Weekend Premiership match predictions
last updated Friday 31st March 2006, 11:01 AM
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| Premiership Match Day 32 |
| Home |
Away |
Res |
| Saturday 01 April 2006 |
| Birmingham |
Chelsea |
12.45 |
| Arsenal |
Aston Villa |
15.00 |
| Bolton |
Man Utd |
15.00 |
| Everton |
Sunderland |
15.00 |
| Fulham |
Portsmouth |
15.00 |
| Newcastle |
Tottenham |
15.00 |
| West Brom |
Liverpool |
17.15 |
| Sunday 02 April 2006 |
| Man City |
Middlesbro' |
15.00 |
| West Ham |
Charlton |
16.00 |
| Monday 03 April 2006 |
| Blackburn |
Wigan |
20.00 |
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| Pos |
Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
Gd |
| 1 |
Chelsea
|
31 |
25 |
3 |
3 |
60 |
19 |
78 |
41 |
| 2 |
Man. Utd.
|
31 |
21 |
6 |
4 |
62 |
29 |
69 |
33 |
| 3 |
Liverpool
|
32 |
19 |
7 |
6 |
45 |
22 |
64 |
23 |
| 4 |
Tottenham
|
31 |
15 |
10 |
6 |
45 |
29 |
55 |
16 |
| 5 |
Blackburn
|
31 |
16 |
4 |
11 |
42 |
36 |
52 |
6 |
| 6 |
Arsenal
|
30 |
15 |
5 |
10 |
48 |
23 |
50 |
25 |
| 7 |
Bolton
|
29 |
13 |
9 |
7 |
42 |
32 |
48 |
10 |
| 8 |
Wigan
|
31 |
14 |
4 |
13 |
36 |
38 |
46 |
-2 |
| 9 |
West Ham
|
31 |
13 |
6 |
12 |
46 |
46 |
45 |
0 |
| 10 |
Everton
|
31 |
13 |
4 |
14 |
29 |
41 |
43 |
-12 |
| 11 |
Charlton
|
31 |
12 |
6 |
13 |
37 |
42 |
42 |
-5 |
| 12 |
Man. City
|
31 |
12 |
4 |
15 |
39 |
37 |
40 |
2 |
| 13 |
Newcastle
|
31 |
11 |
6 |
14 |
31 |
38 |
39 |
-7 |
| 14 |
Middlesbrough
|
30 |
10 |
7 |
13 |
43 |
52 |
37 |
-9 |
| 15 |
Fulham
|
32 |
10 |
6 |
16 |
40 |
51 |
36 |
-11 |
| 16 |
Aston Villa
|
31 |
8 |
11 |
12 |
34 |
41 |
35 |
-7 |
| 17 |
W.B.A.
|
31 |
7 |
6 |
18 |
28 |
47 |
27 |
-19 |
| 18 |
Birmingham
|
30 |
6 |
6 |
18 |
23 |
44 |
24 |
-21 |
| 19 |
Portsmouth
|
30 |
6 |
6 |
18 |
24 |
51 |
24 |
-27 |
| 20 |
Sunderland
|
31 |
2 |
4 |
25 |
19 |
55 |
10 |
-36 |
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| Birmingham v Chelsea (KO 12.45 Saturday 01 April 2006) |
| After 7-0 and 3-0 maulings by Liverpool and Manchester United, relegation-haunted Birmingham now welcome champions-elect Chelsea to St Andrews and it's nigh on impossible trying to make out any sort of case for Steve Bruce's strugglers. Their defending has been an embarrassment recently while they've managed just one goal at the other end in their last five games. They've yet to beat Chelsea in seven attempts in the Premiership and while Jose Mourinho's side aren't at the top of their game right now, they should still be good enough to take the points here. Verdict: Birmingham 0 Chelsea 2
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| Arsenal v Aston Villa (KO 15.00 Saturday 01 April 2006) |
| After the Gunners' masterclass in the Champions League against Juventus in midweek, this isn't a trip which Villa will be relishing. That display didn't exactly come out of the blue because Arsenal have hit form with a vengeance in the last few weeks - beating Fulham, Liverpool and Charlton in the Premiership (by a 9-1 aggregate margin) and accounting for Real Madrid in Europe. It's possibly no coincidence that this is their fifth home match in a row and, providing they don't have all their focus on next week's return with Juve, another comfortable win awaits. They've won seven on the trot at Highbury against Villa and David O'Leary's men head into this with the injuries mounting up and one draw and three defeats in their last four. Verdict: Arsenal 3 Aston Villa 0 |
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| Bolton v Man Utd (KO 15.00 Saturday 01 April 2006) |
| Ruud van Nistelrooy finally won a place in the United starting XI on Wednesday and he made the most of his chance with the only goal of the game against West Ham. That made it seven wins on the trot in the Premiership for the Red Devils but this represents a major stumbling block as they look to further close the gap on Chelsea for Bolton have lost just once at home all season and conceded only seven goals in the process. However the Trotters were unusually suspect at the back last weekend when they let in four at Middlesbrough and their recent record against United is poor, with four defeats in the last five. They should at least be the fresher side though but United should edge it for their eighth win in a row. Verdict: Bolton 1 Manchester United 2 |
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| Everton v Sunderland (KO 15.00 Saturday 01 April 2006) |
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This could be the weekend when Sunderland's relegation is confirmed and the reverse fixture between this pair on the final day of 2005 had a huge bearing on both clubs' fortunes. Everton midfielder Tim Cahill snatched a scarcely-merited victory for the then 17th-placed Toffees in the second minute of stoppage time at the Stadium of Light which sparked their surge up the table and left the Black Cats reeling. Last weekend's Merseyside derby defeat notwithstanding, virtually everything has gone right since for Everton. Their form at home in particular has been outstanding - they've won every Premiership game at Goodison this year - and even the goals have started to flow, with 10 coming in the last four matches. In contrast Sunderland have looked as lacklustre as ever and haven't even managed to find the net since the departure of Mick McCarthy at the start of the month. It all adds up to a home banker. Verdict: Everton 3 Sunderland 0
