Super Saints to get a Divine Start to the Season

Well... seeing as it's the start of the season in the top division in England we thought we'd better go for a Premier League double bill & have selections from games involving new England hero Rickie Lambert's Southampton & everyone's favourite manager 'Big Sam' & his West Ham side. So far we've started out with 2 of 3 outright selections hitting the mark with Peterborough in the first week of the season & Watford slamming home the pick with a 6-1 hammering, the loser was a 9/4 draw bet & we're hoping to improve this week! As always make sure you're following us on Twitter @LikeBuyingMoney - it's a good place to let us know your views & we'll put picks up there sometimes too.

West Bromwich Albion vs Southampton

Last year's overperformers West Brom host substantial summer spenders Southampton at the Hawthorns where Mauricio Pochettino's men will be hoping to add to their rather measly 3 away victories in comparison to 2012-13.

(Morgan Schneiderlin's exceptional 2012-13 season went unrecognised for the most part but people should sit up & take notice this time around)

Southampton have gone fairly big on the signings front in an attempt to avoid second season syndrome that sides promoted from the Championship that do well in their first season can tend to suffer; Victor Wanyama has come in from Celtic for £12.5m & should help shore up the midfield area in front of defence & Croatian centre back Dejan Lovren has come in for around £8.5m. We like the approach that Southampton have taken, bringing in relative youngsters (22 & 24 respectively) & going for quality rather than quantity in an attempt to strengthen in specific areas. We still reckon they may want to upgrade between the sticks at some point as Artur Boruc is slightly unpredictable & they don't appear to have much strength in depth behind new England cap winner Rickie Lambert with Jay Rodriguez not convincing on the goals front in the top flight so far.

(Ben Foster - England's No 1?)

The lack of strike options could cost Southampton over the season but we reckon Lambert will be bouncing after his debut against Scotland & could prove too hot for the West Brom defenders to handle - he'll already have had shooting practice against Ben Foster in midweek & will be ultra confident & that spells trouble for the Baggies who were pretty toothless, Lukaku aside, last year.

West Brom will have new signings in Nicolas Anelka & Matej Vydra still trying to bed in & goals could be at a premium for the first few weeks of the season & although they'll remain somewhat hard to beat with Yacob & Mulumbu physically dominating a lot of midfields those two probably don't have a great match-up in this one. Wanyama will be there for the Saints but will also be joined by the emerging Jack Cork & one of the stars of the entire league last season Morgan Schneiderlin whose stats last season were through the roof topping tackles & interceptions showing just what a good young player he is - there hasn't been much transfer talk around the young Frenchman but it wouldn't be surprising to see a big club come sniffing around before long. Adam Lallana & Gaston Ramirez should keep the West Brom fullbacks busy too & that should limit chances for Wes Brom. Just 3 away wins last season remains a concern & we'd rather not take them outright instead having the insurance offered at 13/10 with Ladbrokes on the draw no bet market we like the Saints chances of starting the season very brightly indeed.

West Ham United vs Cardiff City

West Ham bounced back up to the top flight last season & ended up just inside the top half with a very respectable 10th placed finish & they'll be looking to build on that this year whilst Cardiff's number one priority is to avoid slipping straight back to the Championship. This game is actually a repeat of their opening fixture from two seasons back in the Championship where Cardiff prevailed 1-0, West Ham however gained their revenge by beating the Bluebirds three times in a row after that including in the playoffs. We're keen on the home side again this time as they'll see this as an ideal opportunity to get the season off to a flyer.

(Andy Carroll & Kevin Nolan - maybe the Premier League's most effective partnership?)

West Ham can trouble pretty much any team in the Premier League because most sides just aren't used to dealing with many teams that play quite the way Sam Allardyce's sides do with Stoke maybe the only other side who've had a similar style in that they're quite happy to concede possession & instead make the most of when they do have the ball by getting it forward with pace. Allardyce clearly believes that he's got a squad capable of executing his plans because there haven't been too many major changes in the summer apart from clearing out a bit of expensive dead wood in Carlton Cole's departure & the recent signing of Stewart Downing. Romanian left back, the amusingly named, Razvan Rat has joined & the signing of Spanish keeper Adrian looks a smart move as Jussi Jaaskelainen's time as a top stopper looks to be coming to an end. Downing will join up with his ex-Liverpool team mate Andy Carroll who's been added as a permanent signing & although the big Geordie isn't everyone's cup of tea he fits just right at West Ham who always look to play to his strengths.

