Swings and roundabouts

Weekly Review

A £23.77 profit and a free helping of a large bunch of grapes, unfortunately sour ones.

Blackburn Rovers 3-2 Liverpool (Tip: Blackburn to win both halves -£5)

Rovers looked petrified early on and after they shipped two Maxi Rodriguez goals in the opening 16 minutes this bet never looked on the cards.

However, the hosts were offered a route back in to the match on 25 minutes. Reds goalkeeper Alexander Doni, on just his second Premier League appearance, became the fifth Liverpool player to be sent off this season after he brought down Junior Hoilett in the penalty area. Only Queens Park Rangers have had more red cards this term (seven).

After Yakubu had missed the resultant spot kick but then netted a brace, 10-man Liverpool struck out of the blue and won it in stoppage time, courtesy of Andy Carroll’s first goal in 10 games.

Liverpool 2-1 Everton (Tip: Liverpool to qualify +£8)

After Tuesday’s smash and grab victory at Blackburn, the Reds relied upon a late Carroll header again to win this one. However, Kenny Dalglish’s side we well worthy of the result.

Liverpool had exactly double (18) the number of shots as their opponents (nine), and three times the corners (six to two).

The persistent Carroll’s fine header in the 86th minute was his sixth goal attempt, but his first to find the target.

Norwich City 1-6 Manchester City (Tip: Manchester City to win +£30.77)

I tipped Tevez to make the difference and he was sensational. In addition to becoming the 18th player in Premier League history to net four hat-tricks, he cutely assisted Sergio Aguero’s first and won more free kicks (four) than any other player on the field.

After winning the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium earlier 5-1 in the season, this emphatic win completed an 11-2 aggregate win over the Canaries, which is Man City‘s biggest against any side in the Premier League era.

Tottenham Hotspur 1-5 Chelsea (Tip: Spurs to win in extra time -£10)

It is difficult to view this game objectively and statistically, baring in mind that Martin Atkinson’s decision to award Chelsea a ‘ghost goal’ and a 2-0 lead early in the second half seemed to change the direction of the game immeasurably.

Despite trailing at the break, Spurs had looked the more lively team in the first half. Rafael van der Vaart had an effort cleared off the line by John Terry and struck the post before Didier Drogba gave his side the lead with a wondrous strike – his first in four FA Cup games since netting the winner in the 2010 final against Portsmouth.

I apologise, but what happened after Mata’s 49th minute goal is very much a blur.

Mata 'ghost goal'.

Roberto Di Matteo had dismissed suggestions that his team had been at all lucky of late and there were Chelsea complaints about the FA on two counts in the build-up to this game. One, that Branislav Ivanovic received a ban for violent conduct despite only punching Shaun Maloney in the stomach and, two, that kicking off 6pm was not only disruptive to the Blues’ preparation for Barcelona on Wednesday, it also risked endangering the safety of supporters.

Maybe the idiots on Match of the Day, who week-upon-week churn out the old chestnut “they all even themselves out over the course of a season”, have been proven right. Maybe…

Without prolonging my rant any further, let’s just put this down to a freak occurance. After all it has never happened before…  Oh!

April 2011: Chelsea 2-1 Spurs. Lampard almost broke the net with this 'goal'.

Been there… done that

Big Game – £10 on 4/5 at Stan James

Liverpool V Everton (Saturday 12.30 at Wembley) – Liverpool to qualify for final

Everton are in superb form – winning four of their last five games – and currently sit one point better off than their City rivals in the Premier League table.

However, despite suffering their worst run of form in 60 years prior to Tuesday’s battling 3-2 win at Blackburn Rovers, Liverpool are a team that excels on the big stage.

Kenny Dalglish’s men proved this in January when they became the first team to win at Manchester City this season, on their way to the Carling Cup final.

Their experience then saw them sneak past Cardiff City to lift the trophy at Wembley in February – the Reds’ third consecutive domestic game on neutral ground in which they have prevailed.

Liverpool also have a big psychological edge over their Merseyside rivals when it come to recent results between the teams. In the past six meetings, the Anfield side have won four, drawn one and lost one.

Pepe Reina’s absence through suspension is a big blow for Liverpool, but it will be somewhat compensated for by the return of captain Steven Gerrard, who netted a hat-trick in the 3-0 win over the Toffees last month.

Andy Carroll’s late winner at Ewood Park could also prove very significant. Although much criticised since his £35m move from Newcastle United, he can be almost unplayable when high on confidence and that superb header will have done wonders for his self-belief.

Carroll's first goal in 10 games could be key for the big striker's confidence.

Pray for Muamba

Weekly Review

It was an excellent result in terms of Pie betting this week, with a 100% profit resulting from the £75 staked.

Liverpool 3-0 Everton (Tip: Under 2.5 goals -£10)

Barnsley 0-4 Reading (Tip: Reading to win [banker] +£47.50)

Tottenham Hotspur A-A Bolton Wanderers (Tip: Bolton (+2) to win void)

Wolves 0-5 Manchester United (Tip: Man United (-3) to win +£37.50)

However, the weekend of sport was put into perspective by the awful scenes at White Hart Lane which saw Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba collapse and suffer a shocking cardiac arrest on the pitch.

The 23-year-old was unable to be resuscitated by medical staff at the stadium and his heart remained stopped for almost two hours before finally being restarted.

He is now in a critical condition in intensive care at the London Chest Hospital’s Heart Attack Centre.

Fabrice Muamba

Greasy Anfield attack needs unhinging

Anorak’s bet – £10 on 4/5 at Ladbrokes

Liverpool V Everton (Tuesday 20.00) – Under 2.5 goals

Over the past 10 years, former centre half David Moyes has created one of the most organised teams in the Premier League. Everton don’t give much away when they are in form.

They are in form, having beaten Manchester City, Chelsea and Spurs all without conceding a single goal. In their last eight games, they have kept four clean sheets and only shipped four goals.

Meanwhile, Liverpool‘s overpriced and under-washed frontline have misfired at Anfield all season, scoring just 15 in 13 home league games.

These two have low-scoring form too. In the past 12 meeting between the Merseyside rivals, three or more goals have only been scored on two occasions.

It doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's what you do with your dancin' shoes.