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Aston Villa v Norwich

Paul Lambert welcomes his former club Norwich to Villa Park this Saturday in the lunch time kick-off.Lambert would like nothing more than to take all 3 points and put one over on his former employers. Villa have had one of their worst starts to a Premier League campaign securing five points from eight games, their last four games have only been profitable with a draw against local rivals West Brom.

Brett Holman speaking this week feels that it’s only a matter of time before everything clicks together and Villa can start to move up the table from 17th position. Holman believes Paul Lambert’s men simply haven’t had the rub of the green so far this season “force to be reckoned with” But he doesn’t think the team will get stronger from moping about their lack of luck. He thinks the emphasis is on the team to turn things around on the pitch - with the help of the “brilliant” claret and blue army.Darren Bent is expected to start up top with Gabby Agbonlahor, after the pair started in the defeat at Craven Cottage, meaning summer signing Christian Benteke will be on the bench.

Aston Villa have won just two of their last 16 Premier League matches at Villa Park (W2 D6 L8). Meanwhile, Norwich sit just two places above Villa in the table following a difficult start to the season under new manager Chris Houghton. The Canaries will be looking to build on their impressive win last weekend over Arsenal. Grant Holt will be leading the attack once again, and has netted in each of his last three Premier League matches. Hughton is also expected to play Wesley Hoolahan at the centre of a five-man midfield. Villa and Norwich are the Premier League’s joint-lowest scorers with just six goals each, so don’t expect a goal feast in this one.

Written by Nigel Smalley

Match PredictionsThis should be a really interesting game to watch, especially after the boost that Norwich got last weekend with the win over Arsenal. Every week in these predictions, I always say that Villa have to start their season properly sooner or later, but when will it come? I’m sure the Villa fans amongst you are asking the same question.

I think Norwich would take a draw away to Villa and I think they’ll probably get one. On paper this looks like it should be low scoring, with both sides only scoring 6 goals in the first 8 matches, so we’ll stay away from any goal markets.

Bent to score any time again? Go on then. His name sticks out on the team sheet, so we’ve got to give him a go.

Aston Villa 1-1 Norwich City

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Arsenal v QPR

Arsenal will be looking to bounce back from two consecutive defeats here, and could be boosted by the return of Jack Wilshere.

The young midfielder has been sidelined for over a year through injury, but did complete 90 minutes for the club’s youth side on Monday.Bacary Sagna could also feature, although Theo Walcott is still struggling with that chest injury picked up on England duty two weeks ago.

The Gunners have had a tricky seven days, suffering losses at Norwich last Saturday and against Schalke in the Champions League on Wednesday evening. And, alarmingly for them, they have failed to keep a clean sheet since September 2nd, after not conceding in their first three games. It would appear that Assistant Manager Steve Bould has plenty of work still to do on the training ground.

QPR, meanwhile, put in an improved performance last time out against Everton, but could still only muster a draw against a side reduced to ten men for the last half hour of the game. Mark Hughes’ team remain rooted to the bottom of the table – and with rumours suggesting that Harry Redknapp is interested in the managerial position and circling overhead like a hungry vulture, this could be the last chance for Hughes to keep the birds of prey at bay.

Which is, ironically, something they have failed to do all season. The Hoops remain winless, and have only kept one clean sheet all campaign. They do seem to find the net on a regular basis though, and have only failed to score twice n their eight games. Mark Hughes will be hoping that that particular run continues this weekend.So, it will be raining goals then. One to watch out for on Match of the Day anyway that’s for sure. Written by @RouteOne

Match PredictionsAnother interesting match, with neither team exactly on form at the moment. Arsenal seem to be playing without confidence and having lost the last two matches, QPR could extend this run without a win. Saying that, QPR haven’t won all season and with Arsenal at home, they really should win this one.

QPR have scored at least once in each of their last 5 matches, so both teams to score looks a solid bet for this one.

Goalscorers for Arsenal are really hard to predict at the moment, especially as they haven’t really got a settled first team yet. Gervinho has been starting up front but I refuse to back him because he misses so many chances! If Giroud starts, we’ll pick him.

