Tony Kelshaw 
Manchester City survived a major scare when winning 3-2 at Schalke in the Champions League and will be hoping for a smoother ride on home turf. The Blues looked up against it when 2-1 behind and down to 10 men, but showed plenty of spirit to snatch victory late on at the Veltins Arena.
Huddersfield have been showing spirit at home recently and are fancied to hold their own against Bournemouth at John Smith’s Stadium. The Cherries are rated a better team than the Terriers but may settle for a share of the spoils following nine straight away defeats in the Premier League.
Our ratings suggest Cardiff could be running out of steam, whereas West Ham have been coming on strong over the past month or so. The Hammers were convincing 3-1 victors when these teams met in London at the start of December and are fancied to confirm that superiority in Wales.
Aston Villa remain something of an enigma but are still rated a value bet to beat Birmingham in Sunday’s big Midlands derby. Dean Smith’s side were outstanding when thrashing Derby 4-0 in the Championship last weekend and will take some stopping if in the same mood at St Andrew’s.
Roma will take a slender 2-1 advantage to Porto for the second leg of their Champions League tie and can do just enough to progress. The Italian outfit secured a 1-1 stalemate at Estadio do Dragao in a qualifier two seasons ago and are fancied to finish on level terms again.
Tottenham took control of their Champions League tie with Borussia Dortmund when winning 3-0 in London and can do enough in the return fixture to ease through. Spurs will have fond memories of their most recent trip to Signal Iduna Park, when prevailing 2-1 during last season’s group stage.
Real Madrid must recover from two quick El Clasico defeats when hosting Ajax in the Champions League but do have the benefit of being 2-1 up from the first leg. The promising, young Dutch outfit did impress in Amsterdam, though, so we should be in for another cracking contest.
Wolves suffered a first defeat in eight games at Huddersfield on Tuesday but have the scope to bounce straight back when hosting Cardiff. The Bluebirds are coming off a couple of emphatic home defeats, conceding eight times in those fixtures, and face another difficult test at Molineux.
After ending a 14-match winless run in the Premier League, Huddersfield are fancied to pick up another decent point at Brighton. The Terriers edged out Wolves in stoppage time on Tuesday, whereas Albion lost narrowly at Leicester to leave them with just one point in six games.
The last two Steel City derbies have ended in stalemate and we’re going for another draw when Sheffield Wednesday host Sheffield United. Both sides have been in fine form of late, with the Owls unbeaten in seven Championship matches and the Blades going six games without defeat.
Huddersfield have lost seven straight Premier League home games but most of those matches were very close and we fancy them to stop the rot when Wolves visit John Smith’s Stadium. Town’s last victory was a 2-0 triumph over Wanderers at Molineux back in late November.
Cardiff received a wake-up call when thrashed by Watford but our Trueform chart suggests they are worth another chance when entertaining Everton. The Toffees travel to Wales on the back of three straight defeats and may also be a touch rusty after going 17 days without a game.
Newcastle have been battling hard to boost their survival hopes of late and will view Huddersfield at home as a great chance to pick up three more valuable points. The Terriers are cut adrift at the foot of the Premier League table following a run of 12 defeats in 13 top-flight fixtures.
Cardiff have climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone with back-to-back victories and will be fired up for the visit of Watford on Friday night. However, the Hornets are also in fine form, only losing once in their last 10 matches – and that was a narrow defeat away to Tottenham.