Saturday British betting preview

Saturday 20^th February

English Premier League

West Ham United v Hull City

It’s yet another battle between two sides at the bottom of the table desperate for points as Phil Brown leads his Hull side to London set to take on improving West Ham.

The Hammers have finally begun to pick up points regularly for really the first time this season. Gianfranco Zola’s side have lost just one of their last 5 but at the same time, they’ve only won one of those. It may not be pretty reading compared to the form of the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Everton but when you put it alongside teams in and around them, there’s not too many who can rival it in terms of not losing games – which is fundamental at this stage of the season. Their last match saw a very convincing 2-0 win over high-flying Birmingham at home. It was a win that owed much to the influence of Carlton Cole. The England striker scored his first goal since returning from injury and he led the line exceptionally well. He can be the catalyst between now and the end of the season for the East London club and it’s imperative he remains fit and healthy. He was partnered upfront by one of the club’s new singings in the January window – Mido. The former Middlesborough, Wigan and Tottenham player has been a regular fixture in the Premier League so it was no real surprise to see him return to these shores last month. He could prove to be an astute signing between now and the end of the season and along with Benni McCarthy and Ilan, West Ham have certainly strengthened what had been a problematic area in the earlier part of the campaign.

Hull will again have to make do without the talismanic figure of Jimmy Bullard. The midfielder is still recovering from injury but could be given a place on the bench to boost team morale if nothing else, as the former Fulham man is without doubt the best and most important player at the football club. City will be looking for their first away win of the season on Saturday which is a damning statistic when you think that only they and Burnley remain winless on the road. They have scored a measly 7 goals as well on their travels, conceding 31, the 3^rd worst record in the division. Phil Brown is tasked with sorting this out but it remains to be seen whether he has the players and quality at his disposal to do so. Many feel that Hull were extremely lucky to survive their maiden season last year, with a horrendous run of form after Christmas meaning they relied upon other teams keeping them up whilst sending Newcastle down. This season they have performed at a decent enough level at home with 5 wins and 5 draws from 13 games but have let themselves down with some horrific away results. Their most recent away defeat came against Blackburn where the 1-0 reverse flattered them. It was a game which only ever looked like having the home side triumphant at the end, but poor finishing allied with some great saves from Boaz Myhill meant they were always in the game without ever really looking like scoring.

West Ham have won 2 and drawn 1 of their last 3 games and they’ve kept 3 clean sheets in the process. They have class all over the field from their keeper Rob Green, to Matthew Upson, Scott Parker, Valon Behrami through to Cole up top. It’s a very strong spine they have in their team and is arguably why they have by far the best goal difference of the 7 teams involved in the relegation battle. Their squad is packed full of international players, several of whom will be playing in South Africa this summer so they will be motivated even more so to go there on a high by helping their club out of this predicament.

Hull do not look the same team without Bullard in the midfield so the sooner they get him back the better they’ll be. Until he is fit enough to return, a lot of expectation will be heaped upon Stephen Hunt. The Irish wide player is the club’s top scorer this season with 6 and he’s been the subject of much interest despite only moving to the KC Stadium last summer. He’s the infectious player a club like Hull needs and he’s done will thus far. He can only do so much though and it’s upfront where they tend to fall down.

West Ham won this match pretty easily last season, winning 2-0. It was a performance which merited an even bigger margin of victory but I’m positive if you offered Zola any sort of win on Saturday, he wouldn’t care one bit about how they achieved it. Hull do not have enough upfront to worry a stronger West Ham defence whilst Cole looks to be getting back to his best and is likely to prove too much for a porous Tigers backline.

My selection: West Ham to beat Hull

Best odds available: Best priced 5/6 available with Boylesports

English Championship

Newcastle United v Preston North End

Newcastle will be looking to extend their unbeaten home record this season when Preston come calling on Saturday.

