Premier League Tips

Last weekend's returns - Loss of £2.04
Overall returns - Profit of £12.32

Weekend accumulators:
Winners: Arsenal, Reading, Manchester City, Everton and Newcastle. Fiver returns £117.73

Goals Galore: Arsenal, Reading, Wigan, Everton and Southampton. Fiver returns £60.24

Saturday 27th October

Aston Villa vs. Norwich
Saturday's early kick off see's Paul Lambert come up against Norwich for the first time since leaving the club in the summer. It's fair to say the way Lambert departed Carrow Road has left a bittersweet taste in the mouths of the Norwich fans despite the amazing work he did with the club in the three years he was there.

Aston Villa are slowly getting there under Lambert, and drastic change was never going to happen overnight. Norwich were superb in their surprise victory of Arsenal last week, and will have to be as good if they are to register their first away win of the season on the weekend.

I don't fancy many goals at Villa Park, however Lambert should get revenge over his former employers in a narrow victory.

Aston Villa 1 Norwich 0 - 8/1 with Betvictor - Lose a fiver

Other tips:
Under 2.5 goals - 13/12 with 188bet. - Returns of £10.41
Aston Villa to score first - 4/6 with Ladbrokes - Returns of £8.33
Darren Bent to score and Aston Villa to win - 13/5 with BlueSquare - Lose a fiver

Match returns - Loss of £1.46

Arsenal vs. QPR
Back to back defeats for Arsenal have turned a promising start into an average one. Mark Hughes and QPR would've settled for an average start, and after eight Premier league games they are winless and bottom of the pile.

Against the bigger sides this year QPR have competed well, earning home points against the likes of Chelsea and Everton, but away from home they've been poor since their return to the top flight. Arsenal need a win to keep in touch with those above them, and three points aren't a given especially when you consider they've dropped five points at the Emirates already this year.

On their day Arsenal can beat anyone, and they should have too much for a disjointed QPR at home on Saturday.

Arsenal 3 QPR 1 - 11/1 with Stan James - Lose a fiver

Other tips:
Over 2.5 goals - 1/2 with Paddy Power - Lose a fiver
Thomas Vermaelen anytime goal scorer - 6/1 with Ladbrokes - Lose a fiver
Both teams to score - 4/5 with Skybet - Lose a fiver

Match returns - Loss of £20

Reading vs. Fulham
After seven win less games, at home to Fulham is a must win match for Brian McDermott and his Reading side. Fulham were very patient in their win against Aston Villa on the weekend, and despite dominating the game had to wait until the 84th minute for their winner.

The Championship winners are in need of their first three points of the season

Reading have improved over their last three games, and were unfortunate not to beat both Newcastle and Swansea, so back them to register their first win of the campaign here.

Reading 2 Fulham 1 - 11/1 with Betfred - Lose a fiver

Other tips:
Both teams to score - 4/6 with Bluesquare - Returns of £8.33
Reading to win - 17/9 with Pinnacle - Lose a fiver
Pavel Pogrenyak anytime goal scorer - 5/2 with bwin - Lose a fiver

Match returns - Loss of £11.67

Stoke City vs. Sunderland
The game at the Britannia see's the battle of the draw masters. Between them they've drawn 10 out of 15 Premier league matches, so it's safe to say the draw is the bet I've gone with here.

The additions of Charlie Adam and Steven N'Zonzi have brought an extra bit of quality to the Stoke midfield and if either side are to win it'll probably be Stoke given their impressive home record; however I can't separate these two sides.

Stoke City 1 Sunderland 1 - 6/1 with Betfred - Lose a fiver

Other tips:
First team booking Stoke - 5/4 with bet365 - Returns of £11.25
Draw - 12/5 with Skybet - Returns of £17
Both teams to score - 21/20 with Coral - Lose a fiver

Match returns - Profit £8.25

Wigan vs West Ham
Another borderline decision went against Wigan on the weekend, with Arouna Kone's header ruled out for offside, with replays suggesting the Ivorian striker was onside. If the correct decision was made then Roberto Martinez's side would've had all the momentum heading into the final 15 minutes of their game with Swansea, however the Welsh side managed to prevent a Wigan equaliser.

