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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...

I said at the start of the Championship Play-Offs that I thought West Ham would prevail, and nothing I have seen so far has made me want to divert from that statement. The Hammers looked a class apart in both legs against Cardiff. Okay, the Welsh side had a longer season than most and probably a thinner squad than their fellow promotion hopefuls. But they are still a very good side that was made to look decidedly ordinary both at home and in the return at Upton Park. Back in the summer, many people felt it was a foregone conclusion that Sam Allardyce's side would bounce back to the Premier League automatically. Whether that spread into the Hammers' camp we will never know, but there were times that you were left with the feeling that they took on the air of a side that believed if...

For so much of the season, promotion to the Premier League looked like a combined Southampton and West Ham private members club. Then Reading came along with a run that, in all honesty, would have been pretty unstoppable regardless of what happened at St Mary's and Upton Park. Yet there must be an element of head scratching going on down the East End of London as to how the Hammers have ended up in the play-offs and haven't gone up automatically. Sam Allardyce's side were in the top two pretty much constantly from early October until mid-March, they have lost only eight games all season and they have what looks, to me at least, the strongest set of players in the division by some distance. Only 11 home wins may have been a contributory factor, and certainly a run of seven games...

[u]Hull v Coventry[/u] I still think, given their home form and the games they have left at the Ricoh Arena, that Coventry can be laid for relegation at 1.91. And a point or three is well within their reach in this game to aid their cause. I've made plenty of the fact that the Sky Blues have not won on the road all season, and I'm certainly not confident enough to go all out for an away win. But Andy Thorn's side have drawn their last two away games, most notably a fine 2-2 result at Cardiff. That has helped them go five without a defeat - they appear to have found a way to make themselves hard to beat at just the right time. Hull, on the other hand, are on the slide. They were fifth at the end of January, but a run of one win in 10 has seen them drop to ninth. They have not won...

[u]Peterborough v West Ham[/u] I'm a massive believer in digging out current form, short-term trends and recent results when looking for bets in the all-too-unpredictable world of the Championship. But with this one I am shifting slightly, simply because even allowing for their indifferent recent form, the Hammers should be able to win this. If they don't, then their game in hand is spent and they will be at least a win behind the top two. And let's be honest, even though their recent form is no wins in five attempts, this is a West Ham side that has not lost in 10 league games, dating back to January 31. The fact they have drawn seven and only won three of them is the reason why we can back a team arguably stronger than any in this division at 2.06 to win at a side that was playing...

[u]Blackpool v West Ham, KO: Tuesday 20:00[/u] Everyone knows that games in hand are only any use if you win them - and as games in hand go, a trip to Blackpool is not the easiest. Ian Holloway's team selection for the FA Cup tie at Everton (he left out a number of regular starters) suggests he had an eye on this fixture, which is almost as important for the home side as it is for the visitors. The Hammers will go top with a win, but a success for the Tangerines would move them third in the table. It's a tough one to call, given Blackpool are unbeaten in seven league games while the Hammers have won four of their last six. I think the way to go is to look for goals. Eight of Blackpool's last nine league games have produced Over 2.5 Goals, and they have only failed to score once themselves...

[u]Nottingham Forest v Burnley [/u] Here we have the team with the worst current form at home hosting the team with the best current form away: someone tell me, then, why Nottingham Forest are favourites? Okay, Burnley are doing no better than bobbing around in mid-table but only leaders West Ham have won more games on the road that the Clarets, who have seven away wins. Eddie Howe's side have won four of the last five on their travels, and that includes victories at West Ham (1st), Middlesbrough (5th) and Hull (6th). Forest, meanwhile, have lost five on the trot at home and not scored in any of them. Throw in the goalless FA Cup tie with Leicester, and Steve Cotterill's side have not scored in front of their own fans in nine hours of football stretching back to mid-November. Such ...