(Cardiff's Kim Bo-Kyung could take his game to another level in the top division)

Cardiff may be planning to play their new signing Andreas Cornelius in a similar type of role to that of Carroll because the young Danish international looks a bit of a beast at 6'4" & given the right service he'll cause teams problems - it might not be West Ham though who have strength & height (not to mention experience) across the back line & are rarely troubled by balls into the box. The Bluebirds looked very sound defensively last season & that'll help out here but they don't appear to have a proven goalscorer at this level, Frazier Campbell could be that man if he can stay fit, & they may also lack a little bit of guile in midfeld. Club record signing the Chilean Gary Medel probably won't add that creative touch as he's more of a destroyer type & although he's made himself into a club legend over the past 6 years Peter Whittingham never stood out as a youngster when with Aston Villa so has it all to prove. The young South Korean Kim Bo-Kyung could be the man to watch for Cardiff, he's settled in after a promising first season & may prefer the slightly less physical environment of the Premier League than the Championship - he's seen as a potential star by many fans & has taken on Park Ji Sung's number 7 shirt for his national team.

Cardiff continued to signal their intent with the slightly surprising signing of Steven Caulker from Tottenham, the North London club seemed to be singing his praises for much of last season but clearly he didn't feature in AVB's plans as he wanted to turn his team into genuine title challengers. Caulker could be a steal at just £8m, having the potential to be a mainstay for many years; he has only very recently signed though & may take time to settle in & that's a big reason why we reckon West Ham are good value for the win here. The Hammers have a very settled squad & they should look to take advantage of that over the first few weeks of the season starting here. They've retained the excellent Mo Diame & he should handle the Cardiff midfield whilst Kevin Nolan will be relishing linking up with Andy Carroll again further up the pitch, Matt Jarvis &, if he starts, Stewart Downing should keep the Cardiff fullbacks busy & this could be a long afternoon for the Welsh side's defence & keeper David Marshall. Take West Ham to get a win on the board at best odds of Evens with BetVictor or Paddy Power.

Selections:
Southampton to beat West Brom draw no bet at 13/10 (Ladbrokes)
West Ham United to beat Cardiff City at Evens (BetVictor & Paddy Power)

Monday Night Football - Clean Sheet Kings to keep it close

We've been reading recently about the general trend around European football, including the Premier League, for more goals but there are a few sides in England this year that are bucking that trend & we see a couple of them meet up tonight at Upton Park as West Ham United host Stoke City in what could be an old fashioned kickfest.

West Ham United vs Stoke City

(Midfielders Mark Noble & Kevin Nolan are key to West Ham)

It should be noted that these are the two teams with the joint best clean sheet record in the league this year with 5 shutouts each in their 11 games & that's through a combination of tough physical defences & because of their style of football where the ball doesn't tend to be on the ground as much or similarly in play thanks to booming clearances & plenty of time taken over set pieces. Neither side like to lose either with just three losses a piece & Stoke's have come against Chelsea, Man Utd & in-form Norwich so there's no shame there although their lack of goal threat means they have to settle for draws too often & have only one win on the board. Peter Crouch looks like Stoke's only real goal threat with little support from midfield & even though we like Jon Walters build up play he never looks like getting 10+ league goals a year.

West Ham certainly do have a goal threat from midfield & it comes chiefly from their vocal captain Kevin Nolan who ranks right up there as one of the most effective & consistent English players for the last decade & we can understand his frustration with never being picked for the national side. Mark Noble is another of their midfielders with an eye for goal & he has also recently been hinting he'd like an England call up, if Noble & Nolan really want to push their claims they need to be the ones to make a difference in tight games like this especially as the West Ham forwards have failed to fire so far. Andy Carroll hasn't managed a goal yet even though he's at just about the best club possible to exploit his attributes although he's had an injury & to be fair his all round play has definitely been beneficial especially his partnership with good mate Kevin Nolan.

