Betting Recommendation for BPL Match (17 September 2011)

Blackburn Rovers (20th) vs Arsenal (12th)

Blackburn playmaker Junior Hoilett is fit. The Canada-born forward was concussed after a heavy collision with Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer last week. Morten Gamst Pedersen (hamstring), David Dunn (calf) and Ryan Nelsen (knee) all face fitness tests.

Arsenal will welcome back Alex Song and Gervinho from three-match bans but midfielder Aaron Ramsey (ankle) faces a fitness test. Defender Carl Jenkinson is also available following a one-match suspension, but Tomas Rosicky (knee) and Ryo Miyaichi (calf) are doubts. Midfielders Jack Wilshere and Abou Diaby (both ankle) are longer-term absentees.

This is the worst start to a Premier League season for both Blackburn Rovers and Arsenal. The home side are currently at the bottom of the standings, whereas their opponents are in 12th place after four games. Arsenal have lost only one out of the last 10 meetings between the two sides, winning seven matches in the process. My prediction will be Arsenal to win this game, 1-0 or 2-1.

Aston Villa (8th) vs Newcastle United (4th)

Aston Villa will be without Emile Heskey and Jermaine Jenas. Heskey looks set to be out for two to three weeks with a pulled hamstring, while on-loan Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jenas also misses out this weekend after suffering a thigh injury in training. Eric Lichaj is expected to be sidelined for three to four months after undergoing a hip operation. Fellow defender Carlos Cuellar is recovering well from a knee problem but lacks match fitness.

Full-back Davide Santon could be out of action for a month after suffering a cartilage injury which will require minor surgery. The 20-year-old former Inter Milan defender will miss out on a chance to make his senior debut for the club at Aston Villa on Saturday, and utility man Ryan Taylor is likely to continue in what has been a problem position for manager Alan Pardew since Jose Enrique's summer departure for Liverpool. Hatem Ben Arfa is back in training after his ankle injury but is unlikely to be risked at the weekend, although he could make the squad for Tuesday night's Carling Cup trip to Nottingham Forest, while Haris Vuckic (broken hand), Mehdi Abeid and Mike Williamson (broken arm) remain on the casualty list.

Both sides remained unbeaten in the league. With 7 of the last 10 ties between these two teams ended with the home team taking all three points, expect this game to continue with the trend. Prediction will be Aston Villa to win 2-0 or 3-1.

Everton (10th) vs Wigan (9th)

Loan signing Royston Drenthe could be pushing for his first Everton start against Wigan at Goodison Park on Saturday after featuring for the reserves in midweek. Fellow deadline-day arrival Denis Stracqualursi may also make his Toffees debut while Phil Neville is fighting to regain his place in the side after being left out last weekend. With striker Louis Saha still not fully match fit Tim Cahill is expected to start in attack again.

Wigan defender Emmerson Boyce (hamstring) is rated only 50-50. Defenders Steven Gohouri (calf) and Antolin Alcaraz (thigh) are getting closer to fitness but remain sidelined. Manager Roberto Martinez, who made seven changes in the Carling Cup in midweek, will revert to a more familiar line-up but Shaun Maloney, David Jones and Patrick van Aanholt could make league debuts.

Everton has been struggling at the moment and the departure of Mikel Arteta does not help their cause. Everton giving one goal is pretty generous to me. My pick will be Wigan +1 on the Asian Handicap.

Barclays Premier League Preview

After a busy week of European football for many teams, it is a return to Premier League action.

Seven top-flight sides played in the Champions League and Europa League in midweek and it will be interesting to see how those particular teams adapt to the rigours of the domestic division after some tough fixtures.

In what should be a cracker of a Super Sunday, Manchester United host Chelsea in the most anticipated tie of the weekend, with Tottenham taking on Liverpool.

Elsewhere, the pressure is on Blackburn manager Steve Kean as Rovers welcome Arsenal to town, while high-flying Manchester City visit Fulham.

Champions Manchester United have swept away all opposition in the league so far this season, with a ridiculous 13 goals scored in their last two games. All eyes will be on Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon when Chelsea travel to the North West, and you can watch the action live on Sky Sports 1 and HD1 from 4pm. Andre Villas-Boas faces his biggest test so far since joining the Blues but will have been heartened by a 2-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night - United drew with Benfica in Lisbon. Expect fireworks in this one.

The only other side with a 100 per cent record is Manchester City and Roberto Mancini will be looking to make it five wins from five on the banks of the Thames at Fulham. City marked their Champions League debut with a draw at home to Napoli in midweek while Fulham played Dutch outfit FC Twente in the Europa League. Martin Jol's side have made a sluggish start to the campaign but it is still early in his reign and he has plenty of time to get them going.

