Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill believes Tottenham pose the biggest threat to the Villains attempts to break into the top four this season.

O’Neill’s side host Spurs (17/10 to beat Villa in the 90 minute match betting) on Saturday teatime looking to draw level on points with the north London outfit who currently occupy fourth place.

The two sides appear to be the most likely contenders to break the ‘big four’s’ monopoly on the Champions League spots, with both having come close in the past.

Villa (4/1 in the Without Big Four winners market) occupied fourth place for much of last season before falling away and eventually finishing sixth.

Tottenham were denied their place in the Champions League on the last day of the season in 2006, but both sides have seemingly learnt from their past experiences and have strengthen their squads considerably this season.

O’Neill claims Spurs are Villa’s main rivals for the coveted fourth spot and expects Saturday’s clash at Villa Park to be a tight one.

“Tottenham are very strong,” said O’Neill.

“They have a chance to challenge that top four because they have the wherewithal to do it.

“But we will throw absolutely everything at it.

“It will be a tough ask this season again but it’s our aim.

“That’s what we want to do as we’d love to be playing Champions League football eventually.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of Totesport.com’s Premier League and European match betting this weekend.

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It seems like an age ago that Manchester United capitulated at Craven Cottage and Liverpool spanked five past the Villa in what was probably one of the most exciting weekends of the Premier league season so far. But here we are again, after the snoozefest that is the ‘International break’ back with plenty of betting opportunities on the Premier League.

First off in the early kick-off is Blackburn against my beloved Spurs at Ewood park. Even the most ardent of Spurs fans will admit they’re easy to oppose on the road, even during this mini-revival that’s seen them jump right up the table and just three points behind seventh place. Blackburn though only have three wins to their name at home all season and are without a win in four matches. Spurs are actually three unbeaten on the road which must be some kind of club record. They’re also unbeaten at Ewood Park since 2003 so they could be worth backing at 6/4 with totesport. The draw probably looks the safest bet though at 11/5, with Blackburn also a 6/4 shot. Totesport will be betting live in-running on this match.

Arsenal look like a good thing at home to Manchester City in the first of the three o’clock kick-offs. Robin Van Persie’s inspired the Gunners to three straight wins and they’ve never lost to City at home in the Premier League. City have a woeful away record having not won away from Eastlands since beating Sunderland in only their third game of the season. Arsenal are a home banker here at 1/2 with totesport. The draw is 13/5 and an unlikely City win is priced up at 5/1.

Bolton play second bottom Middlesbrough at the Reebok knowing that a couple more wins will probably secure their safety for another season in the Premier League. Bolton haven’t won in three and lost at home last time out to Fulham, who, up until that point hadn’t won on the road all season. Boro have put together a dreadful run on the road having not won in nine straight games and now are in serious danger of being relegated. Bolton won the reverse fixture 3-1 earlier in the season and it’s difficult to not see them doing the double over Boro and winning here on Saturday. You can back Bolton at an attractive looking even money with totesport. Middlesbrough and the draw are both 9/4 shots.

Hull welcome Portsmouth to the KC Stadium on Saturday desperate to put a halt to their slip down the Premier League table. Phil Brown’s team only have three wins to their name at home all season and the last of those was against Boro at the beginning of December. Pompey on the other hand only have two wins away from Fratton park all season and their last win on the road was as far back as November against Sunderland. The teams drew 2-2 at Portsmouth last year and the draw looks a good bet here too at 11/5. You can alternatively jump off the fence and back either team at 6/4 with totesport.

All eyes will be on St James’s Park as Alan Shearer looks to help Newcastle revive their season and avoid relegation. It’s a tough fixture first up though against a Chelsea team who’ll be still kicking themselves for slipping up at Spurs a fortnight ago. Form obviously points towards Chelsea, who also haven’t lost in their last three visits to the North East. However, the atmosphere will be rocking for this one and paired with the arrival of Shearer it could just be deciding factor towards an unlikely win. Newcastle can be backed at a big 9/2, opposed to Chelsea’s 8/15 with totesport. The draw is 5/2.

It’s a relegation battle at the Hawthornes as West Brom take on Stoke in this six-pointer. West Brom haven’t won in four at home and they’re desperate for points to cling on to any kind of hope of Premier league survival. They could well oblige here though as Stoke haven’t won a single away game in the league all season. The betting suggests the home team will prevail as they’re an evens shot opposed to the 9/4 about Stoke’s chances. The draw is also 9/4.

Sunderland are not out of the woods yet and take a winless run of five games down to Upton park to face a West Ham who’ve drawn their last two games, including a disappointing scoreless draw at home to West Brom. West ham will be without their top scorer Carlton Cole for this one but Sunderland are without a win away from the Stadium of Light since December and it’s difficult to picture them springing a surprise here. The betting sides with the hammers but there might actually be some value backing them at what looks like chunky 10/11. Sunderland are 5/2 and the draw is 9/4, both with totesport.

In the evening kick-off, Fulham will look to repeat the damage they inflicted on Manchester United a fortnight earlier to Liverpool at Craven Cottage. Fulham have only lost three games at home all season and have beaten United and Arsenal along the way, plus a good 2-2 draw with Chelsea to boot. Liverpool will certainly hold no fear for Roy Hodgson’s men and it’ll be interesting to see if the Reds have banished their away defeat to Middlesbrough three matches ago. Impressive displays since then against Madrid, United and Villa last time out should mean they can get the three points to put them top of the league on Saturday night. Liverpool are an 8/13 shot here with Fulham and the draw 4/1 and 12/5 respectively with totesport. Totesport will be betting live in-running on this match.

On Sunday, Everton face Wigan in a game postponed a day due to the running of the Grand National in Liverpool on Saturday afternoon. Everton slumped to a 2-1 defeat away at Pompey last time out but have three wins on the bounce to their name at Goodison Park. Wigan on the other hand had their first win in five away in thei last trip on the road up at Sunderland and won’t be pushovers. Everton look a little skinny at 8/11 with Wigan a 10/3 chance. The draw looks the best bet to me at 9/4.

Finally, Manchester United play Villa on Sunday afternoon at Old Trafford and could well find themselves knocked off the perch at the summit of the Premier League. United have lost their last two games after an eleven match winning streak but have an impressive record over their opponents having gone 23 matches unbeaten in all competition versus Villa. Villa have no win in five now and I can’t see where the next one is going to come from so it’s a no-brainer backing United here at 4/11. Villa are a 13/2 chance with the draw 3/1. Totesport will be betting live in-running on this match.

Check out totesport on Saturday morning’s for their enhanced Premier League Coupon from 9.30am for better prices.

Manchester City´s hot league streak looks set to continue as Mark Hughes takes his rapidly improving side to the JJB in the later game on Sunday afternoon.

The Eastlands outfit have now won three of their last four Premier League matches - knocking in an impressive12 goals in the three wins.

That haul was eyecatchingly beefed up by last week´s 6-0 home win over Portsmouth. The victory was City´s biggest win in nearly 40 years.

Anoraks may point to the fact that City have never beaten Wigan in the Premiership (drawn two, lost two), but City have never had a player like Robinho in their side either!

The Brazilian combined with compatriot Jo to devastating effect in the Pompey mauling and it´s hard to imagine that they won´t score.

On recent form Steve Bruce´s Wigan appear to be no pushovers and are sure to attract online betting support.

At present they are unbeaten in five league and cup games with three wins and a brace of draws.

But drill down a little deeper into the stats and it is interesting to see that the Latics have only picked up three home points from an available 15.

The JJB boys have only scored once at home this term and we have to believe that their lack of home goals will see them undone by a rampaging City. totesport´s football odds about a win for Hughes´s team look too good to resist.

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Twelve months on and millions upon millions spent, it´s still the same sorry story for Tottenham Hotspur.

Former boss Martin Jol ruthlessly got the boot for his poor start last season yet few are questioning Juande Ramos despite this being the worst Premiership start of all time from the north Londoners.

Thankfully us punters can question the Spaniard by backing Wigan at football odds of 4/1 with totesport online betting to heap more woe on the White Hart Lane outfit.

With a record of one win in 11 Premier League outings it´s almost impossible to make a case for backing Spurs.

