louis saha

Saturday 26th February 2011 
Barclays Premier League

Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers 15:00

Villa boss Gerard Houllier has defensive concerns ahead of the visit of Blackburn, with Luke Young still suffering with a knee injury and Carlos Cuellar out for five weeks with a hamstring tear. Jean Makoun starts a three-match suspension and will be replaced by one of Stilyan Petrov, Barry Bannan or Michael Bradley. Nathan Baker returns from his recent ban.
Blackburn defender Gael Givet has a great chance of returning following a groin injury, but Phil Jones is still around three weeks away from returning to action with a knee injury. Christopher Samba will be given every opportunity to recover from a virus while Junior Hoilett will miss out with a strung hamstring.

Everton v Sunderland 15:00

Everton will have to manage without Louis Saha (hamstring), Jack Rodwell (groin) and Ross Barkley (broken leg).
Sunderland keeper Craig Gordon is a big doubt for the trip to Goodison Park with a knee injury – Simon Mignolet is cleaning his gloves in anticipation of playing in his place. Frazier Campbell and David Meyler are due to see a specialist regarding their knees on Monday so will miss out on this game. This game comes too soon for Lee Cattermole – he is about 10 days away from a return to the fold while Danny Welbeck is still recovering from his knee problem.

Newcastle United v Bolton Wanderers 15:00

Peter Lovenkrands will be given a very late fitness test following his thigh injury sustained in Newcastle’s last game with Birmingham. Nile Ranger and Shefki Kuqi are on standby. Danny Guthrie will definitely miss out though with a hamstring issue, while Shola Ameobi (fractured cheekbone), Alan Smith (Ankle), Stephen Ireland (knee) and Hatem Ben Afra (broken leg) are also on the sidelines.
Zat Knight (knee) and Jlloyd Samuel (calf) are still absent for Bolton but they can recall Daniel Sturridge, cup-tied for their last two games. Jussi Jaaskelainen will return in goal.

Wigan Athletic v Manchester United 15:00

Wigan’s only concern surrounds Emmerson Boyce. He has been suffering all season with a troublesome hamstring and it has flared up again. Goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi will return between the sticks.
Michael Owen returns to the Manchester United squad after a nasty groin injury. Ryan Giggs will also travel but Jonny Evans (ankle) and Antonio Valencia (ankle) both miss out. Parak Ji-sung and Anderson also mis out with hamstring and knee injuries respectively.

Wolves v Blackpool 15:00

Kevin Doyle is fit for Wolves for the visit of Blackpool after hurting his hip in the 1-1 draw with West Brom last weekend. Stephen Hunt is still struggling with a calf injury.
Blackpool travel without captain Charlie Adam, who begins a two-match suspension. Luke Varney should reeturn to the starting XI, but Elliot Grandin and Gary Taylor-Fletcher miss out. Blackpool’s Sergei Kornilenko made his debut against Spurs and, following the 3-1 win, could be involved.

Sunday 27th February 2011 
Barclays Premier League

West Ham United v Liverpool 13:30

Steven Gerrard should return for Liverpool after his recent groin injury. Martin Kelly and Daniel Agger, both substituted with injuries in Thursday’s win over Sparta Prague, will face fitness tests nearer kick off. Glen Johnson (Achilles) is also facing a test. Defintely out are Fabio Aurelio and Andy Carroll. Luis Suarez should return to the match squad.

Manchester City v Fulham 15:00

Manchester City couldbe without Vincent Kompany. The defender limped off against Aris Salonika on Thursday night with a hip injury. Kolo Toure is limbering up as his replacement. Micah Richards (calf), James Milner (hamstring), Nigel de Jong (ankle) and Adam Johnson (ankle) all miss out, as does Shay Given (shoulder).
Fulham were considering giving Bobby Zamora his first start since he broke his leg against Wolves in September but the striker went over on an ankle on Friday morning and now faces a late fitness test. Steve Sidwell is out for four weeks with damaged knee ligaments, while Philippe Senderos and Diomansy Kamara miss out with back problems.

Monday 28th February 2011 
Barclays Premier League

Stoke City v West Bromwich Albion 20:00

Stoke are sweating on Matthew Ehterington’s fitness (back) ahead of the visit of West Brom. Abdoulaye Faye is struggling with a hamstring problem and is not likely to figure, while Mamady Sidibe remains sidelined with a long-term Achilles injury.

Probably the game which fly under the radar on Sunday with all the other three games involving teams at the top of the Premier League. This one is the tale of two bottom half of the table dwellers, with Bolton sitting just one place above the drop zone. There really is little to chose between the two teams, including the three points which separate them. Bolton have not won a home match yet, and Everton have only won once away from Goodison, including a recent 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Benfica in the European Super League. Their previous two league matches turned up 1-1 draws for the Toffeemen, both at home.

There will be different faces on show for Everton on Sunday, but it hard to see this as being an exciting goal fest. Everton have really tightened up their defence since their opening day whopping by Arsenal. It seems as if Everton are going to go down, then they really go down in style. Part of the Goodison outfit’s problems this year has been their away form, which has seen them score only two goals, which clearly is not good enough. They will be heartened though, by the fact that Bolton are the only team in the Premier League so far, not to keep a clean sheet. That points to the chance of stealing three valuable points, which could lift them a whopping two places up to tenth.

Bolton have only picked up two points at home out of four matches, and that will be a worrying sign, as teams would often fear going to the Reebok because they knew they would get a hard, physical contest. Perhaps that was more in the days of Sam Allardyce, but now under Gary Megson, Bolton at the moment is a place to go with the hopes of getting points. On the flip side, Bolton really gave Manchester United a run for their money at Old Trafford recently, falling 2-1 to the Champions. But it is their home form which they need to prop up, if they are going to maintain life in the Premier League.

Everton have a long list of injuries which won’t help them at all, as there were a total of 11 players missing from the squad midweek, and they will need all their strength to defend set pieces. Set pieces have been the one bright spark of the Cottager’s season, for it something which has brought most of Bolton’s goals this season. Set pieces, could however, be the home sides downfall, as they have conceded a lot from corner kicks. Bolton too, do not have a good record against the Merseysiders, and have struggled to find the net against them in recent seasons.

Toffee’s boss David Moyes needs to find the right words to get his team re-motivated after the Europa league thrashing. They also have a tough Carling Cup encounter against Tottenham coming up, and this could all add up to a very difficult week if they do not come away from the Reebok with three points. The difference could come down to the sharpness up front. You can expect a tight encounter, and it could be just that one taken chance which will mean winner takes all. Everton could have the edge in that department, with the sharpness of Saha, when he stays fit.

Bolton to win: 7/4 at SkyBet
Draw: 12/5 at William Hill
Everton to win: 7/4 at Bet365

Betting advice: Phew. Flip a coin on this one. It is unlikely that the scoreboard operators at the Reebok are going to have much to do on Sunday. If not a goal less bore draw, then Everton should just have the edge to sneak it, as they have a little more edge up front, and Bolton’s defence is the weaker of the two sides.

Everton Draw No Bet: Evens at Boylesports
Louis Saha Anytime Scorer: 15/8 at Coral
Kevin Davies Anytime Scorer: 5/2 at Paddy Power