neilovan

For me the smartest business this off season has come from Everton. What a move to get 47 million for Stones and pick up Ashley Williams from Swansea for 12.
 
I think Swansea will be prone to conceding the odd soft goal, while they sort their defense out. Therefor, I fancy Burnley to beat them  in a low scoring game. The 15 to 10 for the home win looks decent to me. A long shot  bet  I would take a 1-0 scoreline added to a 0-2 Man United win which is about 56 to 1.

1.   Man Utd   (Great signings in every line of the game. Mourinho is not there to come second | Mou loves the 2-0 scoreline)
2.   Man City  (All the firepower is there, just turn the engine on | Over 2.5 goal champions this season)
Top two way better than the rest for me. 6 to 10 point gap between them and the rest.
 
3.   Chelsea (Conte will be excellent for Chelsea. No better defensive manager in league | will be a top NO to BTTS bet every week )
4.   Liverpool (Klopp is a great manager, but Liverpool can't compete financially. | Great 1st half team)
5.   Arsenal ( 22 Goal per season striker problem  | too many of the 'same type' of players | To win you GOTTA Spend some cash)
6.   Tottenham (The lack of on-field leadership shown in that game vrs. Chelsea, showed me that Spurs don't have the BMT to win it).
Any combination of the above four teams in these positions. I don't think any of them have the total package needed to win the league.
 
7.   Leicester  (Midweek champions League games are going to be very disruptive for Leicester. The squad is not deep enough for this | Double Chance on opponent after midweek games)
8.   Everton (Koeman gets Everton back on track | Great home form)
9.   Stoke (Stoke were horrid away from home last season. Can they get the attacking balance right on away days?)
10.   Southampton (I don't think people understand what a solid Coach Koeman is)
11.  West Ham  ( Expect a slow start to a vanilla season, maybe a decent cup run ).
Any combination of the above five teams in these positions.  
 
12.   Swansea  (Just vanilla again).
13.   Middesbrough (Rock solid defense that has improved year on year will make them tough to beat).
14.   Bournemouth  (Howe will keep them up )
 
Six goes into three relegated
 
 16.   West Brom  (Showed awful form towards the end of last season, not winning any of their last 9 league games.).
 17.   Sunderland ( A miracle that Sunderland stayed up ... thank Big Sam. I see them really struggling under Moyes. Can you try too hard ?)
18.   Crystal Palace  ( Palace winning just 2 of their last 21 league games, only stayed up due to an impressive start.).
18.   Watford     (New manager upheaval could see them relegated ). 
19.   Burnley  (Relegated : They just don't have the firepower to stay in the league).  
20    Hull    (Relegated : A disenfranchised Owner and managerial upheaval  ).
 

1.   Man Utd   (Great signings in every line of the game. Mourinho is not there to come second | Mou loves the 2-0 scoreline)
2.   Man City  (All the firepower is there, just turn the engine on | Over 2.5 goal champions this season)
Top two way better than the rest for me. 6 to 10 point gap between them and the rest.
 
3.   Chelsea (Conte will be excellent for Chelsea. No better defensive manager in league | will be a top NO to BTTS bet every week )
4.   Liverpool (Klopp is a great manager, but Liverpool can't compete financially. | Great 1st half team)
5.   Arsenal ( 22 Goal per season striker problem  | too many of the 'same type' of players | To win you GOTTA Spend some cash)
6.   Tottenham (The lack of on-field leadership shown in that game vrs. Chelsea, showed me that Spurs don't have the BMT to win it).
Any combination of the above four teams in these positions. I don't think any of them have the total package needed to win the league.
 
7.   Leicester  (Midweek champions League games are going to be very disruptive for Leicester. The squad is not deep enough for this | Double Chance on opponent after midweek games)
8.   Everton (Koeman gets Everton back on track | Great home form)
9.   Stoke (Stoke were horrid away from home last season. Can they get the attacking balance right on away days?)
10.   Southampton (I don't think people understand what a solid Coach Koeman is)
11.  West Ham  ( Expect a slow start to a vanilla season, maybe a decent cup run ).
Any combination of the above five teams in these positions.  
 
12.   Swansea  (Just vanilla again).
13.   Middesbrough (Rock solid defense that has improved year on year will make them tough to beat).
14.   Bournemouth  (Howe will keep them up )
 
Six goes into three relegated
 
 16.   West Brom  (Showed awful form towards the end of last season, not winning any of their last 9 league games.).
 17.   Sunderland ( A miracle that Sunderland stayed up ... thank Big Sam. I see them really struggling under Moyes. Can you try too hard ?)
18.   Crystal Palace  ( Palace winning just 2 of their last 21 league games, only stayed up due to an impressive start.).
18.   Watford     (New manager upheaval could see them relegated ). 
19.   Burnley  (Relegated : They just don't have the firepower to stay in the league).  
20    Hull    (Relegated : A disenfranchised Owner and managerial upheaval  ).
 