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Reading v Fulham

The Royals make their long-awaited return back to action at the Madejski Stadium this weekend when they take on Martin Jols Fulham. Reading are still searching for a first win in the English Premier League this season. Manager Brian McDermott believes this match can be the starting block to their season “We can’t wait - it’s been such a long time. We’ve had a couple of difficult away games and we should have won against Newcastle. If we can put on that kind of performance like we did against Newcastle then we’ll do well.” Brian McDermott’s men have collected just three points from a possible 21 in the top flight to sit above only Queens Park Rangers on the table.

The Royals will be without Jem Karacan who will miss the Cottagers clash after suffering a knee injury at Liverpool, but goalkeeper Adam Federici is in contention to return. Noel Hunt may also feature after he trained with the Royals this week. Martin Jol in his pre-match statement says “If you see their results, it’s always close. They’ve got a few players who can make a difference and they play like a team. I feel that Reading could be higher but they need that little bit of luck.”Fulham’s Bryan Ruiz is a doubt after missing the match against Aston Villa because of a groin injury sustained while away on international duty. The two sides have a fairly even head to head record, with Fulham having the slightly better record with 16 wins Readings 13.

The Royals did the double over the West Londoners in 2006/07 - both 1-0 wins thanks to Kevin Doyle penalty at Craven Cottage and Stephen Hunt’s winner at the Madejski. However, the Cottagers inflicted revenge home and away the following the season. Reading are also one of two sides yet to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League this season, so a busy day could be on the cards for the Reading goalkeeper.

Written by Nigel Smalley

Match PredictionsPlenty of interesting clashes this weekend, that will be great to watch but unfortunately very hard to predict. This is definitely one of those. Reading still haven’t won this season, and I think they will struggle to win this one, against a strong Fulham side.

Goals will be the way to go in this match, with each of Fulham’s last 4 away matches ending in Over 2.5 goals. Reading should get a goal at home, but a 2-1 Fulham victory looks fairly likely and would bring the bet in nicely.

Damien Duff has been playing well this season and has three goals to show for it. If he is recovered from illness in time, we’ll have an outside bet on him to score at any time.

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Stoke v Sunderland

Stoke City have endured a difficult start to the season this time out, coming up against some of the league’s top sides, travelling to Stamford Bridge, Anfield & Old Trafford in the past few weeks.

Despite only claiming just 1 point out of a possible 9 against these sides Stoke were fairly impressive, stalwart defensive displays at Liverpool and only undone by a late goal at Chelsea, whilst competing in a high-scoring affair against Manchester United, so they should not be as worried as the table suggests, as they have navigated through some of the season’s toughest fixtures already. They have an opportunity to kick on and claim three points on Saturday at The Britannia, where their form has been positive with a 1-1 draw with Man City and a 2-0 win over Swansea of late, so there will be some slight expectation on Tony Pulis’ hands for this fixture.

As for Sunderland, it’s been a similar start to Stoke in terms of points gained, with 8 points in 7 games. They managed to grab a point in the derby game with Newcastle last time out, and can go into Saturday’s game confident with the form of Scottish striker Steven Fletcher that they could possibly score at any moment, and the deadly set-pieces of Seb Larsson could prove to be crucial if they are to claim any points at the weekend. Manager Martin O’Neill will be eager for his side to be more consistent, and he will be eyeing Stoke as the catalyst for that.

This is set to be a tight game, Stoke have been pretty impressive this season and they will take the game to Sunderland, who will probably be well organised, so we could see a couple of goals here.

Prediction Stoke 3-1 Sunderland Written by Liam Harris

Match PredictionsSunderland did the double over Stoke last season, without conceding a goal, but should find it tougher this season against a fairly resilient Stoke side who haven’t lost at home in their last 10 league matches.

Another match where goals will be good to look at, again the Over 2.5 goals market. With two on form strikers, a 2-1 is definitely not out of the question

This game will see two of this seasons form strikers battling it out, Crouch with 4 goals and Fletcher with 5 goals. It’s a tough one with who to pick really, so I would recommend just going with the one who plays for the side you think will win!

