West Bromwich Albion vs Fulham betting preview

West Brom Form: LWWDLL

Despite defeat on a boggy pitch at Old Trafford, West Brom are still further up the table than they would have imagined at the start of the season. Sitting in seventh position, they have fared better than most pundits predicted preseason and their impressive home record is a major reason why. Having won seven of their ten league games at home this season they will look to maintain this impressive form and will take the game to Fulham and create plenty of scoring chances. Choose a free bet for this match here.

Romelu Lukaku has begun to show his class during recent with his raw power and pace causing troubles for some very experienced defenders and facilitating the scoring of six goals in the league this season. Comparisons with Didier Drogba may be a little bit premature but the potential is there and his aerial threat is up there with the best in the league.  Like many clubs, holding onto their best players during this January window will be imperative if they are to continue their outstanding and somewhat surprising form in the first half of the season.

Fulham Form: LDLLWL

After a fairly solid start to the season, Fulham have really begun to struggle now.  Defeat at home to Swansea means they are now in fourteenth position in the league and have gone four games since their win over Newcastle. Away games are almost written off by Fulham fans but there remain positives in their displays and Martin Jol will believe he has the players to win this game. Ruiz is on his way back from injury and his link up play with Berbatov could be key to deciding Fulham’s fate for this season. The Costa Rican leads the way for Fulham with five assists despite playing several fewer games than his colleagues due to injury.

Dimitar Berbatov leads the way for Fulham in terms of goals and has been a step up from most of his colleagues. Steve Sidwell has carried something of a threat from midfield, contributing four goals. The midfield is an area where Fulham seem to struggle; a lack of a player to carry the ball from deep and inconsistent wingers has resulted in the midfield often getting overrun. The midfield problems are fairly unlucky due to the departures of Dembele and Dempsey very late in the summer transfer window. It left a gap in the team and Jol may use any left –over funds to strengthen this department in January.

Betting Preview

Fulham have been poor away from home for a number of years now and this season has been no different. West Brom will be clear favourites for this game and will expect to win it. Head to head, Fulham can boast twice as many wins as West Brom but on Tuesday Steve Clarke’s men will not be affected by this and will expect to score a couple of goals in a winning performance.

There have been over 2.5 goals in eight of Fulham’s last ten games and this has largely been due to Fulham’s leakiness at the back. The starting line ups are always hard to predict at this time of year as the games are coming thick and fast. Should he start, Lukaku looks likely to score perhaps being supplied by a pinpoint cross from winger Chris Brunt. As far as the result goes, West Brom should really be winning this game and if Fulham’s away form this season continues then there should be a few goals in the game too.

Highlighted Bets

Lukaku anytime, 9/5 with PaddyPower
West Brom to win, 1/1 with Bet365
West Brom Clean Sheet, 7/4 with SkyBet

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Article by Ryan Moore

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Arsenal Vs Newcastle betting preview

Arsenal haven’t played a league match since before Christmas and should be refreshed as they welcome a Newcastle side who produced a spirited performance away at Old Trafford on Boxing day. Choose from over £500 in free bets for this match.

Arsenal – 7^th

Tube strikes meant that Arsenal’s Boxing Day clash against West Ham was cancelled. The extended rest could work in the Gunners favour. Arsenal last defeated Wigan one nil away from home and will look to continue momentum.

Although Arsene Wenger is under pressure, Arsenal are three points away from a Champions League place with a game in hand, and are still in the European cup as well as the FA Cup. Victory against Newcastle will keep them on track.

At times Arsenal have missed the fire power that former striker Robin Van Persie provided. With the January transfer period coming soon, a higher league position could help persuade more stars to the Emirates.

Newcastle – 15^th

James Perch and Papiss Cisse scored goals as well as a Jonny Evans old goal ensured a classic Boxing Day match. Striker Demba Ba is wanted my multiple clubs, including Arsenal, and so a strong performance could be his last for the Toon Army and attract more interest.

