Tag: Diego Costa

Premier League Preview Nov 29th – 30th

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

If Chelsea could replay one match from last season it would be the home game against Sunderland in April. They suffered their first loss at Stamford Bridge under Jose Mourinho after an incredible run of 77 games.

They had taken the lead early on but failed to convert several chances before allowing Sunderland back into the game. In desperately chasing a winner, they were caught out on the break and a slip from Azpilicueta resulted in a penalty that gave Sunderland all three points. The game ended with angry scenes as Mourinho’s assistant Rui Faria was sent to the stands after confronting referee Mike Dean.

After Chelsea’s brilliant performance in beating Schalke 5-0 away on Tuesday, they will be looking to continue their dominance in the Premier League with a win at the Stadium of Light. Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas continue to impress and it may be worth taking a chance on the latter scoring first on Saturday. He has scored more goals against Sunderland than he has against any other Premiership side.

The early kick-off is at the Hawthorns where Arsenal will be anxious to return to winning form in the League. They have lost their last two matches against Swansea and Manchester United but steadied the ship by securing their place in the knockout phase of the Champions League on Wednesday.

Alexis Sanchez is in unstoppable form at the moment but the man to support here could be Olivier Giroud. He missed the game against Dortmund as he omitted from the Champions League squad through injury. He looked very sharp when coming on and scoring against United last week.

Man United have crept quietly into the top four after a poor start. Their last-gasp equaliser against Chelsea and win at Arsenal have suddenly given the team renewed confidence. They should brush aside a dour Hull City side without too much difficulty with Rooney and Di Maria likely goal scorers.

Liverpool are something of a mystery at the moment and did not exactly shine with a 2-2 draw against Ludogorets in midweek. They are at home to Stoke and would gladly take three points in any way, shape or form right now. They should just manage it but possibly by just a single goal.

Sunday’s action features high-flying Southampton against Man City. The Saints dropped points at Villa Park on Monday and most pundits will be waiting for them to start their inevitable slide down the table over Christmas. They have some tough games ahead of them but at least they catch City on the rebound from their epic clash with Bayern Munich. Take Southampton to hold out for another draw despite the presence of Sergio Aguero.

Olivier Giroud to score and Arsenal win @9-4 Paddy Power

Cesc Fabregas to score first v Sunderland @9-1 Ladbrokes

Diego Costa to score and Chelsea win @6-5 Ladbrokes

Man United to win by 3 or more goals @31-10 Boylesports

Wayne Rooney to score and United win @7-5 Bwin

Angel Di Maria to score first v Hull @6-1 Bet365

Liverpool to win by a single goal @11-4 Skybet

Southampton and Man City DRAW @23-10 Skybet

Costa to strike again for Chelsea

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho has been stressing the importance of Chelsea securing their place in the knockout phase of the Champions League this week.

The Blues currently sit top of their group and have two matches to play but a win over Schalke would be good enough. That would give them the luxury of playing a dead rubber against Sporting Lisbon in their final match, something that Mourinho would greatly appreciate with the Christmas fixture list looming.

Chelsea have dominated the early part of the season in the Premier League, so much so that bookmakers Paddy Power have already paid out on them winning the title! That may be a little premature but you certainly cannot take anything for granted in the Champions League.

Schalke grabbed an unlikely point in the reverse fixture on a night when Chelsea failed to take a string of opportunities to move into a two-goal lead. Schalke’s class players on the night were the scorer Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and the provider Julian Draxler. The loss of Draxler for this match will be a severe blow to Schalke as he looked dangerous throughout at Stamford Bridge.

Schalke are now managed by former Chelsea player and coach Roberto Di Matteo who took in October. No Chelsea fan will ever forget Di Matteo’s relatively short spell in charge, winning the FA Cup and a first ever Champions League for the Blues. He has only been at Schalke for six weeks so it is ironic that he comes face to face with Chelsea so quickly. The German side are currently second in the group but vulnerable with Sporting Lisbon just one point behind them.

Chelsea remain unbeaten in all competitions despite a scare at Maribor in their last group match. In the end, they could and should have won the game but Eden Hazard uncharacteristically fluffed his penalty kick. I don’t expect Chelsea to treat this game with anything less than full commitment and that has so far proved more than enough for most teams. If anything, the Blues have looked sharper away than they have at home.

The speed with which Hazard and Willian launch their counter-attacks is breath-taking but the decisive factor has to be Diego Costa. There has been much debate about his fitness in recent weeks but he looked sharp against West Brom on Saturday and looks tempting at around the 4-1 mark to open the scoring. Backing Costa and Chelsea to win has been a winning formula this season and could easily be the answer again on Tuesday.

Diego Costa to score first @4-1 Paddy Power

Diego Costa to score and Chelsea to win @19-10 Ladbrokes

Chelsea to win by one goal @11-4 Skybet

Premier League Preview Nov 22nd to 24th

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The Premier League returns on Saturday after the International break with Chelsea four points clear at the top.

Bookmaker Paddy Power has already paid out on the Blues winning the title and you can actually back them at better odds to win on Saturday than to win the league. Their next opponents are West Brom who have given Chelsea a few problems in recent matches. The Blues have only beaten them once in their last five meetings.

Of course, there are differences with this Chelsea team. Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas were declared unfit for Spain’s International fixtures but are both fit to start on Saturday. It would be no surprise to see Costa on the score sheet yet again.

Manchester City were probably glad of the International break after a poor run of form in League and Cup. Sergio Aguero has kept City in touch at the top of the table but they cannot afford to let the gap get any bigger. They already trail Chelsea by eight points and will be tested by the visit of Swansea. The Welsh side have made a very impressive start to the season and could draw level with City if they were to pull off a shock win. The bet here is for City to edge it by a single goal.

Newcastle have turned their season around with five straight wins. Full credit for Alan Pardew who has been under intense pressure from the media this season. They face QPR who have also shown signs of a revival under Harry Redknapp. A win over Aston Villa followed gallant efforts against Liverpool and Manchester United. Newcastle can extend their winning run with the advantage of home support.

The big game on Saturday is the tea-time kick-off between Arsenal and Man United. The Gunners will be sweating on late fitness tests for Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck but they should be fit to start. Welbeck would be dismayed if he were to miss a clash against his former club but Sanchez is the man with the golden touch lately. He can again be Arsenal’s match winner against a United side that continues to have defensive problems.

Liverpool and Spurs both have tricky looking fixtures at Crystal Palace and Hull respectively. You just don’t know what you will get from either side at the moment so I am going to swerve both matches. Finally, the Saints should go marching on at Villa Park on Monday night. Villa were desperately poor against QPR while Southampton seem to have plenty of attacking options.

Diego Costa to score and Chelsea win @10-11 Ladbrokes

Sergio Aguero to score and Man City win @11-10 BetFred

Man City to win by one goal @11-4 Bet365

Alexis Sanchez to score and Arsenal to win @11-4 Paddy Power

Newcastle to beat QPR @5-6 Bet365

Southampton to beat Aston Villa @4-5 William Hill

Premier League Preview Sep 20th – 21st

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After a busy week in Europe, it will be interesting to see how the top teams cope with a return to PremierLeague action.

Probably the poorest showing by a Premiership side was Arsenal’s disappointing 2-0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund. They are really struggling to live up to the pre-season hype and face a very tricky game at a revitalised Aston Villa.

Paul Lambert managed to engineer a victory at Anfield last weekend and Villa fans must be getting dizzy after three victories that have left them in second place in the table. They are only two points behind leaders Chelsea who travel to Man City on Sunday so Villa could top the league on Saturday night!

Arsenal fans will point to their incredible record at Villa Park where they have not list in their last fifteen league visits. They ought to have beaten Man City last week but had to settle for a draw and they will be looking to Danny Welbeck to provide the goals. Arsene Wenger’s team are difficult to predict at the moment but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them come away with a draw at least.

The early kick-off sees QPR welcome Stoke after Harry Redknapp’s team were totally outclassed by Man United’s new-look side. Rangers did manage to beat Sunderland in their previous game but they have generally looked like a side we can expect to see in the thick of the relegation battle this season. Stoke beat Man City and then lost at home to Leicester and I am expecting Mark Hughes to galvanise them for a victory here.

