The weekend is here again...

First of all sorry for the lateness of my blog this week. My actual job, the one that pays, has taken precedence this week. Anyway, I know most of you are stuck in the office too and get your bets on at the weekend so hopefully this wont be too late for you? So far I've done pretty well and am showing a healthy profit, as hopefully anyone who's backed my tips is too, long may it continue. I'll try and do 2 blogs today with my Premier League and then miscellaneous tips, this might not be possible though. Here are my views on the Premier League this week:

Stoke v West Ham, Saturday 1245
Until Monday night these 2 were the only teams without a point and that would have made this a fairly tough match to call with both desperate not to lose, but lacking the confidence to push for a win. As it is though, Stoke made a thrilling late comeback and beat Villa 2-1 with a last minute snatcher. To compound the misery for the Hammers manager Avram Grant and defender Tal Ben Haim are observing a Jewish holiday and will not be present. In the case of Ben Haim this can only be a good thing as he has the turning circle of a bus and makes Rik Waller look like Usain Bolt he's so slow. Much as I'd like to see the Irons grab some points it will not be in this match. Ladbrokes have still got Stoke at 2.0 and I see that being closer to 1.9 by kick-off so take it now.

Aston Villa v Bolton, Saturday 1500
Because of some hold up in France, probably another strike, they love a good strike, Gerard Houllier will still not be in charge for this match. This might not be a bad thing as he is hardly being welcomed with open arms and Kevin McDonald hasn't disgraced himself so far. He has given plenty of young players a chance, with Marc Albrighton impressing me most. As I keep saying though I think Bolton will do well under Owen Coyle and I think they have a goal in them at least in this match with Villa's previously strong defence looking vulnerable of late. Take the 1.8 at BetFred for both teams to score in this one.

Blackburn v Fulham, Saturday 1500
Big Fat Sam has been running his Big Fat Mouth this week about Arsene Wenger using the media to influence referees. This might be a reasonable point if he hadn't gathered the press round himself to put across the opposite point! What a prat. Blackburn, and Nikola Kalinic in particular have been the recipients of some right gifts this season to give them goals and their luck will run out soon I think. Mark Hughes isn't as cuddly as Woy Hodgson, but he has quietly gone about improving an already impressive Fulham side and Moussa Dmebele in particular looks a good addition. I've got a feeling that we may see one of those rarest of football sites on Saturday, a Fulham away win! Hughes isn't afraid to get his men to kick the Lamb Shank lookalike's men back and I can see this shocking them. You can pick up 4.3 on Betfair on the away win and I think it's well worth a poke.

Everton v Newcastle, Saturday 1500
Everton mounted an almost impossible last 5 minute comeback against Man Utd last week and almost snatched a win at the death. That will have felt like a win for David Moyes and his troops and that should carry over into this home match. Newcastle have started very inconsistently, beating Villa 6-0 at home and losing 2-0 at home to Blackpool giving a good idea of their unpredictability. Whilst Everton don't have any fit strikers I think Tim Cahill causes more problems than a lot of actual strikers with his amazing leap and prowess in the air. Jonny Evans was made to look like the pathetic lightweight that he is by him last week and I'd imagine the sheer girth of Steven Taylor would limit his 'leap' to around 2cm max. I think Newcastle could be in for a hiding here, and this could be the win that kickstarts Everton's stalled season. Stan James go 2.22 with a -1.0 asian handicap and that's the bet for me.

Tottenham Hotspur v Wolves, Saturday 1500
Sloppy Chops men started their maiden Champions League campaign with a creditable away point at Werder Bremen on Tuesday evening. But, they threw away a 2 goal lead and were hanging on by the end. Whilst they can undoubtebly be exciting, Redknapps tactical nous is almost non-existent. If he gets his hands on the England job, as he seems to never tire of telling his press chums he'd love, then God help England. One of my favourite managers Mick McCarthy brings his Wolves team to White Hart Lane on a good run. He doesn't have any fancy ideas about playing expansive football as he doesn't have the players to do it. They are undoubtebly a dirty bunch, the highest foul count this season backs that up, but they get the job done. And in Kevin Doyle and Steven Fletcher they possess a very good front pairing. I think Wolves could get something and wouldn't shy away from laying Spurs on Betfair at a very short 1.48. However comma I would again back the first half to have the most goals at 3.25 at BetFred.

West Brom v Birmingham, Saturday 1500
A midlands derby in this match, and whilst not the most feisty it will certainly be hotly contested. My view is that Birmingham are heading for a European spot this year or next and West Brom are heading for another spell in the Championship. Because WBA's defence is about as useless as a chocolate teapot I think this game has goals in it. I think West Brom might have enough for a goal, but I think Birmingham will definitely grab one or more too. Get on over 2.5 at BlueSquare at 2.15.

Sunderland v Arsenal, Saturday 1730
This is the sort of match where Arsenal have struggled in the past. A long away trip to the North after a Champions League match in midweek. But, because they won so convincingly and because in Marouane Chamakh they have finally got a target man, I think the away win is value here. That 6-0 thumping they handed out should see the players full of confidence and Cesc Fabregas was at his imperious best (a good bet at 8/1 for Player of the Year too!). Sunderland have yet to really impress and will again be missing the moron that is Lee Cattermole. Cattermole again got himself sent off having returned from a ban and is up there as the stupidest player currently in the division, a hotly contested award if ever there was one. He averages a sending off roughly once every 25 games and frankly needs a good kicking from his manager if he does it again. Stan James go 1.7 on the away win and I'd say that's brilliant value even if its below even money.

Manchester United v Liverpool, Sunday 1330
One of the Premier Leagues biggest rivalries is the clash of Man Utd and Liverpool. Currently tied on 18 titles each it is Alex Fergusons stated aim to make Man Utd the leaders in this field. Pool are in a truly dire state at the moment, completely broke and lacking any quality barring Torres and a fading Gerrard. Joe Cole was released by Chelsea for a good reason, that being that he is no longer the 17 year old boy wonder at West Ham, he is an average 29 year old with no fixed position. If he is Liverpool's saviour then they are fast heading for mediocrity. The price on Man Utd in this match is surely because of the amount of Liverpool fans backing their team and the 'derby factor'. I don't buy any of this and see a convincing United win. Paddy Power go 2.3 on Utd with a -1.0 asian handicap and I think that's the bet for me.

Wigan v Manchester City, Sunday 1500
I think Roberto Mancini may have inadvertently stumbled on his best line-up in the away match at Slazburg last night. Jo has been much maligned, and rightly so, but in pre-season he was City-s best man at being the focal point of the attack. David Silva is a lso an excellent player, but he needs a target man to hold the ball up sometimes so he can join play. With Adebayor injured I think Jo can make the strikers position his own and then we should see the usual toys out of the pram sulking routine from 'Ade' in January and hopefully we'll see the back of the over-rated tool. Wigan are as unpredictable as ever and their matches are always a no bet on the match for me. Skybet go 7.5 on Jo scoring first and I'm going to have a half stakes stab at that.

Chelsea v Blackpool, Sunday 1600
The second live match on Sunday sees Chelsea take on Blackpool at Stamford Bridge. Blackpool have started better than most people with under 7 fingers on each hand would have predicted, but Chelsea have been truly awesome so far. Much as I'd love to say that Ian Holloway can cause an upset here, he can't. Home, away, in the Premier League or Europe Chelsea are dispatching teams at will. The best price on a Chelsea win here is 1.1 and rightly so, it's as close to a dead cert as you'll ever see in football. If you want some value or haven't got a spare ten grand to make the match prices worthwhile then the asian handicaps are the place to look. Even then you're only going to get 1.42 on Chelsea -2.0. Take Chelsea to score 4+ at 2.45 at Skybet, they probably will!