This game kind of scares me. Both teams are filled with match winners. Anyone gets going here, and the game can be over very fast.
For me one of the biggest things the Proteas have done wrong in the 1 last 16 months is not give Miller more responsibility.
It is ridiculous to bat a guy like this two far down. Let him be in in the 14th over, instead of the 17th.
You write about the big B , but there is also the bigger M.  Miller, Maxwell, Mitchell (Marsh),  Mandesh (Panday) and Mohit (Sharma).
I think that Mitchell Johnson could be absolutely devastating in the short form of the game. 
For years the absolute spearhead of the Aussie attack. 
 
For me Bangelore, Kings XI, Gujarat Lions and Pune are the teams to beat, and this will be very close.
 
 

Kolkata v Delhi
Looking at the line ups Dehli just look so thin in batting. Bowling they look fantastic.
Each team can play a max of 4 overseas players. They could play 3 quality spinners (Narine, Chawla, Hogg)
Kolkata can choose
Narine, Morne Morkel, Shakib Al Hasan, Chris Lynn, Jason Holder, Andre Russel  seem to have a better balance.
 
While Dehli
Chris Morris, Coulter-Nile, Braithwaite, Quinnty de Kock. Imran Tahir  just don't have any batting
 
I just don't see how Delhi are gonna get big totals on the board. They seem to be skewed towards bowlers.
Regarding Dehli:  I'm not a big JP DUminy fan.
I have never seen him grab a game and win it when it counts. I hope he does'nt play.
He is a tickler and jabber and seems to waste balls in the middle overs (8-16 overs).
Maybe those players are rare, but that is why they get the big bucks.
 
Interested to see why Dehli paid 1 267 million for Pawan Negi, and if they paid 1.2 bar for Morris he has to play,
and play a bigger role.
 
For me the 1.63 for the KKR win looks more than decent.
 
Don't know what's the matter with me today. Definitely going for the KKR win, but I wrote the post like I
had been dropped on my head. 
 
 
 

Just bet against what ever I do and you cant lose

The game is in Nagpur, so it will not be a run fest.
Essentially it will be won by the better bowling unit, as batting gets nullified there.
The WI would like to keep their momentum going. I think they look very good.
They beat SA, and Gayle made 4, so they have match winners.
Mentally, I think they are perfectly suited for the shortest form of the game.  Less rigid, with a relaxed attitude.
Afganistan no chance here.
 

The game is in Nagpur, so it will not be a run fest.
Essentially it will be won by the better bowling unit, as batting gets nullified there.
The WI would like to keep their momentum going. I think they look very good.
They beat SA, and Gayle made 4, so they have match winners.
Mentally, I think they are perfectly suited for the shortest form of the game.  Less rigid, with a relaxed attitude.
Afganistan no chance here.
 

The game is in Nagpur, so it will not be a run fest.
Essentially it will be won by the better bowling unit, as batting gets nullified there.
The WI would like to keep their momentum going. I think they look very good.
They beat SA, and Gayle made 4, so they have match winners.
Mentally, I think they are perfectly suited for the shortest form of the game.  Less rigid, with a relaxed attitude.
Afganistan no chance here.
 

Regarding the Man United v West Ham game the early team news is out.
van Gaal is throwing caution to the wind. He has indicated a new formation that he
would like to play against West Ham today.
It's a 4-4-2  ( YES, I hear United fans say), with this possible line up. 
He's gone for David DeGea and Sergio Romero upfront, in a new dynamic partnership.
After all, de Gea has been United's best player all season. Lets see if he can score some goals !
He has a midfield of Rojo, Darmian, Blind and 'Mike' Smalling.
The attitude behind these selections was fourfold. 
1) Lets see if we can unearth some new talent, and maybe sneak a first half goal from an unlikely source.
2) The midfield was so bad against Liverpool, that he'll give some other players a chance to impress.
3) Blind has played every position (except Goalkeeper) this season. Let's see how he does in the hole behind de Gea !
4) De Gea has a terrific left foot, probably better than that of the man van Gaal sold-off to Fenerbache (van Persie).
The back four is a blend of, well, er youth and youth. 
He has gone for  Borthwick-Jackson , Marcus Rashford,  Fosu-Mensa and Paddy McNair 
In making Rashford the defensive linchpin, van Gaal indicated that he looks like a natural !
I goal, he's trying a new experiment and using Maroune Fellaini. His ungainly unusual  style, and crazy afro is bound to intimidate,
When asked what the F___ was going on, one of his close assistants whispered the term 'CHAOS THEORY' !
A comment questioning the line-up was met with a 'death-stare' and a demand for an apology !
Well, that's my far side rant for the week !!!
 
