Andy's Saturday tips - Tottenham to shine
This is arguably the most important weekend of the whole season as far as the title race is concerned. If Chelsea lose, that's curtains for them, though I'm sure the neutral will be hoping that doesn't happen and the race goes to the very last day. You can read my thoughts on that match as part of my Sunday preview but long before that kicks off we have plenty of other action to look forward to. Here's what I make of Saturday's matches...
Tottenham v Blackpool
Blackpool just can't find that elusive win and as if that wasn't bad enough, last weekend saw them finish a home match without scoring for the first time this season. You don't need me telling you that spells trouble when they visit a Tottenham side who have generally been pretty good at home this campaign, losing just once.
What's more, I think the Tangerines are just the sort of side Tottenham most enjoy playing against. The way Ian Holloway's team approach matches is to be positive and try to outscore their opponents rather than focusing on keeping a clean sheet and hoping for the best. That's why we all enjoy watching them play.
The problem for the visitors is that man for man, Harry Redknapp's side have the better players in the forward areas. Rafael van der Vaart, Aaron Lennon, Jermain Defoe, Gareth Bale and Luka Modric to name but a few are established internationals worth small fortunes in the transfer market and with all due respect to Blackpool, I'm not sure too many of their players would get into the Spurs side.
Modric has been for my money their most consistent player over the season. Gareth Bale got all the plaudits and won the PFA Player of the Year award but I think he was brilliant on occasions rather than very good week-in-week-out. I'm expecting another big performance from Modric as Spurs win an entertaining contest.
Recommended Bets:
Back Tottenham to win at [1.33]
Back Tottenham to win 3-1 at [12.0]
Back both teams to score at [1.76]
Andy's predictions for Saturday's 3pm kick-offs...
Aston Villa v Wigan
Wigan will be left rueing those dropped points against Everton last week because Villa should win this one pretty comfortably.
Recommended Bets: Back Aston Villa to win at [1.86]; 2-0 at [11.0]
Bolton v Sunderland
Life is pretty grim for Sunderland at the moment and it's about to get just that little bit grimmer.
Recommended Bets: Back Bolton to win at [1.9]; 3-1 at [20.0]
Everton v Manchester City
Thankfully for Manchester City fans, they've done most of the hard work in the past few weeks because I'd be very surprised if they went and won at Goodison Park.
Recommended Bets: Back the draw at [3.4]; 1-1 at [7.4]
Newcastle v Birmingham
It won't be on Saturday that Birmingham's relegation fears will be eased because I think, at home, Newcastle should be too good for them.
Recommended Bets: Back Newcastle to win at [2.02]; 1-0 at [9.0]
West Ham v Blackburn
It may end up being too little, too late for West Ham but I think they'll get three points against a team who have been awful on the road all season.
Recommended Bets: Back West Ham to win at [2.02]; 2-0 at [13.0]
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: 6 May 2011
Leave a comment