Newcastle hasn’t been able to hit the heights they did last season. The defeat was Newcastle’s seventh in nine Premier League games, leaving them in fifteenth, five points above the relegation zone. A stark contrast from last year, where they were pushing for European cup qualification.

Newcastle last won at the Emirates in 2010 when former striker Andy Carroll scored in a one nil victory; however the North London club have only lost four of the past twenty seven league clashes between the two sides.

Both sides will be desperate for three points as they look to kick start their season however Newcastle could struggle without injured Hatem Ben Arfa and Yohan Cabaye.

Prediction: Arsenal 2-2 Newcastle

2-2 Draw, 16/1 on Sky Bet

Demba Ba first goalscorer, 15/2 on William Hill

Newcastle lead at half-time, draw at full time, 20/1 on Bet 365

Written by Kelvin Morgan

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Aston Villa v Tottenham Betting Preview

Both Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur started the season of slowly, but in recent weeks, they have both been playing much better and in turn have been recording some fantastic results. However, after poor results on the weekend both teams will be looking to win this one. Choose a free bet for this match.

Aston Villa (LWDDW)                                      Tottenham (WWLWW)

Chelsea 8-0 Aston Villa                                            Tottenham 0-0 Stoke City

Liverpool 1-3 Aston Villa                                         Tottenham 1-0 Swansea City

Aston Villa 0-0 Stoke City                                        Everton 2-1 Tottenham

QPR 1-1 Aston Villa                                                  Fulham 0-3 Tottenham

Aston Villa 1-0 Reading                                           Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool

Paul Lambert has been heavily scrutinised at times this season for changing his team around and playing ‘kids’. However, in recent weeks he has definitely proved his critics wrong and his young stars have shown what they are capable of. The 3-1 away win at Anfield was a tremendous result which saw Villa play some very impressive football limiting Liverpool to few clear-cut chances. Unfortunately for Paul Lambert and Aston Villa they could not continue their good unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge on the weekend and a dismal performance saw them lose 8-0. Chelsea were extremely fast and clinical on the counter-attack and it seemed as if Aston Villa’s young naïve defence could not handle the counter-attack and consequently suffered, in a game where Chelsea could have scored 10.

Tottenham also come into this game on the back of a disappointing result where they failed to score against Stoke and played out a 0-0 draw. This game showed that Tottenham have still failed to improve on breaking teams down and are seemingly more comfortable when playing on the counter attack, hence their away form is much better this season. This may play into their hands on Boxing day when they travel to Villa Park as they may come up against an Aston Villa side that leave gaps open.  Spurs will hope that Lennon and Bale will be able to exploit these gaps and release front man Defoe who has shown his tremendous goal scoring capabilities this season.

After his £7 million summer transfer from Genk, Belgian forward Christian Benteke has made a good impression with the Villa fans. The striker is Villa’s leading goal scorer this season and has netted four times in his last five games in all competitions, including a brace at Anfield two games ago. After declaring his immediate future to Aston Villa the forward will be looking to keep his goal scoring run going and is 5/1 to open the scoring against Tottenham of Wednesday. Another in form striker is that of Jermaine Defoe, the English forward who has shown his true capabilities since securing a starting spot. With 9 goals in 17 Premier League appearances the striker has recorded his best start to a season in recent years.  The impressive Defoe is also 5/1 to continue his good run of form and open the scoring at Villa Park. Backing both players to score at anytime during the match may also prove to be a good bet and is widely available at 9/2.

After both teams suffered poor results on the weekend they will both come into this match in search of victory.  In recent weeks it has been evident that Aston Villa are a fast improving side and are very much a work in progress. However, their young side seem to be naïve when facing the bigger teams and are being caught on the counter attack. This is backed up by the fact they have conceded a total of 15 goals in matches against Chelsea, Man City and Man United this season. This may play into Spurs’ hands who are most effective on the counter attack when they can utilise the pace of Bale and Lennon on the wings and front man Jermaine Defoe. If Aston Villa set up in a similar way and try and attack Spurs they may be open to the counter attack, which may see Spurs run away victorious. Tottenham are a shade of odds on at 10/11 with William Hill to win the match.

