Football, racing and more with expert advice. Get the best football bets and prices!

Ante-post thoughts for this season:- what the footballs fans from gg.com think……….

The start of the new football season is nearly upon us & the newspapers, websites & sports TV channels are crammed full of articles & features covering views & opinions from a wide range of people letting us all know what they think, hope & believe will happen this season.

It’s all good stuff & there are plenty of interesting opinions floating around from players, managers, pundits, presenters, commentators alike & they’ve all had their say but what I have not seen yet is something covering what the the true football fans/punters believe will happen & so I thought let’ sought that out now & so here are the views & opinions of members of the www.gg.com football forum who have a proven record of collectively producing fantastic football predictions & bet recommendations:

what the footballs fans from gg.com think……….

‘theracingguru’ was first to put views forward with the following opinions on the Serie A in Italy “I really like the look of this one……… Napoli to win Serie A … 16/1 …. I will have a bit of that….AC Milan have lost key players….Juventus manager has been given 10month suspension from football for match fixing…..Napoli could be a dark horse this season. “

Come the end of the season those words might well prove to very shrewd indeed, definitely one to consider in my opinion.

Next in line with his offering was ‘Bishopburkey’ who came up with a very interesting, potentially bookie bashing treble “Man. City for the Champions League.  Bolton for the Championship. Whitby Town FA Cup.  Treble. ”

Man City can rightly be regarded as respected challengers for the Champions League while I’ve backed Bolton each way for Championship so I’m obviously with Bishop on that one, it would be fantastic to see Whitby Town with the F.A. Cup but they are the same odds as Arsenal winning something & I think that is too much to ask.

‘tparker2′ was most definite about what he thought because he typed his views in capital letters “EVERTON AND ASTON VILLA ARE BELOW AVERAGE SIDES AND THINK WILL BE DRAGGED INTO A RELEGATION BATTLE DONT KNOW PRICES BUT WORTH A DABBLE I THINK “ – very interesting opinions indeed, I can’t say I agree as I believe Everton are a very good side & Villa will be around mid table come the end, will be cracking odds though for anybody tempted.

The next opinion posted came from the fantastically named ‘tommyombomb’ who had these views on the Premier League title race “City to come first, united second is currently 3/1 Looks a good bet as I think Chelsea might fall apart with Di Matteo and arsenal are still not good enough to challenge yet. “ -  I can’t argue with the fact that it really should be City & United who fill 1st & 2nd, very tight call in which order but I’ve personally gone for Man United, quite possible the best bet is City & United top two any order.

‘SuperCooper’ appears to be another Man City fan, that’s not his fault & somebody has to be, anyway here is what he had to say on a few matters “City for League and FA cup double more than capable with strength in depth.
Have to disagree with previous Everton & Villa double unfortunatelym, Everton will have a good enough strikeforce with jelavic and Naismith Liniking  up and from a rangers fan I can pretty much guarantee that.
Lambert will grind out results and get villa round to his way of thinking.
Wigan and Reading double relation for me Wigan haven’t improved and with the possible lose of key player Moses they won’t cling on for another year. “

Well argued & explained opinions & I just about agree with them apart from City winning the league again.

‘britchie’ was next in line with some straightforward selections, no need for talking, clearly hoping his picks will do that for him “Hull City for the Championship, Q.O.S for Scottish Div 2, PSG for the Champions League
Hearts for the Uefa Cup (ha!)”

I’ve backed Leicester City & Bolton for the Championship but if they fail then I would Steve Bruce to do it with Hull City & no doubt they can have a cracking season so Britchie could be collecting big there, PSG can win the Champions League, if they don’t actually win it they will probably just buy the trophy for £50 million as they do with everything else.

‘Twist Magic’ could be set for a very good season if the odds of his picks are anything to go by as all of his selections are strongly fancied, here was what Twist Magic offered “E/W Acc Man U, Blackburn,Sheff U and Fleetwood “ – very simple, straightforward bet that most definitely has a more than fair chance of collecting, I definitely want Man United & Sheff United to deliver for him as they are carrying my money as well.