(Ryan Shawcross recently got a deserved England cap but he's not everyone's cup of tea...)

When you take a look at the players each team has in defence they really are just physical powerhouses, Ryan Shawcross had 180 more clearances in the league than any other player last year & James Collins ranked 2nd in the same category for Villa last year & has now come into the Hammers side with great success. This isn't likely to be a pretty game by any means but West Ham have a great incentive to go all out for the win here as they have a tough run of fixtures after this up to Christmas so they need to get points on the board, they should have faith in their defence to cope with Peter Crouch much more easily than some teams & we like their chances. Big Sam will send his team out for the win & West Ham are just about value at a price of Evens with 5 victories from 11 already & taking them to win 2-0 at 19/2 also looks worth a little play as we think they'll keep the low scoring Potters at bay.

Selections:
West Ham United to beat Stoke City at Evens (General)
West Ham to win 2-0 at 19/2 (BetVictor)

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)

Monday Night Football - Big Sam's Boys can gain first road win

We usually go for a NFL pick & English football bet as well on a Monday night but we'll be sticking to the Premier League this time as the NFL game between the Chicago Bears & Dallas Cowboys looks like it could be a wild one & we don't want to go near it betting wise! The Premier League game should be interesting as two of the league's lesser lights face off at Loftus Road - we'll have more football bets from European competition & the lower leagues during midweek.

Queens Park Rangers vs West Ham United

QPR currently sit bottom of the Premier League as they prepare to face their third consecutive London derby as they take on Sam Allardyce's West Ham at Loftus Road.

(Anton Ferdinand is out of this one through injury as well as 3 other QPR defenders)

QPR have failed to win any of their five league games so far with three defeats & two draws. It seems that performances haven't gained the points they deserve & this was certainly the case last weekend against Spurs - QPR put in a terrific first half display, capped by a Bobby Zamora goal, & they looked in control until two goals in two minutes turned the game in Spurs favour & they held out for the win. Unfortunately they have four defenders in Anton Ferdinand, Jose Bosingwa, Fabio & Armand Traore ruled out & this is a big concern for a side which has conceded 14 goals in seven matches in all competitions.

West Ham have made a decent start to the season with two wins, two draws & only one defeat in their five league matches, they've picked up seven of their eight points at Upton Park & have struggled on the road with a 3-0 defeat at Swansea & a dire 0-0 vs Norwich. It was the other way around last year in the Championship where they did well in away games but they are yet to score a goal on the road & are reliant on midfield general Kevin Nolan (3 goals so far) finding the net as strikers Ricardo Vaz Te, Modibo Maiga & Carlton Cole just haven't got going in the top flight yet.

(Modibo Maiga has a good chance of getting his first Premier League goal here)

It should be a proper derby match with a little bit of needle between the sides but overall QPR's defensive injuries could prove the critical factor here as West Ham will put an awful lot of pressure on especially at set pieces & the value lies with the Hammers at odds of 11/4. Bearing that set piece threat in mind we reckon one of West Ham's big lads up front could get a goal & we'll side with their 6"2 Malian Modibo Maiga to get his first Premier League goal after scoring a couple of times in the Capital One Cup, he's as big as 100/30 to score anytime.

Selections:
West Ham United to beat Queens Park Rangers at 11/4 (Betfred, Coral & Totesport)
Modibo Maiga to score anytime at 100/30 (BlueSquare & 888Sport)

Taking a Hammer to Swans - Is that even legal?

It's not been an entirely predictable start to the new football season & that unpredictability is part of what makes it exciting, with just one or two rounds of games played there isn't too much recent form to base decisions on & we think there may be some slightly false prices available based on single performances. We've got selections from the Premier League & lower down the ladder as we look to start the ball rolling on a profit front for the year. You can follow us on Twitter @LikeBuyingMoney where we keep you up to date with any blog posts & talk about sports & betting in general, hopefully we'll also be getting some competitions running for the new season soon!

