England: Premier League Aug 16-17

[aliando]

Saturday 16 August 2008	Home	Draw	Away	BPP
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (12:45BST)	1.25	7.20	18.00	99.44 %	Details »
Hide « Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion
Bolton Wanderers v Stoke City (15:00BST)	1.91	3.55	5.20	99.76 %	Details »
Hide « Bolton Wanderers v Stoke City
Everton v Blackburn Rovers (15:00BST)	2.10	3.35	4.20	101.28 %	Details »
Hide « Everton v Blackburn Rovers
Hull City v Fulham (15:00BST)	2.74	3.45	2.90	99.96 %	Details »
Hide « Hull City v Fulham
Middlesbrough v Tottenham Hotspur (15:00BST)	3.25	3.55	2.50	98.94 %	Details »
Hide « Middlesbrough v Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham v Wigan Athletic (15:00BST)	2.04	3.50	4.50	99.81 %	Details »
Hide « West Ham v Wigan Athletic
Sunderland v Liverpool (17:30BST)	6.00	3.95	1.75	99.13 %	Details »
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Sunday 17 August 2008	Home	Draw	Away	BPP
Chelsea v Portsmouth (13:30BST)	1.35	5.40	12.50	100.59 %	Details »
Hide « Chelsea v Portsmouth
Aston Villa v Manchester City (15:00BST)	2.08	3.50	4.20	100.46 %	Details »
Hide « Aston Villa v Manchester City
Manchester United v Newcastle United (16:00BST)	1.35	5.70	13.00	99.31 %	Details »

[Spooner]

Sport	Football (Eng - Prem)
Event	Aston Villa v Manchester City
Selection	Aston Villa
Strength	10/10
Date	17/08/2008
Bookmaker/Price	Bet365 @ 2.00 (Back)
Reasoning	All things are going off at Manchester city of the pitch and I don't think they will be fully focused on this game. Its been reported that new manager Hughes is ready to quit City. Villa has strengthened at the back over the last week, Signing, Shorey, Luke Young and former Rangers defender Carlos Cuellar for 8m on Monday. They managed 9 clean sheets last season but should get a few more than that with these signings. No problems scoring and have a good front line. I have taken Villa to get off to winning ways on what looks a promising season for them

[Spooner]

Sport	Football (Eng - Prem)
Event	Bolton Wanderers v Stoke City
Selection	Bolton Wanderers
Strength	10/10
Date	16/08/2008
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 1.91 (Back)
Reasoning	Both teams will struggle this season, Bolton I can see just staying up but imo Stoke has no hope of staying in the Premiership. Bolton will need to win games at home to sides like this, This is where they will pick up there points this season. Obviously Stoke will be right up for this seeing as its there first game in the Premiership but I expect Bolton to take all three points here.

[impressivegol]

what do you think of WestBrom's hopes of staying up?

[Djslutmonkey]

Originally Posted by impressivegol

what do you think of WestBrom's hopes of staying up?

Personally I can't see it - plenty of talent going forward, but they were average at the back last year, conceding 56 in 46 games. Thats all well and good against teams that you can score 3/4 against, but against Prem defences they won't find it so easy to come from a couple of goals down.

Agree with the Villa -City prediction; City sound in a total mess, Hughes must be wondering what he's done.

I personally fancy unders in the Man Utd vs Newcastle game - if you remember back to the start of last year, Man Utd struggled to score goals while Ronaldo and/or Rooney were out. They only managed 6 goals in their first 7 games last season, and this year both Ronaldo and Rooney are missing, and they drew a blank against the admittedly solid Pompey back 4.

Of course, they utterly tonked Newcastle twice last year - but between then Ronaldo and Rooney scored 7 of Man Utd's 11 goals. At odds against this looks a reasonable bet.

[WHUPUNTER]

Agree with Spooner's selections in Villa and Bolton.

Im going to lay my side West Ham against Wigan on Saturday. Theres no form going in to the season so im going to keep stakes low but I cant understand why we are Evens to beat them. Theyve got a brilliant record at Upton Park in recent years and Bruce will know how to frustrate us. Bellamy and Dyer have picked up long injuries and with Ashton looking completely out of sorts in the recent friendly against Villarreal, Cole looks our only player likely to score a goal. Behrami and Etherington looked creative on Saturday but that was that in what was a lucklustre performance. Wigan have made some shrewd signings in the summer, bringing in young prospects De Ridder, Kapo and Cattermole to what was already an able squad. I cant see where a West Ham goal will be coming from so this looks a brilliant laying opportunity to me.

[Jonesy Knows]

I agree about Man Utd that they will find it tough without Ronaldo and Rooney! Ferguson has been piping on about signing some more forwards but Spurs look like they are holding out for £30 m + for Berbatov and even if Man Utd do get someone in before Sunday the likelihood is they will need to gel with the team first!

I can see United having a slow start this year without Ronaldo until October and even if they get Rooney back I still think he will need time to get fit and on his game!

