EPL Prediction League Match Weekend 2-3 April 2011

EPL53: SAT 2/4 Birmingham v Bolton at 9.55pm SIN/HKT

EPL54: SUN 3/4 Fulham v Blackpool at 8.25pm SIN/HKT

GAME ON!

Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
Submissions after kick-off will not be admissible. (Disqualification)

Blog Blackout
This Prediction League will be played here but if in the event this blog goes down, we will automatically carry on the league over to the personal blog of Voxeros at http://www.JayWalkOnline.com. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

EPL Prediction League

There wont be any prediction league games this weekend due to international friendlies and European Championships.

Results - Game 19 - 20 Mar 2011 EPL Prediction League 2010/2011

A very luck break for me as I was spot-on with the Chelsea-ManCity game when I was busy until I forgot to predict Saturday's game.

Congrats to Mr White and ihawk98 for leap-frogging to the top. Congrats also to Everton and Necroastr for chalking on on the Marksmen Board with me.

Kudos!

Housekeeping Notes:

All of this season's tables will be kept in Flickr's photoset. Click Here.

EPL Prediction League "Perfect Score" Hall Of Fame
Perfect Score = 2 correct-score predictions in a single weekend and hence the award of the full 10 points.

1) 8plus1 (28 - 29 Aug 2010)
2) KingMeng (02 - 03 Oct 2010)
3) ihawk98 (02 - 03 Oct 2010)
4) ollopA (16 - 17 Oct 2010)

Marksmen Board (Number of Exact Predictions)
7 Games - ihawk98
6 Games - Mr. White
5 Games - KingMen, Bedokian, Everton
4 Games - redherring, Voxeros
3 Games - 8plus1, ollopA
2 Games - cool402, ianrush, edwinsng, weimeng, necroastr
1 Game - Arrenn


Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
No points for submission after kick-off. (Disqualification)

Blogspot Blackout
The EPL Prediction League will be played here but if in the event Blogger/Blogspot servers go down, we will automatically carry on the league over to my personal blog at http://www.jaywalkonline.com/. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

Prediction League Past Winners

Copa America 2004 - WeiMeng
EPL 2004/2005 - Friday13
EPL 2005/2006 - ianrush
World Cup 2006 - EdwinSng
EPL 2006/2007 - Voxeros
EPL 2007/2008 - Cool402
Euro 2008 - Voxeros
EPL 2008/2009 - Everton
EPL 2009/2010 - ihawk98
World Cup 2010 - Raynaldo

As usual:

1) If you have spotted a mistake, please let me know where and what so that I can amend them accordingly.

2) Please check your scores for accuracy as soon as possible before I update the table during the next round of scores. Once the table has been updated, the old table will be overwritten.

3) In case you are still seeing the old table even if I have announced a new update, please refresh your browser to reload the table.

Fixture Focus - Spurs (19 March 2011)

Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United

After yet another break due to the FA Cup weekend, and with the knowledge of meeting the Spanish giants Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter final, Spurs are now back in action in the Premier League, this time against our unofficial London rival West Ham United in the first kick-off for the weekend.

Spurs had almost suffered a defenders' drought when Gallas was revealed to have a hamstring injury, but fortunately there isn't any tear so I guess he may be starting this weekend. Another good news is that Bale, who did not have a game start in the past few weeks, would have his chance. Besides our "usual suspects" on the injury list, Palacios had just joined it due to his knee injury, but it seems that we are back with almost full strength for the rest of the squad.

West Ham, as with other teams that start with the letters "B" and "W", are hovering around the relegation zone. They would be without Keane (for reasons obvious), Collison and Stanislas (injuries), but we might see their forwards Piquionne and Demba Ba starting, though they themselves are doubtful and may feature as subs.

We lost in our last meeting at Upton Park, and given our "magnanimity" with teams at the lower end of the table, this could be a game that the Hammers may relish a double over us. Still, we had lost only 1 game at the Lane (to Wigan, another "W" team), and with the 4th spot come a-chasing, this is a must win.

COYS!!!!!!!!!!!

