EPL Week 13

It will not be surprising to see some of the leading teams lose points again this week-end, but I think that the results on overall, will be favourable to the big teams.

Aston Villa v/s Sunderland. I see a Villa win here although they are not the best team to have complete faith with. Benteke is just disappointing at the moment and the team needs him to start firing if they are to compete for the upper half of the table. Sunderland are just awful and are destined for a relegation scrap until the end. I see home comforts for the Villains, and a straight Win looks good value.

Hull v/s Liverpool. That should be 3 full points for the Kops and another bag of goals for the SAS strikeforce.

Chelsea v/s Southampton. The Saints can play spoilers here and Chelsea have a game on their hands. This match could go any result, so there is no certainty there.

Man City v/s Swansea. City are almost unbeatable at home and I cannot see a Swansea team that was in action and beaten in the Europa League in mid-week playing an upset. The Citizens should win this.

Everton v/s Stoke. I like the hosts as draw-no-bet here although they will be missing Baines. It will not be surprising to see the Potters steal a point but it looks far-fetched to see them get all three.

Norwich v/s Crystal Palace. I cannot see the Eagles getting 2 away wins in a row. Norwich have a good record at home and will be looking to maximize points at Carrow Road to offset their poor road record. Norwich is selected as a straight win.

Tottenham v/s Man Utd. It is staggering to see that Spurs have a -3 goal difference at this stage, thanks to their 0-6 drubbing against Man City last week. They are clearly a club in crisis and the pressure is on AVB to right the ship asap. On the other hand, the Red Devils are in ascending form and their mid-week demolition of Leverkusen in the UCL will have given the team huge confidence. I see it safe to have Man Utd as a draw-no-bet, but the value is to go for the outright Win with them.

Win: Aston Villa, Liverpool, Man City, Man Utd
Draw-no-bet: Everton

EPL preview

Back from the bore of international breaks and to the resumption of an ever exciting EPL. Some thoughts on some of the matches:

Everton v/s Liverpool. The Merseyside Derby looks to produce fireworks and it would not be surprising if it ended up in a draw. The Toffees are enjoying a good spell under Martinez and will certainly have the benefit of home advantage. Liverpool will be relying on Suarez as usual and the fact that he has been rushed from international duty from the Southern Hemisphere is a concern regarding mental and physical sharpness for such an explosive game. The value is to have Everton as a draw-no-bet, in my opinion.

Arsenal v/s Southampton. The hosts will be all too aware that the Saints cannot be underestimated at any cost. Southampton have garnered points at Anfield and Old Trafford and can foil the best teams in the league. The Gunners will again count on the explosive duo of Ozil and Ramsey to make the difference. They will also benefit from the return of Walcott on the flanks. I think the Gunners will definitely get something out of the game and a confident draw-no-bet proposition as well.

Fulham v/s Swansea. The home side has been the major disappointment of the campaign so far. It remains to be seen whether the arrival of ex-coach Muelensteen will make the desired impact. Swansea have shown disappointing form of late and will be keen to end a run of 3 EPL games without a win. At current odds and with some element of risk, the visitors look good value as draw-no-bet.

Hull v/s Crystal Palace. Hull needs to get maximum points out of encounters of this sort if they are to survive relegation. They look for draws on their away travels but at home they will not get easier opponents than the manager-less Eagles. It might be close, but in the end, I see the Tigers getting full points. They are a Win selection.

Stoke v/s Sunderland. If ever there is a game that is to go goal-less or draw during the week-end, it's this one. If there is to be a winner, it could be any of them. To avoid or to play it as a draw.

Cardiff v/s Man Utd. Cardiff has scraped through a couple of wins at home thanks to goals from set-pieces. The Red Devils will have to ensure they disable the threats of dead ball situations to get away with 3 valuable points here. They must if they are to keep in touch with the league leaders and confirm the renaissance of the last couple of weeks. Rooney and RVP are in great form and although they might be a little short in central midfield, the Red Devils should have too much fire-power for the Welsh outfit. The visitors are a Win selection.

Win: Man Utd, Hull
Draw-no-bet: Swansea, Arsenal, Everton

My views on some EPL games this week-end.

Aston Villa v/s Cardiff. Finally a game that the Villains have a chance to get a few points and I expect Benteke to have a big game here. He's got near-misses in his previous matches but quality should prevail here. I see a Villa win with Benteke on the score-sheet.

Chelsea v/s WBA. It's Mourinho against his former No 2 Clarke. Got to go with Chelsea because they are so far invicible at home in the EPL with the Portuguese. WBA will go look for a point, so might be worth making it safe through a draw-no-bet.

Liverpool v/s Fulham. The visitors are woeful and their manager is under pressure of getting fired any time. I cannot see them win this. The S & S strikefore of Suarez and Sturridge will be certainly be hoping to enhance their goalscoring records. This should end in a Liverpool win.

Southampton v/s Hull. The Tigers are beset by injury problems at the moment but they are a well-organized unit that can make it hard for any team to break down. Southampton are on a good run and should make it 3 points, although an upset from the visitors should not be ruled out if they are taken too lightly by the hosts. Better go the safe route and go for a draw-no-bet with the Saints.

Swansea v/s Stoke. The hosts seem to be in a rut of form of late but I expect them to get back to winning ways as they welcome Stoke. At current odds, Swansea look good value for the win.

Man Utd v/s Arsenal. That's the big game of the week-end. Ramsey is just being amazing for the Gunners. I can't recall a midfielder being in such goal-scoring form for the Gunners; he's just a goal scoring machine at the moment. He could still score against the Devils but I don't think Arsenal will win this match. I see the hosts being pumped up and will be working their sleeves up so as not to concede a fourth defeat in the League. Moyes has a quite good record against Arsenal in his Evertonian days and knows the style required to foil the Gunners. The selection is for a draw-no-bet with Man Utd and a lay of Arsenal.


Win: Aston Villa, Liverpool, Swansea
Draw-no-bet: Chelsea, Southampton, Man Utd
Lay: Arsenal
To Score: Benteke