Manchester United are back on the road this weekend as they put their lengthy unbeaten run on the line once again at one of their happiest hunting grounds.

 

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Saturday 13th November

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Aston Villa v Manchester United
Manchester United are back on the road this weekend as they put their lengthy unbeaten run on the line once again at one of their happiest hunting grounds. A dour derby draw with City clearly wasn't what they were hoping for as they again slipped four points adrift of Chelsea - but it was a decent enough performance. They'll hope to turn that into three points at Villa Park, where incredibly they haven't lost in the league since 1995 (you can't win anything with kids and all that). But United certainly won't be at full strength with Wayne Rooney still in America, Paul Scholes suspended and Patrice Evra and Rafael big doubts after limping off at Eastlands. While they're unbeaten in the Premier League, they've won only once away from home this season - their draw in midweek a fifth on the road already. For Villa's part, they snapped a five-game winless run by beating much-changed Blackpool in midweek but they're also not shy of a draw, with three from six at home and two in their last three there. One of those was against Chelsea just a month ago and with this fixture having ended all-square in each of the last two seasons, the draw at 3.45 looks worthy of a play in this one.
Verdict: Aston Villa 1 Manchester United 1

 
Manchester City v Birmingham
Birmingham make the trip north to Manchester City on the back of the last-gasp defeat at Stoke in midweek. A scrappy goal from Dean Whitehead gave the points to the Potters and the Blues are now six games and counting without an away win this season. Things won't get any easier when they travel to Eastlands with the 2-0 victory at West Brom and the 0-0 derby draw with Manchester United helping ease a bit of the pressure on Man City boss Roberto Mancini. The Italian was pleased with his side's clean sheet against United and the 2.38 with Bet365 for more of the same in a win to nil appeals. That outcome is as short as evens (Bwin). Goalkeeper Joe Hart has looked rock solid during the campaign so far and Vincent Kompany and Kolo Toure were dominant in their dealings with Dimitar Berbatov on Wednesday night. The City defence are also well protected by the endeavours of Nigel de Jong and Gareth Barry in midfield and the duo can once again be expected to keep the opposition quiet this weekend. Birmingham are a decent attacking force but this is a step up in class and they could find it hard to bounce back from the late agony at the Britannia Stadium.
Verdict: Manchester City 3 Birmingham 0

 
Newcastle v Fulham
There's nothing exciting us about this game from a betting perspective. Given Fulham's dismal away record - nine wins in the last five seasons and none so far in this campaign - it's perhaps not surprising to see Newcastle no better than even money to win this one. However, with the in-form Joey Barton suspended and Shola Ameobi doubtful we're steering well clear. The Magpies may be sitting in fifth place but when you consider they've already lost at St James' Park to Blackburn, Stoke and Blackpool you realise that getting involved at such a short price is only for the brave (or stupid). The draw, on offer at 12/5, could offer some value, especially when you consider Fulham have drawn four of six away games so far. However, we're swerving this and putting our cash elsewhere.
Verdict: Newcastle 1 Fulham 1

 
Tottenham v Blackburn
Spurs have come back to earth with a bump after that glory, glory night against Inter Milan. The stunning and well-deserved 3-1 victory over the European champions is Spurs' only win the last five and since then they've been woeful at Bolton and disappointing in a 1-1 home draw with Sunderland on Tuesday night. They desperately need a return to winning ways to stay on the coat-tails of the top four but their formline has to be a concern at prices no better than 8/13. Against the Black Cats Rafael van der Vaart continued his remarkable record of scoring in every home appearance for his new club, and he'll have his backers to score first (9/2) and anytime (11/10) but those prices reflect the fact he's now being treated as a striker by the layers. Better value perhaps lies in the 'scrambling' markets. Spurs' shaky defence has conceded first in a staggering eight of 12 league games this term, but Harry Redknapp's side have battled back to take 10 points (three wins and a draw) from those games and have also launched unlikely comebacks this season at Young Boys, Inter and Bolton from 0-3, 0-4 and 0-3 respectively. Spurs are 5.00 to win or draw from a losing position in this one - more than fair for an outcome that would have landed in four of Spurs' last eight league games.
Verdict: Tottenham 2 Blackburn 1

 
West Ham v Blackpool
If Ian Holloway's plan comes off, Blackpool will shut everyone up by winning this game - one it seems was deemed 'more winnable' by the manager after he made 10 changes in midweek at Aston Villa. The spirit and desire in his squad was shown at Villa Park as the team came within a minute of claiming a point. The Seasiders have already won at Wigan, Newcastle and Liverpool, so we're not sure why they are as big as 4,80 to win this one. Remarkably the Hammers are odds-on across the board despite the fact that they've won just one of 12 games so far, scoring just 11 times in the process. To add to their problems, striker Carlton Cole is a doubt for this game. The fans at Upton Park are getting restless and could really turn if Blackpool start as they have been doing. Kieron Dyer has already admitted it could look like West Ham are "doomed" if they lose here, so plenty of pressure will be on the hosts. Blackpool are certainly not the easy touch many expected them to be in the Premier League and they are just too big to ignore in this one.
Verdict: West Ham 1 Blackpool 2

 
Wigan v West Brom
Last week we told you all about West Brom's fighting qualities without being rewarded financially but after they again came from behind to earn a point in midweek, we're going to stick to our guns. When the Baggies fought back from 2-1 down to draw at West Ham on Wednesday it was the sixth time in 12 games that they had come from behind to earn points this season. That's some record and it's not too hard to imagine them doing it against a far-from-watertight Wigan side. Youssouf Mulumbu, Nicky Shorey and Roman Bednar could all return for this one so even a visitors' win at 3.10 comes into consideration, especially when you see Wigan have won just one of seven home games. However, you can get 5.50 about that 'fightback' stat becoming seven out of 13 and that's too tempting.
Verdict: Wigan 1 West Brom 2

