In association with Burton Albion shirt sponsor Mr Cropper....
Premier League
Welcome to a brand new feature to Bar and In, by way of previewing the weekends action in all four divisions. We start at the top in what's been a fascinating Premier League season at both ends of the table with the title still not a complete formality for Manchester United after Arsenal's surge in form up the league. At the bottom is a whole different story with no less than eight teams flirting with the magic 40 point barrier its looking like going down to the wire as to who will slip back into the Championship. Here Mr Cropper himself has selected three key games from the weekend's fixture list in the top flight of real interest.....
Birmingham vs Sunderland.... Its been a miserable second half to the season for Steve Bruce after the sale of Darren Bent his Sunderland side have capitulated and after an away hiding at Manchester City and last week's home defeat by West Brom the dread of Birminghams impressive home form will not be a welcome sight for the former Blues boss. Birmingham have already grabbed the Carling cup this season from the clutches of Arsenal so Premier League survival is high on the priority of Alex McLeish should the Blue's want to be facing European opposition next season as a Premier League team.
Mr Cropper says......Birmingham 1-0 Sunderland.
West Brom vs Chelsea....After a mammoth peppering of the Wigan goalmouth last week, Chelsea finally found a way past Ali Al-Habsi by way of Florent Malouda to get a faint pulse back into their title charge, could this be the day for Fernando to break his Chelsea duck? Since arriving for a staggering £50m from Liverpool Señor Torres has been about as effective as a chocolate teapot for the Londoner's in attack. Meanwhile Roy 'woy' Hodgson has had a miraculous effect on the once seemingly doomed Baggies, boing boing'ing all the way to safety after impressive wins over Liverpool and Sunderland not to mention a draw at home to Arsenal, could this be the game to finally end Chelsea's title bid?
Mr Cropper says.........West Brom 1-1 Chelsea
Blackpool vs Wigan.....Ian Holloway this week has called for video technology in the wake of a 'stonewall' penalty claim against Arsenal last week, no doubt the Bristolian madmatician wouldn't like to see a video of some of his sides performances post-christmas as Blackpool have slumped from the heady heights of early season, the reality now for Holloway and co is that Blackpool are a point above the drop zone with a poorer goal difference than West Ham below them. Wigan currently prop up the Premier League after a tough run which has seen them face Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea in the last five matches. A win for the Latics could make for a very interesting run-in at the end of the season...
Mr Cropper says.....Blackpool 1-3 Wigan
The Championship
Preston vs Sheffield United... How times have changed for the Blades, In the Premiership a little over three seasons back and now Micky Adam's men are peering at a steep drop into League One. Preston however are not in a too dissimilar predicament, after parting company with Darren Ferguson earlier in the season and now with Phil Brown at the helm yet still occupy a place in the bottom three, PNE are beginning to show some resurgence however after battling draws away to Doncaster and Portsmouth while the Blades are well and truly blunt, unable to win home or away at this present time. Will the form-book go out of the window for this one?
Mr Cropper says....Preston 1-0 Sheffield United.
Reading vs Leicester City....After a remarkable game away to Nottingham Forest at the weekend Brian Mcdermott's Reading side have firmly plonked themselves in the play-off spots, a place Leicester aim to be after the investment from a Thai consortium who have backed huge strides made at the club with the appointment of Sven-Goran Eriksson along with a whole host of talented footballers, still though the Foxes sit just outside the play-off spots and its games like this that count. Leicester's home form is second to none, but the away form sometimes indifferent. Reading however are on fire, four straight wins including two at home makes the Royal's huge favourites going into this one.
Mr Cropper says.......Reading 1-2 Leicester (well he would being a Leicester supporter!)
Crystal Palace vs Scunthorpe.. This tasty fixture involves two sides six points apart with only the dreading line of safety seperating the two sides. Palace are the on the right side of the line and after a well earned point at Leicester on Tuesday night Dougie Freedmans men will be looking to put daylight between themselves and the bottom three with a victory in this game. For Scunny its been an April of extremes, with a 6-0 hammering at Norwich followed by a shock 4-1 thrashing of table topper's QPR which way will the pendulum swing in this one? Over to Mr Cropper..
Mr Cropper says.... Crystal Palace 3-1 Scunthorpe.
League One
Peterborough vs Plymouth...So as we near the end of the season Paul Whitehouse and his Aviva posse including 'Janner' head to Peterborough, indeed it is a long ol' poke from ar'guyle. Plymouth lately have been far away from three points away from home, sitting bottom of the league with twelve defeats on the road this season. The Posh however sit pretty in the play off positions as Fergie Jnr weaves his magic once again, surely the Pilgrims will be cannon fodder for Fergie's boys?
Mr Cropper says.....Peterborough 3-0 Plymouth.