Tottenham earned a 0-0 draw with PAOK Salonika in the Europa League on Thursday - a competition Harry Redknapp has been none-too-shy about criticizing. His side has three days to recover before Liverpool go to the capital on Sunday, looking to bounce back from their defeat at Stoke. Kenny Dalglish was certainly outspoken after the 1-0 reverse in the Potteries and these are two teams who will be desperately trying to break into the Premier League's top four this term. Watch the action live on Sky Sports 1 and HD1 from 1pm.

Blackburn fans will protest against Steve Kean before Saturday's home tie against Arsenal, which is a lunchtime kick-off. Rovers have only earned one point from a possible 12 this season and a certain section of supporters are calling for his head at this early stage. Kean insists that he has the backing of the club's owners but another defeat and he could be the Premier League's first managerial casualty, which was expected in August. Arsenal earned a credible draw at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday and are seemingly on the road to recovery after their Old Trafford nightmare.

Tony Pulis will be justly proud of his Stoke team after their draw away to Dynamo Kiev on Thursday, although the Potters were so close to a famous victory in Eastern Europe. Pulis had a number of players missing who could return when his fifth-place team goes to Sunderland. For the Wearsiders the season has not gone according to plan so far. Asamoah Gyan's shock departure to the UAE has added to Steve Bruce's woes - he needs a win.

Two sides looking to bounce back from defeats last weekend are Norwich and Bolton, with the pair locking horns at the Reebok Stadium. Manchester United tore Owen Coyle's men to shreds and there were sure to be some heated words in the dressing room at the final whistle. Norwich, meanwhile, played well against West Brom but lacked a cutting edge in the final third. The Canaries will want to get their teeth into a shaky Trotters defence.

Newcastle currently occupies fourth in the standings after an impressive start, but they face a tricky encounter away at Aston Villa, who have been unspectacular but solid under Alex McLeish. Hatem Ben Arfa is close to a return which will be a boost to the Magpies, although Davide Santon suffered a knee injury in training on Thursday. Alan Pardew's men were held to a 0-0 draw at QPR on Monday night while Villa were fortunate to come away with a point from their match at Everton.

Yorkshire grit

A good start to the season for Wolves was ended last week after they fell to Tottenham, but Mick McCarthy has the chance to see his side get back to winning ways when QPR go to Molineux. This is a meeting between two Yorkshire managers who certainly do not mince their words and there could be some interesting verbals after the match in the Black Country. Rangers are slowly settling into life back in the Premier League and this one is difficult to call.

Unrest remains the order of the day at Everton but if the Toffees can overcome Wigan at Goodison Park then they will be well placed in the top half of the division. Question marks always remain over the Wigan defence, especially away from home, but David Moyes is now short of options up front after summer sales. A North West clash is always a spicy occasion, even if there is not really any bad feeling between these two sides, and the Everton board will be hoping a win can appease the dissenters.

Finally, Swansea will be desperate to break their goalscoring duck when West Brom travels to South Wales. The Swans had a decent game at Arsenal last week and could have snatched a point were it not for Danny Graham's profligacy in the final third. The Baggies have only managed three points from four games and, with the Liberty Stadium a tough place to visit, Roy Hodgson will know this is not an easy game.

Spanish Primera Liga Preview

Real Betis striker Jorge Molina has highlighted his side's never-say-die attitude as the promoted outfit head into the third round of Primera Division action as one of only three clubs still boasting a 100 per cent record.

Last season's Segunda Division champions are currently level on six points with Real Madrid and Valencia after starting their campaign with 1-0 victories over Granada and Real Mallorca.

Both of those victories have been secured with goals in the last four minutes from Ruben Castro, and Molina believes that is proof his side are ready to battle until the final whistle.

He said ahead of this weekend's trip to Athletic Bilbao: "The goals are arriving late but this shows that we don't give up at all. We're showing that we're going to fight for matches until the end and letting our rivals know that we want the points at all times.

"Hopefully things continue like that."

He added: "Clearly we would've wanted to start as well as this. It's very good to start with six points from six, although we know there's a long way to go."

Early-season pacesetters Madrid will look to build on their impressive start when they go to Levante.

Jose Mourinho's troops followed up their 6-0 opening win over Real Zaragoza with a 4-2 home triumph over Getafe last weekend.

Madrid then recorded a 1-0 midweek triumph at Dinamo Zagreb to begin their Champions League campaign on a winning note as well, and although the club were unhappy about the treatment meted out to Cristiano Ronaldo in that match, assistant coach Aitor Karanka is pleased with the way things are going.

"We must keep this up, growing and working hard to do a good job. It's easier to work when you earn positive results. If we keep this up we'll reap rewards," he said.

