Manchester City v Bolton, Premier League, February 9, 2010

Manchester City 40/85; Draw 7/2; Bolton 9/1

All of a sudden Roberto Mancini appears to be facing a must-win game, and many are taking glee in noting that the dapper Italian has now lost more matches than his predecessor Mark Hughes.

It all started so well for Mancini with four straight-forward wins against Stoke, Wolves, Boro (FA Cup) and Blackburn, and a minor blip at Everton (losing 2-nil) was quickly forgotten after a terrific victory over neighbours United in the Carling Cup semi-final first-leg. But since City’s form has headed south. Defeat at Old Trafford was followed by a laboured victory over Portsmouth, and last weekend they lost again against relegation-threatened Hull.

Even so, the Citizens, boasting a formidable home record of eight wins and three draws of their 11 games so far this term in the league, should be favourites against Bolton on Tuesday night.

Up-form, Carlos Tevez’s (11/10 to score) hot-streak may have cooled in recent weeks, but since returning from his harrowing time at the African Cup of Nations strike-partner Emmanuel Adebayor (21/20 to score) has bagged two in two as the Togolese forward neatly slipped back into the Premier League fold.

Less good news surrounds the availability of Craig Bellamy. The Welsh attacker is set to miss the miss as a result of his long-standing knee injury, while Joleon Lescott will also likely be absent from the starting eleven as he continues his rehabilitation from injury. With Vincent Kompany is still struggling with a groin problem and Micah Richards doubtful because of a calf injury too, newbee Dedryck Boyata is likely to continue at the heart of the City defence which has only kept one clean sheet in their last five games.

Visitors Bolton appear to be starring down the barrel as they arrive at Eastlands with the Trotters carrying the shameful record of zero wins in their last seven Premier League away games. (Manchester City are 9/4 to win both halves.)

Adding to their woes is a long list of absentees. Croatian striker Ivan Klasnic is missing for the visitors with a calf complaint and while Gary Cahill, Sean Davis and Joey O’Brien are suffering from long term injuries. And it gets worse for Bolton as on-loan winger Vladimir Weiss is out as the Slovakian cannot face his parent club, while Andy O’Brien (thigh) and Fabrice Muamba (ankle) are both doubtful and Gavin McCann remains sidelined.

Down to their bare bones, Owen Coyle will be reliant on Kevin Davies (16/5 to score) to lead the line, possibly alongside Johan Elmander (16/5 to score), while the likes of Chung-Yong Lee (9/2 to score), Matty Taylor and Tamir Cohen will be asked to be support from midfield.

With Bolton having kept one clean sheet in their last 23 Premier League away matches (Bolton are 7/1 to keep a clean sheet, 1/8 against), and City haveing scored in their last 21 consecutive home matches (Manchester City are 11/10 to score in both halves), we expect City to claim the necessary points against Bolton although the performance could well be lacking.

101gg predicts: Manchester City 2 - Bolton 0 (7/1)

Manchester City 40/85; Draw 7/2; Bolton 9/1

Full match odds here.

Manchester United hammered the first nail in Arsenal’s title coffin last weekend and yesterday Didier Drogba tormented the Gunners to leave us with an undoubted two-horse race in the Premier League. Liverpool’s bid for fourth (and perhaps even third) received a major boost this weekend.

Good Weekend

Didier Drogba: Chelsea returned to the top of the table with a comfortable win over Arsenal, led by Didier Drogba who simply loves facing the Gunners. The Ivorian bulldozer has now scored 12 goals in 10 starts (12 matches in total) against Arsene Wenger’s side and he simply brushed aside a brittle Arsenal defence all afternoon.

The 31-year-old scored two in November at the Emirates and could well have claimed a hat-trick at Stamford Bridge on Sunday with a late free-kick crashing against the bar. Besides Drogba, Chelsea were faultless at the back and soaked up Arsenal’s pretty patterns with ease.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side now face a tough trip to Goodison Park on Wednesday night and with Manchester United in fine fettle, even a draw at Everton could be costly. Increasingly, the clash with United at Old Trafford on April 3 looks like a title decider.