Swansea City vs West Ham United

(Big Sam might take a little extra pleasure in beating Swansea who, supposedly, play 'the right way')

One team that people certainly seem to be getting carried away with after their first game is Michael Laudrup's Swansea City after they thrashed QPR 5-0 at Loftus Road, it certainly was impressive but they are facing a different proposition in West Ham United back home at the Liberty Stadium. Sam Allardyce's side along with Stoke play probably the most different type of football to Swansea's slick passing style as is possible & will nearly always have less than 50% possession so won't be unduly concerned whilst Swansea hold onto the ball. Newcastle United won here in the league last season whilst only having 32% of the ball & West Ham will have every chance of doing the same with their long balls & potent threat at set pieces.

Swansea really played well against QPR but it should be noted that the defensive display from the London side was comedic at best with ex-Hammer Rob Green letting a real soft one in to start the rout  unsettle his defenders at the same time, Mark Hughes clearly knows he has problems in defence & has moved for Ricardo Carvalho & Michael Dawson to rectify it. New signing Michu bagged two last week & is being hailed already but he never really fired them in until last season for Real Mallorca (14 league goals in 4 years prior in the Spanish 2nd tier) & caution should be taken before thinking he's their cutting edge. Wayne Routledge was also impressive last week but rarely puts two good performances in a row in & similarly whilst Nathan Dyer also scored twice he's only got 21 goals in his 227 game career. We basically don't think it will be as easy for the Swans to get the better of West Ham's big centre back pairing of Winston Reid (6"3) & James Collins (6"4) & they'll also have plenty to deal with at the other end of the pitch.

Modibo Maigo could get his first start for the Hammers after coming on as a sub against Villa & he reportedly has considerable talent with Newcastle having made a move for him before it stalling upon a medical. Other than Maigo, Big Sam has plenty of choice up front & can pick from Nicky Maynard, Ricardo Vaz Te, Carlton Cole & Freddy Piquionne to try to form a strategy to win here. Captain Kevin Nolan will also score his share this year & we think West Ham have a great chance of breaching the Swansea defence & we're unconvinced about the home side's goal threat when not playing against porous QPR defences. If West Ham can score it'll make it difficult for Swansea to win so taking the Hammers on the draw no bet market at 12/5 is the selection.

Notts County vs Walsall

Down in League One, Notts County entertain Walsall at Meadow Lane, lthough still early days in the new season the Magpies have made a confident start with a perfect start & six points whilst Walsall have only picked up a solitary point.

(Skipper Neal Bishop scored the Magpies second against Hartlepool in midweek)

More importantly, looking at a longer term trend, Notts County manager Keith Curle has a nice win ratio of 63% with twelve victories from 19 matches & County have made a number of decent signings in the summer whilst crucially keeping hold of sought after midfielders Alan Judge & Jeff Hughes. New signings Bartosz Bialkowski, Gary Liddle, Dean Leacock & Andre Boucaud have all made instant impacts but striker Francios Zoko has been the most impressive with two goals in two games. He came off in the comfortable 2-0 win over Hartlepool in midweek but only as a precautionary measure & will hopefully be back to lead the line & continue to build his relationship with Lee Hughes as they look to strike up what could be a formidable partnership.

Walsall have struggled in recent seasons & only narrowly escaped relegation last season on the penultimate day. With no cash to spend; manager Dean Smith is facing a long, hard season & they have made the expected slow start. A heavy 3-0 home defeat against Doncaster was followed by a draw with Oldham who themselves aren't going to trouble the top half. Saddlers keeper David Grof has been given a warning this week that his place is at risk after a number of errors & this can only create indecision & panic in a defence which is average at best. Notts County have the players & confidence to beat a poor Walsall side & continue setting the pace in League One at the reasonable odds of 4/5.

Selections:
West Ham United to beat Swansea City draw no bet at 12/5 (General)
Notts County to beat Walsall at 4/5 (Stan James & Coral)

Bayern & West Ham to make most of hometown advantage

On Saturday we get a great send off to the club football season with the Champions League final between two of Europe's finest clubs in England's own Chelsea & Bayern Munich in Bayern's own stadium, in England we get the proclaimed 'richest game in football' with the Championship Playoff final with Blackpool & West Ham fighting it out for a lucrative spot in the Premier League. We've previewed both games, taking a look at the strengths & weaknesses of the teams involved & the likely outcomes.