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Wigan v West Ham

It’s been a tough start as usual for Wigan, and it’s showed no signs of changing so far. The past five games have only seen Wigan gain a single point, and Roberto Martinez will not be happy with this poor return of points, which if this run continues, could see the Latics in a very difficult position to recover from, possibly even more difficult than last season’s position, where they performed a near-miracle to claim their Premier League status for another season. I can’t personally see that happening again this season, so Wigan will need to start picking up points really soon, and West Ham this weekend will be a good opportunity for them to do that.

In contrast, West Ham’s return to the Premier League has been very positive so far, and the London side find themselves in 7th place with 14 points from their opening 8 games. However, their opening fixtures have been fairly easy; Arsenal being the only top 6 team they have had to play, so they will have a difficult run of games coming up in future. Because of this, they will be looking to win at the DW stadium, and really do see this as a game they should be winning. The signing of Andy Carroll at West Ham has really invigorated the side, and his performances have been key to The Hammers’ early success this season, and I can see him being the difference in this game.

Wigan already have a victory over West Ham this season when they were 4-1 winners in the Capital One Cup, but this will be a completely different story in my opinion, and West Ham will be solid and I can see the link-up between Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll being important in this game, and I think they will combine to give The Hammers all three points.My Prediction: 2-1 West Ham

Written by Liam Harris

Match PredictionsAnother game I’m looking forward to this weekend, with both sites looking at this game as one that they could and maybe should win. After last weekends win, West Ham will be brimming with confidence, and we fancy them to build on their strong start to the campaign with another win.

Wigan have conceded at least two goals in their last 5 home matches, and after their 4 goals last weekend, West Ham will be keen to extent the run to 6. We’ll back West Ham to score 2 or more.

Kevin Nolan has inspired his team this season, whilst pitching in with 4 goals as well. He seems to always pop up in an attack so we’ll back him to add another to his tally against Wigan.

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Man City v Swansea

Premier League Champions Manchester City welcome Michael Laudrup’s Swans for Saturday afternoons 5:30 kick off. The Manchester Club are suffering after losing in Amsterdam to an impressive Ajax side and Swansea look finally to have over come the blip which halted their blistering start to the season.

The Manchester side currently sit in third position behind Chelsea and their local rivals and will be looking to make up some points before the leaders clash on Sunday. After struggling last weekend against West Bromich Albion and relying on a late Edin Dzeko brace to drag them out of trouble, Roberto Mancini chose the big Bosnian to lead the line in Holland to no avail and has to make some big choices in his team selection. With such a large squad of quality players it is hard to pinpoint the best team for the job, but after being omitted from the starting line-up on Wednesday it is likely that Carlos Tevez will start against the Swans and his determined attitude may well be what City need to drive them out of this “Slump”. Expectations are high for the tenants of the City of Manchester Ground.

Swansea on the other hand are enjoying life in the Premier League, they have suffered a dip in form of late but the natural passing game instilled by Brendan Rogers has remained under Laudrup and the magic Michu is still relishing his new surroundings. On the flanks, Dyer and Routledge are dangerous and Danny Graham is a very able centre forward. They are missing the talents of Joe Allen in the centre of the park but are still standing by their footballing principles.

Written by Jonathan Waldheim

Match Predictions

It is very hard to bet against City at home, even if they have played mid-week and their opposition are well rested. I expect an exciting game with lots of chances from two side who are generally pleasing on the eye.

Michu looks to have refound his scoring touch and is probably a worth a shout at 7/2 to score at any time, otherwise Swansea/Mancity HT/FT is around 25/1 and is a long shot but might be value as I expect the Citizens to start slowly.

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Everton v Liverpool

The first Merseyside derby of the season, arrives with Liverpool just hitting form. Having won four of the last six matches in all competitions, the season is starting to look much brighter for the fans of The Reds. Brendan Rodgers has put faith in youngsters when picking his most recent teams, which has paid dividends, but it may be a risky tactic coming into a game we all know gets a bit feisty.

Everton had a start to the season that shocked many of us, and still remain in an impressive 4th position despite having back to back draws in the Premier League. Derby games can often turn the fortunes of a team around for a whole season, and both teams will be fancying their chances coming into this one.

