Weekend Preview: 30th December 2006

Manchester United vs Reading

"Reading are no pushovers? Pardonez moi, but I beg to differ." - Sheena


When Reading stormed to the top of the Championship last season and won promotion with an amazing total of 106 points and only 2 losses out of 46 games, people nodded in approval but few Premiership bigwigs looked over their shoulders in fear. After all, newly promoted teams, no matter how well they did in the Championship, are notoriously poor once promoted; Sunderland comes to mind. Certainly most people thought a repeat of Wigan's fairytale season last year would be near impossible, and that it was a fluke anyway.

Halfway through the season, and Reading are sitting pretty smack in the middle of the table, safe and far away from the bottom part. It will be a while yet before they reach the "safety zone" of 40 points, but I think no one will be betting against them for that.

Despite all that, a closer look at their past performances will show that they aren't all they're cracked out to be.

Reading are now famous for managing to eke out draws with both Chelsea and Man Utd. However, besides that, they've lost to the other 2 clubs of the Big Four - a 2-0 loss to Liverpool and a 4-0 drubbing at the legs of Arsenal. At the Madjeski Stadium, Man Utd's superior possession and chances belied the final scoreline of 1-1, and only a crazy own goal from Ashley Cole/Michael Essien gave them a draw against Chelsea, after they'd lost 1-0 to them earlier in the season and ironically, through a Reading own goal. Not that I'm not thankful for that draw against Chelsea, mind!

So everywhere around me, people are going on and on about Reading being no pushovers but I beg to differ. No disrespect meant but I do feel that the draws were more or less flukes from a team that has otherwise performed admirably against the "smaller" teams. If Manchester United take their damn chances tonight, and I believe they easily can at Old Trafford, we should be able to sew up the points and maintain our 4-point lead, provided Chelsea wins against local derby rivals Fulham.

However we know how unpredictable derbies can be, so here's hoping...

Fortunately, Manchester United now have a fully-fit squad. All our long-term injury absentees like Park Ji-Sung and short-term ones like Michael Carrick are recovered, and the only minor worry we may have for tonight's match is that Paul Scholes and Nemanja Vidic will be suspended after having picked up 5 cautions each. However with a fully-fit squad, replacements are lining up thick and fast. I only hope that Wes Brown partners Rio Ferdinand instead of Mikael Silvestre, because Rio seems much more kalang kaboh if Silvestre is his partner, and anyway I'm still mad after he gave away that last-minute penalty against Wigan last week.

And I've always liked Wes Brown and think he's a really solid defender, it's just such a pity that he's always consigned to being a fringe player.

Man Utd should be able to win this match, though I think by not more than a single goal. The team knows that only a stroke of good fortune extended their lead from 2 to 4 points, and they will want to pile the pressure on Chelsea as the strain of playing catch-up is starting to show in them.


Man to watch (Man Utd): Cristiano Ronaldo. He's in such red-hot form now that anything he touches turns to goals. Expect another virtuoso performance from him tonight.

Man to watch (Reading): Kevin Doyle. The striker has 8 Premiership goals to his name, same as Louis Saha and Wayne Rooney, and no doubt his goals have helped Reading to their nice mid-table perch.

Fun fact: Steve Coppell was a Manchester United winger in the 1970s. Didn't know that? I didn't either until I read this.

Jaywalk's Encyclopaedia of Bookies' Odds says: Man Utd are giving 1.75 ball and decimal odds of 2.025. Steer clear of this. Man Utd will need to win by 2 clear goals for you to reap any benefits. Maybe because I'm by nature cautious with gambling, I think it's a little too big a risk. A one-goal winning margin seems more likely for me for this match.


Disclaimer: The above views are purely my own two-cents' worth. In other words, I cannot and will not guarantee that my predictions are accurate. If you want to bet on the game, do so at your own risk. Also, please bet responsibly and within your means regardless of how "sure thing" that game may appear to be. As the old saying goes, "The Ball Is Round". Good luck.

