Saturday 10th January 2009
Never easy to predict Arsenal games but this one looks a little simpler than most. After flattering to deceive for a little while, Bolton have lost five of their last six and may well be sliding into another relegation battle.
Arsenal haven’t lost in six Premiership games and may be about to turn some of those draws into wins.
SoccerNews prediction: 2-0
Villa haven’t played as well of late as they were doing earlier in the season. They are still scraping victories though which they say is the sign of a good team.
West Brom have won their last couple of home matches but they are unlikely to be a match for Martin O’Neill’s men whether they play well or not.
SoccerNews prediction: 2-0
Everton are right back in the battle for fourth place with Arsenal and Aston Villa. They have been playing well recently and have been getting the results to match, with the unlucky 3-2 defeat to Villa their only reversal in the last seven.
Hull have started to struggle a little and only have one win in their last twelve games. The fact that they sit eighth in the table and are still amongst the bookies favourites for relegation speaks volumes.
SoccerNews prediction: 2-1
Two sides who struggle to score goals generally. Fulham are having a good season by their standards and would certainly have accepted ninth place at the turn of the year if they had been offered it.
Blackburn are still second from bottom but are showing signs of improvement under Sam Allardyce after the dismal Paul Ince era.
I can’t see many goals being scored at Craven Cottage.
SoccerNews prediction: 0-0
A North East derby that will be full of passion, but probably not much else.
Seventeenth take on fifteenth in what is really a relegation tussle. Middlesbrough have just one win in their last ten league games and Sunderland have just three wins in twelve.
This one is unlikely to be one for the purist or the neutral.
SoccerNews prediction: 0-1
Crucial game for both teams with the clubs being just two and five points above the drop zone respectively.
After a brief revival Newcastle are coming off the back of two straight league defeats and West Ham will be looking to build on two straight victories.
I think it could be more gloom for the Toon Army.
SoccerNews prediction: 0-1
Two pretty poor teams at the moment. Portsmouth have lost Jermaine Defoe and in all truth, look pretty clueless under Tony Adams and Manchester City, well, they look pretty clueless at times under Mark Hughes.
If either team turns up and plays well they will probably collect the points. On the basis that City are marginally more likely to play well at the moment I’ll go for them.
SoccerNews prediction: 0-1
Stoke are a tough team to beat on their home ground although three teams have managed it out of the ten who have tried. Only one team in ten have managed to beat Liverpool when they have visited this season.
Stoke will huff and puff but this season, Liverpool have the ability to deal with that and pick up the points.
SoccerNews prediction: 0-2
Sunday 11th January 2009
Obviously the game of the weekend. Neither team are at their very best at the moment and it is more than likely that they will cancel each other out.
In theory, this should be a classic game of fast, attractive, exciting and entertaining football. Unfortunately, these type of games rarely are. We’ll see.
SoccerNews prediction: 1-1
Wigan are seventh in the table. They’ve sort of crept up there without anyone noticing. They have only lost two of their last ten in the league and their defeat at Tottenham in the cup last week will have little relevance to the outcome of this game.
Tottenham are obviously much improved under Harry Redknapp but have gone four without a win in the league and are only out of the relegation places on goal difference.
Defeat for Tottenham in this one might set some alarm bells ringing at White Hart Lane.
SoccerNews prediction: 2-1
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
