Premier League recap and predictions: Soccer Picks & Odds

It was another corking weekend in the English Premier League that saw a barrage of penalties (some given and some not given),  a corner kick that never was, an end to one team’s undefeated run, three clean sheets, two draws, mounting managerial pressure, protesting fans, a last-minute equaliser and a steady as she goes table.

Unbeaten no more…

The biggest story of the weekend was the fact that Newcastle United's impressive unbeaten run came crashing to an end exactly as predicted when they went down 3-1 to table topping Manchester City. City showed both their class and the chasm that exists between first and third in the table. Newcastle played well…City performed better. That just goes to show what running a football club with operating losses of nearly £200 million can do for you. Sportsbooks now list Manchester City at 8/11 to win the league while Newcastle are 20/1 on the soccer odds boards to finish in the top four.

Tough at the top, harsh at the bottom.

There was also a huge game at Wigan when the bottom two sides met in a match where neither side could afford to lose. The game ended 3-3 with a last-minute penalty for Blackburn (scored by Ayegbeni Yakubu) to leave the foot of the table the same as before kickoff. One of the biggest talking points of the weekend was the corner kick that “wasn't” taken by Yakubu that led to Blackburn's second goal. Everyone except the TV cameras seemed to the miss phantom kick.

Despite the draw extending (Blackburn manager) Steve Kean’s job, Rovers have now gone seven league games without a win. Wigan and Blackburn seem to be fighting to be the bookies favourite to go down. At time of press Wigan Athletic are 2/7 to be relegated and Blackburn are 10/11. The draw kept Wigan bottom and Blackburn second bottom on 6 and 7 points respectively.

Joining Wigan and Blackburn in the dreaded drop zone is Bolton, who failed to build on their impressive victory over Stoke in their last game and went down 2-1 to West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorn’s. It's not all bad news for Bolton as there are still four teams within three points of them. Wolves did themselves no favours going down 2-1 against Everton.

Sunderland and Fulham (who both could have done with a decent game) cancelled each other out in the League’s only goalless game. That draw leaves them tied on 11 points (with Wolves), just above Bolton and the drop. A mere point above those three teams is Stoke, who made it four defeats on the bounce as they went down 3-2 (at home) to QPR.

Back at the top of the league Manchester United recorded yet another 1-0 victory when they travelled to Swansea. While it's tempting to say that a 1-0 away victory against a recently promoted side is hardly the sort of result that a Premier League winning team should be recording, it more important to remember that any win still garners three points (and even the best goal difference is only ever worth just one point).

While Manchester City are performing like champions every match; scoring goals and bossing games, Manchester United are grinding out points. Although they are still five points behind the league leaders, winning games when not playing well is actually how titles are won.

Speaking of teams grinding out results

Arsenal withstood an early shock when they went 1-0 down at Norwich after 16 minutes but (that man) Robin van Persie scored either side of the break to record Arsenal’s 10^th victory in 12 matches and give them their fifth victory on the bounce. Van Persie is now one of an elite group of players to have scored more than 30 Premier League goals in a calendar year, (the others being Alan Shearer (36) in 1995 and Thierry Henry (34) in 2004).

Sunday's game was a cracker that was all of 5 minutes away from being another correct prediction. A late winner from Liverpool’s Glen Johnson (making it 2-1 to Liverpool) meant that Chelsea have now lost consecutive Premier League matches at Stamford Bridge for the first time since Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003.

Chelsea are now 19/1 to win the league and the odds on Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas being the next EPL manager to be removed from active duty have been slashed from 40/1 to as low as 8/1 following Chelsea’s third defeat in four league games. Chelsea are still 9/10 to record a top three finish in the league this season, but they are looking less and less likely to bother either Manchester side for the trophy.

Monday night football

The next game is Tottenham versus Aston Villa which is definitely worth a watch and you can get an updated betting preview for that match acts

Looking ahead

There is a brief interlude of Champions League action midweek but come next weekend the rollercoaster of the English Premier League season keeps on trucking. The first game of the weekend is Stoke versus Blackburn and surely that game should be all about Stoke as Blackburn have yet to win away from home this season and Stoke have only been defeated once on home soil. Expect Tony Pulis’ side to give no mercy and no quarter to Blackburn and the game to end in an unattractive but vitally important victory for the home side.

Third bottom Bolton take on 12^th place Everton with the home side banking on the sort of form that saw them stuff Stoke 5-0. Everton are just four points ahead of Bolton but the Trotters know that this is the sort of game they have to win if they want to avoid getting sucked into the relegation dogfight. Bolton are now 2/1 at the soccer betting outlets to be relegated this season.

Misfiring Chelsea have a chance to show their class against another struggling side when the host Wolves. If you want to bet on AV-B being put out of his chair at Chelsea, back him now as a defeat to Wolverhampton surely would move his desk closer to the exit and shorten the odds on his departure.

After losing their undefeated run against Manchester City on Saturday, Newcastle have a nice easy match to recover…not! They travel to Old Trafford in the second serious test of their abilities against a top four side. Manchester United should win this game but the fact that they've won their last three games by a single goal and Newcastle have scored in all but two of their games this season means it could be an interesting match.

Two of the promoted sides (Norwich and QPR) face-off on Saturday afternoon, with both sides performing well in the top flight, it’s a match that both sides would probably happily take a point from.

Foot of the table Wigan take on another of their possible relegation-mates when they travel up to Sunderland. This is another practical six-pointer (Sunderland are five points ahead of Wigan) and just the sort of match that Wigan will have to win if they stand any chance of staying in the Premier League.

West Bromwich Albion host Tottenham in a “making up the numbers” match, which Tottenham should win comfortably. The final game on Saturday is yet another London derby as Arsenal take on Fulham at the Emirates. Form favours Arsenal completely; however for the sake of it being a derby (and the fact Fulham have to win sooner or later) you might want to place your soccer picks backing an away win.

There are two games to be played on Sunday, 27th November. First off Swansea host Aston Villa in an uninspiring clash however this is the Swans chance to bounce back after their narrow defeat against Manchester United and Aston Villa could still be left reeling depending on how Spurs treat them on Monday night.

Arguably the biggest game of the weekend is Manchester City's trip to Anfield. That's a 4 PM kick-off on Sunday and will be another chance for Manchester City to act like champions. Due to the lateness of this fixture, City could be just two points ahead of Manchester United when they take on Liverpool so there will be no reason for City to go gentle. However, Liverpool showed last weekend against Chelsea that they can win in the big games. This could be a truly tasty clash.