Premier League Preview - Saturday August 28th

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Last Updated on Friday, 27th Aug 2010, 

Written by BetRepublic

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12:45 – Blackburn Rovers v Arsenal:

The opening match of the weekend sees Blackburn Rovers host Arsenal at Ewood Park with Bet365 making Arsenal the 1.57 favourites to claim all three points, with Blackburn available at 6.00 and the draw can be backed at 4.00. Will Arsenal claim a win at a ground that they were beaten at last season?

Blackburn have played two games at home this season and they have won both, beating Everton in the Premier League and Norwich City in the Carling Cup. Neither performance was particularly impressive with Everton dominating the match on the opening day of the season and Blackburn getting the only goal of the game through an error from Tim Howard, the Everton goalkeeper. Arsenal did not play well in their only away game so far and they were lucky to emerge with a point against Liverpool thanks to a late own goal by ‘keeper Pepe Reina. Will they be able to cope with the physical nature of the Blackburn side and claim the win?

Last season Blackburn secured a 2-1 win at Ewood Park after coming from a goal down. The way that these two sides play football is completely different and Arsenal will need to come to terms with the physical battering that they will get in this match. If they can cope with it then I see them winning, but I feel that it is more likely that they will not cope so well and I see this game ending level. My money is on a low scoring game too, so i’m backing the draw at odds of 4.00 and under 2.5 goals at odds of 2.03 with Bet365.

15:00 – Blackpool v Fulham:

Blackpool play their first Premier League match at Bloomfield Road against a Fulham side who do not travel well and have won none of their last nineteen away games. After their 6-0 humbling at Arsenal last weekend can Blackpool taste victory again this weekend? William Hill make Blackpool the outsiders for the win at odds of 3.2, with Fulham favoured at 2.30 and the draw can be backed at 3.20 also.

Against Arsenal last week Blackpool were given a lesson in Premier League football and were thumped 6-0. Arsenal missed several opportunities to score and could have easily ended the game in double figures as the result of Blackpool’s defensive failings. Ian Holloway will have been working his players on the training ground this week in an effort to resolve these problems, but will it have worked?

At home Fulham are a good side, getting a 2-2 draw with Manchester United in the league and thrashing Port Vale 6-0 in the Carling Cup but in their only away game this season they drew 0-0 with Bolton Wanderers. With their poor away record and the fact that they are playing at Bloomfield Road, which is the smallest ground in the Premier League, I feel that they will struggle again and i’m backing a Blackpool win in this match at odds of 3.20 and there to be more goals in the second half than in the first half at 1.95 with William Hill.

15:00 – Chelsea v Stoke City:

Chelsea’s record for this season reads; played two, won two scored twelve, conceded zero. Stoke have lost both of their league matches 2-1, although they did deserve a draw against Spurs, but can they turn things around against the rampaging machine that is Chelsea Football Club? PaddyPower.com make Chelsea the massive favourites to win the game at odds of 1.13, with Stoke available at odds of 23.00 and the draw can be backed at 8.00. Will the game go according to these odds?

The last time that Stoke City defeated Chelsea was April 1975 and last season Chelsea won both games with an aggregate scoreline of 9-0, with last season’s fixture at Stamford Bridge ending 7-0 to Chelsea. Can Stoke do anything about changing this losing streak against the champions? I don’t think so, I expect another dominating and efficient performance by Chelsea. My money is on over 3.5 goals in the match at odds of 1.95 and Chelsea to win the match by at least four goals (Chelsea -3) at odds of 3.00 with PaddyPower.com.

15:00 – Tottenham Hotspur v Wigan Athletic:

This game sees a side that has just qualified for the group stages of the Champions League take on a side that is rock bottom of the Premier League having conceded ten goals in two games and failed to find the net once. How will the game go? William Hill make Spurs the 1.29 favourites to pick up another three points, with Wigan available at odds of 12.00 and the draw can be backed at 5.00.

Wigan have lost both of their opening games at home, losing 4-0 to Blackpool and 6-0 to Chelsea. They travel away from home this weekend and they conceded fifty-five goals on their travels last season and lost fourteen of their nineteen away games, including a 9-1 defeat at Spurs last season. After the mid-week performance that Spurs put in against Young Boys I see another loss for Wigan by the end of this game.

My money is on Spurs to win the game by at least two goals (Tottenham Hotspur -1) at odds of 1.67 and Spurs to win the game to nil at odds of 2.00 with PaddyPower.com.

15:00 – Wolverhampton Wanderers v Newcastle United:

After two games both of these sides sit in the top ten of the Premier League with Wolves having won one and drawn one and Newcastle lost 3-0 to Manchester United and then thumped Aston Villa 6-0. Both sides were also had difficult games midweek in the Carling Cup, but who will take the points in this game? Bet365 make Wolves the favourites to pick up three points at odds of 2.40, with Newcastle available at odds of 3.00 and the draw can be backed at 3.25.

Wolves have won both home games 2-1 this season, with Stoke losing at Molineux on the opening day of the season and then Southend United falling by the same scoreline in the Carling Cup, but only after Wolves scored the winner in the last minute of extra time to avert a penalty shootout. Away from home, Newcastle were completely outplayed on the opening weekend, taking a 3-0 beating by Manchester United. Then this mid-week they played away from home and were pushed all the way by League Two Accrington Stanley and came through after a scare to win 3-2.

How will this game go though? Both teams will be highly confident of getting something from this game, but I feel that both of these two teams will cancel each other out and this game will be level. I also don’t expect to see too many goals, if any at all, in this game. As a result of this I’m backing the draw at odds of 3.25 and under 2.5 goals to be scored at odds of 1.65 with Bet365.

17:30 – Manchester United v West Ham United:

Third place in the league faces nineteenth with Man Utd having won one and drawn one of their two matches so far while West Ham have lost both games so far, scoring just one goal in the process. Can the Hammers turn around their poor start to the season with a win at Old Trafford? PaddyPower.com say no and they make Manchester United the 1.17 favourites to claim all three points, with West Ham the outsiders 16.00 and the draw is available at odds of 7.00.

Manchester United claimed an easy three points in their last game at Old Trafford as they saw off Newcastle United 3-0 and they should have gone on to beat Fulham at Craven Cottage last weekend, but missed a penalty while leading 2-1 and let Fulham back into the game and the match finished 2-2. West Ham have been beaten by Aston Villa away and while they dominated much of the game at home they were beaten 3-1 by Bolton. Also, they have lost all of the last five meetings between these two clubs conceding fourteen goals and scoring just one in the process. I expect another big win for Manchester United in this game.

My money is on Manchester United to win the match to nil at odds of 1.73 and Manchester United to win both halves of football at 2.00 with PaddyPower.com.