We are entering crunch time across Europe with a whole host of vital matches taking place this weekend as well as a series of less than important matches with little to play for so I will attempt to focus on matches where there are important issues left to be decided,
There are plenty of teams with titles, promotions, relegations and play-off places left to be fought for but at this time of the season, it's hard to find true value as odds shorten on teams who need to win against teams who may have less to play for. Needing to win and actually winning does not correlate as frequently as the bookies often believe and there are some banana skins to be avoided. First to the Premier League, where I expect Everton to continue their Champions League fight by winning at Southampton who are minus Jay Rodriguez and have gone off the boil in recent weeks. BTTS seems like a good possibility, and Everton are good value at 6/4 to win. Everton to win and BTTS is 10/3 The big story of course this week has been the sacking of David Moyes and tomorrow see's the debut of temporary boss Ryan Giggs as his Man Utd side take on relegation threatened Norwich. I fully expect a raucous home crowd to spur United on tomorrow and with Giggs at the helm and Scholes his right hand man, I expect a big reaction from this United team and i see them winning in style against a Norwich side who are especially poor on the road, conceding 4 at Villa, 4 at Southampton and 3 at Swansea in recent weeks. It's been an extraordinary train wreck of a season at Old Trafford and it's hard not to feel sorry for Moyes but with Giggs in charge tomorrow, United should win handsomely. They are 4/11 for the win, but I also like the look of them to win on the handicap at 1/1 even money, and to score 3 goals or more is 5/4. I fancy all 3 quite strongly and they are big contenders to be in my "daily double" The 4 EPL games kicking off at 3pm BST all have the look of games best left ignored in my top selections. I fancy Stoke to beat Tim nice but dim's Spurs, and they are a generous 12/5 to do so. Interestingly, each of the last 5 fixtures between those 2 at the Britania Stadium have finished 2.1. 3 times for Stoke and twice for Spurs and the same outcome could be on the cards again with Stoke my tip to win. Fulham badly need to beat Hull at Craven Cottage and are 11/8 to keep their hopes of survival alive. Hull with their eye on a cup final and having amassed 36 points are unlikely to be fully at the races for this tie and Fulham, under new boss Felix Magath, have improved and I expect those improvements to continue tomorrow. In the 2 other fixtures, Swansea can beat Villa at 7/10 and the West side battle between the Hammers and the Albion is especially hard to predict. Given West Brom's penchant for draws, i will sit firmly on the fence in this one. 9/4 for the draw. In the Championship, the race for 6th place continues tomorrow with 1 playoff place still up for grabs and at least 4 teams still have a chance to claim the final ticket in the Premier League promotion sweepstakes. Reading, Forest, and Ipswich can still catch 6th placed Brighton and the aforementioned 3 are in action tomorrow with Ipswich travelling to Burnley in the early kick-off while Reading visit Doncaster and Forest go to Bournemouth who still have a very outside chance themselves of making it into 6th position. Speaking of outside chances, Watford need a miracle to finish 6th but will give it everything to win at Derby tomorrow and I expect BTTS and over 2.5 goals. I expect BTTS in the Bournemouth/Forest encounter, priced at 4/6 while I think Reading could drop points against a Donny side who do their best work at home while Ipswich are unlikely to get the win they need at promoted Burnley. At the other end of the table, 6 teams could still slip into the final 2 relegation places and with just 2 games to go, tomorrow';s matches could be the death knell for the likes of Barnsley and Blackpool. Barry Ferguson will be hoping his side can take points on the road again as they visit a Wigan side already assured of a play-off place. Wigan are 9/20 to win but I would not be confident in backing them having seen Brighton fail to do the same on Monday against Wee Fergie and Bob Malcolm...really, if you thought Giggs and Scholes was the ultimate managerial partnership, you haven't seen this pair in action. Indeed Malcolm was beating up his own substtiutes before they even kicked a ball and with that kind of passion, who knows what Blackpool can achieve tomorrow. Barnsley will be relegated if they lose tomorrow, but are decent on the road and take a trip to Middlesborough who with nothing to play for and a pretty ordinary home record can't be backed at evens to win. Barnsley at 3/1 are a good outside bet for the win. I will post a seperate preview of the European action but here are my top English selections for tomorrow's matches with my final bets to be posted at 2pm BST later today. HOME WINS Man Utd -1 5/6 Fulham 11/8 Stoke 12/5 AWAY WINS Everton 6/4 Forest 12/5 Barnsley 3/1 BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE Southampton v Everton 8/13 Stoke v Tottenham 8/11 Bournemouth v Forest 8/13 Birmingham v Leeds 8/13 Shef Wed v Bolton 4/6 Derby v Watford 4/7 Comments are closed.
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