Football, racing and more with expert advice. Get the best football bets and prices!31 Aug
- Pakistan tour to continue
– Mascherano completes Barca switch
– Van Persie sidelined
– Murray ready for Lacko test
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27 Aug
- Villa crash out of Europa League
– Lennon takes responsibility for Celtic shambles
– Murray handed Lacko test
– England struggle in rain
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
26 Aug
Following on from a really tough first week, last weekends fixture list in the Premier League proved to be tough again but thankfully we managed to guide you towards some successful punts at good value odds.
The fixture list for this weekend looks really fascinating & we have had a good look at the betting markets & studied all the facts & figures to hopefully seek out some more great value bets.
Here are our own views on this weekends Premier League action including what we believe to be a range of great value bets but remember team news is always vital so please make sure you are totally happy with your bets before you place them:
This match represents a huge test for both Blackburn Rovers & Arsenal and will tell us a great deal about who we can expect from them this season.
Blackburn Rovers had a fantastic home record last season & started this season fantastically well by beating Everton and home again looks highly likely to be the absolute key to Blackburn Rovers season.
Sam Allardyce will want his players to respond to the defeat away at Birmingham City by being incredibly positive here & in many ways a home match against Arsenal is the perfect game to have because Blackburn Rovers do generally enjoy playing Arsenal.
That was perfectly highlighted by the way Blackburn Rovers showed great determination, desire & a level of quality to beat Arsenal 2-1 at Ewood Park and that will give the Blackburn Rovers players great confidence to have a real go at Arsenal here.
Arsenal come here on the back of a 6-0 win against Blackpool that really could have been a 10-0 win so confidence will be high & they showed by deservedly earning a 1-1 draw away at Liverpool they can fight when needed.
The real test for Arsenal in this game will be if they can add a physical commitment & a desire to battle to their undoubted football quality because there is no doubt that Blackburn Rovers will look to exploit Arsenal physically.
Arsenal won 4-0 here two years ago & Blackburn won 2-1 last season so any result is possible here but we know Blackburn Rovers will give absolutely everything in this match & makes us believe a scoring draw looks an entirely possible outcome & a good value bet worth taking here.
Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: DRAW
Correct Score options: 1-1/2-2
First Goalscorer each way/Players to score anytime: Kalinic/Van Persie/Pedersen
Scorecast options: Kalinic/Van Persie/Pedersen score 1st & 1-1/2-2
Double Result: DRAW H/T & F/T
This is a massive game for Blackpool because this is their first home match of the season & it will be their home form that dictates if they are to have any possible chance of staying up in the Premier League.
Blackpool started with a stunning 4-0 win away at Wigan but then got completely & utterly destroyed by Arsenal who scored 6 and probably should have scored more than 10 and Blackpool were so out of their depth it must have been quite frightening for them to experience.
So the absolute key to this game will be how Ian Holloway gets the Blackpool players to respond & we are sure Blackpool will give commitment & desire but whether they really have enough quality has to be doubted.
Mark Hughes will be satisfied with his unbeaten start as Fulham manager, 2 solid draws away at Bolton & at home to Manchester United are very early signs that Mark Hughes has settled in very well & that the Fulham players are responding accordingly to him.
Now the major area that Mark Hughes has to improve upon for Fulham is what has been a terrible away record over recent seasons & Mark Hughes knows that Fulham have to be far more positive than they generally have been in recent years.
The Blackpool fans will be looking to their team to respond & show great fight here and indeed we expect the Blackpool players to do just that but we also expect the Fulham players to come here full of confidence & their extra quality lends us to believe they can edge a good game & get a massive away win here.
Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: Fulham to win
Correct Score options: Fulham to win 2-0/2-1
First Goalscorer each way/Players to score anytime: Zamora/Murphy/Dempsey
Scorecast options: Zamora/Murphy/Dempsey score 1st & Fulham 2-0/2-1
Double Result: Fulham H/T & F/T
This match completely revolves around what Chelsea do & if they turn up in the same free scoring form they have shown to destroy West Brom & Wigan then this could well be another bad day for Stoke & their fans.
Stoke City fans will not need reminding of the score from the last match these two sides met back in April but for those who cannot remember it was Chelsea 7 Stoke City 0 and that was a very painful day for everybody connected to Stoke City.
Tony Pulis loves a challenge & the Stoke City fans will do their best to get their players up for this but how do you take on a side that have won 11 of their last 12 competitive matches, including their last 6 and who have scored an incredible 50 goals in that time & only conceded 4.
