Author: Online Betting Pro

I am a punter that loves to follow the horse both in Australia and the United Kingdom. I enjoy writing about sports betting and also casino, poker and bingo. In my spare time I like to keep fit by playing football and going for long bike rides. I also like to travel the world and see amazing place s and meet wonderful people along the way.

Cricket World Cup: Sri Lanka v South Africa – QF 1 Preview

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The first quarterfinal of the Cricket World Cup is also likely to be the most competitive.  After four gruelling weeks (said with a hint of sarcasm in the direction of the teams that had eight days between games) eight quarterfinalists have been found to vie for the most coveted trophy in international cricket.

The first of those quarterfinals is played today in Sydney, featuring the runners up of the past two tournaments against a team that has never won a knockout match at a Cricket World Cup.

South Africa’s stumbling record is so underwhelming that its nigh on impossible to consider they won’t remedy it this time around.  They have posted 400 twice in the tournament, they have the best batsman in the world and a fearsome new ball bowling attack.

Sri Lanka on the other hand, thrive in knockout matches (barring finals perhaps), and have over 1100 ODI matches between just three of their players (Mahela, Kumar and Dilshan).  That is a strength, but it’s also a weakness as they often rely too heavily on those three names.  To book a semifinal date with New Zealand / West Indies they’ll need to extract performances out of Malinga, Matthews and Thirimanne, all who have at times played significant roles in this World Cup.

It should be an absolute cracker.

The Last Time These Two Met

Of the last six matches the two team have played (dating back to July 2013) the teams have won three games apiece.  Interestingly, none of the most recent matches have been close.  Each win has been by over 56 runs (with an average winning margin of 85.6 runs) or by more 8 wickets or more.  The most recent ODI – in July 2014 – resulted in South Africa winning by 82 runs in Hambantota.

Both teams lost twice during the Pool stage of this year’s tournament.

The Teams

South Africa (likely): 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt), 5 JP Duminy, 6 David Miller, 7 Rilee Russouw/ Farhaan Behardien, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Morne Morkel, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Imran Tahir

South Africa only have one selection decision to ponder.  It could have been two given Quinton de Kock’s horrific form, but AB de Villiers looks reluctant to keep and has thrown his weight behind the youngster.  That leaves a number seven decision between Rilee Rossouw, who has contributed nicely in the tournament thus far, and Farhaan Behardien.  Behardien’s ability to send down some overs might be enough to get him in (he also smoked it against the UAE in their last Pool game).

Sri Lanka (likely): 1 Lahiru Thirimanne, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Kusal Perera, 6 Angelo Mathews (capt), 7 Thisara Perara, 8 Seekkuge Prasanna/ Rangana Herath, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Suranga Lakmal/ Dushmantha Chameera

Sri Lanka has arguably had the most injury issues to contend with of the major tournament contenders.  Injury concerns remain over Herath in the only possible change to a settled side from the team that beat Scotland.  If Herath’s finger is no good, Seekkuge Prasanna will play (and face a heap of pressure).

The Key Players

Kumar Sangakkara – The tournament’s leading runscorer is in the type of batting nirvana that batsman very rarely visit.  Least of all at the age of 37.  Sanga has already set the record for the most consecutive ODI hundreds during the tournament, peeling off four in a row after failing against Afghanistan.  He’s scored them gracefully too, demonstrating textbook cricket shots still belong in the era of reverse paddles and scoops.  He’s obviously the vital cog in the batting order along with Tilakaratne Dilshan, and South Africa will be on their way to the semis if they can remove him early.

AB de Villiers – The third top run scorer of the tournament is also his side’s key player.  Throughout the tournament de Villiers has shouldered the hopes of a nation, and responded positively, confidently when probed about their form or ability to win the tournament.  It’s the type of belief that makes hime such a dangerous batsman.  His ability to score runs quickly is a frightening prospect for the Sri Lankan bowlers who have wilted in the face of such attacks from Maxwell and McCullum recently.  AB just needs a little help from his mates.

The Match Odds*

South Africa – $1.45

Sri Lanka – $2.75

*Courtesy of Ladbrokes Australia.

The Prediction

The biggest question mark hanging over this game is the dreaded c-word.  Not choke, but chase.  South Africa have not won a game at this World Cup when they have been asked to chase a target.  That of course leads to allegations of choking but the chasing is the bigger mental block at the moment.

Nonetheless, we’re backing the South Africans to display some better c-words today.  Class, composure, confidence to name but a few, and to win the game by 40 runs or 4 wickets.

The Best Bets

Quinton de Kock is an obvious roughie to Top Score at $5.50, but his 53 tournament runs at 8.83 may put you off.

The Hashim Amla (Top Runs) / Morne Morkel (Top Wickets) double looks like great money at $16.00

Finally, a quick double up is on offer if a Sri Lankan batsman top scores in the game.  That is at $2.20.

Grand National Ante-post update

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With the excitement of Cheltenham over for another year, we can start looking forward to Aintree and the Grand National on April 11th.

There were a number of National contenders in action at the festival last week but they did not include current Aintree favourite Shutthefrontdoor. Trainer Jonjo O’Neill decided against running his Irish National winner, presumably on account of the quicker ground. He will almost certainly be the mount of Tony McCoy, his last in the race before retirement. If the champion jockey was humbled by the adulation he received at Cheltenham, what will it be like should he ride the National winner? He has said that he has no specific date/race in mind for his final ride but going out on a National winner would be hard to top.

We put up the horse at 20-1 a few weeks ago and he is now as short as 8-1 favourite. We also singled out Spring Heeled at 33-1 and the Irish raider has been clipped to a top price of 20-1 after a satisfactory comeback. Jim Culloty’s Lord Windermere was scuppered by the going change on Gold Cup day so I would not be too concerned if you snapped up some 33’s about his stable companion for Aintree.

Our third ante-post pick was Monbeg Dude and he was disappointing at Cheltenham, finishing well behind The Druids Nephew. He is apparently being tested to see if they can find a problem but it may be that the ground was just too fast for him. He does tend to get detached, even in soft ground, so he could yet be a factor at Aintree if we get a wet April.

The Druids Nephew was cut to 14-1 for the National but it was another race which caught my attention with regards to the big race. Cause Of Causes finally gained a first win over the larger obstacles when winning the National Hunt Chase under Jamie Codd. His rider had him tucked away behind the leaders all the way and produced him late on to hold Broadway Buffalo.

He races in the same colours as Shutthefrontdoor so it will be interesting to see who gets the ride. Codd did pick up a suspension for marking the horse but went on to land a second winner at the meeting and would seem the logical choice for Aintree. Cause Of Causes has 10st 9lb to carry in the National and the 33-1 on offer with William Hill looks worth snapping up. He is as short as 20-1 elsewhere.

Cause Of Causes @33-1 William Hill

Rugby League: NRL Round 2 Review

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The NRL continued its early trend of unpredictability in Round 2.

As always, the start of an NRL season is proving an interesting time as new players and coaches come to grips with each other and attempt to implement all of the off-season plans.  The result of which has seen a host of upsets and some dramatic improvement in some of the teams.

Here are the individual results from Round 2:

Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs (32) v Parramatta Eels (12)

The round started off with bruising encounter between the Eels and Bulldogs at ANZ stadium.  The Eels coming off second best with an array of injuries to key personnel throughout the half (Watmough, Radradra, Champion and Sandow), although Watmough and Sandow returned later in the game to battle on.  The Bulldogs took advantage of a make shift left side defence and a tired Eels outfit running away with the game 32-12.  Brett Morris was again superb for the Dogs, while Moses Mbye filled in well for Josh Reynolds, and Michael Lichaa is a candidate for signing of the season so far.

Cronulla Sharks (2) v Brisbane Broncos (10)

Next up, the Broncos v Sharks at Remondis Stadium, two teams struggling for form made worse by severe wet weather.  Both sides were guilty of turning over too much ball in conditions that did not suit expansive rugby league, but both handled themselves solidly on defence throughout.  The Broncos taking the two competition points with a narrow 10-2 win.  Concerns remain over the Anthony Milford / Ben Hunt combination, but Milford’s young, he’s learning and has the talent to pick up a position – he just needs time.  Corey Parker spent less time at hooker, and therefore made a bigger impact in the middle of the park.  For the Sharks, Barba was a little disappointing, he seems to have lost all of his Dally M spark and is not driving any attacking creativity to the Sharks play.

Penrith Panthers (40) v Gold Coast Titans (0)

Perfect conditions at Bathurst played host to the Panthers and Titans in front of a very small crowd (6,240). A relatively error ridden and uneventful first half from both sides saw the Panthers lead by just 8-0.  However, a relentless Penrith turned up in the 2nd half scoring 32 points, mainly orchestrated by their halves, with Idris dotting down three times and Whare twice in a dominant performance.  Panthers head straight to the top of the table, but have to win their next match against the impressive Roosters without Jamie Soward, but with Josh Mansour.

Manly Sea-Eagles (24) v Melbourne Storm (22)

At Brookvale the Sea Eagles hosted the Melbourne Storm.  A first half barrage and excellent execution by the Sea Eagles saw them get up 24-6 at half time.  Daly Cherry-Evans putting the controversy surrounding his Titans deal behind him to play a major part in the first half action.  Many would have expected the Sea Eagles to capitalise on such a lead, however a resilient Storm pushed the Sea Eagles for 40 minutes, keeping their hosts scoreless but falling short by 2 points.  Solid defence from the Sea Eagles late in the dying minutes getting them home.  Melbourne are getting some solid minutes out of Tohu Harris at the moment, and Blake Green looks a good fit in the number 6 jersey (he crossed for two tries), they should continue to improve over the coming weeks.

North Queensland Cowboys (14) v Newcastle Knights (16)

Much like Brookvale, Townsville hosted a game of two halves with the Knights getting up over the Cowboys 16-14.  The Cowboys led 14-4 at half time, but yet another scoreless half from an NRL side allowed the Knights to pull away and register an unlikely win – their second in a row.  The Knights are one of four unbeaten teams after two weeks and easily the least expected of the four.  Jarred Mullen is loving the responsibility under Rick Stone, and Joey Leilua is probably the hardest man to tackle in Rugby League at the moment – just as he was during the Four Nations last year.  One of the major talking points of the match was the Knights borderline illegal targeting of Jonathan Thurston when he was kicking.  Attacking the legs of a kicker is still frowned upon, and the Knights toed the line brilliantly to nullify the threat of JT. The Knights players all escaped judiciary attention too.

South Sydney Rabbitohs (34) v Sydney Roosters (26)

The match of the round at ANZ resulted in the 2014 Premiers once again getting the better of their finals counterparts with a 34-26 victory.  A true spectacle of rugby league saw 5 tries in the first half with the Roosters leading 16-12 at half time.  The Roosters strengthen that advantage and led by as much as 26-18 while Adam Reynolds spend some time on the sideline going through a concussion test.  When he returned, he sparked three tries in the final quarter to demonstrate the Rabbitohs inability to concede defeat.  The set up for Joel Reddy in particular was something truly special.  George Burgess enjoyed his best game of the season; relishing the match-ups with Hargreaves and Napa.

Canberra Raiders (6) v New Zealand Warriors (18)

GIO Stadium hosted the Raiders and Warriors on Sunday afternoon.  An uneventful first half with plenty of errors meant the teams were locked at 6-6 at half-time.  The second half saw these errors continue for the Raiders gifting the Warriors possession twiced inside 5 minutes; both opportunities the Warriors converted through tries to Ryan Hoffman and Solomone Kata.  Shaun Johnson again struggled; this time with an injured forearm compounding his troubles.  He’s run the ball just five times in two games, which is not enough for the Golden Boot (best player in the world) holder.  The Warriors are seeing some incredible returns from Albert Vete and Sam Lisone.  The newbies have been so effective that Origin representative, Jacob Lillyman, has been restricted to just 25 minutes per game.  The Raiders are simply making too many mistakes, but they’ve shown enough in the first two rounds to suggest their much improved from last year.  On the point of signings of the season, throw Sia Soliola in the mix, he’s been incredible.

West Tigers (22) v St George Illawarra Dragons (4)

The last game of the round at Campbeltown was awfully dire.  We caught only the second half but wished we’d spent our time putting pins in our eyes instead of watching.  The second half witnessed just two points, off the boot of Pat Richards, as the Dragons tightened the defence that had been so easily penetrated earlier by young whizz kid, James Tedesco.  Teddy was the key in three tries in the first 27 minutes as the Tigers paved the way for a second straight win.  Worryingly for the Dragons they have mustered just 8 points in their first two games of the season – the least number of points in the first two games of a season for any team in the last 15 seasons.  Adding insult to the loss, were Greg Alexander’s comments during commentary likening their attack to that of a “seven year old’s passing drill”.  Paul McGregor has responded by putting his halves (Marshall and Widdop) on notice.  Improve or head to the Holden Cup.

Champions League – Barcelona v Man City Preview

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Manchester City slumped to a shock 1-0 defeat at Burnley at the weekend to leave themselves trailing Chelsea by six points. The London club still have a game in hand, although neither side have been impressive in recent weeks. Arsenal, Man United and Liverpool have all gained ground and are now breathing down City’s neck in the race for Champions League qualification next season.

Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League by PSG on away goals last week and City could follow them out of the exit door when they face Barcelona on Wednesday night. City lost the home leg 2-1 but it could easily have been much worse. Gael Clichy’s red card left them a man short for the third successive time against the Spaniards and a third goal looked inevitable. Joe Hart saved Lionel Messi’s penalty but the Argentine should still have put away the rebound.

3-1 would have left City on the brink but they have been given a lifeline and will surely adopt a more positive approach this time. Rather like Chelsea against PSG, City appeared to be almost paralysed by fear and were spectators for much of the game as Barcelona ran rings around them. If the same City turns up on Wednesday, they will surely be well beaten. The home side have Suarez, Messi and Neymar in their line-up, all eager to get on the score sheet.

With the possible exceptions of Aguero and Silva, City’s star players have fallen short in recent months and they are running out of opportunities. I fear that City’s season could get worse before it starts to get better.

The night’s other tie looks a good deal less one-sided with Juventus holding a 2-1 lead against Borussia Dortmund. The Italians were not particularly impressive in Turin and the Germans grabbed a vital away goal. They know that a 1-0 win would be sufficient to go into the last eight but I cannot quite see them holding out for 90 minutes.

Former Premiership striker Carlos Tevez has scored 21 goals this season and Paul Pogba is apparently being pursued by Manchester United and Chelsea. They will miss the experience of Andrea Pirlo in midfield due to injury but could just sneak a draw and go through.

Borussia Dortmund v Juventus DRAW @5-2 Boylesports

Borussia Dortmund 1 Juventus 1 @6-1 Paddy Power

Barcelona 3 Man City 0 @21-2 BetVictor

Lionel Messi to score and Barcelona win @4-5 SkyBet

Luis Suarez to score and Barcelona win @6-4 Ladbrokes

Super Rugby Round 5 Review

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We were one game short of the perfect round in our predictions last week.  The Cheetahs falling to the Sharks at home was the only match we tipped incorrectly.  In hindsight, it was an ambitious ask of the Bloemfontein franchise, however, we did the same to the Chiefs, Rebels and Highlanders and they served us well.

The rugby was slightly more watchable this week with a couple of crackers making up for a lacklustre few weeks.  Check out the individual results below:

Hurricanes (30) v Blues (23)

You have to admire the Blues’ desire to play even in the face of such massive adversity.  Without a win in the competition, and with the media turning on coach John Kiran (rather than questioning the player efforts), the Blues played with expansive abandon and tested and probed the Hurricanes often during the first 60 minutes.  However, the final 20 proved to be the winning and losing of the match as the Hurricanes  sealed the points with a late Julian Savea try.  The Hurricanes remain unbeaten, while the Blues are firmly rooted to the bottom of the table and rumoured to be feeling out Robbie Deans for a return to top level coaching.

Hurricanes: Tries – TJ Perenara, M.Proctor, J.Savea 2, Pen – B.Barrett, Con – B.Barrett 3

Blues: Tries – L.Visinia, F. Halai, Pen – I.West 3, Con -I .West 2

Force (17) v Rebels (21)

The Melbourne Rebels put a couple of unfortunate losses behind them to get back in the winners circle against fellow strugglers the Western Force. After an opening round win against the Crusaders, they have suffered narrow losses to the Waratahs and Brumbies.  Friday night was to be different though as they immediately benefited from their attacking intent.  Mike Harris and Mitch Inman scything through early; Harris scoring on his own and Inman teeing up Dom Shipperley.

The Force on the other hand couldn’t find much momentum of their own, and it took former All Black, Alby Mathewson to eventually cross the line; diving around asleep forwards close to the line.

The Rebels controlled most of the encounter despite not scoring themselves after the 66th minute, and even with a late late try to Tetera Faulkner.

Force: Tries – A.Mathewson, T. Faulkner, Pen – L.Burton, Con – L.Burton 2

Rebels: Tries – M.Harris, D.Shipperley, Pen – M.Harris 3, Con – M.Harris

Crusaders (34) v Lions (6)

Todd Blackadder stacked his side with All Blacks and was rewarded with the easiest win of his coaching tenure on Saturday afternoon.  The Black (and Reds) completely dominated their overwhelmed opponents in every facet and got decent returns out of Colin Slade and Dan Carter.  The 57th / 58th minutes were decisive at Christchurch Stadium as a penalty try for a collapsed scrum and a quick follow up to Kieron Fonotia effectively sealed the points (four try bonus point included) for the Crusaders.  The competition points take the Crusaders to just 9 points after their four games and languishing in 10th place.  The Lions three places worse on five points and facing a challenging couple of weeks in Australia.

Crusaders: Tries – A.Ellis. Penalty try, K. Fonotia, K.Read, Pen – D.Carter 2, Con – D.Carter 4

Lions: Pen – E.Jantjies 2

Highlanders (26) v Waratahs (19)

The first major upset of the round came courtesy of  an excellent performance from potential competition dark horses, the Highlanders.  The Otago outfit rolled on from beating the Chiefs at home to toppling the defending champions the Waratahs with a fine all round display.

The Waratahs got the better of the start.  Free flowing backline plays straight out of the playbook saw the Tahs hit the early lead.  Rather than lose composure the Highlanders gained in strength and tries to Wiasake Naholo, Ben Smith and Patrick Osborne – all who would do an All Black jersey justice this year – justified their hype and delivered them a deserved win.

The Tahs a bit too fumbly, too impatient to win this one.  They need to lift to compete with the Brumbies next week.

Highlanders: Tries – T. Franklin, W.Naholo, B.Smith, P.Osborne, Con – L.Sopoaga 3

Waratahs: Tries – N.Phipps, M.Carraro, S.Hoiles, Con – B.Foley 2

Reds (0) v Brumbies (29)

The Reds were held scoreless and resorted to wrestling moves to make an impact against the Brumbies.  Liam Gill impersonated WWE wrestler Batista when he “bombed” Brumbies scrum half Nic White when clearing a ruck in the only significant contribution to the match by a Reds player.  The move was super dangerous and, ironically, cleared the ruck long enough for Ben Alexander to dive over and score.

The Brumbies look as composed and controlled as ever.  They lead the competition outright after having played one more match than the Hurricanes.  The Brumbies look the only Australian team likely to feature in the qualifying rounds, and could possibly go all the way if there defence is anything to go by.

Reds:

Brumbies: Tries – S.Moore, B.Alexander 2, I.Vaea, C.Lealiifano, Con – C.Lealiifano 2

Stormers (19) v Chiefs (28)

The Chiefs were expertly guided to an away win against the Stormers by All Black first five eighth Aaron Cruden.  Cruden sparked an impressive turnaround for his side that had suffered a shock loss to the Highlanders only a week prior.  He was in everything as the Chiefs ran through and around a surprisingly sedate Stormers outfit.  Sonny Bill Williams survived a nasty head clash with Vincent Koch, James Lowe continued his try-scoring feats, and the entire Chiefs forward pack were staunch in the face of a first half onslaught.  The win capped off a great week for the New Zealand conference.

Chiefs still very much the team to beat in New Zealand.

Stormers: Tries – K.Van Wyk, Pen – K.Coleman 3, Catrakilis, Con – K.Coleman

Chiefs: Tries – A.Cruden, J.Lowe, S.Cane, Pen – A.Cruden 3, Con – A.Cruden 2

Cheetahs (10) v Sharks (27)

The Sharks have two playing temperatures; Hot and Cold.  The hot is good, South African conference winning good, but the bad that has reared its ugly head on too many occasions this year. They opted for the hot option in the final match of the round against the Cheetahs.  The solid win, just their second of the year was brought about thanks to a season high four tries, including two to the tournament’s joint top try scorer, Marcell Coetzee.

For Sharks fans the win will hopefully put their side’s season back on track.

Cheetahs: Tries – F.Venter, Pen – W.du Plessis, Con – F,Brummer

Sharks: Tries – F.Steyn, M.Coetzee 2, J.Wilson, Pen – P.Lambie, Con – P.Lambie 2

Champions League – Monaco v Arsenal Preview

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Things are looking ominous for British teams in the Champions League this season. Chelsea were knocked out last week by PSG following a tetchy 2-2 draw after extra-time. The Blues had drawn 1-1 in Paris but were eliminated on the away goals rule. Arsenal and Man City both lost their home legs and need to produce something special to extend their interest in the competition.

Arsenal face Monaco on Tuesday night needing to overturn a 3-1 deficit after a disastrous first leg at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners were guilty of some woeful defending and were duly punished by a well-organised Monaco side. That leaves Arsenal having to score three times against a team that qualified with the best defensive record in the competition. They only conceded one goal in three home games in winning their group.

Although Arsenal have become a regular fixture at this stage of the tournament, they are facing elimination before the quarter-finals for the fifth consecutive season. Arsene Wenger has been quick to blow his own trumpet about their record in the competition but there is a growing frustration at their inability to go deep into the competition.

The Gunners have faced such adversity in the past and are capable of putting up a brave fight. They won 2-0 in Bayern Munich after losing the home tie 3-1. It was not enough to keep them in the competition and I fear that they will face a similar result on Tuesday. Just one goal from Monaco will effectively kill-off any lingering hopes that Arsenal may have and a 2-1 away win seems a real possibility.

Arsenal have been in fine form in the league and are now just one point behind champions Manchester City in third place. They recently stunned City with a victory and have also beaten Manchester United. Monaco are unbeaten in their last 16 at the Stade Louis II but they face a tricky tactical dilemma. The natural tendency is to try to hold what you have and that could give Arsenal a chance to forge a victory.

Tuesday’s other tie sees Atletico Madrid welcome Bayer Leverkusen to Spain with the Germans having won the first leg 1-0. Atletico could be left to rue the failure to score an away goal and go into this game with only one win in six games. Their patchy recent form almost mirrors that of Chelsea who came unstuck last week. Diego Simeone’s team will be without Diego Godin and Thiago Mendes through suspension while Leverkusen are only a roll with five consecutive wins. If Leverkusen poach a goal, this is going to be really difficult for the home side.

Arsenal to win @11-8 Totesport

Monaco 1 Arsenal 2 @9-1 Paddy Power

Atletico Madrid to win @8-11 Bet365