NJ's Premier League Preview - Part One
By Nishant Joshi

Top Goal Scorer

The bookies may have forgotten that the African Nations Cup will be held at the beginning of the year, and I would have thought that Nicolas Anelka would have been favourite to score most goals for Chelsea, having picked up the Golden Boot last year in impressive style. His partnership with Didier

Great Value Nicolas Anelka

Drogba meant that Anelka took most of the glory, even though Drogba did most of the leg-work. Although Drogba is a proven goal scorer, I can't see him scoring more than his counterpart, and it's even more unlikely that the likes of Frank Lampard outscore either striker from midfield. PaddyPower have set Drogba's goals line incredibly high, and given that he'll miss a small chunk of the season due to the ANC, under 16.5 goals for the Ivory Coast man should surely be a sub 1.5 shot. Snap it up at 1.83, along with Anelka to score most goals for Chelsea at 2.88. In addition, our ante-post bet of the season is to bet Anelka to score most goals in the league, with +6 goal handicap, at the astonishing odds of 23.0 with PaddyPower.

For someone to have won the Golden Boot in 08/09, and then being given a +6 goal handicap for the next year is nothing short of astonishing. With four places, I would be mightily disappointed if this bet didn't give us a good run for our money, particularly with key contender Ronaldo having left the league. Fernando Torres is the biggest threat to Anelka, but given that he's off a scratch handicap, Anelka is the biggest value of the bunch, especially considering he's 12.0 with Skybet.

Robbie Keane has been one of the Premier League's most consistent goal scorers for years now. His return of 10 goals in 33 games last season was his lowest since his Leeds days, but that was mainly due to an ill-fated spell with Liverpool . Plenty depends on whether Harry 'I wasn't betting, my laptop just happened to be open on the Betfair next manager market' Redknapp insists on the 'little and large' combo of Crouch and Keane or Defoe, but given that he should still get his fair share of starts regardless, you can't really bet against Keane continuing his excellent record in the Premier League; he has hit double figures every season in the league that he has been with Tottenham, so Skybet's bar of over/under 9.5 goals seems extremely pessimistic, especially when compared to Defoe's bar at 14.5.

Another Season of Rotation? Carlos Tevez

Furthermore, you can back Keane to be top Irish goal scorer at a generous 2.2. Considering the only other realistic contender is Kevin Doyle, this must be backed to the hilt.

Carlos Tevez is just one of a plethora of signings for Mark Hughes, who is currently like a kid in a candy store at Manchester City. In fairness, the logic behind some of Hughes' signings is sound - instead of resorting to extortionate diva-types from abroad, he's insisting on buying 'naturalised' diva-type. The likes of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor are solid buys with their Premier League experience, even if it does give Arsene Wenger enough cash to buy solid gold carry-tots in which he can take the likes of Jack Wilshere and his fellow foetus-friends to and from games.

However, Tevez is likely to start in a three-pronged strike force along with Adebayor and Robinho, with Adebayor probably playing the furthest forward. With competition from the likes of Benjani and Roque Santa Cruz, it is likely that there will be a fair degree of rotation as well. Tevez was never the most prolific goal scorer at Manchester United and it is likely that the goals will be shared around in this attack, especially with potent midfielders such as Craig Bellamy and Gareth Barry, so Skybet’s bar of 11.5 goals seems inexplicably high.

Dimitar Berbatov only showed glimpses of his best form in his first season at Manchester United, but a great deal of this was due to him being outshone

Chance of a Bumper Season Dimitar Berbatov

by Cristiano Ronaldo, who has of course since been sold to Real Madrid for the mere cost of a small country. You get the feeling that Berbatov needs to be loved and adored, and have all the attention focused squarely on him. He should be given plenty more freedom this season and be an automatic starter in the absence of Ronaldo and Tevez, and I expect a bumper season from him. He offers good each-way value with a +9 goal handicap @ 23.0.

Andy Johnson formed an excellent strike partnership with Bobby Zamora at Fulham last year although it may be hard to believe with just eight and three goals respectively. All of Fulham's final third play is channelled towards Johnson, and considering there is little other threat, the price on him to top score @ 2.25 is a maximum bet for us.

Finally, Eduardo da Silva will return for his first full season since that horrific leg break at Birmingham in 2008. He is an extremely gifted striker, and offers stand-out value to be Arsenal's top scorer in the league @ 5.5. With Adebayor having left the club, Eduardo should be an automatic starter and form a dynamic partnership with Robin van Persie and Andrei Arshavin. With the goals likely to be shared around between these three, there's no reason why Eduardo should be so far behind in the betting, and offers brilliant value.

NJ's Bets:

Eduardo Da Silva - Most Arsenal Goals - 4pts @ 5.5 - Ladbrokes sportsbook

Anelka Most Chelsea Goals - 5pts @ 2.88 - Bet365

Didier Drogba under 16.5 Premier League Goals - 5pts @ 1.83 - PaddyPower

Andy Johnson top Fulham scorer - 5pts @ 2.25 - Ladbrokes sportsbook

Carlos Tevez under 11.5 goals - 5pts @ 1.67 - Skybet

Robbie Keane over 9.5 goals - 3pts @ 1.83 - Skybet

Robbie Keane top Spurs scorer - 3pts @ 4.5 - Bluesq

Robbie Keane top Irish scorer in the league - 5pts @ 2.25 - Boylesports

Nicolas Anelka top goal scorer with +6 goals handicap - 5pts @ 23.0 (E/W, 1-3, 1/4) - PaddyPower

Dimitar Berbatov top goal scorer with +9 goals handicap - 3pts @ 23.0 (E/W, 1-3, 1/4) - PaddyPower