 
Wolves v Bolton
Wolves' run of games against the top four was well documented. They emerged from it with justthree points, but they won plenty of plaudits for their performances which almost earned a point at Old Trafford and saw them push Chelsea and Arsenal hard. Given some of their displays it must be pretty depressing for Mick McCarthy to see his side next to bottom of the table. However, this game kicks off a period in which Wolves face the sides around them and midfielder Karl Henry knows this is the time they need to pick up points: "We've got seven games coming up now which are completely different to the four we've just played. Our supporters will be expecting us to win and they're games where we need to put pressure on ourselves to go and get points from them. It's no good playing well against the top teams if we can't get anything against the lower-placed opposition." Plenty of truth in those words. However, Bolton are a tough side to beat and are in decent form. After seeing off Spurs 4-2 they defended particularly well at Everton in midweek where they were seconds away from a fine victory. They've had seven draws from 12 games so far, while their last four away macthes have ended 1-1. We feel there will be little to separate these sides given the match is taking place at Molineux, so we're going to take the hint and get involved in such a draw.
Verdict: Wolves 1 Bolton 1

 
Stoke v Liverpool
Liverpool's resurgence stuttered somewhat in midweek when they were held 1-1 at Wigan and another tricky away trip awaits them at the Britannia. We told you recently about the Reds' poor record on the road - the Wigan result took it to won five, drawn 10, lost nine in 2010 in all competitions. With defensive selection problems again set to affect Roy Hodgson's thinking - something that left the manager grumbling about his squad strength this week - we're keen to get with the hosts in this one. Stoke put their own disappointing run to one side on Tuesday when they saw off Brimingham 3-2 and an extra day's rest (Liverpool played on Wednesday) may also aid the Potters, who have built a solid record on home turf since their promotion to the top flight. As if to emphasise that, both previous renewals of this fixture have ended all square. You can get a home win and the draw onside for 1.75 which seems more than fair, so we'll take a slice of that and add it to our coupon.
Verdict: Stoke 1 Liverpool 1
 

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Sunday 14th November

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Everton v Arsenal
If at first you don't succeed, try again. OK, it's not perhaps the best betting mantra but it's one we're going with for this game. Last week we picked out Arsenal's propensity for late goals only for them to fail to deliver against Newcastle, but they were back on cue in midweek, netting in injury time at Wolves. Subsequently the last-goal times in their matches this season are now: 90, 45, 88, 88, 47, 85, 90, 90, 83, 51, 83 and 90. Everton got a late goal of their own in midweek to stretch their unbeaten run to seven games, while they've also notched in the last minute against Birmingham and Manchester United this season. And finally, as if to labour the point, the last-goal times in this fixture in the last four seasons have been 89, 90, 90 and 90. We're therefore more than happy to get with Bet365''s quote that the final goal comes after the 73rd minute, an outcome which can be backed at 1.91. In terms of the outright result, Arsenal have often struggled on their trips to Goodison - they've won four, drawn two, lost four over the past decade - but Everton were poor against Bolton in midweek, failing to stretch the Trotters defence and rarely troubling the keeper. Although their defence remains pretty stingy, they've been vulnerable at times on the counter-attack - something Arsenal are certainly good at exploiting, particularly late on when games are stretched.
Verdict: Everton 1 Arsenal 2

 
Chelsea v Sunderland
1-0, 2-0, 2-0, 4-0, 2-0, 6-0. Those are the scorelines in Chelsea's league matches at Stamford Bridge this season. Add in the end of last term - 8-0, 7-0, 1-0 and the Blues have now brought home the bacon in the 'win to nil' market in their last nine home fixtures. Yet they can still be backed at 5/6 to repeat the trick in this one - a match which sees Sunderland become the latest side to take up the Bridge challenge. They've only netted five times in six away games so far and with Darren Bent, who has scored around 50 per cent of the Black Cats' goals in the past 18 months, still sidelined with injury they will struggle to make an impact against the miserly home defence. Michael Essien is suspended for the hosts but they've coped without him in these type of games before - it's in the big games (such as last week's at Liverpool) where he is really missed. To back up our argument for the 'win to nil', we're also going to throw in the scorelines from this fixture in recent years - 7-2, 5-0, 2-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0. Looking at that, you sense a few Sunderland players will be carrying baggage into this one from those games and we're more than happy to get involved with the 1.83.
Verdict: Chelsea 3 Sunderland 0

 

PICKS:
SATURDAY
Draw in Aston Villa v Man Utd at 3.45 at Bwin.
Stoke & Draw in double chance market v Liverpool at 1.75 at Betsson.
Man City to beat Birmingham to nil at 2.38 at Bet365.
Spurs to come from behind and win or draw v Blackburn at 5.00 at Ladbrokes.
Blackpool to beat West Ham at 4.20 at Betsson.
West Brom to come from behind to win or draw v Wigan at 5.50 at Bet365.
Draw in Wolves v Bolton at 3.25 at Betsson.
Wolves and Bolton to draw 1-1 at 6.50 at Bwin.
SUNDAY
Chelsea to beat Sunderland 'to nil' at 1.83 at Bet365.
Time of last goal in Everton v Arsenal to be after 73 minutes at 1.91 at Bet365.