United players need to show a response to the 3:1 defeat at Goodison Park that came in the worst possible time, just as they were closing in on Chelsea. West Ham, on the other hand, finally escaped from the danger zone with two comprehensive home wins and the Hammers are in a good position to try and spring a surprise at Old Trafford.

United hammered at Goodison

The 3:1 defeat at Goodison Park was very hard to swallow for Sir Alex Ferguson as his side were supposed to put extra pressure on Chelsea with another convincing win but they utterly failed and are now no less than four points adrift of the Blues. Maybe the players became too complacent after the impressive victory at San Siro or maybe they were just too tired, but they still failed to show a mental strength needed to win such an important game. The players will have problems recovering for what was a big blow to their title ambitions and they face a tough task against revived West Ham, which why you shouldn’t even consider odds of 1.22 offered by Pinnacle on home win as there is absolutely no value in them.

After yet another poor performance of his centre-back pairing, Sir Alex Ferguson should finally turn to Nemanja Vidic, who’s been training for almost three weeks now but is yet to feature in 2010. Underperforming Berbatov will probably make way for Paul Scholes, with Rooney set to be deployed as a lone striker, while Giggs, Hargreaves and O’Shea remain sidelined. The hosts are bound to go all guns blazing at the Hammers as they desperately need a win and should score at least one goal but seeing they also conceded in every one of their last three games, backing both teams to score at 2.25 offered by William Hill looks like the right thing to do.

Back in business

Everybody knew West Ham had more than enough quality to escape the drop but even their own fans started fearing for survival after Gianfranco Zola’s side missed a couple of great chances to steer clear of the bottom three. Nevertheless, the Hammers finally came good, mostly thanks to their impressive home run that saw them take 10 points from 4 games at Upton Park, without conceding a single goal in the process. Going into the United game high on confidence, the Hammers stand a decent chance of creating a surprise since they are no longer under pressure and that should result in a good performance. With Zola’s side rediscovering their scoring form, backing West Ham to score at 2.10 offered by Boylesports looks like a real banker.

We don’t expect to see any changes to the starting line-up, not after such a good performance against Hull, which means Carlton Cole and Guille Franco will continue in attack, while Mido, Noble and Collison face a real battle to return to the side. Herita Ilunga, Kieron Dyer, Danny Gabbidon, Benny McCarthy, Zavon Hines, Calum Davenport and Louis Boa Morte remain sidelined but as the team have already shown, their absence should not be a problem.

Betting verdict

The hosts are in poor spirits after the Everton defeat and they seem too dependent on Waynee Rooney, who will be given a special attention by West Ham defenders. The Hammers, on the other hand, are playing with a lot of confidence at the moment and they will be a tough nut to crack at Old Trafford. The best United can do here is record a narrow win.

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After missing their chance to beat Manchester United, Aston Villa aim to return to winning ways and the hosts should have the easiest of jobs as they play host to struggling Burnley. The defeat to Fulham was their 12th on the travels this season and the Clarets clearly have nothing to hope for from this match.

An easy job for Villa

This is turning out to be a very successful season for Villa as the team have already made it to the Carling Cup final and are close to qualifying for the FA Cup quarter-finals, while they occupy a good league position as well. The top 4 finish is still within reach and this is why Martin O’Neill’s side cannot afford to slip up against Burnley. Villa failed to profit from their numerical advantage against United as they could only pick up one point but will now have much easier task and since the boss will have almost full squad to choose from, backing Villa to score in both halves at 2.25 offered by William Hill looks like the right thing to do.

Stephen Warnock came through the Crystal Palace game unscathed after returning from the three-week spell on the sidelines and he will keep his place in the side, while Gabriel Agbonlahor and Emile Heskey are set to return after recovering from their respective injuries. Carlos Cuellar was rested against Palace, while Stiliyan Petrov remains doubtful with an ankle problem.  

Still no improvement on the travels

Burnley are threatening to enter the Premiership history as the worst team on the travels ever, having picked up just one point from 13 away games this season. What is even more disappointing is that Clarets were never even close to avoiding defeat in those games, as witnessed by the 8:38 goals difference on the travels. This is why they don’t really have much to hope for from the trip to Villa Park and the visitors should be happy with every result apart from the heavy defeat. All things considered, our advice is to back Burnley not to score at 1.83 offered by Blue Square.

Leon Cort, Stephen Jordan, Graham Alexander, Christian Kalvenes and Stephen Caldwell are all doubtful with injuries and Brian Laws will have to wait until the match day to find out who he can count on. We, nonetheless, don’t expect too many changes to the side that started the Fulham game, although Chris Eagles is pushing for the starting place.

Betting verdict

Aston Villa are playing really well at the moment and Martin O’Neill will have almost full squad to choose from, while Burnley would be better off staying at home instead wasting the money and energy on the trip to Villa Park which is likely to result in yet another away defeat. The visitors are also missing a couple of first team regulars and Villa are expected to win this game with relative ease.

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Fulham cemented the good league position with the comprehensive win over Burnley, while they also recorded the win over Shakhtar in the Europa League and we are yet to see if the Cottagers will have tired legs from that game. Birmingham suffered their second successive defeat on the travels having been beaten by West Ham and the Blues are now looking to arrest the poor run.

Impressive win over Shakhtar

Fulham have gone a long way during the last few years and they have mostly Roy Hodgson to thank to. The manager transformed the Cottagers from the relegation strugglers to a top table team and the win over last year’s UEFA Cup winners is the perfect proof of this side’s progress. The gaffer opted to field a very strong side against the Ukrainians even though that could have a negative effect on this game but the Cottagers are bound to finish in mid table and the result of this tie won’t change anything. Both Fulham and Birmingham base their game on rock-solid defence and we, therefore, see a great value in betting on no goals in the first half at 2.50 offered by Sportingbet.

Zoltan Gera has returned into action against Shakhtar but he probably won’t be risked in this match, just like Paul Konchesky, who’s resumed light training following the lengthy spell on the sidelines. Kagisho Dikgacoi, Andy Johnson, Clint Dempsey and John Paintsil remain sidelined, while we do expect to see a couple of changes to the side that started the Shakhtar game.

Are Birmingham tired?

Alex McLeish’s tactics of constantly fielding the same starting line-up produced great results during the first part of the season but it has started to have a negative effect on the team. The players are clearly tired and that could be one of the reasons for the recent slump in form the boss tried to arrest by finally introducing a couple of new players to the side. The Blues were starring defeat in the eyes in their last four league games but the FA Cup victory over Derby could be just the boost they needed to arrest their poor run of form and with Fulham players tired from the midweek game, we see a good value in backing Birmingham not to lose at 1.73 offered by Stan James.

Chucho Benitez returned into action in the Derby game and he is set for another start, while Craig Gardner, Michel and Keith Fahey finally got some playing time in recent weeks and they are again pushing for the starting places. Apart from long-term casualties Teemu Tainio, Lee Carsley and Gary O’Connor, Alex McLeish has no other selection problems.

Betting verdict

Both teams look tired at the moment, Fulham from the Shakhtar game and Birmingham from playing a lot of games with the same line-up, and we should, therefore, see a low-tempo match. Neither team will be pushing forward too hard with chances few and far between.

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The top 4 rivals are set for an exciting encounter at the City of Manchester Stadium with the winner set to gain the upper hand in the race. City will be glad to return to Eastlands as they dropped quite a few points on the travels, while Liverpool are looking for the first away win after four games.

Bellamy and Mancini clash

Manchester City have suffered a big dip in form over the last few weeks and they simply have to arrest the dismal run in order to remain in contention for the top 4 place. Nevertheless, the recent bust-up between Craig Bellamy and Roberto Mancini is likely to create even more tension, thus the Citizens will have problems concentrating on this game. With Bellamy probably out of contention and Tevez still in Argentina for personal reasons, the hosts will struggle to break Liverpool defence which conceded just one goal in last five games and odds of 3.60 offered by Paddy Power on City not to score are definitely worth a shot.

