Money, eh? While it can buy an abundance of international players for a football club, it sure as hell can’t guarantee you attractive football and astute tactics, as fans of both Liverpool and Man.City have discovered to their cost over recent weeks. While I was obviously pleased to collect the gift provided by last week’s advice to back under three goals in the terribly tedious “match of the day” at Eastlands on Sunday, I am at a loss to explain why neither Rafa Benitez nor Roberto Mancini seems keen for their respective sides to display the sort of attacking flair for which they are renowned, or to take any risks at all in their pursuit of the fourth Champions League spot. Since winning his opening four matches in charge, Mancini seems to have discouraged his team’s exciting forward play in favour of defensive solidity, with no subsequent improvement in results, while Benitez has presided over a spell during which his side have been involved in 0-0 or 1-0 scorelines five times in their last six matches, and have failed to score more than twice in any of their last 29 matches. That made it quite pleasing for the neutral to see Tottenham move into fourth following their win at Wigan, as they are at least having a go and providing regular entertainment for the fans. We can only hope that he return of Fernando Torres and Carlos Tevez will improve the spectacle in the coming weeks, but if the managers are set in their ways, I’m not hopeful.

Three of the four sides involved in the battle mentioned above have the opportunity this coming weekend to leave Villa behind at least temporarily as Martin O’Neill’s side face Man.United in the League Cup final on Sunday, but Saturday’s opening fixture may result in another eye-opener for Roberto Mancini:

1) Chelsea v Man.City: I wonder what City’s tactics will be for this one? If Mancini decides to continue trying to keep things tight and showing little ambition going forward, I can only imagine that his side will continue their embarrassing run at Stamford Bridge, where they have failed to score since Paul Dickov’s late consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat back in 2000. They have suffered six defeats to nil since then, and achieved just one goalless draw, and even though Chelsea are not the invincible side they seemed to be earlier in the season, they should be able to find a way through and take the points on Saturday, particularly with the return of the driving force of Frank Lampard from illness. 

2) Birmingham v Wigan: We have seen it so often in the past (remember Charlton every year?) that a team of which little is expected excels itself during the winter months, and looks set for an unexpected assault on a European place, only to drop away in the second half of the season, and end the campaign tamely meandering towards the lower reaches. Two consecutive defeats by no means constitutes that sort of situation just yet for Birmingham, but Alex McLeish will certainly need to be aware of that possibility while keeping his players’ minds on the job as they seek to return to winning ways. This fixture provides an ideal opportunity to do just that, as Wigan have never won at St.Andrew’s, and approach the match in poor form, not having won in their last eight in League and Cup. At least Wigan won’t have to worry about their pitiful pitch for this match, but there are valid excuses for City’s two recent defeats at West Ham and Fulham, and I’m sure they can take advantage of Wigan’s current malaise.

3) Bolton v Wolves: Many neutrals including myself have made the possibly incorrect assumption during the past couple of months that it will just be a matter of time before Bolton are pulling themselves away from the bottom of the table, but as the winless weeks pass, the situation is becoming more and more concerning for Wanderers. Only one win in their last ten in the League is bad enough, but if I was Owen Coyle, what would really concern me (other than the possibility of finishing below Burnley) is the fact that they haven’t even scored in their last five League matches, which is not altogether surprising when you consider the regular presence of the utterly hopeless Johan Elmander in their side. It is not difficult to see why many football clubs find themselves in such financial turmoil when fees of £10 million plus ridiculous salaries are wasted on players with so little to offer. One League goal is all he has managed (and looked like managing) so far, and that was in a 5-1 defeat at Villa, so I would certainly suggest an urgent rethink of his striking options by Owen Coyle. As for this match, Wolves haven’t won any of their last six League visits to Bolton, and, while I can’t see them winning this one either, they may well be able to hold their hosts to a 1-1 draw, keeping both sides well in touch with the Championship.

4) Burnley v Portsmouth: Blimey, with the line-up of fixtures we face this weekend, there is quite fierce competition for the final slot on “Match of the Day” on Saturday night. The only quality that I think this match will have over the previous ones mentioned is goals due to the fact that neither side knows (or seems to care) how to defend. Burnley will shortly pass the all-time record for the number of away goals conceded in a 38 match season, so at least they have the comfort of a relatively decent home record to protect against Pompey’s dead men walking. The Clarets haven’t managed a home victory over Portsmouth in the five League and Cup renewals since 1982, but this match is of such importance to them that I can’t imagine them letting the opportunity to take three vital points slip. The scorer of Pompey’s winning goal on their last visit to Turf Moor in the League Cup in 2007 was David Nugent, who will be itching to score in this one, but whether he does or not, I think a nervy 2-1 home win is not out of the question, which would provide an even sadder footnote if this is to be Portsmouth’s final match.

5) Stoke v Arsenal: I’m not sure if Arsene Wenger will even bother to turn up for this one as he so obviously detests Stoke’s style and attitude, the city, the stadium, and probably even their hippopotamus mascots. That situation is made even worse by the fact that his team have been thoroughly embarrassed there on their last two visits. In fact, Arsenal have won only once at Stoke in their last seven visits since 1982, and with his defence seemingly unable to find a way to deter Stoke’s bombardment from the touchlines having conceded direct from Rory Delap’s throw-ins on their last two visits, it is difficult to see them succeeding this time around either. While you would have to fancy the Gunners to find the net due to their undeniable talents in midfield and attack, the doubts surrounding their solidity at the back lead me to conclude that Stoke may well take a point or three to continue their admirable season.

6) Tottenham v Everton: Following victories over Chelsea and Man.United, Everton will head to White Hart Lane oozing with confident thoughts of continuing their surge up the table, and looking at previous results of this fixture can only provide further encouragement. Everton have won on their last three League visits to Tottenham, and having only lost one of their last twelve League matches, it really would be no surprise to see them take advantage of Tottenham’s inconsistency. Whatever happens, though, I’m sure we can look forward to an exciting, end-to-end encounter featuring three or four goals at least, and you can get even money on three or more goals with a healthy variety of bookmakers.

7) Liverpool v Blackburn: There are a number of sides in the League who have been obtaining significantly different results at home compared to on their travels, but possibly only Burnley have achieved as marked a difference in form as Blackburn. While their home form outstrips that of Spurs, Everton and Aston Villa, they have recorded just one away win all season, and scored only eight goals in thirteen away matches. Not great preparation for a visit to Anfield, where Rovers haven’t won in the League for seventeen years. Add into the equation the return of Fernando Torres, and Liverpool’s miserly defence, which has conceded just once in seven matches, and I think you can see where I’m going with this one.

8) Sunderland v Fulham: It’s fifteen games now during which Sunderland have achieved just one victory, which was against the might of Barrow in the FA Cup, and there were few signs in their last outing at Arsenal of an end to that run. On Sunday, though, they welcome another side similar to Blackburn with an impressive home record, but who have achieved just one away win all season. Fulham have also failed to win any of their last three visits to Sunderland, so I’m not sure the Black Cats will get a much better chance to gain some desperately needed relief from the threat of relegation, and with Fulham having the added distraction of a midweek trip to Ukraine on their plates, a narrow home win may not be a bad call.

Without wishing to tempt fate, I have five confident selections for you from this week’s coupon, and a successful £10 accumulator on Swansea, Millwall, Inverness, Livingston and Liverpool would return £53.18 with skybet.com.

Good luck!