After all those fantastic offerings on www.gg.com  I thought it was time that I personally got involved & this was where my money has gone:

“My ante-post portfolio for the domestic season in England is: PREMIER LEAGUE:- MANCHESTER UNITED to win at 9/4
CHAMPIONSHIP:- BOLTON each way at 8/1 & LEICESTER CITY each way at 8/1 (1/4 odds 1,2,3)
LEAGUE 1:- SHEFFIELD UNITED each way at 6/1 & MK DONS each way at 7/1 (1/4 odds 1,2,3)
LEAGUE 2:- ROTHERHAM UNITED e/w at 4/1 & SOUTHEND each way at 16/1 (1/4 odds 1,2,3)  
from that I’ve also done the following ante-post multiples:
Each Way Lucky 15 + each way acca:
Premier League: MANCHESTER UNITED at 9/4 CHAMPIONSHIP:- BOLTON at 8/1 LEAGUE 1:- SHEFFIELD UNITED at 6/1 LEAGUE 2:- ROTHERHAM UNITED at 4/1  
Each Way Lucky 15 + each way acca:
Premier League: MANCHESTER UNITED at 9/4 CHAMPIONSHIP:- LEICESTER CITY at 8/1 LEAGUE 1:- MK DONS at 7/1 LEAGUE 2:- SOUTHEND UNITED at 16/1
so that’s where my ante-post hopes & dreams for the season lie & hopefully I’ll be collecting a decent return come next May. “

Basically that is my retirement plan, I’m happy to work for another 10 months & then I wan’t to call it a day & retire, I’ll be 36 by then and I need to take it steady, go to the races everyday & relax by spending my winnings, well hopefully anyway.

‘Jmahon’ wins the prize for making a special effort to post as he came straight from a stint of Sea Fishing to post these potential bookie smashing thoughts:

“My Ante post selections for the upcoming season.
United to win the Prem,9/4 Top scorer Rooney8/1 and Van Persie(united) 9/1 dutching both this could be the most lethal forward line in the Prem!!
Championship Steve Kean to do justice and show the Blackburn fans that hes the man for the mission 10/1
Preston North End ew 10/1 League 1
Oxford United  ew 14/1 League 2 “

Jmahon looks to have put a lot of thought & effort into that & might well be collecting & I’ve quite a few shrewdies put up Oxford for League 2.

‘Pboyle’ was the last but certainly not least to have a say & here are his incredibly wise words about Manchester United for the Premier League title, by law every post should have started with great thoughts like that, anway here is what he said “i do think 2/1 is a steal with the latest news that just been announced by man united.two things to take into account man city got league last season by the snip of there teeth fair play to them.tevez is a grenade waiting to go off and to much swapping and changing by mancini. rest assured sir alex has bought van the man ask yourselves this is he an out and out striker all rounder compare him to likes of darren bent defoe goal poachers,yes van the man does that also bring in my view he brings skill that ur only born with!! look at the volleys he scored last season.he will no doubt fit in very easy,  im not a man u fan by the way but im glad to see united buy him and give city a run.im placing united to win league 2/1.good luck”

I tipped up MANCHESTER UNITED for the Premier League at 9/4 as posted & got them in all my ante-post bets, I’ve got a nice single for me, well actually a couple of nice singles,  & I even put one on for my dear mum who is United through & through, she was 60 last week & I put a the bet in her birthday card for, what a present that will prove to be from those kind people at Betfred, well hopefully anyway.

So that’s what a selection of genuine football fans/punters from www.gg.com thought & hope you find them interesting, good luck if you get involved & especially if you back Man United for the Premier League, now I know I’m supposed to be neutral in my judgements & I promise to be for the rest of the season after this point but I am allowing myself this one chance to be biased & cheer on United for the league title, all-together now “We want our trophy back, we want our trophy back”……………………

Paraguay vs Japan – (2nd Round, Tuesday 3.00pm)

Of all the 2nd round matches, this clash of Paraguay vs Japan is probably the toughest to assess with confidence & the only certainty is that it looks set to be a tight, competitive match.

