The Four by Four column: A quartet of English football selections
Every weekend, four of betting.betfair's football writers will contribute one selection from the top four leagues in English football, giving you, the readers, an exciting Multiple option.
Wigan v Aston Villa
Aston Villa may have won only one on the road all season but Saturday's opponents Wigan are in such poor form that I have to go for a Villa victory. True, Gerard Houllier's men have been poor themselves of late but they've got so much attacking talent in their side that I believe it's just a matter of time before they go on a good run of results. The likes of Ashley Young, Stewart Downing and Gabriel Agbonlahor can cause any backline problems on any given day and they should be too hot to handle for Wigan. The Latics have won just one of their last 10 league games, and two of their bright young starts - Victor Moses and on-loan Tom Cleverley - are major doubts for this encounter.
Mike Norman's selection: Back Aston Villa to beat Wigan at [2.8]
Hull v Bristol City
Hull have won just twice in their last 12 outings, and both came against teams in the midst of dreadful runs: basement boys Preston and woefully out-of-sorts Ipswich. The latter gave the Tigers their only home victory in their last six attempts at the KC Stadium, and it would be a brave man to side with them with those stats in mind. Therefore, I feel confident that Bristol City can make the long journey south with something in their locker. Keith Millen's side made it three straight wins at the weekend by despatching Derby - admittedly all three were home games but they did it without conceding a goal and their overall form of late (one defeat in eight) shows they are in really good heart after their early-season disasters. City have conceded just one goal in their last five games, and that tells me it will be hard for Hull to break them down, given they have netted a paltry six goals in nine home games so far.
Andrew French's selection: Lay Hull v Bristol City at [2.26]
Walsall v Southampton
Southampton boss Nigel Adkins stated the obvious this week in saying, "We are losing too many." Saturday's 2-0 home defeat against Brentford highlighted the chronic problems the Saints have faced. Goal machine Rickie Lambert just can't get going, whilst their normal exciting wing play has just disappeared. Adkins still has a promotion team in terms of ability, and the fact that they sit two points off the play-off zone means they are not a poor team. With players of the natural ability of Adam Lallana and Alex Chamberlain, they will never be poor. Saints also won 3-1 at Notts County to show they can do it away from the St Mary's Stadium.
Lowly Walsall beat high-flying Charlton at the Valley last Sunday to show what a ridiculous and unpredictable league this is. The Saddlers barely created a chance, but one was enough. They also kept Charlton's chances to a bare minimum, virtually none in fact. The onus will be on more of an attacking display at home, and the hope is Southampton will have the quality to hit them hard. And at near evens, the price is way too big for the visitors.
Alan Dudman's selection: Back Southampton to beat Walsall at [1.98]
Port Vale v Barnet
There is very little to recommend Barnet on the road, two points on their travels being all they have to show this season, coming at a pair of very different outfits, Morecambe and Torquay. It really hasn't worked out for Mark Stimson so far, despite quite a few good names being signed at the start of the season and a fair amount of expectation after he replaced Ian Hendon. Micky Adams' Valiants will be looking on this as the first of two home wins against sides they ought to beat to cement their automatic promotion ambitions.
Ian Lamont's selection: Back Port Vale to beat Barnet at [1.62]
Recommended Multiple
Back Aston Villa @ [2.8]; Lay Hull @ [2.26]; Back Southampton @ [1.98]; Back Port Vale @ [1.62]; The multiple pays approximately [16.0]
Published: 18 Dec 2010
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