Third-place Tottenham goes into the match just six behind United and six ahead of Chelsea. They’ve won 15 games, drawn four and lost four and have 49 points on the season. Liverpool sits in seventh place in the table with 38 points from 10 wins, eight draws and five losses. They’re hoping to catch Chelsea for fourth place and a Champions League berth, but will also have to leapfrog over Newcastle and Arsenal to do so. They’re five points back of Chelsea, four behind Newcastle and two adrift of Arsenal.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp made some odd moves in the recent transfer window though by buying the injury-prone Louis Saha from Everton and sending Steven Pienaar to them on loan. It doesn’t make a lot of sense bringing in the 33-year-old Saha when you consider Jermain Defoe’s already sitting on the bench far too often and Robbie Keane, who Spurs loaned out to the Los Angeles Galaxy and Aston Villa, are both a lot better than Saha, as is Giovanni Dos Santos, who rarely dresses. However, it looks like Saha will start against Liverpool since Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor will likely be out due to injuries. Kyle Walker, Aaron Lennon, and Rafael van der Vaart are game-time decisions.

Ryan Nelsen was also brought in from Blackburn for some reason. Nelsen has played in just one game with the relegation-zone rovers this season, so it’s hard to see how he’s going to play at Spurs. Tottenham’s best player so far this year has been Gareth Bale, with seven league goals, and he’ll be depended upon to keep it up at Anfield.

Liverpool will have striker Luis Suarez back in the line-up after sitting out nine games due to being found guilty of calling Manchester United’s Patrice Evra racial names and an obscene hand gesture against Fulham supporters. Suarez’s talents have been missed as Liverpool has just 28 goals in 23 league games with Craig Bellamy leading the way with six. Striker Andy Carroll has finally started to show some improvement and it’ll be interesting to see if manager Kenny Dalglish makes the mistake of sending him back to the bench or playing him up front with Suarez.

Predictions for Liverpool vs Tottenham

Tottenham don’t usually play well at Anfield and didn’t win a game there between 1912 and 1985. Liverpool has won two, lost two and drawn one in their past five games overall while Spurs have won three, lost one and drawn one. It won’t help their causes very much, but it looks like this game could end up in a draw.

Sportsbook William Hill has the current odds of a Liverpool victory at 23/20 and a Tottenham win at 5/2 with a draw at 11/5. Click the banner at the top to get free bets for this game.

The biggest and most-watched football game of the year is finally upon us with the New York Giants and the New England Patriots ready to square off in what could be an epic Super Bowl rematch in Indianapolis. There is no question that everyone is talking about the revenge factor between these two teams as the Patriots would love to avenge the loss to the Giants from a few years ago in the Super Bowl, but this game also breaks down to a classic showdown between an elite offense and a lockdown defense.

With that being said, Super Bowl XLVI will be a must-see matchup for any avid football fan. It seems that no matter who would’ve won in the NFC Championship game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants, the AFC champion New England Patriots would have their work cut out for them as they will have to face arguably one of the best defenses in the league.

Even though the Giants are arguably the hottest team in the NFL over the past month or so with impressive wins over the Dallas Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers in consecutive weeks, Tom Coughlin’s squad will have a tough task ahead against Tom Brady’s potent offense.

The one thing that might give the Giants a slight advantage in this game is the fact that the Patriots’ best offensive threat is banged up and probably won’t be anywhere near 100% on Super Bowl Sunday. With Pro Bowl tight end Rob Gronkowski fresh out of a walking boot that was supporting a high ankle sprain, there is a lot of doubt surrounding the up-and-coming tight end’s health coming into this matchup.

Despite the ankle injury to Gronkowski, the New England Patriots are still -3 point favorites to come out on top and win the fourth Super Bowl in the Bill Belichick era.

My Pick: Take the Patriots at -3.