Newcastle I feel can get a draw here! @5.00 odds

Arsenal at home against a team who look destined to go down WBA.
They have looked progressively good in pre season and I can see Arsenal scoring a few on Saturday. It's going to be a big game for Adebayor to prove to the Arsenal faithful that he wants to play for Arsenal after his will he won't he be staying antics!
So value bets here:
Arsenal -2 Hcp @2.75
Arsenal -3 Hcp @5.00
Adebayor First Goalscorer @4.00
Adebayor to score 2 or more goals @3.75
Adebayor to score a hat-trick @10.00

Arsenal have a good set of games in the first 10 - better than any of the top 4 and I can see them opening up a lead in the prem, but whether they can sustain it or not is open to question...

All prices courtesy of Paddypower

[Jonesy Knows]

Another game that stands out here for me as a bet has to be

West Ham v Wigan

Wigan will be a lot of people's idea of a relegation candidate, however I think in the wiley hands of Bruce - Wigan will be safely away from any dog fights come the season end.
I would have West Ham as more of a relegation candidate as their team has not been improved upon and they still have a lot of ageing legs in their side. People will point to Dean Ashton as their saviour however he has never really convinced me yet as being top notch and without the service he'll struggle to get the goals! West Ham also have quite a small squad so if they get injuries like they did last season then it could be a long hard season of dispair for Hammers fans!

I rate Bruce as a Manager and I think he can get Wigan a near top 10 finish this year!

So onto the value here has to be:

Wigan win @4.00 Paddypower

[MartyMcG_1967]

I think Everton are nicely priced at evens to beat Blackburn. While the Toffees haven't added over the summer and have lost Andy Johnson to Fulham, they are always very strong at home and Moyes has done tremendously well in the last couple of seasons in guiding them to a UEFA Cup spot. They've also retained the services of key midfielder Arteta after interest from Atletico Madrid. I think Blackburn will struggle to reach the heights of previous seasons having lost Mark Hughes and midfielder David Bentley and Paul Ince has a tough job on his hands.
Should be a home win for me here.

[willie82]

Personally I think Fulham are great odds at 1/2 +1 goal at Hull on Sat. They are a better team than Hull and while Hull will be up for it given it's their first game in the prem I can see Fulham getting at least a point as they have made some good additions this season and I rate Hodgson as a manager. I don't think Hull's defence is good enough to keep them out.

Anyone put me off?

[boyd]

Originally Posted by WHUPUNTER

Agree with Spooner's selections in Villa and Bolton.

Im going to lay my side West Ham against Wigan on Saturday. Theres no form going in to the season so im going to keep stakes low but I cant understand why we are Evens to beat them. Theyve got a brilliant record at Upton Park in recent years and Bruce will know how to frustrate us. Bellamy and Dyer have picked up long injuries and with Ashton looking completely out of sorts in the recent friendly against Villarreal, Cole looks our only player likely to score a goal. Behrami and Etherington looked creative on Saturday but that was that in what was a lucklustre performance. Wigan have made some shrewd signings in the summer, bringing in young prospects De Ridder, Kapo and Cattermole to what was already an able squad. I cant see where a West Ham goal will be coming from so this looks a brilliant laying opportunity to me.

Wes,

I saw one of your pre-season friendlies against MLS All Stars a couple of weeks back. Ashton scored twice in a 3-2 defeat with his second getting a lucky deflection to wrong foot the keeper but Ashton did look quite good, but your defence was absolutely atrocious, especially Lucas Neill, who gave a penalty away as well as numerous passes but have to agree it looks like a brilliant laying oppurtunity. If they play anything like that then i do feel Wigan can take at least a point, but with you saying they have a good recent record at your place it makes the bet more interesting for me.

[boyd]

Originally Posted by Jonesy Knows

Newcastle I feel can get a draw here! @5.00 odds

I seriously hope so, i've got a ticket for the game in the Stretford End so going to be sat amongst all the United fans... if we win i don't think i'll not be able to cheer but after our recent record against United i can't see us getting a goal never mind a result but here's to hoping!

[SecondSight]

Boro/Spurs

I would advise PL punters to grab the 11/8 for Spurs on Skybet if you fancy their chances. I don't expect the price the be around on Saturday. If you lose Skybet will refund 10% if you are a Skysports subscriber too. It looks ons odd Berbatov wil be at Spurs on Saturday and I imagine Spurs fans will pile in and the bookies will have Spurs at only 6/5ish. The Betfair price will drop as well to 2.25ish

[nicko]

Originally Posted by SecondSight

Boro/Spurs

I would advise PL punters to grab the 11/8 for Spurs on Skybet if you fancy their chances. I don't expect the price the be around on Saturday. If you lose Skybet will refund 10% if you are a Skysports subscriber too. It looks ons odd Berbatov wil be at Spurs on Saturday and I imagine Spurs fans will pile in and the bookies will have Spurs at only 6/5ish. The Betfair price will drop as well to 2.25ish