Weekend Review - 19 March 2011

Manchester United vs Bolton Wanderers

Look like the final turn of fixtures are getting tougher, with the FA Cup semi-final against Man City and Champions League quarter-final against Chelsea. I think we should sacrifice both of them and just concentrate solely on the Premier League.

I mean, we are seriously lack of depth when more unnecessary fixtures are added and injuries are piling. A summer spree to replace goalkeeper, defenders and midfielders? You wont get to see 7 defenders playing for the rest of the season again as 2 of them are out of injuries.

The match against Bolton is one of the matches that we can pull away from Arsenal. Owen Coyle is steering Bolton to the dizzy heights of the Premier League where they can qualified for Europe next season, if they can improve their travels as well.

Man Utd Team News: Rafael, John O'Shea, Rio Ferdinand, Owen Hargreaves are out.

Bolton Team News: Sean Davis, Samuel Ricketts, Zat Knight, Jlloyd Samuel are out.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 1.25 ball handicap. Take Man Utd for the win.

Disclaimer: This review is entirely on my own views and opinion. I didn’t point a gun at you to ask you to follow. If you want to bet on this game, do so at your own risk. Pls bet within limits. Good luck.

Midweek Outlook (16 Mar 2011)

   Manchester United vs Olympique Marseille  

Secretly deep down, I was hoping we lose the FA Cup to Arsenal with the reason captured in the Plurk on the right.

Sure, it appears that we are on course for the treble but if we ask ourselves deep down, is this the team to do it?

If it were the 1999 team, I say hell yeah! This current one? This one who struggle with away games? This one who struggled to beat Crawley Town by a miserly goal?

I don't think so.

That being said, I say it is better we do not spread ourselves too thin and instead, focus on getting enough resources to accomplish the achievable tasks at hand. If we are overwhelmed, then perhaps we should sit down and see what we should focus on and what we should give up.

First on my list are the domestic cups since the payout is short of what we like. Sure, there is a nice trophy that comes with winning but the prize money is mere pocket change and a spot in the Europa League is nothing to a team who operates at the higher European Champions League level.

My original strategy, in the Plurk, would have worked except for a minor flaw. We were assuming that Arsenal was able to beat our B-team of 7 defenders. Rats.

So we now have the disadvantage of having a more hectic EPL fixture compared to Arsenal while the bright side is that we now have the psychological edge over them when we meet again at the Emirates in April, having beaten them last weekend...... with a B-team.

Coming to tonight's game, we had a disappointing first-leg failing to score any away goals. Still, with home advantage tonight which we are expected to win, we do not have to worry much.

As long as we can keep a clean sheet, we can't lose. With that in mind, we should crank up the fire power and put in a couple of goals past Marseille's net and seal the deal.

For some strange reason, Roberto Mancini comes to mind when I think of Didier Deschamps. Deschamps is the lesser of the two evil i.e. Mancini where the latter gave up the game prior to the kick-off whereas Deschamps still relish a "slim" chance.

Team sheet-wise, we welcome the return of Valencia from that horrific injury but I doubt he will make it to the starting line-up. Rooney should be up front with Hernandez while Carrick and Nani are back on active duty.

Ferdinand is still missing. Otherwise, we would have a very confident defense partnering Vidic.

Bookies are favouring ManUtd and giving the home side a 1-ball handicap and a 2.000 decimal odds to beat it i.e. we should be looking at a comfortable win since 1X2 odds is 1.48 for a home win. Punter's wagers are skewed heavily in favour of ManUtd at 78%.

My take is that we will win this 2-0 easily since no French team has ever won at Old Trafford.

JayWalk's 2010/2011 Track Record to-date (15 Mar 2011) : P101-W53-L48

- Voxeros

EPL Prediction League Match Weekend 19-20 March 2011

EPL51: SAT 19/3 Stoke v Newcastle at 10.55pm SIN/HKT

EPL52: SUN 20/3 Chelsea v Manchester City at 11.55pm SIN/HKT

GAME ON!

Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
Submissions after kick-off will not be admissible. (Disqualification)

Blog Blackout
This Prediction League will be played here but if in the event this blog goes down, we will automatically carry on the league over to the personal blog of Voxeros at http://www.JayWalkOnline.com. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

FA Cup 2011 Quarter-Finals - ManUtd 2 - 0 Arsenal

How The Japan Earthquake Helped ManUtd Beat Arsenal 2-0

I am aware some folks may be offended by this at a time when the whole world should be mourning. I apologise to those who were offended.

