This weekend's Premier League programme is shaping up as a game of two halves - five of the matches feature two teams with all still to play for, and five (assuming Manchester United get the point they need to clinch the title today, ending Liverpool's interest) have at least one team with nothing tangible at stake.
The most competitive games are Bolton v Hull, Newcastle v Fulham, Tottenham v Manchester City, West Brom v Liverpool and Portsmouth v Sunderland - in all five games, as things stand, both teams need at least a point to be sure of reaching their target.
The one-sided games are Manchester United v Arsenal, Middlesbrough v Aston Villa, Everton v West Ham and Chelsea v Blackburn, where United, Boro, West Ham and Blackburn have something to play for and their opponents do not (apart from pride and possible positional changes that will not affect qualification issues). Chelsea, for instance, have secured direct entry to next season's Champions League group stage and the only remaining question for them is how much they want to finish second ahead of Liverpool.
Blackburn need just a point to confirm survival - and that is only if results elsewhere go against them - and United need only a point at home to Arsenal to secure a title hat-trick, so even for them the urgency to win is somewhat diluted.
That is not the case for West Ham, who trail Fulham by two points in the chase for the final Europa League place, and emphatically not for Middlesbrough, whose relegation could be confirmed if they fail to beat Villa.
On that basis, backing West Ham and Boro, on the handicap at least, is the advice. The issue of something to play for/nothing to play for matches is always a bone of contention among football punters but, if the odds do not contract too much, the soundest policy is to be with the teams with something to play for.
There has been only one Premier League match in that category so far and that was Fulham v Aston Villa last weekend when Fulham needed the win to boost their Europa League hopes but Villa were sure of a place in that competition and were out of contention for a Champions League spot. Fulham won 3-1 and, while the first half was highly competitive and exciting, the suspicion was that Villa started to lose interest after going 2-1 behind early in the second half.