Category: Football Tips

Premiership Preview 10th May

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Sunday’s Premiership fixtures were expected to have a say in the outcome of the title race but Chelsea secured the title last weekend against Crystal Palace. That has left City battling to secure second spot and they ought to collect a fourth consecutive victory at home to QPR.

Rangers are set to pay the price for their terrible away record which just one victory in seventeen including fourteen defeats. The gap between QPR and safety is already a yawning nine points and this is probably the last place they would want to be going. Sergio Aguero scored his memorable title-winning goal in this fixture in 2011-12 and has hit the target in his last four games.

The Argentinian striker will have one eye on the Premiership Golden Boot prize and this fixture looks set up for him to add to his tally. QPR know that the game is virtually up and anything less than a shock victory will not be good enough. Charlie Austin poses a threat and it may be worth looking at 4-1 and 5-1 to City in the score markets.

Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace means that they are champions so you could forgive them if they suffered a slight dip in form. They welcome Liverpool to Stamford Bridge in the late kick-off and the Reds will be forming a guard of honour for the home side. I remember Manchester United having to do the same thing some years ago and we can only hope that Liverpool are more gracious than one or two of the United players that day.

Jose Mourinho has paved the way for a friendly occasion with his kind words about Liverpool Captain Steven Gerrard. The absence of Diego Costa takes out another potential flash-point after his clashes with Liverpool in the League Cup. The way to go here may be a draw and it could be worth supporting Branislav Ivanovic to get on the score-sheet. He has scored against the Reds in the past and will always be a threat from set-pieces.

Sergio Aguero to score and Man City to win @3-4 Ladbrokes

Sergio Aguero to score 2 or more goals @3-1 Skybet

Man City 4 QPR 1 @15-1 BetVictor

Man City 5 QPR 1 @25-1 BetVictor

Chelsea v Liverpool DRAW @5-2 Bet365

Chelsea 1 Liverpool 1 @13-2 BetVictor

Branislav Ivanovic to score first @20-1 Paddy Power

Branislav Ivanovic to score at any time @17-2 Unibet

Champions League – Barcelona v Bayern Munich Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The second Champions League semi-final gets under way at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night when Barcelona face Bayern Munich in the first leg.

Barcelona were knocked out by Atletico Madrid at the semi-final stage last year but arrive here in peak form with all three strikers performing well. They were priced at 6-1 at the start of this year’s tournament but have been steadily cut to clear favourite at 7-4 ahead of both Bayern and reigning champions Real Madrid.

The reason is their dominant displays against Manchester City and PSG where they looked relatively untroubled. Luis Suarez took a long time to settle into the side but he is now playing well alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar.  With an attack that sounds like someone’s “dream team”, it is no wonder that they are favourites to win the Champions League for a fourth time in ten years.

This particular tie has the added interest of Pep Guardiola returning to his former club, this time in charge of Bayern. Having led Barcelona to 14 trophies, he is better placed than most to discover a way of beating them. The big problem for Guardiola is his massive injury list which includes several key players. The absence of Arjen Robben has been particularly keenly felt in recent matches while Franck Ribery, Holger Badstuber, David Alaba and Sebastian Rode are all absent.

Robert Lewandowski scored twice in the remarkable 6-1 second leg win over Porto but he may be forced to play in a mask on Wednesday after picking up a facial injury.  Veteran striker Claudio Pizarro was called upon in the weekend defeat at Leverkusen and Bayern will be desperate to escape with a good result here.

Neymar scored in both legs against PSG and has now scored in six of his last seven matches. The Brazilian is clearly in no mood to be overshadowed by Messi or Suarez and could be worth a bet to open the scoring here. Bayern Munich conceded three times at Porto and there must be a real danger that they could be out of this tie before the return leg. Barcelona have won their last eight Champions League appearances and have averaged over two goals per game during that spell.