In terms of who out of Paraguay or Japan will win this tie is very much a flip of the coin situation again as all three results look entirely possible and a good case can be put forward for either outcome so it’s a tough call to make.

Tactically it is a tough game to assess, Paraguay are a very solid team with great organisation & team play while Japan also have fantastic team spirit, energy & probably slightly more flair as well so it is going to be close.

The bookmakers have Paraguay as favourites for this, & while that is probably correct, what is not correct in our opinion in the disparity in the odds and so we are going to use the odds to make our decision for us & follow the value that lies with backing Japan.

Paraguay have looked solid, organised & hard to beat so they will certainly make it a real test for Japan but Japan were also very impressive against Denmark and so we feel the odds of 11/10 for Paraguay to win & 11/4 for Japan to win are wrong in our view and make Japan a stand out value bet in our opinion.

Admittedly a scoring draw was tempting but the price on a Japan win is the biggest of the three prices & that is the clincher for us and given what they have shown so far, we should get a good run for our money.

Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: Japan to win
Correct Score options: Japan to win 2-0/2-1
First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Honda/Endo/Okazaki
Scorecast options: Honda/Endo/Okazaki score 1st & Japan win 2-0/2-1
Double result: Japan H/T & F/T

Holland vs Slovakia – (2nd Round, Monday 3pm)

This was not 2nd round match-up that was envisaged by too many people as Slovakia have surprised most of the world by qualifying for the 2nd round & the fact the bookies have Holland as 2/5 shots to beat them suggests Slovakia won’t be hanging around too much longer.

Of course, it’s not right to be completely dismissive of Slovakia because they did qualify for the 2nd round & their performance in beating Italy 3-2 does deserve praise but in saying that, there has to be massive doubt as to whether they can do that against Holland in this match.

Holland have been efficient, productive & effective without being brilliant yet but they won all their 3 group games with a great deal of comfort & it will certainly be a massive shock if Sneijder, Van Persie, Kuyt & Robben cannot fire Holland to another win here.

It’s to know exactly what to expect from  this match in terms of tactics from Slovakia but however Slovakia do play, we still expect Holland to have too much quality & organisation in this one & a comfortable win for Holland looks the best value bet.

Betting Recommendations:
Outright Match Result: HOLLAND to win
Correct Score options: Holland to win 2-0/3-0
First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Van Persie/Sneijder/Robben
Scorecast options: Van Persie/Sneijder/Robben score 1st & Holland win 2-0/3-0
Double Result: Holland H/T & F/T

Korea DPR vs Ivory Coast – (Group G, Friday 3.00pm)

This match is all about Ivory Coast & whether they have the motivation & belief to get the goals they need & keep alive their faint hopes of qualification.

Now we are not being disrespectful to Korea DPR but the facts are they are out & were completely & utterly ripped apart 7-0 by Portugal so we just don’t see them being a factor in this match because their confidence will be smashed & they have nothing to play for.

Ivory Coast know they have to win & win well while at the same time hoping Brazil beat Portugal comfortably as well so it’s an incredibly tough task but we still expect Ivory Coast to do what South Africa did & go out fighting with a good, winning performance here.

Ivory Coast do need a miracle turnaround to qualify & we can’t it happening but we still expect Ivory Coast to be way too strong for Korea DPR in this one & Didier Drogba, Girvinho & Kalou can lead the way & give Ivory Coast a winning send off.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Ivory Coast to win
Correct Score Options: Ivory Coast to win 2-0/3-0
First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Drogba/Kalou/Girvinho
Scorecast options: Drogba/Kalou/Girvinho score 1st & Ivory Coast win 2-0/3-0
Double Result: Ivory Coast win 2-0/3-0

The recommendations we make are to provide a range of options on the most popular markets available & to provide ideas and hopefully guide you towards betting success but whatever World Cup bets you choose, we wish you all the best.