Chelsea has been dropping too many points lately for a run at the English Premier League title and they’re just hanging onto fourth place in the table. They’ve been drawing too many games, dropping a pair of points each time they do. Manager Andre Villas-Boas has been making most of the right moves and substitutions, but glaring errors have hurt the club on the pitch. Many fans feel the squad is getting old, but there are plenty of youngsters here such as Juan Mata, Oriol Romeu, and Daniel Sturridge,

One of Chelsea’s biggest problems of late has been scoring goals. The only time they’ve scored more than one in a league game since December came against the woeful Wolverhampton Wanderers. They managed a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw against Swansea during the week. Manchester United suffered a rough patch with league losses against Blackburn and Newcastle, but seem to be over that now, even though Liverpool put them out of the FA Cup last weekend with a 2-1 win at Anfield. United bounced back in the league with a 2-0 win over Stoke on Tuesday.

It looks like Chelsea will likely have to play without the services of captain John Terry, who was stripped of the England captaincy this week, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Salomon Kalou, John Obi Mikel, Ramires, Didier Drogba, and Ashley Cole. Drogba and Kalou are away at the 
African Cup of Nations while Cole is suspended.

As usual, Manchester United has a pretty lengthy injury list and they’ll probably be missing goaltender Anders Lindegaard, defenders Nemanja Vidic and Phil Jones, winger Ashley Young, midfielders Darren Fletcher, Tom Cleverley, and Anderson as well as striker Michael Owen. However, Wayne Rooney is expected back in the squad after missing the last two games. Ben Amos played against Stoke on Tuesday and kept a clean sheet as both Lindegaard and David de Gea weren’t available. Cleverly and Young could possibly make the bench.

Antonio Valencia and Paul Scholes have been playing well for United lately while Fernando Torres has still been a huge bust at Chelsea. Lampard was playing well for the London club and scoring some goals for them along the way until he got injured. However, neither of these teams is really the greatest defensively and United is weakened even more each time Rio Ferdinand plays.

Chelsea v Man Utd Betting Predictions

United hasn’t won at Stamford Bridge in their last nine league games there, but have won 29, lost 22 and drawn 18 over the years. They’re also the best road team in the EPL this season, meaning Chelsea has their work cut out for them. This is a huge game for both teams, but going on recent form this could end up in a draw with both teams dropping two valuable points.

Sportsbook William Hill has the latest odds of a Chelsea victory listed at 17/10 with a Man United win at 7/4 and a draw at 2/1.

Arsenal has 37 points from 11 wins, four draws and eight losses and is winless in their last four league games with three losses and a draw. They’re five points behind fourth-place Chelsea. Blackburn has just four wins, six draws and 13 defeats for 18 points and is only three ahead of last place and two points behind 17th place Bolton. Arsenal last played on Wednesday and was held to a 0-0 draw at Bolton while Blackburn was beaten 2-0 at home by Newcastle although they had created numerous chances to score.

Blackburn will start the game off behind the eight ball as their top scorer Yakubu will miss the match as he’s sitting out the third and final game of his suspension for receiving a red card. They’ll likely play Anthony Modeste, who was signed in the January transfer window from Bordeaux, up front. They’ll likely also be playing without defender Chris Samba, who wanted to leave the team during the window.

Arsenal is starting to get some of its injured players back and Bacary Sagna should be in the squad. However, Jack Wilshere has a fractured ankle and will probably be out for the rest of the campaign. Blackburn has allowed 47 goals against this season, second-worst in the league, even though they have one of the EPL’s best goaltenders in Paul Robinson. They’ve been beaten twice by scores of 6-2 during their last five visits to Emirates Stadium, but managed to hang on for a 0-0 draw there last season. Their last win away over Arsenal was in 2002 when they triumphed 2-1.

Arsenal will rely on the league’s top scorer Robin van Persie to lead the offense while Blackburn will be counting on Modeste and David Goodwillie. Van Persie has 10 goals in his last dozen games against Blackburn. Robinson will have to be sharp in goal to keep him off the scoresheet, but he’s been beaten 53 times by Arsenal since the EPL began.

Arsenal v Blackburn Predictions

If Robinson plays as well as he can it’ll be another frustrating game for Arsenal. But look for them to take all three points in a close game, possibly coming out on top by just one goal.

The latest odds of an Arsenal win at sportsbook William Hill are 3/10 while a Blackburn win is 9/1 and a draw is 4/1.