(Ashley Cole will need to be at his best to deal with Bayern's wingers)

Chelsea and Bayern Munich face up in the Champions League final this Saturday at the Allianz Arena after they saw off Spanish super giants Barcelona & Real Madrid respectively in their semi-finals. But the victories came at a price for them as both sides are missing influential players for the show piece event. Chelsea have a number of notable problems in defence with suspensions to captain John Terry & Branislav Ivanovic and the fact that David Luiz & Gary Cahill have missed the end of season games injured. Both players have declared themselves fit but it will is a problem for Roberto Di Matteo have to start both knowing their lack of match practice. Despite all the plaudits for Chelsea's defensive performances in the competition (especially in the Camp Nou) against Barcelona it will be a different & much harder challenge facing them this time. Barcelona played without any real wingers which allowed the Blues to sit back with two banks of four & suck up all the space in the middle of the park as everything was played in-front of the centre halves whilst Bayern will look to use their dynamic wingers in Franck Ribery & Arjen Robben to exploit the wide areas & get behind Chelsea's backline to provide the balls to prolific striker Mario Gomez. Ashley Cole is an excellent fullback but with Jose Bosingwa likely to start on the right Bayern will know that there is a real weakness to be exposed & clearly have the players to do it.

Another major blow for Chelsea is them missing arguably their player of the season in Ramires. His work rate, no stop running & knack of scoring critical goals can't be matched anymore by his likely replacement Michael Essien who has sadly struggled to capture anything like his best form since a number of long term injuries. Frank Lampard's performance is also dragged up by Ramires doing the running that he can no longer do & it would be no surprise to see the Chelsea great age before our eyes with Bayern's midfield swamping him & Bastian Schweinsteiger is definitely a younger & arguably superior version of Lampard.

In striker Didier Drogba though Chelsea have a player who rises to the big occasion & on his day can simply be unplayable. We know this by looking at his Wembley record where he has scored on every occasion he has played with the latest being goal number eight in the FA Cup victory over Liverpool.

Bayern know it's key to their chances of victory to keep Drogba very quiet but like Chelsea are suffering from a number of selection dilemmas with centre half Holger Badstuber & left back David Alaba both suspended, so manager Jupp Heynkes has the choice of Ukrainian Anatoliy Tymoschuk or ex-Premiership Daniel Van Buyten to play at the back, and decide whether to play Rafinha at right back & switch the imperious Philipp Lahm to left back or play Diego Contento in Alaba's position.

(Bastian Schweinsteiger can put in a five star performance)

With this in mind Bayern's best form of defence is attack & they certain have the players to punish Chelsea. The midfield of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos, Franck Ribery & ex-Chelsea Arjen Robben looks too strong for Chelsea & they will look to pull the strings & striker Mario Gomez is having an outstanding season having scored 41 goals in 51 appearances & 13 in as many games in this season's Champions League. We really rate Schweinsteiger & he could have a great game in this one without Ramires to stop him, he's as short as 6/1 to be Man of the Match so Sportingbet's offer of 10/1 should be backed.

Chelsea have to win it in Bayern's 'backyard' or face the prospect of having no Champions League football to look forward to next season but sadly we expect Bayern to take advantage of Chelsea's suspensions & defensive weaknesses & enable Heynkes to become the fourth man to win the European Cup with two different clubs & can win in 90 minutes at the general price of 5/6.

(Mark Noble is a Hammer through & through & could bag a goal here)

At Wembley, two sides are looking to bounce back to the big time at the first attempt of asking as West Ham United take on Blackpool. This will be the third time the two side have met this season with the Hammers recording two comfortable victories with the impressive score lines of 4-0 & 1-4 but this high pressure encounter could prove a closer affair with the huge prize on offer.

Both sides finished the season strongly with West Ham picking up 17 points & Blackpool 15 points in their last eight league games before their two semi-final victories over Cardiff City & Birmingham City respectively. West Ham go into the match with the favourites tag & on paper they have the big name players with the spine of the team made up of Robert Green, James Tomkins, Kevin Nolan & Carlton Cole. They kept two clean sheets against Cardiff & have been scoring with regular ease lately with two or more goals in all but one of their last eleven games with duo Carlton Cole & Ricardo Vaz Te striking up a profitable partnership.