Prediction: Aston Villa 1-3 Tottenham @ 14/1

Over 2.5 goals @ 8/13

Defoe to score first @ 5/1

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Chelsea vs Aston Villa betting

Chelsea take on a rejuvenated Aston Villa side who travel to Stamford Bridge aiming for their third win in eight days. Villa, who had started to fall dangerously close to the bottom of the table, have not lost since they played Manchester City on November 17^th, propelling them up the table and booking a place in the league cup semi final. Chelsea make a return to Premier League football following their trip to Japan for the Club World Cup and their crushing League Cup victory over Leeds in the week. Choose a free bet for this match.

Chelsea’s Recent Results:

Leeds United 1-5 Chelsea (Mata, Ivanovic, Moses, Hazard, Torres)
Corinthians 1-0 Chelsea
Monterrey 1-3 Chelsea (Mata, Torres, Chavez (og))
Sunderland 1-3 Chelsea (Torres (x2), Mata)

Chelsea return to Premier League action hoping to reduce the gap between the two Manchester teams above them. They sit in third, currently 13 points of the top with a game in hand – a situation that had not anticipated back in mid-October after their unbeaten start to the season.

Roberto Di Matteo’s sacking, followed by Rafa Benitez’s appointment and controversy over racism has made for a difficult time for the club, with many fans outraged at the decision to bring in Benitez. Chelsea’s inability to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League has added to their disappointment and are now left with the FA Cup, Capital One Cup and Europa League to realistically contend.

Chelsea will be almost at full strength on Sunday, with John Terry still sidelined and John Obi Mikel serving the final game of his suspension. The return to form of Fernando Torres has been a highlight in recent weeks having scored goals against Leeds, Monterrey, Sunderland (x2) and Nordsjaelland (x2). Torres to continue his goal scoring form is 11/10 with Bet Victor, with a hat-trick best priced at 25/1 with Coral.

Aston Villa’s Recent Results:

Liverpool 1-3 Aston Villa (Benteke (x2), Weimann)
Norwich 1-4 Aston Villa (Holman, Weimann (x2), Benteke)
Aston Villa 0-0 Stoke
QPR 1-1 Aston Villa (Holman)

Aston Villa have had a new lease of life in the Premier League following a run of six games unbeaten in all competitions. They have also returned to goal scoring form, bagging 7 goals in their last two games.

This has largely come down to summer signing Christian Benteke and Andreas Weimann, who have scored three goals apiece over Villa’s recent wins. Benteke has scored five league goals, eight in total, whilst Weimann has three in the league and five in total. You can get 7/2 with Sky Bet for Benteke to score anytime, whilst Weimann is 9/2 with Paddy Power.

Stephen Ireland could return to the side after recovering from illness, but Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ron Vlaar are doubtful having missed the 3-1 win over Liverpool last weekend.

Betting Preview:

Both sides have hit form at a crucial time and go into this match full of confidence. This could be a possible Capital One Cup Final tie and they’ll be excited at the prospect of getting a psychological edge with victory on Sunday.

Chelsea have scored 20 goals this month from a total of 6 games. Aston Villa are also in great scoring form with 7 in their last 2 games. Usually this statistic calls for a 0-0 draw, or at the very least a low scoring game – under 2.5 goals is best priced with Coral at 13/8.

So far this season Chelsea’s midfielders have bossed the Premier League with their skill, both in creativity and finishing. Eden Hazard and Juan Mata have six assists apiece this Premier League season, Hazard with a total of 11 in all competitions and Mata with 13. The best prices for first goal assist can be found with Boylesports, who have both midfielders at 13/2 to set up the opening goal.

Chelsea will be hoping to return to the Premier League with a convincing performance at home. Aston Villa, despite their recent away wins, have lost five games away from home in the league, scoring just seven goals, three of which came last weekend at Anfield. Chelsea could snatch this one by a goal.

Prediction: Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa – Best priced at 17/2 with Bet Victor.

