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Blackpool, Nottingham Forest, Cardiff City & Leicester City fought out two very tough, competitive Semi Final 1st leg matches & everything still looks in the balance with anything still possible.

Blackpool take a 2-1 lead to Nottingham Forest for the 2nd leg & Cardiff City take a 1-0 lead back to Cardiff & all four teams still have everything to play for & all 4 teams will believe they can reach the Final.

The 2nd leg matches look certain to be high pressure, intensely competitive matches that should provide great excitement & drama and we have had a good look at the games with our value betting recommendations that we think are worth consideration.

Nottingham Forest vs Blackpool – (Tuesday 7.45pm)

This tie is fascinatingly poised as Blackpool travel to take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground holding a 2-1 advantage & this 2nd leg looks set to be an absolute cracker.

The first point of call is the fact that Nottingham Forest have to win the game so that will dictate their approach to the match but having a home record that reads 18 wins, 2 draws & only 3 defeats should give them massive confidence.

Billy Davies has done a great job with Nottingham Forest & the key element in that is the remarkable home record which means Nottingham Forest go into home games believing they will beat whoever they are playing & we expect the same here.

Billy Davies would have been concerned by the manner of the 2 Blackpool goals but Notttingham Forest’s home defensive record is very impressive & that solid base combined with the excellent quality in attack does give Nottingham Forest an excellent chance to get the win they need.

Blackpool know they face a tough task at Nottingham Forest but Ian Holloway has been fantastic ever since taking over at Blackpool & if anybody can guide Blackpool to success it will be him & he will believe Blackpool can go to Nottingham Forest and get the positive result they need to reach the final.

Blackpool’s away record is not all that impressive & they have conceded goals in the majority of their away games so that must be a concern although Blackpool did achieve a win & a clean sheet when these two sides met here in the League & that should give the Blackpool players a confidence boost.

The first leg was an excellent game of entertaining football & we certainly expect more of the same here so it’s hard to call but Nottingham Forest home record is incredibly impressive & we are going to side with Nottingham Forest to get yet another home win & they certainly look fairly priced to do so.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Nottingham Forest win

Correct Score Options: Nottingham Forest win 2-0/2-1

First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Blackstock/Anderson/Tyson

Scorecast options: Blackstock/Anderson/Tyson score 1st & Nottingham Forest win 2-0/2-1

Double Result: Nottingham Forest H/T & F/T

Cardiff City vs Leicester City – (Wednesday 7.45pm)

Peter Whittingham’s winner from the 1st leg gives Cardiff City a vital 1-0 lead to take into this 2nd leg but the tie is far from over & we fully expect Leicester City to give everything so this should be a really good match to watch.

Cardiff City & Leicester City both look to play positive, attacking football so we are expecting a decent, open game as the best policy for Cardiff City will be to attack & try to score more goals while Leicester City know they have to score goals & win the game to have any chance.

Cardiff City have been strong at home all season so will be confident they can be positive & get the result they require while Leicester City have a mixed away record but are certainly capable of going to Cardiff City and getting the win so it really is a tough game to call.

These two sides have played each other 3 times this season & the margin has only been 1 goal on each occasion with 1-0 & 2-1 victories for Cardiff City & 1-0 win for Leicester City so that proves how close the games have been & how tight this will be & especially with all the added pressure.

With 2 well matched teams & given what is at stake it’s a really tight call with a low scoring draw a really tempting option but we feel Cardiff City have the edge from the 1st leg & importantly home advantage which could be vital & Cardiff City do look worth a bet to edge another tight win on the night.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Cardiff City to win

Correct Score Options: Cardiff City to win 2-0/2-1

First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Bothroyd/Whittingham/Chopra

Scorecast options: Bothroyd/Whittingham/Chopra score 1st & Cardiff City 2-0/2-1

Double Result: Cardiff City H/T & F/T

Nottingham Forest, Cardiff City, Blackpool Town & Leicester City have all earned their places in the Play-Offs and now the time has come for one of those 4 sides to prove they can handle the pressure, the expectations & show that deserve to earn the final spot in the Premier League for next season.
All the Play-Off matches are always intense, high pressure occasions & particularly the Championship Play-Offs because a place in the Premier League guarantees a side millions of pounds in revenue & the chance to test themselves against the very best teams in the country and absolutely everything is at stake over the next few weeks.

We have had a good look at the set-up of both Championship Play-Off Semi Final 1st leg matches & here are our previews of the games with value betting recommendations we feel are worth consideration:

Blackpool vs Nottingham Forest – (Saturday 12.45pm)

9 points separated 3rd place Nottingham Forest & 6th place in the final Championship League table but the teams line-up for this Playoff Semi Final 1st leg with an equal chance of getting to the final & these two sides do look set to produce a really close battle.

Blackpool built their season on fantastic home form with 13 wins & 6 draws from 23 matches and indeed they go into this home leg with massive confidence given their fantastic end of season form.

Blackpool lost only 1 of their last 9 Championship matches & their victories included a resounding 3-1 home victory over Nottingham Forest so that should give them massive belief & certainly every reason to have great confidence of getting a positive result here.

Ian Holloway is a fantastically positive manager & he will certainly have spent all the preparation time for this match building up the belief & confidence of the Blackpool players & he will know that their best chance of getting through this Semi Final tie is to get a good home win first to take an advantage into the 2nd leg.

Billy Davies will be frustrated Nottingham Forest did not achieve automatic promotion after looking rock solid candidates to do so earlier in the season but the main thing is Nottingham Forest have a chance of promotion & indeed they are probably the team to beat in the Play-offs given their quality.

The Nottingham Forest players will be pumped up for this match & determined to put right what went badly wrong against Blackpool when they were beaten 3-1 a few weeks ago & Nottingham Forest will believe they have the talent to get a good positive result from this one.

Nottingham Forest’s away form was terrible in the latter part of the season but they were incredibly strong away from home in the early parts of the season & the fact they achieved 11 draws away from shows how tough they when playing away & we expect the same here.

This is a fascinating game to call because Blackpool & Nottingham Forest both have positive to recommended backing them & it is going to be fiercely competitive so it’s a tight call but we feel the real value lies in backing a scoring draw which will set things up perfectly for the 2nd leg.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: DRAW

Correct Score optionS: 1-1/2-2

First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Adam/Blackstock/Earnshaw

Scorecast options: Adam/Blackstock/Earnshaw score 1st & 1-1/2-2

Double Result: DRAW H/T & F/T

Leicester City vs Cardiff City – (Sunday 1.15pm)

A goal difference of only 3 goals was all that split these two strong sides at the end of the regulation season in the Championship as Leicester City & Cardiff City finished level on points & this Semi Final certainly looks a hard one to call with real confidence.

Leicester City have done fantastically well to get into the playoffs & manager Nigel Pearson deserves all the credit going for achieving it with a relatively thing squad in such a competitive league.

Leicester City are desperate to get back into the Premier League & indeed their best chance to do lies in getting a good, solid result & preferably a good win in this first leg at home so we are expecting Leicester City to be really positive but clearly they face a very tough test against Cardiff City.

Dave Jones again deserves huge credit for the great job he has done at Cardiff City & the way he has handled the club despite all the major financial, off field concerns & especially for getting Cardiff City into the playoffs after missing out so narrowly last season.

The fact Cardiff City have achieved a place in the playoffs again after suffering that major disappointment last season illustrates the character & indeed the quality within the Cardiff City squad and they will definitely believe they can earn their place in the Premier League.

Cardiff City are a hard side to play against because they provide a really good mix of competitive team spirit & an excellent level of quality with their attacking unit probably the best in the Championship with the likes of Bothroyd, Chopra & Whittingham all massive goal threats & they could well be the key to this tie & to Cardiff’s bid for playoff glory.

Leicester City & Cardiff City have already played each three times this season with 2 wins for Cardiff City & 1 win for Leicester City with home advantage the key each time so that could be important again but it really is a tough game to call.

We are expecting a good, competitive battle with a good mix of good football & indeed physical power and it was really tempting to go for a competitive, scoring draw but on balance we feel Cardiff City have the extra quality in attack & that makes them a value bet to get a vital away win here.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Cardiff City to win

Correct Score options: Cardiff City to win 2-1/3-1

First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Bothroyd/Whittingham/Chopra

Scorecast options: Bothroyd/Whittingham/Chopra score 1st & Cardiff City win 2-1/3-1

Double Result: Cardiff City H/T & F/T

There is full midweek programme of games taking place in the Championship and here are our thoughts on the games that caught our eye & the value betting options that we feel are worth consideration:

Peterborough vs Preston – (Tuesday 7.45pm)

Darren Ferguson will be the focus of all the attention going into this one as he takes his new Preston side to play his old Peterborough side whom he left in controversial circumstances & the atmosphere is certain to be charged for this one.

Peterborough have struggled all season in the Championship & are in desperate need for points & wins so they are bound to be totally charged for this one but Darren Ferguson will be fully aware of what to expect & will have side well prepared for that.