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| Fulham v Portsmouth (KO 15.00 Saturday 01 April 2006) |
| The Harry Houdini headlines have been out in force following Pompey's last couple of games - a last-gasp win over Manchester City and a 4-2 hammering of West Ham. But let's just put those two results into context - City have lost 10 times on their travels while West Ham made a host of changes as the game was 48 hours before their FA Cup quarter-final. Far more relevant to Saturday's match is Fulham's outstanding home record which shows they've picked up 32 of their 36 points at Craven Cottage and beaten the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Blackburn, Bolton and Everton along the way. When you factor in Portsmouth's vulnerability away from Fratton Park (they were thrashed 5-0 by relegation rivals Birmingham) it all adds up to a Fulham win being one of the best bets of the weekend. Verdict: Fulham 3 Portsmouth 1
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| Newcastle v Tottenham (KO 15.00 Saturday 01 April 2006) |
| The Newcastle revival has well and truly come to a halt with four defeats on the trot - but perhaps we just got carried away with their earlier results under Glenn Roeder. Beating the likes of Southampton, Portsmouth and Aston Villa didn't necessarily signal a massive upturn in form - just as recent losses to top three Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool don't spell disaster. The bad news for the Magpies though is that they now welcome a Spurs side to St James' which is sitting proudly in fourth place and whose only defeat since January was at the hands of Chelsea. Martin Jol's outfit haven't exactly been in sparkling form during that period but they've been doing just enough to win - perfectly illustrated by their 2-1 success against West Brom on Monday. The news that Scott Parker is likely to be ruled out with glandular fever is a massive blow for Newcastle as he's been outstanding when he's played this season and it all points to a fifth successive league win over the Magpies for Spurs. Verdict: Newcastle 1 Tottenham 2 |
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| West Brom v Liverpool (KO 17.15 Saturday 01 April 2006) |
| It's not hard to see why Liverpool are favourites to win. Everything has clicked in recent weeks for the Reds - they've won four on the bounce and gone goal crazy in the process by scoring no fewer than 18 in that spell. As if that wasn't impressive enough, they've also won their last two Premiership matches at the Hawthorns by 5-0 and 6-0 margins! The one significant negative against a Liverpool win is the absence of Steven Gerrard following his red card in the Merseyside derby last Saturday. However they managed well enough without him for the bulk of that game and should have enough in hand against a relegation-threatened Baggies side which will still be wondering how they had nothing to show for their efforts at Spurs on Monday. Verdict: West Brom 0 Liverpool 2 |
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| Man City v Middlesbro' (KO 15.00 Sunday 02 April 2006) |
| Having lost four out of their last five it's surprising to see City favourites to win this one. Stuart Pearce's men have been far more miss than hit of late, and had Boro not been involved in UEFA Cup action on Thursday night then they would have a clearer superiority. Yet having played a taxing UEFA Cup quarter-final first leg tie against FC Basle and then having to journey back from Switzerland to HQ on Teesside, only to be greeted by an away trip to Eastlands less than 48 hours later is clearly far from ideal.After a solid run in the league at the turn of the year, a run that included that memorable 3-1 derby victory over Manchester United, City have struggled manfully of late. Some pundits reckon the speculation liking Pearce and the vacant England job has unsettled the players, and that could well be true. However you have to say that injury problems have not helped.Verdict: Man City 0 Middlesbrough 1 |
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| West Ham v Charlton (KO 16.00 Sunday 02 April 2006) |
| The Hammers look the favouirites in this one. Alan Pardew's men went down 1-0 to Manchester United in midweek, but they played well for long spells in that game without ever really threatening and there is no shame in losing to the Old Trafford outfit, who are unquestionably the form team in the Premiership right now. Their home form has not been vintage though, and they will need to be on their guard against a very well drilled Charlton side.The Addicks were convincing 3-1 winners over Newcastle at home last time out, with the in-form Darren Bent again on target. Charlton are unbeaten at The Valley in 2006, but have found the going a lot heavier on their travels. You have to go back to October 22 for their last away win in the Premiership, a day they came from behind to beat Portsmouth 2-1 at Fratton Park.Verdict: West Ham 2 Charlton 1 |
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| Blackburn v Wigan (KO 20.00 Monday 03 April 2006) |
| More to follow .......... |
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