Category: Football Tips

Premiership Preview – Sunday 22nd March

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Manchester City finally managed to apply a bit of pressure to Premiership leaders Chelsea by beating ten-man West Brom 3-0 on Saturday. The gap is now three points but the Blues have two games in hand starting with a trip to struggling Hull City on Sunday.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho reports no serious injury concerns ahead of the match but Hull are without striker Nikija Jelavic. That could be a big blow to their hopes of avoiding the drop. Steve Bruce’s side are currently just three points above eighteenth placed Burnley. A win would put them level with Everton but they have struggled against the top sides this season. Tottenham, Southampton and Man City all won at the KC Stadium and Chelsea are odds-on to continue the sequence.

If there is some value to be found, it may be with Eden Hazard in the goal scorer markets. The brilliant Belgian has opened the scoring in three of the last four away games for the Blues. He is also the designated penalty-taker and Chelsea are long overdue a favourable award.

The big match of the day is the clash between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield. Both sides are in contention for a top four spot and automatic Champions League qualification. Liverpool really need a win to continue the momentum of their charge up the table and are the only unbeaten side in the Premiership in 2015.

United played well in the first half against Tottenham last week and raced into a 3-0 lead. Wayne Rooney was in fine form that day and will be hoping to end a run of nine games at Anfield without scoring. Louis van Gaal has been rather harshly treated in the media despite taking United into third place and a win here would be a massive result. Neither defence looked secure at the start of the season but they have tightened up a lot recently. It could be worth taking a punt on a 0-0 draw at around 9-1.

The final game of the day is at Loftus Road as QPR try to drag Everton into the relegation battle. The Toffees eased their fears with a comfortable win over Newcastle last weekend but were hammered in the Europa League on Thursday. This looks another tricky one to call and the draw makes most appeal at 5-2.

Liverpool v Man United DRAW @5-2 Bet365

Liverpool 0 Man United 0 @10-1 Coral

Eden Hazard to score first @6-1 Paddy Power

Eden Hazard to score and Chelsea win @11-4 Paddy Power

QPR v Everton DRAW @5-2 Boylesports

Premiership Preview – Saturday 21st March

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As expected, the Premiership interest in the Champions League came to an end this week with Arsenal and Man City following Chelsea out of the exit door. Everton were thrashed last night to end their run in the Europa League so domestic football is all that remains for EPL fans.

Manchester City were fortunate to escape without an embarrassing score line in Barcelona, thanks largely to Joe Hart in goal. That defeat followed on the heels of an expensive defeat at Burnley in the Premiership and they need to start winning immediately if they are to have any hope of defending their title.

The knives are already out for Manuel Pellegrini as there seems no room for failure these days. They are at home to West Brom in the early kick-off and I expect Albion to give them a game. Odds of around 4-1 for a draw are tempting as City try to drag themselves back in touch with Chelsea. They are now looking over their shoulders at the chasing pack and another slip up on Saturday could see them drop to fourth this weekend.

Southampton’s season has faded slightly but they were still good enough to hold Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last week. A similar display would bring them three points at home to Burnley, although the Clarets will be buoyed by their win over City.

Dick Advocaat begins his short-term appointment at Sunderland with a trip to London to face West Ham. Sam Allardyce, linked with the Sunderland job for next season, has allowed his side to slump alarmingly in recent weeks. Even so, the Black Cats were so appalling against Aston Villa last week that it would be no surprise to see a home win.

Tim Sherwood has seemingly produced a miracle cure at Villa Park with his side scoring goals and winning. They could continue the trend at home to Swansea who lacked a cutting edge against Liverpool last week, eventually losing 1-0 to a fluke goal by Henderson. I was impressed with Arsenal against Monaco in midweek. What a shame that they did not play half as well at home. Their Champions League may be over for another year but they are challenging City for second place and I can’t see them slipping up at Newcastle.

Tottenham were awful against Man United in the first half last week and need to bounce back at home to Leicester while Stoke v Crystal Palace has “draw” written all over it.

