English Soccer Weekend

Manchester United v Blackburn Rovers



Saturday 21st February 2009 17:30 GMT
Setanta Sports 1 (17:00-20:00)

So what type of team does it take to stop the supposedly unstoppable? A determined, overachieving team that is prepared to take any chances that come along (if any) is pretty much what I would say (In the absence of a superstar line-up that some of the very top teams have at their disposal).

	Man Utd wins	Draws	Blackburn wins
League	41	23	27
FA Cup	2	2	4
League Cup	3	2	0
Other	1	0	0
Total	47	27	31

Sam Allardyce has a history of getting every ounce of ability out of his players and tomorrow will be one of the biggest challenges he will have ever faced as a manager as he takes his struggling Blackburn side to Old Trafford to take on the World Champions. Is it plausible that Blackburn could get something out of the game? Well, with the exception of the recent defeat to Aston Villa, Blackburn were unbeaten in the league since Sam Allardyce's arrival and had vastly improved on the dross that they were serving up as performances under Paul Ince. So yes there is a very slim chance and like I said, they will need to be determined and that means desperate defending if required and getting under their opponents skins if possible, doing whatever it takes to halt the United juggernaut.

With the likes of Benni McCarthy and Roque Santa Cruz in their ranks, Rovers do have genuine goal scoring ability and could certainly end the clean sheet record of United but my major concern is whether or not they will be able to defend competently enough to keep out the likes of Wayne Rooney (who is fully fit now after a Hamstring injury), Ronaldo and Dimitar Berbatov is completely another matter especially without the big unit of Chris Samba who is serving a ban for receiving five yellow cards.

One thing of concern to United will be the mass of fixtures to be played at this stage of the season and with a huge Champions League match on Tuesday night against Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan to prepare for, there could be a tiny possibility that their minds may be slightly focused elsewhere given their presently pretty comfortable league standing.

Barclays Premier League Table

			| Home					| Away
	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Man Utd	25	11	1	0	28	4	7	4	2	16	6	34	59
2	Liverpool	25	7	5	0	19	7	8	4	1	23	10	25	54
3	Aston Villa	25	5	6	1	18	12	10	0	3	22	12	16	51
4	Chelsea	25	6	5	2	21	7	8	2	2	23	8	29	49
5	Arsenal	25	7	3	2	18	11	5	5	3	20	14	13	44
6	Everton	25	4	5	4	18	16	7	2	3	16	12	6	40
7	Wigan	25	6	4	3	13	11	3	3	6	13	13	2	34
8	West Ham	25	6	1	6	18	17	3	5	4	13	15	-1	33
9	Man City	25	8	0	5	28	12	1	4	7	14	22	8	31
10	Fulham	24	7	3	1	19	9	0	6	7	3	13	0	30
11	Sunderland	25	5	2	6	15	15	3	4	5	12	18	-6	30
12	Hull	25	3	3	6	13	25	4	5	4	18	21	-15	29
13	Newcastle	25	4	5	3	19	20	2	4	7	14	22	-9	27
14	Bolton	25	4	2	6	11	14	4	1	8	16	23	-10	27
15	Portsmouth	25	5	2	6	18	21	2	4	6	9	20	-14	27
16	Tottenham	25	4	5	4	11	9	2	2	8	15	22	-5	25
17	Stoke	25	6	3	3	13	11	0	3	10	8	29	-19	24
18	Blackburn	24	3	4	6	15	21	2	4	5	12	19	-13	23
19	Middlesbrough	25	3	5	4	10	15	2	2	9	8	21	-18	22
20	West Brom	25	5	2	6	18	24	1	2	9	6	23	-23	22

At a lay of 1.27 I think there is a bit of a chance of getting a return here. Don't send me abuse if United do roll them over, they are Champions after all!
 
Recommendation - 1 Point Liability Lay of Manchester United at 1.27 (Betfair , WBX)

 
Nottingham Forest v Derby County



Saturday 21st February 2009 13:00 GMT

Another blood and thunder East Midlands "Derby" (oh dear..) awaits us here. Having had two pulsating clashes in the FA Cup in which the Rams eventually triumphed, this is a match that I am very much looking forward to.

	Nottingham Forest wins	Draws	Derby wins
League	30	19	24
FA Cup	2	2	4
League Cup	1	0	0
Total	33	21	28

Revenge is always on the mind for so many when these sides play each other. Forest manager Billy Davies will no doubt still be smarting from his treatment during his time at Derby. Former striker Robert Earnshaw will certainly want to upset the fans who often gave him a hard time and extremely talented Derby winger Kris Commons will want to prove a point to his former employers.

Despite all of the local rivalry involved and their similar league positions, I believe that there is a bit of a gulf in class between the sides and despite home advantage for Forest, I believe that there is a good chance that Derby can prove their superiority here. The fact that Kris Commons (a self confessed lifelong Forest fan) decided to jump ships and join the Rams is an indicator of which club has more potential. Rob Hulse will be a handful for the Forest defence tomorrow and I can see there being some goals in this contest due to the open nature in which the sides are likely to play in.

With acknowledgement of the home advantage that Forest have, I advise you to back Derby on the draw no bet market rather than outright.

The Coca-Cola Football League Championship Table

			| Home					| Away
	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Wolverhampton	33	11	3	2	35	17	8	3	6	29	26	21	63
2	Birmingham	32	11	3	3	23	13	6	6	3	17	15	12	60
3	Reading	31	12	3	1	37	8	5	5	5	21	18	32	59
4	Preston	33	12	2	3	25	14	3	6	7	19	25	5	53
5	Cardiff	29	9	3	2	23	11	4	9	2	18	15	15	51
6	Sheff Utd	32	7	4	5	22	16	7	5	4	21	13	14	51
7	Burnley	33	9	5	3	25	17	5	4	7	21	28	1	51
8	Bristol City	33	6	8	3	24	19	7	3	6	18	18	5	50
9	Swansea	32	7	8	1	31	15	4	7	5	15	20	11	48
10	Ipswich	33	6	7	4	23	16	6	4	6	22	20	9	47
11	QPR	31	9	4	2	21	12	3	7	6	12	17	4	47
12	Crystal Palace	30	7	4	4	22	14	5	3	7	20	21	7	43
13	Sheff Wed	33	8	5	3	20	10	3	4	10	14	35	-11	42
14	Coventry	32	6	5	5	20	20	4	6	6	16	19	-3	41
15	Doncaster	32	6	5	5	9	10	5	2	9	17	25	-9	40
16	Derby	31	7	4	5	23	17	3	4	8	14	25	-5	38
17	Blackpool	33	4	5	7	19	25	5	6	6	15	21	-12	38
18	Barnsley	31	6	3	6	19	15	4	2	10	11	26	-11	35
19	Plymouth	33	5	3	8	19	23	4	5	8	10	19	-13	35
20	Nottm Forest	33	4	6	6	16	19	4	4	9	19	28	-12	34
21	Watford	31	8	3	5	30	24	1	3	11	14	29	-9	33
22	Norwich	33	6	4	6	28	22	2	4	11	15	30	-9	32
23	Southampton	32	1	7	8	13	22	5	3	8	16	28	-21	28
24	Charlton	32	5	4	7	22	27	1	3	12	12	28	-21	25

 
RECOMMENDATIONS - 3 Points back of Derby County (Draw No Bet) @ 2.10 (Sky Bet )
3 Points back of Over 2.5 Goals @ 2.21 (Bet365)
 
Enjoy your football weekend and hopefully you'll score some winners.

Crafty Stan