PREMIERSHIP PREDICTIONS
Premiership Predictions & Correct Scores for the Weekend of April 3rd/4th 2010
by Doug Martin
Best Predicted result(s)for previous Weekend: “Hull beating Fulham to end a five game losing run” plus “Blackburn winning only their second away game of the season at Local rivals Burnley” as well as ”Liverpool beating Sunderland easily as I said they would”…………
Hello everyone. First of all can I apologize for the lateness of my “Champions League” predictions. This was due to a brilliant reason. My brother’s 3 year old daughter lost my memory stick & so I couldn’t transfer the article to email until the Wednesday. I have now taken precautions to make sure that this does not happen again by firstly doing the article earlier & secondly by moving back to York in a couple of weeks….
Onto last weeks predictions & I correctly predicted 6 out of 10 correct in terms of results. No Correct scores. this time around even if I did come very close on a couple as per usual. The correct results were Manchester United beating Bolton, Hull beating Fulham, Liverpool beating Sunderland, Manchester City beating Wigan, Spurs beating Portsmouth & Blackburn beating Burnley. This keeps my average above 53% & in fact towards my goal of 60% for the season in terms of predictions which is better than “Mark Lawerson” on the BBC. Let’s not mention that he is a failed football manager of two clubs which his arrogance hides well! Mind you at least he isn’t as bad as Garth Crooks who takes arrogance to new levels previously only seen on TV with kids TV presenters….
Enough of my ramblings. Onto this weekends fixtures for the Easter weekend.
Good luck
Match 1: Arsenal – Wolves: (Saturday April 3rd: 3pm)
Arsenal dropped two precious points on Saturday in their 1-1 draw at Birmingham thanks to a very late Birmingham goal. I don’t suppose it will be of any consolation to them that both Manchester United & Chelsea could only draw at Birmingham as well. The draw now leaves them four points behind refs united & two behind the Russian gangster. Talking of Chelsea, has anybody noticed how their chairman to my knowledge has never done an Interview in this country & that the press never even complains about that fact? Can you imagine if the England manager acted the same? Double standards? Arsenal are unbeaten in 7 Premiership games & the draw against Birmingham stopped a six game winning run. They are still in the title race but they must rely on the top two to drop points. Interestingly Manchester United & Chelsea play each other at Old Trafford on Saturday which means that Arsenal should make ground on 1 or both clubs. Wolves meanwhile have clawed their way clear of the relegation zone with a great little unbeaten run of four games that has included two away wins at Burnley & West Ham. On Saturday last they drew at home with in form Everton 0-0 which was a good point for them. They are now 14th in the table but it is still so tight down in the bottom half of the table that they are only five points away from the drop zone. They should be safe though as there are worse teams than them in the table below them. As Arsenal staged a great comeback to draw 2-2 with Barcelona on Wednesday Night after being 2-0 down half way through the second half & that they also beat Wolves 4-1 away earlier in the season I think therefore that they will beat Wolves but it might be a bit close.
Result Prediction: Arsenal to win
Score Prediction: Arsenal 3 Wolves 1
Match 2: Bolton – Aston Villa: (Saturday April 3rd: 3pm):
Villa got completely humiliated at Chelsea last Saturday by getting beat 7-1 at Chelsea. Made me look at bit stupid as I predicted a 1-1 draw. That’s football. How Villa react will be interesting. They face a Bolton side who themselves got well beat last weekend by Manchester United 4-0 at home. Bolton are 15th in the table & like Wolves are five points ahead of the relegation places. They should be safe & owe that to their manager Owen Coyle who has improved their results since taking over in the new year. Until Villa lost at Chelsea they were on a ten game unbeaten run in the league. They face Chelsea again in a couple of weeks but this time in the FA Cup semi Final at Wembley. I think that Villa had a massive off day. I think that they will bounce back at Bolton but it might only be enough to gain a draw which will not help their chances of reaching 4th place which to be honest are looking slimmer after their defeat at Chelsea anyway. A shame.
