F365 Features

Sunderland v Middlesbrough
The first north east 'derby' of the season is upon us despite the fact most Mackems I know don't regard it as such and simply refer to Boro as a "small town in Yorkshire". Geographical nit-picking aside even the most ardent Sunderland fans won't deny that Middlesbrough/small town in Yorkshire (delete as applicable) have made a fantastic start to the season and Gareth Southgate (MOM for August) will fancy his side can get a result on Wearside. All four Premiership matches involving the Smoggies so far this season have finished 2-1 so if you are thinking of having a dabble on the away win I wouldn't put you off going for the same score again at fancy prices.
Betting: Middlesbrough to beat Sunderland 2-1 at 12/1 (Blue Square).

Blackburn v Fulham
After a great start at Everton it's all gone t*ts up for Paul Ince and Blackburn in recent weeks. Rovers were spanked 4-0 against Arsenal at Ewood Park last time out and before that they were drubbed 4-1 at West Ham. So having shipped eight goals in their last two which comedian thought it would be a laugh to make them no better than 11/10 to win this one? As the old saying goes he who last laughs probably hasn't understood the joke so with this in mind take a bit of the 3s available about a Fulham win while you still can.
Betting: Fulham to beat Blackburn at 3/1 (Coral).

Liverpool v Stoke
Never mind the credit crunch. If you have got a spare 18 grand knocking about this weekend get it on the Reds to win here at 2/9, wait roughly an hour and a half and voila, you've got yourself an extra £4,000 in beer vouchers. If you don't have that type of dough but do fancy a few extra pound notes for a beer on Saturday night then I'd back Fernando Torres the score first.
Betting: Torres to score first at 100/30 (Coral).

West Ham v Newcastle
Oh how times change. The last time Newcastle were 'down the smoke' rotund millionaire Mike Ashley was downing pints at the Emirates while mingling with the Toon Army as the London peelers looked on aghast. I make him long odds against to appear at Upton Park this weekend and if he does he'll need more than a few pints of Dutch Courage before facing the wrath of the Geordie Nation. The Mags are in disarray off the pitch and as Hull showed last Saturday things ain't much better on it. Any bet involving West Ham at oods against here simply has to be jumped on from a great height.
Betting: West Ham to beat Newcastle at 11/10 (Skybet).

Bolton v Arsenal
In a word? Arsenal. They should be far too slick for an indifferent Bolton side but they look a little skinny for me at 8/13. One bet that does appeal though is the 14/5 doing the rounds on their being more than three goals in the match. The last three fixtures between the teams at the Reebok have produced five, four and four goals so that's a bet in my eyes. Cue the 0-0.
Betting: +3.5 goals in Bolton v Arsenal match at 14/5 (Sportingbet).

SUNDAY:

West Brom v Aston Villa
The Baggies are no great shakes while Villa have made a mightily impressive start to their season. They will be looking to make it three away wins inside a week at The Hawthorns and I fully expect them to do so. In fact I'm so confident I'm going to splash the cash on them winning this derby by more than one goal.
Betting: Aston Villa (-1) to beat West Brom on the Handicap at 4/1 (bet365).

Chelsea v Manchester United
Ludicrously, some pundits are already billing this one as a "title decider". In September. I mean...I ask you. It's so early in the season Taggart's normally purple nose is still slightly bronzed from his summer holidays, so rest assured nothing will be decided at Stamford Bridge this weekend. However, after Man Yoo's poor start (one win in their first five competitive fixtures) Chelsea know they could make a statement of intent with a win here and they look a tempter given United's poor start. I also reckon Nicolas Anelka at 9/4 might be worth a nibble to find the net in the match but the bet that stands out for me is the 7/4 about a Chelsea clean sheet. This fixture hasn't seen many goals in recent times and given United's profligacy in front of goal and Chelsea's solid record at the back the bet looks a no-brainer to me.
Betting: Chelsea to keep a clean sheet at 7/4 (totesport).

Hull v Everton
The Toffees are leaking goals for fun at the minute and while I can't quite bring myself to back Hull with real readies at 9/4, I like the 5/6 doing the rounds about both teams scoring.
Betting: Both teams to score at 5/6 (bet365).

Manchester City v Portsmouth
The boy from Brazil scored on debut last weekend and you can have 13/2 about him repeating the trick against Portsmouth. Robinho clearly has some skills and I reckon they'll be on display to Citeh fans until the weather takes a turn for the worse. Then he'll start wearing gloves and those ridiculous cycling shorts made famous by John Barnes before complaining around Christmas time that a man can't live on barms alone and leaving the North West for pastures new. If it's sunny on Sunday though get with him to unlock a very mediocre Pompey backline.
Betting: Robinho to score first at 13/2 (Skybet).

Tottenham v Wigan
Spurs finally ended their winless run in midweek and will be looking to hopefully move off the foot of the table by beating Wigan here. It won't be pretty but I reckon 'Randy' Juande Ramos can pick up his first Premierhsip win of the new campaign at the expense of everyone's favourite bendy-nosed Geordie Steve Bruce. The Latics could make it tight for a while but I expect Spurs to win a close one, possibly by the odd goal in three.
Betting Spurs to beat Wigan 2-1 at 15/2 (BlueSquare).

Degsy Bilton