Satyr
Paster of Muppets
Hello guys! I decided to join Premiership threads and will post my own season record from now on, let's see how I do shall we 
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Season (2007/2008) EPL record 0 W - 0 V - 0 L +/- 0 units
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Liverpool FC
Chelsea FC
You can call me a homer if you want, since I am a LFC fan, but trust me, I don't wager my money making homer calls, you will see me going against Liverpool enough times to be the judge of that personally.
Ok now that we've solved that, let's go on to the preview.
Liverpool brought in several new faces since the season started (Benayoun, Babel, Voronin, Torres, Lucas, etc) and it will take some time until all the cylinders are running smoothly. Make sure you don't overrate these guys especially not early in the season and especially not in away matches.
At the fortress of Anfield, it's another story.
I've seen the match against Villa, nothing special I have to point out, even though Liverpool did seem to be in control before Carra made an error and it cost them a penalty.
A piece of Stevie Gs brilliance won the game for the Reds. Definitely a highlight of the young season.
The game in Toulouse was very, very tricky. First of all it was very hot, Rafa once again rotated the squad leaving some of them more fresh for this clash, so he played Crouch up front, even though it was evident the big Englishman was quite lost on the field, played rather badly (not used to that from Crouchie though).
Toulouse is a weird squad, even after Voronin's wonder goal, they still didn't seem willing to attack much, one thing is: they couldn't open up too much because Liverpool would probably kill them on the counter, but come on, CL qualifiers, show some heart.
They didn't. They defended quite well but lacked any offensive initiative. Liverpool won that game in a quite routinely manner, perhaps showing they're growing as a team since Toulouse is no stroll in the park.
Some bad things have been noted as well, as I mentioned Crouch I think is quite out of form, Benayoun doesn't seem to understand the players that well yet, I remember Stevie wanted to play a double pass wit him, he didn't get it at first.
Gerrard had to be substituted but he will be fit for Chelsea clash.
I liked what Ryan Babel had to offer, a quite talented, versatile youngster, he definitely has class to play among the best.
Last season Liverpool beat Chelsea in a corresponding clash (2-0) as the Blues were in the middle of an injury crisis. Similar was noted prior to this game as Essien, Terry, Bridge, Makelele, Carvalho, Shevchenko, Robben and Ballack were battling all sorts of injuries. Latest news however say that Terry and Essien should be available, same as Makelele. Shevchenko should play but probably limited minutes.
Liverpool are playing at home, in front of their fans, and Chelsea haven't impressed anyone with their wins over Reading and Birmingham. They have the ability to change their playingstyle "on the fly", since they have a lot of quality players on the bench, but making such impacts will mostly scare lowly positioned clubs.
Mourinho's boys made a lot of defensive errors, they weren't in control of the game as much as in previous seasons. Some would say this will be the season of truth for Jose Mourinho, whether he can maintain a high percentage of wins or not, only time will say.
The fact is, Liverpool played twice away, and won quite routinely, actually were the better team in both clashes, and Chelsea just gave too much space to the opponents' respective midfields, and traveling to Anfield surely isn't "exactly what the doctor ordered". I have to take over 2 as well, since I think the line is heavily affected by previous seasons' clashes, and this could be a different year for both teams. Chelsea has already allowed 3 goals in 2 matches, and Liverpool has considerable firepower now with Babel, Benayoun, Torres, and always dangerous Gerrard.
The odds are tempting, because we could easily see both teams score in this one, which would automatically mean we get our money back, at least.
The draw is possible, but I think Liverpool are way more likely to win it.
Keep the (side) stakes a bit moderate since it's quite early in the season, so all previews and comments have to be taken with a grain of salt.
Liverpool DNB (1.76) 6 units
over 2 goals (1.93) 4 units
Newcastle United - Aston Villa
I'll be brief here. The Magpies opened the season very well and quite effectively, scoring at will and outplaying Bolton Wanderers, even though making any serious conclusions from one game wouldn't be right, I can't neglect the fact they actually played very well up front, creating lots of chances besides the goals they netted.
This will be Allardyce's first home game as "Toon" manager, and frankly I expect them to keep focused on scoring rather than protecting their own net at all cost.
Duff, Barton, Babayaro and Given are out for Newcastle in front of this clash.
Aston Villa on the other hand lost to Liverpool after tying the game in 86th minute but they shouldn't be underestimated, they have considerable talent on board, especially up front.
Aston Villa keeper Stuart Taylor has a calf problem, so on-loan Scott Carson stands by to make his debut.
The odds are definitely making me take the over in this one, I simply don't see it as a low scoring game.
Over 2.5 (2.20) 5 units
Leaning some other sides as well (Fulham, Manchester clash over 2.5) but settle for these for now.
Good luck.
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Season (2007/2008) EPL record 0 W - 0 V - 0 L +/- 0 units
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Liverpool FC
You can call me a homer if you want, since I am a LFC fan, but trust me, I don't wager my money making homer calls, you will see me going against Liverpool enough times to be the judge of that personally.
Ok now that we've solved that, let's go on to the preview.
Liverpool brought in several new faces since the season started (Benayoun, Babel, Voronin, Torres, Lucas, etc) and it will take some time until all the cylinders are running smoothly. Make sure you don't overrate these guys especially not early in the season and especially not in away matches.
At the fortress of Anfield, it's another story.
I've seen the match against Villa, nothing special I have to point out, even though Liverpool did seem to be in control before Carra made an error and it cost them a penalty.
A piece of Stevie Gs brilliance won the game for the Reds. Definitely a highlight of the young season.
The game in Toulouse was very, very tricky. First of all it was very hot, Rafa once again rotated the squad leaving some of them more fresh for this clash, so he played Crouch up front, even though it was evident the big Englishman was quite lost on the field, played rather badly (not used to that from Crouchie though).
Toulouse is a weird squad, even after Voronin's wonder goal, they still didn't seem willing to attack much, one thing is: they couldn't open up too much because Liverpool would probably kill them on the counter, but come on, CL qualifiers, show some heart.
They didn't. They defended quite well but lacked any offensive initiative. Liverpool won that game in a quite routinely manner, perhaps showing they're growing as a team since Toulouse is no stroll in the park.
Some bad things have been noted as well, as I mentioned Crouch I think is quite out of form, Benayoun doesn't seem to understand the players that well yet, I remember Stevie wanted to play a double pass wit him, he didn't get it at first.
Gerrard had to be substituted but he will be fit for Chelsea clash.
I liked what Ryan Babel had to offer, a quite talented, versatile youngster, he definitely has class to play among the best.
Last season Liverpool beat Chelsea in a corresponding clash (2-0) as the Blues were in the middle of an injury crisis. Similar was noted prior to this game as Essien, Terry, Bridge, Makelele, Carvalho, Shevchenko, Robben and Ballack were battling all sorts of injuries. Latest news however say that Terry and Essien should be available, same as Makelele. Shevchenko should play but probably limited minutes.
Liverpool are playing at home, in front of their fans, and Chelsea haven't impressed anyone with their wins over Reading and Birmingham. They have the ability to change their playingstyle "on the fly", since they have a lot of quality players on the bench, but making such impacts will mostly scare lowly positioned clubs.
Mourinho's boys made a lot of defensive errors, they weren't in control of the game as much as in previous seasons. Some would say this will be the season of truth for Jose Mourinho, whether he can maintain a high percentage of wins or not, only time will say.
The fact is, Liverpool played twice away, and won quite routinely, actually were the better team in both clashes, and Chelsea just gave too much space to the opponents' respective midfields, and traveling to Anfield surely isn't "exactly what the doctor ordered". I have to take over 2 as well, since I think the line is heavily affected by previous seasons' clashes, and this could be a different year for both teams. Chelsea has already allowed 3 goals in 2 matches, and Liverpool has considerable firepower now with Babel, Benayoun, Torres, and always dangerous Gerrard.
The odds are tempting, because we could easily see both teams score in this one, which would automatically mean we get our money back, at least.
The draw is possible, but I think Liverpool are way more likely to win it.
Keep the (side) stakes a bit moderate since it's quite early in the season, so all previews and comments have to be taken with a grain of salt.
Liverpool DNB (1.76) 6 units
over 2 goals (1.93) 4 units
Newcastle United - Aston Villa
I'll be brief here. The Magpies opened the season very well and quite effectively, scoring at will and outplaying Bolton Wanderers, even though making any serious conclusions from one game wouldn't be right, I can't neglect the fact they actually played very well up front, creating lots of chances besides the goals they netted.
This will be Allardyce's first home game as "Toon" manager, and frankly I expect them to keep focused on scoring rather than protecting their own net at all cost.
Duff, Barton, Babayaro and Given are out for Newcastle in front of this clash.
Aston Villa on the other hand lost to Liverpool after tying the game in 86th minute but they shouldn't be underestimated, they have considerable talent on board, especially up front.
Aston Villa keeper Stuart Taylor has a calf problem, so on-loan Scott Carson stands by to make his debut.
The odds are definitely making me take the over in this one, I simply don't see it as a low scoring game.
Over 2.5 (2.20) 5 units
Leaning some other sides as well (Fulham, Manchester clash over 2.5) but settle for these for now.
Good luck.
:cheers:
