New years day football action

Manchester United V Birmingham

Manchester losing to West Ham the last day was good news for the few teams that are trying to catch them but it must have been the result that every Brum fan feared. As if thing were not bad enough for them they now have to travel to Old Trafford to face a team desperate to get back on track. Though Man U were beaten the last day, things could have been so much different. With a 1 – 0 lead they were presented with a penalty and a glorious chance to make it 2 - 0 but the usually reliable Cristiano Ronaldo drove it wide. Despite this penalty miss, I don’t expect it to affect him too much and once again Man U will look to him for inspiration. Van Der Sar should be once again ready for selection as will Wayne Rooney.

Birmingham have it all to do here to get a result. Their away form has been poor and they have conceded almost 2 goals a game on their travels. They won’t have the strength in dept to challenge United on their home turf and for me it’s a case of damage limitation for them. Manchester Uniteds defence is just far too strong and though they have conceded in the last 2 home games they have only conceded 3 all season, a remarkable effort.
That is not the kind of statistic that will get Birmingham hopes up and I expect the poor away form to continue.

2 or 3 – 0 is the call


Bolton V Derby

Bolton seem to be on the right track and have got the home form going again, something which they have lacked all season. 3 wins on the bounce and 7 goals scored to 1 conceded in the last two should give them confidence and they will see the visit of Derby as another great chance to extend the home record to 6 games unbeaten. Anelka is bang in form and he will also be trying to score for the fourth home game in a row.

Derby are heading down and theres no two ways about it. Their squad is depleted to say the least and they have two more men on the sidelines after a tough Xmas period in which they only obtained 1 point. In fact that point against Newcastle was their first in 8 games and they have only taken 2 points from a possible 30 on the road. Scoring goals has also been a problem and 10 goals in 20 matches certainly isn’t even going to give you a fighting chance of survival in the premiership. Only 3 of those have come away from Pride Park and news that Steve Howard is to be sold is only depleting their squad even more.

Verdict
Bolton are just playing too well at the Reebok at the moment to even entertain the idea of anything less than a win here. The odds are very low but Bolton should still have enough to win this with ease,
2 – 0 should be a realistic scoreline


Stoke V Hull

Stoke are a team bang in form at the moment. Unbeaten in the last 9 games and coming into this game against Hull with 5 points taken from a possible 9 over the Xmas period, a record that most teams would be happy with considering the opposition they had to face. Their last home game was on the 22nd of December in which they recorded a emphatic 3 – 1 win over table toppers West Brom.
Stoke have a full squad to chose from with the exception of Russell Hoult who was red carded against Plymouth.

Hull are no mugs this season and will be no pushovers on Tuesday. They are sitting in 8th place on the back of a 4 game unbeaten run. However most of their hard work and points have been picked up at home. On the road they are a different outfit and struggle to keep the opposition out and they have only two clean sheets on their travels. Like Stoke, the Xmas period has been good to them and they have 7 points from a possible 9. Fraizer Campbell looks to be the only injury worry

Verdict
Stoke can wrap up a good Xmas period with another 3 points. Their recent home form has been good and a win can push them to second spot. Hull have conceded 8 in their last 3 away games if they are that generous against Stoke then they will suffer.
Stoke to win 1 – 0 or 2 – 0


Carlisle V Hartlepool

A simple look at the stats here should tell you all you need to know about this one. Carlisle sit in 5th place, 9 places ahead of the opposition Hartlepool.
Their home record has been strong (7 – 1 – 1) and they have won the last 5 home games on the bounce, beating Leeds 3 – 1 along the way. In these 5 games they have scored 13 goals and only conceded the one so they have an efficient defence which is more than capable of shutting Hartlepool out. Paul Trollope has come through the festive period unscathed from injuries thus far and is looking at having a fully fit squad to choose from. They have lost the two games over the Xmas holidays but both were away from home where they tend to struggle.

Hartlepool on the contrary have lost the last 5 on the bounce away from home, only scoring 3 goals and conceding 10.
They are struggling with injuries at the moment and have Willie Boland (Flu),James Brown (Flu),Ben Clark (Hamstring),Tom Haigh (Foot),Jamie McCunnie (Knee),Andy Monkhouse (Knee) and Joel Porter (Knee) all out of action.

Verdict
I can’t see anything other than a comfortable home victory here. Carlisle need to get something from the Christmas holidays and now is a great chance to do so.


League two
Two more picks here and both are for home wins.
I fully expect M k Dons and Wycombe to have comfortable home wins and set the new year off to a good start.
Both have good home records and are up against teams that struggle on the road. Both Mansfield and Barnet haven’t taken any points away from home in a while and I don’t expect it to start tomorrow either.



PICKS
Manchester United – 1.75 Asian( 1.72 @ betdirect) 4 points

Bolton – 1 Asian (1.85 @ gamebookers) 4 points

Stoke –0.5 (1.98 @ bet365) 4 points

Carlisle –0.5 ( 2.02 @ canbet) 5 points

Wycombe -0.5 (1.7 @ gamebookers) 3 points

M k Dons –1 (european hdcp) (2.2 @ bet365) 3 points