Rock bottom of the table with only one point is not good enough for a side that harbours Uefa hopes. Talking of the Uefa Cup, did you see Tottenham´s laboured display against Wisla Krakow in midweek?

They huffed and puffed against second rate opposition for most of the match and needed a second half Darren Bent header to eke out a 2-1 victory.

Wigan are a much better side than Krakow and have looked highly useful on the road this season. They thrashed Hull 5-0 on the last away day and their performance merited something better than the eventual 2-1 defeat at West Ham in the opening game of the season.

Egyptian hit man Amr Zaki looks a great signing and alongside Antonio Valencia the Lancashire side have the makings of a lethal front pairing. We expect them to do some damage at the Lane.

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Manchester United will find themselves a gaping NINE points behind Chelsea should they lose to the high flying Londoners on Sunday.

That´s the nightmare scenario for manager Sir Alex Ferguson who takes his side that fortress of a venue, Stamford Bridge, this weekend.

The Londoners boast and unbeaten record of 84 home Premier League matches. Indeed, Roman Abramovich´s club haven´t suffered a league defeat at the Bridge since losing to Arsenal in February 2004.

If United are to make any impact they will need to produce a far better performance than they did in losing 2-1 at Liverpool last Saturday.

But it doesn´t look good. Nemanja Vidic is suspended and that means we will see a makeshift centre half in the form of Gary Neville or Wes Brown next to defensive mainstay Rio Ferdinand.

Chelsea, on the other hand, are in fine fettle. Their 4-0 win over Bordeaux on Tuesday is further evidence that Felipe Scolari´s men are starting to fire on all cylinders.

That´s a scary prospect and one that should alert punters to take those football odds of 5/4 for Chelsea to avenge their Champions League final defeat with victory.

totesport´s online betting lists Nicolas Anelka at 6/1 to score the first goal and given his last minute strike against the French outfit in midweek that´s a punt well worth a dash.

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New Premier League boys Stoke City look an excellent punt at football odds of 11/5 to beat Everton in Sky´s live TV game at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday.

If they are to survive, manager Tony Pulis told the club´s devoted fans that they need to turn their Potteries home into a “fortress” this season.

And that was very much the case as the combination of a bear-pit atmosphere and an energetic team display proved too much for Aston Villa to cope with in the Potters´ first game back in the top flight for 23 years.

David Moyes´s Everton can expect more of the same and given his side´s iffy start to the season (2 defeats 1 win) it is hard to see why Stoke are made underdogs for this clash.

Pulis will have a full squad to choose from with the impressive Ricardo Fuller and Dave Kitson partnership spearheading their hopes.

Fuller is available at online betting odds of 15/8 to score at anytime and given his storming home display against Villa that looks a price well worth an interest.

Stoke´s long ball methods have come under fire from most quarters but to label them as the new “Wimbledon” is rank bad lazy journalism.

Going forward they are a match for most and anyone who witnessed the build up to Fuller´s strike against Martin O´Neill´s team will be left in no doubt about their ability to create and construct from inside their own half.

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Wow. What a difference a week makes in football. Arabs buy Manchester City and Real Madrid’s Robinho, Manchester United sign Dimitar Berbatov and King Kev resigns.

It’s a crazy, crazy world as far as the English Premier League is concerned and who knows what else is in store over the coming weeks.

One of the more interesting stories is that Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley is on the verge of selling the club to Indian businessman Anil Ambani.

And guess what?

Newspaper rumours suggest Kevin Keegan could be back as manager in a matter of days if Indian billionaire Ambani gets his way.

As far as us punters are concerned we have to try and make sense of it all and whilst it would be wonderful to imagine a third coming of Messiah Keegan this one looks a bridge too far.

Make no mistake about, the Toon Army are in utter disarray right now and are heading nowhere fast. totesport online sports betting go 18/1 that they will be relegated this season and that’s a decent price considering the turmoil the club are embroiled in.

Morale among players and fans is at rock bottom and that just has to affect performances on the field. The bookies perceived certainties for relegation - Hull, Stoke and WBA - have shown thus far they are nothing of the sort. That brings into play at least eight sides fighting to avoid the drop and after the happenings of the past couple of weeks Newcastle are one of them.

