Saturday January 18th
 

Two minutes away from a cleansweep yesterday, but a very good day nonetheless and hopefully, many of you got on that circa 11-1 multiple which gave this month's profits a timely boost.
 

Today's follow up newsletter is @13.30 UK time and will look at the later fixtures and the overnight Australian Open match ups and a reminder that they is a third email today at 18.00, with the early Sunday news.
 

Notes will be a little on the skinny side for the remaining four emails this weekend, I have tickets for two matches and I feel it is important for me to see as many live games as possible, unfortunately, neither of them is Walsall-Brentford, but you cannot have everything in life !

Premier League: Norwich City-Hull City

We discussed the Canaries in midweek ahead of their FA Cup defeat at Fulham when I wrote....

These two sit one and two points respectively outside the drop zone, both within three of Crystal Palace who are currently bottom of the table and this pair are well and truly involved in the relegation battle and need further involvement in the cup, like I need another hole in my head. However, it will be difficult for Fulham as the home side to "give up" on this and after their dire 4-1 loss here to Sunderland at the weekend, they desperately need to stop the rot and record a confidence boosting win. Also, they travel to the Emirates to face the league leaders on Saturday and that win is highly unlikely to come there, so it should be all about today for them, The reverse is true for the Canaries, they host Hull City at the weekend in a must win fixture and surely, this week, they should be prioritising that game. Visiting boss Chris Hughton is under pressure and has spoken about giving the cup his full focus, but he will not risk a couple of players returning from injury this evening and will instead save them for the weekend, along with several others and I think it is clear that Hughton will be saying one thing and doing another.
 

Sometimes you have to pick your battles and let other games pass you by a little, there is nothing wrong with that, you can still try to win those fixtures with the resources you have opted to use, but the bigger picture is more important . We have spoken many times before about this, especially in Brazil, where the schedule is gruelling and travel and officials severe and occasionally, that middle game of three is just too much. Anyway, this week was always going to be about today for Norwich and I hope and expect them to win today, home boss Chris Hughton is one of the good guys and always conducts himself with great dignity and I have a lot of time for him and not just because he ended his playing career at Brentford !! Norwich have three very win-able fixtures now and I hope that at the very least, he is given those to get his team back on track. He rested six starters at Craven Cottage and they are likely to all return today, City also get a couple of others back from long term injury and have on loan Newcastle United midfielder Jonas Gutierrez, who was a key man in the Magpies squad that Hughton led to promotion, to further freshen up the squad.

Visitors are nicely positioned in 10th place and boss Steve Bruce has been given funds to add to his striking options and his two new signings, Nikica Jelavic and Shane Long are expected to be available for selection. I will not be happy if Long scores after missing that absolute sitter in the dying minutes at Southampton last Saturday, but maybe both will need longer to gel with their new team mates. They have struggled on the road all season, with 18 of their 23 points coming at the KC Stadium and it is pushing four months since that sole away win. I think they will have to wait a little longer for the next. Hugely important home win for the Canaries he said hopefully ! 1.5 units Norwich City -0.25 ball 2.12 asian line/Ibramarket.
 

Liverpool-Aston Villa