Result Prediction: A score draw
Score Prediction: Bolton 2 Aston Villa 2
Match 3: Burnley – Manchester City: (Saturday April 3rd: 5.30pm):
City bounced back from a couple of shaky results to beat Wigan 3-1 on Monday night (Just as I predicted). They are now only two points behind Spurs in 5th place. Should be an interesting battle for 4th place right to the end of the season. City now face a Burnley side who are looking more doomed by the week. They lost at home to their fierce rivals Blackburn last Sunday & I am afraid to say rather easily. This is what you get if you appoint a manager that is crap. Burnley have only won once under Brian laws, against West Ham at home. Their good home form has now begun to desert them as they have lost at Home to Portsmouth & Blackburn in recent weeks. This is not good for Burnley as their away record is dreadful having only picked up the 1 point away from home & that against today’s opponents Manchester City. City should gain revenge for that 3-3 draw with a win here but you have to add some caution to that prediction as City are very difficult to predict in recent weeks. They had a great 4-2 win at Chelsea & but in return have managed to lose at Stoke (FA Cup) & Hull in the league. An away win but I am nervous.
Result Prediction: A Manchester City win
Score Prediction: Burnley 1 Manchester City 2
Match 4: Manchester United – Chelsea: (Saturday April 3rd: 12.45pm):
It’s the big one as Hype TV, err, I mean Sky TV like to say. Well it is an important game in terms of the title. I think that Manchester United will win because the officials/FA/Glaziers/Media need United to win. I will not be surprised in the slightest if the Referee gives United a crucial decision to decide the outcome of the game.
Sorry but there is not much point in me reviewing the game any further because of the above. A Cheat’s win. I hope for football’s soul that I am wrong but since when have the suits had a soul.
Result Prediction: A Victory for every jerk that supports Manchester United from the pub
Score Prediction: Manchester United 2 Chelsea 1
Match 5: Portsmouth – Blackburn: (Saturday April 3rd: 3pm):
Portsmouth got thrashed at home by Chelsea 5-0 in their last home game & then followed that up with a 2-0 defeat at Spurs. Portsmouth have only managed 6 wins in the league all season but I am proud to say that I have predicted three of their wins, the best prediction being their victory over Liverpool which only just overshadows my prediction for their first win of the season at Wolves. Blackburn doubled their away wins total with a victory at Burnley on Sunday (as I predicted). Apart from that victory their only other 3 point haul has been at Bolton. They have managed a few draws but it is their home form that has kept them away from the relegation zone. They are now 10th in the table & a massive 14 points clear of the drop zone. They are almost certainly safe & this makes me feel that Portsmouth will record only their 7th victory of the season which of course will not be enough to save them or even give them any hope of staying up. A shame as the men in suits have a lot to answer for.
Result Prediction: Portsmouth to win
Score Prediction: Portsmouth 2 Blackburn 1
Match 6: Stoke – Hull City: (Saturday April 3rd: 3pm):
Stoke have had a very good season in their second season since coming up from the Championship. They are 11th in the table & 12 points ahead of the drop zone. Last weekend they had a very good result in winning at troubled West Ham 1-0. They now face a Hull side who are fighting for their lives under new manager Ian Dowie who has a fantastic record at being, err, very ordinary in management. They managed to win for the first time in six games by beating travel shy Fulham at home 2-0 last Saturday (As I predicted). This result along with West Ham’s recent bad run means that they are only behind them on goal difference. I still think they will go down & mainly because of their bad away form. They have only managed a few draws & no wins this season but they did come very close at Bottom club Portsmouth in their away outing in losing to two very late goals in a 3-2 score line. I think hull will lose this game but not without any effort.