Image Credit: http://theonlinecitizen.com

- Voxeros

Weekend Review - 12 March 2011

Manchester United vs Arsenal

Arsenal's season is deteriorating faster than what we have imagined. They are out of Champions League, losing League Cup finalists and trailing Man Utd by 3 points with a game in hand. And they face each other tonight in FA Cup.

Man Utd's season isnt any better. They lost to Chelsea and Liverpool in away games that makes the championship wide open again. We still have Arsenal to visit and i believe that is the key fixture that will decide who is the championship winner of Barclays Premier League 10/11.

Tonight fixture, we will not be seeing key figures as they are out injured, and we might be seeing a B team match up instead.

Man Utd Team News: Nani, Rio Ferdinand, Anderson, Michael Owen, Jonny Evans, Owen Hargreaves, Antonio Valencia and Park Ji-sung are out.

Arsenal Team News: Cesc Fabregas, Thomas Vermaleen, Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabanski, Alexander Song and Theo Walcott are out.

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving 0.5 handicap. I fancy Man Utd to win the tie.

Disclaimer: This review is entirely on my own views and opinion. I didn’t point a gun at you to ask you to follow. If you want to bet on this game, do so at your own risk. Pls bet within limits. Good luck.

Fixture Focus–Spurs (Champions League, 9 March 2011)

Tottenham Hotspur vs A.C Milan   

The round of 16 is only at half time for both teams.  Spurs hold a slender but important 1 goal advantage in this tie.  And now the boys will need to complete the job by drawing or winning out at the Lane.

AC Milan will not have the services of Gennaro Gattuso as he is suspended after the head butting incident with Joe Jordan.  First choice midfielders midfielders Andrea Pirlo and Massimo Ambrosini are also not available.  Yet confidence is high as they came off a 1-0 victory over Juventus to stay 5 points clear at the top of Serie A.

Spurs should have Rafael van der Vaart and Gareth Bale back after injuries and Kaboul could be available as well.  But after Wolves exposed the defensive frailties over the weekend, we can only hope that we will do much better against an all out attack from Milan.  That said, we have been solid at home against Europe’s best and I am counting on that trend to continue.  Proceeding to the Round of 8 would be absolutely wonderful.

COYS!!!

EPL Prediction League 10/11

There wont be any prediction league this weekend due to FA Cup.

Results - Game 05 - 06 Mar 2011 EPL Prediction League 2010/2011

It's funny how the top of the table over at EPL has stalled, allowing the challengers a chance to catch up and it is exactly the same situation here at the Prediction League.

Congrats to Bedokian who leap-frogged over the Top 3 to lead the table with a 2-point margin as we head into the season's run-in.

It seems like a 4-horse race here unless the rest of us in the second tier can perform some sort of a miracle to catch up with the breakaway pack.

Cheers.

Housekeeping Notes:

All of this season's tables will be kept in Flickr's photoset. Click Here.

EPL Prediction League "Perfect Score" Hall Of Fame
Perfect Score = 2 correct-score predictions in a single weekend and hence the award of the full 10 points.

1) 8plus1 (28 - 29 Aug 2010)
2) KingMeng (02 - 03 Oct 2010)
3) ihawk98 (02 - 03 Oct 2010)
4) ollopA (16 - 17 Oct 2010)

Marksmen Board (Number of Exact Predictions)
7 Games - ihawk98
6 Games - Mr. White
5 Games - KingMen, Bedokian
4 Games - redherring, Everton
3 Games - 8plus1, ollopA, Voxeros
2 Games - cool402, ianrush, edwinsng, weimeng
1 Game - Arrenn, necroastr


Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
No points for submission after kick-off. (Disqualification)

Blogspot Blackout
The EPL Prediction League will be played here but if in the event Blogger/Blogspot servers go down, we will automatically carry on the league over to my personal blog at http://www.jaywalkonline.com/. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

Prediction League Past Winners

Copa America 2004 - WeiMeng
EPL 2004/2005 - Friday13
EPL 2005/2006 - ianrush
World Cup 2006 - EdwinSng
EPL 2006/2007 - Voxeros
EPL 2007/2008 - Cool402
Euro 2008 - Voxeros
EPL 2008/2009 - Everton
EPL 2009/2010 - ihawk98
World Cup 2010 - Raynaldo

As usual:

1) If you have spotted a mistake, please let me know where and what so that I can amend them accordingly.