Article by Jack Teague

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Swansea Vs Manchester United betting preview

The hectic English Christmas break is now beginning this weekend. Apart from the Christmas films and the Queen’s speech, football will be on the television a lot in the next couple of weeks. Top of the table Manchester United travel to Wales to face Swansea in a tough clash for the league leaders. The Red Devils could carry a nine point lead into the break however the Swans will be provide a challenge. Choose a free bet for this match here.

Swansea

The Welsh outfit have been in fine form this season under Michael Laudrup. Summer signing Michu is the star act, netting thirteen goals and costing a mere two million pounds. They also have the talents of Danny Graham, Wayne Routledge and Pablo Hernandez to note.  Dutchman Michael Vorm is still out injured and so Gerhard Tremmel will continue to stay in goal against the Red Devils. In this fixture last season United ran away winners in a tight one nil win; however the Swans have continued to improve year after year and once again will be tough opposition against Manchester United.

Manchester United

The league leaders have been in fine form in recent weeks with their strike force scoring goals from left, right and centre. Robin Van Persie has fifteen goals, Javier Hernandez has nine goals and Englishman, Wayne Rooney has scored eight goals in all competitions this season. On the other hand their defence has been below par. The Premier League’s teams are conceding the most goals ever which will please the neutral but Sir Alex Ferguson won’t be content.

The Red Devils haven’t kept a clean sheet in three games and it is hard to see them doing so at the Liberty this weekend. Serbian centre back Nemanja Vidic will be a welcomed return to the United defence however they will be without Rafael and Jonny Evans who recently signed a long term deal to remain at Old Trafford.

It will be a close game however United are in fine form recently and should take all three points.

Betting Predictions

Swansea 1 – 2 Manchester United

Michu to score first, 13/2 on William Hill.

Man Utd half-time/full time, 11/8 on Sky Bet.

Man Utd to win 2-1, 7/1 on BetFred.

Written by Kelvin Morgan

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Article by Kelvin Morgan

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Liverpool vs Fulham betting preview

Liverpool
Form: LWWLDW

After achieving back to back wins in the Premier League against Southampton and then West Ham, Liverpool fans must have been expecting more success against an Aston Villa side that have been exceptionally poor this season. However, Anfield did not witness the anticipated easy victory, at least not for Liverpool… Despite controlling most of the game, the Merseysiders couldn’t convert their chances and the classy Benteke made them pay as he scored twice and made a third for Villa. Choose a free bet for this match here.

The defeat highlighted their reliance on Suarez’s goals and when he was having an off-day, there was nobody else to step up to the mark. He is their top scorer in the Premier League this season having scored ten goals – eight more than any of his colleagues have managed. Steven Gerrard hasn’t started the season particularly well but still has more assists than any of his teammates in the league, three; this isn’t particularly spectacular and many of his colleagues are sitting just one behind him on two assists.

Twelfth in the Premier League will not be good enough in the eyes of the fans or the owners. Just over half of Liverpool’s games have gone over the 2.5 mark with most of their goals being scored in the second half of matches. A win could see the team climb up to ninth in the table and Brendan Rodgers will be expecting no less from his team.

Fulham
Form: LWLDLL

Fulham are not playing their best football at the moment and over the last few weeks they have started to fall down the table. After giving QPR their first win of the season last weekend, they are now just five points away from the relegation zone.  Top scorers Petric and Berbatov will be Fulham’s main again and each have scored five times in the league this season. The flicks and tricks of the Bulgarian have been a class apart from his colleagues at times and if he is on form he can trouble any defence in world football. Duff and Ruiz have provided the killer balls for the frontmen to work from and each have notched up five assists so far.

Fulham have been a great side to watch this season as they always seem to go for the win. This leads to entertaining and fairly open matches and is reflected in the statistic that over 80% of their matches have featured over 2.5 goals – this is well above the league average. Taking into account only their away fixtures, this drops slightly but is still well above the Premier League average.