SPUG EPL Prediction League - Match Weekend 30 Dec 2006 - 01 Jan 2007

Sorry, this came out so late but we had a Tuesday fixture together with the fact that I was traveling. Anyway, things should be back to normal now that I am back in Spitland and just one more New Year's fixture hurdle to clear.

As with the luck of the draw, we have Liverpool on both matchdays. Definitely, a boon to the Liverpool fans here. Still it would be interesting since Liverpool is so bladdy unpredictable this season. Be sure to expect our predictions to be all over the place.

I will be watching weimeng closely this weekend as we are neck and neck for the pole position. For all you know, we may both be beaten by a dark horse from the back.

We'll see how it pans out. Let's go.

EPL35: SAT 30/12 Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool on ESPN at 22:55pm SIN/HKT

EPL36: MON 01/01 Liverpool vs Bolton Wanderers on ESPN at 20:40pm SIN/HKT

Good luck and good game!

SPUG EPL Prediction League - Match Weekend 23 - 26 Dec 2006

My vacation back to Singapore proved to much of a distraction as I allowed weimeng to close up the gap and finish even with me as co-leader.

Congrats to weimeng for the 5 points in the Fulham vs West Ham game but unfortunately for all of us, we were all floored by the excellent showing of Reading to steal a draw at Stamford Bridge.

Anyway, I am heading back to Ch1na tomorrow and will have no more carelessness this coming week. I'd be sure to pull away again. While I used to guard against TheSaint888's challenge, weimeng shall be my new target from now on.

p.s. ihawk98 & weimeng: Today is Wednesday already and the New Year's fixtures is coming in a bit too close. Please let me have the coming matches asap. Thanks.


SPUG 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) Cha_Dum_Yen (24 Sep 2006), (25 Nov 2006)
2) Bedokian (24 Sep 2006)
3) TheSaint888 (24 Sep 2006)
4) Voxeros (24 Sep 2006)
5) David.hvp (25 Nov 2006)

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)

SPUG Blackout
Also, this is a mirror for the SPUG Server where the actual prediction game is being carried out at http://www.spug.net/showthread.php?t=85183. In the event SPUG server goes down, we will automatically carry on the prediction game at this blog site.

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.

Holiday Update

Hi all!

We at The Red Half of Manchester will be taking a break for the Christmas holidays (hey, even blogers need a holiday, ok). Updates will resume on Tuesday 26th December.

We'd also like to welcome Jay back to Singapore for this duration. You've been sorely missed!

Here, Jay and I would like to wish our readers a very merry Christmas! Go paint the town red!

But remember, don't drink and drive. Walking is the best! You'll know why walking is good once you get a load of the jams along Orchard Road for today and tomorrow.

Have fun, everyone!

SPUG EPL Prediction League - Match Weekend 23 - 26 Dec 2006

Will ManUtd fans here defy logic and emotionally predict a West Ham demise this week? Or perhaps skeptics predicting the end of Curbishley's beginner's luck?

What about Reading? Will Steven Coppell's men play according to the script of a bookie trap, if it exist at all?

Well, your guess is as good as mine. Let's hear what you have to say.

Good luck.

EPL33: SAT 23/12 Fulham vs West Ham United on ESPN at 08:45pm SIN/HKT

EPL34: TUE 26/12 Chelsea vs Reading on ESPN at 09:00pm SIN/HKT

Good luck and good game!

SPUG EPL Prediction League - Match Weekend 16 - 17 Dec 2006

Despite the close scoreline in the Everton vs Chelsea match, the home side never stood a chance.

Pretty mundance affair this week and most of us scored 6 points except for 1 sentimental Everton (for obvious reasons) and limyengchuan gambling his luck to buck the trend but lost to conventional wisdom. Oh well, it was a good effort though. Better luck next time.

It was a good Saturday for me as well as Crash632, TheSaint888 where we all scored 5 points in the Liverpool game. While TheSaint888 as a result of his good Saturday showing clawed back to level with weimeng in 2nd place, I find myself pulling away to a 4-point gap at the top. Too bad, I could say the same for ManUtd.

Oh well, there will always be another week, another game.

Christmas & New Year fixtures are round the corner and again I shall leave it to ihawk98 or weimeng to decide how the picks should be.