Both Peterborough & Preston like to play positive, attacking football & we expect both teams to have a real go here so anything is possible but Preston played very well against Chelsea & they look value to give Darren Ferguson his first win in charge & what a result that would be.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Preston to win

Correct Score options: Preston to win 2-1/3-1

First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Brown/Parkin/Carter

Ipswich Town vs West Bromwich Albion – (Tuesday 7.45pm)

Very interesting clash here between Roy Keane’s Ipswich & Roberto Di Matteo’s West Brom & a competitive battle looks on the cards.

There is an 18 point gap between these two sides with Ipswich down near the bottom & West Brom 3rd but this match is likely to prove a lot closer than that suggests.

Ipswich Town are hard to beat at home & the fact they have had 13 draws overall proves that & West Brom are very strong away with 6 wins & 5 draws from 12 so it is a tough call but West Brom have more ability in attack & they represent a value bet to prove too strong for Ipswich on the night

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: West Brom to win

Correct Score options: West Brom to win 2-1/3-1

First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Dorrans/Brunt/Bednar

Nottingham Forest vs QPR – (Tuesday 7.45pm)

A cracking game of open, attacking football looks on the cards here as both Nottingham Forest & QPR look to play positive football & should be a game to enjoy.

Nottingham Forest are the form team in the Championship with their incredible run having taken them to 2nd in the table & looking a solid bet to gain automatic promotion & quite possibly win the Championship outright.

Nottingham Forest are very strong at home & already have 9 home victories to their name so they will go into this one confident & believing they can get another win here.

QPR are admittedly a club in some turmoil with the crazy managerial situation a big distraction for the club off the field & obviously it has been unsettling for the players but QPR are a talented team & can play some great stuff if they hit their best form.

This should prove to be a game well worth watching & there could well be a few goals given how both sides play but in terms of a bet we cannot oppose Nottingham Forest who are in tremendous form right now & look a solid punt to extend that with a win here.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Nottingham Forest to win

Correct Score options: Nottingham Forest to win 2-1/3-1

First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Blackstock/Earnshaw/Anderson

Other recommendations for the Championship:

SWANSEA to beat Coventry – 2-0/2-1
- Pratley/Pintado/Trundle score 1st/anytime

NEWCASTLE UNITED to beat Crystal Palace – 2-1/3-1 – Carroll/Nolan/Ameobi score 1st/anytime

As we all know the weather has played it’s part in causing havoc with the football fixture list & that includes the F.A. Cup with several 3rd round ties unable to be played at the first time of asking.
Obviously the weather situation has not improved but hopefully will do in time for these matches to be played this week & here are our views on the games that caught our eye & the value betting options we feel are worth consideration.

Notts County vs Forest Green – (3rd Round tie, Tuesday 7.45pm)

Now this F.A. Cup tie might not grab the attention of too many people outside of either Notts County or Forest Green but it certainly caught our eye as a fascinating F.A. Cup tie that offers a great deal of interest & should be a good game to watch.

This season has already seen great drama both on & off the pitch at Notts County with the whole Sven Goran Eriksson scenario, new, mysterious owners buying the club & supposedly pumping millions in & now of course a new management buyout with the club having to deal with serious financial issues so this F.A. Cup 3rd round tie should prove to be a welcome distraction.

Notts County are having a good season in League 2 & while they may not have met the high expectations that came with the appointment of Sven Goran Eriksson, the facts are Notts County have done well this season & are indeed dangerous opponents for most teams on their best form.

Like we said, this F.A. Cup tie is a distraction from the pressures of the trying to achieve promotion in the league & we are expecting Notts County to be committed to showing their quality & to have a real go at winning this game in style with goals.

Notts County have been very strong at home this season & certainly have scored a lot of goals and they certainly have a great chance of winning this match if they play anywhere near their best form.

Forest Green are a tremendously proud club with a rich tradition and they will view this cup tie as an excellent opportunity to have a real go & show what they are capable of.

In terms of the season so far in the league, then Forest Green have been struggling in the Blue Square Premier League, sitting 3rd bottom with only 4 wins all seasons so this cup tie will be a welcome relief from those pressures of the league & should encourage the players to be more positive in their play.

We are expecting Forest Green to raise their game for this one & certainly the cup tie element will make it more competitive but in terms of a bet we cannot oppose Notts County who look worth a decent bet to get a couple win & go through to round 4.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Notts County to win

Correct Score options: Notts County to win 2-0/3-0

First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Hughes/Rodgers/Hawley

Double Result: Notts County Half Time & Full Time

Bristol City vs Cardiff City – (3rd Round tie, Tuesday 7.45pm)

All Championship tie here with both Bristol City & Cardiff City having promotion as a far more important target than progress in the cup but nevertheless this still looks set to be a fascinating & indeed competitive cup tie.

