Disaster for Hull
Birmingham have become the masters of the one goal win. They have won four of their last six by the odd goal and drawn the other two. That fine run of six unbeaten has seen them climb to ninth place in the table.
West Ham, on the other hand, have won only two of their last fourteen games and have conceded thirty-one goals in that run.
A one goal victory for Birmingham is the sensible bet and I’m going to go with that.
SoccerNews prediction: 1-0
A local derby between two vastly different clubs. Bolton are struggling at the wrong end of the table, currently second from bottom. They have lost six of their last eight games and have hit something of a rut.
Money bags Manchester City are sixth in the table and despite the large number of draws they have had they have still only been beaten once all season. Recent wins over Arsenal and Chelsea will have given them a huge amount of confidence. The exact opposite to what defeat at Wolves last time out will have given Bolton.
SoccerNews prediction: 0-2
Burnley will be pleased to be back at Turf Moor where they have won five of their seven games. On their travels they have still only picked up one point.
Fulham are looking pretty difficult to beat and are more than worthy of their eighth place in the table.
Burnley good at home and Fulham solid everywhere, it just has to be a draw.
SoccerNews prediction: 1-1
Chelsea are still the champions elect and they will be smarting after their defeat at the City of Manchester stadium. They are looking unbeatable at Stamford Bridge having won all seven games there, scoring twenty goals and conceding just one.
Everton showed great spirit to fight back from 2-0 down against Tottenham last week to pick up a point, but their fifteenth place in the table doesn’t lie.
Everton do occasionally get turned over in spectacular fashion as the likes of Arsenal and Benfica have shown this season and I fear for them in this one.
SoccerNews prediction: 4-0
Hull’s mini revival came to a bit of a halt last week when they lost at Aston Villa, but more importantly they also lost Jimmy Bullard who seems to have been the catalyst for the change in fortunes.
Blackburn are getting better and they have held Chelsea and Liverpool in their last two games. I fancy them to give Hull a bit of a reality check. They need a fit Bullard.
SoccerNews prediction: 0-1
United have closed the gap at the top to two points. They are still not playing well but they are still the second best team in the country. If they do start playing then don’t bet against a fourth title in a row.
Clearly, they will have another makeshift defence on show and Villa have the players to capitalise on that fact. The midlanders are looking good in fifth place and they will be a tough test for Fergie’s slightly misfiring men.
SoccerNews prediction: 2-2
Mid-table Stoke are going OK again but the dressing room bust-up between the manager Tony Pulis and the popular striker James Beattie will have been unsettling.
Wigan bounced back from their Tottenham humiliation with a good win over Sunderland but then went down at home to Birmingham, conceding three goals against a side who don’t score many.
Stoke always put their visitors under intense pressure and I can’t see Wigan’s frail defence being able to cope.
SoccerNews prediction: 2-0
After beating Arsenal Sunderland have suffered two disappointing 1-0 defeats away from home. They have slipped a little down the table and will be very keen to get back to winning ways here in front of their fans.
Pompey had a win last week and that is only the third time we have been able to say that this season. They still sit at the bottom and they have picked up just four points from their seven away games.
I expect Sunderland to end their short run of defeats.
SoccerNews prediction: 2-1
Tottenham are fourth in the table and playing some great football. Despite that Harry Redknapp will have been apoplectic when his charges threw away their two goal lead at Everton last week. This followed a disappointing Carling Cup exit at Old Trafford and a draw at Villa in a game they should have won.
Tottenham are a fine side but they need to show that they have the ruthless streak required to break into the top four.
Wolves are still in the relegation zone but secured their third win when they beat Bolton last time out. However, Tottenham away is a very different proposition to Bolton at home.
SoccerNews prediction: 3-1
Sunday 13th December
This would normally be a top four battle but this time only Arsenal occupy one of those positions. They are third and beat Stoke comfortably last week but are still seriously missing van Persie and recovering from defeats to Chelsea and Manchester City.
Liverpool are in seventh place and in a rotten run for them of only three wins in thirteen games in all competitions.
I have to say that I fancy Arsenal if anyone but I’m going to go for the draw.
SoccerNews prediction: 1-1
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