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High Fives From Magic Mike

Welcome to "High Fives" the personal column of our ace Director of Football "Magic Mike".

Magic Mike's football credentials are first class. Last season he handily beat the Beeb’s expert tipster “Lawro” who never got a look in after Magic took an early lead at the start of the 2008/09 season.

A good number of our players were rescued by Magic’s tips in our Five Lives scheme which automatically gives you his tips, up to five times during the season, should you forget to enter them yourself. Magic Mike's canny inside knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of players and teams, combined with a passion for getting it right, is what you need to make an impact in this game. It also means you're going to have to be at your best to outdo him.

The Management - Score Five

And now, once again, over to Magic Mike...

See what Mike had to say in the olden days - visit his 2008/09 season archives.

previous predictions -

FA Cup 3rd Round.... Round 20.... Round 19.... Round 18.... Round 17.... Round 16

Opening Round... Take 2

 

Hull City vs. Chelsea at the Kingston Communications Stadium.  Hull City crashed out of the FA Cup at Wigan last Saturday and can now focus on surviving their second season in the Premier League. In their last league a fighting comeback from a 2 goal deficit at  Bolton rescued a point for Hull with 2 goals from Stephen Hunt. They have a tougher task today in what marks the start 3 difficult games.

Chelsea brushed aside Watford in the FA Cup last Saturday and get back to league action. Some stuttering form in the last few weeks has seen the gap between them and the chasing pack close but they still maintain a lead over Manchester United as their main rivals have also suffered a dip in form. Carlo Ancelotti will be expecting his side to take all 3 points against the relegation haunted Tigers.

Magic predicts: Hull City 0 - Chelsea 2

 

Arsenal vs. Everton at The Emirates Stadium. Arsenal have bounced back into title contention in December after a great run including wins against Liverpool and Aston Villa whilst surprisingly both Chelsea and Manchester United suffered  dips in form. The Gunners are currently in the ascendancy but a lack of fire power with the absence of Robin Van Persie due to injury and Nicolas Bendtner may tempt Arsene Wenger to splash out on a replacement in the January transfer window. Arsenal crushed Everton on the opening day of the season and Arsene Wenger will be looking for more of the same.

Everton’s long injury list in the first half of the season looks to be abating and their form has improved of late. A good home win over Burnley moved Everton to mid-table and they also went through to the FA Cup 4^th round. David Moyes will be looking for a much improved showing at the Emirates to wipe out the memory of an awful opening day performance when Everton were hammered 6-1.

Magic predicts: Arsenal 2 - Everton 1  

 

Burnley vs. Stoke City at Turf Moor.   Burnley faced a tough induction to the Premier League at the Britannia Stadium and will face Stoke this time around without Owen Coyle who has made the decision to make the short move across Lancashire to manage Bolton, a club he formerly played for. It’s not a good time for Burnley to be without Coyle. They have slipped down the league and are now in the battle for survival.

Stoke got back to winning ways with a good mid-week victory over Fulham that lifted them back to mid-table. That result wasn’t earned without a scare as Fulham almost recovered from a 3-0 half –time deficit but Stoke hung ton to claim the points with a 3-2 victory. Tony Pulis will be looking to do the double over manager-less Burnley.

Magic predicts: Burnley 0 - Stoke City 1

 

Fulham vs. Portsmouth at Craven Cottage Fulham’s mid-week defeat at Stoke came at a heavy cost with the injuries to Brede Hangeland and leading scorer Bobby Zamora. Fulham though have strength in depth in their squad and should be more than capable of beating crisis club Pompey. Further delays on playing their players’ wages have been reported and with a ban on transfers until financial matters have been sorted, Avram Grant’s bid to save Portsmouth from the drop looks to be an even more difficult task.