Notts County vs Bournemouth...His chair still warm at Barnet, ol' Mad Dog Martin Allen has upped sticks from Hertfordshire and come to Nottinghamshire to take charge of the Magpies, from one relegation battle to another in the league above for Allen as County take on a Bournemouth side hot on the heels of the play-off's. Having seen Allen's Barnet side take Burton Albion apart, much to the dismay of myself and Mr Cropper, can Mad Dog give the same impact to County's players?
Mr Cropper says....Notts County 1-1 Bournemouth.
Walsall vs Brighton....The seagulls have been doing...well....what all seagull's tend to do, to teams in League one this season, romping home to the title after an impressive comeback over Dagenham and Redbridge in midweek. Walsall on the other hand are peering nervously over their shoulders as only goal difference is keeping the West Midlands side out of the relegation zone. Dean Smith and his boys will be hoping Brighton heads are still fuzzy following the celebrations...
Mr Cropper says.....Walsall 1-0 Brighton.
League Two
Bury vs Barnet....Shell-shocked Barnet visit Gigg Lane tomorrow without Martin Allen who left to join Nott's County on Monday, Bury bagged a vital win against Burton on Tuesday despite having two men sent off and sit just below leaders Chesterfield in second place. The shaker's will be looking to cement that second spot while Barnet's character will be tested greatly as they climb towards safety in League two.
Mr Cropper says......Bury 2-1 Barnet.
Burton Albion vs Cheltenham...Times are hard at the Pirelli, with inconsistancy creeping in at the wrong time away from home for Albion the home form is all Burton have to rely on, Sam Winnall red-carded at Bury on Tuesday is a massive blow for the Brewer's going into this one, Cheltenham however have not had it all their own way either, after a thumping 8-1 defeat away at Crewe followed by a 1-1 draw at home to Rotherham, which Cheltenham side will turn up on Saturday?
Mr Cropper says.....Burton 1-0 Cheltenham.
Chesterfield vs Macclesfield....The maths are simple, if Shrewsbury fail to win their match with Stockport County and The Spirite's are victorious in this one then John Sheridans men can pop open the bubbly and celebrate becoming a League one side. In truth the Champagne has been on ice for quite some time at the B2net stadium as Chesterfield have frequently swept aside opposition, particularly at their new home. Macclesfield are looking to huff and puff over the finishing line to stave off any threat of joining the relegation dogfight, could it be Macc who are the party poopers?
Mr Cropper says.....Chesterfield 2-0 Macclesfield.
Premier League
Welcome to a brand new feature to Bar and In, by way of previewing the weekends action in all four divisions. We start at the top in what's been a fascinating Premier League season at both ends of the table with the title still not a complete formality for Manchester United after Arsenal's surge in form up the league. At the bottom is a whole different story with no less than eight teams flirting with the magic 40 point barrier its looking like going down to the wire as to who will slip back into the Championship. Here Mr Cropper himself has selected three key games from the weekend's fixture list in the top flight of real interest.....
Birmingham vs Sunderland.... Its been a miserable second half to the season for Steve Bruce after the sale of Darren Bent his Sunderland side have capitulated and after an away hiding at Manchester City and last week's home defeat by West Brom the dread of Birminghams impressive home form will not be a welcome sight for the former Blues boss. Birmingham have already grabbed the Carling cup this season from the clutches of Arsenal so Premier League survival is high on the priority of Alex McLeish should the Blue's want to be facing European opposition next season as a Premier League team.
Mr Cropper says......Birmingham 1-0 Sunderland.
West Brom vs Chelsea....After a mammoth peppering of the Wigan goalmouth last week, Chelsea finally found a way past Ali Al-Habsi by way of Florent Malouda to get a faint pulse back into their title charge, could this be the day for Fernando to break his Chelsea duck? Since arriving for a staggering £50m from Liverpool Señor Torres has been about as effective as a chocolate teapot for the Londoner's in attack. Meanwhile Roy 'woy' Hodgson has had a miraculous effect on the once seemingly doomed Baggies, boing boing'ing all the way to safety after impressive wins over Liverpool and Sunderland not to mention a draw at home to Arsenal, could this be the game to finally end Chelsea's title bid?
Mr Cropper says.........West Brom 1-1 Chelsea
Blackpool vs Wigan.....Ian Holloway this week has called for video technology in the wake of a 'stonewall' penalty claim against Arsenal last week, no doubt the Bristolian madmatician wouldn't like to see a video of some of his sides performances post-christmas as Blackpool have slumped from the heady heights of early season, the reality now for Holloway and co is that Blackpool are a point above the drop zone with a poorer goal difference than West Ham below them. Wigan currently prop up the Premier League after a tough run which has seen them face Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea in the last five matches. A win for the Latics could make for a very interesting run-in at the end of the season...
