Premier League Betting: Saturday's 3pm Kick-offs

Premier League / Mike Norman / 05 February 2010 / Leave a Comment

There have been plenty of goal celebrations in recent months involving Carlos Tevez, can the City hitman notch another goal on Saturday

Best Bet: Back West Ham HT/West Ham FT @ [5.6] in Burnley v West Ham

Also: Back 2-0 @ [13.0] and 2-1 @ [10.0] Correct Scores in Bolton v Fulham; Back 0-2 @ [9.6] and 0-3 @ [17.0] Correct Scores in Hull v Man City; Back Any Unquoted score @ [3.2] in Man Utd v Portsmouth; Back Stoke HT/Draw FT @ [16.0] and Blackburn HT/Draw FT @ [18.0] in Stoke v Blackburn; Back Sunderland @ [2.1] to beat Wigan

Fresh from last weekend's successful Correct Score and Best Bet predictions, "Mystical" Mike Norman is out to land some more 'juicy' winners this Saturday. Best Bet: Back West Ham HT/West Ham FT @ [5.6] in Burnley v West Ham.

Bolton [2.32] v Fulham [3.5]; The Draw [3.4]

Apologies to both sets of fans, but this game is - on paper at least - about as appealing as having a gorgeous looking girlfriend whilst being best friends with John Terry. Both clubs have won just the one league game this calendar year but Fulham's form is arguably the poorer of the two. The Cottagers lost five on the bounce (the last three without scoring) before gaining an unimpressive victory over basement boys Portsmouth in midweek, so I can just about see the home side prevailing today.

The Trotters can usually be relied upon to score at the Reebok Stadium (nine goals in last five home games) and at least two against Fulham should be enough for victory. In the Correct Score market I'm covering both the 2-0 ([13.0]) and 2-1 ([10.0]) scorelines, whilst in the To Score market I'm keen to get Kevin Davies on my side at around [3.3].

Burnley [2.68] v West Ham [2.94]; The Draw [3.4]

I had Burnley down as relegation bankers (along with Portsmouth may I add) before the season even started, and despite the Clarets excellent start to life in the Premier League, my confidence never really waned. Their home form was always going to be key to survival but now that's deserted them (no wins in five at Turf Moor) they're as good as gone. I fancy the Hammers to heap more misery on Brian Laws' men today.

West Ham may have recorded just the one victory on their travels this season but they're in decent form of late and can call upon the services of fit again striker Carlton Cole and new signings Mido and Benni McCarthy for this match. In the Half Time/Full Time market I like the look of West Ham/West Ham at [5.6] as well as the Under 2.5 Goals option at [1.82].

Hull [5.9] v Man City [1.77]; The Draw [3.7]

Phil Brown's men played well against Chelsea in midweek but they'll do well to put in a similar performance against a Manchester City side that are in a fantastic position to claim fourth position in the Premier League. City - in Carlos Tevez - have got one of the hottest strikers in Europe at the moment and I believe they'll have far too much fire-power for the Tigers. One word of caution though, Man City haven't won a league game at Hull since 1909... and yes, Sylvinho was in the squad that day also!

I'm not convinced Hull will get on the scoresheet so backing both the 0-2 ([9.6]) and 0-3 ([17.0]) options in the Correct Score market could prove profitable; those predictions also bringing into play the Yes option at [2.54] in the Man City Clean Sheet market. That man Tevez should be available to back at around [6.6] in the First Goalscorer market and at [2.6] in the To Score market and has a better chance than most of notching.

Man Utd [1.14] v Portsmouth [30.0]; The Draw [10.0]

I should have been at this game, but unfortunately my £22.50 bid to buy Portsmouth Football Club fell short - they wanted another £2.50. Credit to the Pompey players who continue to put in good performances without getting any reward (or wages at times), but this game is simply way beyond their reach. United to win comfortably is the only call I can make.

So working on the basis that United will win this at a stroll, Man Utd/Man Utd at [1.55] in the Half Time/Full Time market makes plenty of appeal, as do the Over 2.5 Goals ([1.54]) and Any Unquoted ([3.2] in the Correct Score market) options, though don't expect to get rich quick in this game.

Stoke [2.38] v Blackburn [3.5]; The Draw [3.3]

This has the potential to be a very close game, one that could go either way on the day but is more likely to end all-square. Stoke have lost only once in their last seven home games though three of those have ended in parity, whilst Rovers have drew three of their last five away encounters, all against bottom-half clubs similar to the Potters.

I have a feeling that this will be a low-scoring game so prefer to back Under 2.5 Goals at [1.7] as opposed to the Over 2.5 Goals option at [2.32]. If you think one goal will decide the outcome then consider backing Under 1.5 Goals at [3.1]. My preference however - as well as backing The Draw at [3.3] - is to back Stoke/Draw and Blackburn/Draw at [16.0] and [18.0] respectively in the Half Time/Full Time market.

Sunderland [2.1] v Wigan [4.1]; The Draw [3.4]

Loan deals were the order of the day on transfer deadline day and in Alan Hutton and Benjani the Black Cats acquired arguably two of the better players available. Steve Bruce's men are enduring an awful run of league form (no wins in ten) but today they face a club that were dumped out of the cup by League Two outfit Notts County in midweek. I can see Sunderland grabbing a much-needed win in this one.

Other than thinking the home side will win I don't have any strong hunches here, but having backed Sunderland HT/Sunderland FT in midweek I think I'll go in again at odds of [3.7]. In the First Goalscorer market, Benjani should be available to back at [8.0], but will he start the game ahead of either Darren Bent ([6.0]) or Kenwyn Jones ([7.0])?