Craig Bellamy has reportedly been banned from the training ground and he will probably miss this match, just like Carlos Tevez, who has yet to return from Argentina. Patrick Vieira is set to be handed a three-match ban that will force him to miss this clash, while Vincent Kompany remains a doubt with a groin strain. With the dressing room atmosphere at an all time low, City face a really tough task in this match, even though Liverpool are by no means unbeatable.

Narrow win over Unirea

Liverpool fans flocked to Anfield to see their team play Unirea but we could all see they were far from happy for having to watch the Reds play in second rate European competition. Liverpool’s performance in that match, just like in so many games this term was also second rate but with the help of subs Babel and Pacheco, they managed to win the game by the narrowest of margins. Rafa Benitez was certainly happy to see his side keep another clean sheet but without Torres in the side, the scoring problems continue and we, therefore, see a good value in betting on no goals in the first half at 2.60 offered by Stan James.

Fernando Torres continue to miss out with a knee problem, while Yossi Benayoun and Glen Johnson remain long-term casualties. Maxi Rodriguez and Lucas should return to the side with Riera and Aquilani dropping to the bench, whereas Emmanuel Insua should take his place on the left hand side after being rested against Unirea. Despite the good performance in his last match, Ryan Babel is set for another substitute appearance.

Betting verdict

City are in big problems at the moment and they are missing much needed fire power up front, which will make their life even more difficult against rock-solid Liverpool defence. The Reds will first make sure not to concede before starting to think about Given’s goal and low-scoring game looks on the cards.    

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Wigan remained in the danger zone after they were held to a goalless draw by Bolton and the Latics are now searching for their first win after seven games. Tottenham, on the other hand, are looking to bounce back from the defeat at Molineux and Spurs simply have to win this game in order to remain in the top 4 race.

A stalemate against Bolton

Wigan’s problems in the scoring department were again on display as they hosted Bolton since the Latics again created enough chances but were lacking that cutting edge in the final third. Roberto Martinez’s side now sit two points clear of the relegation zone and they will be looking to get at least one point from this match but the hosts are unlikely to rush into anything as Tottenham will have no problems scoring if they are afforded the space. We expect to see a very tight game, especially in the first half since both sides are low on confidence and odds of 2.60 offered by Stan James on no goals in the first half look too good to pass.

Titus Bramble is doubt after picking up an injury against Bolton, while fellow defender Stephen Gohouri is the only player on the injury list at the moment. Marcelo Moreno should keep his place in the side after the good performance in the last match, which means Victor Moses will again have to settle for a place on the bench.

Another defeat to Wolves

If anyone ever thought Tottenham were genuine top 4 contenders, they have probably changed their minds after seeing Spurs lose to struggling Wolves for the second time this season. Harry Redknapp’s side are still in the mix but having dropped so many points against relegation strugglers, they only way how they can still finish fourth is by beating the likes of United, Chelsea and Arsenal, which we all know is not possible. The players will surely be low on confidence after failing to score a single goal against Wolves and Spurs are now in for a difficult task at JJB. All things considered, backing Tottenham to score under 1.5 goals at 1.65 offered by Sportingbet looks like the right thing to do.

While Jonathan Woodgate, Roman Pavlychenko and Benoit Assou-Ekotto remain sidelined, there is an outside chance we could see Aaron Lennon make a return to the side after recovering from a groin strain. After losing to Wolves, Spurs have shown some improvement in the FA Cup tie against Bolton and we expect to see an unchanged side from that which started the game at Reebok.

Betting verdict

Wigan will try to keep things tight and if possible pick up another point, while Tottenham should have the upper hand but the lack of confidence will prevent them from showing all they’ve got. We, therefore, expect a very tight game with under 2.5 goals the best option here.

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