Sports Betting Tips

New West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola is the man on the hot seat leading into this weekend’s English Premier League round.

The Hammers have been a disaster since the Italian Zola took over from Alan Curbishley just two weeks into the new season, losing five of their last six games and drawing the other.

On Saturday the Hammers are at home to Portsmouth, see the spread here at JustBet.com, with another loss putting West Ham right into the relegation zone.

The Hammers led Everton 1-0 late in the match last week, only to concede three goals in the last seven minutes in a stunning collapse that has only added to the pressure on Zola’s shoulders.

Injuries haven’t helped the Hammers’ cause, with key figures Kieron Dyer (broken leg), Dean Ashton (groin), Valon Behrami (calf) and Mark Noble (calf) all missing much of the season to date.

Portsmouth also has a new manager in Tony Adams (no relation!!!) following Harry Redknapp’s move to Tottenham earlier this month. Like Zola, Adams has had a rocky road, losing his first two games in charge before a late 2-1 win over Sunderland released some of the pressure off his shoulders.

A 90th minute penalty from Jermain Defoe, who began his career at West Ham, earned Pompey a morale-boosting victory and they remain in the top half of the ladder in ninth spot.

The Hammers haven’t beaten Portsmouth in over a decade, with Pompey taking four of the six clashes between the teams and the other two finishing as draws.

Another game attracting plenty of interest is the revitalized Tottenham’s visit to London neighbors Fulham.

After a woeful start to the season, the Spurs put the veteran Redknapp in charge and the result is a stunning turnaround, with the team unbeaten in their last five outings.

But Spurs are still in the danger zone when it comes to relegation (the bottom three teams go down at the end of the season), lying fourth from the bottom with 12 points.

Fulham are marginally better at 14 points but come into the game on a high following an upset 2-1 victory over Newcastle last week.

Fulham have now won two of their last three games but are a team that regularly figures in the battle to avoid relegation.

Spurs also won 2-1 last week at Manchester City, their first away win of the campaign. Striker Darren Bent bagged both goals and appears the man Fulham must stop if they hope to continue their climb up the ladder.

Other games: Bolton (+400) v Liverpool, Arsenal v Aston Villa, Blackburn v Sunderland, Manchester United v Stoke City, Newcastle v Wigan Athletic, West Bromwich Albion v Chelsea, Everton v Middlesbrough, Hull City v Manchester City.