Roker Riches: So... A Torres Hat-Trick Then?

Week Fifteen Recap

It's all change at the foot of the leaderboard as Chris Weatherspoon came good with his first win in, well forever, backing the Norwich victory over the lads. Lets try not to hold it against him too much. My Championship treble also came up trumps, at odds of 6.64, to help close the gap on our man in France who still holds a sizable lead at present. However as we have seen over recent weeks, the leaderboard can take on a different perspective at the drop of a hat.

So, onto this week's selections as we tackle Sunderland vs Chelsea, of course, and the rest of the footballing action that is on offer.

Karl Jones

So, Chelsea come to town this weekend as the upcoming fixtures take somewhat of a turn for the worse. Under Rafa Benitez, the Champions League holders have flattered to deceive and but they generally do well at the Stadium of Light. One player holding his end of the bargain up in the Sunderland side is Craig Gardner. The midfielder's long-range shooting ability is causing teams all sorts of bother lately, and has been particularly threatening from free-kicks.

Elsewhere, Norwich City are yet to win away this season and face a Swansea team fresh of a win over Arsenal. We'll plump for a home win in that one.

Just two of Aston Villa's home games have surpassed the 2.5 goals margin - defeats to Everton and Manchester United. So far this season, Villa have mainly ground out results whilst just three Stoke games this season have seen more than two goals.

To complete the treble, second meets third in Italy as Inter Milan host Napoli. Half of the last six meetings between the two sides have ended in Napoli wins, with Walter Marrazzi's men winning this fixture 3-0 last season. Both are on steady undefeated runs in the league, but with both Edison Cavani and Marek Hamsik in the goal charts, Napoli may just have more firepower.

• Craig Gardner to score at any time - 7/1 - £2 Stake
• Swansea to beat Norwich, Aston Villa/Stoke under 2.5 goals, Napoli to beat Inter Milan - 17/2 - £3 Stake

David Boyle

You know what, sod it. As abysmal and unacceptable as the first half performance against Norwich was, the second half was fantastic. We created plenty and were unbelievably unlucky not to come away with a point or even all three from the encounter. Also you don't need me to tell you about the situation Chelsea have gotten themselves in, so with that in mind I'm going to back a Sunderland win, but with the safety net of "draw no bet". We're due something a bit special.

Away from the Stadium of Light I am going to go for a Premier League double. The first side to make my coupon is Swansea who will be full of confidence following their victory at the Emirates and should be able to see off the challenge of Norwich. Second is West Ham who face a Luis Suarez-less Liverpool on Sunday at Upton Park and, much like Swansea, will be confident of adding another three points to their tally following their win over Chelsea last time out.

• Sunderland win, draw no bet - 5/2 - £2 Stake
• Swansea and West Ham to win - 6/1 - £3 Stake

Simon Walsh

Howdy all. There's not been much I've got right in this feature recently, however I can tell you two things for certain. One, I'm not particularly optimistic about this weekend's game with Chelsea. Two, I am an idiot and will be ignoring point one on account of my ridiculous homerism.

With that in mind in the Chelsea game, against all my better nature, I'm going for 'No Goalscorer' at 7/1.

Around the rest of the games, I'm going to attempt my random scattergun accumulator approach again, and plumping for the following teams to all win - FC Heidenheim, Pro Vercelli, Hansana Rostock, Ternana, Gaziantespor and Galatasaray. Why? Why not!

• No Goalscorer in Sunderland Vs Chelsea - 7/1 - £3 Stake
• FC Heidenheim, Pro Vercelli, Hansana Rostock, Ternana, Gaziantespor and Galatasaray all to win - 137/1 - £2 Stake

Dan Williams

Here I am again, Mr Negative. I honestly think we'll get beat again at the weekend, and the form of Chelsea's forwards on Wednesday night did nothing to help that.

Back to the Football League for part two. I'm going big money, as I'd love to see that gap open up at the top of the league again.

• Chelsea win with -1 Handicap - 2/1 - £5 Stake
• Crystal Palace, Leicester, Watford, Tranmere and Port Vall all to win - 22/1 - £5 Stake