Match Prediction: Stoke to win
Score Prediction: Stoke 2 Hull 1
Match 7: Sunderland Tottenham: (Saturday April 3rd: 3pm):
This is a difficult game for Spurs in their quest for Champions League football come the end of the season. They did however beat Stoke away 2-1 in their last away game & that should give them plenty of confidence for this game as Sunderland are strong at home this season having only lost twice to Chelsea & Aston Villa. Sunderland are looking safe from relegation after victories over Bolton & Birmingham as well as draws against Manchester City & Aston Villa. I think that Tottenham will win this game as they are doing well at present for not only are they in 4th place in the League but they are in the FA Cup Semi Finals & must be second Favorites behind holders Chelsea. Spurs have won away at Blackburn, Stoke, Hull, Portsmouth, Wigan & West Ham. This then should be victory number seven on the road for Spurs & hopefully they will get 4th place ahead of both Manchester City & Liverpool come the end of the season despite me thinking that their manager is as bent as a boomerang.
Match Prediction: Spurs to win
Score Prediction: Sunderland 1 Spurs 2
Match 8: Birmingham – Liverpool: (Sunday April 4th: 3pm):
Liverpool have given me much pleasure this season. Their form has declined so much since last season that it has left feeling that there is a football god after all. The very enjoyable list of Liverpool away defeats in the League so far is: - Arsenal, Portsmouth, Chelsea, Manchester United, Spurs, Wigan, Sunderland & Fulham. Out of the FA Cup to Championship Reading at home, knocked out of the Champions League to play in the “Minor European Cup” & of course on target to come below 4th in the Premiership. Ha, ha. I hope the manager stays to keep up the good work he has achieved. Part time Liverpool fans down your local will be having fits. Birmingham meanwhile have been having a bloody great season after coming up from the Championship last season. It’s amazing what new ownership can do, which is what West Ham fans will be thinking as well. Considering that Birmingham have not lost at home since the 26th September when they lost to a last minute Bolton goal scored by some Far eastern gentleman called “sop, pop, lop” or something like that…It doesn’t seem hard for me to predict a Birmingham win. Let’s hope I’m right.
Result Prediction: Birmingham to win
Score Prediction: Birmingham 1 Liverpool 0
Match 9: Everton – West Ham: (Sunday April 4th: 4pm):
Everton’s great run continues. They drew 0-0 at in form Wolves after ending Manchester City’s unbeaten home record with a 2-0 victory a few days before. Everton have now only lost twice in the league since early December. In that run they have taken four points off Chelsea & beaten Manchester United at home 3-1. They are 9 points away from Tottenham in 4th place which is perhaps a bit too much of a difference for them to make up but you never know with the way they are playing. West Ham meanwhile are in massive freefall & lost again on Saturday, this time to Stoke City 1-0 at home. West Ham are in serious danger of going down & need some points very quickly. Unluckily for them I don’t think it will be in this game as Everton are far too strong for the Hammers at present. Wonder what West Ham’s chairman will say to this defeat?
Result Prediction: Everton to win
Score Prediction: Everton 3 West Ham 1
Match 10: Fulham – Wigan: (Sunday April 4th: 3pm):
Fulham are out of the FA Cup after losing to Spurs 3-1 in the replay of the FA Cup. Of course I am not surprised as I predicted this. Fulham do however still have Europe as they knocked out the once mighty Juventus of Italy in the previous round to reach the Quarter Finals. They are sat in midtable in the Premiership. To be honest if they could improve their away form than they would be a lot higher. They now face a Wigan side who are only four points off the relegation places after losing 3-1 at Manchester City on Monday night (great time for a football match). Fulham have a pretty good home record as proved by them beating Manchester United 3-0 before Christmas. This should end up being a home win for Fulham which won’t help wigan’s plight. Oh well, you could always go to a JJB Sports store & discuss with the store manager why there football tops are back to the levels of expense as they were before the OFT fined them for charging too much for football tops? The men in suits again…
Match Prediction: A Fulham win
Score Prediction: Fulham 2 Wigan 0
That’s it for this week folks.
Good luck & see you all next week.
Douglas Martin
dapmartin@hotmail.co.uk
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