Barcelona to win @8-11 Ladbrokes

Neymar to score first @5-1 Paddy Power

Neymar to score and Barcelona to win @5-2 Paddy Power

Champions League – Juventus v Real Madrid Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Champions League semi-final line-up is almost as expected with Juventus the only real surprise. The Italian giants have not reached the closing stages of this tournament since 2003 and the bookmakers rank them as 9-1 outsiders to go all the way.

They host reigning champions Real Madrid in the first leg of their semi-final on Tuesday night. The closing stages of this competition can be notoriously cagey affairs, particularly in the first leg. If the quarter-finals can be taken as any guide, this game is unlikely to buck the trend.

Juventus held on by a single goal to beat Monaco while Real Madrid looked destined for extra-time in their clash with local rivals Atletico. A red card for Arda Turan with fifteen minutes to go put Atletico firmly on the back foot and Javier Hernandez struck with just two minutes remaining. The win did little to convince the bookmakers that Real are good enough to defend their title, easing them to third favourites behind Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

The value of an away goal was illustrated when Arsenal and Chelsea were both eliminated and Juventus will be intent on preventing Real from scoring. With Benzema still absent, that means that the focus will be on Cristiano Ronaldo to carry the main threat. The Serie A champions have a fine defensive record with thirteen clean sheets this season.

They are also missing a key player on Paul Pogba and they were definitely more restrained in the quarter-finals without him. Carlos Tevez will be the main threat to the Spanish defence and he has enjoyed a great tournament with six goals already to his credit. Juventus would obviously love to have a lead to take to the Bernabeau but all of the omens suggest that this is going to be very tight.

Carlo Ancelotti has great faith in his squad and will make no excuses if they are beaten here. They were the more offensive side against Atletico in both matches and they will probably enjoy more of the ball than their opponents here. Go low on goals and it may be worth taking a little of the 7-1 on offer about a goalless draw.

Juventus 0 Real Madrid 0 @7-1 Bet365

Goals under 2.5 @8-13 Bet Victor

Chelsea set to seal Premiership title

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

There are two Premiership fixtures on Sunday and Chelsea have the chance to seal the title in the early kick-off at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues had to come back from a goal down to beat Leicester in midweek but they did so in some style. Goals from Drogba, Terry and Ramires put them on the verge of winning the title for the first time since 2010. A win over London rivals Crystal Palace will be enough to wrestle the prize away from Manchester City who have been left trailing since drawing level on points on New Year’s Day.

Chelsea have led the Premier League since the start of the season and have only been beaten twice. Defeats at Newcastle and Tottenham have been the only blips on an otherwise dominant campaign. They have come in for criticism in recent weeks for being boring but the league table does not lie and a thirteen point lead illustrates their superiority.

Jose Mourinho has been keen to keep his players focussed on the job in hand and he will not take the visitors lightly. A one-goal victory would be perfectly satisfactory, even if it does leave their supporters biting their nails for the closing minutes. The superb Hazard is likely to have Loic Remy ahead of him in attack but I am taking a punt on Nemanja Matic to score the winner. His capture was a masterstroke by Mourinho and he would be a very appropriate player to strike the championship winning goal.

If Chelsea have secured the title, there could be something of a cloud over Manchester City for the late kick-off at Tottenham. It will be a surprise if Manuel Pellegrini is still at the helm next season after a moderate campaign with no silverware. A top four spot looks virtually assured after Liverpool dropped further points at Hull so there isn’t any real pressure on City here.

Tottenham have a miserable record against City, most particularly Sergio Aguero who scored four goals in the reverse fixture. That game included four penalty awards but the result flattered City. This game should be entertaining and the sides can share the points at 2-2.

Tips

Chelsea 1 Crystal Palace 0 @6-1 Paddy Power

Nemanja Matic to score first @25-1 Paddy Power

Tottenham v Man City DRAW @11-4 Bet365

Tottenham 2 Man City 2 @13-1 BetVictor

Leicester v Chelsea Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Chelsea have kept grinding out the results and a 0-0 draw at Arsenal on Sunday has left them within two victories of lifting the Premier League title.

Jose Mourinho’s side have come in for media criticism for their negative approach in recent games but his hand has been forced by the injuries to his key strikers. Diego Costa’s presence up front has been sorely missed and the Blues have certainly lacked a cutting edge. Eden Hazard has come to the rescue with winning goals against West Ham and Manchester United and the majority of his eighteen goals have come away from home.

Factor in the on-going saga of Chelsea’s lack of penalties and everything points to Hazard being the key player at Leicester on Wednesday night. He was strangely anonymous against Arsenal on Sunday as Chelsea played out a match of containment. Jose Mourinho is no fool and he knows that he can expect a tough game at Leicester, despite their lowly league position.

Nigel Pearson’s side have put together an astonishing run of four straight victories to haul themselves out of the bottom three. They are only a point above Sunderland and four points clear of QPR but they play both sides on the run-in. They also play a struggling Newcastle side that are only four points above them but have played a game more.

Most pundits now expect the Foxes to escape the drop, irrespective of Wednesday’s result. A draw would be seen as a fine result for the home team and would be by no means disastrous for Chelsea. However, the Blues will want to get the job done as quickly as possible. They know that three points on Wednesday will set them up to lift the title at Stamford Bridge against London rivals Crystal Palace this weekend.

A draw would see them have to wait until the following week against Liverpool. The Reds have suffered an alarming dip in form  but they are still formidable opponents and will surely raise their game against Chelsea. The painful memories of the Blues stealing the three points at Anfield last season and effectively handing the title to Man City, still linger on.

Chelsea to beat Leicester @3-4 Bet365

Chelsea to win by one goal @11-4 Skybet

Leicester 0 Chelsea 1 @7-1 Bet365

Eden Hazard to score first @11-2 Boylesports

Eden Hazard to score at any time @13-8 Stan James

Eden Hazard to score and Chelsea win @13-5 Paddy Power

 

 

Hull v Liverpool Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The closing minutes have foiled some good bets in the past week, notably the games between Real and Atletico Madrid and Man City and Aston Villa. Both looked nailed on for landing out bet on a draw only for a late goal to spoil the party.

There are two midweek games in the Premiership this week, both pitching relegation threatened sides with those from the top. Champions-elect Chelsea travel to in-form Leicester on Wednesday but first it is Hull at home to Liverpool.

Hull seemed to be heading towards the exit door until producing a vital 2-0 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday. Both goals came from Dame N’Doye and a striker in form is worth his weight in gold at this stage of the season. Steve Bruce has kept plugging away in the belief that things would eventually come right for the Tigers and his faith looks as though it could finally be vindicated.

They showed signs of a revival against Chelsea when drawing level at 2-2, only to fall to a late goal from Loic Remy. They certainly lacked nothing in terms of fighting spirit on Saturday and they could be worth a bet to upset Liverpool.

It has been a mixed bag this season from the Reds. No doubt their supporters will be sick of hearing how much they miss Luis Suarez but they have not been the same team without him. Mario Balotelli has been nothing short of disastrous for the club while Daniel Sturridge has spent more time on the treatment table than on the pitch.

A fine win over champions Manchester City raised hopes for Brendan Rodgers’ side of a top four finish and a Champions League place but their form has dipped again. A home defeat to Manchester United and a mauling at Arsenal have been followed up by an FA Cup exit against Aston Villa. If Hull play in exactly the same way as Villa, we could see the same result on Tuesday night. Liverpool’s one bright spark has been Philippe Coutinho and he is still at a fair price to hit the target.

Hull to win @100-30 Bet365

Hull 2 Liverpool 1 @16-1 Bet365

Philippe Coutinho to score at any time @4-1 Spreadex

Dame N’Doye to score at any time @3-1 Ladbrokes

N’Doye to score and Hull win @7-1 Ladbrokes