In the battle of the pundits, its Arsenal who are coming out on top, unlike the battle for the Premiership, which just goes to show the armchair expert is no substitute for the real thing
The superb midweek action on 1 and 2 February proved once again that Messrs Clark and Gosling won't be challenging Hansen and Lawrenson for a seat on the Match of the Day sofa.
Andy the Gooner and Lawrence the True Blue of Chelsea went with their hearts not their heads and only Gosling's prediction of an away win at Blackburn for Chelsea proved to show any intelligence.
Wishful thinking on Andy's part of a home win for Arsenal over Man United was totally misguided, along with the Gunners title hopes.
As Andy says: "We were outplayed in our own back yard it was horrid to watch it unfold."
Somehow Lawrence had Spurs down to win away, when they proved true to their colours and crumbled at Bolton, while Liverpool confounded both 'experts' by winning away at Charlton.
Here's the full list of their predictions and the actual results.
Arsenal v Man Utd
Result: 2-4
AC: Home
LG: Draw
Bolton v Tottenham
Result: 3-1
AC: Home
LG: Away
Charlton v Liverpool
Result: 1-2
AC: Home
LG: Draw
Portsmouth v Boro
Result: 2-1
AC: Draw
LG: Away
West Brom v Palace
Result 2-2
AC: Draw
LG: Draw
Birmingham v Saints
Result: 2-1
AC: Draw
LG: Away
Blackburn v Chelsea
Result: 0-1
AC: Draw
LG: Away
Everton v Norwich
Result: 1-0
AC: Home
LG: Draw
Fulham v Aston Villa
Result 1-1
AC: Away
LG: Home
Man City v Newcastle
Result: 1-1
AC: Away
LG: Home
Andy wins again, in a low scoring contest, sneaking it 3-2. So, on to the next set of games to be played over the weekend of 12, 13 and 14 February:
Birmingham v Liverpool
Overview: Hard to argue with the logic that ahead of the Carling Cup final Liverpool won't be going at this at full pelt. Brum on the other hand have struggled all season to get any real form together, and it's hard to see how they are going to do it now.
AC: Draw
LG: Draw
Blackburn v Norwich
Overview: Two very hard working sides, lacking in goal scorers, is the obvious candidate for a 0-0 draw, which means it will probably be anything but, particularly the way Norwich's recent games have gone.
AC: Draw
LG: Away
Bolton v Middlesbrough
Overview: Bolton appear to be well over their mid-season blip of not winning in 10 games and are now on a seven game winning streak. The Boro have been hit hard by suspensions and injuries and it's hard to see them getting anything from this game.
AC: Home
LG: Home
Everton v Chelsea
Overview: Everton have proved extremely resilient all season and, while lacking a bit of fire power, they could cause Chelsea some problems. For Chelsea, stung by a home draw with Man City, this could be another tricky game that marks a month of away matches in the league and three cup competitions. Is this the start of a Chelsea wobble?
AC: Away
LG: Draw
Portsmouth v Aston Villa
Overview: Villa's performance against Arsenal was more in keeping with their performances over the whole season, while Portsmouth remain very unpredictable, but desperately in need of points.
AC: Away
LG: Home
Man City v Man Utd
Overview: The red side of Manchester went into the game on a very strong run, not having lost since October in the league. But as Sir Alex Ferguson is always saying: "There are a lot of twists and turns in a season." Is this one? City managed to frustrate Chelsea twice this season, will they manage to do it to their neighbours?
AC: Away
LG: Draw
Arsenal v Crystal Palace
Overview: A Valentine's Day Massacre? Mr Clark is always going to go for a home win, and a Chelsea supporter is always going to look to the Gunners to drop a point. A lot could depend upon how Arsenal's shaky defence stand up to the pace of Palace's Andy Johnson - apparently he "wears a magic hat".
AC: Home
LG: Draw
Lawrence Gosling is publishing director of Football First, the national Sunday football paper
