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Apologies for not posting a preview last week and a Happy New Year to one and all – let’s hope it’s a profitable one!

Saturday 9^th January

English Premier League

Fulham v Portsmouth

Crisis club Portsmouth travel to Craven Cottage to take on a Fulham side who’s only home defeats this season have came against Chelsea and Arsenal.

Roy Hodgson must be more than satisfied with his side’s first half to the season as the Cottagers occupy 9^th place in the table. Their league position, excellent results and good football comes as no surprise to me when you consider the quality of player Hodgson has at his disposable. The likes of Andy Johnson, Brede Hangeland, Danny Murphy and Clint Dempsey are all excellent players with superb individual talent. Hodgson has built his team around these players in the last 18 months and has fitted others such as Bobby Zamora, John Pantsil and Damien Duff around the quartet, thus making a formidable proposition for most teams. Fulham’s quality was never more evident than when dismantling the current Champions just before Christmas. Their 3-0 demolition of Manchester United at home was arguably their best result in recent times, and especially since their return to the EPL. Their home record is particularly impressive in the main with 6 wins and 2 draws from 10 matches. Their losses to two of the top 3 emphasises the difficulty in obtaining a positive result from the Cottage.

If Fulham are a smaller club on the up, Portsmouth are most definitely a smaller club on the way down. This week has been devastatingly bad for the southern club. Players not being paid their wages, a transfer embargo being enforced by the league and money they don’t even have being promised to other clubs. On top of all this, they have lost a handful of key players to the African Nations as well which leaves them with a squad so lightweight they will struggle to fill the bench with senior professionals. It’s a stark contrast to the glory days of Harry Redknapp, Jermaine Defoe, Peter Crouch et al. Ironically enough, when they were bringing the FA Cup and European football to Fratton Park, they were also bleeding it dry as well. Getting back to matters on the field and again it doesn’t make pleasant reading. Despite a good win over Liverpool last month, the club have went 3 games without a win, losing both their league games. Their away record is also extremely poor with just 1 win from 10 games – they have lost 7. Unsurprisingly they are the lowest scorers away from home as well, notching just 5 on the road.

Both sides will be depleted for Saturday’s match which makes betting on the game a little more dangerous than usual. The home side will be missing three key players in the shape of Hangeland, Pantsil and Zamora. All 3 have had good seasons so there’s no two ways about it, Fulham will miss their influence on the match. As for Pompey, those available is anyone’s guess. It’s unknown at this stage whether the loan players will be available for Saturday’s match but it is known who is definitely going to be absent. Hassan Yebda, Nadir Belhadj, Kanu and Aruna are all on International duty whilst David James is still injured.

Hodgson will be demanding a big performance from his side after a shambolic first half display on Wednesday night. Their 2^nd half performance was much more like the Fulham under the experienced manager. They have won 3 of their last 4 meetings with Portsmouth and with morale sure to be at an all time low for the away side, I’m taking them to comfortably make it 4 wins from their last 5 in this fixture.

My selections: Fulham to beat Portsmouth – available at 7/10 with extrabet

                            Fulham (-1) to beat Portsmouth – available at 7/4 with Coral

*THE ABOVE MATCH HAS NOW BEEN POSTPONED*

English Premier League

Wigan v Aston Villa

As things stand, this will be one of the few outdoor sporting events to take place in Britain over the weekend as Wigan confirmed they expect their match against Villa will be on tomorrow.

Wigan find themselves deep in trouble at the foot of the table as they currently sit in 16^th position – just a point of the relegation zone. It’s Roberto Martinez’s first season managing at this level so it’s no real surprise that he does suffer from naivety at times. His first XI is decent and more than capable of staying in the league this season, however tactics, team selections and lack of depth in the squad could yet lead them to the Championship. Wigan currently have the worst defensive record in the Premier League, conceding a staggering 44 goals in 19 matches. They have shipped 9 to Tottenham, 5 to Manchester United, 4 to Portsmouth and 4 to Arsenal. Granted, all 4 of these games came away from home. Their home record is not great either however, they are far too inconsistent at the DW Stadium. 3 wins, 3 draws and 3 defeats means you don’t know what to expect from Wigan. They have defeated Chelsea and drawn with Man City at home but at the same time, they’ve lost to Wolves and drawn with the likes of Blackburn. Martinez will need to address these inconsistencies in the 2^nd half of the season to stand any chance of staying up.

Martin O’Neill’s Villa responded well in the FA  Cup last week after a couple of successive defeats to Arsenal and Liverpool in the league. The midlands club are still bang in the shout for a top 4 finish as they are only 2 points off 4^th placed Spurs. There is plenty of rumours surrounding the club at present in the midst of the January transfer window so it will be interesting to see how O’Neill views his squad. Emile Heskey is at the centre of most and in my opinion; he’s too similar to John Carew. Villa need something a little bit different up top with Gabby Agbonlahor and his pace. A Robbie Keane type player would almost certainly improve their chances of Champions League football next season. As it stands, Villa know they will need to win these kind of games if they are to push on in the 2^nd half of the season. They fell away badly after Christmas last year so O’Neill will be under no illusions as to how important a win tomorrow will be. They have won 4 away from home already this season, drawing 3 and losing 3. Their defeat to Arsenal was their first away reverse in 4 so they certainly have the form to win tomorrow. They have won at the Stadium of Light, St Andrews, Anfield and Old Trafford so tomorrow’s game should not phase them.  

Wigan have no new injuries to report and welcome Serbian goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic to the fold as their reserve keeper Richard Kingson is on African Cup of Nations duty.  Villa should be able to call on both James Milner and Luke Young who had been carrying knocks. Milner especially will be a big boost as the former Newcastle and Leeds man has been in excellent form of late. Alongside Stan Petrov in the middle of the park, he’s scored goals, made goals and put in a massive shift for the team.

Aston Villa have won on their last 2 visits to the DW Stadium. They are in desperate need of a victory after a run of two defeats so I fully expect them to be wound up. Wigan are in as much of a need but for very different reasons. They are struggling at the bottom but if they are being honest, anything they get from this sort of fixture is a bonus. Their season will be affected by games against teams in and around them at the foot of the table. I think there will be goals in this match but I fully expect the away side to emerge victorious.

My selections: Aston Villa to beat Wigan – best odds available: 7/5 at William Hill

                            Over 2.5 goals – best odds available: 21/20 at Totesport

Good Luck and Happy punting!