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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 -

Round 31.... Round 30.... Round 29.... FA Cup 6th Round.... Round 28.... Round 27

Hot to Trot

Birmingham City vs. Arsenal at St. Andews Stadium. The Blues conceded 3 at Sunderland last Saturday and suffered  their heaviest defeat in a while. Cameron Jerome scored his third goal in 2 games and will be a threat against an Arsenal side that will be missing William Gallas. Birmingham will be relishing the challenge against Arsenal and the opportunity to disrupt the Gunners’ title chances.

Arsenal have won their last 5 league games and having already played Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool twice, there is a strong belief in the Arsenal camp they can win all their remaining matches and bring the Premier League title back to the Emirates Stadium for the first time since the Invicibles managed the feat 6 years ago. 

In the big game of the week Chelsea meet Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge, the outcome could be key in deciding the Premier League title and the race for Champions League qualifying place. Chelsea are going for the double and will also meet Martin O’Neill’s side in a fortnight’s time in the FA Cup quarter final. Carlo Ancelotti’s long term future as Chelsea’s manager could well be decided by the outcome of these games.

Aston Villa dropped vital home points in last week’s derby match against Wolves and face what on paper is one of the toughest games of their season. Villa though have enjoyed success at Old Trafford and Anfield already this season and defeated Chelsea in their first meeting at Villa Park.  Both Chelsea and Villa’s seasons will be significantly shaped by this and forthcoming FA Cup encounter.

Magic predicts: Chelsea 2 - Aston Villa 1

 

Hull City vs. Fulham at The Kingston Communications Stadium. Ian Dowie’s first game in charge of the Tigers ended in a morale sapping defeat at Portsmouth. With just 2 minutes to go Hull looked to be taking all 3 points, a result that would have seen them move level on points with West Ham. But they conceded 2 late goals and remain deep in trouble. Hull need to win their home games to survive and with games running out they will need to take all 3 points out of this game to survive. Jimmy Bullard will be looking to impress against his former club. 

In contrast to Hull’s situation, Fulham are arguably enjoying their finest moments of their history. A famous victory over Juventus in the Europa Cup has seen the Cottagers into the last 8 of the competition and a date with Wolfsberg.  Bobby Zamora has had an excellent season and is pushing for a place with the England squad in South Africa.  

Magic predicts: Hull City 1 - Fulham 1

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Portsmouth at White Hart Lane. A great win for Spurs at Stoke last Saturday saw them put more of a distance between them and their rivals for the crucial 4^th spot. On Wednesday Spurs booked their date in the FA Cup semi-final and the game today is a dress-rehearsal for the big game in a fortnight’s time for a place at Wembley. There is a strong link between these clubs with Spurs’ manager Harry Redknapp having formerly managed Pompey. He has been back to his former cash-strapped club to sign Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Younes Kaboul, Niko Kranjcar, whilst Kevin-Prince Boateng and on loan Jamie O’Hara have made the move in the opposite direction. Portsmouth fate as a Premier League club was decided with the 9 point deduction but they can enjoy their final matches.

Magic predicts: Tottenham Hotspur 2 - Portsmouth 1 Banker

West Ham United vs. Stoke City at Upton Park. West Ham still have some work to do to secure safety. They have had a disastrous run of form in which they have lost their last 5 games but have been helped by equally poor form of the teams below them. They have come through a very difficult sequence of matches and it looks as though they still need 3 wins to reach safety. The Hammers will need to make their home games count and Gianfranco Zola will be earmarking a 3 point haul from a mid-table Stoke side, that have nothing to play for as part of his survival strategy.

Stoke lost out to Spurs last Saturday in a result that had manager Tony Pulis fuming about poor refereeing decisions. The Potters will be out to improve on their 11^th place finish last season and will make life difficult for West Ham.

Magic predicts: West Ham United 1 - Stoke City 1

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Everton at Molineux. Wolves have rallied in recent games and Mick McCarthy will have been delighted with 4 points from his side’s last 2 matches and in particular the win in the 6 pointer at West Ham on Tuesday, a result that leaves Wolves 2 wins short of survival.

Everton got back to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Bolton last Saturday. Mikel Arteta has returned from injury and is starting to show the form that made him a firm favourite amongst the Everton supporters. David Moyes will be pushing his team to achieve an 8^th place finish but that will probably not be enough to secure European football next season.

Magic predicts: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 - Everton 2

Bolton Wanderers vs. Manchester United at the Reebok Stadium. Although Bolton lost last week they inched closer to safety as West Ham, Hull and Burnley all lost. With games running out, Bolton may need just 4 points to celebrate a decade in the Premier League. This is a local derby and Bolton will be looking to upset United’s march towards a record breaking 4^th consecutive Premier League title. Gary Cahill is fit again and will be pushing his England claims between now and the end of the season. Wayne Rooney could be rested to help overcome a niggling knee injury.

Magic predicts: Bolton Wanderers 1 - Manchester United 0

Burnley vs. Blackburn Rovers at Turf Moor. Burnley now face an uphill struggle to preserve their Premier League status with just 7 games to go .  The game against local rivals Blackburn now is surely a must-win game for Burnley. Brian Laws’ side have still only managed to take 1 point on their travels all season and were unlucky to lose last week at Wigan  to a late strike from Hugo Rodallega.

Blackburn upset Chelsea’s title chances when El-Hadji Diouf headed an equalizing goal last Sunday against Chelsea. In mid-week Black picked up 3 points with a home victory against Birmingham City with a David Dunn double that sank his former club. Rovers will be confident of making it a second victory in 4 days.

Magic predicts: Burnley 1 - Blackburn Rovers 2

Liverpool vs. Sunderland at Anfield. Liverpool need a win to keep alive their chances of a fourth placed finish after suffering a defeat at Champions Manchester United last Sunday. Their city rivals, Everton did them a huge favour by defeating Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium in mid-week but the Reds look like they have it all to do if they are to take over the 4^thspot from Tottenham

Sunderland have been coming back to form in recent weeks and earned a hard fought draw against Aston Villa during the week to dent Villa’s chances of the Champions League qualifying spot. Sunderland also won against Birmingham last Saturday and have all but secured safety for this season.

Magic predicts: Liverpool 1 - Sunderland 1

Manchester City vs. Wigan Athletic at the City of Manchester Stadium. City missed a golden opportunity to overtake Spurs and move into 4^th place in the Premier League when they lost at home to Everton in mid-week. With 8 games to go City trail Spurs by 2 points and Roberto Mancini’s side cannot afford to lose any more ground. Nothing less than 3 points will be expected against a struggling Wigan side.

Wigan overcame Burnley at the death to take a giant leap towards preserving their Premier League status. With just 7 games to go Wigan are 7 points clear of the relegation zone and just 2 wins in their last 6 games would all but ensure that Roberto Martinez’s first season in the Premier League has been successful. Wigan have taken some prize scalps this season and look to add another.

Magic predicts: Manchester City 3 - Wigan Athletic 0