(Chelsea are 8/11 to win the league, Didier Drogba is 7/2 to be top goalscorer.)

Manchester United: The fact United hit five past a woeful Portsmouth side on Saturday does not tell us a great deal about the quest for a fourth successive title. Crucially, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have better goal difference than Chelsea after an incredible run that has seen them score 24 goals in their last seven matches.

There are some cracking games to come this month, including Aston Villa away on Wednesday, which is a rehearsal for the Carling Cup final. Next Tuesday, United travel to Milan to face the Rossoneri in the Champions League and there is also a tricky fixture at Everton to negotiate in the league.

(Manchester United are 13/8 to win the league, Wayne Rooney is 2/5 to be top goalscorer.)

Dirk Kuyt: The Merseyside derby was not pretty but once again Liverpool won out thanks to guts, commitment and a will to win that their opponents cannot live with even with a man advantage. Once again, embodying all those qualities was Dirk Kuyt who scored the winner (his 50th goal for Liverpool) with a typical piece of harassing that unsettled Everton and in particular Tim Howard.

The weekend was made even sweeter for Liverpool with Manchester City losing at Hull and Spurs and Villa drawing 0-0. A tough test awaits at the Emirates on Wednesday night but Rafa Benitez appears to have turned things round and with no goals conceded in their last four games there is a familiar solidity to Liverpool again.

(Liverpool are 6/4 to finish in the top four.)

Hull City: A week ago it looked a foregone conclusion that the Tigers were heading to the Championship and would endure another second half of a Premier League season similar to 2008/2009. Instead Phil Brown’s side produced two excellent performances to pick up a point off Chelsea and then see off Manchester City.

Terrific goals from Jozy Altidore and George Boateng secured the victory but it was another performance of terrific work rate and desire. Tom Crainey appears to be a real find for the cash strapped Tigers and if they can get Jimmy Bullard back on the pitch soon, another unlikely season in the Premier League is entirely possible.

(Hull are 7/5 to be relegated.)

Kevin Phillips: The 36-year-old striker took his tally to three for the season with a demonstration of what a deadly finisher he can be when coming off the bench.

Brian Laws: A first win for the unfancied manager in his fifth game in charge lifted Burnley to 15th in the table and they are another side who have been written off but could well surprise a few people. Laws should also take credit as new signing Daniel Fox chipped in with a goal and an assist.

(Burnley are EVS to be relegated.)

Jose Mourinho: As almost always seems to be the case, Inter Milan were the big winners in Serie A this weekend thanks to their 3-0 home win over Cagliari. Their lead at the top of the table now stands at eight points and with the Scudetto all but in the bag, the Champions League clash with Chelsea takes on major importance for the Special One and the Nerazzurri.

(Inter Milan are 1/10 to win the Scudetto.)

Roma: The win at Fiorentina took them up to second, two points ahead of third placed AC Milan. Claudio Ranieri is performing miracles in the Italian capital, Roma have won eight successive matches in all competitions and haven’t lost in 19 games.

(Roma are 1/4 to finish in the top three.)

Antonio Di Natale: The veteran Udinese striker claimed a hat-trick in the 3-1 win over Napoli. Di Natale (pictured) is the top goal scorer in Italy with 16 goals.

(Di Natale is 13/8 to win the Italian golden boot.)

Kaka: The Brazilian Galactico scored his first goal in the Spanish La Liga for three months.

(Real Madrid are 14/5 to win La Liga.)

Barcelona: Won again, despite being down to ten men for much of the match. Lionel Messi’s opener was a class finish and forget the fact they haven’t lost in the league all season, they haven’t even been behind in a La Liga match.

(Barcelona are 2/5 to win La Liga.)

Bayern Munich: The only team in the top five of the German Bundesliga to win this weekend. Louis van Gaal’s side are currently in a brilliant spell of form, unbeaten in 14 matches and have won their last eight games. The icing on the cake was the goal scoring return of Franck Ribery but Daniel van Buyten and Arjen Robben once again stole the show.