Portugal vs Brazil – (Group G, Friday 3.00pm)

In terms of talent on show & the style of football both teams love to play had this clash of Portugal & Brazil down as potentially being one of the matches of the tournament but things may well be different given the situation in the group.

As things stand, Brazil will win the group & Portugal will qualify & a draw in this match will maintain that so the big question is will either set of players really push themselves to win the game?

Brazil & Portugal unquestionably have the attacking talent to go for the win here & both are capable of beating each other so admittedly any result is entirely possible but there has to be a big chance that both will ultimately settle for a good, competitive & entertaining draw that will suit them both perfectly.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: DRAW
Correct Score Options: 1-1/2-2
First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Fabiano/Ronaldo/Nilmar
Scorecast options: Fabiano/Ronaldo/Nilmar score 1st & 1-1/2-2
Double Result: DRAW H/T & F/T

Switzerland vs Honduras – (Group H, Friday 7.30pm)

Switzerland come into this game knowing they have a very good chance of qualifying if they win the game so we expect them to be positive & go for the win in this one & to be fair they should get it.

Switzerland’s campaign so far has been based around being very solid, organised & keeping things as defensively tight as possible but they now require a gear change into being a more positive, attacking unit so that will not be easy but they should be able to pull it off.

Switzerland will have the confidence to attack because their solid base gives them a strong platform from which to attack & anyway on all known evidence, Honduras are a very poor side who carry little threat so Switzerland should not have too much to worry about if they play to their strengths.

This match is all about how Switzerland approach it & we do expect Switzerland to have the edge and win the game although their failure to be prolific in front of goal might make it a tougher challenge than it should be.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Switzerland to win
Correct Score Options: Switzerland to win 1-0/2-0
First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Nkufo/Frei/Fernandes
Scorecast options: Nkufo/Frei/Fernandes score 1st & Switzerland win 1-0/2-0
Double Result: Switzerland H/T & F/T

The recommendations we make are to provide a range of options on the most popular markets available & to provide ideas and hopefully guide you towards betting success but whatever World Cup bets you choose, we wish you all the best.

Chile vs Spain – (Group H, Friday 7.30pm)

This absolutely crucial, vital Group H match has the very real potential to be one of the games of the tournament because absolutely everything is on the line in this one.

Chile have been one of the most impressive teams so far at this World Cup and they go into this game in control with 6 points from 6 knowing that a draw will do but they don’t play for draws while Spain have to win & look to get a few goals while they do it so this really should be a fantastic, open match.

Spain have the joint motivation of attempting to win & win it well to not only win the group but also avoid Brazil in the 2nd round & we do expect Spain to arrive at this match totally confident they will get the result they need.

Spain played very well against Honduras & really should have won 4-0 or 5-0 but they won the game & importantly David Villa scored a couple of goals to give him the confidence boost he needs & with him in top form, Spain can beat absolutely anybody.

Make no mistake, the pressure is fully on both teams here but we do fully expect both Chile & Spain to go for the win in this one because they both set out to be positive & play attacking football so this should be a real cracker and anything is possible but we are going to go with Spain to show their class & get a vital win

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Spain to win
Correct Score Options: Spain to win 2-1/3-1
First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Villa/Torres/Navas
Scorecast options: Villa/Torres/Navas score 1st & Spain win 2-1/3-1
Double Result: Spain H/T & F/T

The recommendations we make are to provide a range of options on the most popular markets available & to provide ideas and hopefully guide you towards betting success but whatever World Cup bets you choose, we wish you all the best.

Slovakia vs Italy – (Group F, Thursday 3.00pm)

Everything is up for grabs in this match as both Slovakia & Italy know that victory could well be enough to secure qualification for round 2 & so this should be a good game, despite both being quite poor so far.

Italy were long odds on to win Group F but two average performances have only yielded two 1-1 draws & that leaves them with knowing they have to try & win this game just to qualify so the pressure is definitely on.