2) Please check your scores for accuracy as soon as possible before I update the table during the next round of scores. Once the table has been updated, the old table will be overwritten.

3) In case you are still seeing the old table even if I have announced a new update, please refresh your browser to reload the table.

Weekend Review - 6 March 2011

Liverpool vs Manchester United

10 games to go and Arsenal drop points when they could have close the gap to 1 point. It's make to seem that our loss against Chelsea is a loss that we can shrug it off with.

And given that this is the last of the 3 critical away games before a weekend FA Cup against Arsenal. Both teams are going for the Treble, with FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League to fight for.

Tonight game against Liverpool will see Kenny Daliglish pitting against Fergie for the second time since the ill-fated Ryan Giggs goal in FA Cup 3rd round. Will Arrenn's most hated player scored against his favourite club tonight?

Liverpool Team News: Martin Kelly, Fabio Aurelio, Daniel Agger and Andrew Carroll are out for injuries.

Man Utd Team News: Park Ji-sung and Rio Ferdinand are out

Odds and Analysis: Man Utd is giving a level ball handicap. I will take Man Utd for the win tonight.

Disclaimer: This review is entirely on my own views and opinion. I didn’t point a gun at you to ask you to follow. If you want to bet on this game, do so at your own risk. Pls bet within limits. Good luck.

Fixture Focus–Spurs (EPL, 6 March 2011)

Wolves vs Tottenham Hotspur   

This fixture could not have been more appropriate at this time as both teams are intimately linked with the late Dean Richards.  He was a top quality defender who played for both Wolves and Spurs but passed away at the young age of 36 due to serious illness.  So fans all around will have a tinge of sadness as they come together for the match.

Wolves are riding a good spell at home with recent wins over Manchester United and Blackpool.  And last season, Wolves beat Spurs twice. These results will have a psychological effect on Spurs and the hope is that it will motivate us to come out with guns blazing rather than capitulating.

We know that Rafael van der Vaart and Gareth Bale will not be available for this game, and it looks as if Harry is saving both for next Wednesday's crucial Champions League game against AC Milan.  With a short break in Dubai recently, I would hope that the lads are recharged and ready to make a final assault to keep pace for a Top 4 finish.

COYS!!!

EPL Prediction League Match Weekend 5-6 March 2011

EPL49: SAT 5/3 West Ham vs Stoke at 10.55pm SIN/HKT

EPL50: SUN 6/3 Liverpool v Manchester United at 09.25pm SIN/HKT

GAME ON!

Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
Submissions after kick-off will not be admissible. (Disqualification)

Blog Blackout
This Prediction League will be played here but if in the event this blog goes down, we will automatically carry on the league over to the personal blog of Voxeros at http://www.JayWalkOnline.com. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

Midweek Outlook (01 Mar 2011)

Chelsea vs Manchester United

What an awful weekend for Arsenal. First having to lose the League Cup final, then to fall 4 points behind in the title chase as we romped to a 4-0 victory at Wigan.

Perhaps it was the first time this season, that we started to wonder if we had just ended the away-game jinx?

Well, all will be known this coming game as we travel to Stamford Bridge to claim our game in hand. A win in London would surely signal the FA to start tying the ribbons on the Premier League trophy in red, white and black? OK, let's not get carried away. We are stil in the month of March! *slaps self*

We are at the penultimate game before we start out run-in to the end of the season. Up ahead I forsee the following games to be tricky and that we should charter the waters with extreme caution.

1. Liverpool - 06 Mar 2011 (Anfield) After losing the West Ham 1-3 over the weekend, I seriously do not see them as a threat anymore. I'd probably be more worried about the away-game jinx that may still loom over our heads rather than them being real threats.
   
