Friday 15 October 2010

Weekend Betting, Saturday 16th October, and the incontinence problem among bookmakers

Getting these on the now as I'm off to Old Trafford tomorrow. K Stand Tier 2

Here are a few tips for the weekend, then:
  • Arsenal, despite their recent aberration at home to West Brom, should have enough to comfortably dispose of a Birmingham side whose recent form can best be described as patchy. Boylesports' 1/3 is probably about right, along with over 2.5 goals at a general 1/2 in a game that usually produces them
  • Aston Villa host Chelsea in the 5.30pm game, a fixture that Villa won 2-1 last season. Given this, and that Chelsea will be without Drogba, Lampard and Alex amongst others, the 4/1 generally available on Villa seems good value. This is a fixture that has caught Chelsea out in the past, indeed a trawl through this very blog's archives will produce this writer tipping Villa in this fixture last season. Also, you'll never guess where this writer was the day of that game. Also worth considering in this game is John Carew 1st goalscorer- the giant Norwegian will be relishing the prospect of facing a potentially makeshift Chelsea defence, and is available at a best price of 10/1 with bwin
  • There are a few interesting bets to be had in the Championship this weekend. Doncaster to win away at Scunthorpe are great value at 15/8 with Stan James, while another away win in Yorkshire could be seen at Bramall Lane, with Burnley available at a general 7/4 to triumph over inconsistent Sheffield United. The best value bet, though, might just be Norwich to win away at QPR at an outstanding 9/2 with bet365. QPR's excellent start to the season has been well-documented, but Norwich under Paul Lambert have been quietly impressive on their return to the Championship and currently reside in 3rd place. The 9/2 on the Canaries could be a nice single if you're feeling brave, alternatively the double chance Norwich-Draw is available at a general 11/10
  • It's official: the bookies have shat themselves! Many have suspended betting on Stirling Albion v Dundee tomorrow, and those that are still running markets have severely shortened Stirling Albion after the redundancies at Dundee today. Of the odds still available, Hills' 6/5 as as good as you'll find (they were 7/4 yesterday), and should be snapped up- Albion must surely now be favourites given the shedding of playing and coaching staff forced upon Dundee
  • As regular readers of this blog will know, this writer tends to shy away from betting on his own teams, but the 4/1 offered by Ladbrokes on Ross County to win away at Dunfermline is very tempting, especially considering the return last weekend of strikers Andy Barrowman and Steven Craig for the Staggies

Remember the name, Shinji Kagawa

Monday 11 October 2010

This Old Chestnut, and some other tips

A few tips coming up, along with an old favourite topic of mine:

England v Montenegro, Tuesday 12th October
Regular readers of this blog will know my feelings about the odds offered on England games, and once again they have gone far too short in their pricing for this game, with England at a general 1/4. Montenegro, despite their lack of experience competing as an independent nation, are not the minnows their 5th seeding for these qualifiers suggests. They are currently ranked 40th in the world (only 3 places below that world footballing superpower the Czech Republic), and have won all 3 of their games in this group so far, putting them well in contention for at least 2nd place in the group. They can be backed outright at a general 14/1, with the draw available at 11/2 with totesport- both are worth a small flutter, or alternatively one should be able to lay England at somewhere close to 4/1. Also, on the handicap market, Montenegro +2 appeals, and if you shop around you should find this bet available above evens. Finally, if you're looking for a couple of anytime goalscorers, then have a wee punt on Steven Gerrard (13/8 with Boylesports), who should be free from the general malaise affecting his club side, and Montenegro's main goal threat, short-lifing Roma striker Mirko Vucinic (19/4 with Unibet)

Ah, international midweeks. Finding value here is extremely difficult, particularly this week, which seems to have even more big team v little team matches than usual. One could fairly safely populate their coupon with Turkey, Germany, Czech Republic, Portugal and France, but there are a few interesting bets out there. Italy are a very tempting 5/6 with Unitbet to win at home to a Serbia side just off the back of a 3-1 home defeat to Estonia, while the general 4/6 on Russia to win in Macedonia should also be snapped up. A final, more speculative punt would be to back in-form Austria at a general 4/1 to win away at inconsistent and inexperienced Belgium. Tuck in, folks

Saturday 2 October 2010

What we've learned so far this season

Here are a few things we've learned so far this season, along with a few tips for this weekend:

Darren Bent- the gift that keeps on giving
Last season, this writer was quick to jump on the Darren Bent 1st goalscorer bandwagon, and made a healthy profit from doing so. He's started this season in good form as well, with 5 Premier League goals so far, 2 of them 1st, as well as getting off the mark internationally. This afternoon he's available at a shade under 7/1 1st goalscorer with Unibet, and 23/10 anytime scorer with Boylesports- outstanding value against a Manchester United defence that has conceded 9 goals in 5 away games in all competitions so far this season

Sir Alex Ferguson may have a sense of humour
When asked about Javier Hernandez's winning goal against Valencia, Sir Alex's response was along the lines of "he needs to work on his physique, but he's a fantastic finisher, it's like shelling peas to him". Hernandez bears the moniker "Chicharito" on the back of his shirt. Chicharito in Hernandez's mother tongue, Spanish, of course means "Little Pea". I'm here all week (Sir Alex isn't, though- he's not talking to anyone from the media for a month)

Steve McClaren is Wolfsburg boss, and was FC Twente boss last season
Commentators, pundits, journalists, WE ALL KNOW THIS. You do not need to remind us every time 1 of the 2 aforementioned teams comes up in conversation

A couple of tasty lower-league bets for you this afternoon
Rochdale (4th in League 1, unbeaten in their last 6, 2-2-0 away) are a very tasty 9/4 to win away at 11th place Exeter, while in League 2 table-topping Port Vale (won their last 5, 4-0-0 away from home) are a shade over (OVER!) 2/1 with Victor Chandler away at 12th-placed Oxford (no wins in their last 3, 1-1-2 at home). Tuck in to those, folks

Alessandro Del Piero: still got it
Il Pinturicchio has been in sparkling form for a stuttering Juventus side this season, and although the 35-year-old has yet to score in Serie A, he has been a joy to watch, creating opportunities for team-mates (and keeping new signing Simone Pepe mostly on the bench) and, along with Serbian winger Milos Krasic, providing flair and incision in an otherwise functional Juventus side. Extrabet offer 9/1 on him to get off the mark with the 1st goal in tomorrow night's game away to Inter