The newly promoted teams have shown well in the opening games of the season. But it has been more defence than attack and none of the trio look to be packing too much in the goals department.

Hull even though they are third and perhaps halfway to safety only have a goal difference of plus one. West Brom who are ninth have a difference of zero.

Stoke look to be in trouble. Their points have come from a surpising and untypical 3-2 win against Aston Villa and holding on for a point at Anfield. The rest they have lost and in the Carling  Cup they only beat Reading on penalties. Their goal difference is already minus six. Next up is Tottenham at home which by rights they should not win. Spurs are 6/5 to win.

West Ham will be nervous about a trip to Hull after last week’s defeat to Blackburn and Hull’s away form in the capital beating Spurs and Arsenal. A tough, possibly decisive call that one. The book says 6/5 Hull but Gianfranco Zola and Steve Clarke may be making their mark and do not have all their players away on international duty.

West Brom travel to Manchester United who, given that everyone returns from international duty un-injured, look to be purring again.  Or was last week’s victory more of an omen that Blackburn are on the slide?

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Newcastle are 18/1 to be relegated this morning after Kevin Keegan is or is it not sacked as the first repercussion perhaps of the Abu Dhabi interest in Premier League football. Along with Manchester City, Arsenal and Newcastle were the two other teams on the Arabs short list and possibly behind the scenes this was a lure for Keegan even if it turned into a mirage.

But what is not clear now is the first team squad is too small to compete. The manager’s job looks like a poisoned chalice. Smart money says Dennis Wise will agitate to bring Gus Poyet back up north to reform the successful partnership they had at Leeds. Poyet’s influence at Tottenham has also impressed and he may be itching to be more than Juande Ramos’s interpreter. But it will need some quick thinking or the Magpies risk falling out of the Premier League nest. Next up on Saturday 13th is Hull, mercifully at least it is at home. But Hull are 11/2 which is not bad odds.

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Paul Ince’s Blackburn host newly promoted Hull both with victories under the beklts, albeit Blackburn’s surprise win at Everton was the more jaw dropping. Hull looked organised against Fulham but this will probabloy be another story. Home win. Get all the odds here

Crystal ball time. The first Saturday of the football season is the hardest weekend to call. Last season was last season, everyone is pumped up, some fitter than others, the sun is shining and it is all very unfootballing, unseasonal and so are the odds. There are historically two things to watch out for if we are going make money betting on football matches this season. This weekend because there is no form at all to go on, it is probably the least predictable of any weekend to come. For the last couple of years you could have kept yourself in beer and sandals by doing a double on Chelsea and Manchester United each week A double at £10 would return £17.20, make it a triple with Liverpool would return £29.74 and pop in Arsenal for a quad and your money might harvest £36.28. That may be a bold bet for a first Staturday.

 The other unknown is what kind of season is it going to be in terms of goals scored. Towards the end of last season Aston Villa were popping goals in for fun. Is that the way to go? Portsmouth have invested in a very sharp looking new attack with Jermaine Defoe and Peter Crouch and reportedly Shaun Wright Phillips on his way and he could make a differernce. United reputedly have a £20million bid in for Spurs Dimitri Berbatov possibly, surely, only if Cristiano Ronaldo is off to the Madristas. Otherwise a forward line of Berbatov, Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez could be falling over each other like drunken ballerinas to actually put the ball in the net? Too much artistry, perhaps or maybe the master Scottish plan is to withdraw Rooney into mdifield, though probably not as far as full back. Nor has Felipe Scolari as yet shown his hand although for sure he must conclude that the only area of genuine improvement he might bring to Stamford Bridge would be on the wings…that is if he has not got so many fullbacks flying up and down the touchline he does not need anymore wingers?

It is interesting that Chelsea play Portsmouth on the first day of the season. A Pompey victory is beautiful odds of 8/1 and maybe it could be that Chelsea are well up themselves coping with some fancy Brazilian system while Harry Redknapp’s boys do the basics and steal it. The end of Jose Mourinho’s unbeaten home run might be just the kind of cathartic, purging experience to launch a new era and genuine attack minded football on all fronts. Look what happened to them at Barnsley in the FA Cup last winter. Hardly looked back.

