Premier League - Battle for Survival

Tuesday night sees another tough battle for Premier League survival, as Villa host QPR at Villa Park.




QPR recorded just their second away win this season in the Premier League at the weekend, with a 4-1 win against West Brom, and that will surely give them huge confidence going into tonight's fixture.

Aston Villa sit just above the drop zone, in 17th, 2 points clear of Burnley, after a 3-1 away loss to Manchester United over the Easter Weekend. 

Villa have a good record at home, against tonight's opponents, having won five, and drawn one of the last 6 league games, and a win would move them 5 points clear of the relegation zone, with just 6 games remaining. 

Both sides are without key players for tonight's game, with Alan Hutton, Scott Sinclair and Ashley Westwood unavailable for Villa, and Vargas, Yun Suk Young and Leroy Fer missing for QPR.

Despite an impressive win at the weekend for QPR, it's hard to see another victory coming away from home so soon, and they are yet to win 2 games in a row this season, and haven't had back-to-back away wins in the top flight, since 1995!

KEY STATS - OPTA

Christian Benteke has scored four goals in his last four league games for Tim Sherwood’s side, more than he had netted in his previous 21 (3).

Aston Villa have scored just seven goals in their last 20 Premier League matches against London sides, and never more than once in a match in that time (W2 D3 L15).

QPR’s last league win at Villa Park came back in March 1992 (1-0). QPR have scored in each of their last 12 Premier League matches against Aston Villa.

Aston Villa have won just one of their last eight Premier League home games (W1 D3 L4). Villa have failed to find the net in four of these eight matches.

PREDICTION

It's a really tough game to call, and a draw doesn't really do either team any good. I can see Villa just edging QPR, and enhancing their survival chances, which would have been Sherwood's key objective when taking charge.

VILLA WIN (23/20 bet365)- 1-0/2-1 (13/2 - 17/2 bet365)

Saturday's Premier League Football Preview

A great day of football and horse racing as usual this Saturday, and I've got a few stats and correct score tips for all the Premier League football games being played today. Don't forget to check the FREE BETS Page and get signed up for £100's in offers <<<<<<<<

CHECK OLBG FOR ALL MY TIPS - FOOTBALL & HORSE RACING


SATURDAY'S BEST DOUBLE & TREBLE AT BOTTOM OF POST

12:45         Sunderland v Liverpool      LIVERPOOL WIN #2-1 - 15/2

Liverpool are undefeated in the last 6 in all competitions - 4 wins and 2 draws, since losing 3-0 to United. Liverpool's away record in the league has been up and down, with 4 wins and 5 defeats in the 9 played. Sunderland only have 1 win in last 10 league games - the derby game which they beat Newcastle 1-0 away. They have drawn 6 of the last 10 games, and have drawn 6 of 10 home games in the league this season, and have failed to score more than once at home since beating Stoke 3-1 in October. Last league game against City was first time Sunderland had scored more than 1 in a game, since beating Palace 3-1 away (9 games) - failed to score in 4 of those 9. I can see Liverpool just edging this one, but I don't think it'll be comfortable for them.

15:00         Burnley v QPR                     BURNLEY WIN #1-0   -  7/1

It could get worse on the road for QPR as they travel to Burnley, and look to avoid a tenth straight league defeat away from home. QPR have scored just 4 goals and conceded 22 on their travels, and have failed to score in 5. Burnley haven't won in last 5 in all competitions, since beating Southampton at Turf Moor, and will see this as a big opportunity to end that, and grab a win. Their last 6 home games (all comps) have seen under 2.5 goals - under 1.5 goals in 3 of those 6. 9 of their 12 home games in all comps have seen under 2.5 goals - under 1.5 goals in 6 of those 12. Burnley have failed to score more than once in each of those 12 games.

15:00         Chelsea v Newcastle           CHELSEA WIN #3-1  -   12/1

Chelsea looking to extended the home record to 10 wins from 10. They've conceded just 3 goals in their 9 home league games this season, and will hope for a better defensive display than against Spurs at White Hart Lane. Newcastle have scored 6 goals in last 2 league games, and have scored in 6 of last 7 league games. But the Magpies have conceded 8 goals in their last 3 league games. Chelsea will want to forget last week’s derby defeat, and I think they'll see of manager-less Newcastle easy enough here.

15:00         Everton v Man City              CITY WIN #2-1     -       8/1

Everton have only lost 1 of last 6 league games at Goodison. They have lost their last 4 league games however, and conceded 9 goals, scoring just 2 in those 4 games (both goals came in defeat to Newcastle). The Toffees have also won just 1 of their last 8 league games. City, on the other hand, haven't lost in their last 13 games in all competitions; won 11, drawn 2. They have won their last 4 away league games - scoring 11 and conceding 2 - 2 clean sheets. City have the best away record in the league with 7 wins in 10 - 1 defeat, and average 2.4 goals a game. It might be close if Everton can get it together.

15:00         Leicester v Aston Villa         DRAW #1-1        -        6/1

New Years Day 2015 - Premier League Tips

Happy New Year to all. There's a full fixture list for the Barclays Premier League on New Years Day, so hopefully the hangovers aren't too bad.
As well the football there's plenty of racing meetings to get stuck into, including action from Cheltenham, Catterick and Musselburgh. I literally had a dream last night which involved the names of 2 horses which run on New Years Day, I'm just wondering if that's coincidence, but I may have to have a little each-way double, just in case. Ned Stark and Birch Hill were the runners if you wanted to know, and current price for the double is about 156/1 on bet365

So, straight to the football tips, which there's correct score predictions for all New Years Day Premier League.....

12:45 Stoke v Man Utd

I've struggled with a few today, and this one is no exception, but I’ve gone with a 2-1 United win, over the 1-1 draw. United unbeaten in 9 league games since losing away at City, and I can see them maintaining that. Stoke unpredictable at times this season, and have won 4 lost, 4 at home

PREDICTION – 2-1 Man Utd         17/2

15:00 Aston Villa v Crystal Palace

Villa have only managed 11 goals in 19 league games this season, and only 7 in 9 home games. As for Palace, since beating Liverpool 3-1, they've only scored 3 goals in 7 league games. Villa to just edge it

PREDICTION – 1-0 Villa                  13/2

15:00 Hull v Everton

Everton have lost 4 consecutive away games in the league, but if they wanted to play any team away right now, it'd have to be Hull City, who have won just 1 league game at home, when beating Palace 2-0 in October, and have lost 4 from 5 of their home games since (scoring 1 goal). If Everton play to their ability, they should win.

PREDICTION – 2-1 Everton           19/2

Barclays Premier League Predictions - 28/12/2014

Good morning all, just a quick post with a few correct scores for the Barclays Premier League action today.


QPR v Crystal Palace      2-1        9/1

Villa v Sunderland          1-1      11/2

Hull v Leicester              2-1      10/1

Man City v Burnley         3-0       6/1

Stoke v West Brom        2-1      17/2

Spurs v Man United        1-2       9/1

S'hampton v Chelsea      1-2      17/2

KING GEORGE VI CHASE - BOXING DAY

Boxing Day is a great day for the racing-lovers, as we see 12 meetings across UK and Ireland, with the Christmas Hurdle and King George VI Chase the highlights from Kempton.

So, as promised, I have a few stats for Boxing Day’s racing from Kempton, and I’ll get straight to them. Best Bet at the end of the blog;

KEMPTON

TOP JOCKEYS (Course) – WINS/RUNS & STRIKE-RATE (%)

Barry Geraghty                   40/126                    32%

Daryl Jacob                         16/73                     22%

A P McCoy                           16/87                     18%

Ruby Walsh                         10/42                     24%

Nick Schofield                      9/54                       17%

TOP JOCKEYS – RECENT FORM – WINS/RUNS & STRIKE-RATE (%)

Ruby Walsh                         5/15                       33%

A P McCoy                          11/39                      28%

Barry Geraghty                    6/22                       27%

Nico de Boinville                  3/10                       30%

Daryl Jacob                         5/22                       23%

Tom Bellamy                       4/13                       31%

TOP TRAINERS (Course) – WINS/RUNS & STRIKE-RATE (%)

Nicky Henderson                 54/178                    30%

Paul Nicholls                       26/121                    21%

Harry Fry                             5/12                       42%

John Ferguson                     4/18                        22%

Mick Channon                     3/10                         30%

Barclays Premier League Precitions - Boxing Day

Well Christmas is nearly over for another year, and it’s back to the beloved sports action, and Friday may be the day my TV explodes through channel hopping, as we have a full Premier League fixture list, and 12 meetings across UK and Ireland for the racing enthusiasts, including the Grade 1 William Hill King George VI Chase………..These are the days I live for!