Betting Preview

With Liverpool in twelfth and Fulham in thirteenth, this promises to be an exciting mid-table clash. Both teams will be desperate for the win but Liverpool’s home advantage will make them favourites as Fulham always seem to struggle when playing away and have averaged just 0.78 points per game. The last time the two sides met at Anfield, a 0-0 draw was played out. However, a lot has changed for both teams since then and with the firepower of Suarez and Berbatov on the pitch it seems likely that there will be at least a couple of goals. Fulham haven’t won in any of their last six away matches in the league so it looks like Liverpool will probably edge the game but their goal scoring form has been far from prolific this season, meaning a narrow victory seems likely.

Highlighted Bets

Suarez to score and Liverpool to win, 13/8 with Betfred
Over 2.5 goals, 4/6 with Bet365
Liverpool 2-1, 15/2 with StanJames

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Article by Ryan Moore

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Leeds United V Chelsea Capital One Cup Betting Preview 

The last quarter final of the Capital One Cup takes place this Wednesday as Chelsea travel to Elland Road to face Leeds United. This certainly won’t be the easy cup tie Chelsea would of hoped for and the challenge is made even more difficult as they arrived back from playing in the Club World Cup in Japan only the day before. It will be interesting to see what sort of a side Benitez picks for this tie, if the Spaniard isn’t careful then this could be the second piece of silverware they have missed out on in the last week. Choose a free bet for this match here.

Leeds

Leeds will be full of confidence going into this game and will certainly fancy their chances against what is likely to either be a much changed Chelsea side or a fatigued first team. Leeds have won three games in a row at home and have a pretty good record in the Championship having won six out of their eleven games at home this season. Leeds are also the most in form side in the Championship having won four and lose just the one in their last five games. They are priced at 16/5 on William Hill to win this match and are 9/4 to qualify through to the next round. Leeds are always a tricky opponent to face in Cup matches and at a packed Elland Road there may well be an upset on the cards. Luciano Becchio is Leeds top goalscorer this season with an impressive twelve goals to his name. The Argentinian is at 13/2 to score first and 15/8 to score anytime on William Hill for this match. Leeds have a lot of things pointing in their favour for this game, however an experienced Chelsea team will certainly make it a very difficult task.

Chelsea

Chelsea have been very hit and miss under Benitez since he took charge, just when things were starting to look up for them they found themselves return from the Club World Cup runners up to Corinthians in what was a disappointing campaign. Despite the tournament not meaning a great deal to them they will still be frustrated that they weren’t able to win it and will go into this game against Leeds slightly aggrieved. Chelsea are 5/6 to win this tricky cup tie on William Hill and a Chelsea draw no bet is 1/3. Clearly the bookies are still making Chelsea quite heavy favourites and it will take a big performance from Leeds to prove everyone wrong. There are a host of players for Chelsea that if they start could well score, you would think Rafa will elect to field a strong side to secure qualification to the next round. But there are bound to be some very tired regulars that may be sitting this one out in preparation for the game against Aston Villa on Sunday. Juan Mata has been on form this season and is at 11/2 to score the first goal and 6/4 to score anytime on William Hill. There is a strong possibility this game could go to extra time so Chelsea to qualify at 1/3 is perhaps a safer bet then a Chelsea win in normal time.

Summary

The outcome of this game will be very dependent on the side Chelsea decide to put out on Wednesday. A weakened side will certainly motivate the Leeds players and give everyone the belief that they could knock the European champions out. It should be a close game that could quite easily go to extra time in order to be decided. Leeds or draw is at 10/11 whilst Chelsea or draw is 1/4 on Skybet, both of which could easily come in. Just the draw on William Hill is priced at 5/2 which could be likely as Leeds will know the longer the game goes on for the more likely they are of progressing. This game doesn’t really suggest there will be lots of goals and on Skybet many will be tempted with odds of 6/5 for under 2.5 goals. There is no doubt that this will be an extremely tight affair and depending on the Chelsea side chosen could be a potential cup upset. Chelsea to scrape the victory 1-0 is 8/1 on Bet365 and could well be a likely outcome.

