Good riddance. Assuming rumours of Robinho’s imminent departure from Manchester City are true, we will see the back of an undoubtedly supremely talented player, but one who appeared to pick and choose the games in which he wanted to display his skills and those in which he was simply not interested. Whichever club they support, fans up and down the country will all agree on one thing. Players who consistently and obviously give their all, whatever the level of their talents, will always be appreciated by those that pay money to watch them, and it is a real kick in the teeth when a player comes along who seems unwilling to get mud on his shirt if he doesn’t appreciate the opposition, the weather, his manager or the stadium in which he is asked to perform. We also had a glimpse of that sort of petulance and dip in performance levels from Didier Drogba during Luiz Felipe Scolari’s regime, followed by a miraculous return to the standards we know he can achieve once Guus Hiddink took over. Give me Wayne Rooney’s desire and application any day over that sort of attitude.

Following the midweek programme, we head straight into another round of fixtures on Saturday, so here are a few snippets of information to help you on your way to making your predictions:

1) Birmingham v Tottenham: When examining the details of the admirable return to the Premier League that Birmingham have made, one eye-catching statistic is that they have still only scored nine goals at St.Andrew’s in their eleven matches so far, despite having lost only twice at home all season. They have also restricted their visitors to just six goals in those eleven matches, so Tottenham’s recent habit of creating many chances but scoring few may well continue on Saturday. St.Andrew’s has also proved an unproductive venue for Spurs recently, with just one win from their five previous Premier League visits, and I’m sure they will find it tough going to break down their hosts this time around. Low scoring draw.

2) Fulham v Aston Villa: The attacking qualities of both sides promise to provide an entertaining afternoon for the fans here, especially when you consider that both sides have scored in each of their last seven meetings at Craven Cottage. Villa have failed to win at Fulham since 2004, and their run of League games without scoring has now reached four, but they have proved with their scoring exploits in the Cups recently that such a run can surely not continue much longer, and I fancy them to gain a score draw in this one.

3) Hull v Wolves: Following their heavy defeat at Old Trafford last weekend, Hull now face three consecutive home matches in which to try and clamber out of the relegation zone, but as they follow this game up with visits from Chelsea and Man.City, the pressure is really on them to defeat Wolves on Saturday. The stats would lead you to believe that they certainly capable of achieving just that, as they have suffered only one defeat in their last seven at home (to Manchester United), whereas Wolves have only won one of their last nine away League games. At least Wolves will be aided by the addition of those household names Geoffrey Mujanga Bia and Adlene Guedioura, and even if the pair don’t settle into the team immediately, Wolves’ fans can at least have endless hours of fun trying to come up with suitable anagrams. If Amr Zaki is fit to make his debut for Hull, he will surely relish his opportunity against one of the most toothless defences in the Premier League, and a much needed home win may be the outcome.

4) Liverpool v Bolton: Every club has certain fixtures that they can usually count on for three points no matter what sort of form they or their opponents are in. For Liverpool, this is it. Bolton haven’t won a League game on Liverpool’s turf since 1954, and have lost on their last seven League visits, the last five of them without even scoring. Even Robbie Keane managed to score against Wanderers for Liverpool last season, and considering he only managed to score in three League games for the Reds, that took some doing. Home win.

5) West Ham v Blackburn: Following Liverpool’s most productive fixture on the roster, here comes West Ham’s. If I told you that Martin Allen scored West Ham’s goal the last time they lost at home to Blackburn, it might give you some idea of just how long Rovers have been waiting for a follow-up victory. In fact, that match was in 1994, and Blackburn have lost 11 of their 13 subsequent visits in League and Cup, including all of the last 10. From having no fit strikers, it looks like West Ham may soon have a potent looking forward line following the welcome return of Carlton Cole and their bid to sign Benni McCarthy. I’m sure Sam Allardyce will be looking to delay McCarthy’s switch until after this match to avoid getting egg on his unspeakable face, but I still fancy a home win.

6) Wigan v Everton: Toss up of the week. Good luck.

7) Burnley v Chelsea: Following Burnley’s storming start to the season (at home at least), misleading comparisons were drawn in some quarters to Hull’s performance last year, where the 27 points they had accumulated by mid-December narrowly helped to keep them up following a collapse in form subsequently. Unfortunately, at the end of January, Burnley find themselves on just 20 points, in the relegation zone, and in serious danger of heading straight back to the Championship together with their Championship-level manager. To be fair, only Wigan have left Turf Moor with all three points from any match so far this season, but I can’t imagine that statistic will remain valid come full time on Saturday.

8) Man.City v Portsmouth: There could be no more stark contrast in financial terms than exists between these sides. Rumours emanating from Fratton Park indicate that if January’s wages are not paid on time, we could witness a situation similar to that which affected Weymouth last season, who were forced to put out a youth side against Rushden & Diamonds following most of their players’ decision not to turn out having failed to receive their salaries, and subsequently suffered a 9-0 defeat. I should remind you that even with a first choice side out, Pompey crashed 6-0 at Eastlands last season, and I see no reason to believe they will get any joy on Sunday. The lifting of their transfer embargo has hardly helped either, if the signing of Quincy Owusu-Abeyie is anything to go by. A striker who has failed to make an impact at a multitude of clubs in various countries doesn’t strike me as an inspired choice. Incidentally, three days after Martin Luther King delivered his “I have a dream” speech in 1963, Portsmouth won at City for the last time. It seems that complete social overhaul and the emancipation of the black people of America was easier to achieve than another three points for Portsmouth.

9) Arsenal v Man.U.: Due to the relative inconsistency of the three teams realistically fighting for the title, this isn’t quite the vital fixture it has proved in past campaigns, but it should still be a tremendous open footballing spectacle for the fans. You may remember that Arsenal dominated long periods of the reverse fixture back in August, only to end up losing 2-1 thanks to a penalty and an own goal in quick succession in the second half. They have also dominated this fixture at home in recent years, with United only having managed one victory in their last nine League visits, and with a large number of United’s players failing to live up to their billing this season, Arsenal will be confident of extending that run further. Only Wayne Rooney has really excelled for United so far this season, and I can’t help feeling that without him, they would have registered more than the uncharacteristic five League defeats they suffered in the first half of the season. I’d advise waiting until the line-ups are announced to make a final decision on this one, but at the moment I’m leaning slightly towards a score draw.

10) Sunderland v Stoke: Four goals in ten away matches. That pathetic total is seriously holding Stoke back as they attempt to climb into the top half of the table, and their record at Sunderland provides no encouragement either. They haven’t won there since 1994, although it was only following the second half sending off for Matthew Etherington that they succumbed to two late goals in this fixture last season. For those of you who believe in such omens, I’ll point out that since 1995, the results of this fixture have gone home, draw, home, draw, home, draw, home. Anyone fancy the draw?

Five matches stand out to me this weekend with a view to a bet, and a successful £10 accumulator on Norwich, Notts.County, Brechin, Berwick and Man.City would return £63.37 at skybet.com

Good luck!