English Soccer Saturday

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester Utd



13th December 17:30 GMT
Setanta Sports 1 (17:00-20:15)

We are coming up to that oh so crucial Christmas spell and there is one team in the Premiership I am absolutely loathed to oppose and that is of course the present English and European Champions, Manchester United.
United are past masters at overcoming slow starts to Premiership seasons which does shows such an excellent mental strength, well managed squad and a real steely determination that seems to leave rivals trailing in their wake with alarming regularity. Of course, having arguably the best squad of players in the league does help out in a major way but as others have proved in the past, it isn't everything.. Local rivals City may well find this out!
Spurs have very much stopped the rot now that new boss Harry Redknapp has waved his magic wand yet again and got this bunch playing like a team again but they are running into a team hell bent on keeping in touch with title rivals.

	Spurs wins	Draws	Man Utd wins
League	35	37	70
FA Cup	5	5	4
League Cup	5	0	1
Other	1	1	1
Total	46	43	76

As last weeks last gasp win against Sunderland and the disappointing draw against Aalborg in midweek proved, United are not exactly in great touch at present but they know how to just do enough.
The return of Ronaldo should offset Wayne Rooney's ban somewhat. Dimitar Berbatov is touch and go to play due to an achilles injury but he is expected to feature whereas Spurs will possibly be without influential but injury prone Ledley King.

This is one of those rare occasions where I completely ignore my usual betting indicators simply because a champion spirit cannot always be shown within statistics and at just a shade under evens, I will be recommending a victory for the Red Devils. I expect them to grit their teeth and grind out a potentially ugly victory at a better than usual price due to their injury list.

Barclays Premier League Table

			| Home					| Away
	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Liverpool	16	5	3	0	11	4	6	1	1	13	5	15	37
2	Chelsea	16	3	3	2	14	5	8	0	0	21	1	29	36
3	Man Utd	15	6	1	0	19	4	3	3	2	8	6	17	31
4	Arsenal	16	5	1	2	15	10	4	1	3	13	9	9	29
5	Aston Villa	16	3	4	1	10	7	5	0	3	15	11	7	28
6	Hull	16	3	2	3	9	15	4	3	1	15	10	-1	26
7	Portsmouth	16	4	2	2	13	10	2	3	3	6	13	-4	23
8	Everton	16	1	3	4	9	15	5	1	2	13	10	-3	22
9	Fulham	15	5	2	1	11	6	0	3	4	2	6	1	20
10	Bolton	16	2	2	4	6	9	4	0	4	12	10	-1	20
11	Wigan	16	3	2	3	6	9	2	2	4	12	11	-2	19
12	Middlesbrough	16	3	2	3	8	12	2	2	4	8	11	-7	19
13	Stoke	16	5	1	2	12	10	0	3	5	5	17	-10	19
14	Man City	16	4	0	4	19	9	1	3	4	11	15	6	18
15	Tottenham	16	3	1	4	7	7	2	2	4	12	14	-2	18
16	West Ham	16	3	1	4	11	13	2	2	4	6	11	-7	18
17	Newcastle	16	3	3	2	13	11	0	4	4	6	13	-5	16
18	Sunderland	16	2	1	5	7	13	2	2	4	6	12	-12	15
19	Blackburn	16	1	2	5	5	15	2	2	4	12	16	-14	13
20	West Brom	16	2	2	4	9	15	1	1	6	3	13	-16	12

RECOMMENDATION - 3 Points on Manchester United @ 1.91 (William Hill , Victor Chandler)


Carlisle Utd v Leicester City



13th December 15:00 GMT

As I stated in my Pre-Season preview for League One, I am of the belief that Leicester are the best team in the division and the sight of them sitting at the top of the table at present backs this up to some degree. However I am sure manager Nigel Pearson will be well aware that there is no place for complacency within the ranks and today will be seen as yet another chance for the Foxes to solidify their position.

	Carlisle wins	Draws	Leicester wins
League	1	3	4
FA Cup	0	0	1
League Cup	0	0	1
Total	1	3	6

Star striker Matt Fryatt is seeking a 'Hat trick of hat tricks' by scoring another three goals today to follow his trebles against Dagenham and Redbridge and Southend in back to back appearances. This feat has not been achieved since Liverpool's Jack Balmer achieved it in November 1946.

A sickness bug within the Leicester squad has bumped their price into odds against figures which is terrific value considering that indications are that there is not a major effect likely to be had on the starting eleven.
Carlisle were expected to be amongst the promotion contenders this season but have looked anything but the Cumbrian club are presently lying just two points above the relegation zone so have been a major disappointment thus far despite a recent upturn in fortunes.

Stick with the winning team and back Leicester to secure their fourth successive league victory to stay top of the pile.

Football League One Table

			| Home					| Away
	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Leicester	19	7	2	1	16	6	5	3	1	18	10	18	41
2	MK Dons	20	6	0	4	17	10	7	1	2	24	11	20	40
3	Millwall	19	8	1	1	16	9	4	2	3	14	14	7	39
4	Peterborough	19	6	2	1	21	9	4	4	2	15	12	15	36
5	Scunthorpe	19	5	2	2	17	11	6	1	3	18	13	11	36
6	Oldham	19	6	3	1	23	10	4	2	3	12	13	12	35
7	Leeds United	19	6	1	2	21	11	4	1	5	12	13	9	32
8	Stockport	19	3	4	3	12	11	5	3	1	14	6	9	31
9	Tranmere	19	6	1	3	19	12	3	2	4	9	12	4	30
10	Walsall	19	5	0	4	17	16	3	3	4	13	14	0	27
11	Southend	19	5	2	2	13	9	2	4	4	15	22	-3	27
12	Huddersfield	19	3	3	4	14	16	4	2	3	13	15	-4	26
13	Hartlepool	19	4	4	2	22	17	3	0	6	7	13	-1	25
14	Northampton	19	4	4	2	15	10	2	2	5	11	15	1	24
15	Bristol Rovers	19	4	2	3	20	14	1	5	4	16	19	3	22
16	Colchester	19	2	2	6	10	13	4	1	4	20	21	-4	21
17	Carlisle	19	5	1	3	18	13	1	2	7	7	20	-8	21
18	Leyton Orient	19	2	3	4	7	12	3	3	4	8	11	-8	21
19	Swindon	19	3	3	4	16	18	1	5	3	14	17	-5	20
20	Brighton	20	2	4	4	14	17	2	4	4	10	14	-7	20
21	Yeovil	19	2	5	2	10	10	2	2	6	5	15	-10	19
22	Hereford	19	3	2	4	9	8	1	1	8	4	21	-16	15
23	Cheltenham	19	4	2	4	13	15	0	1	8	7	26	-21	15
24	Crewe	19	2	2	5	12	18	0	1	9	9	25	-22	9

RECOMMENDATION - 3 Points on Leicester @ 2.15 (William Hill , Bluesq )

Have an enjoyable and hopefully profitable Saturday!

Crafty Stan