NJ's Football Weekend

By Nishant Joshi

More of a continental flavour to the column this week - with slim pickings across the board in England, we'll have a dabble in Spain's La Liga for some value.

Fulham vs Bolton



28th November 15:00 GMT

Fulham boast an impressive 4-0-2 record at home this season, and they are surely the stand-out price of the weekend at 2.0 to beat a struggling Bolton side. After an indifferent start to the season, Fulham are now charging up the table and lie in 10th place. They are 3rd in the last 6 form table behind Chelsea and Arsenal, underlining how the west London side have now hit their straps. Fulham are a side who we have consistently backed in this column because they have been under-estimated and therefore over-priced by the punters who tend to oppose small and unglamorous clubs such as the Whites...but we're not about to complain!

Roy Hodgson's side will be boosted by the potential returns of both Danny Murphy and Andy Johnson, and with Brede Hangeland having signed a contract extension just today, there will no doubt be a feel-good factor around Craven Cottage on Saturday as Fulham have now tied up their most valuable asset for another three and a half years.

On the flip side of the coin, we have a struggling Bolton side who have lost 4 of their last 5, conceding plenty in the process. Gary Megson mentioned the presence of "one or two destabilising players" at the club this week, before back-tracking and regretting he'd ever mentioned it. In typical incompetent fashion, Big Ears has astutely led his side to 18th place this season, and things are surely about to get worse for the ginger minger.

Bolton have never won a PL match at Craven Cottage - all form and logic point to an early Xmas bonus for us.


Valencia vs Mallorca



28th November 19:00 GMT
Sky Sports 3 (19:00-21:00), Sky Sports HD3 (19:00-21:00)

Pre-match betting in Spain is not for the faint-hearted, and despite Valencia looking a juicy price at prices of up to 1.6 against a leaky Mallorca side, we must side with backing David Villa to score here. The Spain international tops the La Liga charts with 9 goals so far this term, and with Valencia scoring freely at home, I'm more than happy to back him at 1.91.


Barcelona vs Real Madrid



29th November 18:00 GMT
Sky Sports 1 (18:00-21:00), Sky Sports HD1 (18:00-21:00), BBC Red Button (From 18:00 First half)

Kaka, Ronaldo, Messi, Henry...if you have one request this weekend to your partner, make sure they are out of the house this Sunday evening, playing bingo with the lasses or whatever women get up to when we're not around - lesbian slumber parties for those of us still young enough to have not feel the wrath of a woman scorned and still dare to dream of what might be.

El Clasico is one of the fiercest rivalries in the world, and regardless of the quality of play, it is always an intriguing match to watch. The Nou Camp is an insanely fierce and hostile place if you're a Madrid player, and new summer signings Kaka and Ronaldo are sure to be singled out for special attention. Here is a rare occasion where we are blessed to see more than a handful of the world's best players on the same pitch, and even though there might be a few sensational stepovers and dazzling runs, I fancy this to be a cagey match, short on goals.

With the two sides closely contesting the top two spots, neither wants to lose ground on the other. The same fixture last season finished 2-0 to Barca with the first goal coming in the 70th minute, and although there has been the odd recent fixture where there have been goals aplenty, generally the recent results do not stand out from the La Liga crowd in terms of goals scored. Therefore, punters backing as short as 1.44 on over 2.5 goals are likely to be in for a nervy 90 minutes.

I fully expect a cagey start with neither side happy to lose ground on the other - 0-0 at half-time is a stand-out play here.

NJ's Bets:

Fulham to beat Bolton - 4.5pts @ 2 (Betsense)

David Villa AGS - 2.75pts @ 1.91 (Coral)

Barcelona/Real Madrid 0-0 HT - 2.5pts @ 3.93 (Extrabet.com )