Yes you read it correctly. These are the full Premier League results for last week-end. Only two games survived the extreme and unusual freezing and blizzard conditions.

Sunderland 1 – 0 Bolton Wanderers

The result sums up the positions of both teams in the Premier League with Sunderland sitting 6^th and Bolton in 7^th place. Danny Welbeck made a fine header in the 32^nd minute to give Sunderland the points and to leap-frog Bolton from 7^th to 6^th place before a crowd of 35,101. Sunderland travel to Manchester for their Boxing Day match with Manchester United. Man Utd are clear favourites at 30/100 with Sunderland at 12/1. The draw could be a possibility at 5/1. Bolton Wanderers meet West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day in what should be a close fought match. Bolton are favourites at 6/5 with West Brom on 3/1. The draw at 5/2 is worth a bet.

Blackburn Rovers 1 – 1 West Ham United

Blackburn should have made a better job of this fixture given their relative positions in the Premier League. Blackburn are 12^th while West Ham are at the bottom of the league. In other words this is a pretty good result for West Ham. However sitting at the bottom of the league is not a good place to be. You only get a view of everyone else’s back side. Blackburn scored first though Ryan Nelsen in 51 minutes. West Ham responded in the 78^th minute through Junior Stanislas. As you might appreciate, the Blackburn fans were not best pleased. Caretaker manager Steve Kean did not improve his prospects of landing the full-time job at Ewood Park. Blackburn meet Stoke at the week-end with both team sitting 12^th and 13^th respectively. Blackburn are 5/4 favourites with Stoke on 12/4. The draw at 12/5 is worth consideration given Blackburn’s slip-up this week-end.

Coming Week-End Choices

The week-end fixtures if it happens will look like this for me.

Blackpool v Liverpool

As you know I have been following both of these teams and my loyalty is a bit divided for this match. Liverpool are just ahead of Blackpool at 9^th and 10^th place respectively. This is a close match on paper with Liverpool favourites at 4/5. Blackpool are 4/1 and the draw is forecast at 3/1. This Premier League is so up-in-the-air and Liverpool are still fragile that this game could go any way. I would go for the draw on this occasion, if it happens.

Fulham v West Ham United

This bottom of the table fixture is a must for West Ham. They need to dig in and get the points if relegation is to pass them by. We are almost at the half-way stage and it is time to think about (avoiding) relegation. Fulham are evens for this match with West Ham on 100/30 for the win. The draw is 5/2 and this would be my bet of the week-end. Go for it.

We finish the week-end round up with a look at the top goal scorers to date

Have a good week-end and happy punting.

LIVERPOOL 2 – 0 CHELSEA

A crowd of 44,238 fans watched Liverpool give the Premiership League leaders a 2-0 sting from goals by Fernando Torres in the 11th and 44th minutes. At 3/1 on the betting this was a nice one to get although no one really thought that Liverpool was ready at this stage.

Perhaps the point was made on Wednesday when Liverpool visited Wigan where they were held to a 1-1 draw. However we mustn’t cry over spilt milk. Liverpool are now in 9th position in the league. They should be in more positive frame of mind individually and as a team. It’s nice to see them getting back to where they should be.

FULHAM 1 – 1 ASTON VILLA

This proved to be a tough encounter as expected with Fulham just managing to snatch a share of the points in the 95th minute. The very late equaliser knocked the stuffing out of the Aston Villa players who thought the game was as good as done.

Coming up This Weekend

Aston Villa v Manchester United

Manchester United are the bookies favourites for this match with betting at 4/1 for an Aston Villa win, 4/5 for Manchester United and 11/4 for the draw. However the results of the most recent meetings, below don’t suggest that Man U should be the clear favourites. However the league positions at 2nd for Man U on 24 points and 10th for Aston Villa with 16 points is a more convincing argument.

Most recent meetings

28/02/2010 Aston Villa 1-2 Man Utd
10/02/2010 Aston Villa 1-1 Man Utd
12/12/2009 Man Utd 0-1 Aston Villa

Everton  v Arsenal

Everton are sitting 12th in the league with 15 points and Arsenal are 3rd with 23 points.

