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[u]Chelsea v Stoke[/u] Four games in - is that too early to think of Chelsea as top-six finishers? Probably not. And that's bad news for the visitors: the Potters have lost 18/23 on the road to such exalted sides. Roberto Di Matteo's lot have won their first two at Stamford Bridge by a couple of goals and lead Stoke 12-1 in meetings there over the last four seasons. This weekend's ride should be as smooth as Patrick Swayze in that scene from Ghost, so it's all about crafting ways to turn a short price on the home win into something a little longer. Well, Stoke have been behind at half-time in 15 of those 18 losses we mentioned earlier. The Chelsea/Chelsea double-result is on offer at 2.12. The final margin in 12 of the 18 was a couple of goals or more, so Chelsea -1.5 ...

Sunderland, like neighbours Newcastle last season, could be surprise high achievers this season and they look capable of proving the point at home to Liverpool on Saturday. There are interesting parallels between Sunderland's form under Martin O'Neill and how Newcastle stood at this time last season. Like O'Neill now, Alan Pardew was starting his first full season as Newcastle boss having taken charge early the previous December and stabilised their results. Both managers had achieved flashes of even better form with good results against top-six sides, pointing to further improvement with a summer of preparation and squad-building behind them. O'Neill did even better than Pardew in his first part-season, with an average of 1.42 points per game (Pardew's was 1.23). Without any improvement...

[b]Sunderland fan Jonathan Wilson hopes that Martin O'Neill can keep his team clear of danger this season. Meanwhile, how will the likes of West Ham, Reading and Southampton fare? And can Wigan cheat the drop once again?[/b] How much do stats matter in football? In the first four months of Martin O'Neill's reign at Sunderland most fans were pretty happy. He had taken over at the beginning of December with Sunderland 17th in the league, having taken just 11 points from their first 14 games of the season, 13 of them under Steve Bruce. O'Neill's first 16 matches brought 29 points and lifted them to eighth and the quarter-final of the FA Cup. That was the high point; O'Neill's well-known ability to get moderate sides over-performing seemed to be working again. But a glance at the Opta...

[u]Middlesbrough v Sunderland, Wednesday 19:45, ITV1 [/u] Steve Bruce certainly wasn't universally popular on Wearside, so Ellis Short and co can be satisfied with their work in identifying the best available successor, as two months in, boyhood Sunderland fan Martin O'Neill appears incapable of doing any wrong. He has guided them to seven wins in ten Premier League games, including five in their last six, and up from 18th to eighth, but all that will be overshadowed if he manages to do something even more unlikely: make them a threat in the FA Cup again. The two-time winners haven't reached the fifth round since the painful experience of losing a semi-final to Millwall in 2003-04, beating just one Football League team in seven years prior to their third-round victory at Peterborough...

[u]Tottenham v West Brom, KO 1945 [/u]Tottenham will go into this game ruing the two points they dropped at the weekend in Swansea and anxious to get back to winning ways. They could hardly have picked better opponents, Opta tells us that during the last seven meetings between the two sides Spurs have won five and drawn two against the Baggies at White Hart Lane. Opta also point out that West Brom have only kept one clean sheet in their last 28 Premier League away games and they come into this game just 48 hours after suffering a cruel late home defeat at the hands of Everton. Roy Hodgson may have to do without the services of injured skipper Chris Brunt whilst Scot Parker is a doub for the home team, having limped off with 20 minutes to go against Swansea. You don't need to be Sherlock...

[b]Michael Lintorn runs through four of the most interesting Opta stats about this weekend's Premier League games, looking at ways to use them for betting...[/b] [b]Sunderland[/b] have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 22 meetings with Newcastle in all competitions. Steve Bruce has carried out maintenance work on his defence this summer but it will take a while to mould them into a cohesive unit, with [b]Shola Ameobi[/b] no doubt keen to take advantage having netted four times in his last four clashes with the Black Cats. Sunderland have scored in seven of the last eight Tyne-Wear derbies too though, leaving it until the 90th minute to strike in each of the last two. There have been more hat-tricks scored in [b]Arsenal v Liverpool[/b] fixtures than any other in ...

Sunderland's big night of the year looks a belter with four finals up for decision, but solving the two major puzzles, the Classic and Grand Prix, is far from easy with both races overloaded with in-form greyhounds. Undoubtedly a victory for Blonde Snapper in the feature Classic final (21:45) would be the 'fairytale' result with Mark Wallis' charge having fought back from a lengthy injury to reach this stage unbeaten. His credentials look spot on, having clocked the fastest semi-final time, and having reached the Puppy Plate final over the CD last season, the track certainly plays to his strengths. But with early speed, in the shape of sprinter Lampard on his immediate inside, and the unthinkable threat of a further setback - as his trainer has stated 'we have to manage him' I am reluctantly...

Off the field Darren Bent has not exactly covered himself in glory over the last week. His departure from Sunderland, just 18 months after agitating for a move away from Tottenham, bears all the hallmarks of the typical greedy, modern day footballer he is. But Sunderland's bleating this week about Aston Villa using underhand tactics to tap up their leading goalscorer is just a case of sour grapes. "I'd have expected a call from Villa's manager," said Bruce. "I'd have expected Gérard Houllier to have had the decency to pick up the phone but that's not been the case. I would have thought that, out of respect, maybe he would say 'we're interested in buying your striker' in order to give me a chance to do something." What like, say 'no'? Like it or lump it, tapping-up goes on in football...