Enjoy a £10 free bet with Stan James – simply open an account and bet £10 and Stan James will give you a free £10 bet! Click here to get this offer. Make sure you also check out our betting tips section for previews of other upcoming fixtures.

Written by Max Hodge

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West Brom vs West Ham betting

West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United face off on Sunday afternoon in what is a crucial match for both sides having slipped off the pace in recent weeks. Both teams have struggled of late, especially West Brom who have lost three in succession, whilst West Ham have picked up just one win in their last four. The home side have slipped out of the European places having reached as high as third in the table this season and will aim to jump back above Tottenham and Everton who have overtaken them in the last few games. Meanwhile, West Ham have fallen back into the second half of the table with 22 points from 16 games after being leapfrogged by Liverpool following their 3-2 defeat home defeat  last weekend. Choose a free bet for this match.

West Brom’s Recent Results:

Arsenal 2-0 West Brom
West Brom 0-1 Stoke
Swansea 3-1 West Brom (Lukaku)
Sunderland 2-4 West Brom (Gera, Long, Lukaku (pen), Fortune)

Despite a sensational start to the season for West Brom, they have found themselves in a poor run of form, almost immediately slipping out of third as soon as they had got there. Losses to Swansea, Stoke and Arsenal have seen them drop to sixth and they will be desperate to come away with three points on Sunday.

A lack of goals have been a major factor in their severe drop in form, scoring just once since their 4-2 win against Sunderland three weeks ago. Shane Long has been West Brom’s leading striker this season, netting seven times this season, whilst Romelu Lukaku and Peter Odemwingie are not far behind with five and four goals respectively.

It’s been West Brom’s home form that has helped them to challenge the top teams in the Premier League winning six of their eight games at The Hawthorns. They have also conceded just six goals at home this season, bettered only by Stoke who have conceded just twice. However, all six goals have come within their last five home games, having just kept one clean sheet since September, that against Southampton over a month ago.

West Ham United’s Recent Results:

West Ham United 2-3 Liverpool (Noble (pen), Gerrard (og))
West Ham United 3-1 Chelsea (Cole, Diame, Maiga)
Manchester United 1-0  West Ham United
Tottenham 3-1 West Ham United (Carroll)

Consistency has been West Ham’s problem this season, portrayed brilliantly by recent results, beating Chelsea 3-1 only to lose to Suarez-less Liverpool last weekend 3-2. Following their promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs, West Ham have succeed expectations and have found it comfortable returning to the top flight.

Having had a tough run of games against Tottenham, Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool, West Ham will feel the Christmas period is vital to ensure they stay clear of the bottom section of the table. However, it doesn’t get much easier for the Hammers who take on West Brom, Everton and Arsenal in the space of ten days.

The visitors go into the game without Mohamed Diame who could be out for 12 weeks after he picked up a hamstring injury last weekend against Liverpool. This leaves West Ham struggling going forward with Andy Carroll also sidelined, as well as Ricardo Vaz Te, Jack Collison, Yossi Benayoun and Alou Diarra. Carlton Cole will lead the attack once again having scored just one goal all season.

Betting Preview:

With both sides desperate for a win the form book goes out of the window. Neither side have been comfortable in defence of late and you’d expect this to continue under the added pressure of this match. West Brom have only failed to score in three games this season and, with two of those coming in the last two games, there is only a matter of time before they find the back of the net. Both teams to score is priced at 8/11 with Stan James, Bet365, Betfred and Sky Bet, and over 2.5 goals is 19/20 with Bet365.

Odemwingie has been hit and miss so far but when he scores West Brom win – they have not lost a game when Odemwingie has scored this season. With Long and Lukaku also struggling to find the net it could take a good performance from the experienced striker to help West Brom back to winning form. Betfred have Odemwingie to score and West Brom to win at 10/3.

This will be a tight game between two different teams in a sticky patch of form. Both defences have struggled of late and this should continue in front of the Sky cameras on Sunday. It’s a hard game to predict and although a draw would do very little to either side, don’t be surprised if the sides cancel each other out. A draw is best priced at 13/5 with Bet Victor.