We did see a blip in Everton’s performance when Arsenal trounced them 1 – 6 at home for Everton. Arsenal are given the edge by the bookies at 5/4 with Everton sitting at 12/5 and 5/2 for the draw.

Most recent meetings

09/01/2010 Arsenal 2-2 Everton
15/08/2009 Everton 1-6 Arsenal
28/01/2009 Everton 1-1 Arsenal

As usual I like to keep you up to date with the leading goal scorers.

Have a nice week end.

BOLTON WANDERERS 0 – 1 LIVERPOOL FC

I had to stick with Liverpool to see if they could get themselves out of the relegation zone.
This they did achieve lifting themselves to a more respectable 12th in the Barclays Premier League, with the same points tally as Bolton who are in 10th place.

The Liverpool performance left a lot to be desired but the gods looked kindly on them to give them the 86th minute winner from Rodriguez.

I am not keen on the defensive 4-4-1-1 formation that Roy Hodgson is sending the team out.  It simply leaves strikers in hope of getting a crack at goal because they are isolated when the ball eventually lands at their feet.

Liverpool (3/1) face a big test on Sunday when they meet Chelsea (11/10). Draw (12/5)

Come on Roy let’s get this team firing on all cylinders.

Newcastle United 5 – 1 Sunderland

Sunderland suffered their biggest defeat on Tyneside since 1956 when they were trashed 6 – 2. The young Sunderland team having played their last seven games without defeat were no match for a Newcastle team who were on fire. The goal scorers were Nolan (26, 34, 75), Ameobi in the 4 minute of additional time in the first half and a penalty in the 70th minute.
Bent for Sunderland managed a consolation goal in the 90th minute.

Coming up This Weekend

BLACKBURN V WIGAN

This should be an interesting game as both teams hold 17th and 18th position in the league. Both are also sitting on 10 points with Wigan having the goal difference advantage.

The odds are 10/11 for a Blackburn home win, 4/1 for a Wigan win and 11/4 for the draw. I think Wigan could be good for this one.

FULHAM V ASTON VILLA

This match has the hallmark of a tough encounter with the odds standing at 7/5 for a Fulham win, 9/4 for Aston Villa and 12/5 for the draw. Both teams are on 12 points with Fulham sitting 9th in the league and Aston Villa sitting at 13th.

Fulham may enjoy the home advantage.

This would be my game of the weekend and I think that Fulham will pull it off.

Most recent meetings

30/01/2010 Fulham
0-2 Aston Villa
30/08/2009 Aston Villa 2-0 Fulham
09/05/2009 Fulham
3-1 Aston Villa

There seems to be as much news off the pitch, if not more, than what is actually happening on it.

Before I get started I agree with the sentiments on a fans banner at Old Trafford that asked the question “Who’s the whore now Wayne?”

Much as I admire Sir Alex Ferguson I would have let poor Mr Rooney go. However, having said that, I will concede that Sir Alex knows what he doing. How much more money do you want to stuff into your pants Wayne? You’ve a lot to prove now mate. I don’t think you’re up to it. However you won’t be making a trip to the dole queue like a lot of the fans who pay your wages.

Pick of Last Weekend’s Fixtures

LIVERPOOL FC 2-1 BLACKBURN ROVERS

My faith in Liverpool was upheld at the weekend with this 2-1 victory over Blackburn. Yes it is too soon to say that the revival is under way. However the victory should help to lift the team’s spirits and confidence a bit. I had hoped that the victory would have lifted them out of the relegation zone but that will need to wait for another week or two. The goal scorers were Kyrgiakos (48) and Torres (53) for Liverpool with Carragher scoring an own goal for Blackburn (50).

Premiership Betting tip

Liverpool meet Bolton Wanderers this coming weekend. The odds are sitting at 5/2 for a Bolton win at home, 11/8 for Liverpool and 12/5 for a draw.

Here are the results for the most recent meetings between the two teams.