Whichever way you look at Chelsea in their current form & the statistics involved, it really does make frightening reading for Stoke City and it really will be a miracle if any other result than a comfortable Chelsea win is the final outcome here.
Stoke City have the physical ability & power to challenge Chelsea but it is hard to envisage Stoke City getting enough possession to create chances & so while we don’t expect Chelsea to hit 6 again, we do expect the likes of Drogba, Lampard, Anelka & Malouda to produce the quality & give Chelsea another win.
Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: Chelsea to win
Correct Score options: Chelsea to win 2-0/3-0
First Goalscorer each way/Players to score anytime: Drogba/Lampard/Anelka
Scorecast options: Drogba/Lampard/Anelka score 1st & Chelsea win 2-0/3-0
Double Result: Chelsea H/T & F/T
We really do feel sorry for all Wigan fans at the moment & any money spent following their team must feel like the biggest waste of hard earned wages there has ever been because Wigan just look absolutely gone already.
Wigan’s last three competitive results have been an 8-0 defeat against Chelsea, a 4-0 home defeat by Blackpool & a 6-0 home defeat by Chelsea – admittedly Chelsea are a real force capable of beating any side in world football but nevertheless, 18 goals conceded in three tepid, inept performances without reply is a disgraceful return for Wigan.
To make matters worse for Wigan, they line up here against a Tottenham side who scored 12 goals against them last season, including that incredible 9-1 win in this same fixture so what can we possibly expect from Wigan other than another lifeless performance.
Anyway, that’s enough of Wigan and in all honesty this match should centre completely around what Tottenham do & quite simply if they play to their ever increasing capabilities then Tottenham will win & win with style.
Tottenham were fantastic against Manchester City & deserved to win but didn’t, they were then distinctly average against Young Boys but showed character to scrape a 3-2 defeat and they then showed tremendous character to respond by beating a tough Stoke City side 2-1 on their own ground with key players missing.
That win at Stoke City really did impress us & proved that Tottenham have the team spirit, the desire to win when the pressures & demands are on and that combined with their fantastic quality makes them a real force to be taken seriously this season in our book.
The only way Tottenham will not win this is if Wigan somehow regain team confidence & the ability to defend otherwise this really should be a straightforward home win for Tottenham and they should get plenty of chances to get a few goals along the way.
Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: Tottenham to win
Correct Score options: Tottenham to win 2-0/3-0
First Goalscorer each way/Players to score anytime: Modric/Crouch/Krancjar
Scorecast options: Modric/Crouch/Krancjar score 1st & Tottenham win 2-0/3-0
Double Result: Tottenham H/T & F/T
This should be a cracking game, two teams coming into the match full of confidence & with the belief they can get something from the game and so be prepared to be entertained by this one.
Wolves have had an excellent start to the season, a good, solid 2-1 home win against Stoke City followed by an excellent, hard fought draw away at Everton and confidence levels within the Wolves squad could not be any higher right.
Newcastle United’s welcome back into the Premier League came with a 3-0 defeat against Manchester United but there was no negative reaction to that amongst the Newcastle United players, board or fans and boy did they respond in the right way against Aston Villa.
Newcastle United 6 Aston Villa 0 is not a scoreline we could never have predicted & indeed we had Aston Villa to win this clash but a Kevin Nolan inspired Newcastle United simply out-played & out-fought Aston Villa for the entire 90 minutes & thrashed them 6-0.
That incredible victory will give the Newcastle United players massive confidence going into this match & two confident sides coming up against each other sets this up to be a really competitive, entertaining match.
Wolves will believe they can beat Newcastle United and Newcastle United will believe they can beat Wolves so anything is possible here but our view on this one is that the value could well lie in backing a scoring draw & surely both teams will be happy with that come the end of the match.
Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: DRAW
Correct Score options: 1-1/2-2
First Goalscorer each way/Players to score anytime: Doyle/Carroll/Jarvis
Scorecast options: Doyle/Carroll/Jarvis score 1st & 1-1/2-2
Double Result: DRAW H/T & F/T
Manchester United have to respond & they will by winning this, it really is as simple as that. Now that will sound dismissive of West Ham United but the statistics back our view up & so do the relative performances of the two teams so far.
Manchester United & West Ham United have played each other 30 times in the history of the Premier League with the record standing at: 19 wins for Manchester United, 7 draws & 4 wins for West Ham United.
