Hammers Look Set For Premiership Return

Npower Championship 2011/12

19/05 15:00

As a Spurs fan I am sure you can understand why I would rather see Blackpool promoted over West Ham but I think the Hammers are good enough to make the instant return. They only failed to get automatic promotion because of their stuttering home form as they had the best return of points on the road which is why they will be pleased this is being held at Wembley. Blackpool on the other hand were much better at home and although they were not exactly awful away from home they did however only manage to win seven from twenty three while boasting the fifth worst away defence in the Championship. They can score goals so you cannot write them off but for me West Ham have the edge all over the park with experienced heads in the form of Nolan and Noble while Vaz Te has looked good since his arrival and young Collison also looks like making a return. Blackpool lost both league meetings this season having managed to score only one goal while West Ham put eight past them in total so for me the Hammers have it and with their wage bill they simply cannot afford to lose.

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Chelsea - Is This Their Season?

UEFA Champions League 2011/12

19/05 19:45

English football has certainly been well represented in this tournament in recent years with this being the seventh occasion a Premiership club has made the final in the last eight although with only two winners it clearly does not look that rosy for Chelsea who lost out to Man United in the 2008 final but I think they have a chance and am willing to back them.

I am not a religious man but sometimes in particular matches or tournaments it is as though there is a greater force at work and Chelsea this season remind me very much of Liverpool back in 2005 when they were struggling in the league and failing to make the top four yet somehow managed to lift the European cup with some unbelievable results including coming back from three goals down in the final to win it on penalties and things just seem to be going for Chelsea with the way they turned the tie around against Napoli and beat Barca at home.

Obviously Chelsea face an uphill struggle considering where the final is being held and the fact that they will be missing the heart of defence with Captain Terry and Ivanovic both suspended but having said that they should have Luiz and Cahill returning. The bright news for them I guess is that the hosts will also be missing key players at the back too with Alaba and Badstuber suspended also so this game could see some action and defence is obviously where the game will be decided.

Bayern for me do have the stronger team with both Robben and Ribery offering plenty of threat on the wings in support of Gomez who is having a great season in front of goal but considering their defensive suspensions I really do not see them being as solid as they have been in league action this season plus it was only last week they received a thrashing from Dortmund in the domestic cup final.

Mata can work magic at times and will be key in this match while the powerful Drogba will be able to pose them some questions if they can keep things tight which is how Di Matteo has had them playing and that will not change tonight so this could very well be their season if somewhat unexpected.

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Departing Wolves Worth A Wager

Wigan v Wolverhampton

13/05 15:00

Call me mad but I am going to have a minimum wager on Wolves in this encounter because some times you just have to follow your instinct and in this final round of fixtures we do see some surprises now and again. Wigan have obviously found another gear from somewhere in the last month or two with some massive results to keep them up but they have lacked consistency for years now and find it hard to convince their stars to stay each season and how hard they will be trying in this final encounter is difficult to predict. Wolves deserve to go down after the season they have had although I cannot help thinking a big name manager coming in could have helped matters. Clearly some players will want to leave to continue playing at this level so they will be keen to remind other managers out there what they are capable of and actually while they have only won two away from home this season they have picked up draws against strong home teams such as Spurs, Newcastle, Swansea and Arsenal making the away odds very tempting indeed.

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United To Battle To The End

Sunderland v Man Utd

13/05 15:00

I dont see past a City win against QPR which would hand them the title but Fergie will send his boys out for the win regardless and I think we will see a robust performance from them. Sunderland have a pretty dire record over United with just four draws in the last seventeen meetings and although this is not the strongest United team in a few years they are still more than capable going forward with Rooney and Valencia looking so threatening. A month or so ago this was being lined up as a tasty title decider but Sunderland have gone completely off the boil in recent weeks since their draw at the Etihad and their last few results have been dissapointing having only managed home draws against the likes of Bolton and Wolves. I am sure they will try and raise their game but a couple of their players lack any real fight or passion for the club and United should end on a win.

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Stoke V Bolton

Stoke v Bolton

13/05 15:00

Coyle is a genuinely decent manager so I would love to see Bolton stay up in place of QPR as they have been through so much this season with the Muamba incident while injuries have not helped thier cause. I cannot help thinking though that they blew their chances last week when they threw away the lead to West Brom and although Stoke have nothing to fight for in this final fixture they give everyone a hard game at the Britannia. Stoke suffered early on from their Europa League exploits this season but they have looked stronger since their exit and although they have only picked up a single win in their last ten league games, they are unbeaten in seven at home with a strong run in their last few with solid draws against the likes of City, Arsenal and Everton. Bolton will have to go for it at some point which will eventually create space and with Crouch keen to remind Hodgson what he can do I can see the home side consigning the Trotters to Championship football next season.

