Five stats to help you bet on West Ham’s latest Anfield loss

Liverpool/West Ham, 8pm, Setanta Sports 1, Best Odds, Free Bets

Rather than wasting time telling you why Liverpool are 99% certain to beat West Ham (the 3/10 odds should make that obvious enough!) here are five stats that might help you make money on this (mis)match:

45 YEAR WAIT
West Ham have gone over 45 years without a win at Anfield and have lost their last seven matches there, managing only two goals in the process. Liverpool are evens with Paddy Power to win to nil.

GERRARD’S ANNIVERSARY PRESENT
Two days after the ten-year anniversary of Steven Gerrard’s first Liverpool appearance, will he celebrate with another late goal against West Ham? He scored the injury-time equaliser in the 2006 FA Cup Final against the East London side and scored the final goal in Liverpool’s 4-0 win in March. Paddy Power and 888sport offer 11/2 on Gerrard being the last goalscorer.

LATE LAPSES

Posted: November 30th, 2008 by Michael Lintorn | 1 Comment

Why Manchester United and Chelsea may both fail to win this weekend (Part Two)

Chelsea/Arsenal, 4pm, Sky Sports 1, Best Odds, Free Bets

chickendinner is challenging the idea that it Manchester United and Chelsea can’t possibly both fail to win for the third time in nine days and after telling you why the champions will struggle in the Manchester derby, here are five reasons why Arsenal are capable of getting a result at Stamford Bridge:

SPECIAL OFFER ALERT!
Betfair are refunding all first goalscorer and scorecast bets on this game if Nicolas Anelka scores, misses a penalty or gets sent-off. Click this link to sign up for a free £10 bet and to take advantage of this offer.

1. Before Liverpool ended Chelsea’s record top-flight run without a home defeat earlier this season, Arsenal were the last team to take three points from Stamford Bridge.

2. Chelsea have won just three of their seven home league games this season, whereas even Fulham and Stoke have won five each.

Posted: November 28th, 2008 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Why Manchester United and Chelsea may both fail to win this weekend (Part One)

Man City/Man Utd, 1.30pm, Sky Sports 1, Best Odds, Free Bets

It was a slight shock last weekend when both Chelsea and Manchester United failed to win but one which was tempered slightly by Arsenal and Liverpool’s slip-ups. However, when both came up short again in the Champions League, it was almost enough to peddle hysterical talk of crises in the tabloids. To suggest that it is even remotely possible for Chelsea and Manchester United to both go without victory for the third time in nine days is tantamount to blasphemy but chickendinner is going to do just that and argue why both clubs will be disappointed again. First of all, here are six reasons why the champions won’t win away to their nouveau riche neighbours:

SPECIAL OFFER ALERT!
Betfair are refunding all first goalscorer and scorecast bets on this game if Cristiano Ronaldo scores, misses a penalty or gets sent-off. Click this link to sign up for a free £10 bet and to take advantage of this offer.

1. Manchester City won both Manchester derbies last season, winning the home encounter 1-0 before completeing the double with a 2-1 win at Old Trafford - United’s only home league defeat that season.

Posted: November 28th, 2008 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Fashion news: the 3pm kick-off is making a comeback

None of tomorrow’s five Premier League games are on TV!

With the Manchester derby and Chelsea/Arsenal both televised on Sunday and Liverpool held off until Monday, there are no games deemed worthy of the hallowed lunchtime or early evening slots taking place on Saturday, meaning that all five fixtures will kick off at the once-fashionable time of 3pm. Rather than leaving you confused about what to expect from tomorrow’s games, chickendinner has previewed every game to help you decide who to put on your accumulators:

Aston Villa v Fulham
It would be typical of Villa to go from beating Arsenal and drawing with Manchester United to losing at home to Fulham so victory in this game would go a long way to establishing their credentials for sustaining a top-four push. However, Martin O’Neill’s side have won none of their four home games against top-half sides this season, drawing three and losing one. Fulham are no longer pushovers away from home as last weekend’s draw at Anfield showed and they have lost just one of their last seven Premier League games. Last season, the home side won both of these encounters but before that they drew five successive clashes and a draw (11/4 with Paddy Power) could be on the cards again.

Middlesbrough v Newcastle

Posted: November 28th, 2008 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Will the Premier League shut the door on Sheffield United?

Blades 20/1 to be refused promotion with Paddy Power

(Photo Credit: Neil Tingle/PA Wire)

Sheffield United have stepped up their fight for fairness in football this week. As well as coming one step closer to denying West Ham the chance to appeal a flawed verdict that could bankrupt their club, the Blades have attempted to draw a line on the Iain Hume incident.

A Sheffield legal expert has argued that it’s impossible to calculate the importance of one player to a team, apparently ignorant to the fact they have done the same thing with regards to Carlos Tevez and West Ham.

Right now the Yorkshire club are the only ones who aren’t fed up with hearing about “Tevezgate” but if the matter isn’t resolved by the end of the season, it could even become a hindrance to themselves.

Posted: November 28th, 2008 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

It was a strong European week for chickendinner

Six out of seven correct calls = big winnings

Filippo Inzaghi’s late equaliser against Portsmouth helped complete a profitable week for chickendinner after we tipped Pompey and AC Milan to draw. This meant that, even though our Spurs prediction was wrong, if you put £10 on each of our three UEFA Cup predictions you would have made a £41 profit.

This followed on from our Champions League success where we backed wins for Arsenal and Liverpool, revealed that Chelsea would have to settle for a draw in Bordeaux and tipped another goalless draw between Villarreal and Manchester United.

Posted: November 28th, 2008 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment