Dobber's Match Day 23 Predictions

The Trio's league table is all tied up heading into Match Day 23, but there will be separation following our five selections for this weekend. The Dobber had a solid week last week with a 3-2 finish, including a spot-on call with Tottenham v. Portsmouth "Toilet Stinker Match of the Week." This week I'm looking to go a step further with at least a 4-1 record and storm the table for top prize. Watch out Ace and Eugene, the Dobber's coming for your bitch asses.

Tottenham 3 Stoke City 1
Dobber's getting things off to a fast start with the first prediction nailing the "Toilet Stinker Match of the Week" award for Match Day 23. Tottenham and Stoke are both circulating the proverbial relegation toilet bowl, and will be vying for 3 pts that can help make the difference between staying with the big boys or going down to the minors. Fortunately for Tottenham , they're offensive attack will find success over Stoke's defensive and will catapult Tottenham up towards the 12-14 spot of the table. Sorry Stoke, your ass is going to be relegated this season.

Portsmouth 1 Aston Villa 2
Aston Villa is trying to hold on to their 4th spot in the table and even though they're on the road, they'll be traveling to Portsmouth. These two teams have a interesting parallel in that Villa has a +13 goal differential, while Portsmouth is about the same at 12. Although the big difference is that Portsmouth is -12. So how is this an interesting parallel? It isn't. One club scores a lot more than they give up and the other club gives up much more than they score. Even at home, that doesn't bode well for Portsmouth. Villa will enter Portsmouth and walk away with 3 pts, keeping them ahead of Arsenal for that lucrative 4th CL spot for another week.

Manchester City 3 Newcastle 1
In a battle of two middle of the pack clubs, Man City hosts Newcastle in a match that could be over very early for Newcastle. Man City has an attack that is one of the best in the premier league and something tells the old Dobber that they'll want to show the club supporter's that they can still put points on the board without the services of Kaka. If this match was at Newcastle, I might give them a chance to sqweek out a draw, but with this meeting being held within the City of Manchester, Newcastle will leave with no points.

Wigan 1 Liverpool 1
At the beginning of the season, this looked like a sure winner for Liverpool. However with the events of the last few weeks, this match is shaping up to be quite the entertainer. Wigan has found success in 3 of their last 4 matches, with the only loser a 1-0 defeat at the Emirates. Meanwhile, Liverpool stuttered for a few weeks in December before back to back thrashings of Bolton and Newcastle. But they followed that up with a 1-1 draw at Anfield to Everton. So the question is, which Liverpool side will show up? I'm thinking it will be the underachievers and I'm betting on Wigan to slow down Liverpool's attack and find themselves with a much needed point at the final whistle.

Everton 1 Arsenal 2
Another relatively top bill this weekend sees Everton hosting Arsenal. Much of the talk this week has been surrounding the Gunners and their pursuit of Andrea Arshavin. Zenit is apparently holding Arshavin for ransom and have turned down the Gunners recent $15M Euro offer and set a Saturday night deadline for Arsenal to meet the clubs demands. Those demands have been rumored to be $20M Euros, so it's looking more likely Arshavin will not see the pitch at the Emirates this season. With all the worldwind around this situation, the Gunners must focus their attention on a dangerous opponent in Everton. While Everton has had a pretty solid attack so far this season, their back line has been suspect at times, and will be exposed once again by the Gunners. It won't be easy for the Gunners, but they'll get the late go ahead goal to secure 3 pts and put more pressure on Aston Villa.