Category: Football

Chelsea v Swansea: Clement Returns Home In Search Of Points

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Paul Clement will return to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon for the first time as a manager since departing Chelsea unceremoniously back in 2011. The Englishman and former Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti were sacked by Chelsea’s ruthless owner Roman Abramovich despite the club winning the Premier League title in their first season in charge and finishing as runners-up to Manchester United in their second campaign in West London.

Clement, who spent four years at The Bridge between 2007 and 2011, two as first team coach and two as Ancelotti’s assistant, will travel down the M4 motorway with his Swansea team aiming to spring a huge surprise against the champions-in-waiting, and in the process boost their own hopes of Premier League survival.

Swans Reinvigorated by Clement’s Arrival

When he took over the reigns from the hapless Bob Bradley in early January, Swansea was languishing in the relegation zone and seemingly destined for the drop. However, an impressive sequence of results which has seen the team collect 12 points from Clement’s first six games in charge, earning him January’s Manager of the Month prize in the process, has garnered renewed optimism amongst the club’s loyal fan base that relegation can be avoided.

And the bookmakers clearly agree with the Swans now as far out as 7/2 with Paddy Power to end the season in the bottom three. However, Saturday could prove a match too far for Clement’s improving team when they face Antonio Conte’s high flyers who have lost just once at home this season and have recorded 11 wins, nine of them on the bounce.

Chelsea Out to Continue Unstoppable Home Form

There’s little profit to be had in backing Chelsea, who are eight points clear of nearest challengers Manchester City, with most bookmakers offering them as short as 1/4 for the win. But with seven clean sheets on home soil from 12 matches, better value can be sought from BetVictor who have priced a Chelsea win to zero at a tasty 21/20 which has to be worth a second glance.

Conte’s team are currently a massive 36 points ahead of Swansea in the league table. Yet the team from South Wales hasn’t lost to their hosts on Saturday since January 2015, gaining a respectable 2-2 draw at the Liberty Stadium back in September and a win and a draw with the Blues last campaign. BetVictor will offer any optimistic Swansea supporters or neutrals 11/2 for another draw on Saturday while William Hill goes even further by quoting an unlikely win for the visitors at 12/1 which may be worth a few quid after Swansea ended Liverpool’s own unbeaten record at Anfield back in January.

Costa the Smart Money to Net First

Despite his apparent flirtations with a mega-money move to China, Diego Costa tops the scoring charts for the Blues with 15 goals so far this term and is 4/1 with Betfred to beat the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Harry Kane to the Golden Shoe. Eight of those 15 goals have seen Chelsea open the scoring and William Hill will give any willing backers odds of 12/5 for the big Brazilian-cum-Spanish forward to repeat the trick on Saturday afternoon.

For anybody wanting something a bit different, though, how about Icelandic star Gylfi Sigurdsson, Swansea’s joint top goalscorer with eight and dead ball specialist to net at any time during the match? He’s scored in the last two meetings between the clubs and is available at a more than tempting 5/1 with Paddy Power to beat the Chelsea defence once again on Saturday.

It promises to be another entertaining clash whatever the result on Saturday. If Chelsea, as seems highly likely, emerge unscathed, they will take another big step towards a sixth league title while pushing Swansea closer to the trap door in the process. Yet if Swansea can achieve the unthinkable and ruin another great home record, the odds of them setting up a reunion with fierce local rivals Cardiff City next season in the Championship will widen even further.

A Must Win Game For Tottenham

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

IT’S a must win game for Tottenham in the Premier League this weekend when they host Stoke at White Hart Lane and anything other than three points can see their title challenge over.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side has been struggling of late in the Premier League with just one win in their last four and this is going to be a lot tougher than the layers are predicting.

Spurs did bounce back to winning ways with a Harry Kane hat-trick in the 3-0 FA Cup win at Championship Fulham last weekend, but in the Premier League they’ve been struggling for goals with just one scored in their last four matches and the first bets I like in this one are going against goals again.

Both teams have now failed to score in the last FIVE Tottenham matches and with under 2.5 goals, a winning bet in six of the last seven Stoke matches. both of those markets look the best wagers in Sunday’s match-up.

Under 2.5 goals is surprisingly as big as 2.30 with BetVictor and despite this fixture having a long history of goals that looks a good bet and the “no” in the BTTS market is certainly one for the weekend coupons as well at 1.92 with BetVictor again.

Can Tottenham be Trusted?

Spurs has let odds-on favourites down twice in the last couple of weeks at Sunderland and Gent, but at home, they usually get the job done and arrive in this one on the back of TEN straight home successes.

