With every Premier League team involved in mid-week fixtures, now is the time that injuries and absences start to mount up. A heavy work schedule always favours the clubs with the most depth.
This weekend’s list of fixtures looks full of tight encounters, with only two outcomes offering less than 1.50 odds. Apart from Man City and Chelsea, everyone is expected to do it tough this round.
Betting Odds
Below are selected Luxbet odds (subject to change).
Tips & Info
Note that for the fixtures below, each team’s points tally (not their rank!) is shown in parentheses.
Aston Villa (16) v Man Utd (24)
- Man United are probably content with away draw at Man City mid-week, but with a four point gap between themselves and Chelsea, United will be keen to pick up maximum points here. This is especially evident given that Chelsea have a relatively comfortable home fixture against Sunderland, so a draw for Man Utd could see Chelsea’s lead extend to six points.
- Aston Villa are undefeated at home this season, with three wins and three draws, but Man Utd will provide a stern test here. Having said that, Man Utd have only one win and five draws in their away fixtures this season, so another draw isn’t out of the question.
- Lawro’s prediction (BBC): 1-2
- Andy’s tips: back Manchester United to win, back Manchester United to win 3-1, back over 3.5 goals
- Auls’ prediction: 0-1
- Auls’ tip: back under 2.5 goals
- Cruiser’s tip: back Man Utd
Man City (21) v Birmingham (12)
- Man City will be desperate to pick up maximum points here, especially given that Birmingham are winless on the road this season. Birmingham have a winless streak despite managing to score eight goals in their six away games, so you can count on goals in this fixture.
- Lawro’s prediction (BBC): 2-0
- Andy’s tips: back Man City to win, back Man City to win 2-1
- Cruiser’s prediction: 2-0
- Cruiser’s tip: back Man City to win
Newcastle (17) v Fulham (13)
- As a newly promoted team, Newcastle have had a fantastic start to the season, despite their inconsistencies. Fulham thus far are without a win on their travels, but I rate them as a team. I wouldn’t be surprised if this one ends in a draw. Having said that, given Newcastle’s inconsistency, nothing would surprise me!
- Lawro’s prediction (BBC): 2-0
- Andy’s tips: back a draw, back a 1-1 draw
- ArmchairPunter’s tip: back Newcastle to win, consider backing Nolan (Newcastle) to score
Tottenham (16) v Blackburn (15)
- Tottenham’s Premier League form has disappointed me, because I rate their squad highly. It must be so frustrating for their fans to see the club tear Inter Milan apart and then lose 4-2 to Bolton. I watched the Tottenham v Sunderland game mid-week and some sections of the crowd booed the 1-1 result at the full time whistle, so that gives you an indication of the fans’ expectations. If Tottenham are to push on and challenge for another European place, they must get full points here.
- Blackburn are in pretty good form at the moment. They beat Wigan 2-1 last weekend, and defeated Newcastle 2-1 away from home. Will there be more booing this weekend?
- Lawro’s prediction (BBC): 2-0
- Andy’s tips: back Tottenham to win, back Tottenham to win 2-0
West Ham (8) v Blackpool (14)
- Sitting at the bottom of the table, West Ham will be desperate to pick up maximum points against Blackpool. They are currently four points adrift of safety, and will not want to fall more than six points behind 17th place. Unfortunately for West Ham, they’re playing a team who have picked up three wins on the road this season. Blackpool are actually a bit of a Jekyll & Hyde team on the road, with three wins, no draws, and four losses. Blackpool too will be looking at this fixture as an opportunity for three points, so we’ll hopefully see an open game here. Betting on Blackpool to score twice isn’t a terrible idea, given they’ve scored exactly two times in five of their last six fixtures.
- Lawro’s prediction (BBC): 2-1
- Andy’s tips: back West Ham to win, back West Ham to win 3-1
- Auls’ prediction: 3-2
- Auls’ tip: back West Ham to win
Wigan (11) v West Brom (16)
- Wigan enjoyed a credible 1-1 draw at home against Liverpool mid-week, and will be hoping to enjoy a second home win of the season this weekend. Wigan haven’t won in their last five Premier League fixtures, however, and are a real relegation chance. West Brom have shown some good form this season, with a 3-2 away victory over Arsenal and a 2-2 away draw against Man Utd. Having said that, they have been patchy at times, having conceded 15 away goals thus far. This makes it hard to pick an outcome here, with perhaps a draw on the cards.
- Lawro’s prediction (BBC): 2-1
- Andy’s tips: back a draw, back a 2-2 draw
Wolves (9) v Bolton (16)
- Despite their lowly standing on the table, Wolves are the pundits’ favourite to win this, which suggests that Wolves are better than the results suggest. Based on their last three outings, I would have to agree with this assessment. Wolves had a poor start to the season, but their form has picked up. It just so happens that their improvement in form has coincided with Man City, Man Utd and Arsenal fixtures. Wolves beat Man City, and impressed against Utd and Arsenal, despite losing both games.
- Bolton, too, look to be in decent form. They beat Tottenham 4-2 last week, and picked up a very credible away draw against Everton. In fact, Bolton probably feel they should have won that fixture. Like a number of other fixture this week, I think a draw is probably a fair value bet.
- Lawro’s prediction (BBC): 2-0
- Andy’s tips: back Wolves to win, back Wolves to win 2-1
Stoke (13) v Liverpool (16)
- Liverpool will be relieved to see signs of Torres coming back into form, and pundits seem to like their chances here. Liverpool’s away form has been poor this season, and this fixture is a good opportunity for them to turn that around. Stoke have had a patchy start to the season, although their home form is pretty good, with 10 of their 13 points coming from the Britannia Stadium. If Liverpool play positively, they can walk away with all three points here, otherwise a draw could be on the cards.
- Lawro’s prediction (BBC): 1-1
- Andy’s tips: back a draw, back a 1-1 draw, back Fernando Torres to score
- Auls’ prediction: 1-1
- Auls’ tip: back both teams to score
- Cruiser’s prediction: 1-2
- Cruiser’s tip: back Liverpool to win
Everton (15) v Arsenal (23)
- This week seems to be full of tough matches, and this fixture is no exception. Arsenal are understandably the bookie’s favourites to win here, but Everton do have enough attacking threats to challenge Arsenal. Arsenal themselves are hard to predict at the moment. They thumped Newcastle 4-0 away from home in the Carling Cup, only to lose 1-0 to Newcastle at home two weeks later. Everton are undefeated since September, and will be tough to beat here.
- Lawro’s prediction (BBC): 2-1
Chelsea (28) v Sunderland (16)
- This is arguably the most one sided fixture of the round, and this shows in the bookmaker’s odds. Chelsea are the most dominant team this season, with a four point lead over their nearest rivals, and a goal difference that is ten goals superior to the next highest side (Arsenal). Sunderland are currently 8th on the table, which is excellent, but they won’t be too disparaged by a loss here. This is still likely to be a tight affair however, as Sunderland have already drawn Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal this season.
- Lawro’s prediction (BBC): 2-0