Fulham a defensive team
Fulham are not playing well in their last few games, and are in the down half of the table. They will face Man.City who need to catch-up on Chelsea`s and Arsenal`s flops yesterday. Dembele is out, aswell as Senderos, Stoor and Zamora.
City not in ruins
City are 3 matches unbeaten, but are not performing well. They had time now to reorganize, therefore we can expect a different attitude to the game. They have an almost full squad to choose. Richards and Lescott are doubtful, while Balotelli is suspended.
Now-or-never time
City must gather points, and despite Craven Cottage being a hard fortress to beat, they have the quality and the momentum to get a win. The odds are good, but this is not quite a safe bet. The chances of City winning are good, since Fulham lacks 2 front strikers.
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Prediction:
Tip: 2
Odd: 2.45
Bookie: Betngo
Probable starting eleven: Hart, Kompany, Kolo Toure, Boyata, Lescott, De Jong, Yaya Toure, Barry, Johnson, Tevez, Adebayor. Manchester City won the last game against Chelsea and now manager Roberto Mancini is very satisfied. The players confidence is also very high at the moment. For this game Mancini will be without Pablo Zabaleta who is injured, as well as without longer term absentees Wayne Bridge, Mario Balotelli, Micah Richards and Aleksandar Kolarov.
Solid start
Probable starting eleven: Krul, Ryan Taylor, Enrique, Coloccini, Campbell, Smith, Barton, Gutierrez, Ben Arfa, Nolan, Carroll. Having on mind that Newcastle is newcomer in Premier league, I must say their start is solid. Two victories and one draw in first six rounds isn`t brilliant, but Newcastle is better then some bigger clubs like Liverpool and Everton. So, the fans must be satisfied. The good news is that Campbell`s injury is not serious enough and he will probably play.
I expect an efficient match
I expect an open match and at least three goals. As I said before, Manchester City won against the leader Chelsea in the last round and now the players confidence is on the highest level. I am sure they will attack Newcastle from the first minute. On other side Newcastle is big club, even they played in Championship the last season. They will not defend with 10-men, I am sure about that. Newcastle scored on the last two away matches and I expect they will score again. In situation like this, I think we will see at least three goals here.
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Prediction:
Tip: Over 2.5
Odd: 1.86
Bookie: 10Bet
After hundreds of millions were pumped into this squad, Mancini has no right to fail on any plan and he knows it very well. That’s why City is treating this competition seriously, proving it in the first game where they managed a comfortable 2-0 win at Salzburg. They are boosted by their late league win against Chelsea and everything seem to be right on track for them. Mancini already announced he will field all his big guns in today’s game and he will not repeat the mistakes from Carling Cup’s game against WBA, where he used 6 youngsters.
Poor form
Juve’s start of the season is not promising at all. Del Neri changed the system so a player of Diego’s caliber couldn’t find his position so he was sold. Bad deal, considering un talented mugs like Simone Pepe are regulars game by game… Anyway, they were close to a big shame in the first game against Lech and they showed some horrible piece of defending, especially for an Italian club of Juve’s stature.
Home win
At this moment, City is way stronger than Juve and this is also reflected in the odds. While City will use his best team it is yet unknown what Juve’s approach will be, since they also have a lot of problems in Serie A. Either way, I doubt they could solve their defensive issues so fast, while their creativity resides in throwing balls in the area and hoping for a lucky header. Nice odds to try a home win.
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Prediction:
Tip: 1
Odd: 1.73
Bookie: Ladbrokes
Despite not playing too brilliant, Manchester City are currently 4th in EPL, which is a place where they would like to end the season as well. Coach Mancini didn`t create some terrific team out of all the superstars he`s got yet, but they are doing the job regardless of playing quite average at times. They got knocked out of the Carling Cup the other day to WBA, but still have got a lot of ambitions both in EPL and the FA Cup and Europa League. It`s needless to talk too much about the quality they`ve got in their squad, and let`s just say they should be playing much better that they are doing right now considering how strong of a team they have – and I think this game is a perfect opportunity for them to show all of their potential.
Shocked by Newcastle
Chelsea is one of the main EPL and CL title candidates this season, and losing to Newcastle at home in the Carling Cup wasn`t really planned as Abramovich`s side is one of the most ambitious ones in the country, eager to win as many trophies as possible. They still underestimated Newcastle fielding some really inexperienced players, which cost them a defeat, but they once again showed they can score goals, and they do that with no problem. Just like it was the case against Blackpool at home last week, when they scored 4 in about 40 minutes, just to take it easy after that and bring the game to its closure with the same result on the scoreboard, controlling the match all throughout.