West Ham impressed again last weekend, and they were extremely clinical at home to Southampton in a 4-1 win. Sam Allardyce's side head to Wigan in form and full of confidence, and an away win could be on the cards.

Wigan 1 West Ham 2 - 11/1 with Totesport - Lose a fiver

Other tips:
Both teams to score - 4/6 with Ladbrokes - Returns of £8.33
Andy Carroll anytime goal scorer - 9/4 with Stan James - Lose a fiver
Draw or West Ham - 4/7 with Skybet - Lose a fiver

Match returns - Loss of £11.67

Manchester City vs. Swansea
Manchester City will be wanting to put their Champions league nightmare behind them in the form of a fourth consecutive Premier league victory. Swansea had struggled since their early victories, but their 2-1 win over Wigan was a huge one for the club.

Mancini has said City need a miracle to progress from their Champions league group

Roberto Mancini's side will have too much for Swansea at the Ethiad and will win comfortably.

Manchester City 3 Swansea 0 - 15/2 with Bet Victor - Lose a fiver

Other tips:
Sergio Aguero to score and Manchester City to win - 6/5 with Ladbrokes - Lose a fiver
Over 2.5 goals - 11/21 with Betfair - Lose a fiver
Manchester City to win to nil - 12/8 with Skybet - Returns of £12.50

Match returns - Loss of £7.50

Sunday 28th October

Everton vs. Liverpool
The first Merseyside derby of the season comes along with both teams finding their best form of the year. Everton have lost just the once in the league this campaign and have made their best start to a season since 2004/05. Liverpool are unbeaten in three Premier league matches, their best run of the season, collecting seven points from nine.

Gerrard with his match ball after Liverpool's 3-0 derby day victory at Anfield last year

Everton don't have the best record in this derby, however I fancy them to edge it here by the narrowest of margins.

Everton 2 Liverpool 1 - 10/1 with Stan James - Lose a fiver

Other tips:
Both teams to score - 8/11 with Bet 365 - Returns of £8.63
Everton - 17/10 with Betfred - Lose a fiver
A penalty to be awarded - 15/8 with Paddy Power - Lose a fiver

Match returns - Loss of £11.37

Newcastle vs. West Brom
Both of these sides conceded late leads last weekend, with West Brom eventually losing at home to the ten men of Manchester City, whilst Demba Ba scored a late own goal in the Tyne-Wear derby to help Sunderland rescue a late and probably undeserved point.

Newcastle are yet to find top gear yet this year, winning just twice in the league. West Brom's have been fantastic, and would've been disappointed to lose to City last week, just showing how far they've come under their new manager Steve Clarke.

Despite their Europa league mid-week match, I fancy Alan Pardew's side to win here.

Newcastle 2 West Brom 1 - 8/1 with Stan James - Returns of £45

Other tips:
Demba Ba anytime goalscorer - 6/4 with Coral - Returns of £12.50
Newcastle to win - 68/67 with Pinnacle - Returns of 10.07
Both teams to score - 13/19 with 32 Red - Returns of £8.42

Match returns - Profit of £55.99

Southampton vs. Tottenham
Southampton were poor last week, with their second half showing in particular not good enough, whilst Tottenham and Andre Villas-Boas was left to curse their selection problems as Spurs lost 4-2 at home to Chelsea.

One thing is for sure, there will be goals in this game. Between them they've just one league clean sheet this year, and both don't have a problem finding the net, just keeping them out.

Back Tottenham to win here in a classic.