Prediction: West Brom 2-2 West Ham – Best priced at 18/1 with Stan James.

Article by Jack Teague

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QPR v Fulham Betting Preview 

Winless QPR find themselves at home against Fulham this Saturday in yet another much anticipated London derby. Harry Redknapp’s introduction as manager has yet to have the desired effect the club would have liked, having drawn all three of their matches since he has been in charge. Those games have been against Wigan, Aston Villa and Sunderland which under the circumstances you would expect them to do slightly better. However Harry is a few games into life at Loftus Road now and with pressure building this weekend may well be the first three points of QPR’s Premier League season. Choose a free bet for this match.

QPR

QPR are currently rock bottom in the Premier League and now sit eight points adrift of Villa in seventeenth. All the statistics for this game show that QPR have no chance of winning this match, they’ve only scored five goals at home all season, conceded fifteen and are yet to record a single victory. However as the old football cliché goes ‘a football match isn’t won on paper,’ and there is nothing like a derby match to spur a side on. QPR are at 29/20 on William Hill to get that elusive first win against Fulham and a win or draw double chance is at 2/5. They have really struggled for goals this season but one player who usually causes the opposition some difficulty is Djibril Cisse who is 5/1 to score the first goal and 5/4 anytime on William Hill. Despite scoring only two so far this season he is still one of their leading goal scorers and could well be on the score sheet again this weekend.

Fulham

Fulham have once again proved to be a tricky side to face this season and currently lie in thirteenth. Perhaps not an ideal position but due to how close the league table stands at the moment a couple of wins could see them easily move into the top half. They go into this game off the back of a good result against struggling Newcastle having won 2-1 and are priced at 9/5 on William Hill to do the business again against QPR. New signing Dimitar Berbatov is their top scorer on five so far this season and is the most likely candidate to add to his tally again this weekend. On William Hill he is at 9/2 to be the first goal scorer and 6/5 anytime. An interesting offer on Skybet gives you odds of 6/1 for both Cisse and Berbatov to find the back of net which will certainly tempt many. This will undoubtedly not be an easy game for Fulham and they would probably take a point if you offered it to them before the match, a draw in this game is at 12/5 on William Hill and could well be a likely result. Fulham have drawn four of their last five away games which included trips to both Arsenal and Chelsea.

Summary

Past meetings between the two all lean in Fulham’s favour. Last season QPR didn’t manage a single goal against their rivals whilst Fulham managed to net a total of seven, including that 6-0 thumping at Craven Cottage.  In fact the last time QPR managed to even get a point from Fulham was back in the year 2000 when they met in the Championship. QPR fans will surely feel that this bad form can’t last forever though and there is no time like the present to turn their fortunes around. Both teams to score for this game is at 8/13 on Skybet and over 2.5 goals on William Hill is 10/11. I think this match may be a game that goes against recent history between the two sides and may well be quite a high scoring match as Fulham have a shaky defence on the road having conceded sixteen this season. It is a game which could swing either way and really is a tough one to call. There seems to be a feeling that this may well be the game to kick start QPR’s season and a 2-1 win to the home side is priced at 8/1 on Bet365. Also a 2-2 draw seems like a realistic scoreline and is quite a tempting price at 12/1. However there is the risk that QPR will suffer the same fate as like every other game this season and lose a close encounter by the odd goal, a Fulham 2-1 win is 10/1 on Bet365. Although I think this may be the first time we see all three points claimed by QPR in a game I can see them narrowly edging.

Article by Max Hodge

Enjoy a £10 free bet with Stan James – simply open an account and bet £10 and Stan James will give you a free £10 bet! Click here to get this offer. Make sure you also check out our betting tips section for previews of other upcoming fixtures.

*Click here for all the latest odds on upcoming football matches

Bradford vs Arsenal betting preview

After coming from 4-0 down to win an astonishing 12 goal thriller against Reading, Arsenal travel to surprise quarter-finalists Bradford on Tuesday night in the Capital One Cup. Bradford will be hoping for their success in the competition to continue after being kicked out of the FA Cup last week for fielding an ineligible player. Arsenal are expected to take an experienced side to the Coral Windows Stadium as they aim to win their third League Cup trophy. Meanwhile, Bradford are attempting to reach the semi-final of the competition for the first time in their history, having previously lost in the quarter-final on three occasions. Choose a free bet for this match here.

