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Weekend footballby Ben, last updated 2006-08-24 22:47:49Gerry's Picksby Gerry McDonnellA Ferd in the hand is worth two on the boxThere's only one thing in life that's more enjoyable than an evening with the wife and kids, and that's an evening without the wife and kids. Whenever I'm lucky enough to be rid of the evil one and her two clones, I like to relax in front of the box with a couple of lagers watching quality television programming. As the free-view doesn't kick off until 11:00pm, my programme of choice is ideally football related and entertaining, thus immediately ruling Soccer AM out of the equation. With the exception of the imperious Jeff Stelling show on a Saturday afternoon, other programmes struggle to match my demanding criteria, so you can imagine my unconfined joy when news broke that Rio Ferdinand was set to enter the world of light entertainment. His wind-up show was a disappointment, the sketch where he ‘murked' the drug testers by forgetting to turn up was left out, as was the one where he ‘murked' the Man U board by refusing to sign a contract until their wage offer rose from £100,000 to £110,000 a week. I imagine the sketch where he was going to ‘murk' Martin Jol by pretending to bid £18m for Michael Carrick was pulled for being too unrealistic. Rio has been offered another bite at the TV cherry, the premise being that Ferd and his crew will ‘pimp' up the pads of...fellow millionaire professional footballers. I literally can wait. Talking of pimping, Wayne Rooney misses United's match against Watford due to the FA upholding a ridiculous ban for a red card in a friendly. Rooney's agent hit back by threatening to withhold Wayne's image rights; I can only guess that Rooney suggested ‘upping the ante' and Stretford misunderstood. United have won their last six against Watford, the Mancs are the weekend nap at 2/5. With Rooney banned, best pal Cristiano ‘more dives than Glasgow' Ronaldo should be backed to net the opener. Ronnie's been priced up at 15/2, a price so big I almost fell over. Watford were absolutely robbed by the ref at Goodison Park, they're now playing Man U, they'll be lucky if they're awarded a throw in. Watford won't score, take 21/20 about a United win coupled with a clean sheet. Arsenal have treated Man City in recent years like Ben Thatcher treats Pedro Mendes, they've pounded on them unmercifully. (Mendes is not the first person to be unable to work thanks to Thatcher.) Arsenal have left Manchester with all three points on their last eight visits, you've got to fancy the Gunners at 8/11 to reach number nine. Someone's going to take a pommeling at the hands of the Wenger boys soon, there's a decent chance it'll be Thatcher's mob. Blackburn players do enjoy a challenge. The wild Rovers had two players sent off on the opening day, that's virtually a friendly for Savage & co. Chelsea were turned over at Ewood Park last season, a repeat is out of the question. A wounded Chelsea are a great bet at 4/7 to make amends for their Boro bashing. I had my fingers burnt by Liverpool last week, but the Reds can make amends at home to West Ham. Liverpool's attacking options were limited when Stevie G snatched the FA Cup from the Hammers' grasp in May, but now they have three quality marksmen and Peter Crouch competing for a start. The Pool should be backed at a healthy 1/2. Fulham look a promising investment at home to Sheff U at 10/11. Chris Coleman's battlers won the same amount of home matches as Manchester United last season, only a disastrous campaign on the road ensured a 12th place finish. I'm a little worried about the Malbranque situation, Chris Coleman appears to be cutting off his nose to spite his face; that's only a good idea if you're Iain Dowie. If the Cottagers come anywhere near replicating last season's home form, we're venturing towards decent stake territory. David O'Leary's lackadaisical attitude ensured the Villa team rolled over and died away at Arsenal in a 5-0 defeat just four months ago, yet under Martin O'Neill, the same group of players were able to fight like the wife ‘when the decorators visit' to nick a commendable draw. The Villa are worth a bet at 7/5 at home to Newcastle, simply because of the O'Neill factor. I'm a great believer in positive thinking. There's an old saying that I hold dear, ‘If at first you don't