Mr Cropper says.....Blackpool 1-3 Wigan
The Championship
Preston vs Sheffield United... How times have changed for the Blades, In the Premiership a little over three seasons back and now Micky Adam's men are peering at a steep drop into League One. Preston however are not in a too dissimilar predicament, after parting company with Darren Ferguson earlier in the season and now with Phil Brown at the helm yet still occupy a place in the bottom three, PNE are beginning to show some resurgence however after battling draws away to Doncaster and Portsmouth while the Blades are well and truly blunt, unable to win home or away at this present time. Will the form-book go out of the window for this one?
Mr Cropper says....Preston 1-0 Sheffield United.
Reading vs Leicester City....After a remarkable game away to Nottingham Forest at the weekend Brian Mcdermott's Reading side have firmly plonked themselves in the play-off spots, a place Leicester aim to be after the investment from a Thai consortium who have backed huge strides made at the club with the appointment of Sven-Goran Eriksson along with a whole host of talented footballers, still though the Foxes sit just outside the play-off spots and its games like this that count. Leicester's home form is second to none, but the away form sometimes indifferent. Reading however are on fire, four straight wins including two at home makes the Royal's huge favourites going into this one.
Mr Cropper says.......Reading 1-2 Leicester (well he would being a Leicester supporter!)
Crystal Palace vs Scunthorpe.. This tasty fixture involves two sides six points apart with only the dreading line of safety seperating the two sides. Palace are the on the right side of the line and after a well earned point at Leicester on Tuesday night Dougie Freedmans men will be looking to put daylight between themselves and the bottom three with a victory in this game. For Scunny its been an April of extremes, with a 6-0 hammering at Norwich followed by a shock 4-1 thrashing of table topper's QPR which way will the pendulum swing in this one? Over to Mr Cropper..
Mr Cropper says.... Crystal Palace 3-1 Scunthorpe.
League One
Peterborough vs Plymouth...So as we near the end of the season Paul Whitehouse and his Aviva posse including 'Janner' head to Peterborough, indeed it is a long ol' poke from ar'guyle. Plymouth lately have been far away from three points away from home, sitting bottom of the league with twelve defeats on the road this season. The Posh however sit pretty in the play off positions as Fergie Jnr weaves his magic once again, surely the Pilgrims will be cannon fodder for Fergie's boys?
Mr Cropper says.....Peterborough 3-0 Plymouth.
Notts County vs Bournemouth...His chair still warm at Barnet, ol' Mad Dog Martin Allen has upped sticks from Hertfordshire and come to Nottinghamshire to take charge of the Magpies, from one relegation battle to another in the league above for Allen as County take on a Bournemouth side hot on the heels of the play-off's. Having seen Allen's Barnet side take Burton Albion apart, much to the dismay of myself and Mr Cropper, can Mad Dog give the same impact to County's players?
Mr Cropper says....Notts County 1-1 Bournemouth.
Walsall vs Brighton....The seagulls have been doing...well....what all seagull's tend to do, to teams in League one this season, romping home to the title after an impressive comeback over Dagenham and Redbridge in midweek. Walsall on the other hand are peering nervously over their shoulders as only goal difference is keeping the West Midlands side out of the relegation zone. Dean Smith and his boys will be hoping Brighton heads are still fuzzy following the celebrations...
Mr Cropper says.....Walsall 1-0 Brighton.
League Two
Bury vs Barnet....Shell-shocked Barnet visit Gigg Lane tomorrow without Martin Allen who left to join Nott's County on Monday, Bury bagged a vital win against Burton on Tuesday despite having two men sent off and sit just below leaders Chesterfield in second place. The shaker's will be looking to cement that second spot while Barnet's character will be tested greatly as they climb towards safety in League two.
Mr Cropper says......Bury 2-1 Barnet.
Burton Albion vs Cheltenham...Times are hard at the Pirelli, with inconsistancy creeping in at the wrong time away from home for Albion the home form is all Burton have to rely on, Sam Winnall red-carded at Bury on Tuesday is a massive blow for the Brewer's going into this one, Cheltenham however have not had it all their own way either, after a thumping 8-1 defeat away at Crewe followed by a 1-1 draw at home to Rotherham, which Cheltenham side will turn up on Saturday?
Mr Cropper says.....Burton 1-0 Cheltenham.
Chesterfield vs Macclesfield....The maths are simple, if Shrewsbury fail to win their match with Stockport County and The Spirite's are victorious in this one then John Sheridans men can pop open the bubbly and celebrate becoming a League one side. In truth the Champagne has been on ice for quite some time at the B2net stadium as Chesterfield have frequently swept aside opposition, particularly at their new home. Macclesfield are looking to huff and puff over the finishing line to stave off any threat of joining the relegation dogfight, could it be Macc who are the party poopers?
Mr Cropper says.....Chesterfield 2-0 Macclesfield.
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