The record in this particular fixture is Manchester United have 13 wins from 15 matches and that record highlight the task that West Ham United face along with the fact Manchester United have started the season well & West Ham United simply have not.
The truth is that Manchester United & West Ham United do not compare favourably in terms of squad strength & unless Manchester United greatly under perform here then we can only see a comfortable home win for Manchester United here.
Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: Manchester United to win
Correct Score options: Manchester United to win 2-0/3-0
First Goalscorer each way/Players to score anytime: Rooney/Berbatov/Valencia
Scorecast options: Rooney/Berbatov/Valencia to score 1st & Man United win 2-0/3-0
Double Result: Manchester United H/T & F/T
We know it is very early days with only 2 games down but this fixtures sees 4th against 5th and those lofty league positions indicate how well both Bolton & Birmingham City have started this season.
Both Bolton & Birmingham City come into this match with 4 points from their first two matches & both will feel proud of what they have achieved so far with good committed performances & great team spirit the key strengths of both sides.
We are expecting Bolton to be positive & build on their 3-1 away win at West Ham United while Birmingham City have already displayed great belief & commitment to fight back from being behind in both games so far & they never know when they are beaten.
This really is a fascinating contest & a tough one to call, if either side wins this there will probably be only 1 goal in it & either side can win this but we are going to take a punt on this being a scoring draw & that looks a value call worth taking here.
Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: DRAW
Correct Score options: 1-1/2-2
First Goalscorer each way/Players to score anytime: Davies/Elmander/Jerome
Scorecast options: Davies/Elmander/Jerome score 1st & 1-1/2-2
Double Result: DRAW H/T & F/T
Only two games have gone so far but the pressure & negativity already seems to be resurfacing at Anfield & Roy Hodgson’s honeymoon appears to have been rapidly brought to an end by the 3-0 defeat at Man City.
That 3-0 defeat really has piled the pressure on Liverpool & the absolute key to this game will be how they respond as a unit & whether Roy Hodgson can inspire the Liverpool players to respond in the right way.
Liverpool are at home against one of the favourites for relegation so they will be expected to win & win with comfort which adds even greater pressure in this situation & this match may well be tougher for Liverpool than would normally be expected.
West Brom responded to their 6-0 thrashing at Chelsea by showing real character & belief to deservedly beat Sunderland 1-0 and they do appear to have a positive, attitude that should serve them well but what they achieve in this game will depend on what Liverpool more than what they do themselves.
1/5 is the general quote for a Liverpool win and those odds suggest Liverpool will have a lot to spare over West Brom but that is not necessarily the case & will depend on how they start this match.
Assuming Liverpool will come out firing & determined to bounce back after the defeat, a fast start from Liverpool & early goal could well set them up to score 3 or more but we think the lack of confidence combined with the pressure might just make things tougher here than they should be.
We are going with a Liverpool win despite the 1/5 quote being far shorter than ideal & but Liverpool should respond with a win & although the goals may not flow, a good solid win will is all Liverpool need right now.
Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: Liverpool to win
Correct Score options: Liverpool to win 1-0/2-0
First Goalscorer each way/Players to score anytime: Gerrard/Torres/Jovanovic
Scorecast options: Gerrard/Torres/Jovanovic score 1st & Liverpool win 1-0/2-0
Double Result: Liverpool H/T & F/T
Can Sunderland respond to their slow start to their season & can Manchester City now maintain the very high standards they set by beating Liverpool 3-0?
The answer to those questions will decide the outcome of this game which is massively important to everybody connected to both Sunderland & Manchester City.
Home form was the absolute key to Sunderland’s season last year & they had not been so strong & hard to beat at home Sunderland may well have been relegated.
Steve Bruce knows the importance of getting wins at home & that is why he was absolutely furious about Sunderland giving away 2 goal lead to only draw against Birmingham City on the opening day of the season.
Now that draw felt like a defeat to Sunderland & they will be determined to bounce back here but the truth is they have looked very average so far & defensively vulnerable which does create big problems for them in this game.
Sunderland at their determined, committed & organised best will be a test for Manchester City but if they show the defensive fragility that they have done in recent matches they will get punished & struggle to get anything from this game.
Manchester City received great plaudits for their impressive team performance in beating Liverpool 3-0 & they will certainly arrive at this game with maximum confidence & belief to keep that going.
Now the real test for Manchester City this season will be what they can achieve away from home & whether they will develop into serious title contenders will depend on whether they can turn away draws into away wins.
The key to this match will be who scores first as a Sunderland opener, likely to be Darren Bent if it happens, will give them something to hold onto & build from while also getting their support behind them but an opening goal for Man City will really increase the pressure on Sunderland & leave them vulnerable to Man City’s quality in attack.
Sunderland proved last season that they can handle the big teams at home & will want to compete again here but surely if Manchester City repeat the form they showed against Liverpool they will win this & they do look a solid bet to get 3 more massive points.
Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: Manchester City to win
Correct Score options: Manchester City to win 2-0/2-1
First Goalscorer each way/Players to score anytime: Tevez/Balotelli/Milner
Scorecast options: Tevez/Balotelli/Milner score 1st & Man City win 2-0/2-1
Double Result: Man City H/T & F/T
There can be no doubting how massively important this game is to both Aston Villa & Everton and intensely competitive & pressurised that is likely to make this match.
Aston Villa had a fantastic start by beating West Ham comfortably at home but then got absolutely thrashed in a humiliating 6-0 defeat against Newcastle United.
How Aston Villa respond to that horrendous result & performance will tell us what type of character & belief the Aston Villa players have but actually predicting how they will respond is tough.
The fact Aston Villa don’t yet have a permanent manager to replace Martin O’Neill has to be a massive factor behind the inconsistency and clearly lack of proper, concentration & motivation looks a problem for the Aston Villa players.
Of course Aston Villa will want to respond for the home fans & show they have the commitment but that 6-0 defeat may well hang around the minds of the Aston Villa players minds & that could create big problems in this match.
David Moyes will be massively frustrated with how Everton have again started a Premier League season in very slow, sluggish fashion because that has been their weakness in previous seasons & something that Moyes said he was committed to changing.
The defeat at Blackburn was a disappointment & even though they drew with Wolves, the fact they failed to win that home game after being in the lead for so long will really have hurt David Moyes & we expect him to make sure the players respond here.
The history books show that Aston Villa have a fantastic record in this particular fixture with 10 wins & draws in the 18 times they have played Everton in the Premier League at Villa Park and that should give the Aston Villa faithful more confidence.
Maybe a more important statistic for this fixture is that 13 of the 36 Premier League games between Aston Villa & Everton have finished in a draw including the last 2.
So both teams have something to prove, they both have the ability & desire to win but equally neither Aston Villa or Everton will want to lose this match & on balance a competitive scoring draw looks the value call in this one.
Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: DRAW
Correct Score options: 1-1/2-2
First Goalscorer each way/Players to score anytime: Cahill/Saha/Carew
Scorecast options: Cahill/Saha/Carew score 1st & 1-1/2-2
Double Result: DRAW H/T & F/T
Those are our own views on this weekends games in the Premier League, hopefully they will give you a few punting ideas & guide you towards punting success but whatever bets you have, we wish you all the best of luck.
26 Aug
- Crouch fires Spurs into CL group stage
– Prem trio avoid league cup shocks
– England bid to seal series win
– Stewart worried about England batting
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25 Aug
- Tangerines squeezed out of cup
– Spurs bid to save CL dream
– O’Brien closer to US Open bid
– Finn laughs off Aussie barbs
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
24 Aug
- Tevez brace inspires City
– Hodgson on Mascherano future
– Blatter hails England bid potential
– Woods confirms marriage split
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
23 Aug
The football season is really clicking into top gear now & the action continues this week with loads of fantastic matches taking place in the Champions League, Europa League & Carling Cup.
There are loads of matches to get stuck into & hundreds of betting opportunities to explore so feel free to explore them all but here are the matches & bets that interest us the most:
This is a massive test for Sevilla & the pressure is on as they know the must win to keep their Champions League group stage dreams alive but we think they can handle that pressure and turn this tie around.
Sevilla have been fantastic in european competitions over the last 6 years or so, winning what was the UEFA Cup and doing well in the Champions League so they have the proven pedigree & they should have more than enough quality at home to see of Braga here & get the win they need.
Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: SEVILLA to win
Correct Score options: Sevilla to win 2-0/3-0
First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Kanoute/Fabiano/Renato
Scorecast options: Kanoute/Fabiano/Renato score 1st & Sevilla win 2-0/3-0
Double Result: Sevilla H/T & F/T
Two former giants of the european game & both clubs have fantastic pedigree in the major european tournaments so something has to give here & we just give the edge to Ajax.
The first leg finished 1-1 with Ajax getting a vital away goal which gives them the edge & as long as they can handle the pressure, we expect Ajax to make home advantage pay & they can edge what looks certain to be a competitive game.
Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: Ajax to win
Correct Score options: Ajax to win 2-0/2-1
First Goalscorer each way/Players to score anytime: Suarez/El Hamdaoui/Sulemani
Scorceast options: Suarez/El Hamdaoui/Sulemani score 1st & Ajax win 2-0/2-1
Double Result: Ajax H/T & F/T
This is an absolutely massive game for Tottenham & it could well define their season given what is at stake for them & given how hard they fought to get to this stage.
There is upwards of £20 million pounds riding on this fixture for Tottenham and if they qualify, there is no doubting that Harry Redknapp will quickly use that financial backing to add a few more quality players to further bolster what is already a strong squad.
Failure to qualify will see that massive money vanish & the psychological impact of not qualifying could have a detrimental impact on the rest of Tottenham’s season so they have to win & we think they will.
Admittedly Tottenham were awful for the first half of the first leg as they found themselves 3-0 and they have to be very careful again but the fact they fought back to 3-2 was massively important and Tottenham should get the job finished at home & they look a solid bet to win with comfort.
Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: Tottenham to win
Correct Score options: Tottenham to win 3-0/3-1
First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Defoe/Modric/Krancjar
Scorecast options: Defoe/Modric/Krancjar score 1st & Tottenham win 3-0/3-1
Double Result: Tottenham H/T & F/T
The first round of the Carling Cup proved that absolutely anything is possible & there are certain to be a few shocks again this time around so we have just gone for a range of games that we feel offer the most interest & a few where shocks are entirely possible at big odds must add they are not games for big stakes though:
MILLWALL to beat Middlesbrough 2-0/2-1
CARDIFF to beat Peterborough 2-1/3-1
OXFORD UNITED to beat West Ham 2-0/2-1
READING to beat Northampton 2-0/3-0
HUDDERSFIELD to beat Everton 2-0/2-1
HARTLEPOOL to beat Wigan 2-0/2-1
BRADFORD to beat Preston 2-0/2-1
ASTON VILLA to beat Rapid Vienna 2-0/2-1
FC PORTO to beat Genk 2-0/3-0
LILLE to beat FC Vasilu 2-0/3-0
MAN CITY to beat FC Timisoara 2-0/3-0
TRABZONSPOR vs LIVERPOOL DRAW 1-1/2-2
PSV to beat Sibir Novosibirsk 2-0/3-0
APOEL NICOSIA vs GETAFE DRAW 1-1/2-2
FC UTRETCH vs CELTIC DRAW 1-1/2-2
Those are our views on the midweek matches that we feel offer most interest & a range of good value bets for you to consider but we wish you all the best with whatever football bets you have.
21 Aug
Everton v Manchester United: Live on SS2 (12.45 Saturday 11th September):
Matches played in the Premier League at Goodison Park:
Number of matches: 18
Everton wins: 3—-Draws: 2—-United successes: 13 (goal difference: 17-35)
Since:
Everton win: Nil—Drawn game: 1—-United victory: 2
Doubles achieved over their rivals:
Everton: 0—-Manchester United: 1
21 Aug
Bolton v Birmingham: Live on SS1 (1.30 Sunday 29th August):
Matches played in the Premier League at Bolton:
Number of matches: 6
Bolton wins: 4—-Draws: 1—-Birmingham successes: 1 (goal difference: 11-5)
Since:
Bolton win: 0—Drawn game: 3—-Birmingham victory: 4
Birmingham have scored a maximum of one goal in five of the six matches played.
Only on four of the twelve opportunities thus far has either side scored more than one goal.
Number of ‘doubles’ gained over their opponents:
Bolton: 1—-Birmingham: 1
21 Aug
Blackburn v Arsenal: Live on SS2 (12.45 Saturday 28th August):
Matches played in the Premier League at Blackburn:
Number of matches: 16
Blackburn wins: 5—-Draws: 3—-Arsenal successes: 8 (goal difference: 16-25)
Since:
Blackburn win: 0—Drawn game: 2—-Arsenal victory: 1
This match has produced an average of 2.56 goals per game for those that play the under/over opportunities which are generally available.
In terms of percentages, a drawn game equates to a price of 9/2 given that the spoils have been shared just three times in sixteen matches thus far.
The only repetitive score-lines between these two sides at Blackburn are as follows:
1-1: 3
0-2: 3
2-0: 2
Number of ‘doubles’ gained over their opponents in the Premier League:
Blackburn: 2—-Arsenal: 5
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