A big boost for Everton, will be the expected return of Fellaini. The versatile centre midfielder has been on top form this season and has attracted the attention of Chelsea who are apparently getting ready to splash out £20 million on him.Liverpool have a few injury problems, with keeper Pepe Reina expected to miss his second match in a row. Lucas, Borini and Kelly are all out long term, meaning Rodgers has less options to choose from at the moment.

Everton look to have the most big-game experience coming into this match, with at least 5 of Liverpool’s starting line-up having never played in the derby before. This game my come down to the form of both teams strikers on the day, Jelavic and Suarez who have 9 goals between them this campaign.

Whichever style you prefer, youth or experience, this promises to be one of the most competitive Merseyside derby’s we have seen in a long time!

Match PredictionsThis is one of those games that really could go either way, and a lot of people will look at and avoid apart from maybe a fun bet to make the match even more entertaining.

Liverpool come into the match with slightly better form, but Everton arguably have the stronger squad at the moment. On paper a draw is probably a likely result but who likes betting on draws?

Goals is probably a good market to look at, with Both Teams to Score looking a strong bet. In terms of picking a player, it depends where your loyalties lie, do you go for Jelavic or Suarez? I’ll leave that one up to you.

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Newcastle v West Brom

Just eight games into the new Premier League season and West Brom find themselves just one point off the Champions League places after a late defeat to Manchester City last time out.

Newcastle have failed to win any of their last three games which has seen them losing to Manchester United and drawing with Reading and local rivals Sunderland.

Whilst West Brom are arguably the form team for this game, you would expect that Newcastle will be hoping to turn their home into a fortress. With no away win this season and only two wins at home, the Toon Army will be hopefully things can change following last seasons success.

West Brom meanwhile have transitioned smoothly from Roy Hodgson to Steve Clarke. With the former Liverpool number two leading the Baggies to wins over Liverpool, QPR, Everton and Reading whilst getting credible draws at White Hart Lane and Villa Park.

With players like Demba Ba, Papiss Cisse, Peter Odemwingie and Shane Long on show we should be in for quite and entertaining encounter between two well established Premier League sides.

Chieck Tiote will be suspended for the game against West Brom, after his slightly controversial red card in the derby last weekend. Jerome Thomas could return for the Baggies against the Magpies.

Written by Tom Lane

Match PredictionsAfter a win in Europe midweek, Newcastle should come into this one with a bit of confidence. Up against a strong West Brom side though, they may not have everything their own way.

This game is going to be another where we concentrate on the goals markets, backing either over 2.5 goals or both teams to score depending on the odds, as we feel both bets have a good chance.

West Brom have a number of players who have contributed with goals this season, so it will be hard to predict their goalscorers, so we will stick with Demba Ba, Newcatle’s top scorer to get his 7th of the season at any time.

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Southampton v Tottenham

Southampton play host to Spurs on Sunday with Nigel Adkins admitting he fears for his Southampton future.

Adkins has lead the Saints to back to back promotions but they’ve endured a poor start with just one win in eight games. When asked how long he thinks he has to sort it out he said: “Honest answer? I don’t know. I am not naive as it’s football and football is a results-driven industry.”

It’s obvious where the problem lies with the Southampton defence conceding 24 goals, the most in the league and this will need to be addressed if Adkins is going to keep his job. This could be made harder on Sunday with Danny Fox struggling to be fit after taking a knock. Injuries to Gaston Ramirez, Jack Cork and Frazier Richardson continue to make them unavailable for selection.

AVB will want his Spurs side to forget about last week’s defeat to arch rivals Chelsea and take all three points at St Marys. Gareth Bale will return to face his former side restoring some raw pace to the side that lacked creativity against Chelsea. New signing Moussa Dembele is doubtful for the trip which will be a big blow as he’s been impressive since joining from Fulham. As well as injuries another issue which AVB is dealing with is the allegedly ‘unhappy’ Adebayor, who was left out of the team’s midweek Europa League game. This means that the inform Jermain Defoe will likely lead the line again.

AVB will be hoping the Chelsea game was a minor blip on what has been an encouraging start to his reign at Tottenham. In the opposite corner the vultures are starting to circle Nigel Adkins and a result against Spurs is just what he needs.