It is possible that another draw here will be good enough for Italy but that would be a huge risk to take & they simply have to go all out for the win & see where that takes them so we expect Italy to go against their nature & go on the attack in this one.

Slovakia have been very, very poor in this tournament & to be honest it is quite hard to envisage Slovakia playing well in this one despite the fact they can still qualify with a win.

Slovakia do have players with technical skill, but they appear to lack the belief as individuals & as a team unit that they can win matches and they just don’t appear to have what it takes to get a draw here, never mind win.

Italy have to win this match to make sure they qualify & we fully expect them to do so although the pressure of the situation means Italy will do well to win with comfort & a narrow win looks the way to go.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Italy to win
Correct Score Options: Italy to win 1-0/2-0
First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Gilardino/Iaquinta/Di Natale
Scorecast options: Gilardino/Iaquinta/Di Natale score 1st & Italy win 1-0/2-0
Double Result: Italy H/T & F/T

The recommendations we make are to provide a range of options on the most popular markets available & to provide ideas and hopefully guide you towards betting success but whatever World Cup bets you choose, we wish you all the best.

Cameroon vs Holland – (Group E, Thursday 7.30pm)

Cameroon are out and have absolutely nothing but pride to play for while Holland are already qualified so it’s a simple case of who wants the game more & we think that will be Holland.

Holland came into this World Cup with a massive reputation built on the back of a fantastic qualifying campaign but so far at this World Cup they have won without showing any real quality.

Hopefully this match will give Holland the freedom they need to express their quality & give the likes of Sneijder, Van Persie, Van der Vaart, Elia & maybe even Arjen Robben the open platform they need & against an open Cameroon defence they should get that.

Cameroon were awful in the first match & deservedly lost but then played their part in a much better match & performance against Denmark but they ultimately lost & are now out so they have only pride left to play for & whether that will be enough is doubtful.

Games like this are dangerous to get too heavily involved in because anything can happen but we feel the most likely outcome is another win for Holland to give them a 100% record in the group stage.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Holland to win
Correct Score Options: Holland to win 2-0/2-1
First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Van Persie/Sneijder/Kuyt
Scorecast options: Van Persie/Sneijder/Kuyt score 1st & Holland win 2-0/2-1
Double Result: Holland H/T & F/T

The recommendations we make are to provide a range of options on the most popular markets available & to provide ideas and hopefully guide you towards betting success but whatever World Cup bets you choose, we wish you all the best.

Denmark vs Japan – (Group E, Thursday 7.30pm)

Denmark have to win, Japan only need a draw so this game should evolve into a straight fight between Denmark going for it & Japan trying to hold firm, stay organised & fight for the draw.

Denmark earned the chance to follow Holland through & to qualify by producing a very good comeback against Cameroon & that is exactly the type of performance they will want to reproduce here against Japan.

The basis of Denmark’s play is naturally to build from a solid, organised defence and to be primarily hard to beat but they showed against Cameroon that they can certainly play quality, attacking football & will certainly believe they can be too strong for Japan in this one.

Japan deserved their opening win against an awful Cameroon side in the first game but they were they only average against Holland & we suspect their clear game plan in this one will be to keep it as tight as possible & hold out for a 0-0 draw, but any other result may well be tough to achieve because they don’t look like scoring.

We are taking Denmark to win this & qualify through with Holland as Denmark should have too much for Japan & can fight them off with their extra quality & the pace of Rommedahl could well be the key.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Denmark to win
Correct Score Options: Denmark to win 1-0/2-0
First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Bendtner/Rommedahl/Tomasson
Scorecast options: Bendtner/Rommedahl/Tomasson score 1st & Denmark win 1-0/2-0
Double Result: Denmark H/T & F/T

The recommendations we make are to provide a range of options on the most popular markets available & to provide ideas and hopefully guide you towards betting success but whatever World Cup bets you choose, we wish you all the best.