Weekend Football

Villa were on top form and thrashed Sheffield Utd, and we went close with Arsenal hitting the bar in the final stages, but we still had our stake returned.

The penultimate weekend of another fascinating Premiership season and while Manchester United seem destined for the title, the race to stay in the top flight couldn’t be tighter. Just five points separates as many sides and it is inevitable that two of them face the drop.

Of the quintet fighting for their lives, four have home fixtures this Saturday with only Sheffield United on their travels. And it is the Blades that should be opposed on their trip to Aston Villa.

Having struggled midway through the season, Martin O’Neill has galvanised Villa in recent weeks and they are unbeaten in seven. That has seen them rise to eleventh and, being just a point behind Blackburn, O’Neill will be keen to finish in the top half. He has been promised a significant transfer kitty for a summer spending spree and the Villa faithful would be further buoyed by a decent end to the current campaign.

While Neil Warnock knows that his side are not mathematically safe, their 1-0 win over Watford last time all but guaranteed survival and they also have a healthy goal difference compared to their other relegation rivals. Therefore, I cant help but think that some United players will feel the job is already done and the home side must be backed at odds-against. The 2.10 in a place rates as a decent punt.

At the other end, I take Arsenal, also at odds-against, in the draw no bet market against Chelsea.

The Blues, all but out of the title race, are sure to be deflated following their Champions League exit to Liverpool on Tuesday and their recent performances in the Premiership have suggested the long season is catching up with them. Should Manchester United gain at least a point against fierce rivals City twenty-four hours earlier then I think Jose Mourinho and his men would all but concede the title and they come up against a side playing some of their best football of the season. The Gunners have little to play for but Arsene Wenger would dearly love to put a spanner in Mourinho’s works and I think the home team can sneak it. A draw sees our stakes refunded.