The home side returned to the top of the Championship on Wednesday with a 4-1 success of crisis club Crystal Palace. They had to come back from a goal down in the first half but their superior class and quality of player prevailed as they made chalked up their 12^th home win of the campaign. Despite being top for much of the season, Chris Houghton refused to rest on his laurels and strengthened his side during the transfer window. He brought in a total of 5 players on a mixture of loans and permanent deals and all 5 have played some part in the fixtures since. Arguably the most effective, certainly in an attacking sense, has been Wayne Routledge. The little winger joined from QPR and has made an immediate impact in the North East. He’s provided balance in a position which has seen many a player tried in it. He scored in the 4-1 win over his old club and he’s created several goals with his sharp wing play and accurate crossing. He’s a dream provider for the likes of Andy Carroll and Shola Ameobi, as well as fellow new signing, Leon Best. Newcastle have the best home defensive record in the league, and joint best overall. It’s been added to by the capture of Mike Williamson from Portsmouth. The former Watford stopper has slotted in seamlessly and looks to be the solid, no nonsense centre back that the club have been looking for in their attempts to go straight back up.

Preston are on to their 2^nd manager of the season with Darren Ferguson taking the reigns after the sacking of Alan Irvine. Ferguson has found it hard thus far with only 1 win in 5 league games. They suffered an embarrassing 5-2 thrashing on Tuesday away to Derby in a match which could easily have been even worse for North End had it not been for some woeful finishing from the Derby players. Everytime Derby attacked they looked threatening and their key players were afforded too much space, especially Rob Hulse who simply bullied the Preston centre halves whenever they did decided to get close to him. It’s worrying times for Ferguson as he’s unable to call upon a massive squad anyway, but when his key players such as Sean St Ledger and Ross Wallace are off the boil, it’s very difficult to bring anyone else in to freshen things up. They won’t find things any easier on Saturday when they travel north, especially when you consider they have lost 9 away games already this season, including 6 of the last 7.

Newcastle have been like a juggernaut at St James’ this year and they know it must continue to roll along with the league being so tight and also because their away form is not nearly as good as their home. It’s these type of games which will determine where they finish come May as everyone will drop points, but it’s dropping silly points such as a home game against a side out of form which will severely dent their promotion aspirations. Preston look far too weak at the back to hold out for anything other than damage limitation – comfortable home win.

My selection: Newcastle to beat Preston

Best odds available: Best priced 4/7 available with Stan James and Coral

Scottish Premier League

Motherwell v Hibernian

Motherwell are not quite out of the running for 3^rd place but they know that anything other than 3 points against the team currently in that position, Hibs, will all but end their hopes.

Craig Brown has done a fantastic job since taking over from Jim Gannon on a temporary basis until the end of the season. The former Scotland manager has led his new side to 7 matches unbeaten in the league, including 4 wins. What’s been most impressive about this is the fact he’s used exactly the same players as his predecessor but far more effectively. It’s a very young squad he’s working with so inconsistency could have been a problem – it’s been anything but. They’ve brushed aside Aberdeen and Kilmarnock away from home whilst winning against St Mirren and Hamilton at Fir Park of late, but there best performance was 10 days ago at home to Rangers. They dominated the match from start to finish and if not for a shocking offside call, would have been 2-0 up with 20 minutes to player. As it was, Rangers leveled the match late on but the home side earned many plaudits for their way of playing.

Hibs have had a good season up till now but there are signs there that they have ran out of good performances and that little bit of luck. They are now 3 games without a win and have conceded 10 goals in the process, taking only a solitary point which they had to rely on a last minute penalty against Aberdeen to earn. They have stuttered of late and it’s probably down to the fact they’ve overachieved in the first half of the season thanks to a load of Anthony Stokes’ goals and some excellent support from Liam Miller in the middle of the park. These two have failed to perform in the last couple of weeks which has had a serious effect on results. They can’t keep pulling them out the bag all season and it looks as though they are tired from their early season exertions, especially when you consider that both have played little football in the last couple of seasons.

‘Well currently sit 8 points behind Saturday’s visitors so a win is a must to narrow the gap and put the pressure on between now and the split. Hibs were thumped 5-1 in midweek away to St Johnstone and it will be interesting to see how the players react on Saturday. I thought they looked out of ideas against Rangers last Sunday whilst their defence looked more vulnerable than it has done for much of the season. Motherwell are on a roll at the minute and the value certainly lies with a home win on Saturday.

My selection: Motherwell to beat Hibs

Best odds available: Best priced 6/4 available with several bookmakers including Skybet