(Bayern are 2/5 to win the Bundesliga.)

Grenoble: Ligue 1’s bottom side stunned Auxerre with a 5-0 home win that was only Grenoble’s second victory of the league season.

Matt Derbyshire: The former Blackburn striker now has three goals in two games for Olympiakos. Does Fabio Capello know he exists?

Bad Weekend

Arsene Wenger: For the second week in succession Arsenal looked sloppy in defence and short of a cutting edge up front. The Chelsea second goal caught the Gunners on the break just as Manchester United did last week and this must be particularly galling for Wenger who previously used to watch his Arsenal side destroy teams in a similar manner.

There is much to blame Wenger for despite the fact calls for his departure from the Emirates are way too premature when one considers what he has brought to Arsenal and English football. It should not be lost on anyone that Drogba came from France and for all “The Professor’s” famed scouting, he missed out on one of the best strikers to emerge in Ligue 1 and the Ivorian has come back to haunt Arsenal on numerous occasions.

Returning to this season, Wenger has paid the price for not investing in a target striker to replace Robin van Persie. Arsenal’s title rivals have sat deep on successive weeks and sucked up the Gunners football which has little end product. Nowhere was this more evident than all the crosses lumped into the Chelsea box that never looked like being converted by the smurfs in red.

With the attack failing to function, the Arsenal defence was woeful in their attempts at marking John Terry and Didier Drogba for the first goal and there was a sense of inevitability about the second goal with no Arsenal defender strong enough to stop the Ivorian. In particular, Gael Clichy had a mare and the French full back is symptomatic of Wenger’s faith in certain players not being repaid as Arsenal fans watch the same matches over and over again.

(Arsenal are 7/2 to finish in the top two.)

Roberto Mancini: Mark Hughes was sacked for less. Mancini has now presided over three defeats as Manchester City boss whilst his predecessor only lost two games in 2009/2010.

The dapper Italian, already a darling of the English media has tasted defeat at Everton, Manchester United and Hull. Besides the first leg Carling Cup semi-final win over Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, Mancini has not overseen a win over a decent team.

Also worrying for Mancini was the poor performance from Patrick Vieira at the KC Stadium. Upcoming matches against Bolton, Stoke (twice, in the Premier League and FA Cup) all need to end in wins before a testing run against Liverpool (h), Chelsea (a) and Tottenham (h).

(Manchester City are 7/4 to finish in the top four.)

Portsmouth: Three own goals at Old Trafford sums up their season. Pompey have now claimed five points away from home in the league which looks likely to equal the number of owners they have collected in a season. A win against Sunderland tomorrow night is an absolute must.

(Pompey are 1/5 to be relegated.)

West Ham: A disappointing defeat at Burnley has left the Hammers in the relegation zone. New owners David Sullivan and David Gold have not brought the results on the pitch and Gianfranco Zola needs a win to boost confidence.

(West Ham are 4/1 to be relegated.)

Sunderland: Now without a Premier League win in 12 games. Sunderland are in freefall.

(Sunderland are 9/1 to be relegated.)

Discipline in Spain: An incredible 59 yellow cards and nine reds were handed out in Spain over the weekend.

AC Milan: Just weeks ago it looked like the Rossoneri would challenge Inter for the title, since their 2-0 defeat to their rivals from the San Siro, Leonardo’s side have failed to win in three matches. David Beckham played just ten minutes as a substitute for the Rossoneri yesterday with new signing Amantino Mancini preferred on the right.

(AC Milan are 1/4 to finish in the top three.)

Juventus: Still no victory for new coach Alberto Zaccheroni, the “Old Lady” are now seventh in Serie A, three points off a Champions League position.

(Juventus are 2/1 to finish in the top three.)

Bordeaux: Laurent Blanc may well be the new darling coach of the European press but his Bordeaux side only hold a three point lead after a disappointing defeat at Rennes.

(Bordeaux are 1/2 to win Ligue 1.)

