West Ham - Blackburn

The Hammers cannot afford to lose this one, although even defeat wouldn’t eliminate them since they’ll have Wigan at home and Sunderland away in the last two rounds. Five defeats and a draw in last six encounters, but mainly against top sides. West Ham don’t play badly, but cannot defend properly as they conceded 14 goals in last five games. Also five of their last six wins came after they scored three goals or more. Parker and Upson will have a late fitness test. The Hammers have won eight out of last nine competitive games at home against Blackburn.

The Rovers grabbed big three points in previous  round defeating Bolton at home. Before that, they were in a free fall with four draws and six defeats out of ten. On the road they took just a point of last seven games and hold the worst defensive record on the road (40 goals in 17 games). They have three players rated as in doubt, Hoilett, Dunn and Salgado. Manager Kean says that he expects two of them to be in the team.

I still don’t get it how the team with such talent as West Ham lie at the bottom. I’ll stick to my previous opinion and predict they will stay. Fancy them to win today, but will take goals as safer option. 

Bet: Over 2.5
Odd: 1.84 Canbet
Stake: 8/10
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Birmingham - Blackburn

Birmingham noticed a great season in their Premier League debut. Especially were good at their home soil when they had just 2 defeats (Villa and Bolton, both in September). Their main problem was limited number of players and as a consequence a big injury list through the season. They haven’t brought too many players and will suffer because of that, but no injury problems right now. New man is 202cm striker Nikola Zigic. I’m very suspicious about his scoring abilities, but his contribution will be to tight central defenders for himself and to allow Jerome to “run around” and some run on the flanks. Birmingham are unbeaten in their last 15 games and defeated Blackburn in last five at St Andrew's.

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Rovers started the season with surprising (but, very lucky at the same time) home win over Everton 1-0. Personally, don’t have too much sympathy for their playing potential. Big Sam led them to 10^th place last season and I would be really shocked to see them higher than that. Also they had a terrible away record last season, won just 3 games of 19 and scored only 13 goals! Key man David Dunn is injured, as well as another midfielder Vince Grella.

 

I've been thinking a lot about this one and can not fully exclude a possibility of a draw. Expect a tight game and home win, but will make a limitation.

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Bet: Birmingham -0.25

Odd: 2.03  Pinnacle

Stake: 7/10

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Saturday's gossip column

BREAKING GOSSIP

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has defended the club following Wigan counterpart Roberto Martinez's criticism of their pursuit of defender Maynor Figueroa. (Press Association) 


TRANSFER GOSSIP

Liverpool winger Ryan Babel has been informed by manager Rafael Benitez that he will not be sold before the January transfer window closes on Monday.(The Times) 
Birningham have, meanwhile, made a fresh inquiry for Babel and had an improved £9m bid for Roman Pavlyuchenko turned down by Tottenham.(Daily Mail) 
Wigan chairman Dave Whelan will not prevent Maynor Figueroa leaving for "a good club" despite the Honduras international signing a new contract on Friday.(Daily Mail) 
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has made a fresh offer for Marouane Chamakh in a bid to snap up the Bordeaux striker on a pre-contract.(Daily Mirror) 
Manchester City have made a £7m move for Parma midfielder McDonald Mariga.(Daily Mail) 
Wolves have held talks with Blackburn Rovers striker Jason Roberts and hope to conclude a £2m deal. (Daily Mail) 
David Dunn has urged Blackburn to bring in James Beattie from Stoke as Benni McCarthy's replacement. (Daily Mirror)


OTHER GOSSIP

John Terry faces an anxious wait to discover if further damaging revelations regarding his private life will cost him the England captaincy. (Various) 
Rafael Benitez has warned Liverpool that they must deliver on a string of promises if he is not to be lured away by Juventus in the summer.(Daily Mail) 
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has suggested that the way he man-manages his thirtysomethings at the club will hold the key to the club's hopes of winning the Premier League title.(The Guardian) 
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned his players to be wary of Wayne Rooney's gamesmanship in Sunday's league match between the Gunners and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.(Daily Mail) 
Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon has suffered a fresh setback and could need a hernia operation only four months before the start of the World Cup.(Daily Mail) 
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has demanded that the club's fans end their obscene taunts directed at Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. (Daily Mail) 
West Ham are to hand Tottenham a £5,000 bill for putting up Eidur Gudjohnsen in a plush London hotel and paying for a medical before he opted for a last-minute move to Spurs.(Sun)
Martin O'Neill is furious with Arsenal chief Arsene Wenger for labelling Aston Villa a long ball team after the goalless draw between the sides in mid-week at Villa Park.(Daily Mirror) 

AND FINALLY

Boss Roberto Mancini is so sure about his Manchester City future he is looking for a house in the area.(Independent)
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Blackburn Rovers - Chelsea

Boss Allardyce has left the hospital following heart surgery. That is a boost for the Rovers camp, but he won’t attend the game. Their home record looks good with four wins and just a single defeat in past seven games. But without Big Sam (last two games) their play looks confused, too many long balls without real goal chances and zero goals scored in those two. Caretaker Neil McDonald has been criticized for forcing 4-5-1 formation. That formation produced some results in the past, but the problem is key midfielder (plays behind the striker, Franco di Santo usually), David Dunn is unfit and his appearance is under a question mark, especially because Liverpool come in visit at Saturday. And Rovers do not have permission to field mentioned on-loan Chelsea’s di Santo. Also, Rovers have lost last four games against Chelsea without a goal scored (conceded 10). In previous rounds, they eliminated clubs from lower divisions (Gillingham, Nottingham Forest and Peterborough). 

Visitors are in the great shape. First places in Premier and CL group and maybe more important Ancelotti successfully rotates the players, sharing the effort on 16-17 players equal. So far, playing a large number of games doesn’t look as a problem. The true is, he’ll mix the cards again. But, it just means players that didn’t play at Emirates will take a place in starting eleven, like Ballack, Malouda, Deco, Kalou, Zhirkov… “Trouble maker”, Gael Kakuta, will probably make his first starting appearance this season. For me, any starting eleven looks simply too strong. Only concern is Ashley Cole who was limping off with a hamstring injury during Sunday's win at Arsenal.

Blackburn’s style of play with long-balls usually doesn’t produce too many goal opportunities and I can not see how it can works against the best defense in England (in the world, in my opinion). On the other hand, Ancelotti when take surely won’t keep the minimal lead and risk extra-time and additional effort. I expect clear away win and handicap.

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One more to follow...

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Saturday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester City are prepared to pay up to £65m to sign France winger Franck Ribery from Bayern Munich in January.(The Sun) 
City are also tracking Atletico Mineiro'a £7m striker Diego Tardelli.(Daily Mirror) 
Manchester United look set to step up their interest in Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev, with CSKA Moscow indicating they are prepared to let United speak to the £10m-rater stopper in the January transfer window.(Daily Mirror) 
United have revived their attempt to sign Valencia's £35m-rated striker David Villa.(Daily Mail)
West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola faces a battle with Napoli to sign Bayern Munich striker Luca Toni.(Daily Mirror) 
Blackburn midfielder David Dunn is being offered a lucrative move to Dubai club Al-Nasr when his contract at Ewood Park expires in the summer, although the 29-year-old's early-season form has also alerted several European clubs. (Daily Mail) 
Wolves striker Sylvain Ebanks-Blake is being tracked by Serie A side Palermo but the Premier League club insist he is going nowhere having signed a new four-year contract in July. (Daily Mirror)
Non-league Woking are lining up an ambitious move for former Chelsea and Leeds United striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.(Daily Mirror) 