Southampton 2 Tottenham 3 - 25/1 with Stan James - Lose a fiver

Other tips:
Over 3.5 goals - 11/8 with Paddy Power - Lose a fiver
Both teams to score - 4/7 with Ladbrokes - Returns of £7.85
Jermaine Defoe anytime goal scorer - 6/4 with Boyle Sports - Lose a fiver

Match returns - Loss of £12.15

Chelsea vs. Manchester United
Neutrals will be hoping for a repeat of last year's classic encounter, as Manchester United came from three goals down to rescue a point at Stamford Bridge. But this Chelsea side is a much stronger one then the one that lost the said lead back in February.

Just two points dropped from eight games represents a brilliant start for Chelsea, however their performance in Ukraine on Tuesday wasn't up to scratch. United have scored for goals for fun this year, but also have problems at the back, and have missed their injured captain Nemanja Vidic heavily.

I can't see too much between the sides so back the draw here.

Chelsea 2 Manchester United 2 - 13/1 with 188bet - Lose a fiver

Other tips:
Double chance: Draw or Manchester United - 8/15 with Paddy Power - Returns of £7.67
A red card to be awarded - 17/10 - Returns of £13.50
Manchester United HT/ Draw FT- 14/1 with Sporting Bet - Lose a fiver

Match returns - Profit of £1.17

Weekend returns - Down £20.41
Overall returns - Down £8.09

Newcastle and Demba Ba in particular, an apology!

I didn't for a second think they'd go down but at the start of the season I did feel that Newcastle would be in the lower regions of the Barclays Premier League this year.

My reasons for this were as follows:

The loss of key players
Alan Pardew and Newcastle United lost not one but four of their best players during the two previous transfer windows in Andy Carroll, Jose Enrique, Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton. These four players didn't just help Newcastle regain their top flight status but they ensured that the club were more of a threat to the top 10 then the bottom three.

Alan Pardew's lack of transfer budget
The £35million sale of Carroll hasn't been used to enhance Pardew's transfer budget with the relatively cheap additions of Yohan Cabaye and Gabriel Obertan the highlight of an otherwise low key transfer window for Newcastle United.

Small squad
Their recent 4-2 defeat away to Norwich City exposed how thin of a squad Newcastle have. A back four of Ryan Taylor, Danny Simpson, James Perch and Davide Santon only highlighted how vital Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor are to Newcastle. Their first XI are very good, but I felt if Pardew had to rotate the squad for any reason, the club would suffer; however I was wrong as the likes of Danny Guthrie and Ryan Taylor when called apon this season have been brilliant.

Despite my pre-season expectations of Newcastle United they have not only exceeded them, but probably their own too. The Geordie side currently find themselves 6th in the Barclays Premier League, a point clear of Liverpool following their 1-0 victory over QPR on Sunday, and a Europa League finish is now a distinct possibility.

Newcastle have learnt massively from their brief spell in the Championship and despite the addition of talented forward players, they have built from the back this season conceding just 25 goals in their 21 Premier League matches. Club Captain Coloccini has been one of the players of the season, and after opting against leaving the club two years ago, he has been in the form of his life. Prior to his arrival at Newcastle, the Argentine international had played for seven different clubs in a period of just 10 years; however he finally appears to have settled in the North of England, much to Newcastle's gain. The curly-haired defender's form is sure to have alerted Alejandro Sabella, as Argentina look to re-structure a defence that was so horribly exposed at the recent Copa America. Coloccini hasn't been the only excellent defender at the club this year; the whole back four have performed at a consistently good standard, and until the recent 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea, Pardew hadn't made a change to their defence in 14 Premier League matches.



Another key member of the Newcastle back five has been the goalkeeper Tim Krul, who despite his tender age for a shot stopper has been in incredible form. During a season you can usually lay blame with the keeper for on average three goals a season; however Krul for me is yet to have been at fault for a single goal, admittedly we are only just past the half way stage in the season, but that's still an impressive feat. As a goalkeeper for me Krul has the lot: he's excellent shot stopper, good in the air and appears to communicate well with his defence, and with man of the match displays a common occurance this season, Krul's form doesn't appear to be a temporary thing. Krul's fantastic season hasn't gone unnoticed and with rumoured interest from Spurs, Pardew will hope his Dutch number one won't be joining the recent exodus at the club.



Newcastle on the road this season have been impressive, with their only three defeats coming at Manchester City, Liverpool and Norwich, with the latter down to their lengthy injury list. A reason for why they've been successful away from home this year is because of their excellent team work with another Argentine Jonas Gutierrez a perfect example of the commitment and heavy workload put in. Gary Neville perfectly highlighted the tracking back Gutierrez did following their recent 3-1 success away to Stoke, as the winger helped an out of position Ryan Taylor deal with the threat of Jermaine Pennant. Gutierrez isn't alone in his tremendous commitment with the summer signing Cabaye another who you wouldn't suspect to be a hard worker off the ball, putting in a fantastic shift during the same game.

The loss of Nolan and Barton left a huge hole in the middle of the field; however Pardew was quick to address this with the £6million addition of Cabaye. The Frenchman and Check Tiote work beautifully together and despite both suffering little knocks this season, they both are instrumental in any Newcastle success. The duo's passing success rate is the highest in the club, with Cabaye (up to the 9th December) averaging a brilliant 80%. Danny Guthrie has come in to replace Tiote frequently this season when the Ivorian has been injured, and with the Ivory Coast international off to the African Cup of Nations, the former Liverpool man will have to step up to the plate to replace the hugely popular Tiote.


If my pre-season expectations of Newcastle were wrong, then my prediction that Ba would flop in English football were incredibly wide of the mark. When the Senegalese international first joined West Ham, before he played a game I had written him off as another poor Hammers foreign import; however seven goals in just twelve Premier League matches for a relegated side proved he could cut it in the Barclays Premier League. If his first six months in English football were good, then his second were fantastic. 15 goals in just 19 games means only Robin Van Persie is above him in the Premier League goal scorers list and with two hat-tricks to boot, Ba has been the bargain of the season. Ba has not only showing an eye for a goal, but his movement and ability to find space in the box is up there with the best in the league. As you will see in the video below, Ba always manages to pull clear of the last defender in the penalty area, giving himself space to get a tap-in. The boy doesn't only score tap-ins; he is fantastic in the air; has a great first touch and can score a set-piece. With Ba now off to the African Cup of Nations, Newcastle face a tough few fixtures ahead of them as for me Best and Ameobi aren't in his league. With rumours circulating about a possible release clause in his contract, it wouldn't surprise me to see a really big side take a punt on the injury-prone forward as after seeing him, I believe he has everything a top class striker needs.

The gaffer Alan Pardew deserves a lot of credit too. The former West Ham manager was unfairly sacked in his last three managerial jobs and his last stint in English football was in League One with Southampton, so he wasn't the fans number one choice to replace the popular Chris Hughton during last season; however he has proved many people wrong, including myself. From the outside looking in Pardew appears to have great man management ability and despite Hatem Ben Arfa's recent comments about the long ball football at Newcastle, for me they have played some attractive stuff this season, only using the long ball when appropriate or a set tactic, with the Manchester United game a perfect example of this. Pardew has had a relatively small budget available to him, despite the massive income of transfer fee's from the recent sale of big players, but the big two additions in Cabaye and the injury prone risky move of Ba have proved fantastic deals. At this stage of the season there are four managers who are up for the manager of the year award: Paul Lambert at Norwich; Brendan Rodgers at Swansea; Harry Redknapp at Tottenham and Pardew, and for me Pardew gets it everytime.

The real question is can Newcastle maintain their brilliant start and I believe they can! If they can get through a difficult January, due to the African Cup of Nations taking Ba and Tiote away for a month and possibly add players then I honestly don't see why they can't finish seventh, which when you consider those who are above them and what they've spend and the squad depth available to them, then it would be an incredible achievement.