Villa Upstarts to go all ASBO over Liverpool

Another weekend of football action coming up & with 5 out of 6 winning bets, including 3 on the Premier League last week, we're hoping to continue in a similar vein with selections from the top division down to the lower leagues. As always if you find us here but don't follow us on Twitter please do; you can find us @LikeBuyingMoney & we'll hopefully keep you entertained as well as informed!

Aston Villa vs Liverpool

This is maybe the weekend's most interesting Premier League game (at least until Man United vs Chelsea on Monday night) as we get to take a look at a seemingly much improved Aston Villa side who take on the still Suarez-less Liverpool who for all their good play last week still only beat Stoke thanks to a late penalty save.

(Gabriel Agbonlahor finished 2012-13 in fine form & has continued so far this season)

Paul Lambert seems to be getting the best out of his squad of young players at the moment, particularly the forwards Christian Benteke & Gabby Agbonlahor with the lifelong Villa man looking unplayable at times with his pace & power in their opening two games against Arsenal & Chelsea. The ever-promising Fabian Delph may also be ready to deliver this season judged on the start he's made & whilst there remain issues with regards to Villa's sturdiness they look like they have the potential to give any side a game of it at the moment.

Liverpool finished off last season in pretty hot form (7 wins, 4 draws & a loss in their final 12) but by then it meant little in terms of what they could achieve in the league & it remains to be seen whether they can put that kind of form together over a whole season in order to claim a Champions League spot. Brendan Rodgers would surely be happy so long as they don't drop too many points whilst without their star striker Luis Suarez, out of action because of his ban & he's got his side a tricky contest here. Liverpool's main area of weakness for us is their lack of width in midfield with the fullbacks Johnson & Enriquez having to provide nearly all of that especially now that Stewart Downing has departed. Downing was considered a flop at the club but only Steven Gerrard started more games than him last season & it's not an ideal problem to have against Villa in particular.

(Brendan 'Envelope' Rodgers may find it hard to gain a victory away from the Anfield faithful)

Villa tended to struggle with balls into the box from out wide last year, including corners, so it's an ideal avenue to attack for most teams but with Weiman & Agbonlahor in advanced positions they should be able to defend from the front & keep Liverpool's fullbacks a bit quieter. Of course Liverpool are still dangerous with the classy operator Couinho & Gerrard, still capable of the spectacular, in midfield but Villa should be able to put men in against them & their defence will be happier to see the ball in front of them - they were relatively comfortable for long periods against a similar approach from Chelsea in the 2nd half on Wednesday.

Benteke is already on fire & his signing of a new contract looks the best bit of business done by a Premier League club this summer, with the young Belgian firing Villa have every chance of getting all 3 points here & with SportingBet & Paddy Power offering odds of 15/8 with the extra insurance of draw no bet this selection has to be advised. The fact Villa had to play in midweek is of course taken into account but at this stage of the season their players should be able to handle the quick turnaround & the extra football may come in handy whilst other teams try to shake off the pre-season rustiness.

Rotherham United vs Shrewsbury Town

In League One we see newly promoted Rotherham playing host to Shrewsbury in a clash that could be well be heavily influenced by the crucial home advantage. Shrewsbury ranked 20th in League One last season for points gained on the road whilst Rotherham ranked 4th at home in League Two & have started the season very respectably indeed.

(Rotherham's bruising centre forward Alex Revell could cause problems here)

Both teams gained their first wins of the season last week with Rotherham's 2-1 defeat of manager Steve Evans' former club Crawley particularly sweet for The Millers & that means Rotherham remain unbeaten thanks to a good draw with fancied Preston & two late goals away to Crewe salvaging a 3-3 draw & showing their battling qualities & good fitness levels to keep going to the end. Shrewsbury just don't seem to have many goals in their side, they didn't find the net in their first two games & their top scorer last season Marvin Morgan bagged just 7 goals with their number 9 Tom Bradshaw scoring his first goal in two years in their win against Swindon. We've already noted that Swindon appear to be a club in a bit of turmoil so we're not too impressed with that win & we reckon Graham Turner will be setting his team up not to lose rather than be proactive & aim for 3 points in this one.

Rotherham haven't looked bereft of ideas in attack so far this year & it's possible that their Irish midfielder Lee Frecklin could keep up his decent scoring record & the 6"3 forward Alex Revell poses a problem for most opposition defences & can link up well with either Nardiello or Agard. With the odds on offer at Evens with BetVictor (they're odds on everywhere else) Rotherham look worthy of a decent punt here to gain another victory in their push for successive promotions.

