This could be a defining moment in the Premier League this weekend. Arsenal host Aston Villa and where the kids were in fine form in the week and last week’s epically entertaining game against Manchester United showed the best of them. But Villa are capable and capable of scoring goals, so they could get a surprise. Equally Bolton won at Hull last week - mainly thanks to their goalkeeper admittedly -  but and with  Jussi Jaaskelainen still there Liverpool have to find a way past. Manchester United’s vaunted front men were firing blanks mostly against QPR and Stoke may be better opposition which sort of says it is another stutter or a slaughter. The only one of the top four sides that look like a banker are Chelsea at West Brom. Have a triple on Liverpool and Arsenal to lose and United to draw and £1 pays £336. Bet the other way on the top four all to win and £1 pays £3.50. Get a free £10 bet here

Seven games in does not make a season, but from a betting point of view there is starting to be some form. Manchester United and Fulham have only played six games, so there is even less evidence in their cases, although both look likely to come good in October.

The big betting money has been following the bigger scores. Liverpool’s last gasp win at Manchester City 3-2 was 24/1. Unfancied Bolton’s 3-1 win at West Ham was 49/1. The newly promotoed clubs have done well but have not been scoring and only Stoke’s 0-0 at Liverpool stands out as a mark of their resilience.

Most teams have enough about them to suggest that the bigger teams may not have it all their own way, which points to goals scored. Or at least Chelsea and Manchester United may not have it all their own way. For the rest it looks like a dog fight. Joe Kinnear could in fact be Newcastle need. A bit of the crazy gang approach from the old Wimbledon days and a few **** was enough to stifle Everton. Tottenham must find some form. Hull must be halfway to survival so that suggests another team to go down, of which, as it painful as it may be to show no faith in a young English manager, Blackburn under Paul Ince look possible candidates. They are away to Bolton next time around which will be a good test of their Premier League viability.

Fulham entertain Sunderland which will also be a six pointer one way or the other. Fulham have been playing the football and losing. Sunderland have been stealing results. Stytle meets substance.

There will be no love lost when Spurs face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea had the hoodoo on Spures for many seasons until the spell was broken at Wembley in the Carling Cup Final and the arrival of Juande Ramos and the svengali and ex Chelsea maestro Gus Poyet. The league game at Spurs last March ended 4-4 and paid out a beautiful 125/1. A repeat perfromance is currently 149/1. Spurs have no points and look blunt in attack. Chelsea under Big Luiz Felipe Scolari look fluent and sharp. But three games and zero points is not quite what Ramos or Spurs were expecting to start the season and there will grit to stop it happening. Ramos may park el autobus across the park and trust to a David Bentley flyer.

Sunderland should capitalise on their good start with a visit from Manchestery City who looked bad in the midweek but may have Brazilian striker Jo in action.

Aston Villa host Liverpool in the late kick-off and judging from what has been seen so far this season Liverpool may be lucky to get anything at all.

£10 pays £98 on three home wins. Bet here

Roy Keane’s investment in experience put another 27 years on his side with the loan deal to bring Djibril Cisse from Marseilles to the Stadium of Light. The enigmatic ex-Liverpool striker scored 16 goals in 35 games for Marseilles last year in Ligue 1. Bet Sunderland

Liverpool have not exactly come to life as yet, traditionally slow starters, they have looked sluggish and where Gareth Barry might help the midfield, it is the left side that is perceived to be the problem, plus along with internationals this week there will be little time on the training ground to work things out. And Liverpool have an important and potentially tricky game in the Champions League coming up and Benitez has been known to get distratced in his team selection. Middlesbrough on the other hand were unfancied at the start but a victory over Spurs will have done them a power of good, they have fewer players away on international duty and a good record against the Big Four. Draw. All the Premier League betting here

Waving the flag - Rafa Benitez introduces Robbie Keane to Anfield

Goals win titles, but whether Robbie Keane is the missing part in the Rafa Benitez jigsaw puzzle remains to be proven. On paper Keane might score 20 goals a season, albeit so might anyone else alongside Fernando Torres. But in fact the best he managed in six years at Spurs was 16 goals in a season. Keane is also a robust player not dissimilar to Dirk Kuyt who impressed for Holland in the the Uefa European Championships. If the on/off saga of Gareth Barry’s move from Aston Villa goes through, then the summer would have seen a significant change in the Benitez thinking, opting for proven pushy Premier League performers or little known younger players he can groom. Last week he also picked up the promising French talent David Ngog who may pop in a few goals too although he might be better employed as far as the Kop is concerned creating them.