Another curious tie is the mystery of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal hosting an optimistic West Bromwhich Albion. Is there maybe a draw in this for the Baggies? 9/2 are tempting numbers. 11/1 for a win sounds a little far fetched but any more departures from north London and it could all go boing boing boing.

Aston Villa host Manchester City which says goals if Mark Hughes new striker Jo is as good as reports and City sprung up the league apace in the sunshine last year.

Bolton could destroy Stoke, Hull might surprise Fulham but there is nothing in the astrology that says the Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle can get anything at Manchester United.

Tottenham have a nasty game at Middlesbrough and don’t appear to currently have a forward line or certainly in terms of the rumour mill they have all been sold. Juande Ramos is too shrewd for that to happen, so probably too earkly to bet. Liverpool won’t like a trip to Roy Keane’s Sunderland either and in a reverse sense the West Ham Academy of Footballing Arts won’t get any bursaries out of Steve Bruce’s Wigan who finished very strong last term.  

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There will be no gang of four this year, despite the pundits saying the title is a done deal. All the omens and labrador bones point in other directions. If United lose Ronaldo that is 42 goals off their goal difference which would put them mid table. Even if they get someone in to replace the Portugese, they are unlikely to score so prolifically and if Ronaldo stays nor will he.

Chelsea may take a year off under Felipe Scolari and just focus on the Champions League - but it is a good team and a couple of exceptional wingers could get them off to a flyer but probably Scolari will take his time.  Only Arsene Wenger really knows what his team can do and possibly his visit to the Spain v Italy match last night was a scouting trip to look at David Villa. A straight swap for the African Player of the Year Adebayor going to Milan must be tempting. Meanwhile one wonders how many times Rafa Benitez can mix up his jigsaw puzzle before he gets it right. Or maybe the answer to the conundrum abhout England’s finest player Steven Gerrard is that no one can play with him? Villa would be an obvious Anfield target too. Surely at least one of these teams and maybe more will start dropping points to the teams underneath them.

But behind the familiar miscreants are shaping new forces. Juande Ramos’s Tottenham look interesting as does new signing Mondric who must make an impact. Harry Redknapp is not out of the mix either. Goals win titles and he picked up Jermaine Defoe last year and paired possibly with Peter Crouch and one other they will notch up the points. Aston Villa under Martin O’Neill are tight and organised and only one or two players short of calibre, even if they lose Gareth Barry to Liverpool. Mark Hughes has an interesting proposition at Manchester City, especially if he gets both Jo and Ronaldinho up front- and can get both to play. Everton too are capable and only a couple of signings short of worrying the bigger teams. Anyone of those five might challenge. All seem to have the money and maybe this year the top four will take more points off each other, or even the top eight will scrap it out.

There might also be a case that West Brom make a flying start to the season, again nibbling points off the upper echelons. West Ham will have a better team than last year if their injured team stays fit.  The magician Roy Keane could also start to make his mark if he can pick up a couple of good players. Newcastle look wobbly, as do Middlesbrough but with Hull and Stoke looking like return-to-senders, that leaves just one relegation slot for the teams that escaped last year to avoid.

None of which points to another season of big four domination.

Check the odds out here for the first Saturday, August 16

The season kicks off at noon on August 16 and the bookies already have the first odds up for Premiership 2008/9 and for the first round of matches on that Saturday.

The betting says that all three promoted teams West Brom, Hull and Stoke will go straight down again. Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United remain favourites for a re-run of last season edging out Felipe Scolari’s Chelsea. The bigger surprise is perhaps Newcastle to finish sixth. There is a lot of shifting and changing in the sports betting numbers to come, but you can get your bets in early here. For this seeason there is even a book on who will get relegated!!! It’s here. Arsenal are 1499/1!

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