Selections:
Aston Villa to beat Liverpool draw no bet at 15/8 (Paddy Power & SportingBet)
Rotherham to beat Shrewsbury at Evens (BetVictor)

Holloway's Productive Palace to see off McCarthy's Iffy Ipswich

Ahhh, a lovely lot of football fixtures in midweek & we've got two selections for you coming from the Championship & League One plus a little rant about a certain recent managerial appointment.....

Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Town

This fixture is an interesting one as both teams have new managers with this being Ian Holloway's first in charge at Palace after joining from Blackpool, his side are in a much healthier position, sitting 3rd in the table, than rivals Ipswich who are still bottom after winning at Birmingham on Saturday.

(Glenn Murray's goalscoring exploits have been a revelation at Palace this season)

We have repeatedly opposed Ipswich for the past season or so believing that they had a poor manager & a poor squad of players........ & we don't think a lot has changed with the appointment of Mick McCarthy as manager. McCarthy admittedly has done a decent job with teams in the Championship but seems to lack any appreciation of the quality it takes to compete at a higher level & has twice been sacked when steering teams to humiliating points totals in the Premier League (Sunderland in 05-06 & Wolves last year). For people to say it was a mistake to sack Mick last season seems awfully misguided - yes they were dreadful after he went but they also were beforehand & he was responsible for the assembling of the team including paying actual money for Jamie O'Hara. Mick's got some task on his hands here & although he managed a win in his first game back it should be noted that Birmingham can be just about the worst team in pro football on their day & had a stinker on Saturday, yet Ipswich were poor too & just edged the 1-0 win. Ipswich just don't have the players needed to get them goals with on-loan striker DJ Campbell their top scorer with 3 & they've bagged a meagre 11 goals in 14 league games so far.

Palace have been relatively free-scoring & with Holloway certain to impose his attacking philosophy on the side we could see things light up at Selhurst Park for the rest of the year especially with the young attacking talent that is Wilfried Zaha at the club. Palace are unbeaten in 11 after losing their first 4 games (one in League Cup) of the season & posted an impressive pressing display against Blackburn on Saturday as they came up with a 2-0 win against Blackburn. Top scorer Glenn Murray scored both goals against Rovers to take his total to 10 from 11 appearances & if he's on form here he'll be hard to stop. Odds of Evens for Palace to win, who are at home, sit 3rd & are playing bottom placed Ipswich look too big to resist so get on!

Bournemouth vs Shrewsbury Town

Down in League One, Bournemouth entertain Shrewsbury Town at Dean Court. Both sides have struggled so far this season & sit in lowly positions of 16th & 20th respectively.

(Smiles all round at Bournemouth after the impressive young manager's return)

Bournemouth sacked manager Paul Groves early in October & brought back Eddie Howe, he left the Cherries nearly two years ago to take up the reins at Championship Burnley & has cited personal reasons for his return. He has made an immediate impact with Bournemouth picking up three wins & a draw in his four matches in charge, to illustrate how impressive this is this they had previously lost 4 in a row & had only won once in the league all season. The most impressive victory was over current league leaders (injury hit) Tranmere Rovers (3-1) & they are scoring goals for fun with 12 in these matches. Goals are coming all over the pitch with midfielder Marc Pugh scoring three & Irishman Harry Arter & striker Lewis Grabban grabbing a couple each.

Shrewsbury have failed to win on the road this season & have a record of three draws & four defeats in their seven away league matches. They have lost their last two in a row against Doncaster Rovers & Portsmouth & have conceded on average 1.57 goals per game. They are currently on a run of only one victory in their last nine, a fortunate 1-0 win over a Walsall side who dominated them & with one point in their last three so confidence is short in the Shrews' ranks. Bournemouth are on a crest of a wave since the popular Eddie Howe returned to the dugout & they should be too strong for a poor Shrewsbury side at a price of 4/6.

Selections:
Crystal Palace to beat Ipswich Town at Evens (Various)
Bournemouth to beat Shrewsbury Town at 4/6 (General)

High Scoring High Jinx at the Hammers

We were so close to a lovely 6/1 winner last weekend with our selection of 1-0 for Sheffield United but a 97th minute equaliser by Oldham put paid to that & we had to settle for under 2.5 goals instead - we're back this weekend & have picks from the Premier League & Championship, back after the international break, plus a little bit of lower league action too.

West Ham United vs Southampton

In one of Saturday's 3pm kickoffs we see two of the Premier League's promoted sides face off as Southampton take on West Ham at Upton Park. Southampton have only avoided loss twice in their 7 games so far this season & those games were both at home against poor travellers Fulham (2-2 last time out) & struggling Aston Villa, this is a tougher test against Sam Allardyce's men who've looked resolute & happy to play to his game plan.

(Matt Jarvis is on his way to becoming a fan favourite at Upton Park)

West Ham have the creative Ricardo Vaz Te out for a while with a shoulder injury but they have plenty of options at the top end of the pitch & their club record signing Matt Jarvis has started to show a bit of form, his crossing ability will be invaluable for them with such good aerial presence with their strikers. The Hammers still look a bit shaky at the back at times & we've mentioned before that we feel Jussi Jaaskelainen is outstaying his welcome as a top flight keeper.

No team has conceded more than Southampton's 20 goals this year & Nigel Adkins attacking philosophy is regularly being exposed as simply a little naive & just isn't surprising teams as much as Blackpool a couple of seasons back. They invested heavily in the summer but mainly in attacking areas with Jay Rodriguez & Gaston Ramirez coming in to complement star striker Rickie Lambert who's already got himself 4 league goals. Neither side had too many players on international duty this week & that should mean this is one of the livelier Saturday games, Southampton can't really defend so are forced to attack (there have been an average of 4.6 goals in their games) & West Ham should get themselves on the scoresheet, that means odds of 8/11 for over 2.5 goals looks a solid bet.

Portsmouth vs Shrewsbury Town

In League One, Portsmouth entertain Shrewsbury Town at Fratton Park, both sides are in the bottom half of the table with Portsmouth 14th & Shrewsbury two points & two places below them.

(Izale McLeod is Pompey's current goalscoring hero)

Portsmouth with their much publicised financial problems started the slowly with only one victory in their first eight league games. Manager Michael Appleton has received many plaudits for how he has assembled a competitive side & handled himself throughout his rein & in the their last four games his side have picked up three victories & a draw. In each of these games they have scored two goals & in striker Izale McLeod they have a proven goalscorer at this level who has 6 league goals & 3 in their last 3.

Visitors Shrewsbury have been very inconsistent so far with all three of their victories coming in front of the home faithful. They beat Walsall 1-0 last Sunday but were second best for most of the match & had to rely on goalkeeper Chris Weale (man of the match) to pull off a number of outstanding saves. That was their first win in five league matches & on the road they have struggled with only three points from six matches & three defeats.

Portsmouth at odds of 6/5 are on a roll & will be too strong for a Shrewsbury side who pick up the large majority of their points at home.

Hull City vs Ipswich Town

This weekend in the Championship two ex-Premier league sides are pitted together as Hull City host Ipswich Town at the KC Stadium. Hull are in 10th place whilst Ipswich are really struggling & are second from bottom.

Hull had a good start to the season & looked in fine form until three straight defeats at the end of September/early October but they got themselves back on track before the international break with a 1-0 away victory at Sheffield Wednesday. Sone Aluko & Abdoulaye Faye joined in the summer & have contributed in a big way so far with Aluko adding guile & Faye some real solidity to the team plus both have 3 goals each. Boss Steve Bruce is still waiting for one of his other signings, 6"3 German striker Nick Proschwitz to come good but this could be the perfect game to bag his first goal as Ipswich just love to present chances on a platter to opposition strikers. The Tigers also have a very good keeper in Manchester United loanee Ben Amos & he could prove tricky for Ipswich's goal shy strikers to get the ball past.

(Hull's Nick Proschwitz will see this as an ideal game to get his first goal)

Ipswich's season just hasn't started yet with only one win from their first ten league games, they've lost 5 of their last 8 league games - the latest being a 2-1 home defeat inflicted by Cardiff City despite a ludicrously obvious handball goal by DJ Campbell giving them a first half lead. Manager Paul Jewell is under intense pressure & seems to have no answers to his critics currently & his defense are often at sixes & sevens. They have only kept one clean sheet & conceded 19 goals at an average of nearly two per game plus problems also at the other end when playing away with only a meagre three goals scored themselves.

Ipswich's form is just woeful & Hull available at evens with BetVictor are a must this weekend, Hull can smash the Tractor Boys & finally end Paul Jewell's rather miserable time in charge.

Selections:
West Ham United vs Southampton over 2.5 goals at 8/11 (Stan James)
Portsmouth to beat Shrewsbury Town at 6/5 (SkyBet & BetVictor)
Hull City to beat Ipswich Town at evens (BetVictor)