SUNDAY .....

Really unlucky to lose the Wigan Athletic bet yesterday, not much is going right for the Latics at present and after one key player failed a late fitness test, they lost Mohamed Diame after just 12 minutes, which forced them into a reshuffle. Despite that, they dominated possession (62%) and created far more chances ( 18-7) than Fulham and were denied twice by the woodwork. Once things start to go against you in football, it is very hard to turn things around and Athletic need something to go their way and quickly.

Goals continue to flow in the EPL, eight of the 97 matches played to date have produced six or more goals, but the really stunning fact is that Arsenal twice ( 8 and 4 conceded), Manchester United ( 6) and Chelsea ( 5), were on the receiving end of beatings in those games. In the last seven seasons this trio have conceded an average of 0.95, 0.74 and 0.66 goals per game respectively. This campaign, the big three clubs in english football over the last decade, have kept a clean sheet in all competitive games an average of once every three starts and United, in particular, have been very fortunate to register several of those. The Gunners defensive problems are well documented, I have been banging on about United's lack of a true defensive midfielder all season in my daily notes and Chelsea are in transition under Andre Villas-Boas. It is hard to see any let up in the entertainment and this looks a classic EPL season in the making.

Good Luck.