Defending champions Barcelona will be looking to end a disappointing week on a high note when they host Osasuna at the Nou Camp.

Last weekend Barca had to settle for a draw at Real Sociedad despite leading 2-0 after 11 minutes, and then on Tuesday they were held to a 2-2 Champions League draw at home by AC Milan after conceding a stoppage-time equalizer.

Barca midfielder Xavi said: "What happened on Tuesday is pure bad luck, totally unfair. The other day (against Sociedad) we dropped our intensity in the second half of the game, but this time the team played well, we pressurized them until the 90th minute, and we had possession of the ball."

He added: "We have to win, now, this Saturday. We'll battle on. We know we have a great team to carry on winning things, and we're competitive."

Valencia striker Roberto Soldado will look to add to the four goals he netted in wins over Racing Santander and Atletico Madrid when Los Che travel to second-bottom Sporting Gijon.

Sevilla and Real Sociedad will both attempt to build on their four-point haul so far when they meet at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, while Atletico host Racing, Espanyol go to Zaragoza and Malaga make the trip to Mallorca.

Also, rock-bottom Granada hunt their first points as they meet Villarreal while local rivals Getafe and Rayo Vallecano meet in this weekend's other match.

Italian Serie-A Preview

Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti expects his club to bounce back after a disappointing week to start the season.

Having lost to AC Milan in the Italian Supercup last month, Inter began their Serie A campaign with a 4-3 defeat at Palermo and then fell again on Wednesday night at home to Champions League newcomers Trabzonspor.

Moratti's side host Roma on Saturday.

Coach Gian Piero Gasperini is under pressure to obtain a good result but he is apparently not in danger of losing his job.

"Don't expect any sudden decisions," said Moratti, when asked about Gasperini after Wednesday's 1-0 defeat.

"I thought the team played well even though it lacked the finishing touch.

"Probably the players were shocked after the defeat to Palermo.

"I don't believe the coach is at fault.

"The team missed a couple of chances and then it conceded a goal.

"Football is like this."

Moratti did admit, however, losing to Trabzonspor was the last thing he had expected.

"I'm disappointed because we have lost our first game against a team that has no experience in the competition," said Moratti.

Rivals Roma, meanwhile, lost 2-1 at home to Cagliari last weekend.

Draws against Lazio and Barcelona in Serie A and the Champions League, respectively, have left AC Milan seeking their first win of the campaign on Sunday.

AC Milan face a tough game at Napoli, who followed up their 3-1 win at Cesena with a 1-1 draw at Manchester City on Wednesday night.

Antonio Conte has got off to a good start as coach of Juventus, the club he once played for.

He is likely to have strange emotions this weekend when he leads the Turin giants in Tuscany against Siena, the side he led to promotion last season.

Juve, who are not competing in Europe, thumped Parma 4-1 last weekend.

Lazio, who got goals from summer signings Djibril Cisse and Miroslav Klose in their season-opener against Milan, host Genoa.

Palermo, having come from behind twice in their victory over Inter, play at Atalanta on Sunday.

Fiorentina had just three wins on the road last season so they will be hoping for an improvement starting with their first away game this weekend at Udinese.

Parma will try and bounce back from their heavy defeat at Juventus when they host Chievo on Sunday.

Bologna will be bolstered by the return of Jose Angel Crespo, Daniele Vantaggiato and Gaston Ramirez for Sunday's match against Lecce.

The trio missed last weekend's 2-0 defeat at Fiorentina through suspension.

Catania coach Vincenzo Montella expects a vast improvement from his players in Sunday's game against Cesena.

The Sicilian outfit was held to a goalless draw by Siena in their first game.

Novara are to visit Sardinia on Sunday to take on Cagliari and will be looking for their first win in Serie A in 55 years.

The promoted outfit drew 2-2 at Chievo last Sunday.

German Bundesliga Preview

Schalke's new captain Benedikt Howedes says his predecessor Manuel Neuer deserves a warm welcome from the Royal Blues' fans when he arrives at the Arena AufSchalke with his new club Bayern Munich this Sunday.

Neuer, who was born in Gelsenkirchen and grew up watching from the terraces at the club's former Park Stadion, made a controversial switch to the Bavarians in the summer.

He returns to the Arena for the first time this weekend and Howedes hopes he is given the reception he deserves, even though he knows it is unlikely.

"I think he is going to have to expect some whistles and he knows that, but I still believe that Manuel does not deserve any animosity," he told Kicker magazine.

"He always performed really well, if not sensationally for us."

And Howedes does not expect his side to gain any advantage if the fans do jeer Neuer each time he touches the ball.

"Manuel will not lose his concentration," he predicted. "He has always made great saves when he is under particular pressure."

