Weekend Premiership Betting Preview 20th February 2010

This week Portsmouth has taken another step towards possible liquidation after being refused permission by the Premier League to sell some of their players to reduce their debts. Things look very grim for Pompey. Flavio Briartore has stepped down as chairman of QPR and after dreams of Premiership football Notts County is also in trouble after their backers Munto Finance vanished leaving them with massive debts. Football is never dull! Our article focuses on the Premiership football betting opportunities using odds from bwin. Here are my top selections.

Everton 15/4 Draw 5/2 Man Utd 7/10

Nemanja Vidic looks set to return to the defensive line-up of Man Utd and Wayne Rooney is now (correctly in my view) being considered one of the best footballers in the world. Unbeaten since mid December the second half of the season charge for the title is well underway for Man Utd. Everton are without their best player Tim Cahill which casts real doubt over their ability to defeat or even draw with Man Utd. Therefore the tip is for an away win at 7/10. Wayne Rooney to score first against his old team is 9/2.

Blackburn Rovers 9/10 Draw 9/4 Bolton 3/1

Sam Allardyce welcomes his previous club Bolton to Ewood Park having won praise from Owen Coyle for the position in which he left Bolton when exiting the club. Blackburn is without Chris Samba through injury but otherwise have a full squad to choose from in this match. Blackburn has managed to win their last three home games against teams of similar strength to Bolton in Fulham, Wigan and Hull. Bolton come into this match hopefully welcoming back Ivan Klasnic back up front, but have not won in four games. I expect Blackburn to push Bolton even further into the relegation mire by taking a home win here at 9/10.

Man City 29/20 Draw 11/5 Liverpool 7/4

This is the big match of the weekend but both teams have so far struggled to show their top form this season. Man City are dealing with internal problems including a bust-up between manager Roberto Mancini and Craig Bellamy, Patrick Vieira being given a three match suspension and Martin Petrov being sidelined with a knee injury for around one month. Any hopes of Premiership success this season are gone; they are looking good for fourth place but are well behind the top three teams. They were lucky in their last match to grab a late equaliser against Stoke away. Yossi Benayoun may feature after injury for Liverpool and despite good home form they have not won away in 2010. I think this match looks like being a draw and if you bet on this you may wish to follow my lead and place a single bet at 11/5.

Wigan Athletic 51/20 Draw 23/10 Tottenham 1/1

Wigan is fourteenth in the Premiership but with only two points separating them from the relegation places. Spurs continue to do well in the league in sixth place. Wigan last played Spurs at White Hart Lane when they were demolished 9-1! Wigan could be without key defender Titus Bramble through injury which casts real doubt over their ability to win this match or survive for a draw. At 1/1 for Tottenham this match appears to have good away team value and therefore I am satisfied this is a good bet to place into our weekend treble. My tip, therefore, is Tottenham to win away at 1/1.

My treble bet for this weekend is Tottenham at 1/1, Man Utd at 7/10 and Blackburn at 9/10. This would return a total of £64.60 for a £10 bet if successful.

Good luck with all of your football betting this weekend.

By Malcolm Clarke