Magic predicts: Fulham 2 - Portsmouth 0 

 

Sunderland vs. Bolton Wanderers at the Stadium of Light. Sunderland will go looking for their first double of the season after their success on opening day at the Reebok Stadium. Darren Bent scored the only goal that day which was the start of what has turned out to be a prolific season for the former Tottenham striker so far. Sunderland’s league form has been disappointing in recent weeks and they will be looking for their first league victory since November when they defeated Arsenal.

Bolton will be hoping to have new manager Owen Coyle at the helm for this game if compensation for his services can be agreed with former club Burnley. Bolton are currently filling one of the relegation spots but Coyle will be confident with his current playing staff and a budget for the January transfer window that he can save the club from the drop. He’ll be looking to get off to a good start.

Magic predicts: Sunderland 2 - Bolton Wanderers 1

 

Wigan Athletic vs. Aston Villa at the DW Stadium. It’s up and down season for Wigan. Roberto Martinez got off to a flying start in his Wigan managerial career with a win at Villa Park and his side have had some good wins at home this season most notably against Chelsea. Wigan though have also suffered two 5-0 reversals against Manchester United the last being in their last league game. The Latics did bounce back to beat Hull convincingly in the FA Cup last Saturday though.  

Martin O’Neill will be out for revenge after the shock opening day defeat.  Villa have also lost their last 2 matches against 2 of their main rivals for a Champions League spot, Arsenal and Liverpool, and will be looking to get back on track with a win.

Magic predicts: Wigan Athletic 0 - Aston Villa 1  

 

Birmingham City vs. Manchester United at St Andrews Stadium. Alex McLeish will go head-to-head with his former mentor Sir Alex Ferguson. Birmingham are the form side of the Premier League and out-of-sorts United will have a difficult task on their hands. The Blues comfortably held Chelsea in their last outing and will make life difficult for United.

Sir Alex promised to ring the changes following his side’s 3^rd round exit to division 1 Leeds. It was a new experience for Sir Alex whose sides had never exited the Cup competition at the 3^rd round stage before. With the Carling Cup semi-final against Manchester City postponed in mid-week, it will be interesting to see Sir Alex does follow through on his threat to make significant changes. United have hit a sticky patch in their campaign and badly need a victory.  

Magic predicts: Birmingham City 0 - Manchester United 1

 

West Ham United vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers at Upton Park. It was a carnival atmosphere for the opening day when these sides met at Molineux, in what proved to be rude awakening to Mick McCarthy’s side of life in the Premier league. Fast forward 5 months and the reverse fixture is more significant as both sides battle against relegation. Wolves recovered well in the middle of December but with defeats against Manchester City and Liverpool, they are still in trouble. It’s a similar story for West Ham, who had good results against Chelsea and Portsmouth in December but defeats at Bolton and Spurs mean they are still fighting for their lives.

Magic predicts: West Ham United 2 - Wolverhampton Wanderers 1                              

 

Liverpool vs. Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield.  A significant game in the race for a Champions League place. Tottenham surprised Liverpool on the opening day and looked to be back on form with a win over West Ham in their last game. Liverpool have Fernando Torres to thank for getting their Champions League challenge back on track when he popped up for a last minute winner against Aston Villa.

A close game can be expected.

Magic predicts: Liverpool 1 - Tottenham Hotspur 1

 

The Monday night game sees Manchester City take on Blackburn at the City of Manchester Stadium. Roberto Mancini has a perfect record in his Manchester City career so far with 3 victories under his belt and will be looking for his side to register another win against a struggling Blackburn side. Mancini still believes City can challenge for the title this year and to do that City must beat teams like Blackburn. Craig Bellamy and Roque Santa Cruz could be selected to face their old club

 Blackburn crashed out of the FA Cup last Saturday but hope to fare better against Villa in the Carling Cup semi-final. The main priority for Sam Allardyce though will be Premier League survival and he will be hoping his side put in a better performance against City than they did on the opening day of the season when they lost 2-0.

Magic predicts: Manchester City 2 - Blackburn Rovers 0           Banker