Welcome to ‘Half-Time’ for the Bettrends Football Season Previews and we will make our first stop at the Premiership.

Pre-Season Premiership Advice

MAN UTD win outright @ 11/5 (VCBet)
Manchester United, as usual, made a relatively slow start to their campaign and although they picked up a number of wins they were by no means convincing and suffered a shock defeat away at Burnley. They have also failed against Liverpool and Chelsea which was a blow, but they seem to getting into their usual rhythm that Sir Alex installs going into the New Year and standing only two points behind Chelsea, (who seem to slip when they get the chance to open a gap) I still fully expect them to be successful at the end of the season.

PAUL HART first manager to leave @ 5/1 (Coral) – WIN
As expected after a turbulent summer, Portsmouth have had a torrid start to the Premiership season and despite a number of promising performances they still sit bottom of the table. However, Pompey’s loss was our gain as Paul Hart was indeed the first manager to leave his post which we advised at 5/1 and gave us our first winner of the season.

WIGAN +44 on handicap @ 15/1 (Coral)
Has any team been so inconsistent in such a short space of time? A victory away at Villa on the opening day of the season was followed by defeats to Wolves and Everton. Then victories against Chelsea, Burnley and a draw against Manchester City were followed by the well publicised 9 – 1 capitulation against Spurs. When they play well, Wigan can give any team a game but they are going to need to up their game after the New Year to give us any hope. It is certainly possible but it may be tough with teams like Birmingham and Stoke climbing the table.

HULL/BURNLEY/PORTSMOUTH relegation treble @ 22/1 (Paddy Power)
HULL/BURNLEY/BIRMINGHAM relegation treble @ 12/1 (Paddy Power)
Where to start…With Birmingham playing some good football and picking up some cracking results along the way, they actually sit closer to the champions league positions than the relegation zone. That being said, I would not write off a dip in form later in the season meaning they get sucked back into the fight. However, the former of our relegation treble fancies is looking much more likely. Portsmouth still sit bottom of the table and with their owner seeming uninterested in any investment and a number of tough fixtures to come I am not sure how they will survive. Hull have scraped out of the bottom three in recent weeks but it is a little worrying Jimmy Bullard hobbled off against Villa and considering that would be a massive blow, I still expect them to face the drop. Burnley, who were favourites to go down at the start of the season are sitting in 13th which is pretty much all down to their home form. Although they are putting up a good fight only 4 points separates them with Wolves and I would imagine we will see a similar demise like Hull in the second half of last season. I am still confident our three teams will be close to the drop come May.

JERMAINE DEFOE top scorer e/w @ 25/1 (Bet365, Paddy Power, Coral)
SYLVAIN EBANKS-BLAKE top scorer e/w @ 100/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes, BlueSq)
I think we can write off our speculative punt on Ebanks-Blake. Although he has only played in two thirds of Wolves league games this season he has only managed one goal and has struggled to make his mark. I don’t doubt he will get a few more this season but I don’t think he will find enough to make the top 3 or 4. At 100/1 with his goal scoring instinct he was worth a small each-way. However, our main interest still remains in Jermaine Defoe. After his five goals against Wigan he propelled himself to the top of the scoring charts even though he missed a couple of games through injury. The obvious suspects in Rooney, Drogba and Torres are lurking only a couple of goals behind however with the Chelsea hit man leaving Stamford Bridge for the African Nations in the New Year and Torres constantly injured and in a underachieving Liverpool side I believe we are with the right man. Spurs are creating a huge amount of chances for Defoe and with that in mind there is no reason for him not to break the 20 goal barrier this year. He is now a best priced 4/1 (Ladbrokes) and for your traders 88/25 on Betfair, so our each-way option is looking great value.

Rest of the Season
Once again I am going to start with the next manager to leave market. One manager that must be starting to feel the pressure is Gary Megson. I have never rated Megson as a manager but his Bolton side made a promising start to the season but after two crushing defeats to Chelsea in the league and league cup they have failed to card a win. A loss to Wolves at the weekend must have had a devastating effect and doubts must be cast over Megson’s reign. The problem he faces is that he does actually possess the players to competing higher up the league. Skybet are 5/2 about him being the next manager to go (compared to Paddy Power’s 6/4) and this looks good value to me. Their next 5 games read Man City (H), West Ham (H), Wigan (A), Burnley (A) and Hull (H); if no positive results come from these games then the 5/2 will be long gone.

Bettrends Advice
Gary Megson – Next manager to leave – 5/2 (Skybet)

Apart from the above advice, nothing really stands out for me in the Premiership and its looks very difficult to pick something out. However, one price seems to deserve some attention. Back in the top goal scorer market, Louis Saha (stay with me) is 40/1 (totesport, VC) and with him currently sitting with 9 goals I see him as a sound each-way punt. Now obviously we need to hope he stays fit but if he does one thing is for sure, he will score goals. Totesport go ¼ the odds top 3 and with other players around him either constantly injured or going to the African Nations I believe he has a chance to creep into the top 3. Everton have not been playing well of late but Sundays come back against Spurs may install some confidence and with key players coming back after the New Year the chances created for Mr Saha will only increase.

Bettrends Advice
Louis Saha – Top goal scorer – each-way – 40/1 (Totesport)

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