I couldn’t back them though at the 1.40 on offer generally, as Stoke has been their bogey team in recent years with just one home win in the last five meetings.

Mark Huges’ side are a stand-out 10.00 with BetVictor to get a famous win in north London, but I think the game-plan will be to frustrate and try to get a point, but eventually Tottenham will break through and instead of taking the heavy odds-on for a home win I will be having a small wager on a 1-0 home win at 8.00 with BetVictor yet again.

I also strongly believe that it might take the home side a little time to break down the red and white bus that is going to be facing them and for that reason another small wager on the draw at half-time and a Tottenham win at the final whistle is suggested at a very nice looking 4.33 with, yes you’ve guessed it BetVictor again.

Another Defeat For The Foxes

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

LEICESTER suffered another set back at the weekend with their FA Cup exit at League One Millwall and it’s going to get a lot worse on Wednesday night when the Champions of England make the tough trip to the south of Spain to face Sevilla.

The Foxes are having a complete nightmare of a season and Saturday’s FA Cup loss was the low light of what has truly been a staggering collapse from Claudio Ranieri’s side.

Many expected a decline at the King Power, but nobody would’ve predicted that they would be in a relegation battle and without a single win away all season.

This is as tough as it gets in Europe for Leicester and there is no way in the world that can seriously be considered for betting even at the general price 10.00.

Although Leicester has been at their best in the Champions League they arrive at the last 16 stage in the worst form of the season without a win in their last eight matches, with three straight away defeats and no goals scored in those matches.

Sevilla has been the Europa Cup kings in the last couple of seasons and Jorge Sampaoli’s side look absolute good things to win this and odds of 1.40 although very short, will see you collecting.

Los Rojiblancos are a force to be reckoned with at their intimidating Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan home and they’ve been in great form this season sitting in third place in La Liga behind Real Madrid and Barcelona after an impressive seven-match unbeaten run at home.

GOALS LOOK ON THE CARDS

In those seven matches Sevilla have scored a staggering 22 goals and they are expected to add to that tally with a few again against a Leicester side that is conceding goals for fun and I am going to be taking Sevilla on the Asian handicap lines as well -1.5 goals which is 2.05 with BetVictor.

I can’t see Leicester adding to the goals though in this one as main goalscoring duo Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez have gone missing for much of the season, and with clean sheets in their last two home games, I am taking Sevilla to win to nil again at 2.25 with Paddy Power.

For correct-score punters this really could be all over before the return leg in a fortnight’s time and at 10.00 again with Paddy Power you can do a lot worse than back the Spanish giants to win 3-0.

 

Man City vs. Monaco, Falcao and Aguero at the Etihad

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Next Tuesday sees high-flying Monaco travel to the Etihad to take on an improving Man City. This is the first time these two sides will come together in Champions League history, and with both sides in fine goal scoring form, the potential is here for a true football spectacle.

Manchester City

City, currently sitting in 2nd place in the Premier League and coming into this game on a strong run of form, 6 wins out of 8 with 21 goals, Guardiola is looking to propel the club past the round of 16 for only the second time in the club’s history. Drawing Monaco seems to be a mixed blessing, avoiding a PSG side who put 4 past Barcelona last Tuesday will be preferred, but Monaco is nothing to be scoffed at. The blue half of Manchester will have high expectations, but their hopes could well be dashed.

Much of the current discussion at City is being generated by their forwards. The arrival of Gabriel Jesus has brought to bear the long-term commitment of talisman striker Sergio Aguero, now threatening a summer move to Real Madrid. Amidst the controversy, Jesus quickly found himself with a metatarsal fracture, putting him out of action until May, further complicating the matter. He joins Ilkay Gündogan on the bench, as well as John Stones who is still in recovery from a head injury that has put him out of contention since the end of January.

Monaco

Sitting 3 points clear at the top of Ligue 1, Monaco is in possession of some truly intimidating form. Unbeaten in all competitions in 2017, with 26 goals in only 8 games, Monaco are no lightweight draw for Man City, and could arguably be considered the favourites in this match. Should they get the better of City next Tuesday, and considering PSG’s phenomenal performance against Barca, this could well be the first season a French team has won Europe’s premier competition since Marseilles in 1993.

Radamel Falcao is the in form player to look out for here. Back at Monaco after unsuccessful loan stints at Manchester United and Chelsea, the Colombian has been truly scintillating so far this season. Joint 3rd in the Ligue 1 goal charts with 16, he has 5 in the last 5 games and will be looking to add to that tally against City. Alongside Falcao, Monaco is capable of putting out a dynamic and attack minded midfield, led by playmaker Joao Moutinho. Gabriel Boschilia is their only player out with an injury.