(Can the evergreen Kevin Phillips have yet another day in the sun?)

Blackpool under the guidance of the charismatic Ian Holloway won many friends last season with their brand of football in the top league & have a strong team spirit, they carried on playing an attacking & open game upon relegation & it's served them pretty well. Their team has a good blend of experienced campaigners in Ian Evatt, Barry Ferguson & Gary Taylor-Fletcher mixed with highflying youngsters of Matt Phillips & Tom Ince. Also let's not forget that if Blackpool need a goal then they have the perfect option in the evergreen Kevin Phillips (17 goals this season) sat on the bench ready. Stephen Dobbie has made quite an impact for Blackpool since joining on loan from Swansea in March & if the Seasiders are to succeed they might require him to have a stormer.

There's no doubt in our minds that with the money they've spent & the players that they have that West Ham should've got automatic promotion & probably the Championship title this season, it would be a crushing disappointment if they couldn't succeed here & with the good memories they have of their two impressive wins over the opposition so far this year the Hammers should be backed to win the game at a very reasonable price of Evens. West Ham will have the bulk of the support in the stadium with many of the neutrals unlikely to be that neutral & that will help, Blackpool's defence hasn't been good enough on their travels & they are running into West Ham at the wrong time as they look to have stepped up a couple of gears once the prize was in sight. An interesting extra bet can be had by backing Mark Noble to score at anytime at tasty odds of 5/1, he's West Ham's penalty taker & with things likely to get nervy for players & officials a spot kick could be on the cards, 16/1 for him to be first scorer also looks overpriced so back it.

Selections:
Bayern Munich to beat Chelsea in 90 minutes at 5/6 (various)
Bastian Schweinsteiger to be Man of the Match at 10/1 (Sportingbet)
West Ham United to beat Blackpool in 90 minutes at Evens (general)
Mark Noble to score first at 16/1 & at anytime at 5/1 (Ladbrokes)

Championship Playoffs First Legs

The Championship is already into the playoff stage of the season & the first legs take place this Thursday & Friday as four teams try to make it to the promised land of the Premier League & the riches it has to offer. Thursday sees Cardiff City host West Ham United & then on Friday we have Birmingham City visiting Blackpool. We've got previews & bets from both playoff games before a huge weekend of sport with the FA Cup final, the remaining leagues winding up & the first horse racing Classics of the season with the 1,000 & 2,000 Guineas - we'll be finding bets for all of those too so check back.

(Young Joe Mason has bagged his share of goals for Cardiff this season)

The first playoff game sees the outright playoff favourites West Ham travel to take on League Cup finalists Cardiff after starting out their season hosting the same opponents in a loss at Upton Park, they also met here in March & West ham took advantage of a bit of a League Cup hangover by coming out with a 2-0 win, this promises to be a tough & tense affair before the deciding leg. Neither side have been easy to beat recently with West Ham only having two losses in 2012, coming in a freak heavy loss to Ipswich & to red hot Reading, Cardiff have gone ten games without a loss themselves but both sides have had way too many draws & they scuppered West Ham's automatic promotion chances & nearly did for Cardiff's playoff spot. Both sides' draw counts are quite extraordinary with the Hammers having 9 in their last 17 games & Cardiff with 7 draws in 13, & with this only being the first leg no side wants to lose it here so things could be pretty tight. Both sides do have match winners though with Peter Whittingham being a main man for Cardiff especially in terms of his quality at set pieces with great goal threat & a top delivery for setting others up, he'll need to be at his best though as the Hammers have the best away record in the league & also conceded the fewest goals with just 22 in 23 games & that would be lower if not for the 5 conceded away to Ipswich. West Ham have plenty of variety to play up front but Sam Allardyce can't all of hi players into the team at once, Carlton Cole offers a potent physical threat & Ricardo Vaz Te has been great since joining from Barnsley in the transfer window with 10 goals in 12 games. West Ham have to be sorely disappointed at not getting the automatic promotion place that the strength of their squad surely should have managed but they haven't let their heads drop in recent weeks & odds of Evens for the Hammers to win on the draw no bet market is a real tempter. As we said West Ham have only lost twice in 2012 & are outstanding on the road, the draw is a big player in this market but we'll get our bet refunded & we fancy West Ham slightly more with Cardiff having so many near misses in the playoffs over the years.

