Five reasons why it’s not worth backing Manchester City to be the best of the rest

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chickendinner aren’t stupid enough to say that Man City have no chance of a top-five finish - after all they could have Robinho, Samuel Eto’o and Carlos Tevez up-front. They should have challenged for fifth last year though but ended up closer to West Brom than Arsenal, so the odds of 5/4 with Bet365 on them being best of the rest this season seem far too short. Here’s why we think you’d be better off backing Everton or maybe even Spurs:

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1. Manchester City are still yet to finish any higher than eighth in the Premier League, a feat they achieved under Stuart Pearce in 2004-05.

2. Since Blackburn’s title win in 1994-95, just four sides have ended the season as the best of the rest: Newcastle, Leeds, Tottenham and Everton. Spurs and Everton are the only two to have done it in the last five years.

Posted: July 9th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | 6 Comments

Six reasons why Leeds should fight back against Millwall

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Photo Credit: Daniel Hambury/PA Wire

Best friends Leeds and Millwall meet for the second time in six days tonight and it is the Londoners who travel to Yorkshire with a 1-0 advantage. Leeds have suffered plenty of play-off heartache in recent years but getting to finals hasn’t been their problem. Here are five stats which suggest they will qualify:

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1. Leeds boasted the best home record in League One this season, winning 17 of the 23 games they have hosted.

2. Their home form has been ever better under Simon Grayson, the 2007 play-off winning manager. They have won 12 straight home games, conceding just once in their last six.

3. The Whites have won their last three clashes with Millwall at Elland Road.

Posted: May 14th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Why Hull are unlikely to enjoy another win at the Emirates

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When West Ham became the first team to win at the Emirates it was their second successive away win against Arsenal but such a feat is very rare. Here’s why Hull’s chances of shocking the Gunners in their own backyard for the second time this season are slim:

» Not since 1996-97, in Arsene Wenger’s first season, have Arsenal been knocked out of the FA Cup by a team who weren’t at that point situated in the top half of the Premier League. On that occasion their conquerors were 11th-placed Leeds.

» Arsene Wenger has a seven out of seven success rate in FA Cup quarter-finals. In total Arsenal have progressed through nine in succession.

» While Arsenal have been underwhelming at home in the league at times this season, their cup record is very impressive. They have hosted ten games: winning nine, drawing one and never losing.

Posted: March 17th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Five reasons why Arsenal will get some revenge on Burnley

Arsenal/Burnley, Sunday 1.30pm, Setanta Sports 1, Best Odds

Everyone was starting to believe that Arsenal’s youngsters were invincible and destined for Carling Cup glory until they went to Burnley and got knocked off their perch in December. Now Arsene Wenger is ready to use his big name players to gain revenge as Arsenal look to record consecutive wins for the first time since mid-January.

1. Arsenal have won eight of their nine home cup games this season and have conceded just one goal over the course of those games.

2. The Gunners haven’t lost a home FA Cup match for over twelve years, with their last defeat coming against Leeds in February 1997. They have hosted 28 games in the competition since.

3. Despite underperforming at the Emirates recently, Arsenal are brilliant when welcoming opposition from the North West. They have won five and drawn one of their six to date.

Posted: March 5th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | 1 Comment

Can Arsenal take advantage of Roma’s record in England?

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Roma knocked out Real Madrid at this stage last year but as our table above shows, they have got an awful recent record in England and have lost four of their last five visits 1-0. Their boss Luciano Spalletti is adamant those statistics won’t count against them but if they do, it means all Arsenal need to do is score. The only problem there is that Arsene Wenger’s side have failed to find the net themselves in four of their last six games. Paddy Power offer 21/10 on Arsenal winning to nil while 1-0 is 6/1 with 888sport. However, if you expect the Gunners to be contained again back a goalless draw at 9.2 on Betfair.

Posted: February 24th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Why being top at Christmas is a bad omen for Liverpool

There’s some good festive news for Aston Villa fans though!

Liverpool fans must be wondering whether being top of the league at Christmas is a good omen. They may look upon the fact that three of the last four teams to have led the way on December 25 have gone on to lift the title as a positive sign but it is two exceptions to the rule - Manchester United and Chelsea -  who have benefitted from a Yuletide advantage in those campaigns.

There have been nine seasons where a club other than Manchester United and Chelsea have topped the table at Christmas and on eight of those occasions that team have failed to win the league. The only exception was Blackburn in 1994-95 when they kept hold of the top spot from late November all the way through to the end of the season.

As our table below shows, the last time Liverpool were top at Christmas, they ended up finishing fourth. It also shows that on four of the nine occasions the team has finished the season in third and on three occasions fourth or lower, while just twice have they ended the season in second:

Posted: December 24th, 2008 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment