Nov 29 2006

Bolton Wanderers v Chelsea

Bolton Wanderers are coming off a great result from the weekend after beating Arsenal 3-1 at home. Sam Allardyce has looked extremely happy with his team and is all geared up to host the champions. Jose Mourinho has stated that the players have not gone home after the match at Old Trafford and stayed in Manchester itself. This shows that they are not taking this match lightly and they surely should not after looking at what happen to their neighbors Arsenal on Saturday.

Chelsea should have an almost complete squad available after Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba came out of the United game just fine. Andriy Shevchenko might not play in this match, and that will mean the inclusion of Robben or Joe Cole. It will be interesting to see if Mourinho retains the midfield of Ballack, Lampard, Essien and Makelele. There are chances he might go back to the 4-3-3 that he played last season for this fixture only. Bolton might be without the services of Quinton Fortune and Nicky Hunt for the match against Chelsea and both face late fitness tests.

Bolton will not go into the match trying to impressive everyone and play flowing football. They will definitely try their long ball game and try to muscle out the Blues. When a team plays Bolton at home they know exactly what they are going to get and Jose will definitely be aware of this fact. It will be interesting to see if Chelsea play like the United team that won 4-0 here or they try and sneak in a goal and play the kicking game.

Chelsea go in as favorites in their trip to Bolton, but the Odds of Bolton winning are not that high after their massive win against the Gunners. I would still risk a small amount on Bolton to win the match at 5.0. A safer bet would be Time of first goal – ‘After 28th Minute’ at the Odds of 1.90. A double chance for Bolton ( Win or Draw ) is also at decent Odds of 2.10 and is a strong bet.

Nov 29 2006

Manchester United vs Everton

The seven match winning streak of the Red devils has come to an end, but their unbeaten run still remains strong. Manchester United are unbeaten in their last nine games in the premier league and will be looking to extend that run. We have been hearing a lot of positive noises from Old Trafford, and that the Chelsea game was a fair result. Manchester United have the best attacking record and the tightest defensive record in the premier league this season. Ferguson’s right hand man, Carlos Queiroz has been labeling this encounter as the third half of the Chelsea match and how important this fixture is for United.

Sir Alex Ferguson has quite a few problems when it comes to the fitness of his players. Christiano Ronaldo limped off at the end of the Chelsea match and Louis Saha is also doubtful for this match. It will be interesting to see if any or both can make it for the match against Everton. If Saha does not play, then Giggs will almost certainly play upfront with Wayne Rooney as he is the only and last option left for the United manager. Fletcher could play on the right of midfield and possibly the inclusion of John O’Shea too. Tim Howard has had a pretty good season for the Toffees, but is ineligible for the match against his parent club. Richard Wright will take his place and will be looking to put in a solid performace. Tim Cahill is out for long term and will not feature in the trip to Old Trafford.

In the match where there are plenty of injury doubts and United may make a lot of changes, it surely will not be an easy night for the Red devils. On these tough occasions we usually see the likes of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs turn up and put in a blinder. I am expecting Paul Scholes to score the winner and the Odds for him to get on the score sheet are 3.25. This match will not be a classic from United and we all expect them to start a bit slow. A first half draw is at 2.62 and is a decent bet in my opinion.

Nov 28 2006

South Africa vs India preview- 4th ODI- Port Elizabeth

India will look to reverse their losing trend when they play the Proteas at St. George’s Park in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday. The game is a must win for the visitors if they have to get anything from the ODI series, while a win for the hosts will also ensure a series win with the first ODI rained out.

But statistics, history and current form are against India. Their much vaunted batting has failed to deliver the goods in the two ODI’s that have been played so far. They have been undone by the bounce generated by the hosts’ pace battery which has seen them hop all over the place, especially in Durban. The only two batsmen who fired in Capetown were captain Dravid and M.S. Dhoni and Dravid is ruled out of the series because of an injured finger. That means that Virender Sehwag will lead the team in his absence. The middle order is woefully out of form, and Tendulkar might drop down to lend it some stability.Sreesanth may come in for Agarkar, who was taken to the cleaners in Cape Town. Laxman will not be considered for this game according to team sources. Munaf Patel is still not fully fit. With the pitch likely to offer some assistance to the spinners, both Harbhajan  and Kumble should play.

South Africa are on a roll, and willl be keen to inflict another defeat on the beleaguered Indian side. Captain Graeme Smith will be keen to get among the runs himself. Flamboyant opener Loots Bosman may be shown the door for Ashwell Prince. That will mean AB De Villiers will open the batting. There are no real injury worries for the hosts. The only dilemma in front of Smith and the selectors would be to choose between Hall and Nel. Hall produced a splendid knock to bail the Proteas out last time around, and Charl Langeveldt could see himself out incase both Nel and Hall have to play.The bowlers have been in fine form and will be raring to have another crack at the Indians.

