Online Betting Pro, Author at Free Bets And Sports News.

Hot Afternoon Looms At Searing Melbourne Park On Day Two

Posted on 2017-01-17 by Online Betting Pro

Players face reasonably comfortable conditions from Wednesday through to the weekend but those scheduled to hit the courts on Tuesday will be reminded why the Australian Open can be a sometimes-brutal test of endurance. The forecast temperature is 38°C although cloud cover may ease the impact of this extreme heat. In good news for those scheduled to play in the night session, a cool change is expected early in the evening which will drop the temperature back to the low 20s. That’s when fans will watch no. 2 seed Novak Djokovic take on Spain’s Fernando Verdasco and women’s no. 3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska face Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria. But for the likes of Serena Williams (2), Karolina Pliskova (5), Dominika Cibulkova (6), Milos Raonic (3) and Rafael Nadal (9), there’ll be little respite from the boiler room conditions.

In a Nic of time

The big story on day one was the swift demise of Spaniard Nicolas Almagro. With match-fixing firmly in the spotlight at this year’s Open, Almagro was forced to deflect claims of a money-grab after he lasted just 23 minutes before retiring. Almagro threw in the towel with a calf injury at 4-0 down in the first set against France’s Jeremy Chardy but walked away with an AUD $50,000 cheque as a first-round loser. Australian doubles legend Todd Woodbridge, a TV commentator, ignited a debate when he said: “Questions to be asked. Did (Almagro) just turn up to take money?” Almagro later insisted: “I went to court because I think I can play. I was top 10, I have more than 10 million dollars. I’m not going to play for $50,000. It is not the reason.”

Boys to men

On the men’s side, the big guns all prevailed yesterday but, for our best of the day, we like the look of a former Australian Open boys’ champion. Alexander Zverev is on the cusp of the top 20 and looks to improve his ranking with a win over veteran Dutchman Robin Haase. The 19-year-old German should get this done in three sets, priced at $1.70 with Ladbrokes. Two more players entering the latter stages of their career are also in action today. Marcos Baghdatis is a favourite with the Melbourne Park fans but looks unders as he continues to recover from an ankle injury. It’s been almost a decade since the 34-year-old Russian reached the quarterfinals in this event but looks good value ($2.60 with William Hill) to cause the upset here.

Early tram for Sam

For one reason or another, Aussie Sam Stosur has a horrible record on home soil. She has won just 21 of her past 50 matches in Australia and has cost punters a packet with a 24-22 career record as favourite in front of home fans. The books have made Stosur a $1.80 favourite but we’ll be taking the Brit Heather Watson, who showed some decent touch in the Hopman Cup ($2.00 with Paddy Power). Likewise, Lucie Safarova’s career is in decline through a combination of injury and illness. The Czech player has managed just four wins from 15 matches on hard courts in the past 12 months. We’ll be taking her Belgian opponent Yanina Wickmayer at the +3.5-game handicap, available at $1.83 on Luxbet.

Jazz, Spurs and Hawks offer value in divisional betting

Posted on 2017-01-16 by Online Betting Pro

The past week has seen the Golden State Warriors embark on a three-game winning streak to leave their win record at .850 and strengthen their grip on the Pacific Division. They are just 1/100 to win it, while the Cleveland Cavaliers are also 1/100 to win the Central Division. Both are looking nailed on, but there is plenty of value in predicting who will finish first in the other four divisions, which are all very much up for grabs.

Northwest Division

This looks like a two-horsed race between the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder. The Jazz has recorded their best record at the midway point of a season since 2010-11 and hold a slender lead over the Thunder. But Oklahoma City is hot on their heels and have a real superstar in Russell Wilson, so it should prove a close fought battle. Still, the Jazz is better defensively and will take confidence from beating the Cavaliers last Tuesday, so they should just sneak it in and the 8/11 Paddy Power is offering looks good.

Southwest Division

Another intense battle here is developing between the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets. In James Harden, Houston has a player vying with Wilson to be named MVP, and he recently inspired them to an eight-game winning streak. But two straight defeats saw Houston fall to 31-11, leaving them narrowly behind the Spurs, who are 31-9. Alongside Golden State, the Spurs are the NBA’s form team at present. They have the league’s best offence, and over the last month they have had the best defence, so they are topping power rankings lists and should finish just ahead of Houston, making the 1/3 Bet365 is offering look good for an accumulator.

Atlantic Division

The Toronto Raptors lead this division ahead of the Boston Celtics, but the Raptors are an inconsistent team, losing to the Bulls and the Rockets this past week, before recording hugely impressive victories over the Celtics and the Jazz. That defeat will have hurt the Celtics, who are 8-2 in their last 10, compared to 5-5 for the Raptors, and will harbour hopes of overhauling them over the course of the season. The Raptors are 10/19 with Bet365, but the 7/4 Coral is offering on the Celtics looks interesting as Isaiah Thomas and Larry Bird are in sensational form.