Man City v West Brom DRAW @19-4 Bet365

Aston Villa to beat Swansea @6-4 Bet365

Arsenal to beat Newcastle @8-13 Paddy Power

Southampton to beat Burnley by 1 goal @27-10 BetVictor

Stoke v Crystal Palace DRAW @23-10 Bet365

Tottenham to beat Leicester @3-5 Bet365

West Ham to beat Sunderland @9-10 BetVictor

Europa League – Dynamo Kiev v Everton Preview

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Who would have thought that Everton would be the last surviving Premiership club in Europe this season? Sadly, that is the case as The Toffees face Dynamo Kiev of Ukraine in their second leg Europa League tie on Thursday.

Credit to Arsenal for dominating their second leg tie in Monaco but they couldn’t quite pull off the 3-0 win needed to keep alive their Champions League hopes. Manchester City were outclassed for a second time by Barcelona, although it is fair to say that the draw was not kind to them. Everton are no certainties to keep the flag flying in Europe after fighting back for a 2-1 win at Goodison Park last week.

Romelu Lukaku has not been that consistent this season but he was on his best form that night. The Kiev defence didn’t seem to know how to deal with his battering-ram approach, although the decisive goal came from a spot-kick. Lukaku seems to have assumed the role of penalty-taker ahead of Leighton Baines and that is something to bear in mind in the goal scorer markets.

On the domestic front, Everton have been woeful this season and a weekend victory over Newcastle was greeted with great relief by the home fans. Life is bad enough for Evertonians with Liverpool surging up the table without facing the spectre of relegation. The scenario seems unlikely now, although the Toffees still need to gather a few more points to be guaranteed safety.

Their involvement in Europe has been cited as a reason for some of their disappointing league performances and that may well be the case. Martinez has certainly adopted a positive approach to a competition that has been given scant respect by other sides. If they can get past Kiev on Thursday, they are into the last eight and a Cup final would mark a major achievement for Everton. David Moyes kept them in the top half of the table but never managed to secure a trophy in his long tenure.

Everton have been impressive on their travels, particularly at Young Boys where Lukaku bagged a hat-trick. The Belgian International has now scored seven goals in his last seven games and looks worth a bet to help the Toffees keep Premiership interest alive in Europe, for a little longer at least.

Everton to win @14-5 BetVictor

Romelu Lukaku to score at any time @11-4 Betway

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

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

Advocaat favourite to replace Poyet at Sunderland

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Sunderland have sacked coach Gus Poyet following Saturday’s embarrassing 4-0 home defeat by Aston Villa. The Black Cats now have just nine games left to avoid relegation and they currently sit just one point above the relegation zone.

Former Chelsea and Tottenham star Poyet had been in charge for 17 months at the Stadium of Light and had led them to safety last season following the departure of Paolo Di Canio. He also took them to the final of the Capital One Cup but crisis talks on Monday failed to convince the board that the Uruguayan should remain in charge.

There has been increasing unrest at the club and Poyet almost came to blows with Steve Bruce during the recent match with Hull. The sight of thousands of fans heading out of the stadium before half-time on Saturday proved the final straw. Poyet joins Bruce and Martin O’Neill on the list of recent Sunderland bosses that have failed to last the test of time. Remaining fixtures include trips to Everton, Arsenal and Chelsea.

Bookmakers have installed Dick Advocaat as even money favourite to replace Poyet. The former Rangers boss left his job as coach of the Serbian national team last year. Negotiations are already under way to bring in the 67-year-old on a short-term basis.

The youth academy pair of Paul Bracewell and Kevin Ball have also been linked with a temporary appointment, although odds vary wildly on the pair. Bracewell is 8-1 with Bet365 and only 4-1 with Ladbrokes while Ball is as high as 16-1 with BetVictor.

Sam Allardyce has seen a promising season at West Ham disintegrate in recent weeks, their 3-0 defeat at Arsenal being their fifth in eight matches with three draws. Their last victory came against Bristol City in the FA Cup in January. The Hammers have slid down the table to tenth place but are still comfortably clear of relegation. It is difficult to imagine Allardyce being enticed to the north-east at this stage of the season, especially with Sunderland due to visit the London club this coming Saturday. His price varies between 5-1 on Betfair and 9-1 on Betway.

Other more speculative candidates include Michael Laudrup (16-1), Mark Warburton (20-1) and Steve McLaren (25-1). The former England boss is as short as 7-1 with Ladbrokes.