Saturday’s british betting preview

Saturday 7^th February

English Premiership

West Brom v Newcastle

Tomorrow’s clash at the Hawthorns is the proverbial 6-pointer and a match which neither side can afford to lose as we close in the final third of the season.

The visitors have had a lot of upheaval during the January transfer window losing Shay Given and Charles N’Zogbia, whilst they brought in Kevin Nolan and Ryan Taylor, whilst also securing a short-term deal for former Rangers enigma, Peter Lovenkrands.  Given is obviously the big miss, as able a deputy as Steve Harper is, the little Irishman has been a huge player for the Magpies throughout the last decade and it will be interesting to see how they cope without his presence from now until the end of the season. Newcastle may welcome back a trio of strikers in the shape of Viduka, Martins and Smith. They have trained this week but it may be a risk to deploy any of them from a start considering the length of time they have been out for.

West Brom have also been busy in the transfer window. They acquired Arsenal kid, Jay Simpson, on loan till the end of the season. Simpson, however, picked up an injury during the week and is a doubt for tomorrow’s match. As well as that signing, manager Tony Mowbray has also moved to bring in another two strikers. Argentine striker, Juan Carlos Menseguez, and Frenchman Marc-Antoine Fortune have also been added as has PSG midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu. Slowly but surely the baggies injury list is beginning to shorten. Key players are regaining fitness, the likes of Koren, Brunt, Meite and Paul Robinson should all be fit to take their place on Saturday, as should Scottish internationalist, James Morrison.

The home side have begun to pick up more points, especially at home. They have managed to pick up maximum points from 3 of their last 4 home games, including victories over Spurs and Man City. Newcastle’s away form leaves a lot to be desired. Since a pick-up in results when Joe Kinnear first took over, the Geordies have resorted to form; they have lost their last 3 road games, looking incredibly poor in them as well.

The baggies know that their home form will be key to have any chance of survival and their recent form is encouraging. Newcastle may be about to welcome back a number of players, but until they get a few games under their belts, and the new signings adapt to their style of play, I can see them continuing to struggle. The fact that they will also be without Shay Given adds further weight to this reasoning.

My selection: West Brom to beat Newcastle

The best price available for a West Brom win is 13/10 with Ladbrokes

English Premiership

Sunderland v Stoke City

Another clash between two sides battling relegation takes place at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light. It may not be a must win match, but it’s certainly a must not lose game.

Sunderland have been fairly quiet during January with regards to signings. Apart from the sale of El Hadji Diouf and the buys of Calum Davenport and Tal Ben Haim, they go with what they had before the window. The home side will have to contend with a trio of injury problems at the heart of their defence so it’s likely that one, if not both, of the new signings will play from the start.

Stoke have kept all their key players whilst adding two strikers in the shape of James Beattie and Henri Camara.  Beattie has already scored twice for his new club and is proving to be a shrewd bit of business on the part of Tony Pulis. Unfortunately for City, they will be without Rory Delap who has contributed to more than half of their 21 league goals this season, he is suspended for 3 matches after his sending off last Saturday. Stoke also brought in Stephen Kelly from Birmingham and he could take his place from the start because of Delap’s suspension.  

Sunderland fielded a much changed team during Wednesday’s FA cup reply away at Blackburn. Richardson, Cisse, Jones and Whithead are all expected to return amongst others. Manager Ricky Sbragia has definitely made Sunderland harder to beat, especially at home. Since his appointment he has only suffered on league defeat in the North East, winning 2 and drawing 2. Jones and Cisse are beginning to get a better understanding of each other and both are scoring goals regularly. They should also have defeated Newcastle at St James’ last week. Poor finishing and a dodgy penalty decision cost them another two points.

Stoke are only one of two sides yet to pick up three points on the road this season, they also have the lowest point tally from games away from home this year, a total of 3. As well as those statistics, they have conceded the highest amount of goals on their travels, a staggering 27. They have been unlucky on occasion, a perfect example being their last minute collapse at Stamford Bridge last month. They have lost 5 of their last 6 matches away from the Britannia in the league.   

With the backing of a raucous home crowd and a front pairing of proven quality in the way of Cisse and Jones, I expect Sunderland to have just a little bit too much for poor travelers, Stoke City.

My Selection: Sunderland to beat Stoke City

The best price available for a Sunderland victory is 5/6 available with several bookies including Skybet

Good luck and happy punting