Bristol City come into this match having experienced a very mixed season with excellent home form but poor away form which sees them sitting 12th in the Championship at present.

Bristol City’s clear target is attempting to get to the play-offs & of course ultimately promotion but having such a strong home record should be motivation enough to be positive & go for the win in this home tie.

1 defeat from their previous 12 home games so far this season shows how strong Bristol City have been at home & they will certainly believe they can go for the win here.

Cardiff City come into this match in the middle of what has been a difficult & frustrating series of matches with disappointing results & performances against Blackpool, Peterborough & Plymouth.

Those 3 poor performances will obviously affect the confidence levels of the Cardiff City players coming into this match & they will be under pressure to perform well here.

Dave Jones has not been at all happy with how Cardiff City have performed in recent weeks & he will demand an improvement in the levels of commitment & performance from the players here so we are expecting Cardiff City to be fully up for this one.

We fully expect this to be a tremendously competitive match & we don’t envisage there being too much between the sides on the night so any result is possible but we are just going to side with Bristol City who should be fresher than Cardiff City going into this match & they can make home advantage pay on the night.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Betting: Bristol City to win

Correct Score options: Bristol City to win 2-0/2-1

First Goalscorer each way/player to score anytime: Maynard/Haynes/Hartley

Double Result: Bristol City Half Time & Full Time

Accrington Stanley vs Gillingham – (3rd round tie, Tuesday 7.45pm)

Mid table League 2 side Accrington welcome League 1 strugglers Gillingham to the Crown Ground for what we expect to be a proper, competitive cup tie that looks evenly balanced.

Accrington Stanley will certainly be up for this cup tie because while they have an even home record of 5 wins & 5 defeats, they have generally played very well at home & certainly will believe Gillingham are there for the taking.

Accrington’s latest home game saw them lose 4-2 against Bury & obviously while that was disappointing, they were in front in that game and certainly created enough chances to get a result & generally that is how they do play in their home matches.

Accrington Stanley do believe in playing positive, attacking football and certainly have the ability to score goals & have scored 2 or more goals in 10 of their competitive home matches so that definitely gives them a decent chance in this match.

Gillingham travel to this match struggling in League 1, sitting only a few points above the relegation zone & with a terrible away record of no wins from their 12 previous away matches so far this season.

That terrible away record clearly is a massive factor coming into this game & certainly does highlight that Gillingham will need an excellent performance to get a positive result here even though they are a league higher than Accrington.

The big reason for their problems away from home is that they concede far too many goals with 27 conceded in their 12 away matches & only 9 scored and clearly those figures further highlight the task they face.

This is going to be a proper F.A. cup tie with an intensely competitive battle likely & we like the look of home side Accrington Stanley as a good bet to have the edge in this one & earn their right to play Fulham at home in round 4.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Accrington Stanley to win

Correct Score options: Accrington Stanley to win 2-1/3-1

First goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Symes/Miles/Mcconville

Double Result: Accrington Stanley Half Time & Full Time

Birmingham City vs Nottingham Forest – (3rd Round replay, Tuesday 7.45pm)

We have a fascinating game in prospect here between probably the two most in form teams in the country with Birmingham City flying high in the Premier League & unbeaten in 13 games while Nottingham Forest come here unbeaten in 18 matches & so far unbeaten away all season so this should be a fantastic, competitive match.

Birmingham City have everything going for them at present & obviously come into this fixture with confidence levels sky high & the knowledge they can compete equally with anybody on their best form.

Positive results against the likes of Chelsea, Man United, Man City, Liverpool, Fulham, Everton & Sunderland prove how strong Alex McCleish’s side have been this season & indeed they present a major test for every team they play against.

Tactically there is no magic formula or secret to Birmingham City with their success built on consistency of selection which has enabled them to be defensively strong & organised, physically committed in every game & given them massive belief to go into every match confident they can get a result.

Birmingham City’s real strength has been at home with only 2 defeats in 11 and incredibly only 6 goals conceded in those 11 games & it is that tremendous defensive strength that has enabled Birmingham City to get so many positive results.

In terms of this match against Nottingham Forest we expect much the same from Birmingham City again with their plan to keep it incredibly tight & then try to score and indeed given their form they will believe they can do just that.

Billy Davies brings his Nottingham Forest side to Birmingham City having just witnessed his players produce a magnificent team performance to play with style & impressively win 3-1 away at West Brom.

That performance highlighted all the key strengths of Nottingham Forest with defensive organisation, team confidence, a tremendous work ethic & indeed a high level of belief to play attacking football & to try to win every game they play in.

Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in their last 18 matches & incredibly remain unbeaten away so far with 4 wins & 9 draws away from home and clearly that indicates how strong they will be in this match & they certainly do have a fair chance of getting a result.

The incredibly competitive 0-0 draw these two sides shared the first time around showed that these two sides are very closely matched & again we don’t expect their to be too much between the sides here but surely something has to give & for a value bet we are taking Nottingham Forest to edge this one.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Nottingham Forest to win

Correct Score options: Nottingham Forest to win 2-0/2-1

First Goalscorer each way/player to score anytime: Blackstock/Anderson/Mcgoldrick

Double Result: Nottingham Forest Half Time & Full Time

Two Premiership teams were beaten by clubs from lower leagues in the 3rd round last year…..Stoke who lost 0-2 at Hartlepool whilst the shock of the round was when Forest beat Manchester City away via a 0-3 scoreline.

Five Premier clubs failed to make it through to the fourth round via three other all-Premiership encounters. The full list of 3rd round results involving Premier sides:

Sheffield Wednesday 1 Fulham 2

Tottenham 3 Wigan 1

Hartlepool 2 Stoke 0

Portsmouth 0 Bristol City 0 (Portsmouth won the replay 2-0)

West Ham 3 Barnsley 0

Hull 0 Newcastle 0 (Hull won the replay 1-0)

Chelsea 1 Southend 1 (Chelsea won the replay 4-1)

Manchester City 0 Nottingham Forest 3

WBA 1 Peterborough 1 (WBA won the replay 2-0)

Middlesbrough 2 Barrow 1

Arsenal 3 Plymouth 1

Macclesfield 0 Everton 1

Sunderland 2 Bolton 1

Preston 0 Liverpool 2

Gillingham 1 Aston Villa 2

Southampton 0 Manchester United 3

Blythe Spartans 0 Blackburn 1

Top ten all time Cup winners:

11–Manchester United

10–Arsenal

8–Tottenham

7–Liverpool

7–Aston Villa

6–Blackburn

6–Newcastle

5–Chelsea

5–Everton

5–WBA

Most appearances in the final:

18–Manchester United

17–Arsenal

13–Newcastle

13–Liverpool

13–Everton

10–Aston Villa

10–WBA

9–Chelsea

9–Tottenham

Look out for more stats later in the week!

A Championship match, which caught our attention as a quality fixture with Nottingham Forest & West Brom rated as strong contenders for promotion this season. There also looks to be some betting value on offer.

Nottingham Forest started their campaign with a hard fought 0-0 draw away at Reading & they displayed physical commitment & determination, but no real quality. Billy Davies has admitted the club are struggling with injuries which obviously does not help either.

We put forward West Brom in our ante-post preview of the Championship & although they did not start with a win against Newcastle United, we were impressed by the standard of play. They showed enough quality with the likes of Chris Brunt, Jonathan Greening, Luke Moore & Simon Cox all looking to possess an eye for goal which marks them down as contenders for first goalscorer bets for this season.

This will be a decent game with both sides capable of producing entertaining football, but taking everything into account, we feel that West Brom represent a strong value bet to show their class & get the away win.

Bet Recommendations:

Outright Match Betting:

West Brom to win

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Correct Score options:

West Brom to win 0-2/1-2

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First Goalscorer each way/player to score anytime:

Chris Brunt/Luke Moore

Scorecast options:

Brunt/Moore to score 1st + West Brom 0-2, 1-2

Double Result:

Draw Half Time & West Brom Full Time

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Another heavyweight looking clash here with two teams desperate to regain their Premier League status once again so should be a very interesting and informative game.

Reading approach this season in a new phase of their history with Steve Coppell having stepped down as manager and now the responsibility lies with new manager Brendan Rodgers who will be looking to bring a fresh approach to the Reading side and try and build on the excellent work that Coppell did.

Billy Davies has now fully settled into his role as Nottingham Forest manager and the Forest board have given him tremendous backing this summer with the extensive recruitment drive they have undertaken and clearly the investment is aimed at getting Nottingham Forest back to the Premier League and given the players they have signed, they must be respected.

We see both teams will be looking to start with a positive result which should make for an entertaining game, but also one that will be very competitive so at the odds we feel the punting value lies in backing a scoring draw.

Bet Recommendations

Outright Match Betting:- DRAW

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Correct Score Options:- 1-1 or 2-2

First Goalscorer (each way)/Player to Score Anytime:- Stephen Hunt

Scorecast:- Hunt to score 1st + 1-1 or 2-2 draw

Double Result:- DRAW Half Time & Full Time