Steve McClaren: FC Twente’s 3-0 defeat at Ajax leaves them playing catch up to leaders PSV and with only a six point lead over the Amsterdam giants.

(FC Twente are 14/5 to win the Eredivisie.)

Hertha Berlin: Lost again at Werder Bremen, Hertha have picked up just 11 points all season.

Belenenses v Braga, Liga Sagres, February 8, 2010

Belenenses 11/2; Draw 14/5; Braga 5/7

If you’d asked one hundred people at the beginning of the season which team would become the 2009/10 Portuguese champions, 99% of the answers would have revolved around the established trio of Porto, Sporting or Benfica. And that would have been a fair response as for the past 75 years, the three Portuguese powerhouses have incredibly laid claim to 73 combined championships.

But Braga are shaking things up big-time this season and, currently in second place in the table with the opportunity to close the gap on leaders Benfica to just one point with a win on Monday night, the old order finally appears to have a serious challenger. (Braga are 6/1 to win the league.)

Braga, under the watchful eye of coach Domingos Paciencia, enjoyed a terrific first half of the season in which they beat all three of Porto, Sporting or Benfica, and they showed their taste for continued success last weekend when they beat Sporting 1-nil to effectively rule the Lisbon giants out of the title race this season.

Incredibly, Braga have only conceded six goals all season in 17 league matches, propelling The Archbishops into the position of the stingiest team in all of Europe. However while Braga have struggled to be beaten on the pitch this year, last week the club were on the receiving end of a tough judgment from the league as they were hit with a massive blow that they will have to do without the services of Vandinho, Mossoro and Ney.

All three players have been issued punishments from the Liga Disciplinary Committee for incidents during the halftime fracas in the match between Braga and Benfica, and Vandinho has been punished the most severely as the midfielder has been suspended for the following three months.

Looking to steady the ship in the wake of this news, much of the responsibility will fall on the shoulders of former Newcastle flop Hugo Viana (pictured). Viana, on loan from Valencia, has been in mesmerising form this season, chipping in with four goals and featuring in almost every match this season. Elsewhere, strikers Albert Meyong Ze, Paulo Cesar and Alan have been leading the line and they have collectively netted almost half of Braga’s total goal tally. (Under 2.5 goal at 5/8, over at 8/5.)

Braga will be fully confident of another three points against Belenenses, with the visitors looking to avoid the wooden spoon this season. Three points adrift at the foot of the table, Belenenses arrive into the match on a horrific run of just one win in their last 13 matches including three back-to-back defeats in their last three outings.

With just one win all season in the league, making Belenenses the official worst team playing in top flight European football, anything other than a Braga win would be a major shock.

101gg predicts: Belenenses 0 - Braga 2 (13/2)

Belenenses 11/2; Draw 14/5; Braga 5/7

Full match odds here.

Woo hoo! For the first time in ages our midweek tip on a four-way accumulator proved bang on the money, and a vital injection of cash came our way in our betting journey.

If you want to get involved with us in trying to beat the bookies at their own game, the great news is that all new clients who register at Betfair can claim a free no-lose bet of £25 . All you have to do is click on this link to register, which once completed allows you to make a deposit and place a bet up to £25 in your account. If your first bet loses, you’ll receive your cash of up to £25 within 48 hours.

Not looking to get too greedy, we’re aiming to trouser some more lolly this weekend by first backing what is hoped to be three home bankers on Sunday.

With just under half the season still to run in Serie A, it already seems a lock that Jose Mourinho’s Inter will be crowned Scudetto champions. This weekend Cagilari arrive in Milan, and the visitors face an uphill battle knowing that Inter have won nine and drawn two of their eleven home games this season.

Shifting over to Greece, second-placed Olympiakos will be hoping they can close the gap on league leaders Panathinaikos this weekend when they take on second-bottom Levadiakos. With just one away win and three away draws all season, Levadiakos should cause little trouble for Matt Derbyshire and his peers, particularly having regard to the 3-nil thumping Olympiakos handed out earlier in the season in the reverse fixture.

