MANCHESTER CITY v BURNLEY (EPL)

another no-brainer. manchester city to win. once again, the margin of victory is hard to predict, but manchester city will definitely pick up all 3 points at home after a streak of draws.

Eddy's prediction: $10 on manchester city @ 1.33 = $13.30

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS v ARSENAL (EPL)

i think this one's a no-brainer. arsenal to win. not sure if they can clear the handicap, but surely a win is almost certain.

Eddy's prediction: $10 on arsenal @ 1.36 = $13.60

MULTIPLIER OF THE WEEK (EPL)

so here's a little multiplier for you punters out there to try.

arsenal vs tottenham (arsenal or draw @ 1.11)

fulham vs liverpool (fulham +1.5 @ 1.20)

manchester united vs blackburn (blackburn +3 @ 1.18)

portsmouth vs wigan (portsmouth +0.5/1 @ 1.19)

stoke vs wolverhampton (stoke or draw @ 1.20)

Eddy's prediction: $5 on above multiplier @ 2.24 = $11.22

BURNLEY vs HULL CITY (EPL)

i reckon hull will be able to hold on for a draw, and jimmy bullard will probably feature and that's good news for hull, who are lacking inspiration at the moment.

roland's prediction: $5 on hull +0.5 @ 1.96 = $9.80

i agree with roland that hull should be able to hold on for a draw, against a burnley team whose bubble has well and truly burst, which is no surprise really. they are a very average side, and this is a battle between two teams that are surely gonna be relegated at the end of the season. however, i'll err on the side of caution, and go with a higher handicap, in case bullard doesn't play.

Eddy's prediction: $5 on hull +1 @ 1.405 = $7.03

MANCHESTER UNITED vs BLACKBURN (EPL)

manyoo turned in one of their worst performances of the season against a depleted liverpool side last week, and deservedly emerged from the game with nothing in the bag. good news for them then, that the very next week, they face a blackburn team that was also smacked 5-0 by chelsea last week. on paper, this is a sure-win for united, but i don't think it's as clear-cut as that. manyoo will be missing vidic, ferdinand, neville and giggs, and that leaves them looking rather depleted, especially at the back. blackburn, on the other hand, welcome back david dunn from his virus, and i think he will cause some problems for united. i definitely do not see blackburn getting thumped, and as such, a 2-goal handicap is fantastic.

Eddy's prediction: $5 on blackburn +2 @ 1.875 = $9.38

bets this week

sorry for the inactivity - been really busy!

hull city +0.5 @ 1.96

i reckon hull will be able to hold on for a draw, and jimmy bullard will probably feature and that's good news for hull, who are lacking inspiration at the moment.

stoke city -0.5 @ 1.94

after a trashing from portsmouth in midweek, i think stoke will bounce back with a win at the britannia where they are very strong.

sunderland -0.5 @ 2.06

sunderland looks good value because of their injury problems, but whether or not darren bent plays doesn't matter because kenwyne jones has also chipped in his fair share of goals, with only 2 less than bent. west ham have lacked cutting edge this season and i don't think they'll find their form in time for this match.

LIVERPOOL vs MANCHESTER UNITED (EPL)

this is the big one. the fixture both sets of fans marked out on their calendars at the start of the season. liverpool come into this one after 4 consecutive losses, and can ill afford another. manchester united are in good form coming into this match at anfield, but this is exactly the sort of match where the form-book goes right out the window. liverpool will be desperate to avoid that 5th loss in a row, which would definitely mean goodbye to the title this year, and with home advantage, i can't see how liverpool will lose this match. whether gerrard or torres plays doesn't matter, the players will dig in to ensure at least a draw, so level ball should be safe.

Eddy's prediction: $10 on liverpool level ball @ 2.20 = $22.00

BLACKBURN vs BURNLEY (EPL)

blackburn suffered a humiliating 6-2 defeat last time out at the emirates stadium, but they were unlucky in that they had both christopher samba and ryan nelsen out for that game, which meant that their defence was terribly makeshift. this time round, both of them are back, and i think blackburn can bounce back successfully from that horrible defeat, and thump burnley at ewood park.

Eddy's prediction: $5 on blackburn -0.5 @ 1.75 = $8.75

EPL MULTIPLIER

here's a little multiplier you might wanna consider for the weekend.

arsenal v birmingham (arsenal win @ 1.16)

sunderland v liverpool (sunderland +1.5 @ 1.18)

everton v wolves (everton win or draw @ 1.10)

aston villa v chelsea (chelsea win or draw @ 1.16)

blackburn v burnley (blackburn +0.5 @ 1.15)

Eddy's prediction: $5 on above multiplier @ 2.00 = $10.00

EVERTON vs STOKE CITY (EPL)

everton will be high in confidence after a superb display against BATE borisov during the midweek europa league clash. saha has been on form and he was rested and will be raring to go against stoke, who have found it difficult on their travels and have never won so far, and have scored only 4 goals in 7 games so far. bilyaletdinov looks like a great acquisition and pienaar's absence won't be felt, hell, no one even remembers arteta is missing out for everton. that's how good they are right now, and they will only get better. everton to win.

roland's prediction: $5 on everton win @ 1.50 = $7.50

BOLTON WANDERERS vs TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (EPL)

spurs are having a great run, bouncing back from successive defeats against man utd and chelsea with 10 goals in the last 2 matches. bolton, who have been traditionally hard to beat at home, have surprisingly not won and i don't think they will be able to. bassong has proved to be a fine addition and harry redknapp has found a good balance to the team, and with robbie keane being able to bag 4 goals, you know that the team is on form. go for a spurs win, as i don't think bolton will be able to contain lennon and defoe.

roland's prediction: $5 on Spurs -0.5 @ 1.980 = $9.90

EPL MULTIPLIER

after last week's success, here's a little multiplier you might wanna consider laying down a couple of bucks on.

hull v wigan (hull +1 @ 1.18)

burnley v birmingham (birmingham +1 @ 1.24)

chelsea v liverpool (chelsea +0.5/1 @ 1.13)

wolves v portsmouth (portsmouth +1.5 @ 1.18)

Eddy's prediction: $5 on above multiplier @ 1.95 = $9.75

RESULT: $5 became $7.87, because birmingham was voided (score 2-1)

MANCHESTER UNITED vs SUNDERLAND (EPL)

manyoo are bang on form, having won their last god-knows-how-many games. they have won playing well, and they have won playing poorly, so the momentum is definitely with them. in a home game against steve bruce's sunderland, one would once again expect bruce, a fergie old boy, to do his former boss a favour, and lose this one. he has done it in the past, with wigan, and i think he'll do it again. however, an interesting point to note is that, it has never been a spanking for steve bruce's team. i suspect this is because the respect goes the other way as well, and fergie doesn't wanna humiliate his former players. as such, i'm going for sunderland on a good handicap, just in case they perform really well, and actually succeed in holding united.

Eddy's prediction: $5 on Sunderland +2 @ 1.60 = $8.00 (from bet365)

JURGEN MELZER vs GILLES SIMON (ATP THAI OPEN SEMI-FINALS)

10th-ranked gilles simon is the favourite heading into this match, and i think that is a fair reflection. while gilles simon tends to choke once a tournament heads into the business end, his opponent this time is 44th-ranked jurgen melzer, who has had a terribly easy route so far. i fancy gilles simon to progress to the final this time, as his past 3 losses have come to players far more established than melzer, such as tsonga, djokovic, and ferrero.

Eddy's prediction: $5 on gilles simon to beat jurgen melzer @ 1.53 = $7.65

FIORENTINA vs LIVERPOOL (Champions League)

Liverpool are without their injured Mascherano, who has been an immense figure in their midfield with the absence of Xavi Alonso. His absence will greatly impair Liverpool's ability. Furthermore, Liverpool have a crucial match at Stamford Bridge over the weekend, and another loss will cut them much further adrift from the title chase, so I think Rafa will be resting key players and playing fringe ones. As Liverpool have the weakest bench amongst the big 4, I don't think they can get a result from this game. Fiorentina have been showing very good performances at home and have won every single game so far, so I think backing Fiorentina for this game is the right choice.

Roland's prediction: $5 on Fiorentina +0.5 @ 1.960 = $9.80

EPL MULTIPLIER

so here's a little multiplier you might wanna consider laying down a couple of bucks on.

fulham v arsenal (arsenal level ball @ 1.18)
liverpool v hull (liverpool win @ 1.14)
blackburn v aston villa (blackburn +1 @ 1.195)
sunderland v wolves (sunderland level ball @ 1.25)
stoke v manchester united (stoke +2 @ 1.28)

Eddy's prediction: $5 on above multiplier @ 2.57 = $12.85

RESULT: $5 became $10.05, because stoke was voided (score 0-2)

BLACKBURN vs ASTON VILLA (EPL)

aston villa have a bit of a crisis going on in central midfield, with sidwell ruled out of this game. that leaves martin o'neill to count on either fabian delph (severely out of his depth in the premier league), or a very unhappy nigel reo-coker to partner stilian petrov in midfield. you don't need to be a genius to figure out that villa will struggle in midfield in this match. you will perhaps remember the last time they left sidwell out of the side, they played terribly and lost to wigan on the opening day. since then, they have won all their matches, but this sort of run has to stop somewhere, and i don't see allardyce losing yet another game.

Eddy's prediction: $5 on blackburn +0/0.5 @ 1.825 = $9.13 (from bet365)

BURNLEY vs SUNDERLAND (EPL)

Burnley are actually a very weak squad, and they only beat Man Utd and Everton due to their promotion high and their home support. Their back to back losses against Chelsea and Liverpool, conceding 7 goals in the process, should have knocked the wind out of their sails. While Burnley are at home and will be tough to beat, I think they will be more courageous when facing Sunderland, leaving more holes in the defence to be exploited by the awesome partnership of Darren Bent and Kenwyne Jones.

Roland's prediction: $5 on Sunderland level ball @ 1.82 = $9.10

i totally agree with my fellow tipster, roland. i definitely do not see sunderland losing this one, so level ball is a fantastic bet to take. with darren bent in imperious form, the burnley defence, which isn't exactly mobile, will probably have a day to forget. also, burnley like to pass the ball around, but with cattermole and cana around, they're gonna find very little time on the ball, as the pair of them are INSANE.

Eddy's prediction: $5 on Sunderland level ball @ 1.82 = $9.10

ASTON VILLA vs PORTSMOUTH (EPL)

Villa have overcome a bad start to their EPL campaign, notching 3 tough wins in succession against Liverpool away from home, Fulham, and their derby match against Birmingham City. Them being knocked out of Europe means that Martin O'Neill has a strengthened squad to concentrate on the league alone. The new partnership of Dunne and Collins have strengthened the back line immensely and I don't see how Aston Villa will drop points in this game, seeing as how Pompey are still collapsing quickly.

Roland's prediction: $5 on Aston Villa -1/1.5 @ 1.88 = $9.40

BLACKBURN vs WOLVES (EPL)

Blackburn will welcome Ryan Nelsen back, who is an inspirational figure to the team with his tenacity and never-say-die attitude. 1 point from 3 games is definitely not enough for Big Sam's team and, while their striking options are pretty limited, they will be up against Mancienne who is still learning the ropes at the top level of English football. I think the strength and experience of either Jason Roberts or Benni McCarthy will prove crucial in exploiting the Wolves defence and Blackburn will post their first win of the season.

Roland's prediction: $5 on Blackburn -0.5 @ 1.870 = $9.35

MANCHESTER CITY vs ARSENAL (EPL)

i think this is one of the clearest bets of the week. arsenal just lost two weeks ago, even though they played very well, while manchester city has been getting the results without looking very convincing. the thing about such unconvincing runs is that they have to end sometimes, and as such, i fancy arsenal on the level ball.

Eddy's Prediction: $10 on arsenal level ball @ 1.825 = $18.25

Agree with Eddy. Arsenal won't lose twice in a row, and while they aren't exactly king of comebacks from setbacks (the 2-1 loss to United), they will be facing a Bellamy-led City attack, which isn't the best that City can offer. City's strength has been their lack of goals conceded, but Arsenal is a team that can carve openings out of nothing and I expect Arsenal to at least draw, or win this one.

Roland's Prediction: $5 on Arsenal level ball @ 1.800 = $9.00

MANCHESTER UNITED vs ARSENAL (EPL)

this is the big one. arsenal have been in good form since the start of the season, while manchester united have looked far from convincing, struggling for victory against birmingham, losing shamefully to burnley, and then looking totally toothless for one half against a poor wigan side. it is a tough one to predict, as both sides have their qualities, but i just feel that arsenal will not be thrashed as comprehensively as they were in the champions league last season. being at home, manchester united have a very good chance of winning this, despite being without rio ferdinand. i fancy arsenal to not lose though, as i just think manchester united's older legs will struggle to compete with the youthful exuberance of arsenal's play.

Eddy's prediction: $5 on arsenal +0.5 @ 1.715 = $8.58 (from bet365)

BOLTON WANDERERS vs LIVERPOOL (EPL)

As a Man Utd fan, I am very tempted to place a bet on Bolton Wanderers as I hope Liverpool will lose 3 games in their first 4, but I doubt that will happen. Bolton have not been convincing in terms of finishing and I don't think they will be able to trouble Liverpool. Liverpool do have a very good record against Bolton, be it at the Reebok or at Anfield, and they seem to always score aplenty, so I think I will score when I place this bet on Liverpool. After all, they can't be THAT bad, right?

Roland's tip: $5 on Liverpool -1 @ 1.950 = $9.75

HULL vs BOLTON (EPL)

Hull City started the season promisingly enough, showing lots of spirit in an unlucky 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. A large part of the performance was due to Stephen Hunt having a big impact on the side, and having scored both of Hull's goals already this season, Phil Brown can be reasonably pleased that his new signing has made an impact. However, tonight will be the first time Hunt comes up against a proper right-back in Gretar Steinsson, and i predict that he will have a tough time against one of the league's best old-fashioned right-backs. Bolton, despite their poor performance against Sunderland, do have a good set of hardworking players, and I fancy this to be enough to at least grab a point against a Hull City side that looks set for the drop this season.

Eddy's prediction: $5 on Bolton +0.5 @ 1.53 = $7.65

WIGAN ATHLETIC vs MANCHESTER UNITED (EPL)

Well, everyone thinks that Manchester United are now suddenly an ordinary club with no ambition and no title winning credentials after their shock 1-0 loss to Burnley. Which is why this bet is so hard to resist. I don't think that Manchester United will drop points two games in a row, however notoriously slow to start the season they are. A 1 goal win will even the handicap, which is good anyway because no money is lost, and any more means a great return of 2.07. I fancy United to win anyway, because the Serbinator is back.

Roland's tip: $5 on Manchester United -1 @ 2.07 = $10.35