30/01/2010  Liverpool 2-0 Bolton

29/08/2009  Bolton 2-3 Liverpool

26/12/2008  Liverpool 3-0 Bolton

The question is, can Liverpool lift their game to reflect these recent scores? The betting suggests a close tie. I think Roy Hodgson will be able to lift his team to a close victory and get the team fired up for the rest of the season.

Elsewhere in the Premiership there were no upsets with Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal winning their games, meaning that Manchester City slipped up to Arsenal.

He was a great football coach who with Joe Mercer brought in one of the most successful periods for Manchester City from 1967 to 1970. His football career was spent mainly with West Ham United playing 250 games for the team. “Big Mal” spent his final years in care homes and suffered from dementia.

LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB

The long drawn out saga at Liverpool FC seems to have run its course although the two amigos are still threatening legal action. Let’s hope that this great club can begin to focus on what they are good at. I.e. play football. I know they didn’t show it at the weekend.

Last Weekend Fixtures

Thinking back to last week’s blog, I believe I can hold my hand up and say “I told you so.”

My chosen games were Manchester United v West Brom, Newcastle v Wigan, And Bolton Wanderers v Stoke

I did say that the Bolton Wanderers v Stoke game was too close to call. In the end it was the home advantage that gave Bolton the edge to take the three points. Meanwhile Manchester United gave away a two goal lead to let hard working West Brom share in the points. My preferred game at Newcastle likewise saw Wigan throw away a two goal lead to let the home side equalise and once again share in the points.

Premiership Betting tips

West Ham v Newcastle

If past form is anything to go by West Ham should be able to capitalise on the home advantage at 6/4 to win while Newcastle are coming in at 11/5 to win. The odds are 12/5 for the draw. Newcastle showed some tenacity in coming back against Wigan last weekend. This is my bet of the weekend

Most recent meetings

10/01/2009 Newcastle 2-2 West Ham
20/09/2008 West Ham 3-1 Newcastle
26/04/2008 West Ham 2-2 Newcastle

Liverpool v Blackburn

Can Liverpool begin to get their act together against Blackburn on Sunday? Think of it lads, a win will lift you out of the relegation zone and could perhaps dump Blackburn into it. The bookies are looking favourably on Liverpool at 4/5 to win against Blackburn’ s 9/2 with a draw being forecast at 11/4. I think Liverpool can pull this off.

Most recent meetings

28/02/2010 Liverpool 2-1 Blackburn
05/12/2009 Blackburn 0-0 Liverpool
11/04/2009 Liverpool 4-0 Blackburn

Leading goal scorers to date are:

6 Berbatov (Manchester United)
6 Drogba (Chelsea)
6 Malouda (Chelsea)
6 Tevez (Manchester City)
5 Bent (Sunderland)
4 Elmander (Bolton Wanderers)
4 Carroll (Newcastle United)
4 Walcott Arsenal)
4 Cahill (Everton)
4 Kalou (Chelsea)

It’s been a season of so many twists and turns, where each title rival have done their best to hand the title to each other, it seems like no one wants to win it this season.  The title is still in Chelsea’s hands, but PremiershipBettingBanter still believes Manchester United can win it, winning the key games against Arsenal and City have been important and if they win the two games against Spurs & Liverpool, a fourth successive title could be making its way to Old Trafford.

So who’ll win it you ask? Well PremiershipBettingBanter will stick its neck on the line and say, go with Man Utd…Chelsea…or maybe Arsenal!!!

If you fancy a small flutter on the upcoming premiership games, then why not take a look at the offers available from one of the free bets uk based websites on the Internet?

Premiership Betting tips: Everton v Liverpool- It’s the Merseyside derby and both teams go into this game with injury problems and poor form.  This Premiership game has seen 17 red cards, a record number for any Premiership game.  So that’s why we’ll concentrate on betting on the ‘Shown a card’ market instead of predicting a winner.  Lets back repeat offender Mascherano to pick up a yellow, you can get odds of 2.94 on Betfair or check out Partybets.  Also back the two Lucas players playing on both sides (Lucas Neil and Liverpool Lucas -what’s his other name???) at odds of 2.0 and 3.6.