(Impact! Stephen Dobbie's put the ball in the back of the net 5 times since joining Blackpool on loan in March)

At Bloomfield Road we see another two teams trying to return to return to the top flight after relegation just last year with the colourful, in kit & playing style, Blackpool hosting Chris Hughton's Birmingham side. Ian Holloway has kept Blackpool playing the attacking football that saw them start off their Premier League season so well & they've done pretty well defensively at home too with just 21 conceded in their 23 games, they've outscored opponents here at a rate of two goals to one & have only lost 3 times at home all season. Both sides are much better at home than on the road & Birmingham's loss record shows just 10 wins all year but with 9 of those coming away from home, they have got the most away goals in the league though with 41 but 37 in the conceded column too which shows that Hughton sends his side out to play wherever they are. Birmingham's goals have come from throughout the team with Zigic, Marlon King & midfielder Chris Burke all reaching double figures, Burke has been particularly influential since leaving Cardiff for the Blues last summer & he will be desperate to play in England's top league. For Blackpool Kevin Phillips has continued to be a finely tuned goalscoring machine this year with 17 goals & has been ably backed up with goals from midfield from namesake Matt Phillips, Gary Taylor-Fletcher & also the blossoming Tom Ince. For all of that in recent weeks Blackpool's main man has been loan signing on the 22nd March Stephen Dobbie from Swansea & he's bagged 5 in 6 since stepping in showing the benefit of having so many fewer games this year on his legs than the players around him. Bearing in mind that both teams score goals & Birmingham don't seem to know how to play a containing game when playing away the odds of Evens available with BlueSquare for over 2.5 goals looks outstanding value. We also like Stephen Dobbie to score first at a very big 15/2 with Ladbrokes, he's in fine form right now & is as short as 5/1 with many other firms.

Selections:
West Ham United to beat Cardiff City in the draw no bet market at Evens (Paddy Power)
Blackpool v Birmingham City to be over 2.5 goals at Evens (BlueSquare)
Stephen Dobbie to score first at 15/2 (Ladbrokes)

London Two - Surburbia Nil

Wednesday night sees action from the Champions League, FA Cup & Championship but we'll be concentrating on the latter two competitions as we're unwilling to get involved with Barcelona games for the most part & APOEL have created some real upset results so we're staying away from that too.

(Robert Green showing off a skill highly valued by Sam Allardyce - the long kick)

West Ham United are chasing hard for the title in the Championship & they look to be a quality outfit that should have too much for their visitors Watford on Wednesday night. West Ham have lost just once in their last 9 league games & have even manged to go two whole games without having a player sent off after seeing reds in three consecutive games! They looked wholly professional away to Cardiff on Sunday, playing patient football & taking their chances when they came & they have such a strong & deep squad that playing three days later should prove no problem. Watford have had a streaky look to their form since overcoming a really bad start to their season, going on little runs of defeats & then unbeaten sequences & although they started 2012 nicely they then took beatings from Crystal Palace & Southampton before an excellent comeback from two down to win 3-2 against Burnley on Saturday. Sam Allardyce's men aren't the kind of side to let opportunities slip like Burnley did though & with them facing the possibility of losing the 6 points they've gained against Portsmouth if they go out of the league they know they have to win games like this. With so many strikers to choose from plus Kevin Nolan & Mark Noble also offering plenty of goals it's difficult to envisage West Ham not scoring & with Watford being the league's 2nd lowest scorers away from home this should be comfortable, backing West Ham at 4/7 is very reasonable.

