West Brom v Chelsea – Premiership Preview

Forecasting Premiership matches at this time of the season can be fraught with danger. The Monday night game between West Brom and Chelsea should have the feeling of a friendly about it with neither team having any meaningful incentive.

The Blues have been basking in their Premiership Title success for a couple of weeks now and only have this game before collecting their trophy at Stamford Bridge when Sunderland visit on Sunday. There has been speculation that Diego Costa may make a late season return but I cannot see Jose Mourinho taking any needless risks with his leading striker.

Had the Spaniard been one goal behind Aguero in the race for the Golden Boot, it may have been interesting. As it is, Aguero enjoyed a free-for-all courtesy of QPR last week and has it sewn up with a six goal advantage. Eden Hazard has been taking the plaudits and rightly so. He has been far and away Chelsea’s best player this season. You can hardly blame him for letting his standards dip in the 1-1 draw against Liverpool last week.

Perhaps one of the unsung heroes of the side has been Willian. He is finishing the season in really good form and it would be nice to see him hit the target. He is competitively priced at 14-1 to open the scoring and 11-2 to score at any time. His electrifying pace has been a joy to watch this season but his finishing has not quite matched it. If he can add something of the Hazard instinct for goal, he will be an even better player next season.

Chelsea beat Albion 2-0 at Stamford Bridge but that was before the arrival of Tony Pulis. He has certainly made the Baggies a tougher side to beat, despite a brief dip in form and a shock 4-1 defeat at home to QPR. They have bounced back since then and are unbeaten in their last four matches.

Mourinho will be without Ramires, Oscar and Zouma so there could be starting places for Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Isaiah Brown. It is a game that neither side will want to lose rather than one that they feel a desperate need to win. Pulis will be keen for his team to finish the season on a positive note against the champions and the best bet may be to side with a draw.

West Brom v Chelsea DRAW @5-2 Bet365

West Brom 1 Chelsea 1 @6-1 Bet365

Willian to score at any time @11-2 Unibet

Willian to score first @14-1 Unibet

Premiership Preview – Saturday 16th May

Saturday’s Premiership action revolves around the relegation struggle with Hull City currently facing the drop. They travel to Tottenham and, with a game against Manchester United to come, only a win would revive their flagging hopes of survival.

They were very poor against Burnley last weekend and even a below par Tottenham should have too many guns for them. Harry Kane has gone off the boil in recent weeks but Hull cannot afford to sit back and hope for a draw. Spurs are still in a good position to qualify for the Europa League, even if that competition is regarded as something of a booby prize these days.

Newcastle’s miserable run of defeats finally ended with a point against West Brom last weekend. They are away at QPR who said goodbye to the Premier League with a thumping 6-0 defeat at Man City. I cannot believe that QPR can perform so badly again here and a draw might be the way to go. Sunderland and Leicester will also be looking anxiously over their shoulders while they clash at the Stadium of Light.

If Hull are beaten at Tottenham, Leicester will need only a point at Sunderland to guarantee safety. That would be celebrated like a Cup final win after looking doomed for much of the season. An incredible run of six wins in seven has put them on the brink of safety. That half-time score from White Hart Lane will definitely have a bearing on this match and I fancy another draw here.

Aston Villa look virtually certain to survive the drop but Tim Sherwood won’t be taking any chances. They travel to Southampton who have gone right off the boil in recent weeks. The Saints could even miss out on a European place and it would not be a surprise to see Villa take three points here. Christian Benteke has outscored everyone else in the Premier League since Sherwood arrived and he is worth a bet to open the scoring.

The late kick-off looks more like a Steven Gerrard Testimonial match than a Premier League game as Liverpool face Crystal Palace at Anfield. Gerrard will naturally want to make it a memorable occasion so the 7-1 about him opening the scoring may be worth a bet. Palace have no real incentive here and Alan Pardew may well introduce some youngsters.