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Gunners To Creep Past The Finishing Line

West Brom v Arsenal

13/05 15:00

Arsenal had every chance of wrapping up third place last week but were perhaps a little complacent at home to Norwich who pulled off a draw after netting three times. They did of course miss both Walcott and Artetta who are both out through injury but they still should have done better and with the incentive of winning here the Gunners should be fired up. West Brom are hard to predict for this encounter as they have nothing to play for but Hodgson departs for the England job afterwards so do they all bust a gut to send him off well or has party time started? Well last week the Baggies certainly appeared switched off early on against struggling Bolton although they did fight back for a draw but at home they have only won a third of their games so I do fancy Arsenal to sneak the win with Van Persie still in such good form.

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City To Wrap Up Title Race In First Half

Man City v QPR

13/05 15:00

It is hard trying to find any real value in the markets for this game considering in City you have the leagues strongest home team with seventeen wins from eighteen who need to win to clinch the Premiership Crown versus QPR, the worst travellers in the league with thirteen losses from eighteen. A draw would be great for Hughes to get at his old club but it really will not happen as his side lack the discipline to pull off that kind of display with seven losses in their last eight on the road in which they were behind at half-time in all seven. City have been gaining momentum and with an average of almost three goals per game at home they have the firepower in Aguero and Tevez to see off the Hoops. They will certainly not want to drag this game out too long so expect them to be relentless going forward from the start making the ht/ft result worthwhile although I prefer the odds for the half-time Asian Handicap which makes more sense as I can see them wrapping this title up in forty five minutes.

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Villains To Spring A Surprise

Norwich v Aston Villa

13/05 15:00

After a dire run of just one win from fourteen, Villa can at least enter their final game safe in the knowledge that they are staying up and despite poor form they are one of a couple of teams who I think could cause an upset on the final day. They have obviously missed the services of Bent since he was injured and at times it is a shame to see McLeish play so defensively because I am sure they could have converted some of those many away draws into wins and I think he must send them out for the win here to at least appease many of the upset fans calling for his dismissal.

Norwich have proved more than able at going forward with away results against both Spurs and Arsenal in the last few weeks but at times they look awful at the back and over-confidence could see them open up too much here plus considering they have not won their final day fixture for seven seasons now, an away result really does look achievable.

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Chelsea To Take Initiative Early On

Chelsea v Blackburn

13/05 15:00

Under Roberto Di Matteo Chelsea are looking a much more confident unit although he has not done anything major in the grand scheme of things. He has been giving most the players a game which is helping squad morale and getting them believing in themselves but the main thing he has done is just to get them to think a little bit about defending and if you can keep out the goals there is always a chance of getting the wins. They may have gone astray both before and following the cup final win against Liverpool but the Blues started well under Di Matteo having not gone behind at half-time in fourteen straight games so taking into consideration Blackburn have lost six of their last eight on the road in which they were behind at the interval in seven, a home double seems appropriate.

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Chelsea To Demolish Rovers Ahead Of UCL Final

Chelsea v Blackburn

13/05 15:00

Chelsea will obviously be looking to get through to next weeks Champions League final without any fresh injury woes but I would not expect players to be rested as they have a week to prepare and getting some goals here in their last home game will simply boost confidence even if they have nothing to fight for. They may have lost to Newcastle last time out at Stamford Bridge but it was just three days before the cup final and it has been their only home loss since the turn of the year so they should prosper here. Blackburn were shockingly poor at White Hart Lane last week and not much better in their home loss to Wigan on Monday night and if they could not even muster enough spirit in those fixtures I fail to see them finishing on a high. They have the worst away defence in the Prem this season where they have only managed two wins in eighteen while they have lost six of their last seven league visits to the Bridge all by a margin of two goals or greater so I am liking the Asian Handicap here.

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Auxerre V Bordeaux

Auxerre v Bordeaux

07/05 18:00

Auxerre obviously need the points and have done their chances of survival no harm at all in recent weeks with ten points picked up from their last six fixtures but I have my doubts about them picking up another win here. They may have won two of their last three at home and drawn with PSG but the couple of wins came against opponents who between them have just a single away win all season while PSG have been wobbling in their title chase for a while now.

Bordeaux have been largely successful in this fixture in recent years so will have expectations of getting a result. They have turned things around themselves after a poor first half with just three losses in their last sixteen since the new year and with no pressure on them they can simply come and play their game meaning they will cause trouble for the home side.

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Rovers To Earn A Stay Of Execution

Blackburn v Wigan

07/05 20:00

Lets be honest Rovers are all but down as I find it hard to believe they will go to Stamford Bridge on the final day and pick up anything like the three points they will need. Their form is not great with six losses among their last seven games and although they have been poor on the road anyway, they were especially dire at White Hart Lane last week where they were the first team since 2004 at this level not to have a single shot on goal.

Wigan have been great in this final run-in and you wonder where that form was for the first half of the season but that is typical of them in recent years as they can be so unpredictable and what will give the home side some hope is that Wigan have suffered some big losses away from the DW Stadium. The worry here is that Wigan play for a point which I feel would be enough but it could give Rovers the edge psychologically who have shown some good attacking displays at home this season with the likes Yakubu and Hoilett so you would hope they at least go out with a bang at home and keep their hopes alive until next week.

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