THE CASE FOR THE DEFENCE
Back again with the second part of your daily round up, today were previewing tonight's sport, we have Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League,a few other games, cricket thoughts and some nba one liners.
FOOTBALL
Premiership Matches
19:45 Arsenal(1.3) Draw(5.5) Charlton(13)
20:00 Aston Villa(7) Draw(4) Chelsea(1.57)
Coca-Cola League One Matches
19:45 Cheltenham(2.38) Draw(3.46) Crewe(2.9)
Conference North Matches
19:45 Leigh RMI(2.38) Draw(3.6) Workington(2.5)
Conference South Matches
19:45 Bishop s Stortford(1.5) Draw(4) Thurrock(6)
Northern Ireland League Matches
19:45 Ballymena Utd(4.8) Draw(3.4) Glentoran(1.8)
PREVIEWS ARSENAL V CHARLTON
TEAM NEWS: (taken from www.bbc.co.uk/sport) Alexander Hleb has a chance of returning for Arsenal, who could also recall Thierry Henry as injuries mount
Robin van Persie and Julio Baptista have knocks while Emmanuel Adebayor, Theo Walcott, Fredding Ljungberg, John Djourou and William Gallas remain out.
Charlton are set to be without striker Darren Bent who picked up a reported knee injury against Aston Villa.
But Luke Young, Andy Reid and Amady Faye could return for the derby having resumed training after injury.
Arsenal (from): Lehmann, Hoyte, Toure, Senderos, Clichy, Fabregas, Gilberto, Hleb, Rosicky, Baptista, van Persie, Almunia, Flamini, Aliadiere, Song, Lauren, Denilson.
Charlton (from): Carson, Sankofa, El Karkouri, Fortune, Faye, Young, Hreidarsson, Traore, Ambrose, Hughes, Kishishev, Holland, Reid, Thomas, Rommedahl, M Bent, Hasselbaink, D Bent, Myhre, Fortune, Sam, Diawara.
STATS: Arsenal have a 24 unbeaten home record, Arsenal have a ten game unbeaten record against Charlton.
REFEREE: MIKE REILLY
Mike Riley (Leeds, Yorkshire)
ARSENAL
Current position: 5th 36 points
Highest achievable: 4th
Lowest could realistically fall: 5th
SIX GAME FORM: 4-1-1
CHARLTON ATHLETIC :1-1-4
Current position: 19th 16 points
Highest achievable: 18th
Lowest could fall: 19th
GAME THOUGHTS: Team news is key to this one as both sides look to have key players out injured, hold your bets to before kick off so as you can be certain of just who is playing. The match itself should be a highly competitve one with both teams being up for this one which features the rematch between Wenger and Pardew. This match could be so key to Arsene Wenger that Henry may be returned early. Charlton have seen a renewed sense of hope and optimisim since Pardew has returned and this has been coupled with performances on the pitch. The loss to Bent wll be key as he would have caused Arsenal no end of problems.
GAME RESULT: ARSENAL 7/10 DRAW 2/10 CHARLTON 1/10: The obvious choice is to go for Arsenal and seven times out of ten they would win this one, you have to consider if for you the odds reflect them, or whether the value lies in a Charlton shock.
WHAT YOU NEED TO CONSIDER IF YOU WANT TO GET ON ARSENAL? The low odds, sure Arsenal could win easily, but they were toothless last time out at Sheff United and have underperformed many times this season at low odds, Wenger must hope someone can catch up front as the loss of Adebayor hits them hard.
WHAT YOU NEED TO CONSIDER IF YOU WANT TO OPPOSE ARSENAL? The draw must be included as this has more chance than the straight out Charlton win, for all Pardew's turnaround, their away form is still poor and you have to consider the importance of the loss of Bent.
OTHER MARKETS: If you consider the lack of goal threats an option Charlton might be worth getting on in the handicap with 1.5 start at 2.0 with BET365, also with Darren Bent's injury, Marcus Bent could be value at 6.0 or Darren Ambrose at 9-0 (both with bet direct) as anytime scorers, or both teams to score at 2.0 as Asnal know where the net is but also have huge defence lapses.
VILLA V CHELSEA PREVIEW: 20.00 GMT: Live SKYSPORTS
TEAM NEWS: Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry is suspended having been shown a straight red card for bringing down Dennis Rommedahl at Charlton.
Stiliyan Petrov was replaced by Isaiah Osbourne in the second half at The Valley and could miss out following his problems with a hamstring injury.
Chelsea have defender Khalid Boulahrouz back after he missed Saturday's 2-2 draw with Fulham through suspension.
Michael Ballack is banned and Arjen Robben still has a hamstring problem.
Villa (from): Kiraly, Hughes, Mellberg, Cahill, Gardner, Petrov, McCann, Davis, Baros, Agbonlahor, Ridgewell, Bouma, Osbourne, Angel, Olejnik, Whittingham, Samuel, Djemba-Djemba.
Chelsea (from): Hilario, Hedman, Geremi, Carvalho, Ferreira, Boulahrouz, Bridge, A Cole, Essien, Lampard, Diarra, Makelele, Drogba, Shevchenko, Kalou, Wright-Phillips, Mikel.
STATS
BIG-MATCH FACTS
ASTON VILLA have not won in 10 since their triumph at Everton on 11 November, and have lost the last four.
Manchester City, Bolton and Manchester United have all taken away maximum points from Villa Park in the Villans' last three home games. They've not enjoyed a victory in four on home soil, since defeating Blackburn 2-0 on Guy Fawkes Day.
Villa are aiming to extend their undefeated home Premiership sequence against Chelsea to eight games, having won two and drawn five of the last seven. They've not lost a home League game to the Blues since March 1999. Luke Moore rescued a point with a late equaliser in last season's equivalent fixture.
CHELSEA may be undefeated in 10 Premiership matches, but they've dropped four points out of six. The champions are hoping to add the scalp of Aston Villa to those of Bolton, Everton and Wigan claimed in their last three matches on the road. They've not lost in four away League games since the 2-1 reverse at Tottenham on Guy Fawkes Day. It was only their second away defeat of this Premiership season.
The Blues are looking for a 50th competitive victory over Villa. They've already thrashed the Midlanders 4-0 in the Carling Cup this season, but were held to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge in September. Gabriel Agbonlahor netted just before half time to cancel out Didier Drogba's 2nd minute opener. The Londoners are unbeaten in five Premier League contests against the Claret and Blues.
REFEREE
Phil Dowd (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire)
SEQUENCES/RECENT FORM
ASTON VILLA
SIX GAME FORM: 0-1-5
THREE GAME HOME FORM: 0-0-3
Current position: 14th 25 points
Highest achievable: 11th
Lowest could fall: 14th
CHELSEA
SIX GAME FORM: 4-2-0
THREE GAME AWAY FORM 1-2-0
Current position: 2nd 47 points
Highest achievable: 2nd
Lowest could fall: 2nd
LAST SEASON'S CORRESPONDING GAME
Aston Villa 1-1 Chelsea
1 February 2006 - Ref: Rob Styles
Villa scorer: Moore 77
Chelsea scorer: Robben 14
THIS SEASON'S REVERSE FIXTURE
Chelsea 1-1 Aston Villa
30 September 2006 - Ref: Graham Poll
Chelsea scorer: Drogba 3
Villa scorer: Agbonlahor 45
HEAD TO HEAD TOTALS
Home and away
League: Villa 47 wins, Chelsea 44, Draws 28
Prem: Villa 8 wins, Chelsea 13, Draws 8
At Villa only
League: Villa 29 wins, Chelsea 13, Draws 17
Prem: Villa 4 wins, Chelsea 5, Draws 5
GAME THOUGHTS: Chelsea the press would have you believe are in the midsts of a crisis,and sure their performances have been poor, the defence looks hideous without Terry and the full back slot is heavily exposed. Hilario gives no confidence in goal and the midfield no longer has the posession game that used to tire other teams quicker than Chelsea. However in Drogba they have a player capable of winning the game, something right now Villa don't have. The midlands side are on an even worse run than Mourinho's men, meaning something has to give.
KEYS TO THE GAME: Chelsea need to find a better shape and need to find a way to retain posseion, make the ball do the work and tire out a Villa side whose gameplan has to be to harry and harass the champions. Someone has to step up as a leader at the back and increased communication is important. Villa for their part have to hope Mellberg is at his very best, as the experience head in that defence he has to be up for marking the on-fire Drogba, while McCann needs to make the midfield tick over, Agbonlahor should get in behind the Chelsea defence but his lack of confidence in dangerous positions could undermine him.
IF YOUR CONSIDERING BEING ON CHELSEA? Make sure your prepared for a bumpy ride, the defence look hideous last time out and there seems little grounds for optimism that they have improved.
IF YOUR CONSIDERING BEING ON VILLA? Remember as bad as Chelsea have been, Villa would kill for a crisis like that, you have to be confident that they can deal with Drogba at the back, compete in the middle, and one or two of the forwards finds some confidence and form in front of goal.
RESULT LIKELYHOOD: VILLA 1/10 DRAW 2/10 CHELSEA 7/10, agan upto you if you consider this value.
OTHER MARKETS TO CONSIDER: Drogba in the anytime market is amazingly 2.25 with expext, or you can get 6.0 with paddy power him to score two. If you think Chelsea's defence woes will continue you will get 1.9 both teams to score, or 3.75 villa to score two or more.
LEAGUE ONE THOUGHTS
This is a difficult one as Cheltenham are second bottom and Crewe are on a poor run of form, howeevr Cheltenham do have a very good home record and Crewe poor away form, 2.38 may be considered by some as good value.
ELSEWHERE
Leigh take on Workington, Bishop's Stortford take on Thurrock and Ballymena take on Glentoran in Ireland. These leagues are not my area of expertise, but if you have any thoughts feel free to let me know, or post them here, the aim here is to be an open information exchange.
OTHER SPORTS
CRICKET
For those who still care, hello Mr and Mrs Ponting, the cricket continues apace. Last night wasn't a bad night for England reaching 234-4, Ian Bell top scoring with 71. This has resulted in Australia drifting and the draw but fear not anit England backers the team has collapsed before and can again.
Other markets have a price on next batsman out, 2.2 at Paddy Power for Collingwood seems generous in what is a basic two horse race. The bookies are pitching the total score as 369-370, while those with a love of the good story, might be interested in Langer to top score for Australia at 6.0.
NBA
Wed Jan 03, 2007
00:00 Orlando Magic (1.61) Los Angeles Clippers (2.54)
00:00 San Antonio Spurs (1.67) Cleveland Cavaliers (2.5)
01:00 Golden State Warriors (1.63) New Orleans Okla City Hornets (2.6)
01:30 Phoenix Suns (1.59) Chicago Bulls (2.55)
01:30 Dallas Mavericks (1.14) Seattle SuperSonics (6.5)
02:00 Denver Nuggets (1.29) Philadelphia 76ers (4)
03:00 Sacramento Kings (1.25) New York Knicks (4.3)
An interesting night in the NBA, standout game being Spurs v Lebron's Cavaliers, and AI against his old Philly side, hard to see any real value for tonight.
Well that's all be back tommorrow at eleven tommorrow. Where else can you get all this for free.
FOOTBALL
Premiership Matches
19:45 Arsenal(1.3) Draw(5.5) Charlton(13)
20:00 Aston Villa(7) Draw(4) Chelsea(1.57)
Coca-Cola League One Matches
19:45 Cheltenham(2.38) Draw(3.46) Crewe(2.9)
Conference North Matches
19:45 Leigh RMI(2.38) Draw(3.6) Workington(2.5)
Conference South Matches
19:45 Bishop s Stortford(1.5) Draw(4) Thurrock(6)
Northern Ireland League Matches
19:45 Ballymena Utd(4.8) Draw(3.4) Glentoran(1.8)
PREVIEWS ARSENAL V CHARLTON
TEAM NEWS: (taken from www.bbc.co.uk/sport) Alexander Hleb has a chance of returning for Arsenal, who could also recall Thierry Henry as injuries mount
Robin van Persie and Julio Baptista have knocks while Emmanuel Adebayor, Theo Walcott, Fredding Ljungberg, John Djourou and William Gallas remain out.
Charlton are set to be without striker Darren Bent who picked up a reported knee injury against Aston Villa.
But Luke Young, Andy Reid and Amady Faye could return for the derby having resumed training after injury.
Arsenal (from): Lehmann, Hoyte, Toure, Senderos, Clichy, Fabregas, Gilberto, Hleb, Rosicky, Baptista, van Persie, Almunia, Flamini, Aliadiere, Song, Lauren, Denilson.
Charlton (from): Carson, Sankofa, El Karkouri, Fortune, Faye, Young, Hreidarsson, Traore, Ambrose, Hughes, Kishishev, Holland, Reid, Thomas, Rommedahl, M Bent, Hasselbaink, D Bent, Myhre, Fortune, Sam, Diawara.
STATS: Arsenal have a 24 unbeaten home record, Arsenal have a ten game unbeaten record against Charlton.
REFEREE: MIKE REILLY
Mike Riley (Leeds, Yorkshire)
ARSENAL
Current position: 5th 36 points
Highest achievable: 4th
Lowest could realistically fall: 5th
SIX GAME FORM: 4-1-1
CHARLTON ATHLETIC :1-1-4
Current position: 19th 16 points
Highest achievable: 18th
Lowest could fall: 19th
GAME THOUGHTS: Team news is key to this one as both sides look to have key players out injured, hold your bets to before kick off so as you can be certain of just who is playing. The match itself should be a highly competitve one with both teams being up for this one which features the rematch between Wenger and Pardew. This match could be so key to Arsene Wenger that Henry may be returned early. Charlton have seen a renewed sense of hope and optimisim since Pardew has returned and this has been coupled with performances on the pitch. The loss to Bent wll be key as he would have caused Arsenal no end of problems.
GAME RESULT: ARSENAL 7/10 DRAW 2/10 CHARLTON 1/10: The obvious choice is to go for Arsenal and seven times out of ten they would win this one, you have to consider if for you the odds reflect them, or whether the value lies in a Charlton shock.
WHAT YOU NEED TO CONSIDER IF YOU WANT TO GET ON ARSENAL? The low odds, sure Arsenal could win easily, but they were toothless last time out at Sheff United and have underperformed many times this season at low odds, Wenger must hope someone can catch up front as the loss of Adebayor hits them hard.
WHAT YOU NEED TO CONSIDER IF YOU WANT TO OPPOSE ARSENAL? The draw must be included as this has more chance than the straight out Charlton win, for all Pardew's turnaround, their away form is still poor and you have to consider the importance of the loss of Bent.
OTHER MARKETS: If you consider the lack of goal threats an option Charlton might be worth getting on in the handicap with 1.5 start at 2.0 with BET365, also with Darren Bent's injury, Marcus Bent could be value at 6.0 or Darren Ambrose at 9-0 (both with bet direct) as anytime scorers, or both teams to score at 2.0 as Asnal know where the net is but also have huge defence lapses.
VILLA V CHELSEA PREVIEW: 20.00 GMT: Live SKYSPORTS
TEAM NEWS: Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry is suspended having been shown a straight red card for bringing down Dennis Rommedahl at Charlton.
Stiliyan Petrov was replaced by Isaiah Osbourne in the second half at The Valley and could miss out following his problems with a hamstring injury.
Chelsea have defender Khalid Boulahrouz back after he missed Saturday's 2-2 draw with Fulham through suspension.
Michael Ballack is banned and Arjen Robben still has a hamstring problem.
Villa (from): Kiraly, Hughes, Mellberg, Cahill, Gardner, Petrov, McCann, Davis, Baros, Agbonlahor, Ridgewell, Bouma, Osbourne, Angel, Olejnik, Whittingham, Samuel, Djemba-Djemba.
Chelsea (from): Hilario, Hedman, Geremi, Carvalho, Ferreira, Boulahrouz, Bridge, A Cole, Essien, Lampard, Diarra, Makelele, Drogba, Shevchenko, Kalou, Wright-Phillips, Mikel.
STATS
BIG-MATCH FACTS
ASTON VILLA have not won in 10 since their triumph at Everton on 11 November, and have lost the last four.
Manchester City, Bolton and Manchester United have all taken away maximum points from Villa Park in the Villans' last three home games. They've not enjoyed a victory in four on home soil, since defeating Blackburn 2-0 on Guy Fawkes Day.
Villa are aiming to extend their undefeated home Premiership sequence against Chelsea to eight games, having won two and drawn five of the last seven. They've not lost a home League game to the Blues since March 1999. Luke Moore rescued a point with a late equaliser in last season's equivalent fixture.
CHELSEA may be undefeated in 10 Premiership matches, but they've dropped four points out of six. The champions are hoping to add the scalp of Aston Villa to those of Bolton, Everton and Wigan claimed in their last three matches on the road. They've not lost in four away League games since the 2-1 reverse at Tottenham on Guy Fawkes Day. It was only their second away defeat of this Premiership season.
The Blues are looking for a 50th competitive victory over Villa. They've already thrashed the Midlanders 4-0 in the Carling Cup this season, but were held to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge in September. Gabriel Agbonlahor netted just before half time to cancel out Didier Drogba's 2nd minute opener. The Londoners are unbeaten in five Premier League contests against the Claret and Blues.
REFEREE
Phil Dowd (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire)
SEQUENCES/RECENT FORM
ASTON VILLA
SIX GAME FORM: 0-1-5
THREE GAME HOME FORM: 0-0-3
Current position: 14th 25 points
Highest achievable: 11th
Lowest could fall: 14th
CHELSEA
SIX GAME FORM: 4-2-0
THREE GAME AWAY FORM 1-2-0
Current position: 2nd 47 points
Highest achievable: 2nd
Lowest could fall: 2nd
LAST SEASON'S CORRESPONDING GAME
Aston Villa 1-1 Chelsea
1 February 2006 - Ref: Rob Styles
Villa scorer: Moore 77
Chelsea scorer: Robben 14
THIS SEASON'S REVERSE FIXTURE
Chelsea 1-1 Aston Villa
30 September 2006 - Ref: Graham Poll
Chelsea scorer: Drogba 3
Villa scorer: Agbonlahor 45
HEAD TO HEAD TOTALS
Home and away
League: Villa 47 wins, Chelsea 44, Draws 28
Prem: Villa 8 wins, Chelsea 13, Draws 8
At Villa only
League: Villa 29 wins, Chelsea 13, Draws 17
Prem: Villa 4 wins, Chelsea 5, Draws 5
GAME THOUGHTS: Chelsea the press would have you believe are in the midsts of a crisis,and sure their performances have been poor, the defence looks hideous without Terry and the full back slot is heavily exposed. Hilario gives no confidence in goal and the midfield no longer has the posession game that used to tire other teams quicker than Chelsea. However in Drogba they have a player capable of winning the game, something right now Villa don't have. The midlands side are on an even worse run than Mourinho's men, meaning something has to give.
KEYS TO THE GAME: Chelsea need to find a better shape and need to find a way to retain posseion, make the ball do the work and tire out a Villa side whose gameplan has to be to harry and harass the champions. Someone has to step up as a leader at the back and increased communication is important. Villa for their part have to hope Mellberg is at his very best, as the experience head in that defence he has to be up for marking the on-fire Drogba, while McCann needs to make the midfield tick over, Agbonlahor should get in behind the Chelsea defence but his lack of confidence in dangerous positions could undermine him.
IF YOUR CONSIDERING BEING ON CHELSEA? Make sure your prepared for a bumpy ride, the defence look hideous last time out and there seems little grounds for optimism that they have improved.
IF YOUR CONSIDERING BEING ON VILLA? Remember as bad as Chelsea have been, Villa would kill for a crisis like that, you have to be confident that they can deal with Drogba at the back, compete in the middle, and one or two of the forwards finds some confidence and form in front of goal.
RESULT LIKELYHOOD: VILLA 1/10 DRAW 2/10 CHELSEA 7/10, agan upto you if you consider this value.
OTHER MARKETS TO CONSIDER: Drogba in the anytime market is amazingly 2.25 with expext, or you can get 6.0 with paddy power him to score two. If you think Chelsea's defence woes will continue you will get 1.9 both teams to score, or 3.75 villa to score two or more.
LEAGUE ONE THOUGHTS
This is a difficult one as Cheltenham are second bottom and Crewe are on a poor run of form, howeevr Cheltenham do have a very good home record and Crewe poor away form, 2.38 may be considered by some as good value.
ELSEWHERE
Leigh take on Workington, Bishop's Stortford take on Thurrock and Ballymena take on Glentoran in Ireland. These leagues are not my area of expertise, but if you have any thoughts feel free to let me know, or post them here, the aim here is to be an open information exchange.
OTHER SPORTS
CRICKET
For those who still care, hello Mr and Mrs Ponting, the cricket continues apace. Last night wasn't a bad night for England reaching 234-4, Ian Bell top scoring with 71. This has resulted in Australia drifting and the draw but fear not anit England backers the team has collapsed before and can again.
Other markets have a price on next batsman out, 2.2 at Paddy Power for Collingwood seems generous in what is a basic two horse race. The bookies are pitching the total score as 369-370, while those with a love of the good story, might be interested in Langer to top score for Australia at 6.0.
NBA
Wed Jan 03, 2007
00:00 Orlando Magic (1.61) Los Angeles Clippers (2.54)
00:00 San Antonio Spurs (1.67) Cleveland Cavaliers (2.5)
01:00 Golden State Warriors (1.63) New Orleans Okla City Hornets (2.6)
01:30 Phoenix Suns (1.59) Chicago Bulls (2.55)
01:30 Dallas Mavericks (1.14) Seattle SuperSonics (6.5)
02:00 Denver Nuggets (1.29) Philadelphia 76ers (4)
03:00 Sacramento Kings (1.25) New York Knicks (4.3)
An interesting night in the NBA, standout game being Spurs v Lebron's Cavaliers, and AI against his old Philly side, hard to see any real value for tonight.
Well that's all be back tommorrow at eleven tommorrow. Where else can you get all this for free.
posted by richard mctiernan at 7:01 AM
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