OTHER GOSSIP

England coach Fabio Capello intends to start the 2010 World Cup in South Africa with David James as his first-choice goalkeeper.(The Times) 
The Football Association has indicated it is willing to provide a £5.5m bonus pot if England win the World Cup and, with it being split on a pro-rata basis depending on number of games played, Capello's top stars could each earn around £400,000.(The Sun) 
England midfielder Steven Gerrard has prepared for his country's World Cup qualifier in Ukraine by studying a DVD of his disappointing performance for Liverpool against Chelsea last Sunday. (The Sun) 
Portsmouth's new director of football Avram Grant will take a place in the dugout alongside manager Paul Hart during matches. (The Sun) 
John Barnes was sacked as Tranmere manager after chairman Peter Johnson had a change of heart: Johnson met Barnes on Thursday and told him he would be carrying on, only to dispense of the former England midfielder's services after being besieged by angry supporters at a fans' forum that evening.(Daily Mail) 
Leeds City Council has demanded that Leeds United reveal who the club's ultimate owners are before the council proceeds with the £6m purchase of the Thorp Arch training ground.(The Guardian) 

AND FINALLY

England defender Rio Ferdinand says there will be no "distractions" for his side at the 2010 World Cup, insisting manager Fabio Capello will not allow the squad to be thrown off course by WAGs, injudicious predictions of victory or debates over broken metatarsals and players carrying injuries. (Daily Telegraph) 
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo can be seen playing the guitar and singing for a new tongue-in-cheek television advert. (Daily Star)
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Friday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Everton have bid £8m for Newcastle central defender Steven Taylor in a move which could pave the way for Joleon Lescott to leave Goodison Park for Manchester City.(The Daily Star) 
Franck Ribery is believed to be keen to leave Bayern Munich which could encourage Chelsea and Manchester United to increase their efforts to sign the French winger. (Times) 
Aston Villa have moved to bolster their defence by putting in a £5m bid for Manchester City centre-back Richard Dunne. (Daily Express)
Damien Duff could be another player to leave Newcastle as Wolves and Fulham battle it out for the left-sided midfielder. (Daily Mirror) 
Manchester United scouts were casting their eye over Argentine striker Sergio Aguero in his country's 3-2 win over Russia on Wednesday.(The Sun) 
Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce has told chairman John Williams to provide the funds to sign former Real Madrid defender Michel Salgado.(Daily Mirror) 
Sunderland are planning a triple swoop for Pompey keeper David James and defender Sylvain Distin as well as Lucas Neill, who is out of contract at West Ham. (Daily Mirror)
Bolton boss Gary Megson says the club took out an £8m escape clause in the contract of Gary Cahill when the defender recently signed a new contract. (Daily Mail) 
Middlesbrough striker Tuncay Sanli is set to join Fenerbahce on loan. (Daily Mirror)
But Wolves and Everton are interested in the Turkey striker as well and could get him for about £6m. (Independent) 
Cardiff, Derby, QPR and Sheffield United are all chasing Gillingham striker Simeon Jackson. (Daily Mirror)

OTHER GOSSIP

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres says the Reds will have no excuses if they do not win the Premier League this season.(The Sun) 
Liverpool's new £20m signing Alberto Aquilani may be sidelined with an ankle problem but he insists he is not injury prone. (Daily Star) 
Blackburn midfielder David Dunn (on photo) says the Ewood Park side are planning to "kick lumps" out of Manchester City's stars when the two sides meet in the Premier League on Saturday. (The Sun) 
Fiorentina may make an official complaint to Uefa over Manchester United signing Italy Under-16 captain Michele Fornasier. (Independent) 
Birmingham owners David Gold and David Sullivan may try to buy West Ham if they sell Birmingham to Carson Yeung.(The Sun) 
The Magpies could also have a manager in place by next Monday as Joe Kinnear is set to return to take charge of the Championship club.(Daily Express) 

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AND FINALLY

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is famed for his classic "I didn't see it" phrase when it comes to questions about his players committing fouls but the Frenchman says he has sometimes lied to protect his players. (Times)
www.bbc.co.uk