Alex McLeish, a man never afraid to speak the truth, has admitted that Birmingham are yet to see the best from summer arrival Alexander Hleb after revealing that the undoubtedly talented player has been unable to train with the other players for extended periods of time.

Hleb, who is clearly lacking in confidence, arrived in Birmingham during the summer from Barcelona, where he struggled to make a lasting impression following a shock move from Arsenal, and has so far seen his form hindered by injury problems and the lasting effects of not completing a full pre-season in Spain. The Birmingham manager has been quick to stress that as soon as Hleb gets his fitness levels back up to scratch he’ll look like a completely new player, but time is a precious commodity that the Blues are running out of fast.

Birmingham have experienced a mixed start to the Premier League season and are in the relegation zone after a miserable run of form that has brought just one win in eight attempts in the league. Every player needs to be on top form in order to force the team out of what can fairly be described as a rut, and having to wait for players to regain form isn’t what they need right now. The Birmingham betting tips suggest they have every chance of recovering, but they won’t want to become mired in a scrap.

With Birmingham doing so well for large stretches of last season and establishing a run of form at home that saw even the top teams in the league struggle to make a mark there, Birmingham fans won’t be too anxious just yet and the football odds reflect this. However, history tells teams like the Blues to watch out for second season syndrome, with the lesser lights of the league often suffering badly after a season in which they exceeded all expectations.

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce thinks Tottenham Hotspur should now be regarded as a Premier League top four side as they are up there with the best in England.

Harry Redknapp’s men beat Manchester City to the Premier League top four last season and in doing so managed to get into the Champions League group stage for the first time in their history.

This season they have impressed and disappointed in equal measure, showing their true class in beating European champions Inter Milan and then struggling in defeat to Bolton only days later.

They sit four points outside the top four at this point and could be are struggling to battle both domestically and in Europe and the football betting suggests they could struggle to make fourth this season. Sunderland boss Bruce however is adamant they are a “good team” and on the verge of joining the Premier League elite.

Bruce said: “They have invested in the squad, they have a great manager in Harry [Redknapp], they play the game the way it should be played – they have got everything going for them.

“I think on the quiet, they have got a chance of not just qualifying for Europe, but of being a really big threat to the Chelseas and the Arsenals and the Manchester Uniteds of this world because they are very, very close.”

Sunderland do not sit far behind Spurs in the table and themselves are dreaming of European qualification from finishing in the Premier League top eight and anyone looking to bet on Premier League games should remember this.

They have been dealt a blow as top scorer Darren Bent is out for three weeks with a hamstring injury, meaning they will need to rely on Asamoah Gyan to get the goals in his absence.

When it was revealed Aston Villa would be without Emile Heskey for up to a month after he suffered medial ligament damage, leaving the club unable to count on the services of either him or the already injured Gabriel Agbonlahor, one element of hope remained in the minds of the club’s fans. This revolved largely around the identity of the man set to replace Heskey, John Carew, who has shown in the past that he’s capable of stepping up to the plate when needed.

However, Carew could be out of action for up to a month after tearing a calf muscle in training. Although not exactly lighting up in front of goal so far this campaign for Villa, he would have provided a useful physical presence in attack in Heskey’s absence. Having a front man who can win the large majority of long balls is crucial for a team that rely in part upon players like Stuart Downing and Ashley Young picking up knockdowns before unleashing stinging shots or mazy runs into the box. Carew will never be anyone’s football tips to be top scorer, but he offers a lot to the side.

Although many Villa fans will be ruing their bad luck after seeing two of their strikers injured fairly severely in training sessions within the space of just a few days, boss Gerard Houllier will be keen to encourage his side to see the positives of the situation, with young players handed the chance to make a major difference to proceedings over coming weeks. Perennial substitute Nathan Delfouneso will be handed the chance to make his mark in the first team, while Marc Albrighton, who has already chipped in with two league goals this season, will surely be allowed to continue proving his potential in crucial fixtures. The Aston Villa betting tips suggest these players have every chance of pushing the side on.

With Villa hosting Manchester United on the 13th of November after a winnable game against Blackpool, now is the time for Villa’s fringe players to prove their worth and force their way into the manager’s plans.

Gareth Bale claims Tottenham can cause a real shock and beat the Champions League holders Inter Milan at White Hart Lane.

The two teams were involved in a classic European game at the San Siro the last time out, with Bale getting a stunning hat-trick as ten-man Spurs came from 4-0 down to go down battling 4-3 to Rafa Benitez’s side.

Inter sit top of Group A but Spurs are hot on their tails and are looking to draw level on points with the Italian club by getting a victory at White Hart Lane, something the Champions League specials suggest could happen.

Their draw in Bremen and home win over Twente showed Spurs are acclimatising well in their first Champions League campaign and they could claim a famous win tonight.

Bale admits that the Italian giants have “world-class players” who can do real damage to Spurs if they fail to raise their game in front of a passionate home support.

But he believes Redknapp’s side have the qualities to step up to the challenge and give Inter a real game.

“In recent years we’ve made White Hart Lane a difficult place for teams to come to and we don’t want that to be any different against Inter,” he told the club’s website.

“We’ll go into it with a lot of confidence from the game in Milan. We want to give it a go. They are the European champions, we want to test ourselves against the best and it doesn’t come much bigger than this.”

Anyone who has placed a Champions League bet on Spurs progressing to the next round will be hoping they can clock up a win tonight.

Spurs fans have been given a real boost as Rafael van der Vaart and Tom Huddlestone, who were both doubts for the game, have trained with the side and could be in contention for the crucial Champions League encounter.

Liverpool have found themselves making the back pages of the English papers for all the wrong reasons over the last couple of months. Last week the papers were full of speculation that, despite the club seeming to have found some kind of stability with the arrival of the new owners, top players such as Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina were preparing to leave the club.

New owner John insisted he has no intention of selling the pair, and said he wants to “build on the strength of the current squad, not undermine it”. So some semblance of stability was restored, with Henry’s reassuring words a far cry from the sort of behaviour Liverpool had to observe from their previous owners. Anyone looking to bet on Premier League action should remember this too.

However, Liverpool fans know not to trust promising signs such as these or to read too much into them. No matter which top players Liverpool manage to cling on to, they need to strengthen their squad significantly in the January transfer window. There are parts of the squad severely lacking in strength and depth and Joe Cole’s failure to perform at the level he reached during Chelsea’s early title-winning seasons hasn’t helped matters.

If Liverpool can attract a few top names to Anfield in key positions, they could find themselves looking like genuine contenders for a top four finish this season and you can take advantage of some excellent Premier League betting offers if you think this will happen. However, if they continue to be too reliant upon star names such as Steven Gerrard and Torres, they could find that success is a word that won’t be attached to Liverpool FC for many a year to come, despite all the reassuring sentiments from the new owners.