Summary Review: Round 6 (19/09/2009 and 20/09/2009) 26 September, 2009

What a Manchester derby! It had almost everything - goals, controversy, late drama, probably just short of a red card or two! Manchester City must have thought that they would be leaving Old Trafford with a hard-earned point and at least equal bragging rights when Craig Bellamy seized on Rio Ferdinand's mistake to put them level for the third time in the match. But Manchester United had other ideas, and with a swing of his right boot, Michael Owen justified Alex Ferguson's decision to sign him up. Speaking of "signing him up", Carlos Tevez won his fitness battle to feature in the match, and added to the spice with a typically determined assist and an agonising miss.

The other big match of the weekend was the London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. It was a comparatively one-sided affair, and that is like describing Mount Everest as tall. The matter of fact is that Chelsea waltzed past Spurs 3-0 to make it six wins out of six. That match too was not without controversy, however. Spurs arguably should have been given a penalty kick at a critical time when they were still only a goal down.

Arsenal scored an easy 4-0 win over Wigan Athletic, while Liverpool laboured to yet another 3-2 away win, this time against West Ham United. Aston Villa piled further pressure on Portsmouth by expectedly inflicting their sixth defeat of the season. Pompey at the moment are as pointless as this blog! Everton looked to have put their early season troubles behind with a convincing win against Blackburn Rovers. Blackburn, on the other hand, look to be wading deeper into trouble and must hope to chalk up some good results soon.

Elsewhere, Burnley kept their impressive home record with a win against Sunderland. Their tally at Turf Moor now stands at three out of three - not bad considering the other two wins were against Manchester United and Everton. Fellow promoted clubs Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers too racked up crucial three points against Hull City and Fulham respectively, while Bolton Wanderers and Stoke City shared a goal and a point apiece.

Predictions

Burnley - Sunderland
Prediction: 1 - 2
Result: 3 - 1

Arsenal - Wigan Athletic
Prediction: 3 - 1
Result: 4 - 0

Bolton Wanderers - Stoke City
Prediction: 2 - 2
Result: 1 - 1

Hull City - Birmingham City
Prediction: 0 - 0
Result: 0 - 1

Aston Villa - Portsmouth
Prediction: 2 - 0
Result: 2 - 0

West Ham United - Liverpool
Prediction: 1 - 2
Result: 2 - 3

Manchester United - Manchester City
Prediction: 2 - 2
Result: 4 - 3

Wolverhampton Wanderers - Fulham
Prediction: 1 - 2
Result: 2 - 1

Everton - Blackburn Rovers
Prediction: 2 - 1
Result: 3 - 0

Chelsea - Tottenham Hotspur
Prediction: 2 - 0
Result: 3 - 0

Round 6 Tally: 10 Predictions; 1 Correct Scores; 6 Correct Outcomes
Season Tally: 56 Predictions; 2 Correct Scores; 30 Correct Outcomes

Betting

Burnley - Sunderland
Bet: £15 on Away Win at 2.50
Result: Home Win (Lost £15.00)

Aston Villa - Portsmouth
Bet: £30 on Home Win at 1.36
Result: Home Win (Won £10.80)

Manchester United - Manchester City
Bet: £10 on Draw at 3.75
Result: Home Win (Lost £10.00)

Everton - Blackburn Rovers
Bet: £15 on Home Win at 1.80
Result: Home Win (Won £12.00)

Round 6 Tally: £70.00 in Bets; -£2.20 in Takings
Season Tally: £395.00 in Bets; -£56.05 in Takings

Fantasy Football

My Team

A very good gameweek, with all of my goalkeepers and defenders (Cech, Cole, Collins, Yobo and Clichy) keeping clean sheets, and both of my forwards (Rooney and Bent) scoring. Even Cole and Yobo weighed in with goals!

It would have been perfect, though, if some of my midfielders actually did anything noteworthy. (To be fair, Cahill did keep a clean sheet for an additional point.)