OK SERIOUSLY
Man United are probably  going to end their season in the next 10 days or so. The league is gone, top 4 is gone.
Champions League long gone, and Europa league probably gone next Thursday. So all they have to play for is the FA. Cup.
For a club of this stature, it's pathetic.  In Fergie's days, United barely gave the Europa league a glance, and winning third prize (FA cup) or
fourth prize (League Cup, Milk Cup and now Capital Cup) was a semi failure (first and 2nd prize was League Title and Champions League).
There is no way that this United team can beat West Ham, if they play anything like they did against Liverpool.
They could'nt pass the ball, or retain it. They had no idea what to do against the 'ball carrier pressure'
 
 
This is an easy thing to overcome, and if you do it properly, the pressing team gets beat.
You move the ball, quickly, and as the pressing team overloads an area of the pitch you switch play quickly.
The ball moves faster than the man. It's not rocket science. Eventually they run themselves into the ground chasing the ball...
 
 
In the beginning of the season, the defense papered over the cracks. Now they are conceding goals, and not scoring.
United have had 1 shot at goal in their last 2 games played. 
West Ham look okish at 4.5 for the win, but the 1.91 West Ham double chance looks excellent.
 
 
 

Hi Saimon,
 
I think that Norwich get pounded by Chelsea today.
Hiddink has Chelsea sorted out, and they are tough to beat.
They have won 3 of their last 5 away games and have conceded just 1 goals.
For me Norwich have not recovered from that crazy game against Liverpool.
They have failed to score in 3 of their last 4 games.
Chelsea win this easily.
 
Leicester v WBA
 
Everyone is waiting for Leicester to fall-off, but they keep on going.
Leicester havent conceded a gaol in 5 home games, so the NO BTTS looks good here.
Odds of 1.75
 

Leicester v Liverpool
Liverpool are so Jeckle-and-Hyde. They show no consistency.
In 10 away games they have won just 1 first half.
Crazily enough, it was against Man City 1-3.
In their last 5 away games they have scored 1 away 1st half goal.
These 5 games were against Norwich, West Ham, Sunderland, Watford and Newcastle.
Liverpool failed to score in 3 of the 5 games.

Leicester have conceded just 1 first half goal in 7 home games,
and I don't think they will concede one here.
 
This makes the over 2.5 goals a tricky bet, because you will probably need 2nd half goals to win that bet. 

Leicester are priced at 2.7 to win this game, and for me it's an unreal price. The home win here looks terrific 
 
 
Man United v Stoke
 
Surely SToke will fancy themselves in this game. Man United are just playing crap !
Slow, no belief, no confidence.
The send off van Gaal got against Saints was unreal. I just don't think United will win this.
They will play the usual first half unadventurous garbage. The crowd will get on them , which won't be good.
Stoke can easily nick this game.
Realistically they are a better team than Saints and Norwich, and both of those teams won at OT.
 
I hear the Man City fans chanting "We've got Pep" and the Man United fans reply ...
'SO what, we've got Louis" !  

Leicester v Watford
Its pretty obvious that a Leicester home game is going to produce goals. 
They lead the Premier league in goals per game average at home, with a MASSIVE 4.2 goals average. 
Their first half average goals per game is just 1.4, but the 2nd half is 2.8.
 The 2.8 average goals leads the Premier league. Next best West Ham (not even close at 2.2).

The over 2.5 goals at 8/10 looks a very decent bet here
 
Man United v WBA
 
United are just struggling for goals. It's pathetic to spend 250 million on a new squad, and then refuse to let them play.
They could have played this way with the existing squad, and saved 250 million !
They have scored just 1 goal in their last 4 games. Watching them play is ... frankly boring.
van Gaal has a crazy habit of playing everyone out of position, and endlessly tinkering with his lineups.  
They played great and demolished Everton away, and its the last time they played well.
I read a stat that stated they have the highest number of back passes in the EPL, and the lowest goal scoring opportunities. 
The natives are restless, which could be heard as they booed the Martial substitution in the CL match. Rooney scored, but to be
honest, any footballer with minimal skills would have scored that one. It was a sitter .
I have a real problem with van gaal not playing herrera and schnerlien in the same starting lineup.
For me Schweinstiger and Carrick have no legs (as indicated in the 3-0 smack at Arsenal)
 
WBA under Pulis are not doing much. Avoid relegation is the goal. They will setup difficult to beat.
 
A stat that is mind blowing for me is that in the last 5 home games there have just been 2 first half goals scored.
The average goals per game is .4 , which is the second lowest in the EPL (Watford .2 lowest)
Thus I like the under 2.5 match goals in this game at a price of 1.95
 
 
 

I wrote a post covering 4 games. It just vanished