Cheers.


SPUG 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) Cha_Dum_Yen (24 Sep 2006), (25 Nov 2006)
2) Bedokian (24 Sep 2006)
3) TheSaint888 (24 Sep 2006)
4) Voxeros (24 Sep 2006)
5) David.hvp (25 Nov 2006)

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)

SPUG Blackout
Also, this is a mirror for the SPUG Server where the actual prediction game is being carried out at http://www.spug.net/showthread.php?t=85183. In the event SPUG server goes down, we will automatically carry on the prediction game at this blog site.

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 Outlook (17 Dec 2006)

West Ham United vs Manchester United

"...(ManUtd) is sitting on a 499-Goals-Away-From-Old-Trafford record..."

- JayWalk, 17 Dec 2006

Despite the distance of 11 places between the two Manchester clubs, it was by no means an easy mauling as the scoreline would have suggested. Kudos to ManCity who fought tooth and nail till the final whistle and my respect to a worthy opponent.

Possession was more or less Even-Stevens while we were slightly better off in both shots attempted and shot-on-goal.

The pie was further sweetened when Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw with Arsenal to send us 8 points clear, only to be brought back to 5 after Chelsea cleared and won their match in hand.

For now, the race for the Premiership title is still pretty much up for grabs albeit reduced to a mere two-horse race.

It was a quiet midweek for ManUtd, except for the ECL second stage draw which we were to play our first leg away to Lille. From the looks of things, it is unlikely we are to miss the boat to the Quarter Finals again.

JayWalk The Talk: This weekend, we travel to Upton Park. A place that brings me back in time to 14 May 1995. It was the final match day of the 1994-95 season and we were trailing 2 points behind league leader Blackburn Rovers. Blackburn Rovers lost to Liverpool on the final day which means that we would win the Premiership title that year if we beat West Ham. All went well when we opened scoring to lead 1-0 before a Steve Bruce mistake allowed the home side to equalise and costing us the title.

Champions Blackburn Rovers -89 points. Manchester United - 88 points.

Well, the West Ham of today is a very different picture with manager Alan Pardew getting the boot in midweek. In his place, we have Alan Curbishley making a return to Premiership management having left Charlton Athletic a few months ago. Besides Sam Allardyce and Harry Redknapp, Alan Curbishley is the third of the 3 Super Shoe String Budget Managers that I have come to admire. I am sure Sir Alex would share my sentiment and not take this game too lightly too.

Besides, teams are often known to play harder for the new manager in the hope of impressing the new gaffer, in the order to secure their place in the club. A reminder of caution is in order here.

Good news keep coming to Old Trafford as Dong FangZhou, Rossi and Larsson are all set to report for duty in the new year. Morale is certainly on a high as Solksjaer, Smith and Park are all back to full fitness too. Only casualty left in the sickbay is Patrice Evra but he should be expected to return very soon as the injury was not as serious as we would have feared.

Ashton and Gabbidon will not be available for West Ham this weekend while Anton Ferdinand is almost certain to return to face his brother, Rio, on the pitch.

Head-to-Head-wise, ManUtd completed the double over West Ham last season but only by a goal each. However, given West Ham's terrible recent form (lost 10 in their last 13 games of which, they have failed to score in those 10 games) will certainly be counting against them. The last time West Ham beat ManUtd at Upton Park was in 1992. Curbishley didn't fare too well either against ManUtd either as the last game against ManUtd was May 2006 when his Charlton were demolished 0-4.

ManUtd, on the other hand, is sitting on a 499-Goals-Away-From-Old-Trafford record. I bet everyone in the team would be eagerly fighting to be the last foot to touch the ball when it crosses the goal line for #500.

If Wes Brown gets to play, then this would be his 150th Premiership appearance. If Brown is on the bench and ManUtd is leading comfortably, Fergie may just throw him into the pitch for that milestone in the young lad's career.

Bobby Zamora, on the other side, will be playing his 100th game for West Ham and a goal from him would mark his 100th league goal of his career. I hope not. Well, not this game anyway.

JayWalk The Walk: ManUtd has to give a 1-ball handicap and an easy 1.85 decimal odds to beat it. ManUtd's 10 league games unbeaten and West Ham's no goals in their last 10 losses in 13 games says that it should be a comfortable victory and a clean sheet.

Disclaimer: The above views are purely my own two-cents' worth. In other words, I cannot and will not guarantee that my predictions are accurate. If you want to bet on the game, do so at your own risk. Also, please bet responsibly and within your means regardless of how "sure thing" that game may appear to be. As the old saying goes, "The Ball Is Round". Good luck.

SPUG EPL Prediction League - Match Weekend 16 - 17 Dec 2006

We have had quite a number of big games over the weeks and this weekend, we mellow a bit with games in my opinion, are heading for a one-sided mauling.

I doubt if there will be big differences in our predictions this week, except everton (the bloke) who probably would not be picking a Chelsea victory. Then again, who knows? He may be right.

EPL31: SAT 16/12 Charlton Athletic vs Liverpool on ESPN at 08:45pm SIN/HKT

EPL32: SUN 17/12 Everton vs Chelsea on ESPN at 09:45pm SIN/HKT

Good luck and good game!

SPUG EPL Prediction League - Match Weekend 09 - 10 Dec 2006

Bad week for me as I find my lead of 4 points split into half and hanging precariously with only 2 points to buffer. At this rate I am going, I won't be surprised to see weimeng taking over the helm next week.

We have 3 nine-pointers this week but fortunately for me, they started outside the Top 10 and as such still have quite a bit of distance between us. Still, a congratulatory pat on the back is due to Cool402, Beaver21 and Apollo.

We also welcome back WanWei as I caught him lurking on MSN and forced him to give me a prediction on Sunday. Granted that it yielded a single point for him, we hope it is enough to get him back to the predictions.

As an added service to all, I will accept predictions via MSN (as long as it is before kick-off) at voxeros[at]hotmail[dot]com .

p.s. Eh. Nobody keeping track of the HOF anymore har?


SPUG 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) Cha_Dum_Yen (24 Sep 2006), (25 Nov 2006)
2) Bedokian (24 Sep 2006)
3) TheSaint888 (24 Sep 2006)
4) Voxeros (24 Sep 2006)
5) David.hvp (25 Nov 2006)

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)

SPUG Blackout
Also, this is a mirror for the SPUG Server where the actual prediction game is being carried out at http://www.spug.net/showthread.php?t=85183. In the event SPUG server goes down, we will automatically carry on the prediction game at this blog site.

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 Outlook (09 Dec 2006)

Manchester United vs Manchester City

"...Rooney has faded back in to oblivion of late?..."

- JayWalk, 09 Dec 2006

The game against Middlesbrough was terrible. It was a classic example of how psychology can affect an entire team. The distraction from the subsequent do-or-die match against Benfica took its toll on the team and we ended up playing like a mid-table team.

I am not going to defend C.Ronaldo just because he dons the ManUtd shirt. I say he cheated when he went down in the penalty box. No second thoughts about that. This is not the way to win games.

Saha is also another worrying factory. As he was lining up the spot kick, we all guessed that he was going for the bottom left corner. The sad thing was that we were right, even though we were fortunate enough to get a goal out of it. Do we not have a better penalty taker?

Next, we look at the stats. For the first time in a long while, we were out-paced in the Shot-On-Goal numbers. Mind you, this is Middlesbrough we are talking about and not one of the top teams like Chelsea or Arsenal. Heck, even Arsenal these days are no match of us anymore.

It's a real pity that players as talented as C.Ronaldo has no integrity. Kinda reminds me of Rivaldo during the 2002 World Cup against Turkey in the first round. These are players that are exciting to watch but they will never earn a special place in my heart.

Talking about special place in the heart. There is Paolo Di Canio. Granted that I am not a West Ham fan but his big hearted fairness display during the game against Everton in December 2000 won me over.

Click Here to watch the video clip of the incident. Now this is what I call a top class player.

Next, we turn our attention to midweek's game against Benfica. We mauled them. Shot numbers were 21 (8 on-goal) against 7 (2 on-goal).

