Sun Is Shining...

Good morning followers. A good weekend last time out with a healthy profit shown, it would have been even better but for Udinese capitulating against Napoli from 2-0 up to finish 2-2. The weekend was obviously overshadowed by the awful situation concerning Fabrice Muamba. His situation seems to have gradually improved so all my best wishes to him in his future recovery.

There has been a number of matches midweek around Europe and some interesting results. Man City came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 at home. Truth be told it was no less than their performance deserved, they only lacked a last ball or cutting edge. Carlos Tevez came on and set up the winner, and his constant harrying of defenders and barrelling runs definitely unsettled the visitors and made a difference. It is a great shame that he has been brought into the fold in my opinion. City were one of a select few clubs that could have afforded to let him rot, and it may well have encouraged a change in player power over time. But, sadly we will probably now see him make a difference in the title race and all the rest be swept under the carpet.

We also saw Arsenal overhaul Tottenham in the race for third spot and automatic Champions League qualification. As we stand Arsenal are now the leagues form side in the last six matches and look solid, a description that is not often levelled at the Gunners. Spurs, on the other hand, are looking hopeless. I know I am often quick to criticise Redknapp, but I feel justified as most Spurs message boards seem in agreement that it can be seen as his fault. Whenever Aaron Lennon is injured he tries to shoehorn players like Van Der Vaart and Modric into unfamiliar positions and their performances have dipped considerably. Why he has done this is anyone's guess as after all the signings he has made and the acclaim he has received he should be further questioned, in my opinion of course.

Music comes from Queens Of The Stone Age with Sky Is Fallin', a good summer tune for me.

Bolton v Blackburn, Saturday 1500

As mentioned above, Bolton are still naturally shocked by the collapse and what looks like a heart attack suffered by Fabrice Muamba on Saturday in the FA Cup. Before this though they were already in terrible form and looking increasingly likely to be unable to avoid being involved in a relegation fight. This has, in truth, been the case all season as Owen Coyle has presided over the team becoming listless and devoid of flair without any criticism from either the fans or the media that I have noticed. This seems incredibly odd to me. They may not be a big club, or even have anything like a right to be in the top division, but it seems all involved at the club are happy to watch them slip further and further. I can only see the Muamba incident hurting the team so I would imagine they'll slip into the Championship.

Blackburn looked a nailed on certainty to be relegated in the opening weeks of the season. With the few reliably good players they had also being shipped out and noone of note being brought in, it looked like curtains for Rovers. However comma Steve Kean has defied popular opinion to guide them further and further away from the bottom of the table. I have already admitted my error in writing him off, but I would like to repeat it anyway. He should have a serious shout as Manager Of The Year, but he wont, after all the behind the scenes troubles he had he has done an exemplary job of letting the results speak for themselves. They are sixth in the form table over the last six games so I can only back them in this.

Back Blackburn Rovers at 3.0 at Stan James.

Swansea v Everton, Saturday 1500

Another side in great form are Swansea, and they also have a manager who will have a good chance for Manager Of The Year. Brendan Rodgers has taken the raw parts put together by Roberto Martinez and Paulo Sousa and fashioned a brilliant side, with no superstars but a perfect team. The high pressing and short passing game has been compared to Barcelona, and whilst it may be an exaggeration, there are similarities in the play. Both defend from the front and have a player to keep things ticking over in the middle, in the Swans case Leon Brittain. They thing they missed in the first half of the season was the man to provide some pizazz, and now they have him in Gylffi Sigurdsson. The Icelandic international has made a huge difference and added goals and unpredictability to the team, they'll do well to extend his stay. His presence has also seen them arrest their poor away record as they are able to turn clean sheets into wins.

Everton have turned their season round to the point where they are no longer looking over their shoulders. But in truth they have had a poor time of it and I would advocate David Moyes moving on for the good of all parties. This would benefit Moyes more as he has proven himself to be an astute manager and would no doubt succeed wherever he went, Spurs would be my guess. Everton may well find themselves harking back to the mid-table days under him if the replacement failed, but I can't see them improving under Moyes now. They have struggled for goals for a few seasons, but since Tim Cahill stopped scoring around 18 months ago they have really found it tough going. The loan signing of Landon Donavan for 2 months this season and last added some attacking impetus, but after his return to the USA they have again looked out of ideas in the final third.

Back Swansea at 2.25 with BetVictor.

Real Zaragoza v Atletico Madrid, Sunday 1100

The early Sunday kick off in La Liga sees relegation threatened Zaragoza taking on Atleti. Zaragoza had a brilliant midweek win away at Valencia. They were 1-0 down and also down to ten men, but somehow rallied to in 2-1 with Apono grabbing both goals. Zaragoza have fallen victim to the same problems as many in Spain do outside of a select few clubs, namely being broke. Real Madrid and Barcelona hog all the TV money and unfortunately that leaves very little left for everyone else. The clubs then have the decision on whether to gamble on big salaries to attract players and hope for European qualification for cash. Zara took the gamble and have paid for it for years. They are bottom of the table and only something approaching a miracle can save them, but the win against Valencia was a start.