The value

There is no head to head data to look at, as these two haven’t met before, but it is worth noting that Monaco beat Tottenham 2:1 both home and away in the group stages. City, however, with more recent squad experience in the Champions League have already proven to be more capable of winning in Europe than their Premier League rivals.

I would expect this game to follow the Spurs game in a BTTS pattern, with both sides so strong up front: Bet Victor have BTTS at 13/20 and Bet 365 have City to Win and BTTS:Yes at 21/10. BTTS:Yes and Draw could also be a good shout, considering Monaco’s quality, but I would expect the home team to carry it here.

Can Porto Savage the “Old Lady?

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Porto has long since been considered to be one of the sleeping giants of European football. They went through a golden period in 2003 and 2004. Under Jose Mourinho, they won the Europa League followed by the Champions League. In fact, that win by Porto in the 2004 Champions League season can be considered to be the last time that any club won the competition that wasn’t on the “rich list” of European clubs.

Porto has twice won Europe’s premier club competition having also won in 1987. As top European clubs became richer, the leading teams left clubs like Porto behind. Juventus are also on the list of teams that were considered to be great once upon a time. They have to go back to 1996 for their last Champions League win.

Can Juve Roll Back the Years?

Juventus are definitely a side to be respected. They reached the 2015 Champions League final and gave the mighty Barcelona a scare before eventually losing 3-1. They travel to Portugal for the first leg of their last 16 tie with Porto. Porto crushed Leicester City 5-0 in their final group game.

Once again this highlights just how strong Porto are when at home. Juventus are clearly the favourites to progress over two legs. They have the advantage of being able to play the second leg at home in Turin.

Many people feel this could be their year. Barcelona appears to be out of the competition after losing 4-0 to Paris St Germain. Some experts remain far from convinced about Bayern Munich even though they demolished Arsenal 5-1. Juventus are one of those teams that could lift the trophy should the big three of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich slip up.

Where is the Value in Portugal?

Juventus, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla are a list of four very dangerous dark horses that could go all the way. Despite this, Juventus seem poor value to travel to Porto with Bet365 offering just 6/5. Considering a draw will be a great result for Juventus or even a 2-1 defeat, this seems like poor value.

Benfica defeated Borussia Dortmund at home 1-0 in what appeared to be a similarly matched Champions League game to this one. Meanwhile, Porto can be backed at 13/5 with BetVictor and this seems like much better value. Porto has always been traditionally strong at home. It has always been their away form that has let them down.

Goals Expected In The Spanish Capital

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

THE Champions League returns this week and one of the biggest matches of the round is at the Bernabeu Stadium where 11-time champions of Europe Real Madrid host Napoli in the Spanish capital.

Madrid is a very heavy 1.57 favourite to take a first leg lead to southern Italy in a fortnight’s time, and with them sitting pretty at the top of La Liga, favourite backers will be out in force, but I am not so sure it’s the right thing to do.

Zinedine Zidane’s side hasn’t been in the best of form recently with just three wins in their last seven matches and this might not be as one-sided as the bookies will have you believe.

Madrid is unbeaten at home in the Champions League this season, but they’ve conceded in every match and they have also conceded in every one of their six group matches in this year’s Champions League and getting with goals looks the way to profit.

In those six matches not only did both teams score, but everyone featured more than 2.5 goals and the best bets in this first leg is the 1.62 on “yes” for both teams to score that is available with most bookies and 1.55 on over 2.5 goals in the match which is pretty general as well.

It’s the same story in Napoli games with both teams scoring in nine of the last ten and over 2.5 goals have come in as a winning bet in 11 of the Italian giants last 13 games and goals look a certainty.

Can we See a Shock?

The rule when Napoli play is to usually get with them at their Stadio San Paolo and oppose them away from home, but this season they’ve turned that away form on its head having only lost twice on their travels and just three times all season.

The Ciucciarelli have been totally overlooked to win this one at the 6.50 with Bet365 and Maurizio Sarri’s side has got a much better chance than those odds suggest.

The visitors are unbeaten in their last 18 matches and they offer a massive goal threat with 40 goals scored in their last 13, including SEVEN in their last away match at Bologna; Serie A’s top goal scorers can get something from this and I am taking the draw at the general 4.50.

Unlike Spanish v Italian European match-ups of yesteryear, this will be an entertaining end-to-end thriller, and at 15.00 I am going to have a very small bet on the game to end 2-2 in the correct score markets.