They didn't stand a chance.

Problem is that we had to leak a goal first before everyone woke up their bloody ideas and turned on the turbo. It is most worrying that we often shoot ourselves in the foot only to have to struggle to redeem ourselves. Most times fortunately we do, but why the heart attack?

Here's the consolation, if you can even call it that: Weren't we in the same situation when we won the treble in 1999? Remember the semi final ECL game against Juventus where we were down 0-2 as early as the 11th minute, only to comeback 3-2 winners?

JayWalk The Talk: It's the Manchester derby this weekend and regardless of how far apart in the league table both teams are, the outcome is more often than not, difficult to grasp. Let me draw up the archives to illustrate this. ManUtd has not won ManCity at Old Trafford for the past 2 seasons. Both games ended with a draw and thus causing ManUtd to drop 2 points each. On paper, it seemed like 3-points were already in the bag as soon as the team sheets were released. Yet the unthinkable draw happened. Twice! (Actually, it was 3 draws in the last 4 seasons).

Solksjaer is still out but Park managed to complete the first 45 minutes of the reserves game, which coincidentally was also a United-City derby. Smith is also making great progress by scoring a goal, marking his first ever since his horrific injury. Looks like we'll be seeing them back in contention for first time selection very soon.

On the blue side, Matthew Mills and Sun are both out due to injury but I doubt if that is going to be a headache for Pearce.

In the same weekend, we have psychology at play here where Chelsea will be hosting Arsenal in the other derby of the week. The London derby should prove to be a cracker on any given day. However, I doubt if the Gunners would offer any resistance given the Henry is out injured. Still, like I said, there is something magical about derbies and perhaps this would be the opportunity for ManUtd to pull further away from Chelsea? We can only hope the Wenger do us the favour.

JayWalk The Walk: Bookies are set to make ManUtd give a 1.5 ball handicap and a unfavourable decimal odds of 2.10 to beat it. Without a doubt, ManUtd should win this and collect the 3 points but past records has shown the ManUtd has failed the overcome the handicap in 3 of the last 4 Manchester Derbies. As such, my guess is that it should have been a 2-0 stroll for us but as usual, we would probably paint ourselves into a corner (again!) by leaking a goal first, before huffing and puffing from behind to take the game at 2-1.

As a parting point to ponder, anyone noticed how Rooney has faded back in to oblivion of late? Not a good sign at all.

Disclaimer: The above views are purely my own two-cents' worth. In other words, I cannot and will not guarantee that my predictions are accurate. If you want to bet on the game, do so at your own risk. Also, please bet responsibly and within your means regardless of how "sure thing" that game may appear to be. As the old saying goes, "The Ball Is Round". Good luck.

Midweek Preview: 6th December 2006

Manchester United vs Benfica (Champions League Group Stages)

" We could have wrapped this up 2 games ago. How the hell did we get ourselves into this?" - Sheena


This week's Champions League game against Benfica is really make-or-break as after our losses to Copenhagen and Celtic, our Champions League place is hanging in the balance. For a team of United's calibre, drawn in a relatively easy group and having managed to avoid all the heavyweights, top spot shouldn't even have been a problem, much less qualification itself. But now we face a dreadful repeat of the match that knocked us out of the Champions League Group Stage in 2005 - and against the same team.

From taking a maximum 9 points in our first 3 matches and needing only a draw in the 4th to qualify, the Red Devils failed miserably and now face a potential struggle against some very tricky opponents. As it stands, here's how Man Utd can qualify - or be knocked out (from the Man Utd website):

- Draw or beat Benfica: Celtic, United qualify
- Defeat: Benfica, Celtic qualify. United enter UEFA Cup
- United must better Celtic's result v Copenhagen to finish top (Celtic lose: United need a draw v Benfica; Celtic draw: United must win)
- If Celtic win United can't finish top due to results against each other (agg 3-3, Celtic top on away goals

On paper, it doesn't seem all that tough. Man Utd only need a draw to go through, and they're playing at home.