I’ll go through a few key stats, predictions and best tips for both the racing and Barclays Premier League games. The horse racing stats and tips will follow in a separate post.

The early kick-off on Boxing Day (12:45) comes from Stamford Bridge as Chelsea host West Ham, and look to maintain their perfect record at home, and make it 9 wins from 9 in the league this season.  West Ham will be looking to make it 5 wins from their last 6 in the league, and can head into the game full of confidence after their impressive start to the season. It should be an entertaining and attacking game, with plenty of action, but we’ll see.

Chelsea have only conceded 2 goals in their last 6 league games, and just 3 in 8 at Stamford Bridge, where they’ve also scored 20 goals (average 2.5 per game), but I can see Downing, Sakho and Carroll causing plenty of problems.

PREDICTION

Both Teams To Score & OVER 2.5 goals – 13/10

Correct Score – Chelsea Win 2-1 – 15/2

Southampton travel to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace, in 1 of 8 15:00pm kick-offs, and the visitors will hope they’ve got their season back on track after a 3-0 victory over Everton last week. The Saints’ away form has been less superior than their home form, and have only scored 7 goals away from home in the league, compared to 21 at home, although that includes the 8 scored in one game, against Sunderland. Both teams have similar form over the last 6 league games, with just the one win each in those games, and it’s a difficult one to call. I can’t see Palace winning to be honest, and I can see a low scoring game, either Southampton 1-0 or 1-1 draw.

PREDICTION

Correct Score – DRAW 1-1 – 11/2

Newcastle travel to Old Trafford after their derby loss to Sunderland last time out, and will be looking to avoid defeat for the third successive league game here. Louis Van Gaal was disappointed after United’s 1-1 draw with ten-man Villa, with the Red Devils failing to take advantage, and will be hoping for a better end product and class of finishing at home to Newcastle.

Manchester United’s home form has been good, with just 1 defeat in 9 (against Swansea on the opening weekend), scoring 19 and conceding 6. They’re looking to make it 5 consecutive home wins in the league. I can see them winning this one and continuing their unbeaten run.

PREDICTION

Barclays Premier League - Tyne-Wear Derby

You can't beat a good old derby match between two sides with genuine hate for each other, and Sunday we have it, with the Magpies against the Black Cats in the Tyne-Wear Derby. It's difficult to split the sides at the moment.

Newcastle have a long injury list with Sissoko the latest, but should have Cheick Tiote, Sammy Ameobi, Steven Taylor and Papiss Cisse available. 3^rd choice ‘keeper Alnwick has been passed fit after injuring his shoulder in mid-week.

Sunderland have drawn 10 of their 16 league games so far this season and I can see this one going the same way. Neither team will want to lose, for obvious reasons. The Black Cats have drawn 5 of their last 6 league games, either ending 0-0 or 1-1 (with the 4-1 defeat to City in between).

 

KEY STATS

There have been under 2.5 goals scored in 5 of Sunderland's last 6 games in the Premier League.

Sunderland are unbeaten in their last five Barclays Premier League games against Newcastle United (W3 D2), winning the last three in a row.

There have been five red cards in the last eight Premier League meetings between these two sides, though none in the last three. Anthony Taylor is the referee for this one, and he has given 56 yellow cards in 14 games (average of 4 per game), with just one red produced.

Newcastle have been leading at half-time in just one of their 16 Premier League games this season.

 

VERDICT & TIPS

SUN v NEW - DRAW    -    12/5 (BET365)        1-1     11/2 (BET365)

 

Barclays Premier League – Saturday 20/12/2014 Preview, Stats & Tips

The early kick off on Saturday comes from the Etihad, as Manchester City take on Crystal Palace, and look to make it 6 consecutive league wins.

Crystal Palace have won just one away game in the league so far this season, which came against Everton in September, and Neil Warnock’s men haven’t won in the last 4 games, after beating Liverpool 3-1, and they’ve scored just 2 goals in those games since.

As mentioned, City are looking to make it 6 wins from 6 in the league. With all the doubts to the attacking line, it could be a long afternoon for both sides. Pellegrini’s men have won their last 2 league games 1-0, against Everton and Leicester, and clearly miss Aguero, but the return of David Silva is a huge positive.

