Football Predictions | SoccerAss

Manchester City needed a last-minute goal from Paul Dickov to clamber out of the third-tier of English football just 11 years ago, but after spending many millions now stand on the precipice of winning the Premier League (5/1).

Goalkeeper
City are spoilt for choice here, with two of the league’s best keepers to pick from. 34-year-old Shay Given is described by manager Roberto Mancini as “one of the best five goalkeepers in the world”, while Joe Hart made the PFA team of the year for his displays between the sticks at Birmingham City.

Defence
The signing of Jerome Boateng will sure up an area City were weak in last term, having conceded 45 league goals. Able to play anywhere across the back, the 21-year-old has all the coolness you would expect from a German defender.

Serbia’s Aleksandar Kolarov is sure to follow from Lazio, displacing Wayne Bridge at left-back, and Mancini will hope a £17million price tag doesn’t look as exorbitant as the fees for Jolean Lescott and Kolo Toure after each had disappointing seasons.

Indeed, those two will need to improve if City are to finish in the top four (1/2), especially with Pablo Zabaleta not looking top quality on the right.

Midfield
Clever signing shave been made in this department. Securing defensive midfielder Yaya Toure from Barcelona was impressive, as was the swoop for Valencia winger David Silva – the pair are real top quality

A Toure and Nigel De Jong partnership would be near impenetrable, given the former’s slick passing and the latter’s dogged tackling. Gareth Barry could be pushed further forward, while Patrick Vieira would be a reliable replacement.

Despite not featuring much at the World Cup, Silva is a big player for a Spanish side who have conquered all in recent years. An ability to play on either wing will be important and problems for opposition defences should follow if he and Adam Johnson switch flanks during games.

Attack
Carlos Tevez had a remarkably productive year last season, scoring 29 goals in 40 games. He is 11/1 to win the Premier League Golden Boot.

Despite City’s attack grabbing a scorching 73 goals in the league, he and Emmanuel Adebayor don’t look quite right as a partnership, and Mancini would do well to get target Mario Balotelli in.

With a squad brimming with potential, Mancini really does have genuine title hopes. But whether he can blend all these elements into a cohesive team is a big question, suggesting they will fall short. See the full Premier League market betting.

Three of the summer’s long-running transfer stories progressed further today as it emerged that Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano is ready to demand a move from Anfield.

Aston Villa’s James Milner is amazingly refuting Martin O’Neill’s claims that the England man wants a switch to Manchester City, and Nemanja Vidic is to be offered an improved contract at Manchester United.

The twists in the latter two cases directly contradict news reported yesterday, when each of the club’s bosses appeared open to the possibility of the players leaving – making Villa’s chances of a top four spot, at 9/1, and the prospect of seeing United win the title, at 2/1, seem less likely.

Mascherano’s demands, however, were to be expected, with new gaffer Roy Hodgson revealing earlier this week that the Argentina midfielder had not yet returned any of his calls.

Reports say that Mascherano is ready to ask for a transfer to push through his proposed move from Merseyside to Inter Milan.

Ex-Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez’s Inter are unwilling to offer the £30million that the 18-times league champions want (14/1 to win it this year) and instead they intend to put forward £20million with former Portsmouth midfielder Sulley Muntari thrown in as a makeweight.

Such a deal could prove attractive to Hodgson, who would swap a wantaway player for one of proven Premier League quality, while at the same time amassing a big pot of money to bring in new signings. Hodgson is 20/1 to win the Champions League with Liverpool.

Meanwhile, a friend of Milner has responded to the Villa manager’s statement yesterday that the PFA young player of the year wanted to leave the club by saying: “James has never asked to leave Aston Villa”. Villa are 15/8 to finish in the top six.

Milner is seeking talks with O’Neill to rectify the situation amid reports that City (5/1 to win the league) are ready to offer £24million for the former Leeds United youth.

Elsewhere, United are close to offering Vidic a new £90,000-a-week deal in an attempt to steer him away from the clutches of Real Madrid.

Such is manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s desire to keep the player, he will break with contract protocol to persuade the Serb to stay at Old Trafford.

Maintaining Vidic, with whom United have a markedly better record when in the team, would increase the club’s 6/1 chances of winning the Champions League.

See the full Premier League betting market.

Darren Fletcher has reignited the league rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool by stating that the thought of overtaking the Merseyside club in number of overall titles remains an inspiration.

The north-west enemies currently sit equal on 18 wins apiece after United’s 2009 triumph and Fletcher said: “This club is all about breaking records and achieving a new status.

“To be the most successful team in the English game would mean everything to the club and to the fans especially.”

The odds suggest United have little cause to worry about Liverpool advancing their total – Roy Hodgson’s side are 14/1 to win the Premier League.

Fletcher’s team, however, are the 2/1 second-favourites to win the league, as they did for the three seasons prior to Chelsea’s (13/8) success last term.

The Scottish midfielder came on as a substitute in United’s 1-0 win over Philadelphia Union, which took place in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Gabriel Obertan scored a neat winner, after being played in by Danny Welbeck, to make it two wins from two on the club’s American tour. A 1-0 victory in their opening league match against Newcastle United is a 6/1 chance.

Feisty 26-year-old Fletcher is reaching the peak of his career and is seen by Sir Alex Ferguson as a vital member of the team, having come in for some stick from fans during his early 20s.

United’s current crop of youngsters will need to have equally as thick skin, with many spectators questioning their ability to keep the Red Devils at the top of the game. A Champions League win, at 6/1, looks less likely than in recent seasons.

Fletcher’s statement of intent comes just a day after Joe Cole, 2/1 to score against Chelsea this season, said he had joined Liverpool because they were “the biggest club in the country”.

Yet, having not won the league title since 1990, or any pot since 2006, Liverpool are in danger of losing any right to that tag soon. Indeed, they are 2/9 to not win any domestic trophy in 2010/11.

Who will win the war of words? Fletcher’s United are 15/1 to be the team with the most points with a +2 handicap, while Cole’s Liverpool are 15/1 to finish top given a 14 point lead. See the full Premier League betting market.