2. West Ham United - 02 Apr 2011 (Upton Park). Not that they are going to be formidable just because they beat Liverpool. Heck, any team can beat Liverpool these days. It's Upton Park that I fear as the shadow of the 1995 final game (where we ended up 1-1), that cost us the League title by a solitary point, is still fresh in my mind.
   
3. Arsenal - 01 May 2011 (Emirates Stadium). Possibly the game that will crown ManUtd as league champions if ManUtd can pull off a win here. Well, that is assuming that the Gunners have been able to keep pace up to then.
   
4. Chelsea - 07 May 2011 (Old Trafford) Ancelotti has already thrown in the towel earlier in February, I don't see how they would be able to muster up enough fire to want to win so badly. By May, I think everyone in Stamford Bridge is on holiday mood already.
   
5. Blackburn Rovers - 14 May 2011 (Ewood Park). Like Upton Park, this is our bogey ground. Hopefully by then, we would have enough points to spare and step into the pitch with less nervousness.

Now back to the game. I think Hernandez will have a place alongside with Rooney at the expense of Berbatov. I mean why change a winning formula?

The rest of the line up should be pretty straight forward and although Valencia has recovered, I still do not think he merits a place in the squad against a difficult team. The Bolton game after Liverpool on 16 Mar would be the earliest I foresee him making a return.
Bookies are initially giving ManUtd only a 0.25-ball handicap with a decimal odd of 2.025 to beat but shortly after the handicap was revised to 0.5-ball with a decimal odds of 1.80 to beat. From the looks of it, it seems that perhaps the inside tips are point towards at least a draw for ManUtd.

I agree with their outlook as I will be punting for a draw and ManUtd to go 5 point clear.

JayWalk's 2010/2011 Track Record to-date (28 Feb 2011) : P99-W52-L47

- Voxeros

Results - Game 26 - 27 Feb 2011 EPL Prediction League 2010/2011

Congrats to ihawk98 for catching up to co-share the lead with Cool402. Also congrats for another notch on the Marksmen Board to pull away the lead to 7 games.

Well done.

Housekeeping Notes:

All of this season's tables will be kept in Flickr's photoset. Click Here.

EPL Prediction League "Perfect Score" Hall Of Fame
Perfect Score = 2 correct-score predictions in a single weekend and hence the award of the full 10 points.

1) 8plus1 (28 - 29 Aug 2010)
2) KingMeng (02 - 03 Oct 2010)
3) ihawk98 (02 - 03 Oct 2010)
4) ollopA (16 - 17 Oct 2010)

Marksmen Board (Number of Exact Predictions)
7 Games - ihawk98
6 Games - Mr. White
5 Games - KingMen, Bedokian
4 Games - redherring, Everton
3 Games - 8plus1, ollopA, Voxeros
2 Games - cool402, ianrush, edwinsng, weimeng
1 Game - Arrenn, necroastr


Scoring System
3-Points for a correct outcome (Win, Lose or Draw)
1-point each for correct score on each side.

Double Entry
Later submission shall override earlier submission.

Penalty
No points for submission after kick-off. (Disqualification)

Blogspot Blackout
The EPL Prediction League will be played here but if in the event Blogger/Blogspot servers go down, we will automatically carry on the league over to my personal blog at http://www.jaywalkonline.com/. Please bookmark this or at the very least stay in touch with one of us as we will also be helping all stay in the loop via the various channels like MSN, Skype, email as well as SPUG Off-Topic Chat.

Prediction League Past Winners

Copa America 2004 - WeiMeng
EPL 2004/2005 - Friday13
EPL 2005/2006 - ianrush
World Cup 2006 - EdwinSng
EPL 2006/2007 - Voxeros
EPL 2007/2008 - Cool402
Euro 2008 - Voxeros
EPL 2008/2009 - Everton
EPL 2009/2010 - ihawk98
World Cup 2010 - Raynaldo

As usual:

1) If you have spotted a mistake, please let me know where and what so that I can amend them accordingly.

2) Please check your scores for accuracy as soon as possible before I update the table during the next round of scores. Once the table has been updated, the old table will be overwritten.

3) In case you are still seeing the old table even if I have announced a new update, please refresh your browser to reload the table.