KEY STATS

Crystal Palace haven’t won away at City since 1990

City have won 22 of their last 26 games at home in the league

City have scored in 13 successive league matches

City have kept a clean sheet in their last 3 matches against Palace in all competitions

City have been winning at both half time and full time in their last 3 matches in the Premier League

 

VERDICT & TIPS

This will surely go to City, I just can’t see Palace getting anything. It’s a tough one to call regards to the correct score. If Kompany’s out, and you have Mangala and Demichelis, Palace can cause them two problems. And with Aguero, Dzeko and Jovetic all out, goals may lack for City.

MAN CITY WIN (1.29 – BET365) – 2-0 (6/1 –BET365)

 

West Ham are looking to make it 4 wins in their last 5 league games, as they host a struggling Leicester City. Leicester sit bottom of the table with no wins in the last 11 games, since beating United 5-3. They’ve managed just 6 goals in those 11 games, and you can’t see it getting any better for them.

 

KEY STATS

West Ham have lost just 4 of their last 16 Barclays Premier League matches

Leicester have not won any of their last 17 top flight away trips to London (D3 L14) and have conceded at least two goals in each of their last eight trips to the capital.

Leicester have lost their last 6 away matches in the Premier League.

Leicester have conceded at least 2 goals in their last 4 away matches in the Premier League.

West Ham are undefeated in their last 6 matches against Leicester in all competitions.

 

Is Steve Bruce Fighting To Keep His Job?

Steve Bruce has had a successful time as Hull City manager, having taken the job in the summer of 2012, first guiding them to the Premier League at the first time of asking, and then keeping them up in the top flight last season.

But, it seems to be heading down hill, as another defeat this weekend, although against a team unbeaten at home in leaders Chelsea, sees Hull in 19th, with just 2 wins from 16 games in the league. Hull haven't won since beating Crystal Palace at home on the 4th October, with 5 losses and 4 draws since. Their only other win in the league came against QPR away on the opening weekend of the season. They've also only scored 2 goals in their last 8 premier league games, and the decision to let Shane Long go, was a strange one for me in the first place. Abel Hernandez is back, but hasn't scored since returning from the birth of his child. I like Hernandez, and do believe him to be a quality goal scorer, but sometimes, players can take time to settle, and show their true abilities.

Barclays Premier League – 13-15/12/2014

There’s seven Barclays Premier League fixtures on Saturday, including the clash between Arsenal and Newcastle later in the evening. Before the clash of the weekend on Sunday, as in-form United host struggling Liverpool, and after that, to the Liberty Stadium for Swansea against Tottenham. Monday night football sees QPR travel to Goodison.

I’m going to look at a couple of games, provide some stats, and give some predictions, and hopefully find a few winning bets for all;

 

BURNLEY V SOUTHAMPTON

Southampton haven’t won in the League since beating Leicester at the beginning of November, and have lost their last 3, although Southampton will feel very disappointed not to have got something from both the Arsenal, and United game. Having said this, the Saints still have the best defensive record in the league, conceding 12 from 15. And Burnley are joint lowest goal scorers in the league (with Villa), with just 10 goals in 15 games.

Burnley have only won 1 of 8 league games at Turf Moor this season, and scored just 6 goals, and conceded 11 in them games. Burnley have only scored more than once in a game this season, on two occasions, and both of them, away from home, against Stoke and Leicester.

Burnley have conceded the most headed goals, with 9 this season, and when you see how good Pelle is in the air, you can imagine he’ll be getting on the score sheet.

Southampton are unbeaten in their last four games against Burnley in all competitions, with 2 wins, 2 draws, and have lost just one of their last six away games at Turf Moor (W2 D3 L1).

Mark Clattenberg takes charge of this game, and he has given the second highest amount of yellow cards in the league this season, with 83 in 18 games, an average of 4.6 per game, with 2 red cards shown.

VERDICT; It’s a tough one to call really, with Southampton near the top, and Burnley near the bottom, but Burnley above Southampton in the form table. The Saints will definitely want to get back on track here, but Burnley won’t just lay down.

Under 2.5 goals – 4/6 (Paddy Power)

Over 30 points – Card Index – 8/13 (Paddy Power)