Another weird and wonderful week in the world of Manchester City! A 6-0 humbling of fellow European candidates Portsmouth is followed by a car-crash performance against Brighton (Why, oh, why did Stevie Ireland come out and say they we were feeling invincible??).
I must re-iterate my congratulations to Brighton on what must have been a great night for them, and wish them every success in the rest of the competition (See Rag and Chelski band-wagonners? Learn to be gracious in defeat and victory, like us “impeccable” City fans!). Hopefully Weds night will serve as a wakeup call to anyone who thought teams would just roll over for us.
Anyway, back to business! The bookies bit back last weekend, and squared it all up at 6 each, so it`s time for a comeback.
Here we go! (all odds courtesy of our friends at ww.oddschecker.com):
Liverpool v Everton
The first Merseyside derby of the season, and these are usually feisty affairs. Everton have started off slowly, whilst Liverpool have flattered to deceive at times (except when they beat the Rags of course!). All that makes it a difficult match to call. One thing you can guarantee is that there will be tackles flying in, hence my tip below!
Tip: Get on a penalty to be scored by either team at 3s with Paddy Power
Portsmouth v Spuds
Pompey have had a week to lick their wounds after their visit to the CoMS, and face rock-bottom, big spending Spurs. Harry Redknapp will want to right the wrongs of last weekend, and is probably glad to see Corluka and Co roll into town. The mid-week drubbing at the hand of the Russki`s wont have gone down well at Fratton Park, and the Spuds may just have turned the corner with a win at the self-destructing Barcodes.
Tip: Get on Spurs to win at 2-1 @ Corals.
Newcastle v Blackburn
Another team which is currently a complete shambles is Newcastle. They are being run like a back street corner shop, and I`m sure the majority of City fans can sympathise with what the Geordies are going through! Blackburn are in town on Saturday, and are trying to add consistency into the post-Hughes era. They are no great shakes themselves, but Newcastle are in such disarray, I cant see where the Barcode`s next point is coming from.
Tip: Blackburn away win at 2s with Stan James.
Longshot of the Weekend:
Spluttering Man Yoo host Bolton in what should be a straight forward home win. Bolton, dislike the Rags almost as much as we do, and despite the fact they cant score for toffee, they have caused The World`s Greatest Team PLC a few shocks over recent seasons. With that in mind, 0-0 looks a good punt at 16s with Blue Sq.
City Watch (v. Wigan):
City face a very tricky away trip down the road at Wigan, and will need all their recent form to continue in order to get anything out of the game. I`m not anticipating the goal flood that occurred against sorry Portsmouth, as Wigan pride themselves on not giving too many goals away (you can get 600-1 if you fancy another 6-0 scoreline!). Best price for a City win is 11/8, and a 1-0 City win looks decent value at 7s. One of the few players who didn`t score on Sunday, and deserved to, was Stevie Ireland, and you can back him at 16s to open the scoring at the JJB.
Good luck to all you punters out there this weekend, and remember, if Honest Oliver hasn`t tipped it, it isn`t worth backing!
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