As we approach the so called 'business' end of the season, the race for honours is hotting up, while the contenders for the dreaded drop out of the financially lucrative Premier League is still far from decided.
Two points separate Chelsea and Manchester United in the race for the Premier League title, with Arsenal lying third. On Sunday second play third as Chelsea host Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
The race for the fourth and final Champions League spot for next seasons competition looks like it will be between Tottenham, Liverpool, Man City and Aston Villa.
It's a particularly hectic time of year for some teams:
Man Utd and Aston Villa also have domestic cup silverwear on their minds, as they meet in the Carling Cup final at Wembley at the end of this month.
Chelsea, Man Utd, and Arsenal also have 1st leg Champions League fixtures coming up in ten days time, with the 2nd legs in early to mid March.
Meanwhile Everton, Liverpool and Fulham have two legged ties coming up this month in their last of 32 round of the UEFA Europa League.
At the other end of the Premier League table Portsmouth are being slowly cast adrift, and have well documented problems off the field as well as on it.
Current boss Avram Grant needs to provide some divine inspiration if he is to close the six point gap that separates them from safety.
This weekend struggling Pompey travel to Old Trafford to face Man Utd - a daunting task at the best of times!
Newly promoted Burnley along with Hull occupy the other two relegation positions at present, but only three points separate them and Wigan in 14th position, so it looks like it's going to be 'squeaky bum' time right down to the final games of the season for them, along with the likes of Wolves, Bolton and West Ham.
To add into the mix the fact that Chelsea, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Man City, Wigan, Bolton and Portsmouth are still in this seasons F.A Cup, and their 5th round ties are to be played next weekend simply means there is no let up for any team at present, whatever their league position!
What remains to be seen is how well the various managers and their coaching staff along with the healing hands of their respective physios can manage their squads, rotate them effectively and nurse their injuried players through to the end of the season, whilst being able to juggle and prioritise their fixtures, and in doing so succeed in reaching their individual goals!
Obviously some Premier League teams have the budget to sustain sufficiently large enough squads to nullify this problem as best possible. However with the transfer window now shut, and only loan deals possible it could be as much down to luck and good fortune on the injury front, as anything else, as to which teams succeed or fail come May.
Meanwhile there is a full programme of English Premier League fixtures this weekend, so here is your chance to catch up on which players are out injured and who will be fit to play for their clubs.
Click on the 'link' to find out the latest on your Club's injury worries, and how soon it will be before some of your teams players will be back in action.
Hi, my name is Tom Mallows, online sports writer with Betfair.
I am guest writing on this blog where I shall be previewing all the weekend games in The Championship along with the Carling Cup Final.
In addition, I will also be looking in detail at a couple of the weekends LIVE TV games.
Every fortnight, I will bring you all the latest football odds, preview the biggest matches, and hopefully try and win you some cash with my 'best bet' football tips.
A fortnight ago I had a 4 home win multiple bet come in, (see my article on 12th Feb) as Birmingham, Bristol City, Preston & Arsenal ALL won their respective games as I predicted.
'My tip of the weekend' was in the FA Cup tie between Coventry and Blackburn. I fancied the Sky Blues to turn over their Premier League opponents 2-1 at Ewood Park at odds of 20/1, and all was going swimmingly until Rovers' Chris Samba scored an equalizer in the third minute of injury time. C'est la vie!
This week the Championship returns with a full set of fixtures along with a Wembley date for Man Utd and Spurs. Here’s my pick of the action:
Carling Cup Final - Man Utd v Tottenham
Sunday 1st March KO 16:00 LIVE ON SKY
Go to Betfair for all the latest football betting on the 2009 Carling Cup Final.
With the World Club Championship already in the bag, United take their second step towards an unprecedented quadruple on Sunday with a clash against Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham. The London club face a battle just to stay in the Premier League and after playing two games already this week, you could forgive Redknapp for not seeing this as a priority.
Current Match Odds:
Man Utd 4/9 Tottenham 9/4.
Scorecast:
Man Utd 1-0 13/2 2-0 13/2 3-0 15/1
Tottenham 1-0 12/1 2-0 37/1 3-0 89/1
My 'best bet' prediction:
I’m sure Spurs will put up a brave fight and will not relinquish their hold on the Cup easily, but I think United have to much quality for Spurs all over the park and I can't see an upset on Sunday.
Man Utd 2-1 Tottenham @ 8-1
Sheff Utd v Birmingham
Sunday 1st March KO 12:15 LIVE ON SKY
Alex McLeish’s Birmingham need to re-discover their shooting boots if they are to secure automatic promotion after firing blanks against Palace and Coventry in recent weeks. Sheff Utd are in the hunt for a play-off place, but have struggled to find any consistency this year.
Current Match Odds:
Sheff Utd 6/4 The Draw 12/5 Birmingham 9/4
Scorecast:
Sheff Utd 1-0 7/1 2-0 12/1 3-0 30/1
Birmingham 1-0 17/2 2-0 16/1 3-0 49/1
The Draw 0-0 9/1 1-1 6/1 2-2 17/1
My 'best bet' prediction:
Birmingham are nine points and five places better off than their opponents and despite their striking woes I’m backing them to come away with a narrow win.
Sheff Utd 0-1 Birmingham @ 17/2
The best of the rest:
Fancy a sections list this weekend?
A multiple bet can win you some 'serious' cash.
Here are my tips for this weekend’s matches:
Home Wins:
Bristol City v Blackpool
Burnley v Sheff Wed
Reading v Nottm Forest
Swansea v Charlton
Wolverhampton v Plymouth
Away Wins:
Doncaster v Derby
Barnsley v QPR
Watford v Crystal Palace
Southampton v Cardiff
Draws:
Preston v Ipswich
Norwich v Coventry
My Tip Of The Weekend:
Neil Warnock's Palace make the short trip to Vicarage Road on Saturday, to take on a recently rejuvenated Watford side under the stewardship of Brendan Rogers. However after holding Birmingham to a goalless draw on Tuesday night, I fancy 'The Eagles' to take all three points.
Palace to win 2-0 at decent odds of 18/1.