However, Benfica are no walkover. For some reason we've never done well against Portuguese teams in Europe - Porto and Benfica are like our bogey teams. Furthermore the group is so close that a win for Benfica will mean qualification. So they will be wanting a win, they will go all out for it, and what better place for them to do it than at Old Trafford where they can have the added satisfaction of dumping Man Utd out a second time? Last season we only needed a draw as well, but we still lost to Benfica and got dumped out - bottom of the group, without even the UEFA Cup as a consolation.

A repeat of that scenario would be unthinkable, and the players will really need to be mentally prepared to handle the pressure of this match.

Hopefully Benfica's need to win will force them to open up and come attacking at Old Trafford. If they do that Man Utd will have a good chance on the counterattacks. Sir Alex cannot afford to field a weakened team in this match. Benfica have a very strong team with especially good wingers like Simao Sabrosa and a tricky playmaker in Rui Costa.

Like Wayne Rooney said after the Boro match, Man Utd have to learn how to kill opponents off and early. In a season spanning 60 games, that may not be such a handicap, but in a knockout tournament pitting you against the best of Europe, if you don't do that, you're just a sitting duck.


Man to watch (Man Utd): Cristiano Ronaldo. He often rises to these big occasions, and being that Benfica is a rival of his boyhood club Sporting Lisbon, he will be all the more fired up. He will take a lot of flak from the supporters, but that will just serve to spur him on.

Man to watch (Benfica): Simao Sabrosa. His pace and trickery cause major problems for any defence, and his talents have attracted the attention of many big clubs.

Jaywalk's Encyclopaedia of Bookies' Odds says: Man Utd is giving 1.25 ball handicap and decimal odds 1.925 to beat it. He thinks we will scrape a 1-0 win or get away with a 1-1 draw. For once, I'm agreeing with him. ;p


Disclaimer: The above views are purely my own two-cents' worth. In other words, I cannot and will not guarantee that my predictions are accurate. If you want to bet on the game, do so at your own risk. Also, please bet responsibly and within your means regardless of how "sure thing" that game may appear to be. As the old saying goes, "The Ball Is Round". Good luck.

SPUG EPL Prediction League - Match Weekend 09 - 10 Dec 2006

Great games this week as we kick off the weekend with the Manchester Derby. Granted on paper that it looks like a home victory, it kind of hard to say with a Benfica in midweek to throw the spanner in the works. Besides, the games do play out different at derbies which makes it all the more interesting to figure out.

Arsenal and Chelsea will be the other Derby in London for Sunday. Everything looks bad for Arsenal, with a Porto game in midweek and then a visit to Stamford Bridge immediately after.

Well, let's see what the predictions for this weekend will be.

EPL29: SAT 09/12 Manchester United vs Manchester City on ESPN at 08:45pm SIN/HKT

EPL30: SUN 10/12 Chelsea vs Arsenal on ESPN at 11:55pm SIN/HKT

Good luck and good game!

SPUG EPL Prediction League - Match Weekend 02 - 03 Dec 2006

The disappearance of TheSaint888 not only cost him the lead but also broke his momentum as he slipped yet another spot to joint 3rd with Cha_Dum_Yen.

While I am safely atop yet another week with a 4-point lead, it must be said that it would be a position that I won't hold for long if the rest of the folks continue to outperform.

Speaking of outperforming, congrats to weimeng, necroastr, edwinsng and alexsim for their 6-pointer haul.

Well done!


SPUG 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) Cha_Dum_Yen (24 Sep 2006), (25 Nov 2006)
2) Bedokian (24 Sep 2006)
3) TheSaint888 (24 Sep 2006)
4) Voxeros (24 Sep 2006)
5) David.hvp (25 Nov 2006)

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)

SPUG Blackout
Also, this is a mirror for the SPUG Server where the actual prediction game is being carried out at http://www.spug.net/showthread.php?t=85183. In the event SPUG server goes down, we will automatically carry on the prediction game at this blog site.

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 Outlook (02 Dec 2006)

Middlesbrough vs Manchester United

"...The 3-point lead over Chelsea was used on the Blues a week ago and a draw there ensured that we are able to use this insurance again today for a second time...."

