NJ's Premier League Weekend

By Nishant Joshi

Birmingham vs Tottenham



30th January 15:00 GMT

Birmingham's 15 game unbeaten run game to an abrupt end away to Chelsea midweek, whereas Tottenham comfortably picked off a weakened Fulham side at home. Birmingham's home record is quite outstanding, with 5 clean sheets in their last 7 games. St. Andrew's has become a decent fortress under Alex McLeish, and it's hard to see how even the most die-hard Spurs fan could make a case for backing their team at 2.5 for the win here.

Despite recording clean sheets in six of their last seven Premiership games, Spurs have only won once in their last six away games. At the same time, Birmingham are likely to retain the same starting line-up for the 11th consecutive game; an all-time Premiership record. This continuity has been the key to their excellent season so far, and City will have their backers at 3.3 here.

However, given that both defences have been rock solid in the recent past, I think that it's prudent to dutch the 1-0 and 0-0 correct score options here.

Wigan vs Everton



30th January 15:00 GMT

The signing of Landon Donovan was typically 'Everton'; a hard-working player who was not especially highly sought-after by other clubs, but he's made an excellent impact on his arrival on Merseyside. With the likes of Mikel Arteta coming back from injury, Everton look set for a good run in the second half of the season, and with four wins in their last six league games, I'm expecting them to climb further up the table.

Wigan continue to be an enigma; they have weaknesses all over the park yet still produce an impressive display on occasion. Despite this, they are firmly in the relegation mix and it's hard to see where their next win will come from.

Everton are available at 2.38 which is a decent price for a resurgent side.

Fulham vs Aston Villa



30th January 15:00

Villa have now failed to score for four consecutive league games, meaning that they're slowly slipping out of contention for a coveted Champions League spot. Their season is rapidly turning into one of 'nearly there' in the league, although they will contest the Carling Cup final against Manchester United.

Fulham boast an impressive home record as always, but they are falling on hard times at the moment. With the likes of Andy Johnson, Clint Dempsey, John Pantsil and Paul Konchesky all out through injury, the squad is threadbare. Despite this, Bobby Zamora will make his first home appearance in over a month to bolster the attack, and Fulham can be fairly optimistic about nicking a tight win here. 20 year old defender Chris Smalling will make a rare start at Craven Cottage - despite being snapped up by Manchester Utd for £7 million during the week, he has only made seven first-team appearances.

Burnley vs Chelsea



30th January 17:30 GMT
ESPN (16:45-19:45), ESPN HD (16:45-19:45)

Burnley's season has taken an abrupt turn for the worse in the past couple of months, and their season is becoming eerily reminiscent of Hull's maiden Premier League season last year, where they stormed out of the blocks and matched the big boys blow-for-blow, but then petered out alarmingly in the second half. I still think that Burnley are strong candidates for relegation, and on form, they look like the weakest team in the league. They have shown little encouragement in recent matches, and it can be argued that Owen Coyle made a shrewd move in abandoning a seemingly sinking ship.

On the other hand, Chelsea looked in top nick against Birmingham, and certainly look the most competent side to pick up the title this year. With the likes of Drogba returning from the African Nations Cup, they will only be strengthened for this game and it's hard to see past a comfortable Chelsea win.

Of course, no piece about this match would be worth its salt without mentioning the John Terry fiasco. Having 'allegedly' slept with long-time friend and England team mate Wayne Bridge's girlfriend, Terry's scandal has huge implications in the game. As England captain, he is supposed to be a leader in times of strife, and put others to shame in terms of decency and integrity.

Yet, time and again, Terry has proved that he is exactly the sort of scum that we complain about every day in the UK. He looks like a chav; talks like a chav, and he acts like a chav. His past record of cheating on his 'childhood sweetheart' Toni; his notorious gambling and generally poor image should have been just a handful of reasons as to why he should never have been picked as captain.

Last year, his dad was caught trying to deal cocaine in a pub. His mum was given a caution for shop-lifting. Yes, these are the parents of a footballer who earns £150,000 a week. God knows what they would do if he was on a pharmacist's salary.

When they decided that Terry should be England captain, I hope that they anticipated such problems. Cheating on your wife, with a team-mate's partner?! That crosses new boundaries of depravity which even Tiger Woods would think twice about (he's lucky that golf isn't a team sport).

Please, FA. Fabio Capello. I beg you. Drop John Terry as England captain and make a moral stand which will stand England in excellent stead for the World Cup. Having him around the camp will only be a hindrance and an unwelcome distraction. Swallow the bitter pill; make David Beckham captain. This is an excellent opportunity for the FA to show some strength - Terry is a world-class defender but he is certainly expendable. With an abundance of resources in central defence, he will be no great loss.

Keeping him in the side - let alone as captain - will only demonstrate huge weakness. I am encouraged by reports that Capello is considering as such, as this is an excellent chance to be proactive and turn a negative into a positive - this isn't something inherently associated with English sports administrators, and so I take heart in my vision of Capello being England's Italian knight in shining armour. A modern day, non-evil, appropriately violent Mussolini, if you will.

And, at the very least, I ask that we play Wayne Bridge ahead of Cashley Cole, who was incidentally banned from driving for four months on the same day as Terry's sordid revelations became public. This is not a case of talent vs talent; just give the poor lad a break. Your long-time girlfriend cheating on you with your long-time friend, and national captain...perhaps we should forget the likes of Capello intervening, and just let Jerry Springer get to work.

Oh, and bring back Sol Campbell.

NJ's Bets:

Birmingham/Spurs correct score 0-0 - 1pt @ 10.0 (Sportingbet )

Birmingham/Spurs correct score 1-0 -1.25pts @ 7.0 (Boylesports)

Everton to beat Wigan - 2.5pts @ 2.38 (Paddy Power)

Fulham to keep a clean sheet - 2pts @ 3.25 (Betfair )

Chelsea to beat Burnley -2.0 AH - 4pts @ 2.54 (188Bet)

Burnley/Chelsea any unquoted - 1.75pts @ 4.6 (Betfair )

John Terry to be booed at Turf Moor - Put your rent money on it @ best available morning price