Andy's Saturday tips - Man Utd to be held
Just about the biggest game of the season so far is played this weekend. The Manchester derby will tell us if Manchester City are still in the title race or whether their bitter rivals end their hopes once and for all. Elsewhere, Liverpool have a chance to build on their shock win at Stamford Bridge and managerless West Brom host West Ham in a relegation six-pointer...
Manchester United v Manchester City
Whether Roberto Mancini admits it or not, a loss on Saturday would all but end Manchester City's title hopes. A win would put them right back in the race whilst a draw is a result that the ever-pragmatic Italian would probably settle for given Manchester United still need to play Chelsea twice and go to the Emirates; only the fiercest fan would expect them to get more than five points from those three matches.
I'll be fascinated to see who the City boss picks in his XI for this match. Playing Carlos Tevez just behind Edin Dzeko didn't really work during the first half away at Aston Villa and when the Argentine was played upfront by himself against West Brom he went out and scored a hat-trick.
If he leaves Dzeko out of the starting line-up that isn't necessarily an indication of a lack of ambition, it's just a tactical decision, but there's no doubt in anyone's mind that Carlitos will be Manchester City's key man on the day.
As for Manchester United, playing poorly week after week finally caught up with them at Molineux and they lost for the first time in the league this season. Then again they have been pretty good in the big matches against their title rivals so I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a much-improved performance.
The first time these two played earlier on in the season it produced a cagey affair with few chances and no goals but I don't think we're going to have more of the same here. Quite the opposite, I'm expecting a really good and open game of football that will end with neither manager being particularly happy or upset with the final outcome.
Recommended Bets:
Back the draw at [3.9]
Back the 2-2 draw at [21.0]
Back both teams to score at [1.93]
Sunderland v Tottenham
Tottenham somehow managed to beat Bolton at the weekend in a game where Harry Redknapp needed to pull every rabbit out of every hat he owns. But win they did and are still in a pretty decent league position.
Sunderland on the other hand suffered real heartbreak at the hands of Stoke who won thanks to two late goals and were left shaking their heads wondering how they got nothing from the game.
The funny thing is that I fancy a real change of fortunes here when these two meet. Tottenham's squad is beginning to look a little stretched with a few injuries kicking in, not to mention the fact they'll have one eye on their Wednesday night clash with AC Milan.
I think they're there for the taking against a side with good home form who are only playing in the one competition at this stage of the season. A home win it is for me with that man Asamoah Gyan further justifying his big transfer fee.
Recommended Bets:
Back Sunderland to win at [2.94]
Back Sunderland to win 1-0 at [10.0]
Back Asamoah Gyan to be first goalscorer at [7.0]
Andy's predictions for Saturday's 3pm kick-offs...
Arsenal v Wolves
The Gunners will put that freak Newcastle result behind them and bring Wolves back down to earth.
Recommended Bets: Back Arsenal to win at [1.26]; 2-0 at [7.6]
Birmingham v Stoke
Expect a share of the spoils in a tight and fiercely contested match.
Recommended Bets: Back the draw at [3.3]; 1-1 at [7.2]
Blackburn v Newcastle
I predict a narrow win for a Blackburn side who have been good at home all season.
Recommended Bets: Back Blackburn to win at [2.26]; 1-0 at [10.0]
Blackpool v Aston Villa
It wouldn't be a Blackpool match if it wasn't filled with goals would it?
Recommended Bets: Back the draw at [3.65]; 2-2 at [14.0]
Liverpool v Wigan
Kenny Dalglish's boys are very much a side on the up and this should be straightforward for them.
Recommended Bets: Back Liverpool to win at [1.41]; 2-0 at [7.4]
West Brom v West Ham
This is a huge game at the bottom of the table and the Hammers are the value bet for me.
Recommended Bets: Back West Ham to win at [4.2]; 0-1 at [17.0]
Andy Gray is now on Twitter so follow him for his exclusive tips and his take on the biggest stories in football each week.
Published: 11 Feb 2011
flops (February 11, 2011 5:31 AM) said:
Jonny Evans plays= MU is going to give away goals. Plus the fact that Rooney is entirely hopeless, Lil Pea is out, Berbatov chokes on big games. Plus MC plays the top 3 like Birmingham at home can only mean one thing below 2.5 and MU to lose by 2 :( No thanks in advance to Jonny Evans. Sorry not a big fan of that boy- time to bundle Carrick, Evans, Gibson all together in one big bundle and dump em as fast as we can