Southeast Division

Arguably the poorest division, this could be taken by any one of three teams: the Atlanta Hawks (13/10 with Coral), Charlotte Hornets (9/4 with William Hill) or Washington Wizards (13/4 with 888Sport). None of them ranks in the top 10 teams this season for win percentage. The Hornets looked in the driving seat a couple of weeks ago, but four straight defeats for them coincided with seven wins in a row for Atlanta, leaving the Hawks ahead of them. The 13/10 looks a good bet on Atlanta and could make a nice treble with the Jazz and the Spurs.

Upcoming Games

Tuesday sees the Jazz travel to the struggling Phoenix Suns. Utah really should be winning this game and the odds of 4/9 reflect that, but you can get 10/11 with Paddy Power on the Jazz -4.5, which looks a good bet. On the same day, an out of sorts Thunder travels to the LA Clippers, who are on a six-game winning streak and should win it at 4/9 with Sky Bet. One game to look out for is in-form Atlanta at the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. The Pistons are 8-17 against teams with a win percentage better than .500, and Atlanta should beat them and cover a decent spread.

A Look Ahead at Melbourne Park: Australian Open Tennis

Posted on 2017-01-15 by Online Betting Pro

The sporting compass of Australia quivers in many different directions across the calendar year. But once the New Year is welcomed, true north points to the massive Melbourne Park tennis complex for the first Grand Slam event of the season – the Australian Open. The tournament dates to 1905 and earned Grand Slam status (along with the French, British and US national championships) in the mid-1920s.

However, the tyranny of distance meant that the world’s best players were often reluctant to make the long trip Down Under and, by the late 1970s, the event’s relevance had sunk to an all-time low. Steadily, the game’s elite returned to the grass courts of the suburban Kooyong complex, but that trickle became a flood once the tournament was shifted to the new Melbourne Park complex – firstly on Rebound Ace and since on Plexicushion Prestige. Injury aside, the world’s best players now converge on mid-summer Melbourne to chase a slice of Grand Slam glory.

Arise Sir Andy

Novak Djokovic secured his sixth Australian Open title last year, highlighted by his wins over Roger Federer and Andy Murray, that confirming his status as the world’s pre-eminent player. Victory drew him level with Australia’s Roy Emerson as the most decorated men’s singles champion in tournament history – and in 2017, he goes in search of a seventh triumph.

It’s a two-horse race according to the markets with Djokovic ($2.65 with William Hill) a narrow favourite ahead of Murray ($2.75). Only Stan Wawrinka ($13), Rafael Nadal ($15) and Milos Raonic ($19) are also rated better than 20-1 chances. Djokovic and Murray (who faces a likely quarter-final match-up with Roger Federer) should prevail from their quarters, while Raonic should join them in the semis. The second quarter is a lottery where Wawrinka looks well under the odds. The main local hope Nick Kyrgios is yet to show he has the temperament to prevail on home soil, while Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jack Sock will also make their presence felt in this quarter of the draw. Take Murray to go all the way, with Raonic the value pick.

Angelique set to click

Serena Williams says she will not be distracted by the thought of moving ahead of Steffi Graf’s Grand Slam record at the Australian Open. The American world number two needs one major triumph to go clear of the German’s 22 Open-era titles. She’s played this event on 16 occasions for a staggering return of six titles. Williams is generously priced a $4.00 favourite (on Paddy Power) with defending champion Angelique Kerber a $4.50 chance to go back-to-back. Karolina Pliskova ($8), Garbine Muguruza ($11) and Simona Halep ($12) are also rated realistic chances.

But the value reaches well beyond those five players with Kerber and Williams bowing out early in their respective lead-up tournaments. It may pay to play a little wider here with Agnieszka Radwanska ($26), Dominika Cibulkova ($29) and Elina Svitolina ($34) every chance of upsetting the apple cart in their respective quarters. That trio looks terrific value, while Kerber looks set to go all the way once again.

Pakistan Need Immediate Reversal to Stop Slide

Posted on 2017-01-15 by Online Betting Pro

Australia is notoriously difficult to beat in one day cricket at home (most cricket as a matter of fact), and thus it proved in game one of their series against Pakistan at the Gabba. Australia ran out winners by 92 runs, and Pakistan may just have missed their best chance to steal a win from a team that India and New Zealand of late have found impossible to do so.

We preview game two of the series in Melbourne with a look at how the teams line up and how you might make some money from some of the more generous odds on offer.

