NJ's Premier League Weekend

By Nishant Joshi

Chelsea vs Manchester City



27th February 12:45 GMT
Sky Sports 1 (12:00-15:00), Sky Sports HD1 (12:00-15:00)

This week's biggest story was undoubtedly that of Wayne Bridge pulling out of the England squad, seemingly indefinitely - or at least until John Terry is mysteriously kidnapped and his naked body is found dismembered at World Cup stadiums across South Africa. At which point Bridge will make a triumphant return; at centre-back for added catharsis. Of course, he will dedicate his 90th minute goals throughout the tournament to his good friend (they made up just before the mysterious disappearance and subsequent murder).

Bridge's announcement was a true case of cutting off your nose to spite your face. I hear the Taliban are so impressed by his martyrdom that they are thinking of hiring him as a suicide bomber. Bridge is said to be thinking about it, but is concerned about John Terry subsequently gazumping him in a more deadly and celebrated attack.

I have now a huge amount of respect from Bridge - as the first ever footballer to accurately use as complex a word as 'untenable', the lad deserves a lot of credit. While Bridge's act is quite selfless on the face of things, it should be noted that he has only ever played 18 minutes in three international tournaments. He has been the perennial nearly-man of the England team, and surely after being shunned so often, he is intelligent enough to realise that barring injury, Ashley Cole will always play ahead of him.

Wayne Bridge seems to be going through a pre-mid-life crisis right now, and he must be close to doing something zany - converting to Buddhism must be a real possibility. All in all, Bridge has made a masochistic meal out of the situation. The only thing which would be more in the ethos of self-harm would be if he were to cut off part of his ear and send it to Vanessa Perroncel in a blood-stained envelope.

Having said all this, it is a bit odd for a sportsman in prime age to shun the opportunity to even be a part of the World Cup squad, which should be the pinnacle of anybody's career. Should England end up winning the trophy, I hope that Bridge will hold no regrets.

The weekend's first game sees the former best friends meet in what is likely to be an encounter with plenty of needle. All eyes will be on whether there is a handshake between the two. If I were Bridge, I would feign for a handshake, before turning around and mooning Terry. That's just me, but it's the most mature way I can think of settling an argument as deep as this.

Manchester City have failed to score in their last seven visits to Stamford Bridge, and although Carlos Tevez has returned from Argentina, he is likely to be short of match-fitness, whilst the visitors will miss Emmanuel Adebayor. We should back Didier Drogba to add to his impressive tally this season at a decent price of evens.


Birmingham vs Wigan



27th February 15:00 GMT

Birmingham have suffered a half-slump after a brilliant 15 game unbeaten run. I would be wary backing them even though they're winless since an away defeat of Everton a month ago, but Wigan are absolutely dreadful. They are 0-3-3 in their last six league games, not including an FA Cup defeat to Notts County, and most results have been against teams struggling around the relegation zone. The wheels have somewhat come off Birmingham's campaign - nothing is terribly alarming given they are in no danger of relegation, but it looks like they will slowly drop down the table towards the end of the season. Still, they should be able to dispose of a woeful Wigan side at home.


Stoke vs Arsenal



27th February 17:30 GMT
Sky Sports 1 (17:15-19:30), Sky Sports HD1 (17:15-19:30)

Anybody who saw Stoke dump Arsenal out of the FA Cup last month will not be rushing to back the Gunners at decent odds-on here. Arsenal have lost four of their last seven in all competitions, whereas Stoke are unbeaten in their last seven league matches. Arsene Wenger's side traditionally match up poorly to the bully boy tactics of sides like Stoke, and at home, you've got to fancy Stoke to get a result at the prices. Odds of 4.5 are no doubt decent value for the Stoke win, but I'm happy to back them in the draw no bet market with added insurance.


Tottenham vs Everton



28th february 13:00 GMT
ESPN (12:00-15:30), ESPN HD (12:00-15:30)

Despite crashing out of the Europa League midweek, Everton remain in a rich vein of form domestically. The Spurs squad has been hit by a virus, leading their training ground to be shut down temporarily. While we should not buy all of the scaremongering, they could still be caught cold by an Everton side who would look appealing against a fully fit Spurs side at 4.2. They lead the form books with a 5-1-0 record in their last six games, and as such they are an auto-bet at the prices.


Aston Villa vs Manchester Utd - Carling Cup Final



28th February 15:00 GMT
Sky Sports 1 (14:45-17:00), Sky Sports HD1 (14:45-17:00), BBC1 (14:00-17:20), BBCHD (14:00-17:20)

If Wayne Rooney was scoring any more, he would literally be on fire. I tend to avoid Carling Cup betting like the plague, but having netted so often in recent games; Boylesports are taking a huge risk by dangling 2.38 on Rooney to score anytime. We should bet with confidence, as it seems like this final will be another moment that Rooney will want to grasp.


Sunderland vs Fulham



28th february 15:00 GMT

Fulham have bounced back from a disappointing January with a ground-breaking February, in which they have progressed to the last 16 of the Europa League, in a month where they remain unbeaten. Sunderland are doing remarkably poorly at the moment, considering their impressive start to the season. Thirteen games without a win for the unlucky Black Cats would indicate that Fulham are the value here at prices approaching 4.0, but how can we back a team whose only away win in the league to date came against a hapless Pompey on match day one? We'll side with true value and opt for Fulham on the +0.25 Asian Handicap.

NJ's Bets:

Didier Drogba to score - 3pts @ 2.0 (Expekt )

Wayne Rooney to score - 5pts @ 2.38 (Boylesports)

Stoke to beat Arsenal draw no bet - 2.5pts @ 3.75 (Sky Bet, Boylesports)

Birmingham to beat Wigan - 4.25pts @ 2.0 (Betfred )

Everton to beat Spurs - 2.75pts @ 4.2 (Totesport)

Fulham to beat Sunderland +0.25AH - 4pts @ 2.1 (Bet365)

Nishant Joshi