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Online sports betting maestros totesport go 12/1 about Manchester City’s chances of landing this year’s FA Cup and with a veritable war chest behind them we expect Mark Hughes’s side to go mighty close.

The extraordinary signature of Robinho from Real Madrid was just the first in a long line of mega money arrivals that will get fully underway in the January transfer window.

The club’s new Arab owners have already spoken of their desire to see the likes of Kaka, Ronaldo and Cristiano Ronaldo at Eastlands and with a reported 555 billion fortune behind them anything is possible.

Their spend, spend, spend policy obviously throws up all sorts of ethical questions that will trouble most genuine football supporters – but a little investment ourselves at 12s will make us feel better should they go all the way to Wembley.

Like all Premiership sides City will enter the competition in the 3rd round proper that gets underway at the start of the New Year and by the time they play their 4th round match we could be looking at football’s equivalent of the Harlem Globetrotters.

Today’s football transfer gossip pages are awash with stories of Steven Gerrard and Michael Essien being lined up for January moves.

When the news broke that the Arabs had bought into City we considered tipping them for the Premiership title at 80/1 but even if Hughes buys a galaxy of stars it will take him several months to gel them together into a cohesive unit.

But one off cup games are a different story and offer the incoming stars the best opportunity of winning some silverware this season. Help yourself to those 12/1 footbll odds because the FA Cup is coming to Middle-Eastlands.

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Keep an eye on Arsenal for the Premier League title following their slick 3-0 victory over Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium at the weekend.

Dutch ace Robin van Persie scored twice while Brazilian Denilson got the other to serve out a warning to more fancied title rivals Chelsea and Manchester United.

As a consequence the bookies have trimmed the football odds on Arsene Wenger´s side for the 2008/9 Premier League title.

Elsewhere, Portsmouth got their season back on track with an impressive 3-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park. Harry Redknapp´s men lost their two opening games of the season against Chelsea and Manchester United.

Former Spurs man Jermain Defoe linked up perfectly with Peter Crouch to inflict a rare win over the Toffees in their Merseyside stronghold. Pompey are 25/1 to win the FA Cup with totesport sports betting.

At the other end of the table Stoke City and Hull suffered Saturday set backs in their respective quests for survival. The Potters went down narrowly 1-2 at Middlesbrough and the Tigers were embarrassingly routed 5-0 against Wigan in front of their home fans.

Bizarrely West Brom are more fancied to stay up with many football judges despite mustering just one point from their opening three matches. Their first point came in a 0-0 stalemate at Bolton on Saturday.

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The presence of Gareth Barry on the pitch is sure to grab the headlines for Aston Villa´s match against Liverpool on Sunday.

The on-off-on-off transfer saga was one of the big summer stories but put aside the hype and make yourself a few quid by backing Villa to grab all the points in their Birmingham stronghold.

Anyone who has watched Liverpool´s performances this season will be fully aware of just how badly they are playing despite a 100% start to their Premier League campaign.

But in football you can only ride your luck for so long. The efforts of Rafa Benitez´s boys in scraping past Standard Liege was very disappointing against supposedly vastly inferior opposition. What would Man Utd, Arsenal or Chelsea have done to Liege over two legs?

Villa lost to a surprisingly impressive Stoke City last week but in their excellent opening day 4-2 win over Man City they spelt out that they are going to be a serious proposition at home.  Take the premiership odds on the Villains.

Roy Keane´s Sunderland are also in action on Sunday where we fancy them to beat visitors Manchester City at the current football odds.

The Black Cats were brilliant in winning at Spurs last weekend and they can oblige again against a City side that has been known to suffer from travel sickness in the past 12 months. The 4-2 loss at Villa Park points towards more away day agony this season.

Sunderland have spent fortunes this season in an effort to make solid inroads into the top half of the table.

Anton Ferdinand is the latest recruit following a GBP 8 million move from West Ham. An assured debut from him at the back and some fireworks up front from El Hadji Diouf and Djibril Cisse will be enough to get past City.

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