Aston Villa to win @17-4 Bet365

Christian Benteke to score first @13-2 Paddy Power

Benteke to score and Villa win @8-1 Paddy Power

QPR v Newcastle DRAW @5-2 Bet365

QPR 1 Newcastle 1 @13-2 BetVictor

Sunderland v Leicester DRAW @23-10 Bet365

Sunderland 1 Leicester 1 @6-1 William Hill

Harry Kane to score first @4-1 Coral

Harry Kane to score and Spurs win @19-10 Ladbrokes

Spurs 3 Hull 1 @14-1 Ladbrokes

Steven Gerrard to score first @7-1 Ladbrokes

Liverpool 2 Crystal Palace 0 @7-1 Ladbrokes

Champions League – Real Madrid v Juventus

Juventus have been the surprise package of the Champions League this season but they are being taken very seriously now. The deservedly ran out 2-1 winners of their semi-final first leg against Real Madrid in Turin and must fancy their chances of eliminating the champions on Wednesday night.

Barcelona fell to a 3-2 defeat against Bayern Munich on Tuesday but the result of the tie was never in any doubt. A 3-0 win in the first leg have put them in an unassailable position and it was really just a case of going through the motions. There should be more fire and passion about Wednesday night’s encounter.

Juventus were cut from 9-1 to 6-1 to win the Champions League after the first leg and are only around even money to reach the final. Real Madrid are still leaning heavily on Cristiano Ronaldo, although there is a chance that Benzema may play some part here. He has been injured for around a month so I cannot see him lasting the full ninety minutes.

Juventus do welcome back Paul Pogba who scored on his return at the weekend. That should have been enough to earn his place in the starting line-up. With Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo also in the midfield, they look to have enough strength to cause the home side serious problems. Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata were outstanding in the first leg and the former is certainly worth supporting to score at some point in the match.

Real Madrid have only failed to score at home twice in the past four seasons. Ronaldo looks good value to open the scoring but I believe that Juventus have enough resilience to hold their own in this tie. They are dominant in their domestic league and there is a growing belief that Real Madrid are vulnerable.

I don’t think it will be a thrilling match so it is probably best to go low on goals and the 1-1 scoreline makes some appeal, a result that would send Juventus through to the final.

Cristiano Ronaldo to score first @10-3 Ladbrokes

Carlos Tevez to score at any time @3-1 Boylesports

Real Madrid 1 Juventus 1 @15-2 Paddy Power

Goals under 2.5 @11-10 Paddy Power

Champions League – Bayern Munich v Barcelona

We correctly forecast a win for Barcelona with Neymar on target in the first leg of their semi-final against Bayern Munich. He was outshone on the night by Lionel Messi and Barcelona’s all-star line-up have one foot in the final as they prepare for the return leg on Tuesday.

It is probably dangerous to dismiss Bayern out of hand but the fact that they are 20-1 to qualify for the final says it all. Pep Guardiola undoubtedly had a game plan at the Nou Camp to stifle the Spaniards and hope to escape with a draw. That plan looked likely to succeed until the 77th minute when Messi opened the floodgates. A second goal followed from the Argentinian within three minutes before Neymar’s injury-time goal virtually sealed the tie.

Bayern Munich beat Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate two years ago but there seems more chance of that score being reversed than of Guardiola’s side reaching the final. A spate of injuries, notably to Ribery and Robben, has left Bayern looking a pale shadow of the side that were favourites for the Champions League only a few weeks ago. They have lost their last four matches without scoring a goal and there is no encouraging news on the injury front. It will still be a makeshift side that starts on Tuesday needing to score three times without reply to take the tie into extra-time.

By contrast, Barcelona have gone from strength to strength. They brushed aside Manchester City and PSG without ever looking in danger of defeat. They have found a way for Messi, Suarez and Neymar all to play in the same side and that is a fearsome front-line by any standards. In recent weeks they have beaten Getafe 6-0 and Cordoba 8-0.

Coach Pep Guardiola has dismissed rumours of a move to Manchester City in the Premier League and is contracted to stay at Bayern until the summer of 2016. Bayern had already wrapped up the Bundesliga prior to their recent run of defeats. Ribery, Robben, Alaba, Rode and Badstuber are all out and it is difficult to see anything other than a comfortable night for Barcelona.