Bradford’s Capital One Cup Results:

First Round: Notts County 0-1e Bradford (Hanson)
Second Round: Watford 1-2 Bradford (Reid, Thompson)
Third Round: Bradford e3-2 Burton Albion (Wells (x2), Darby)
Fourth Round: Wigan 0-0p Bradford

Bradford have fought hard to make it to the quarter-final stage of the Capital One Cup having held on by the skin of their teeth through four nail-biting games in the previous four rounds. They overcame Premiership side Wigan on penalties in the last round, this after they had come from 2-0 down with less than ten minutes to go to beat Burton Albion in the previous round.

They face their toughest test of the season on Tuesday night but head into the match full of confidence with just one loss since October. The Yorkshire side sit fourth in League Two, just outside the automatic places on 35 points from 21 games, and have made it through to the semi-final of the Football League Trophy Northern Section.

From their previous four goals scored in normal time of Capital One Cup matches all four have been scored in the last ten minutes, including a 94^th minute winner over Watford in the second round. William Hill have Bradford at 10/3 to score between the 76^th and 90^th minute.

In their last nine league matches Bradford have kept six clean sheets, emphasising their defensive strength, in particular in front of their home crowd where they have conceded just 6 goals from a total of 11 matches. To add to this they have the best home record in League Two, picking up 23 points from a possible 33. Low scoring games have been a theme in recent weeks and many bookies are offering 6/4 for under 2.5 goals in the game, including Paddy Power, Stan James and Bet Victor.

Arsenal’s Capital One Cup Results:

Third Round: Arsenal 6-1 Coventry (Giroud, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott (x2), Miquel)
Fourth Round: Reading 5-7e Arsenal (Walcott (x3), Giroud, Koscielny, Chamakh (x2))

Like their opponents, Arsenal have had an exciting League Cup campaign having scored 13 goals in two matches which included a record breaking 7-5 extra time victory over Reading in the last round. However, in stark contrast to Bradford, they have failed to impress so far in the league, with calls from some fans that Arsene Wenger should be sacked following just 6 wins from their opening 16 games.

They come into the match having ended a run of no win in four games thanks to a controversial 2-0 victory over West Brom on Saturday. Whilst Arsenal have disappointed in the league they have excelled in cup competitions, reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League with a game to spare.

Theo Walcott has proved he is worthy of a position at the head of the formation playing as an out-and-out striker, scoring five goals in the two Capital One Cup matches Arsenal have played. However, Arsenal will have to do without both Walcott and Giroud for the tie as they are forced to sit out with injuries. Chamakh, who scored twice after coming on against Reading, could play a big part for Arsenal – he is best priced at 8/1 with Betfred to score two or more goals.

Betting Preview:

This will not be a straightforward match for Arsenal, even when you take into consideration the goals they have scored so far in the competition. Bradford will be defensively strong on a pitch that will suit the League Two side more than their Premier League visitors, in conditions that are likely to also be in their favour. With this in mind, William Hill offer a good price for either side to win in extra time – Arsenal at 7/1, whilst the underdogs Bradford are at 25/1.

Arsenal have scored all but 2 of their 13 cup goals in the second half and are yet to score a goal before 35 minutes. It has been a similar story for Bradford who have scored no goals in the first half of Capital One Cup matches this season. Bet365 are best priced at 11/10 for the second half to be the highest scoring half.

Despite Bradford being no pushovers, Arsenal have enough talent to make it through to the semi-final for the 15^th time in this competition. Chamakh to score and Arsenal to win is at 2/1 with Betfred, and you can get 5/4 with Sky Bet for Arsenal to score three or more goals.

Prediction: Bradford 1-3 Arsenal – Best priced at 10/1 with Totesport.

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