Saturday 4th February

Stoke City v Sunderland Live on Setanta Ireland

Sunderland escaped with a draw from their FA Cup tie with Middlesbrough last weekend (tipped in this column at 11-4) and this game has a similar feel to it. An impressive home victory over Norwich in midweek lifted the Black Cats into the top half of the Premiership but Stoke are no pushover. The 12-5 on offer with William Hill for a draw looks worth a wager, as does the 9-1 freely available for a 0-0 result. Bet through the banner up top to get some nice free bets!

Manchester City v Fulham Live on ESPN HD

City stuttered to a 1-0 defeat at Everton in midweek to surrender their points advantage at the top of the league and are now set for a title scrap with rivals United. A few weeks ago they would have been relishing the prospect of a visit from Fulham but things are looking quite different now. A win is essential but Fulham should not be underestimated. 5-1 for Fulham to snatch a draw seems insulting to the Cottagers and it could be worth taking a punt at 25-1 about a 2-2 scoreline. Clint Dempsey is good value at 12-1 to open the scoring.

Also; Arsenal v Blackburn Rovers, Norwich City v Bolton Wanderers, Queens Park Rangers v Wolverhampton Wanderers, West Bromwich Albion v Swansea City, Wigan Athletic v Everton

Sunday 5th February

Newcastle United v Aston Villa Live on Skysports HD1

Newcastle were shocked by Brighton in the Cup last week but they were unfortunate and quickly bounced back to take all three points at Blackburn on Wednesday night. Aston Villa should have closed out Arsenal in the Cup but squandered a certain victory. They looked suspect against QPR in midweek, this time rescuing a point in a 2-2 thriller. Newcastle can see off Villa in some style here and look a solid bet at 11-10 for the win. 16-1 is on offer about a 3-1 home win. Leon Best continues in good form and could be the man to open the scoring at 7-1.

Chelsea v Manchester United Live on Skysports HD1

Chelsea have not really improved since their 3-1 defeat at United earlier in the season. They had chances there, notably an absolute sitter for the hapless Torres, but their defence continues to leak goals. United are hoping to be back near full-strength and will be desperate to keep the pressure on City at the top of the table. United are 19-10 to win and 11-1 to emerge 2-1 winners. Ji-Sung Park could open the scoring at 14-1 for United.

Monday 6th February

Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur Live on Skysports HD1

Liverpool have been struggling to score goals in the league but their cup victories over Manchester City and Manchester United have given them a shot in the arm. They looked like a different team when defeating Wolves 3-0 and will provide a stiff test for Spurs. Nonetheless, it could be worth taking the 11-4 about a Spurs victory with a 2-1 away win rated a 12-1 chance by Bet365. Gareth Bale did this column a couple of favours earlier in the season and can unlock the Reds defence here at 10-1.

Mauro Formica has been playing well and could get a starting spot as manager Steve Kean needs some more offense. The biggest problem for Blackburn heading into this game is that Yakubu, their top goal scorer, will be out of action due to a red card he received against Fulham. Kean did manage to sign Marcus Olsson in the January transfer window and he could be in the squad.

Newcastle started the season very impressively, but has cooled off a bit lately. They sit in sixth place with 36 points from 10 wins, six draws and six losses, including a 3-0 win over Manchester United. Manager Alan Pardew hopes to have defender Fabricio Coloccini in the lineup, but he needs to pass a fitness test. Newcastle will also be without their top scorer in Demba Ba as well as Steven Taylor. Ba is away at the African Cup of nations along with teammates Cheik Tiote and Papiss Cisse.

Blackburn will be depending on somebody to pick up the slack from Yakubu and this could be David Goodwillie, who’s scored in each of their last two games. However, he didn’t score in his first 13 matches. Blackburn has shutout Newcastle in their last two meetings at Ewood Park and still has one of the best goalies in the league in Paul Robinson. In fact Newcastle hasn’t won in Blackburn since the 2006-07 season and they haven’t won in their last six away games anywhere this season.