Huge battle
Although many of you would maybe think we`ll hardly see goals in this one due to careful approach by both sides, I`ve got to say I expect a fired up City and always ambitious and motivated Chelsea, and at least 3 goals. I am quite positive both sides will score at least a goal each due to their huge firepower up front, and creative individuals who are the main reasons these teams can score goals anytime, but I also doubt this match will end as a draw. I see a rather open game, and even though both teams have got solid defenses, they have even better attacks to confront their counterparts. 3 or more goals at the current price is worth some medium, high staking.
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Prediction:
Tip: Over 2.5
Odd: 2.03
Bookie: Pinnacle
Roberto Martinez`s side still lie 17th, but he will be happy at the progress made by his players. After losing their opening 2 games, one at home to unfancied Blackpool, they upset Tottenham Hotspur with a 1-0 win. The weekend saw them battle to a 1-1 draw with Sunderland. I think Wigan are quite up and down this season, and are still struggling for consistency. Chris Kirkland has let in far too many goals, and he will be up against it here against a Manchester City side that brings lots of attacking talent, and a deep need to win games like this if they are to get into the Champions League next season. Gary Caldwell is still out recuperating, while Voctor Moses is being mentioned as a possible starter as he is feeling better following his ankle knock. Look for Alcaraz, who signed in the summer for Wigan, to work his socks off here again, just like he did when bundling home the equaliser last week. I`m not sure this team can win here, but a point is a possibility, if they play really well.
Less than expected
Roberto Mancini`s side haven`t gotten off to the flyer he had hoped. They have just 1 win from their opening 4 games, and managed to lose at Sunderland. Last weekend, they were held 1-1 at home by Blackburn Rovers, and it is dropping points in these kinds of games that costs a team big when May comes around. They have a lot to do if they are to get into Europe next year. Blackburn wasn`t the last club they played though. In midweek, City travelled to Austria and came back with a win over Salzburg in the Europa League. It will be a confidence boost, and they will look to build on that 2-0 result here, against a side that let Blackpool put 4 goals past them. Tevez scored on the weekend, and is in good form and a decent bet to net here again. He will be partnered by Jo, in the absence of Adebayor, who is a twat. Joe Hart, the new England goalkeeper, put in a very good performance to get his clean sheet in Austria, and barring the odd threat, should manage the same here again.
Unknowns
City come in with confidence, and a lot of talent. Their key striker plays, and is in good form. I like good form, and I like to ride it. Watch for Carlos Tevez to surely score in a Manchester City win, and if you find a decent price for Tevez and Jo to both net, take it.
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Prediction:
Tip: 2
Odd: 1.80
Bookie: Betfred
The Citizens have bumped into Tottenham at the very beginning, who managed to beat them last year in the most important and key game for CL qualifiers, and they wanted to revenge for that loss, but that was one tough game where eventually there was no winner as it ended in a goalless draw. City is an excellent team, having an offensive lineup with players like David Silva, Tevez and Adebayor, and many would be envious for having all those players in the squad so I think that Mancini’s three will break Liverpool’s defense in this match and not only once but multiple times.
Slipped up at the opener
Liverpool hosted Arsenal at the start of the championship and didn’t do too well as the newbie in the Reds’ side Joe Cole got a red card, but the guys from Anfield still managed to take the lead just to concede a goal in the 89th minute due to their goalie’s mistake. Unfortunate Spaniard on their goal literally scored the goal by pushing the ball into his own net. It seems like Liverpool’s fans have a few idols from the new players already, and one of them is Milan Jovanovic, who played quite well at his debut and is eager for goals, which can be seen in his game. Manager Hodgson has got a great squad at his disposal, which just needs to be fit in perfectly and I believe he will manage to do that quite fast.
Derby of the round
The Englishmen have been scoring plenty of goals lately and even though the majority wants to think this will be a match without many goals, I feel a bit weird trying to imagine these sides won’t play offensive and score less than 3,4 goals. As many as 3 matches in this round of EPL ended with scorelines of 6:0. I think Manchester City will record a home win proving they are not only a contender for the 4th place leading to CL, but also for the title. My advice for this game is the over at some juicy odds. Good luck!
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Prediction:
Tip: Over 2.5
Odd: 2.39
Bookie: 188Bet
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