Premier League Picks - 25 November 2011

Rob Alexander picks out two value bets from this weekend's Premier League fixtures

This weekend's Premier League matches doesn't have too many stand out fixtures with Manchester United v Newcastle United the pick of Saturdays fixtures, whilst on Sunday Liverpool host Manchester City in probably the biggest match of the weekend.

Chelsea will be hoping their dismal run of form comes to an end with victory at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Blues are bidding to resurrect their season and victory this weekend could see them turn the corner in time for their must win Champions League encounter against Valencia.

It was not a good week for English sides in the Champions League as only Arsenal sealed qualification for the last 16 with a 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund. Both Manchester City and Chelsea lost 2-1 away from home to Napoli and Bayer Leverkusen. City have to beat Bayern Munich and hope that Villarreal get a result against Napoli to reach the last 16. At least for out of form Chelsea the outcome is still in their own hands. Even Champions League veterans Manchester United need at least a point from their final match to make the knock out stage.

City's form in the Premier League has been incredible so far this season and they will need to bounce back to their best to beat Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday. United meanwhile face surprise package Newcastle at Old Trafford on Saturday and can move within two points of their neighbours with a win.

Saturday Pick

Stoke City v Blackburn Rovers

Stoke City host Blackburn in Saturday's early kick off in an intriguing encounter that sees two sides near the foot of the table bid to get a win to kickstart their season.

Stoke have conceded eight in their last two Premier League matches, having lost 5-0 at Bolton and 3-2 at home to QPR. Their poor defensive form could be a worry against a Blackburn side that has been playing decent football without deserved results in recent weeks.

Rovers have scored six goals in their previous two away matches, only managing draws, while they deserved more than a 1-0 defeat at home to Chelsea three weeks ago. I fancy Blackburn to cause Stoke City's leaky defence plenty of problems, whether they can score more than they concede remains to be seen.

I am backing Blackburn Rovers to at least draw the match all things considered. Stoke City have the quality to score against Blackburn but their leaky defence sees me favour Blackburn with a small head start at odds against.

Bet 2 points on Blackburn Rovers +0.5 at 2.07 with Victor Chandler.

Sunday Pick

Liverpool v Manchester City

A fresh Liverpool side take on Manchester City after a demoralising Champions League loss to Napoli in a match that could certainly be important in defining City's title credentials.

It is not always easy to recover from such a defeat and for Manchester City they will have to revert back to their brilliant Premier League form quickly to avoid their first domestic defeat of the season at Anfield.

Liverpool have been pretty inconsistent so far this season with their last two Premier League matches, a 0-0 draw at home to Swansea City and an away victory at Stamford Bridge, highlighting this perfectly. A win against City would silence Liverpool's doubters for a short while and increase their chances of making the Champions League next season.

I fancy Liverpool to at least take a point off Manchester City and a win would not surprise me if City are unable to shake off their defeat to Napoli fully. Liverpool have upped their game in big matches before and this match won't be any different.

Bet 2 points on Liverpool 0 at 2.05 with Victor Chandler