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Following Nottingham Forest’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Tuesday, they’ll be flying into this local derby full of confidence and hopeful of an upset against their neighbors. However, by no means will it be easy, with home side Derby now into the top ten after several weeks of fantastic form themselves.

Ever since the start of October, Paul Jewell has been living the high life at Pride Park. All looked lost following a defeat to Barnsley in September yet while most quarters were tipping him to get the push, he was the one who pushed on and has made his Derby side a big force in the division. They’ve lost only once in the last ten and following their recent victory at Norwich, confidence must be exceptionally high amongst the Rams and they’ll be attempting to overcome the next step of getting into the play offs. As it stands they’re just two points away and considering the dismal start they had to the season, that’s nothing short of miraculous.

As for Forest, pressure was lifted from Colin Calderwood midweek following his side’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace. That victory was their first since August although with results going against them, it still means that they’re six points adrift from safety. Looking at their next couple of fixtures, that result was absolutely essential as the City Ground side now face Derby, followed by Birmingham. With both of these teams holding promotion aspirations, it was crucial for Calderwood’s men to hold on and grab all the points at Selhurst Park on Tuesday. Following that win, there’s no doubt that if Calderwood could mastermind a victory over fierce rivals Derby, the fans may start to warm to him again.

Following their recent good form, Paul Jewell isn’t likely to make changes unless they’re forced upon him. Rob Hulse and Nathan Ellington appear to be forming a formidable partnership up front and should keep their places, while centre half Martin Albrechtson is hoping build on his game after making his first appearance in a month in the Norwich match. As for Colin Calderwood, he has been boosted with the returns of Paul Anderson, Kelvin Wilson and Carl Fletcher. Anderson and Wilson have recovered from thigh and knee injuries respectively, while Fletcher was forced to miss the Crystal Palace fixture due to the terms of his loan agreement. It’s not all good news for Forest though, with Guy Moussi and Julian Bennett both out injured.

It’s always hard to predict local derby games, especially when Forest’s season could turn after that win on Tuesday. However, Derby have been fantastic over the past couple of months and under Paul Jewell, they’re managed by a guy who has real passion and will demand nothing less than 100% in a local fixture. With that, we’ll predict the home win – 2-0 Rams.

This looks set to be the highlight of the Championship weekend, with both sides in top form and sitting in 1st and 3rd in the table. Wolves are a team that’s always been up there this season, while Cardiff’s position has been more down to gradual progress and they’ve quietly risen to just one place outside the automatic slots.

Cardiff’s start to the season was hardly a rampant one yet recent form has propelled them up to 3rd in the table. The Bluebirds have won four of their last six games and after years of being a “nearly” side, they finally look to be making a serious challenge for the Promised Land. Questions were raised when Dave Jones brought in strikers Jay Bothroyd and Ross McCormack yet both seem to be repaying the faith that their manager had in them. Bothroyd, who was coincidently signed from opponents Wolves, has managed three goals in his last six games, while McCormack leads the division’s scoring charts with ten goals. Other than those two, goals aren’t exactly flying in from all directions for the Ninian Park side, yet they seem solid at the back and if they can keep up this form, who knows what could happen.

As for Wolves, they regained their place at the top of the pile following a brief stint in second spot. Mick McCarthy’s men haven’t enjoyed the sort of form that made them seemingly unbeatable at the start of the season, yet he’ll still be very happy with the recent progress and be hoping to extend their lead this weekend. While Cardiff’s Ross McCormack is the top scorer of this league, McCarthy has two gems of his own up his sleeve. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Chris Iwelumo are third and fourth in the scoring charts respectively and with midfielder Michael Kightly not far away as well, there’s no doubt that Wolves have plenty of attacking options at their disposal. Following back to back wins against Watford and Swansea, the Wolves squad should be full of confidence and ready to extend their one point lead at the top of the table.

Dave Jones has plenty of good news regarding player availability heading into this one, with no less than four players shaking off minor injuries. Stephen McPhail, Joe Ledley, Darren Purse and Jay Bothroyd were all early doubts, yet should all start after making quick recoveries. However, Jones will still have to be without Mark Kennedy, Riccardo Scimeca and Tony Capaldi who are long term absentees. As for Wolves, Mick McCarthy doesn’t have any new concerns after Carl Ikeme recovered from a minor back problem. Matt Jarvis, Jody Craddock and George Elokobi will not feature though with the trio still nursing their longer injuries.

Both of these teams are performing superbly at the moment and due to that, we can only see a draw. The bookies rate Cardiff as slight favorites but with Wolves doing so well, we’ll predict a 1-1 result.

Game : Bolton Wanderers (19) vs Manchester City (8)

Competition : English Premier league

Date : 2 November, 2008

Time : 4pm GMT

Venue : Reebok Stadium ( Home side – Bolton Wanderers)

Gary Megson’s Bolton Wanderers welcome Mark Hughes’ inconsistent Manchester City side to the Reebok Stadium on Sunday afternoon in a North-West Derby that the former desperately need to win. Bolton are just above Spurs in the league table, and after beating Stoke in their opening league game in August, have just won one of their next nine league games.

Manager Gary Megson has admitted that his side will have to fight for survival. Bolton look desperately short of ideas, and are very, very low on confidence. Fans are already saying that Megson needs to go, and unless the club come up with some better performances, Megson may be shown the door. Bolton will welcome Gavin McCann back from suspension for this game. In their last four home games, Bolton have only scored once. With a midfield devoid of pace and creativity, the likes of Johan Elmander and Kevin Davies upfront have not managed to get hold of the ball as many times as they would have liked to. On Wednesday, Bolton lost 0-1 to Everton, with Belgian Marouane Fellaini scoring a late winner for the Toffees.

Manchester City have been inconsistent this season. They lost to Middlesbrough 2-0 in the midweek fixture, with goals being scored by Afonso Alves and Gary O’Neil. Vincent Kompany collected his fifth yellow card against ‘Boro, but will be available for this clash as he will serve the ban later. City will also welcome Argentine Pablo Zabaleta back, with the rightback missing the last three games due to suspension. Daniel Sturridge’s ankle is giving him problems, and Jo is also a doubt with tonsilitis. But the likes of Robinho, Stephen Ireland and Shaun Wright Philips are all fit, and as it has already been proved this season, they can give the opposition defence real trouble.

City to win this 2-0, with goals from SWP and Robinho. While Bolton boast of an impressive record against City in the recent past ( They’ve lost only one of their last seven league meetings against City), I think City do have the quality to beat the Trotters on Sunday. The corresponding fixture last season ended 0-0.

It’s already time to start making picks for Week 9 of the NFL season.

The only thing that can be counted on each week in the NFL is that you never know which team will win and that the Tennessee Titans will win. That’s why I’m picking against them this week.

Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns

The Browns have shown some signs of life. But they just don’t have enough offense to score points on the Ravens defense.

This will be a low scoring game but I like the Ravens to win it and cover.

My Pick: The Ravens

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Cheifs

The Bucs are coming off a tough loss at Dallas. The Cheifs are a mess.

What does all that add up? A big Bucs win and possibly a shutout for the defense.

My Pick: My Bucs

New York Jets at Buffalo Bills

Was Brett Favre really booed by the Jets fans last week? Yes, he was.

Apparently the Jets fans are quite as in love with Brett as Packers fans. Apparently they could care less that Brett has thrown a million passes so the law of averages has him a top the record books in many categories.

Jets fans will be booing him from home during this game.

My Pick: The Bills

Arizona Cardinals at St Louis Rams

The Cards aren’t very good on the road. The Rams are getting better.

I do think the Cards win this one but it will be close.

My Pick: The Cardinals

Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears

The Lions are so bad. The Bears are one of the top 5 teams in the NFC.

My Pick: The Bears

Houston Texans at Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are at home so I’ll go with them.

My Pick: The Vikings

Green Bay Packers at Tennessee Titans

The Titans are the better team but I smell an upset here.

My Pick: The Packers

Game : Bolton Wanderers (19) vs Manchester City (8)

Competition : English Premier league

Date : 2 November, 2008

Time : 4pm GMT

Venue : Reebok Stadium ( Home side – Bolton Wanderers)

Gary Megson’s Bolton Wanderers welcome Mark Hughes’ inconsistent Manchester City side to the Reebok Stadium on Sunday afternoon in a North-West Derby that the former desperately need to win. Bolton are just above Spurs in the league table, and after beating Stoke in their opening league game in August, have just won one of their next nine league games.

Manager Gary Megson has admitted that his side will have to fight for survival. Bolton look desperately short of ideas, and are very, very low on confidence. Fans are already saying that Megson needs to go, and unless the club come up with some better performances, Megson may be shown the door. Bolton will welcome Gavin McCann back from suspension for this game. In their last four home games, Bolton have only scored once. With a midfield devoid of pace and creativity, the likes of Johan Elmander and Kevin Davies upfront have not managed to get hold of the ball as many times as they would have liked to. On Wednesday, Bolton lost 0-1 to Everton, with Belgian Marouane Fellaini scoring a late winner for the Toffees.

Manchester City have been inconsistent this season. They lost to Middlesbrough 2-0 in the midweek fixture, with goals being scored by Afonso Alves and Gary O’Neil. Vincent Kompany collected his fifth yellow card against ‘Boro, but will be available for this clash as he will serve the ban later. City will also welcome Argentine Pablo Zabaleta back, with the rightback missing the last three games due to suspension. Daniel Sturridge’s ankle is giving him problems, and Jo is also a doubt with tonsilitis. But the likes of Robinho, Stephen Ireland and Shaun Wright Philips are all fit, and as it has already been proved this season, they can give the opposition defence real trouble.

City to win this 2-0, with goals from SWP and Robinho. While Bolton boast of an impressive record against City in the recent past ( They’ve lost only one of their last seven league meetings against City), I think City do have the quality to beat the Trotters on Sunday. The corresponding fixture last season ended 0-0.