The Series So Far

Australia were easy winners in game one in Brisbane despite falling to 78/5 at one stage. A fine recovery effort by Matthew Wade (100) and Glenn Maxwell (60) steadied the ship and saw Australia through to 268, which they easily defended thanks to James Faulkeners 4-32.

Pakistan will rue letting Australia off the hook, especially after taking the key wickets of David Warner and Steven Smith from consecutive deliveries. They’ll also be looking for a much-improved batting effort – the 176 they managed in game one won’t win them anything.

The Teams

Australia (probable)

1 David Warner, 2 Travis Head, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Chris Lynn, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 James Faulkener, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Billy Stanlake

Mitchell Starc might be given a rest in a straight swap for Josh Hazlewood. Hazlewood, the game’s number one ranked test bowler earned a rest at the Gabba thanks to a heavy workload during the test series.

Pakistan (probable)

1 1 Azhar Ali (capt), 2 Sharjeel Khan, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Babar Azam, 5 Mohammed Nawaz, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Hasan Ali.

Junaid Khan could enter the mix, either if Amir is rested or at the expense of one of Imad Wasim or Mohammad Nawaz. Shoaib Malik or Asad Shafiq are the other names that could cross the selector’s minds if they feel they need to strengthen their batting.

The Key Players

Australia

Chris Lynn is probably the key player not for his own side but for his own position in the side. The big hitting BBL freak needs to find a way to bring his six hitting T20 exploits to the ODI game, and if he can he can secure his place in the side permanently with an eye on the Champions Trophy in the UK this winter. Expect Lynn to curtail his slog sweeping in game two, but not completely.

Pakistan

Imad Wasim put in a fine ten over spell in game one. His quick little sliders were difficult to get away, meaning he was easily the best bowler on display in the visitor’s side, registering 2-35. His left-armers could again be the key in the crucial middle overs here in game two.

The Match Odds*

Australia– $1.21

Pakistan – $4.50

*All odds from Palmerbet.

The Prediction

Australia should forge on in game two and take a 2-0 lead in the series. They’ve won 17 of their past 21 ODIs against Pakistan, and we can’t see the eight best ODI team challenging them in any of the three areas of the game at the MCG. Australia by six wickets or 70 runs.

The Best Bets

Travis Head has made a number of half centuries and other promising starts in his ODI career to date. He’s just missing that really big score to truly announce his place in the side permanently. If you think game two could be the game (with him opening and having a greater chance now), then the $5 on him being the top batsman should be attractive.

Babar Azam looked the best Pakistani player in game one and not simply because he top scored. His runs were scored effortlessly before a rash stroke saw him exit for 33. He’s also at $5 to top score again for his side and looks like good money.

Man United vs. Liverpool: Will United Make a Comeback?

Posted on 2017-01-12 by Online Betting Pro

Man United vs. Liverpool is a proverbial titans clash, and one of the most hotly contested derby matches in world football looks set to be another screamer on January 15. Heading into the match, Liverpool is certainly the form team. However, despite four places separating them in the Premier League, the gulf between the two teams might not be as wide as some would think.

In overall terms, Liverpool is currently outpacing their Premier League rivals with 44 points to 39. Now, as any football aficionado will tell you, a six-point gap after 20 games might as well be 60 points when you’re fighting for the title. With the top teams barely losing more than a handful of games each season, hoping to secure two wins while your closest rival slips twice are almost futile.

Of course, overcoming a six-point gap is not impossible, it’s just improbable. Just how improbable? Well, according to Sun Bets experts, the chances of United overtaking Liverpool and the rest of the top five is 16/1. In contrast, Jurgen Klopp’s men are currently the 9/2 second-favourites for the title behind Chelsea (3/4).

It’s Closer than You Think

So, if United’s chances of closing the gap are just improbable and not impossible, it also stands to reason that they have a chance of winning on Sunday. Before we break down the best bets, let’s take a quick look at the numbers. Yes, Liverpool has opened up a sizeable points gap. But, when you look at the individual numbers, United isn’t that far off the pace.

Liverpool’s 13 wins aren’t drastically better than United’s 11. Similarly, United’s three losses are only one more than Liverpool’s two. In fact, when we look at goals against, United actually have the upper hand with 19 against vs. 23 against. OK, so what does this tell us? Well, the first thing to note is that things aren’t as bad at United as people may have first assumed.

Thanks to an unfortunate combination of past achievements, current expectations and sensationalist media coverage, United’s drop in form over the last season or so has been characterised as disastrous. While it’s fair to say it’s a far cry from the Ferguson glory days, it’s also true that it’s not a disaster.