Fulham have shown that they are a tough team to beat and Liverpool may find this a tricky fixture (only scoring in the last minute last season to win 1-0).  Backing the draw is tempting, but lets take a risk and go for a Fulham win, lay Liverpool if you don’t like the risk factor (so you win if Liverpool draw or lose).

So who is going to win the Premiership then?  United for the fourth time? Liverpool finally? Ancelotti’s Chelsea? Arsenal back to winning ways?  Or will an outsider like Manchester City shake things up?

Well as usual it’s a tough call, but Premiership betting Banter are going to back Chelsea.  Looking on Betfair they are favourites at odds of 2/1 with second favourites Manchester United 12/5.  We’re backing the Blues as they’ve have had the minimum impact to their squad out of all the possible championship contender, vital members like Terry have stuck around (was never in doubt).  Whereas their rivals have become weakened, Ronaldo, Tevez, Alonso, Toure, Adebayor all making their way out of their respective teams. 

Of course everything will be dependent on how quick Chelsea can adapt to Ancelotti’s formations (diamonds anyone?) and whether he can kep the respect of players like Drogba.  Blues fans will be hoping that he doesn’t go the way of Big Phil, but we expect them to put up a serious challenge this year, back them on Betfair now!

No matter who wins, we know this season will have thrills, major talking points and great entertainment, it is the Premiership of course!!

Betting tip (losing)- Hull have shocked alot of people with their form, only losing 5-0 to Wigan this season.  But this has also overshadowed West Brom’s good start, their best in the Premiership.  I’m going to bet against Hull in this game, there’s no doubt they deserve to be where they are in the league, but they’ve had that bit of luck on their side to get those good results.  Back West Brom to win at odds of 2.34.

Wigan v Aston Villa-This will be Martin O’Neill’s 100th game as manager of Aston Villa.  Villa may find this fixture difficult, only winning 1 out of the 6 games they have played against Wigan.  Steve Bruce’s men played well against Liverpool last week and were unlucky not to to come away from Anfield with at least one point.  Last season Aston Villa took the three points in this fixture, winning 2-1.

Betting Tip (winner)- If I was to bet on who was going to win this match then I would be leaning towards Wigan.  But I’m more interested in the the ‘Over 2.5′goals market for this fixture.  With Villa only keeping 1 clean sheet in 16 away matches and with both teams capable of scoring goals, I’ll be going for over 2.5 goals, priced at 2.04 on Betfair.

Chelsea v Liverpool-  Liverpool have shown the character that’s needed to win the Premiership in the last two games, they’ve managed to win both matches despite trailing.  Chelsea on the other hand have been in great form despite missing key players, the game last week against Boro showed exactly why they are favourites for the Championship crown.  Liverpool will be missing Torres again due to injury and Robbie Keane may also miss the match. 

Betting tip (losing)- Liverpool have dropped the most league points to Chelsea compared to any other team they have played.  Both of these teams have been in great form, with 20 points each.  The blues are a force when playing at home with 86 games without defeat, although Liverpool were the last team before Arsenal to beat Chelsea at home.  This is a difficult one to call, but I find it hard to think that Chelsea will lose this game.  I’m predicting a draw, maybe 1-1, back the draw at odds of 3.3.

UPDATE- Last weekend produced a few shocks in my eyes and that’s not including Tottenham winning a game!!  I was wrong to think Hull would be able to keep up their good form of late and even more wrong to think Chelsea would not be beaten at home!  Liverpool have again shown that they are challengers to the title, but can they keep this good run going?  In the end it was only one correct tip out of three, Wigan v Villa produced over 2.5 goals as predicted.

Blackburn v Middlesbrough
Everton v Man Utd
Sunderland v Newcastle
West Brom v Hull
Chelsea v Liverpool
Man City v Stoke
Portsmouth v Fulham
Tottenham v Bolton
West Ham v Arsenal
Wigan v Aston Villa