Alan Pardew is surely on borrowed time at Newcastle. He has even had the dreaded vote of confidence from his employers, usually the kiss of death. The Magpies are bottom of the league and were slaughtered by Southampton last week. Hull are in buoyant mood after a successful venture into the transfer market and played well in a 2-2 draw with West Ham on Monday night. It may be worth supporting The Tigers to deal the hammer blow to Pardew, ironically the same clash that saw the infamous head-butting incident last season.

Swansea versus Southampton is an intriguing contest with the home side dropping their first points at Stamford Bridge and the Saints flying after thumping Newcastle. Ronald Koeman seems to be working a kind of mini-miracle at St Mary’s and Southampton beat Swansea twice last season. I thought that Swansea played well against Chelsea and a draw could be on the agenda here.

West Ham play Liverpool in the late kick-off and must fancy their chances of getting a result. The Reds were very poor in their return to the Champions League against a well-organised but moderate side. They needed an injury-time penalty to scrape a win and were beaten by Villa last week. Liverpool have won seven of the last meetings here but the Hammers showed plenty of resolve against Hull on Monday. I think it might be a struggle but Liverpool can take the points.

The big match on Sunday is the clash between champions Man City and high-flying Chelsea. The Blues had the wind taken out of their sails a bit in midweek when only managing a draw against Schalke 04. If nothing else, that game underlined just how important Diego Costa is to the team.  He will doubtless prove a handful for City and can get on the scoresheet.

City were unlucky to concede a late goal against Bayern Munich although they had been hanging on in that game. A draw would end Chelsea’s 100% record but would have to be seen as a decent result.

Man United’s huge investment finally brought a dividend last week against QPR and Leicester should go the same way while Everton brushed aside Wolfsburg in the Europa League and can see off Crystal Palace.

Stoke to beat QPR @9-5 Bet365

Aston Villa v Arsenal DRAW @14-5 Boyle Sports

Aston Villa 1 Arsenal 1 @7-1 BetVictor

Hull to beat Newcastle @11-4 Coral

Swansea v Southampton DRAW @12-5 Bet365

Swansea 2 Southampton 2 @16-1 BetVictor

West Ham 1 Liverpool 3 @14-1 Bet365

Man United to beat Leicester by 2 or more goals @7-2 Stan James

Everton to beat Crystal Palace by 2 or more goals @12-5 Stan James

Man City v Chelsea DRAW @12-5 William Hill

Diego Costa to score at any time @13-8 Ladbrokes

Champions League 2014/15 Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Group stages of the Champions League get under way this week with Real Madrid favourites to become the first team to successfully defend the trophy.

They have made a patchy start to the new domestic season and suffered a defeat by local rivals Atletico at the weekend. With their wealth of talent, that can surely only be a temporary blip and they are bound to be serious contenders again.

Atletico Madrid were our each-way tip last season and they went all the way to the final. Bookmakers are not convinced that they have enough quality to repeat the achievement this season and have priced them up at a generous 25-1.

The departure of Costa to Chelsea may have dented Atletico’s prospects but Mario Mandzukic is an exciting replacement. Diego Simeone is clearly a first class coach and they look overpriced to me.

My other tip is Paris St Germain who have been among the biggest spenders in Europe this summer. The £50million paid for David Luiz may have raised a few eyebrows but the former Chelsea man will be determined to erase the memory of that World Cup nightmare against Germany. It is worth remembering that he was being treated as a national hero after his wonder strike earlier in the competition.

PSG were close to eliminating Chelsea last season and should qualify from their group despite the presence of Barcelona. Ibrahimovic, Cavani and Levezzi is a world-class front-line by any standards.

The English challenge this season looks likely to be spearheaded by Chelsea who have made a tremendous start in the Premier League. Diego Costa surely cannot keep up his incredible strike rate and it remains to be seen whether Drogba and Remy offer sufficient cover. They are a very talented side but do not represent great value at around 6-1.