In fact, if we accept this fact and remove our emotions from the situation, it quickly becomes clear that United has a chance in this match. Moreover, when we factor in that this match will take place at Old Trafford, it seems any initial assumptions that this will be a comfortable win for Liverpool seem to fade away.

Odds Favour United

If nothing else, Man United vs. Liverpool will be a close, competitive match. In fact, the bookmakers seem to agree. Despite the Premier League table, recent form and fan fever suggesting Liverpool is primed to clinch the latest derby match, the odds tell a different story. For those wanting the best outright price in the current conditions, William Hill is offering 11/4 on Liverpool and 23/20 on United.

A tenner on the former at that price would return you £37.50, while the same on the latter would give you £21.50. Of course, with the gap between the two teams being tighter than many would assume, a draw could also be on the cards this weekend. Coral’s odds makers are offering 9/4 on a stalemate, as is William Hill. For a touch more value, Sun Bets will give you 23/10 on a draw, which means £10 could be worth £33.

Look for the Sensational Comeback

However, with this match promising to deliver on all fronts, it seems wise to look beyond the outrights and towards some specifics. Both teams to score at 3/4 with Sun Bets looks a strong, if not fairly uninspiring shout.

For our money, though, United to win from behind looks a tasty proposition. There’s no doubt Liverpool is going to travel to Manchester with the bit between their teeth. Recent form and Premier League superiority will allow Klopp’s men to come out firing, and if likes of Firmino can start strong, an early goal is a distinct possibility.

However, with United on a run of five wins and the home crowd backing them, a comeback will always be likely. Yes, it could end in a draw, but with odds of 10/1 on United coming from behind to win, it seems that it’s worth taking a punt on the more outlandish outcome.

Whatever the result, Man United vs. Liverpool will be another high-octane match. But, if you’re looking for a cheeky punt, a few quid on United to steal the show should give you a few more reasons to smile come the final whistle.

City Facing Massive Test of Title Credentials at Goodison

Posted on 2017-01-12 by Online Betting Pro

Manchester City will travel to Goodison Park to face Everton on Sunday afternoon intent on maintaining their title challenge in the wake of Chelsea’s 2-0 loss to Tottenham in their last Premier League fixture.

The league leaders defeat at White Hart Lane ended a run of 13 straight league victories and reopened the door for the likes of City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United in their quest to challenge for the title. City is currently still available at 7/1 with Coral to claim a fifth league title in Pep Guardiola’s maiden season in charge.

City aiming to reduce seven-point deficit

With fourth-placed City still trailing Chelsea by seven points, Guardiola will be desperate for his team to take all three points back to Manchester. Toffees boss Ronald Koeman, meanwhile, will hope his players can sustain the club’s challenge for a top six finish and possible European football next season with a win to better the 1-1 draw they achieved in Manchester back in October.

City will go into the match without midfielder Fernandinho who received his marching orders for the second time this season in City’s hard-fought 2-1 victory over Burnley at the Etihad last time out. Ilkay Gundogan is the only other player likely to miss out for City while Everton will have to make do without injured duo Maarten Stekelenburg and summer signing Yannick Bolasie.

No easy task for Guardiola’s men

Guardiola’s men lost 1-0 to title rivals Liverpool on their last trip to Merseyside on New Year’s Eve, their third defeat on the road this season, while Everton boasts an impressive home record with just a solitary defeat, also to neighbours Liverpool to blot their copybook.

The hosts’ good home form and City’s seven victories on the road suggest this will be a close encounter. Last weekend saw Everton exit the FA Cup at the first hurdle following defeat to Champions Leicester while City made a huge statement of intent hammering West Ham 5-0 in East London to progress to the next round of the famous old cup.

On the back of these results, the bookmakers seem less agreeable to Everton’s chances of denting City’s title charge and place them at a very generous 10/3 to claim the win with bet365 amongst others. The visitors, on the other hand, are priced as short as 4/5 with the same bookmaker to escape Merseyside with all three points.

Goals fest on the cards?

Everton has notched 15 goals in their 10 home league matches so far this season, while City has scored an impressive 22 goals in just 10 matches away from home thus far. With City’s defence looking far from comfortable protecting Claudio Bravo’s goal, however, the odds of both teams scoring is a modest 8/13 with Ladbrokes which suggests the bookies are anticipating goals.

Big money returns could be yielded from a punt on who gets that all important first goal. Everton’s main man Romelu Lukaku and City’s forward sensation Sergio Aguero have both helped themselves to 11 goals in the league so far, which makes odds from Skybet of 11/2 for the Belgian and 3/1 for the Argentine to open the scoring on Sunday extremely tempting.

Author: Online Betting Pro