Predictions for Blackburn vs Newcastle

This will be the team’s fourth meeting this season. Newcastle won 3-1 at home in a league game in September. Blackburn then turned the tables in a Carling Cup win 4-3 a month later and Newcastle came out on top 2-1 at home in an FA Cup match about three weeks ago. In their last five matches overall against all competition, Newcastle has three wins and two losses while Blackburn has two wins, a draw and two losses.
Newcastle needs the points if they hope to finish fourth and earn a Champions League berth, while Blackburn desperately needs them to climb out of the relegation zone. Blackburn should be able to avoid a loss here, but they might only manage a draw, not the win they need.

Sportsbook William Hill’s latest odds show a Blackburn win at 13/8 with a Newcastle victory at 17/10 and a draw at 11/5. Bet through the banner at the top to get some very nice free bets for this game.

Arsenal sits in fifth place in the league table with 36 points from 11 wins, three draws and eight losses. Bolton is in 17th place, with six wins, one draw and 15 losses for 19 points. They’re just one point ahead of the relegation zone and have lost a league-leading 15 games so far this season. They’ve also let in a league-high 47 goals and 25 at home.

Bolton has been a thorn in the side of Arsenal over the years. The two clubs have met 66 times in the past with Bolton winning 31 of them and Arsenal just 17 times with the other 18 games being draws. In addition, Arsenals’ been pretty poor this season away from Emirates Stadium, so that should give Bolton a little bit of hope.

The three points are huge for both teams since Arsenal is hoping to catch Chelsea for fourth place in the league and a spot in next season’s Champions League. Bolton need to stay above the three teams behind them to avoid relegation at the end of the current season. A loss here for either team would seriously damage their hopes. A draw wouldn’t really do them much good either.

Bolton sold defender Gary Cahill in the January transfer window to Chelsea so that’s not going to help their immediate cause. Also, first team goalkeeper Jussi Jasskelainen might miss the game and could be replaced by Adam Bogdan. That shouldn’t really be a cause for concern though as Bogdan has played well when called upon. Ricardo Gardner will likely be missing as well, however Gretar Steinsson, Zat Knight, Kevin Davies, and Paul Robinson should all be in the squad. Tim Ream has joined the team from the New York Red Bulls and should be included.

For Arsenal, striker Gervinho is away playing in the African Cup of Nations and Jack Wilshere is having ankle problems and will likely still be out of the lineup. Bacary Sagna returned to the squad on the weekend and should be able to play.

Predictions and Betting Odds

Both teams won their last matches, which were FA Cup games on the weekend. Arsenal came back from 2-0 down to beat Aston Villa 3-2 at home while Bolton beat Swansea 2-1 at home. This should be a closer match than the standings would have you believe. However, Arsenal should use their superior talent and skill to escape with a narrow win and take three points home with them.

Sportsbook William Hill’s latest odds show a Blackburn win at 13/8 with a Newcastle victory at 17/10 and a draw at 11/5.

Seventh-place Liverpool travels to Wolverhampton on Jan. 31 to take on Wolves in an important English Premier League clash for both teams. Wolves are having a brutal year like they usually do under the leadership of manager Mick McCarthy and sit in 19th place in the relegation zone in the league and are just three points out of the basement. They have just four wins on the season to go along with six draws and a dozen losses for a total of 18 points in 22 games. Liverpool has nine wins, eight draws and five losses for 35 points and are trying to overtake Newcastle, Arsenal, and Chelsea fourth place in the table and the lost Champions League berth for next season.

Liverpool has been playing well in the domestic cup competitions this season and have recently knocked Manchester City out of the Carling Cup in a two-legged affair and knocked Manchester United out of the FA Cup with a 2-1 home win on Saturday. However, they’ve been pretty mediocre in league play and it’s teams like Wolves who usually give them trouble. In fact, they’ve only earned six points in their last six league games, meaning they’ve dropped 12 points in those half dozen games. They drew Stoke at home in that period and lost 3-1 at Bolton in their last league contest, but have managed to take 16 out of 33 away points so far this season..