Lastly, it’s a similar story over in Portugal on Sunday night where third-placed Porto, boasting one of the best home records in the division, take on 11th-spot Naval - who arrive at the local giants with just one away win all season. Undefeated in their last nine matches with four back-to-back victories, Porto are beginning to motor as we approach the business end of the season. And if they have any hope of catching leaders Benfica and Braga, three points this weekend are mandatory.

Backing Inter (4/9), Olympiakos (1/4) and Porto (1/4) to all win at home, the aim is to turn a £2 stake into a £4.51 return.

Chelsea v Arsenal, Premier League, February 7, 2010

Chelsea 5/6; Draw 11/4; Arsenal 4/1

With Manchester United facing rock bottom side Portsmouth on Saturday, Chelsea will likely face Arsenal looking to make up their two point lead on the champions. In turn the Blues can truly knock Arsene Wenger’s side out the title race by moving nine points clear of the Gunners and handing out another morale sapping defeat to this young Arsenal side. (Chelsea are 21/20 to win the title, Arsenal are 10/1.)

Both teams come into this match off the back off disappointing results and the pressure of the situation surrounding the match could see a tight encounter. Chelsea will though be buoyed by their comfortable win over Arsenal in November and in Didier Drogba have a striker who simply loves playing against the Gunners.

Drogba’s double in the 3-0 win at the Emirates took his tally to 10 goals in 11 matches against Arsenal and Arsene Wenger must rue the fact his side didn’t face Chelsea during the Africa Cup of Nations. The Ivorian striker has scored some crucial goals against the Gunners, including in the 2007 Carling Cup final and the winner in last season’s FA Cup semi-final. (Chelsea are 15/8 to score in both halves.)

Ironically, whilst we had been served a deluge of commentary claiming Chelsea would struggle during the Africa Cup of Nations without their African stars, Carlo Ancelotti’s men instead won all their matches in January. Their 1-1 draw with Hull on Tuesday, in which Drogba scored the equaliser, halted a fine run which has given a resurgent Manchester United belief of a fourth successive title.

Ancelotti will reportedly bring Jon Obi Mikel back into the starting line-up to stop Arsenal’s midfield from dominating. (Chelsea are 7/4 to keep a clean sheet.) Nicolas Anelka and Frank Lampard will, as ever, be goal threats, and Michael Ballack’s runs from deep will also have to be checked by a Gunners midfield that struggled to stop the runners from deep of Manchester United last Sunday.

The defeat at the Emirates left Arsene Wenger hugely frustrated and the French boss will hope his side can lift themselves from yet another chastening defeat. Arsenal have been comprehensively outplayed at home by both their title rivals and probably need to win at Stamford Bridge to stay in contention.

Despite their poor performance, one would imagine Wenger will go with more or less the same team that lost to United. Nicklas Bendtner may be included to add some physical presence up front but the likes of Manuel Almunia, Gael Clichy and Denilson who all struggled so publicly, should all start.

Cesc Fabregas’ future at Arsenal has again been the source of much speculation in the past week with the Spaniard thought to be ready to return to Spain in the summer. This is a big match from the Spaniard but he will need help from the likes of Alexandre Song and Andrey Arshavin who will need to be at the top of their game to stop a Chelsea side that hasn’t lost at home in 2009/2010. (Arsenal are 11/1 to win both halves.)

Arsenal have produced some heroic performances at Stamford Bridge and will need some inspiration from somewhere. Last season Robin van Persie’s brace secured a surprise win and the likes of Nwankwo Kanu (October 1999) and Nigel Winterburn (September 1997) have etched themselves into folklore at Chelsea.

Of course, a match preview of this encounter could not fail to mention the man of the moment. Chelsea captain John Terry could face a difficult day with more revelations set to be released by the Sunday papers and Fabio Capello likely to speak about his extra marital affairs at the Euro 2012 draw. Whether Terry has much to do though remains to be seen and it would be no surprise if Arsenal are battered into submission by Didier Drogba yet again.