Barcelona to win @13-8 William Hill

Bayern Munich 0 Barcelona 2 @17-1 BetVictor

Messi to score and Barcelona win @11-4 Paddy Power

Arsenal v Swansea – Premiership Preview

Betcirca soccer fans were in profit on Sunday to the tune of 9 ½ points after we correctly forecast the Chelsea result and goals for Aguero in Manchester City’s mauling of QPR. Monday’s action comes from the Emirates Stadium where Arsene Wenger’s Gunners bid to draw level on points with City in the battle for second spot.

Arsenal play host to Swansea who are in excellent form following victories against Stoke and Newcastle. The Gunners start the evening three points behind City in the Premiership but with two games in hand.

Garry Monk has done a remarkable job at Swansea who are pressing the fading Tottenham and Southampton in a sideshow for sixth and seventh places. There is no doubt that they should put up a good show but they have lost four of their five away games against sides in the top six this season. However, their record against Arsenal is good with three wins and a draw in seven meetings. The Swans won here in 2012 and held the Gunners to a draw last season so there is some cause for optimism for the travelling fans.

They have compensated for the loss of Bony with goals from Ki Sung-yueng, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jonjo Shelvey but Arsenal are on the crest of a wave. Only their dour stalemate with Chelsea has prevented them from a winning run of nine consecutive matches, leading at half-time and full-time in the other eight. Wenger’s men are also keen to impress the boss and secure a place in the starting XI at Wembley for the FA Cup final against Aston Villa.

Arsenal have only lost once in 34 home games and injuries to Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey are unlikely to halt their progress. Alexis Sanchez has now scored 16 league goals from 30 starts including four in his last three appearances and he looks the man to follow in the goal markets on Monday.

With only two goals conceded in their last seven home games, I’m going for a 2-0 win for the Gunners with Sanchez sending them on their way.

Arsenal 2 Swansea 0 @6-1 Paddy Power

Alexis Sanchez to score first @17-4 Spreadex

Sanchez to score and Arsenal win @7-5 Paddy Power

Champions League – Juventus v Real Madrid Preview

The Champions League semi-final line-up is almost as expected with Juventus the only real surprise. The Italian giants have not reached the closing stages of this tournament since 2003 and the bookmakers rank them as 9-1 outsiders to go all the way.

They host reigning champions Real Madrid in the first leg of their semi-final on Tuesday night. The closing stages of this competition can be notoriously cagey affairs, particularly in the first leg. If the quarter-finals can be taken as any guide, this game is unlikely to buck the trend.

Juventus held on by a single goal to beat Monaco while Real Madrid looked destined for extra-time in their clash with local rivals Atletico. A red card for Arda Turan with fifteen minutes to go put Atletico firmly on the back foot and Javier Hernandez struck with just two minutes remaining. The win did little to convince the bookmakers that Real are good enough to defend their title, easing them to third favourites behind Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

The value of an away goal was illustrated when Arsenal and Chelsea were both eliminated and Juventus will be intent on preventing Real from scoring. With Benzema still absent, that means that the focus will be on Cristiano Ronaldo to carry the main threat. The Serie A champions have a fine defensive record with thirteen clean sheets this season.

They are also missing a key player on Paul Pogba and they were definitely more restrained in the quarter-finals without him. Carlos Tevez will be the main threat to the Spanish defence and he has enjoyed a great tournament with six goals already to his credit. Juventus would obviously love to have a lead to take to the Bernabeau but all of the omens suggest that this is going to be very tight.

Carlo Ancelotti has great faith in his squad and will make no excuses if they are beaten here. They were the more offensive side against Atletico in both matches and they will probably enjoy more of the ball than their opponents here. Go low on goals and it may be worth taking a little of the 7-1 on offer about a goalless draw.

Juventus 0 Real Madrid 0 @7-1 Bet365

Goals under 2.5 @8-13 Bet Victor