- JayWalk, 02 Dec 2006

We were 3 points ahead last Saturday and 3 points ahead coming into this weekend's game on the back of a victory over Everton.

While everyone was saying that we squandered the chance to beat Chelsea, after leading 1-0, and going 6 points clear, I thought otherwise.

Looking at the stats, we were being dominated at home with a miserly 39% possession and weaker fire power of 5 shots-on-goals against their 7. If not for our defense (special mention to Van da Sar) and their continual misfiring of Ballack and Shevchenko, we would have lost the game. If was a lucky draw by any count, all thanks to the mind games that Fergie played on Mourihno during the week leading up to the game. We may have drawn this game but we certainly take 3 points in the battle of wits.

Problem is that coming the return fixture at Stamford Bridge, are we able to pull the double on them? Hopefully, we have 3 or more-point lead coming to that game.

Wednesday's victory over Everton is indication that we are back to business, even in the absence of Saha, Heinze and Scholes, with a whopping 63% possession and out-gunning the Toffees with 21 shots (6 on-goal) vs 8 (4 on-goal). Thus maintaining ManUtd's 100% victory record against teams in the lower half of the table this season.

Speaking of records, ManUtd also leads with the most shot-on-goal (130) as well as the dubious honour of hitting the woodwork most (11).

As much the Roman Roubles are scattered all over Stamford Bridge, it is ironic to see ManUtd leading the table with most goals scored and least goals conceded. Makes you wonder if the Chelsea superstars are earning their worth or just milking Ambramovich's money away lavishly?

JayWalk The Talk: This weekend, ManUtd travels to The Riverside Stadium to play Middlesbrough and we are remembered the humiliating 1-4 defeat a season ago. However, that does not make them our bogey team as many touted. In my opinion, that accolade goes to Blackburn Rover at Ewood Park. Fortunately for us, we cleared that hurdle with a 1-0 victory recently.

I am not sure what the team sheet will look like this week, in view of the do-or-die clash against Benfica this coming midweek. One thing for sure is that Solksjaer and Park are still out while Smith is not ready for call up. Vidic looks to be rested ahead for the Benfica game.

The Boro side aren't doing any better for Viduka and Christie are both out while Hasselbaink has gone to Charlton. That leave Yakubu, Maccarone and Euell vying for the 2 striker spots and Mendieta providing support from behind. Fortunately for us, Euell and Yakubu aren't really in good form these days while one can only speculate if Maccarone's match winner against West Ham (11 Nov 2006) was a mere fluke?

JayWalk The Walk: ManUtd has to give up a 1-ball handicap but a uphill decimal odds of 2.075 to beat it. It is hardly surprising to see these odds as all eyes are on the coming Benfica match instead than this. Another year of not making the cut to reach the second round of the ECL will have dire financial consequences for ManUtd and as such, Fergie has no other option than to win this coming match, even if it meant sacrificing this one. The 3-point lead over Chelsea was used on the Blues a week ago and a draw there ensured that we are able to use this insurance again today for a second time.

Looks to me that ManUtd's preparation ahead of midweek will hamper the goal flow at The Riverside Stadium. Hence, it looks unlikely ManUtd will beat the handicap while an accidental draw would bring the bacon home to Southgate's side.

Man-To-Man comparison and we are way out of Middlesbrough's league. Even Fergie is a proverbial head taller than Gareth "No License" Southgate.

The months of November to February has always been extremely hard on punters as results often gone awry. Main reason is due to the various teams' respective European campaign and as such, we have more banana slips then normal when teams don't play their 100%.

The verdict from me is to bet on ManUtd only if you are a supporter as I forsee a 1-0 (or 2-1) win and getting your money back. Otherwise, no point putting money out there and risking it.

Disclaimer: The above views are purely my own two-cents' worth. In other words, I cannot and will not guarantee that my predictions are accurate. If you want to bet on the game, do so at your own risk. Also, please bet responsibly and within your means regardless of how "sure thing" that game may appear to be. As the old saying goes, "The Ball Is Round". Good luck.