Saturday Premiership Fixed Odds Betting Preview

Before the season began, I recommended Manchester City at 20/1 to be relegated this season. The general price now available is 16/1 for the cash strapped club. Their opponents on Saturday are Birmingham who are on offer at 12/1 with most firms except for betdirect who quote a more realistic 25/1. Of the two clubs, quite how the majority of bookmakers reckon Birmingham have a better chance of dropping a division is beyond me. The Blues have a very useful team with a great mixture of Premiership experience and youthful exuberance. The back four of Melchiot, Cunningham, Upson and Clapham is a very solid foundation. A midfield now bolstered by the experienced Nicky Butt will be a match for most, while Pandiani, Forssell, Heskey and Morrison gives manager Steve Bruce numerous options for his chosen front two. Manchester City don't quite look as solid. The signings of Andy Cole and Darius Vassell may look good on paper, but even when fit (and that is rare), the former Villa forward has hardly been a prolific scorer in the Premiership. Cole is also coming to the end of a career and won't be as productive as he once was. As highlighted in my relegation preview, the sale of Shaun Wright Phillips is a massive loss for City in terms of his goals scored and the numerous assists. It was almost excatly twelve months ago when Birmingham beat Manchester City 1-0 at St.Andrews. A similar scoreline on Saturday afternoon would not be a surprise. Take the 6/5 on the Blues putting together their first win of the new season. Also worth adding into a double are Liverpool who look a decent price even at the rather short odds of 1/3 to beat Sunderland. The Reds were extremely unlucky not defeat beat Middlesbrough at the Riverside last weekend. The European Champions also have benefited from an extended pre-season with a number of competitive games. Of the three promoted sides, it was Sunderland who came of the worst suffering a 3-1 reverse at home. A trip to Anfield is likely to end with more disappointment. The combined odds for Liverpool and Birmingham winning comes to around 15/8.