I thought first it is a great pick for the season start - Spurs had a fantastic pre-season warm-up, tactically they are much better, clean sheets vs top teams... Still, they've upset me so often at the beginning of the recent campaigns that I decided to just watch the game at Boro. I hope this early-season crap changes under Ramos , but if many back Spurs and odds go down a lot, then value might go the other way around, Boro somehow on AH. I will just stake low/medium on the Over in the game.
Good luck

[DJ]

Originally Posted by SecondSight

Boro/Spurs

I would advise PL punters to grab the 11/8 for Spurs on Skybet if you fancy their chances. I don't expect the price the be around on Saturday. If you lose Skybet will refund 10% if you are a Skysports subscriber too. It looks ons odd Berbatov wil be at Spurs on Saturday and I imagine Spurs fans will pile in and the bookies will have Spurs at only 6/5ish. The Betfair price will drop as well to 2.25ish

Other than looking at price value, how do you think the game will go on Saturday? I can't decide at the moment so for me it is a game to leave alone. I should be optimistic with all Spurs signings but at the same time we don't have a great record in opening day fixtures. Middlesbrough tend to get results against the considered bigger teams and the game leans towards a repeat draw of last year. Alves looked quality last season and so he is more than capable of scoring so if I was to guess a score then I would go for 1-1 with Alves scoring first but that's just a 'what could happen' rather than anything more substantial. After the game against you guys it seems that we have an easier run, aside from away to Chelsea, so could start picking up more points.

[SecondSight]

DJ

Alot of uncertainities at present. Boro's defence could be very young on Saturday. As a fan I was disappointed with the sale of Luke Young, he was a rock last season. The club seemed very quick to take Villa's £6m (suggest they are trying the break even opposed to 80% of the Premier clubs that are run to make a loss at present) which often equates to limited ambitions on the playing side. I am worried about the goalie situation with only rookie keepers. Alves will score goals especially if fed by Downing. I don't want to go into too much detail as I have a number of unmatched bets on Betfair and I have done quite a bit of trading which can confuse some. I will say a bit more later.

Spurs continue to compete with Chelsea as the League top spenders, it must pay off eventually. Ramos looks a proper manager too, but he needs to create an efficient team.

[SecondSight]

Hands up those who are confident of Newcastle scoring at MU...

With Owen, Viduka and Martins all likely missing, its not easy to see Newcastle scoring at MU.

MU kept 13 clean sheets in 19 games at home, which if contined this year suggests Newcastle have a 33%ish chance equaing to odds of 2/1 to score or 1.50 not to score (1/2). 1.90 looks too good to be true on Betfair.

[WHUPUNTER]

Originally Posted by boyd

Wes,

I saw one of your pre-season friendlies against MLS All Stars a couple of weeks back. Ashton scored twice in a 3-2 defeat with his second getting a lucky deflection to wrong foot the keeper but Ashton did look quite good, but your defence was absolutely atrocious, especially Lucas Neill, who gave a penalty away as well as numerous passes but have to agree it looks like a brilliant laying oppurtunity. If they play anything like that then i do feel Wigan can take at least a point, but with you saying they have a good recent record at your place it makes the bet more interesting for me.

Hello Boyd.

I saw that game too live on setanta and ive been to Hampton and Richmond (where we struggled but eventually won 4-2) and Villarreal at home where we looked mediocre to say the least. To me, it looks too good a lay to turn down. Id advise you to lay us too. Enjoy the game at OT aswell.

[SecondSight]

He was called the goal machine when he came which looked to be an ironic joke two months later.

The two Manchester clubs were not laughing though at the end of the season when he knocked 2 past MU and 3 past City.

Afonso Alves form has continued in pre season friendlies this year.

Spurs could be a different kettle of fish tommorow, but I have been tempted by the 13/1 with Paddy Power for him to score 2 or more in what could be a high scoring game. I doubt both sides will play for a nil nil as both see their strengths in the offensive area and both will play for a win. 5pts stake which is low for me though as its a long shot.

3800 Spurs fans travelling up to Teesside so there should be a very good atmosphere.

[leespam]

Have had a couple of points on Fulham on the AH earlier in the week. I had initial optimism that Hull would make a real go of survival when they beat Bristol City in last years play-off final - I don't know why, just a feeling. However, they've had an awful pre-season (losing at home to Osasuna, away to Hearts and Lge 1 Crewe) and although they've signed some players with Prem experience (Gardner, Boateng, Geovanni etc.) I reckon the bookies have over-estimated their chances of collecting 3 points on their Premiership debut. Fulham on the other hand vastly improved their Away record under Hodgson towards the end of last season and with some tasty-looking new signings (Zamora, Gera, Schwarzer and Johnson amongst others) set to feature, I reckon they look a touch of value at the prices.

2pts Fulham (0AH) to beat Hull @ 2.05 (bet365 - now 2.03)

GL all...