succeed, then Paul Jewell will probably buy you'. You shouldn't kick a dead dog, but I can't help but feel that the signing of Heskey will prove disastrous for Wigan. Reading have started the season well, they're worth a second look at 3/1 to leave the JJB with three points. The acc of the week: The accer this week is so certain, that even under extreme torture it would refuse to budge. Liverpool, Fulham, Tottenham, Arsenal and Aston Villa are the good things, you're looking at a payout of 17/1. The weekend specials: "A little Camp?" - Ivan Campo to score with a header 20/1 "A professional Fowl" - Robbie Fowler to score a penalty 6/1 "Bull's high" - Jimmy Bullard to score with a header 14/1 "A very dirty Vid" - Mark Viduka to be sent off 20/1 The quote of the week: "He's not intelligent." Jose ‘all tact' Mourinho, when asked about Michael Essien. The lay man: Sheff Utd are begging to be laid at 10/3 for their trip to the Cottage, this is possibly how the expression ‘easy money' originated. Help yourself at Betfair, Backandlay or Betdaq. Weekend Betting: Liverpool v West Ham Saturday 26th August 12.45 Live on Premiership Plus Liverpool 1/2 Draw 10/3 West Ham 15/2 Get on: Liverpool Match Special: Bellamy to score two or more goals 5/1 Charlton v Bolton Saturday 26th August 15.00 Charlton 6/4 Draw 9/4 Bolton 9/5 Get on: Draw Match Special: Match to finish 1-1 11/2 Fulham v Sheff Utd Saturday 26th August 15.00 Fulham 10/11 Draw 9/4 Sheff Utd 3/1 Get on: Fulham Match Special: Papa Bouba Diop to score with a header 10/1 Tottenham v Everton Saturday 26th August 15.00 Tottenham 4/5 Draw 12/5 Everton 4/1 Get on: Tottenham Match Special: Berbatov and Keane both to score 13/2 Watford v Man Utd Saturday 26th August 15.00 Watford 15/2 Draw 10/3 Man Utd 2/5 Get on: Man Utd Match Special: Ronaldo to score direct from a free-kick 8/1 Wigan v Reading Saturday 26th August 15.00 Wigan Evs Draw 9/4 Reading 3/1 Get on: Reading Match Special: Lita to score the only goal of the game 50/1 Man City v Arsenal Saturday 26th August 17.15 Live on Premiership Plus Man City 9/2 Draw 13/5 Arsenal 8/11 Get on: Arsenal Match Special: Henry to score a hat-trick 25/1 Aston Villa v Newcastle Sunday 27th August 14.00 Live on Sky Aston Villa 7/5 Draw 9/4 Newcastle 2/1 Get on: Aston Villa Match Special: Angel to score with a header 6/1 Blackburn v Chelsea Sunday 27th August 16.00 Live on Sky Blackburn 6/1 Draw 11/4 Chelsea 4/7 Get on: Chelsea Match Special: John Terry to score at any time 5/1 Middlesbrough v Portsmouth Monday 28th August 20.00 Live on Sky Middlesbrough 5/4 Draw 5/2 Portsmouth 11/4 Get on: Draw Match Special: Boateng to be booked 6/4 Bet365 PicksWILL BLACKBURN SHAKE OFF THE BLUES? Rovers 5/1 for repeat success against the Champions *************************************************** Blackburn are a huge 5/1 with bet365 to inflict defeat on Chelsea this Sunday. Mark Hughes will have his troops fired up for the visit of the Blues but will they have enough quality to get past the visitor's stubborn defence? Chelsea are 1/2 for another three points while the draw is a tasty 11/4 with bet365. Sunday's other TV match pits Aston Villa (13/10) against Newcastle (7/4) with the Draw at 9/4. The Villains will be popular with many bet365 customers after an opening away draw at Arsenal and it's 18/1 that they triumph by a 3-0 scoreline. Visit the bet365 site today to check out the latest Premiership odds, plus a wide range of promotions and offers! HAMMERS LOOK HUGE FOR SHOCK WIN Pardew's men 11/2 to triumph at Anfield *************************************** bet365 make Liverpool 1/2 chances to beat West Ham on Saturday, despite playing in Europe midweek and several injury worries. The draw is 5/2 but many bet365 customers have already backed West Ham at 11/2 for large amounts. Marlon Harewood is also popular at 10/1 to score the first goal. Arsenal (4/6) and Spurs (4/5) have also been popular picks so far, with respective matches away at Man City (7/2) and at home to Everton (3/1). bet365 have also received a number of accumulator bets which include Man Utd (4/11) away at Watford and Fulham (10/11) at home to Sheffield United. Click hereto visit bet365 right now and check out the latest Premiership odds, plus a wide range of promotions and offers! ← Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 Next → |
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