It’s another big weekend of UK Football and time to soak it up while you can before the annoying and relatively meaningless international fixtures get in the way. Silver lining for the two week break is more sleep and even more sleep as the Daylight Savings will hopefully have kicked off by then.
Here’s our thoughts on all the weekend ahead.
And why not read our article on who may get promoted to the EPL next season which Fox Sports posted during the week, yes The Gurgler has hit the big time.
EPL TIPS AND STUFF
Two big derbies highlight the round of EPL fixtures and for once with the battle for Manchester supremacy being overlooked by the massive Tyne-Wear derby.
With the likelihood of the current bottom four playing off for the three relegation places, two of those Newcastle and Sunderland playing each other, so for this derby the stakes couldn’t be higher. Sunderland have had the slightly better run of results of late (and especially in this derby fixture) but Newcastle just hired Rafa Benitez of all people to save them from the Championship. Both sets of players will be reasonably evenly matched, and both teams spent a fair bit in January with little to show for it except 17th and 19th. As in our article on Fox Sports, Championship clubs don’t want either of these clubs to come down, let alone both, so maybe a draw this weekend followed by a run of wins for both. The result may not just end in bragging rights for the season, but for many seasons if one is relegated at the expense of the other.
Back to the Manchester derby s the other highlight, it will certainly be a bad week for United if they are beaten by City, coming straight after being knocked out by their other fierce rival Liverpool in the Europa League. One thing is certain is that LVG will not be there next year. Who will be is another question.
One wonders what this season will have up its sleeve for the remaining rounds, but from if Leicester don’t win it will be slightly disappointing. For a neutral whose team will never make the EPL that is.
EPL 3PM SPECIAL
$1 for $15
WATFORD to beat Stoke
WBA to beat Norwich
CHELSEA to beat West Ham
LEICESTER to beat Crystal Palace
EPL OTHER MULTI SPECIAL
$1 for $74
ARSENAL to beat Everton
SWANSEA to beat Aston Villa
NEWCASTLE to beat Sunderland
LIVERPOOL to beat Southampton
MAN CITY to beat Man Utd
SPURS to beat Bournemouth
FOOTBALL LEAGUE TIPS AND STUFF
Some key manager movements this week with the inevitable happening at Bolton and former Celtic manager Neil Lennon leaving. How he hung on so long under the conditions was remarkable. With 9 games to go they are 11 points from safety, so pretty safe to say that they are heading for League One next season.
Harry Redknapp has bobbed up as a coach at Derby County, and it could be a masterstroke, as they appear to be headed in the same direction as last season where they went from EPL certainties to Championship also rans. With their squad they should be fighting for automatic promotion.
Nottingham Forest also dispensed with their manager, and remain the last of the teams with any chance of sneaking into playoffs, although they will need to win every game, but might have a few of those covered under the new manager bounce.
Elsewhere in the lower league there’s less than 10 games left for most teams, and there’s quite a few whose fate is almost confirmed like Bolton, Colchester, and Dagenham & Redbridge downwards and in good news Northampton can’t be too far away from confirmed promotion from League Two. Good news dfor a club which could have been closed earlier in the year.
And here’s our usual array of underperforming multis.
CHAMPIONSHIP MULTI
$1 for $$17
IPSWICH to beat Rotherham
BIRMINGHAM to beat Fulham
BURNLEY to beat Wolves
LEEDS to beat Huddesfield
LEAGUE ONE MULTI
$1 for $34
SOUTHEND to beat Gillingham
WALSALL to beat Colchester
CREWE to beat Blackpool
BARNSLEY to beat Fleetwood.
LEAGUE TWO MULTI
$1 for $49
EXETER to beat Notts County
WIMBLEDON to beat York
NORTHAMPTON to beat Stevenage
Portsmouth to beat Mansfield
LEYTON ORIENT to beat Morecambe
PLYMOUTH to beat Luton