Atleti started out brilliantly after appointing former playing favourite Diego Simeone as manager around xmas. They were barely conceding and putting together a fantastic run. This could never last though, Atleti are not made that way. They are now back to playing good teams off the park one week, and being turned over by minnows the next. They have also reverted back to struggling away from home recently. It is almost like they can only raise themselves for big matches, and find if difficult to do the same when travelling to smaller clubs. The shining light has been Falcao's continued goal getting up front and the glimpses of brilliance from Salvio after a couple of years of adjusting to leaving Argentina so young.

Back Real Zaragoza and the Draw Double Chance at 2.1 with Coral.

I can't see any outstanding value in Italy's matches this weekend so I would simply suggest backing an AC Milan and Juventus double. Both sides have looked good of late and the chase for the title should see them continue winning.

Wolfsburg v Hamburg, Friday 1930

A rare Friday tip this week from the Bundesliga's regular evening slot. Wolfsburg have fallen a long way since winning the title a few years ago. Whilst many may well laugh at how Steve McClaren's appointment coincided with this it was probably bound to happen anyway. The season they triumphed saw them take advantage of a slipping of standards around them and many of their players overperforming. They have now settled into a mid-table position, with their home form thankfully hiding a hideous away record. They go eight wins, two draws and three defeats at home and managed to even get an away win at Nurnberg last weekend which should fill them with confidence too.

Hamburg's problems have been listed here before now so I will only cover them briefly this time. Since the appointment of ex-Chelsea head of scouting Frank Arnesen as General Manager over the summer they have recruited half of the Chelsea reserves. This is understandable to a point as Arnesen was responsible for most of them being at the Blues, however since they all a long way off top level lass the side has suffered. The days of European qualification look a long time ago now and they will do well to avoid slipping in the Bundesliga II. Their home form is as bad as it has been in their history, and is only beaten by Kaiserslautern this season. They has a huge match with Freiburg last weekend that they lost and they look like a team who knows it isn't good enough and has given up.

Back Wolfsburg at 2.1 with SkyBet.

Borussia Monchengladbach v Hoffenheim, Saturday 1430

It has been a couple of weeks since column favourites Gladbach appeared, but they're back this week. They have been a bit off colour in the last month after the goals seemed to dry up for them and they struggled to break sides down. This could be attributed to a belated realisation by other sides that they really are the real thing and they will punish you if you try to play an open match against them. They have also had injuries to contend with to key players who their small squad struggled to replace. The do look like they are back now though with an impressive away win over Leverkusen last weekend followed by holding the recently rampant Munich to a 0-0 draw in the German Cup in midweek. They should now kick on again and make the Champions League spot their own.

Hoffenheim are another side who must long for a few seasons ago when a European push was not out of the question. Since their original promotion to the top division and subsequent flurry of interest and good results they have settled a bit further down the table. They don't look in any danger of heading back down again, but they do look short of the players to take them above mid-table mediocrity. Considering they were an amateur side a decade ago this is probably no bad thing. They have struggled to pick up points away from home this season with a record of four wins, one draw and eight defeats on their travels. They also have only a solitary win since December 17th and will probably be glad to see the back of this season. They will certainly struggle to get anything in this.

Back Borussia Monchengladbach to Win To Nil at 2.7 with Paddy Power.

Eskisehirspor v Gaziantepspor, Sunday 1330

First up from the Super Lig this week is high flying Eskisehir hosting struggling Gaziantep. Eski have again showed they are one of the best of the rest this season and have been hovering around the top 4 all season, but have sadly been unable to break past the Istanbul sides and Trabzon up there. They are the masters of shutting a game down and looking to nick a goal to win a game. This is a bit of an anomaly in Turkey where there may not be many goals, but most sides do look to attack when not against the Big 4. Eskisehir have a home record of win seven, drawn four and lost four. They have only scored an average of a goal a game, but often that is enough for them. They have drawn the last two, but are unbeaten in four, and this is a chance to get a win to get back on track in the race for a Europa League spot.

Gaziantepspor were very good at home last season and that saw them to the Cup Final as well as the safety of upper mid-table in the league. This time out though they have not been quite as good. They are safe from the threat of the drop now, but their away form has been dire. They have played fifteen away winning only two, drawing six and losing seven. They have also only netted twelve times and that has been the route of their problems. Against a side as organised as Eskisehir they will really find it tough to get anything.

Back Eskisehispor at 2.1 with William Hill.

Galatasaray v Trabzonspor, Sunday 1700

After the excitement of last weeks huge Istanbul derby between Fener and Gala, Galatasaray have another pretty stiff test against third place Trabzon at home on Sunday. However, whilst on paper first versus third should be a tight match, Gala have been so far ahead of everyone this season they should not be too worried. After all the scandals surrounding Fener over the summer Gala used the time to add to the nucleus of a good side and have been imperious this time out. The excellent Muslera in goal with Mellberg at the heart of defence provides a platform for the midfield and attack to spring from in the knowledge they are covered. In fourteen home matches they have only conceded thirteen times and have only lost once so far.

Trabzon have proven to again be the best of the rest in the Super Lig and a lot of that is down to the goals of Yilmaz. When they are struggling towards a draw you can rely upon him to pop up with a goal and turn a draw into a victory for his side. Whilst they have also been good at home they have drawn far too many matches away. They have played fifiteen away and go five wins, seven draws and three defeats. The lack of defeats is definitely good, but the record does not bode well when you're visiting the best side in the division. I don't think Gala will run up a huge win, but they look good things to come away with another victory.

Back Galatasaray at 1.87 on Betfair.