OPENING DAY EARLY PICKS: NEWCASTLE v TOTTENHAM, FULHAM v NORWICH, QPR v SWANSEA Betfair: 13 August 2012 Reproduced with permission from betting.betfair.com. (c) The Sporting Exchange Limited. More Sharing ServicesShare | Share on facebookShare on myspaceShare on googleShare on twitter Hot on the heels of an action-packed sporting summer, the Premier League gets back under way this weekend. In anticipation of top-flight football's return, BB tipster Paul Robinson takes an early look at the Premier league odds in what will be a weekly column throughout the footy season Newcastle v Tottenham Back the draw @ 3.25 Stylish Portuguese manager Andre Villas Boas is back in English football after Tottenham Chairman Daniel Levy decided that Harry Redknapp's fourth-placed finish wasn't quite good enough. AVB hasn't been given any favours with his opening fixture as Spurs travel to the St James's Park for a clash with last season's surprise package, Newcastle United. The Magpies were strong at home last season, losing just three of their 19 matches in front of their own fans. While Alan Pardew hasn't really strengthened his squad in the summer, he has managed to hold on to prize assets like Papiss Cisse, Demba Ba and Yohan Cabaye. Spurs on the other hand have added to their squad, capturing Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jan Vertonghen in multi million pound deals, although the on-going saga with Emmanuel Adebayor has left them short up front. The draw looks fairly priced here at 3.25. I feel AVB will set up to contain Newcastle as he will be desperate to avoid defeat, yet he will know his side don't yet possess the necessary firepower to go toe-to-toe with the Geordies. Fulham v Norwich Back Fulham @ 1.8 This is my banker bet of the opening weekend with Martin Jol set to hand former no.2 Chris Hughton an opening day defeat at Craven Cottage. Fulham are traditionally strong at home and that trend continued last year as The Cottagers fell to just four defeats all season. They were prolific as well, netting 36 goals and scoring five or more times on three separate occasions. While there are still doubts lingering over the future of top scorer Clint Dempsey, Jol has bolstered his attack with the signings of Mladen Petric and Hugo Rodallega, both of whom have performed well in recent friendlies, especially Petric who has scored five times in six matches. Norwich exceeded all expectations last year with their mid-table finish, but they've lost manager Paul Lambert, and while new man in charge, Chris Hughton, is highly regarded, he certainly has a big job on his hands. The Canaries' main signing of the summer has been Championship player, Robert Snodgrass, but the problems lie at the back for Norwich. They have only added Steven Whittaker in that area, and he's a doubt through injury. QPR v Swansea Back QPR @ 2.1 QPR look set for a decent campaign under Mark Hughes after improving significantly towards the end of last year and making some shrewd signings in the close season. Junior Hoilett, Ji-Sung Park, Rob Green, Fabio and Andrew Johnson have all arrived at Loftus Road and the Welshman now has a large squad with a good dose of quality. In contrast, Swansea have not only lost their manager, but they're now without Joe Allen, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Steven Caulker, who were arguably their best players last season. Michael Laudrup has been tasked with keeping them in the Premier League but he has no experience of English football, and while he has signed Chico, Jonathan De Guzman and Michu, they don't have English experience either and could take time to settle. I'm surprised QPR are odds-against here and I can see them being too strong for the Welsh outfit who might take a while to get into top gear this season. Recommended Bets: Back a Newcastle v Tottenham draw @ 3.25 Back Fulham to win @ 1.8 Back QPR to win @ 2.1
As I said somewhere else 11/10 for us to win is an absolute steal. Shame I can't get on today 'cos I can't see that lasting till Saturday.
i Played Fulham win Liverpool win Newcastle draw 10= 123 QPR Man City 10= 22 can't wait for this weekend
The odds they are offering for QPR, Fulham and Reading seem like daylight robbery to me. I think I'll do that on a treble and different for football league