Sunday's encounter is the highlight of this weekend's Bundesliga program, which starts off with a Baden-Wurttemberg derby in Freiburg.

They host Stuttgart, who would move up to third in the table with three points.

Werder Bremen can move to the top of the pile on Saturday when they travel to in-form Nurnberg, who have won their last two matches, while Borussia Monchengladbach also have the chance to reach the summit with a win at crisis club Hamburg, who have yet to win all season.

Augsburg has yet to win a single game in the Bundesliga since their promotion to the top flight and they will hope to break their duck with a trip to the capital on Saturday.

However, they meet a Hertha Berlin side who are full of confidence after beating defending champions Borussia Dortmund last weekend.

Dortmund, meanwhile, are not in action until Sunday when they travel to Hannover.

Elsewhere, Hoffenheim host Wolfsburg and Kaiserslautern entertain Mainz in one of three derbies this weekend.

The other takes place at the BayArena, where Bayer Leverkusen lock horns with Cologne.

Arsenal Identify Everton's Midfielder As January Transfer Target

Arsenal could move for Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini when the January transfer window opens after David Moyes suggested the player may leave the club.

Moyes is desperate to keep hold of his most talented players, but has today admitted that it may be difficult to hand on to the Belgium international as he is yet to sign a new contract.

Fellaini has entered the final 18 months of his current contract and Everton are aware that they cannot afford to let the £15million signing leave on a free.

Everton lost influential midfielder Steven Pienaar on a free to Spurs and with Mikel Arteta making the move to Arsenal, Moyes is worried that the best players will follow suit and look for an exit from Goodison Park.

"Yes, there is a danger that selling Mikel could set a precedent, but I hope not. I would like to think we can hang onto our best players," said Moyes.

"But there is always a danger when someone goes after saying they want to leave that it could set a precedent, and we will have to be careful of that."

The Merseyside club is struggling financially and should an offer come their way in January then they may be forced to cash in on the defensive midfielder.

Arsenal missed out on transfer target Yann M'Vila during the summer and it is assumed the club will be back in the market for a defensive midfielder when the window reopens.

Juventus Chase Lisandro Lopez

Serie A club Juventus are chasing Arsenal de Sarandi centre-back Lisandro Lopez as they look to increase their defensive options, Tuttosport reports.

22-year-old Lopez has caught they eye with his performances in the Copa Sudamericana and made his debut for the Argentina national side in May.

It is believed that Lopez, who started his career with Chacarita Juniors before moving to Arsenal de Sarandi last year, would cost the Italian giants €6 million.

Meanwhile, the player's agent, Fernando Felicevich, already has good links with the Italian side as he handles the affairs of summer signing Arturo Vidal.

Another potential defensive target is Brazilian centre-back Rhodolfo, who is currently plying his trade for Sao Paulo.

Barca Still After Silva

Thiago Silva's last-gasp equalizer against Barcelona for AC Milan has revived the European champions' interest in the defender, according to his agent.

The Brazilian nodded in a stoppage-time goal to seal a 2-2 draw in Tuesday night's UEFA Champions League Group H opener.

Silva, who recently extended his deal with the Rossoneri until 2016, was linked with a move to Barca over the summer and his display at Camp Nou has prompted that speculation to resurface.

His agent, Paulo Tonietto, told Calciomercato.it: "It's true, we had already talked about Barcelona in the past and it can only make us happy that the Blaugrana are tracking him.

"After all, they are currently the best team in the world.

"However, it's normal for the world's best to be interested in great players like Thiago Silva. He is happy at Milan and only recently extended his contract until June 2016."

Silva's goal against Barca allowed Milan to snatch a welcome point and Tonietto says the stopper was delighted to play such a crucial role.

"Milan were very lucky to score in stoppage time and it is certainly an important point," he added.

"I heard from Thiago and obviously he was very happy with the goal. After all, being able to time his runs to head the ball is one of his characteristics and he showed that last night."

Chelsea Loan Out Keeper

Chelsea have loaned out teenage goalkeeper Matej Delac to SK Dynamo Ceske Budejovice for the remainder of the season.

The 19-year-old spent a season-long loan at Vitesse Arnhem last year but was confined to the bench for the campaign.

But at international level he has thrived for Croatia, and played all three of their group games at this summer's Under 20 World Cup in Colombia.

His potential was spotted by Chelsea scouts while he was playing for his local side Inter Zapresic.

At 6ft 3in, he has a towering presence and completed his move to Stamford Bridge last summer, having earlier signed a pre-contract agreement.

Andre Villas-Boas is happy with his goalkeeping options at present and has sent out his callow keeper to gain some invaluable first-team experience.