(Scott Parker looks likely to start against Stevenage as Spurs look to win the cup)

Tottenham Hotspur have been huffing & puffing in recent games & have just 8 points from their last 7 league games but they are rightly red hot favourites to beat League One side Stevenage in their 5th round FA Cup replay at White Hart Lane. Stevenage had been flying after an inauspicious start to the season & had built up a sequence of just one loss in 17 league games but they've since not managed to win in four, losing two of those & although they held what appeared to be an unprepared & lethargic Spurs side at home the same won't happen here. Stevenage have failed to score in 11 of their 32 league games & they won't see much of the ball in this one whoever Harry decides to start, their top scorer Chris Beardsley is also unlikely to be fit. Spurs have enough options to ensure the win here & they can do it without conceding, odds of 11/10 about Spurs winning to nil need to be backed.

Selections:
West Ham United to beat Watford at 4/7 (general)
Tottenham Hotspur to beat Stevenage to nil at 11/10 (general)
Back the double to return £33 off a £10 stake

Beware the Pog!

There's a full day's worth of televised football on Sunday with the Tyne-Wear derby on ESPN, a heavyweight clash in the Championship between Cardiff & West Ham on the BBC & Sky showing Fulham v Wolves & then Spurs v Man United. We've had a look at the games to see if there are any decent prices available in an effort to follow up our 2 of 3 success on Saturday with a lay of Liverpool & backing Ipswich to beat Bristol City.

(Pavel Pogrebnyak will look to strike early for Fulham)

It seems to be becoming a weekly occurrence for us but we're yet again going to be opposing Wolverhampton Wanderers, this week the league's joint worst road defence face a Fulham side at Craven Cottage who have the most goals at home outside of the league's top 5. Fulham faced a challenging start to their season & took until their 7th game to register a win but they've been pretty good of late with just 2 losses from their last 9 league games & the 3 home defeats have come against good sides in Everton, Spurs & Man United & they've registered wins against much better sides than Wolves here including Arsenal, Liverpool & Newcastle. Wolves showed great resolve last week by coming back from 2-0 down against Newcastle to get a draw showing why they're the team with most points from losing positions but that stat tells a story as they are so often slow starters & that includes them scoring the least goals of any side in the opening 15 minutes of games. Caretaker boss Terry Connor looks to have a full squad to pick from apart from summer signing Jamie O'Hara but there is an inherent lack of quality at the back & in midfield that their decent strikeforce that includes Kevin Doyle & top scorer Steven Fletcher just can't make up for. Wolves have only won once in their last 12 & that run of results was inevitably going to lead to McCarthy's departure, it's difficult to see them improving on that here. This is just the type of game Fulham's players will enjoy & new signing Mahamadou Diarra could make his first start, he's got real quality & if he gets back to close to his best will prove invaluable, their other new signing Pavel Pogrebnyak has hit the ground running opening the scoring in the last two & could do again, he's on offer at 11/2 to do just that. Fulham's attacking threat is right across the midfield & forward line with their '3-D' attack of Duff, Dempsey & Dembele all able to help create & put away plenty of chances, we fancy them to beat Wolves by at least 2 clear goals & Fulham can be backed with a -1 goal start at odds of 7/4 with Stan James.

(Lee Cattermole & Kevin Nolan could be the key to our second bet)

Looking at the other games today it's difficult to see any real value in the outright result prices but we think we've come up with an interesting double that doesn't require anyone being better than anyone else but would provide a very tidy payout. West Ham have the Championship's best away record but they have picked up 5 red cards in the league & Sam Allardyce doesn't appear to want them to curb that aggressive instinct at all. Cardiff haven't seen a red all season but the atmosphere should be red hot inside their stadium with this being such a big game & following on from their Wembley trip, in these kind of conditions tempers can flare & wild tackles can fly in & odds of 11/2 about a sending off look fair. We want to stick that bet in with a sending off in the Newcastle United v Sunderland derby where odds of 3/1 are available, neither side have had too many reds (Newcastle 2 & Sunderland 1) this season but you've always got a good chance of one with Lee Cattermole playing & this should be a real battle as it is every time these two teams meet. By putting these two bets together you can get odds of 25/1 with William Hill & it gives an interest plus a decent chance of a big payout off of small stakes.

Selections:
Fulham to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers with -1 goal start at 7/4 (Stan James)
Pavel Pogrebnyak to score first at 11/2 (BetVictor & Coral)
Double up a sending off in Cardiff v West Ham & Newcastle United v Sunderland at 25/1 (William Hill)