Written by Andy Clark

Match PredictionsAfter two uninspiring games wthout Gareth Bale, Spurs will be hoping to mark his return with a win, and looking at Southampton’s defensive record, I think we will trust the stats and back them at odds of around 4/5.

If you would prefer to play it a bit safe, we also think there will be goals in this match so a both teams to score bet would be a good bet for this one. Although Southampton have been a bit leaky at the back, theye’ve scored 13 goals in 8 matches so against a Tottenham back four not at its best, they should get a goal.

We can’t really look at anybody other than Defoe to score at any time. AVB has put his trust in Defoe to lead the line this season and he has done an excellent job so far.

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Chelsea v Man United

It’s first vs second this Sunday as league leaders Chelsea welcome Manchester United to Stamford Bridge in what promises to be an explosive encounter.

The home side will be looking to bounce back from their midweek defeat at the hands of Shakhtar Donetsk by opening up a seven point lead at the top of the table. They will most likely have to do without the influential Frank Lampard however, as he is suffering from a calf injury that forced him off early in Ukraine. The Blues will be hoping the midfield trio of Juan Mata, Oscar and Eden Hazard can continue their blistering run of form and provide the necessary supply for lead striker Fernando Torres, who is in need of a goal.

United came from two goals down to beat Braga in midweek, which demonstrates their obvious quality and passion, something that they will be hoping will be enough to deliver Chelsea’s first league defeat of the season. They may have to do without Shinji Kagawa however, as he twisted his knee against Braga, meaning he’ll face a late fitness test. Sir Alex Ferguson has been left with a striker dilemma though, with four top hitmen to choose from. Javier Hernandez has spent much of the season living in the shadows of Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie and Danny Welbeck but the little Mexican’s two goals in midweek shows he is still capable of performing at the top level.

In this fixture last season, the Blues let a three goal lead slip away from them as United came back to draw 3-3. Central defenders Gary Cahill and David Luiz will be hoping to make sure that the same thing does not happen again as they continue to deputise for the suspended John Terry.

Whatever happens, this is sure to be one of the biggest games of the season so far and has drama written all over it.

Written by Seb Budd

Match PredictionsMuch like the Everton Liverpool game, this is one most people will probably avoid betting on apart from a couple of fun bets just to have running while they watch the match.

If anybody predicts this one correctly, they deserve a medal because it really could go either way. Hopefully lots of goals will make it a cracking game, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see something as crazy as a 4-4 draw come the full time whistle. Goals will be the way to go, so we will be backing over 2.5 and possibly over 3.5 if the odds are good enough.

Torres has been plain awful recently, although news that Falcao might be on his way in January may spurr him on to do well, still we would rather back the in form Mata to score for Chelsea. For Man Utd, Fergie doesn’t even know who he will play so we don’t have much chance! If Hernandez starts, we will give him a chance to add to his goal midweek.

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Acca’s Galore!

Arsenal v QPR

Man City v Swansea

Cardiff v Burnley

Leicester v Crystal Palace

Middlesbrough v Bolton

Crawley v Oldham

Brentford v Hartlepool

Northampton v Port Vale

Wimbledon v Gillingham

Newport v Woking

Arsenal

Man City

Cardiff

Leicester

Middlesbrough

Crawley

Brentford

Port Vale

Gillingham

Newport

4/11

2/9

8/11

1/2

8/5

1/1

8/15

11/10

4/5

4/6

Betfred Goals Galore Banker Coupon

Wigan v West Ham

Crewe v Yeovil

Millwall v Huddersfield

Barnsley v Nottingham Forest

Rochdale v Fleetwood

Leicester v Crystal Palace

Wigan v West Ham - O1.5 goals

Reading v Fulham - O1.5 goals

Middlesbrough v Bolton - O1.5 goals

Cardiff v Burnley - O1.5 goals

AFC Wimbledon v Gillingham - O1.5 goals

Cheltenham v Exeter - O1.5 goals

Weekend Long Shot

10-fold pays 200/1

6-fold pays 28/1 6-fold pays 2.2/1