Captain Steven Gerrard returned to Liverpool a couple of weeks ago and has added some attacking flair, but the club still struggles to score goals, especially with striker Luis Suarez sitting out an eight-game suspension for racist comments. Andy Carroll hasn’t done much up front and at the moment Craig Bellamy is their top scorer with five goals. There have been rumours of a Carroll swap to Man City for Carlos Tevez, but it’s not likely and with Tevez’s poor attitude that’s a lucky break for Liverpool. Carroll has just two league goals so far, but manager Kenny Dalglish can take some blame for that by hardly playing him at all early in the season. Liverpool will likely be without Lucas Leiva and Jay Spearing for the game as they’re injured.

Wolves haven’t won anywhere in their last 10 games even though striker Steven Fletcher is banging in the goals at a steady rate with nine of them on the season. Matthew Jarvis is also been playing well and has set up four goals so far. Wolves will likely be without with Jody Craddock and Jamie O’Hara, while midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong, who’s on loan at Wolves from Arsenal, could return to the squad along with Ronald Zubar. Karl Henry will miss the game with a suspension.

Odds and Predictions

Liverpool has just one win, two draws and two losses in their last five games while Wolverhampton are winless with three draws and two losses. It’d be hard to imagine Liverpool blowing this one since they already blew three points against Bolton in their last league game. Look for a close win for Liverpool.

Sportsbook William Hill’s latest odds show a Wolves win at 4/1 with a Liverpool victory at 3/4 and a draw at 12/5.

A win for City will give you odds of 1.83 at PaddyPower, click the banner on the right to bet free on this game!

City heads into the game with a three-point lead over cross-town rivals Manchester United and can’t afford to slip up. They have 54 points on the season with 17 wins, three draws and just two losses. As usually, City will be without Carlos Tevez as they’re still trying to get rid of him before the January transfer window closes and Mario Balotelli, another troublemaker won’t be playing since he’s serving a four-game suspension for deliberately trying to stamp on the face of Tottenham’s Scott Parker a week ago. Other than that, there aren’t any new injuries at City, but Kolo and Yaya Toure are both out of the country and playing in the African Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast. Vincent Kompany will return to the squad though after serving a four-game suspension for a red card against Man United.

Everton will have to play without the services of Jack Rodwell, Sylvain Distin, Leon Osman, Seamus Coleman, and Phil Jagielka as they’re all out with various injuries. Rodwell could possibly return if he passes a late fitness test. In addition, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov has headed back to Russia after signing with Spartak Moscow in the transfer window. Everton won their last game out, which was a come-from-behind 2-1 FA Cup victory over Fulham on Friday. However, they’ve been pretty bad in the league with just 26 points from 22 games, based on seven wins, five draws and 10 losses.

Everton vs Man City Predictions and Odds

Everton has won one, drawn two and lost two in their last five games with just two points in their last four matches. Man City has three wins, a loss and a draw. Everton hasn’t won a home game since before Christmas and have trouble scoring at Goodison Park. In fact, they’ve only won three games at home all season. City don’t seem to have a problem scoring anywhere and are the second-best away team in the league behind Man United. It’s unlikely Everton will be able to do enough to keep the leaders at bay, so look for a City win here.

Sportsbook William Hill’s latest odds show an Everton win at 7/2 with a Man City victory at 17/20 and a draw at 23/10. Register through the banner up top for a free bet.

Already having a win against Libya, Equatorial Guinea’s expectations have certainly changed since the beginning of the tournament. Fans expect a good result in the match against African powerhouse Senegal.

A surprise early exit could be in store for Senegal if other group results go against their favor, unless they get a much needed win against Equatorial Guinea.

As long as Equatorial Guinea can neutralize and defer the start filled attacking lineup of the lions, they might have a chance against the very weak defense of Senegal. If they do in fact defeat Senegal and Libya are beaten by Zambia, then Equatorial Guinea will find themselves deep into the tournament in the quarter-finals.

The coach of Equatorial Guinea, Gilson Paulo is not likely to make any changes to his starting lineup for the match. Senegal manager Amara Traore on the other hand will be looking to create a more balanced lineup, most likely benching team captain Mamadou Niang. Traore hasn’t found the right mix of players yet so expect to see a little experimentation in the lineup.

On paper this game looks like it would be heavily in the favor of the Senegalese, but if you take into consideration their loss of momentum and the home support and gaining momentum of tournament co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, the match should prove to be a good one to watch.