101gg predicts: Chelsea 3 – Arsenal 1 (16/1)

Chelsea 5/6; Draw 11/4; Arsenal 4/1

Full match odds here.

Tottenham v Aston Villa, Premier League, February 6, 2010

Tottenham 6/5; Draw 5/2; Aston Villa 3/1

Of the four contenders battling it out for probably the last Champions League spot in the Premier League, both Spurs and Aston Villa are the least fancied. (Spurs are 9/2 & Aston Villa are 5/1 to finish in the top four.) Manchester City’s big spending and Liverpool’s experience of the premier competition in Europe, means most pundits would back either Roberto Mancini’s side or the Merseyside giants to clinch fourth spot.

Nevertheless, it is not possible to discount Tottenham or Villa just yet. Harry Redknapp’s side currently hold fourth spot, two points above the visitors to White Hart Lane on Saturday tea time, although Villa do have a game in hand. It has long been held that the four horse race for Champions League football will go down to the wire and the head-to-head encounters could make all the difference.

With these two teams so evenly matched and with everything to play for, this could be a fine game to watch. Spurs come into this match on a high after coming through a tough FA Cup fourth round replay at Leeds on Wednesday night. Jermain Defoe’s hat-trick took the plaudits but in truth the diminutive striker could have scored six, as Harry Redknapp admitted afterwards, and there were some other fine performances in the Tottenham side. (Spurs are 85/40 to score in both halves.)

David Bentley set up two of Defoe’s goals and Michael Dawson, Gareth Bale and Tom Huddlestone all produced composed performances at Elland Road that reflect the form the trio have been in during recent matches. Spurs’ progress in the Cup though has brushed over their patchy league form in 2010 that has seen them cling on to fourth spot, for now.

Of their four Premier League games in January, Harry Redknapp’s side won just once, against a Fulham team in freefall. Their home draw with Hull, the disappointing defeat to Liverpool four days later and last week’s late draw with Birmingham have left Spurs fans ruing what might have been as they failed to put daylight between themselves and the other teams chasing fourth spot.

Aaron Lennon’s absence with a groin injury has been a blessing for David Bentley who appears to be regaining form, but Spurs miss the zip of the diminutive winger. After they were on the bench on Wednesday, Luka Modric and Wilson Palacios will return to the side for the match against Villa and Rerdknapp will hope to have one or both of Eidur Gudjohnson and Roman Pavlyuchenko available off the bench. New signing Younes Kaboul will also be pushing for a start following his return to White Hart Lane. (Spurs are 5/1 to win both halves.)

Villa come into this match following a week off since their fine 2-0 win at Craven Cottage last week. (Villa are 23/1 to repeat the same scoreline.) All eyes will be on Gabriel Agbonlahor to prove he can reproduce the form he showed last week as Martin O’Neill’s side continue to challenge on three fronts.

Reaching the Carling Cup final has buoyed the club and Villa have now not conceded a Premier League goal since Fernando Torres scored in late December at Villa Park. (Villa are 7/2 to keep a clean sheet.) The midfield triumvirate of England wingers James Milner, Stewart Downing and Ashley Young will all be confident of doing damage at White Hart Lane in what is normally a happy hunting ground for the side from Birmingham.

Stephen Warnock will definitely miss out due to a shin injury which should see Luke Young fill in at left back at his former club. Stiliyan Petrov is expected to be fit and John Carew has also returned to training to put pressure on Emile Heskey. With arguably five England hopefuls starting for Villa and four lining up for Spurs there will be no shortage of players looking to impress.

There are almost always plenty of goals in this fixture, most notably a crazy 4-4 in October 2007. Villa won 2-1 last season at White Hart Lane but will be wary that the fixture at Villa Park this season saw Spurs dominate for long periods but only equalise late on through Michael Dawson. A fascinating encounter awaits but the result may not do either team any good.

101gg predicts: Tottenham 2 – Aston Villa 2 (17/1)

Tottenham 6/5; Draw 5/2; Aston Villa 3/1

Full match odds here.