyside derby just around the corner. There were atleast some good signs in that Torres is finding some short of sharpness with his two assists for Kuyt and Gerrard. Blackpool manager, Ian Holloway, is likely to stick with his attacking formula despite been embarassed on several occassions already this season. This will suit Liverpool, especially players like Torres, Gerrard and Kuyt who will look to hit on the break. Bad news for Liverpool is that Agger will play at left-back following the recent injury to Konchesky and the unavailability of Aurelio. This will put further strain on a backline that is already creaking with Carragher and Johnson in poor form.

Pick: Over 2.75 goals @1.82 (sbobet, 5 units)
Liverpool 1 - 2 Blackpool


Chelsea v Arsenal

Verdict: Chelsea will look to get back to winning ways when they face their old London foes today. Last weekend, Chelsea's attack was nullified by an expert defensive display by Manchester City, eventually losing out 1-0. The Pensioners though did get back to winning ways in midweek UEFA action, comfortably accounting for Marseille in a 2-0 result. Arsenal were also on the end of a dissapointing result last weekend, losing 2-3 at home to WBA in perhaps the upset of the season so far. Just like Chelsea, the Gunners won 1-3 midweek but in a much tougher contest at Partizan Belgrade.

Drogba returns to spearhead Chelsea's attack after sitting out the midweek action due to suspension. Lampard remains sidelined through injury, while Benayoun is also likely to sit this one out. Arsenal have bigger selection problems with the spine of the team out through injury. Almunia, Fabregas, Van Persie, Vermaelen, Walcott and Gibbs are all definitely ruled out which leaves Wenger well short of his strongest team. It's difficult to see Arsenal shutting down Chelsea in a similar way to that of Manchester City. Arsenal have kept only one cleansheet all season. Add to this the fact that Drogba is fresh and raring to go, and you gather that it's going to be a difficult day for the visitors.

Pick: Chelsea -0.75AH @1.89 (sbobet, 10 units)
Chelsea 2 - 0 Arsenal