NJ's Premier League Weekend

By Nishant Joshi

Bolton vs Fulham



6th February 15:00 GMT

Two teams in similarly dodgy form, Fulham managed to arrest their run of five league defeats against Portsmouth midweek while Bolton are hovering precariously above the relegation zone. It's just about impossible to make a decent case for either side winning here, and with both teams having respectively poor home and away form, value lies with the draw here.

Hull vs Manchester City



6th february 15:00 GMT

Despite a confidence-boosting draw against Chelsea during the week, Hull continue to struggle in the relegation zone and will surely be there at the end of the season. On the other hand, Manchester City could boast a Premier League return for midfield enforcer Patrick Vieira. He will be highly motivated as he looks to cement his spot in France's World Cup squad, and he will only add to a formidable team boasting some of the league's form players, such as Craig Bellamy and Carlos Tevez. With Emmanuel Adebayor having returned from the African Nations Cup, City have an excellent chance of sealing fourth place this season, although I think they will be able to mount a serious challenge for third place too.

Bet365 offer a Manchester City win on the Asian Handicap -1.0 at generous odds of 2.38, which should receive our full backing.

Manchester United vs Portsmouth



6th February 15:00 GMT

Spare a though for Jamie O'Hara, the only player who Portsmouth actually signed during the transfer window - they say players will go anywhere for first-team football, but even I would have thought twice about signing up. Avram Grant gave my agent a call, but we agreed that I'd breaking Pompey's wage structure - they would actually have to pay me.

And it doesn't end there, as the season just goes from bad to worse for lowly Portsmouth. Speaking of Avram Grant, he was revealed to be the mystery Premiership manager caught visiting a 'vice den', according to our bastions of morality at The Sun. According to his wife, he was simply receiving massages, and nowt else. All of this confirms my suspicions that Avram Grant is the only man in the world who would go to a Thai massage parlour; literally, just for a massage.

There'll be no happy ending for Grant this week, as his Pompey side travel to Old Trafford and take another pounding courtesy of Rooney and Co. Sky Bet offer 2.88 on Man Utd bagging four or more - and while this isn't incredible value, it is worth a small play. However, with Rooney in the form of his life, it's worth sticking with him in the goalscoring department.

Sunderland vs Wigan



6th February 15:00 GMT

A typical, stodgy north-east derby is in store for anybody suffering from insomnia. With both teams in poor form, the only matter of betting interest is Darren Bent to score anytime. As Sunderland's leading scorer, without him they could well have found themselves in the relegation dog-fight by now, and he'll surely have plenty of opportunities here against a leaky Wigan side.

Birmingham vs Wolves



7th February 13:30 GMT
Sky Sports 1 (13:00-15:30), Sky Sports HD1 (13:00-15:30)

Wolves face the unenviable task of travelling to St Andrew's on Sunday, and they will struggle to get anything out of a tight game. Mick McCarthy's side are only above the relegation places by virtue of goal difference, and they could slip back into trouble should results go against them this weekend. Birmingham have only lost to Chelsea in their last 16 league games, and their 5-5-2 home form contrasts sharply with Wolves' 2-3-6 away stats. Birmingham are a best-priced 1.83 and we should back them to take care of business for us once again.

Chelsea vs Arsenal



7th February 16:00 GMT
Sky Sports 1 (15:30-18:00), Sky Sports HD1 (15:30-18:00)

Anybody who saw Manchester United humble Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last Sunday will have noted just how vulnerable The Gunners are at critical moments in the big matches. Their defending from set pieces leaves a lot to be desired, and their tactical positioning is often naive. Their lazy man-marking created havoc last week as United ran riot, winning 3-1. It was abundantly apparent that Arsenal's play relies solely on two players - Andrei Arshavin and Cesc Fabregas. Every passage of play ended in Arshavin or Fabregas trying to create something, and though such a tactic can work against the lesser teams, it really shows Arsenal's flaws against the very best.

Arsenal simply don't have enough depth in attack at the moment, and sides like Chelsea can pick them apart at will at the moment. Arsenal are sorely missing the injured Robin van Persie, while Eduardo has been an immense disappointment whenever given a chance. Nicklas Bendtner continues to frustrate, and sometimes I wonder whether Theo Walcott actually exists or whether he is a figment of my imagination. Arsenal will really struggle if they continue to play Arshavin as a lone striker - he's abundantly talented but he's ill-suited to play the role of the lone man up front. I hope that Arsenal can shed their tag of being a 'selling club' in the summer, and hold onto their prize assets. More importantly, I hope they will dig deep and buy at least one world-class striker, as they are currently woefully short in the attacking department.

Meanwhile, I am reliably informed that Fabio Capello read my vitriolic 'Off With Their Heads' article the other day, and he was so moved by my arguments that he felt compelled to get rid of the odious John Terry. The only issue now is that Capello also looks to have taken my second-choice recommendation of appointing Rio Ferdinand (we don't see eye-to-eye on everything). This means that we've gone from a chav captain, to a self-styled gangster captain. What next? A Mormon captain? Captain Birds Eye?

To cap off this week's previews, as a lover of all things of ironic and cruel, I was taken aback to see the following image. If you see anything more darkly ironic than John Terry proudly holding a Sun newspaper about Tiger Woods' sex scandal, no less than a month or so ago...well, realistically it could only be topped by Gary Glitter fronting a 'Go East' tourism campaign.



NJ's Bets:

Bolton/Fulham draw - 1.5pts @ 3.4 (Sky Bet )

Man City to beat Hull -1.0 AH - 4.5pts @ 2.38 (Bet365)

Man Utd to score 4+ - 1.5pts @ 2.88 (Sky Bet )

Wayne Rooney first goalscorer - 1.5pts @ 3.5 (Totesport)

Darren Bent to score - 2.5pts @ 2.38 (Boylesports)

Birmingham to beat Wolves - 4pts @ 1.83 (Totesport)

Chelsea to beat Arsenal - 2.5pts @ 1.83 (Sky Bet )

Nishant Joshi