The Two And A Half Goals Column: Over or Under... that is the question

Will this man do any damage at the Ethiad on Sunday?
The Inside Man is staying in the Premier League for 75% of this week's recommendations, with Russia being the other port of call...
Saturday
Norwich v QPR
Both these sides were on the wrong end of 5-0 thrashings last week, with poor defensive displays largely to blame for both.
So can defences improve so much in just a matter of days? Probably not, but I'd argue we still shouldn't expect many goals.
The hardest thing for clubs in the Premier League to do is score. That's why, in general, strikers cost much more than defenders. Sides like Swansea, Stoke, and Sunderland among others, have shown how organisation and pure toil can be just as effective as talent when it comes to keeping clean sheets.
With both Norwich and QPR sure to have been concentrating on their defensive frailties this week, and with neither abundant in attacking riches, I think we could easily see a stand-off in this game, between two sides afraid to lose.
Forget last year's form, as Norwich have a new manager and style, while QPR have also evolved, with multiple new arrivals.
While if you must insist on reflecting, history tells us that in their 58 meetings, more than 60 percent of the time this fixture has had two goals or fewer.
Recommended Bet: Back Under 2.5 goals @ 2.111/10
Aston Villa v Everton
Last season suggests Everton to be a low-scoring team away from home, with 14 of their 21 road games going under three goals.
This though is a different team. For much of last season, David Moyes was desperately short on firepower, with attacking midfielder Tim Cahill regularly playing the role of support striker to Louis Saha.
Now though, the Blues have Steven Pienaar back, who seems to grease the cogs in the Everton midfield. Plus more significantly, they finally found a goalscorer in the form of Nikica Jelavic. His arrival signalled a strong run of form at the end of last season, with that confidence carrying over into this campaign.
Villa are still finding their feet under Paul Lambert, but the one thing his Norwich team stood out for last season was goals, with both teams scoring in 27 of their 38 league fixtures. A similarly open approach is expected at Villa, with Darren Bent the focal point of the attack, and Charles Nzogbia the spearhead of the attacking midfield. Blunted by an apprehensive West Ham last week, they should be afforded more space to impress by a confident Everton.
Recommended Bet: Back Over 2.5 goals @ 2.265/4
Sunday
Liverpool v Manchester City
A sending-off led to Liverpool's downfall in their opening game. But generally I expect the Reds to be a much tighter unit this season than in previous campaigns.
Brendan Rogers had Swansea playing attractive passing football and he seems intent on bringing that to Liverpool, along with a focus on retaining the ball. Dominating possession looks to be the aim, and while a long way off that last week, they do have the players to improve in that direction. A second straight defeat would be a disaster for Rogers, and keeping the ball off their dangerous opponents is sure to be a priority.
City are obviously prolific scorers. Even then though, they failed to win at Anfield last season in both league and cup. In fact, City haven't won at Liverpool in their last 10 visits. Throw in the absence of top-scorer Aguerro, and the shaky display last week, and there's reason to doubt their chances of racking up a score.
Mancini won't play as open as he did against Southampton, and City boasted the best defence in the Premier League last year, so there's also no reason to expect them to be unduly troubled by the much-criticised Liverpool attack.
Recommended Bet: Back Under 2.5 goals @ 1.9520/21
CSKA Moscow v Kryliya Sovetov
The early-season shackles seem to be coming off CSKA Moscow at last. Following a sluggish start, they've improved to 6th in the table. Victories in their last three games, including midweek in the Europa League, have all come with clean sheets.
Coach Leonid Slutsky is missing the talented Seydou Doumbia for what looks like a couple of months with a back injury, a huge loss. But he does have the goalscoring talents elsewhere to compensate in Alan Dzagoev and midfield maestro Keisuke Honda.
As for Kryliya, they've enjoyed the softest possible run of fixtures to begin their campaign, yet still find themselves in the lower reaches of the table. Yet another relegation-threatened campaign looks inevitable for the perennial strugglers, who come into this game off the back of a 2-0 loss at home to Amkar.
The Muscovites took this fixture 2-1 last season, but I expect a more emphatic result on this for the in-form home side. With the visitors having conceded in all five of their league games thus far, CSKA should have every chance of boosting their goal difference in this one.
Recommended Bet: Back Over 2.5 goals @ 2.021/1