The last time India played here, they lost to lowly Kenya. The statistics are all showing a South African victory, but never count out the Indians when they are in a corner.

Nov 28 2006

Watford vs Sheffield United Preview

It’s quite funny seeing both clubs being promoted to Premiership last season and almost half way through the current season the pair are already in the relegation zone. Although Watford (19) is sitting one place below Sheff Utd (18) they have an impressive home record with 1 win, 4 draws and 1 loss and that loss came against Manchester United! They just can’t find a way to convert their home dominance into points. Sheff Utd aren’t any better themselves, their record shows a win, a draw and 5 losses on the road with only 1 goal scored and 9 conceded. Looking at their previous 10 head to head encounters dating back to 2002, Watford won twice on the road and 1 at home, same number for Sheff Utd and with 4 ended as draws.

Team news favor Sheff Utd today with Watford missing forwards Bouazza and King, keeper Ben Foster and defender Carlisle. Sheff Utd have a few players nursing knocks and it’s yet to see who will be missing from today’s linesup with most given a late fitness test. With their history in mind a +0.5 Handicap bet on Sheff Utd at 1.775 with Pinnaclesports looks like a good bet.

Nov 22 2006

Liverpool v PSV

This is one of the fixtures in today’s matches that will have the least amount of tension involved. Both the teams have qualified for the next round and it is just a matter of who tops the group. Liverpool will want to finish first but it surely would not be a disaster if it didn’t happen. We can expect changes from the Liverpool boss, Rafael Benitez. The Reds are not in their prime, and are playing rather poorly in their domestic league, while on the other hand PSV are having a good run of results and are toping the Dutch Eredivisie by 3 clear points ahead of Ajax.

Rafael Benitiz could give Gonzalez the place on the bench, with Luis Garcia favorite to start on the left midfield position. Kuyt might be given a rest, and Rafa could partner Bellamy and Crouch upfront for this match. It will be interesting to see if Steven Gerrard plays in the centre if at all he makes an appearance at Anfield tonight. Daniel Agger is almost certain to take the place of Sami Hyppia after returning from injury. We could also see the likes of Zenden and Warnock make appearances in this virtually dead fixture.
It will be interesting to see the return of former Liverpool defender Krompkamp who was on loan last season. The Dutch outfit are having a few injury problems with striker Patrick Kluivert not fit for this match. Mika Vayrynen and Ismail Aissati also miss out due to injuries.

I am leaning towards a draw for this match, the Odds for that result is at 3.30. You can also look for a slightly more safer bet with an Asian Handicap on PSV ( +0.5 ) at 1.975. Any team can win this match, it just depends who has more hunger than the other. Whatever the end result maybe, a first half draw is imminent and that is at good Odds of 2.10.

Nov 22 2006

Inter Milan vs Sporting Lisbon

Sporting Lisbon will make the trip to Milan in a bid to beat the Italian Serie A leaders Inter Milan. Inter are currently on top by a clear 3 points and are having a decent run of results without playing particularly well. They won at San Siro 1-0 to Reggina but their display was far from convincing. Sporting beat Inter Milan when the Italian outfit visited Lisbon in their first match of the UCL. The fact that Bayern Munich have already progressed to the next stage makes this match even more interesting as only one of the teams can make it through.

Inter manager Roberto Mancini will be without his Argentinean striker Julio Ricardo Cruz who got injured against Reggina on Sunday. There are plenty of other options with Hernan Crespo, Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the relatively out of favor Adriano. The midfield of Figo, Vieira, Stankovic, and Solari looks pretty solid and it will be extremely tough to break for the Portugal team. For Lisbon, Ricardo will be back after been rested at the weekend against Maritimo. Sporting are now only 2 points behind Porto and will be looking to transfer their decent form in the domestic league to Europe. The young Portuguese starlets, Joao Moutinho and the ever promising Nani will be looking to make an impression for the Portugal side.

Paulo Bento will pair Alecsandro and Carlos Bueno as he faces an injury crisis with his strikers. Yannick Djalo will also be out with a thigh injury. Sporting Lisbon will welcome back their Captain, Custodio who will start against Inter on Wednesday.

Inter are favorites to win this, but will not have it easy against a talented Lisbon side. Inter to win the match is at 1.40 and is a decent bet but with low Odds. First Half/ Second Half result both in favor of Inter is at the Odds of 1.90 but a slightly riskier prospect with higher rewards. The first goal to be scored ‘After 28th Minute’ is at the Odds of 1.90.