Liverpool have undertaken a summer rebuilding project in the wake of Luis Suarez’s departure. They look to have a relatively easy passage through to the knockout phase but the same cannot be said of champions Manchester City. They got through the group phase for the first time last season but won’t have it easy against Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow and Roma.

Arsenal sneaked past Besiktas in the playoffs to reach the Group stage of the competition for a remarkable eighteenth consecutive season. They should also emerge safely from Group D but there remains a suspicion that they are a player or two short compared to Chelsea and City.

PSG @16-1 Ladbrokes

Atletico Madrid @25-1 William Hill

½ odds 1,2

Premier League Preview Aug 23rd – 25th

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Man City’s 2-0 win at Newcastle on the opening weekend of the Premier League netted us a tidy 8-point profit on all selections last weekend. The defeat of Manchester United at the hands of Swansea was the main talking point with the Welsh side providing a stark reminder of the task facing Van Gaal at Old Trafford.

Saturday’s action sees Chelsea and Arsenal back in action, the Blues having impressed in their comfortable 3-1 win at Burnley on Monday night. They now welcome another newly-promoted side in Leicester City to Stamford Bridge as they bid to underline their title claims.

Things could hardly be looking better for Jose Mourinho’s summer signings after a brilliant performance by Cesc Fabregas and a goal from Diego Costa. Both seem to have the ability to make things look simple and Leicester must be travelling to London with some trepidation. Costa could be a good bet to get on the score-sheet again this weekend with a comfortable home win for the Blues.

Crystal Palace put up a brave performance at Arsenal last week in the wake of the shock departure of Tony Pulis. It had looked a nailed-on three points for the Gunners but Palace made them fight every inch of the way. Palace now play West Ham who were undone by a late Spurs goal in their opening fixture. The Hammers can only have themselves to blame for not taking the opportunity presented to them with a penalty miss and playing against ten men for a lengthy period of the game. This looks like draw material, a result that would probably suit both sides at this stage of the season.

Another side to impress last week were Southampton. I, like many others, felt that the mass exodus during the summer would leave the Saints in a perilous situation. That may still be the case but you have to admire their gallant effort at Anfield.

Only the width of the cross bar prevented them from coming away with a point and Liverpool were undoubtedly breathing a sigh of relief to get three points. West Brom were held to a 2-2 draw by Sunderland in their opening game and this looks another tight fixture. It would be wrong to get too carried away with Southampton’s performance last week and another draw is predicted.

The late kick-off is an intriguing clash between Everton and Arsenal. Arsene Wenger’s side face the age-old problem of playing on a Saturday after a midweek Champions League game. Last season the Toffees dished out a 3-0 beating to the Gunners but the visitors will be desperate to show that they are genuine title contenders.

Arsenal do have some positive news in the return of Mesut Ozil, Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski to the squad after World Cup duty. Mikel Arteta will definitely be absent after picking up an injury against Besiktas. Everton allowed Leicester to sneak a point last weekend and will be looking to Romelu Lukaku to step up his game now that he is a permanent signing. Arsenal have not beaten Everton in their last four meetings and could be vulnerable to an upset here.

Sunday’s big game is Manchester United’s visit to Sunderland. Van Gaal looks like a man with a mission at Old Trafford and is still in the process of sorting out the wheat from the chaff. As David Moyes found to his cost, there is never as much time as you think there is and United fans will be distinctly uncomfortable if a second defeat follows the Swansea result. Gus Poyet has done a fantastic job at Sunderland and it is by no means impossible. Spurs sneaked past West Ham and should have a more comfortable time disposing of QPR on home soil.

On Monday, Man City host Liverpool in a clash of the first and second from last season. Liverpool did not look anywhere near as dangerous without Suarez against Southampton and Brendan Rodgers is still chasing shadows in the transfer market. City eased into the season with a clinical display at Newcastle and can follow up here.

Diego Costa to score first @10-3 Bet365

Chelsea to win by three or more goals @15-8 Skybet

Crystal Palace v West Ham DRAW @23-10 Bet365

Southampton v West Brom DRAW @11-4 Boylesports

Everton to beat Arsenal @9-5 Paddy Power

Sunderland to beat Man United @21-5 Bet Victor

Man City to beat Liverpool @6-7 BetBright