Strangely goals were not Liverpool’s major issue last season. They had the same goal difference as Chelsea who finished 11 points clear. They only scored four less than Arsenal. Admittedly they were 19 goals short on Manchester United but that was because United were showboating while Liverpool were scrapping. They are still 7/1 this morning to win the premiership.

Liverpool open the season away to Sunderland where Roy Keane has also been shipping in some proven top flight experience in the shape of Bolton’s El-Hadji Douf, the Tottenham pair Teemu Tianio and Pascal Chimbonda with more to come. Liverpool are 3/4 to win at the Stadium of Light in the late kick off on August 16. It is games like these that Liverpool need to win to get into contention but historically in recent seasons they have been slow starters.

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Betting on football friendlies has perhaps not enjoyed the cachet that league and cup games carry, but there is some good money to be made this week while the players work off their flab and swap the suntan oil for grease. Friendlies are about pride and as Barcelona showed against Hibernian last week, pride means 6-0, and as Chelsea showed in Macau pride means 7-0. Calling those are long odds but a quadruple this week on Arsenal, Barcelona, Liverpool and Marseille all to win then £10 pays out £220.

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Bet of day: Liverpool have an interesting encounter away to the surprise package in La Liga last year Villarreal on Wednesday night. This could be the first real glimpse of how either team may shape up for next season. Bet Liverpool to win 3-1 which would pay out £220 for a tenner.

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Even girlfriend Alex Curran is having some difficulty keeping a straight face as Liverpool midfield maestro Steven Gerrard is awarded a degree by his home city university. The citation says, in case you wondered, ” Steven epitomises the university philosophy of Dream, Plan, Achieve,” said vice chancellor John Moores. “As a young boy he excelled in the sport he loves and ensured his talent was recognised, looking upon challenges as opportunities and pursuing each available avenue”.

Oh, so that is ok, drop out of school, play footie and you still get a degree anyway. Great academic role model

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Robbie Fowler joins up with Paul Ince at Blackburn which is an interesting one, although Blackburn might be 15/1 against relegation which could be a good bet, even if a bit depressing for a bright young English manager…Peter Crouch’s much heralded move from Liverpool to Portsmouth where he teams up with Jermaine Defoe looks another shrewd Harry Redknapp move and probably securing their contention in the top half of the table and maybe even a Uefa possibility. Portsmouth are a romantic 500/1 against winning the Premiership but stranger things have happened. Who won the FA Cup last year anyway? And goals is what you need and those two could score 20 apiece next season. Meanwhile Anfield welcomes the Swiss defender Philipp Degen on a free. The much injured full back arrives after three years in the Bundesliga Borussa Dortmund. Also arriving is Andrea Dossena , a stopper with 63 appearances for Udinese who finished sixth in Serie A last year and his perfromances against the top flight clubs impressed.  Plus also there is Steven Gerrard’s new pal Gareth Barry from Aston Villa, which looks like Rafa Benitez accepting that for Premiership football an English style midfield may be more effective tha silky Spanish skills. None of these three set the pulse racing the way a move for David Villa to partner Fernando Torres up front might. But Benitez this week ruled out such a move. It looks like more tinkering round the edges and another season of missed opportunity perhaps for the Reds. They are 1000/1 against relegation and 8/1 to grab that elusive title.  Gareth Southgate has signed the former sprinter and Dutch Under 17 international winger Marvin Emnes who scored eight goals for Sparta Rotterdam.  Southgate has also bagged Paris defender Didier Digard who will have endeared himself by turning down Newcastle and saying that club looked in a mess.  Middlesbrough are 8/1 to be relegated which is the same odds as Liverpool for the title,  neither of which look likely. West Bromwich Albion have bought the promising 21-year-old defender Gianni Zuiverloon turning down other clubs he said because he liked the Baggy style. West Brom are another team in the relegation odds mix but at 2/1, that looks a bad bet.  Another interesting move will be Steve Sidwell to Aston Villa. Can Martin O’Neill regenerate the career of the former Reading midfielder who was eclipsed in the Chelsea galaxy?  Similar questions will be asked at the Emirates where the long saga of Samir Nasri’s departure from Marseilles was completed for an undisclosed fee while Alexander Hleb looks set for the Deco role in the Barca midfield for £15million. There is also speculation that Marseilles fans are planning to have a £22 million whip round to get Didier Drogba back from Chelsea.