Tag: Football Tips

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 Sep 13th -14th

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Premier League returns after the International break and it is back with a bang! Arsenal host Manchester City in the early kick-off in an early clash of the title contenders.

Arsenal fans will be hoping that their side can repeat their comprehensive 3-0 win in the Community Shield but City fielded a weakened team that day and are a much stiffer proposition on Saturday. Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey faces a late fitness test but Wenger has options with Arteta and Ozil back in action.

Arsenal were hammered away by Liverpool, Chelsea and City last season, defeats that ultimately cost them their title chance. Their side remains much the same although they are missing the injured Giroud and relying on new-boy Danny Welbeck to fill the void. They drew with City and Chelsea at home and beat Liverpool so will be looking for at least a point. A 1-1 draw seems a likely outcome here and is worth a bet at 13-2 with BetVictor. The draw is also tempting at 5-2 with the same firm.

If anyone doubted Chelsea’s Premiership credentials, they must have been convinced by their astonishing 6-3 win at Goodison Park. They now face the only other team with a 100% record in the Premier League, Swansea City.

Garry Monk’s team have impressed in their early matches and look good enough to hold the Blues for long periods. The result could hinge on whether or not Diego Costa is fit to start for the Blues after a sensational start for his new club. An ageing Didier Drogba and a late replacement for Torres in the form of Loic Remy are the alternatives to lead Chelsea’s attack. I think that Chelsea will edge this one by a single goal.

Crystal Palace versus Burnley looks like draw material to me. Neither side have claimed a victory so far this season and Burnley have faced the tougher opposition including Chelsea and Man United. Palace were unlucky against Arsenal on the opening day but grabbed a late equaliser at Newcastle.

Southampton have been one of the surprise packages so far this season. Many pundits felt that they would suffer badly from their summer clear out of star players but they seem to have found the secret to an instant rebuild! Perhaps they should give a lesson to Louis Van Gaal and save Manchester United a few million in the process?

Saints welcome Newcastle to St Mary’s with Magpies’ boss Alan Pardew right in the firing line. A 3-1 win at West Ham was a terrific result for Southampton who deserved something from Anfield at the start of the season. Southampton look a solid bet to come out on top here against a nervy Newcastle side.

Stoke v Leicester also fits into the draw category with neither side setting the league on fire in their early matches. The home side are tough to break down at home but Leicester can be pretty resilient as they showed at Stamford Bridge.

Sunderland versus Spurs is an interesting one with the visitors having already shown both sides of their character. They thrashed QPR 4-0 to the delight of their supporters but looked as if they had not improved at all from last season when crumbling pathetically at Liverpool. Sunderland have under-performed so far this season and Gus Poyet will be looking for improvement on Saturday. This could be the upset of the weekend.

The late kick-off sees Liverpool host Aston Villa. The Reds bounced back from a 3-0 defeat at Man City to dish out a similar beating to Tottenham and will be looking to build on that with another victory on Saturday. The jury is out on the signing of Mario Balotelli but he will undoubtedly have good days and bad at Anfield. With Sturridge and Sterling on a high after England’s win in Switzerland, this looks like a comfortable home win.

Man United will surely have too much fire power for QPR in Sunday’s game and anything less than a comfortable victory would set alarm bells ringing at Old Trafford. Go for goals in this one.

Arsenal v Man City DRAW @5-2 BetVictor

Arsenal 1 Man City 1 correct score @13-1 BetVictor

Chelsea to beat Swansea by one goal @11-4 Ladbrokes

Crystal Palace v Burnley DRAW @14-5 Ladbrokes

Southampton to beat Newcastle @5-6 William Hill

Stoke v Leicester DRAW @3-1 Bet365

Sunderland to beat Tottenham @11-4 BetVictor

Liverpool to beat Aston Villa by three or more goals @15-8 Skybet

Mario Balotelli to score at anytime @20-21 Bet365

Man United to beat QPR by three or more goals @15-8 Skybet

Premier League Preview Aug 16th – 18th

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The English Premier League returns on Saturday with seven matches including the first competitive game in charge for Louis van Gaal at Manchester United. They play Swansea in the lunchtime kick-off at Old Trafford and their pre-season form suggests that they are unlikely to slip up.

The two teams met in the opening game last season with United inflicting a 4-1 defeat on the Swans, although the Welsh side gained their revenge with a shock FA Cup victory. Manchester United have never lost on the opening day of the EPL at Old Trafford and I don’t think they are in much danger here.

QPR gained promotion via the play-offs last season and they face Hull in one of the 3 o’clock kick-offs. Harry Redknapp has a new sidekick in the form of former England boss Glenn Hoddle but has done little to improve his playing staff. He couldn’t even use his family influence to persuade Frank Lampard to join him. This could be another uphill struggle for QPR and Hull may just be good enough to take all three points. Rangers have only managed one point from six opening weekend matches in the Premier League.

Arguably the pick of the afternoon games is the London derby between West Ham and Tottenham. Sam Allardyce will never be everyone’s cup of tea but he managed to grind out a route to survival last season and will already have calculated a points target for this season. The Hammers inflicted three defeats on Spurs last season but they finished the season poorly with five defeats in six games. Spurs have a new boss in former Saints man Mauricio Pochettino who appears to have unlocked the talent of Erik Lamela in pre-season. This is a tight game to predict but Spurs have a more talented squad.

A second London derby at 5.30 has taken on a new slant with the shock departure of Tony Pulis from Crystal Palace. Their trip to Arsenal suddenly looks very daunting, especially with the Gunners still celebrating their 3-0 Community Shield win over champions Manchester City. This looks like one-way traffic and a comfortable home win.

Another team facing a difficult start to the season is Southampton. How ironic that they should face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday having just sold half of their squad to the Merseyside giants! Liverpool have been very busy in the transfer market spending their Suarez money while Southampton have morphed into an up-market ebay! This looks like another home banker.

Newcastle United had another turbulent season under Alan Pardew and they welcome the champions. City were poor against Arsenal last weekend but they were missing several key players and will surely put that display behind them. City have won their last four games against the Magpies without conceding a goal and something similar could be on the cards on Sunday.

Chelsea will be the last of the big teams out of the blocks when they play Burnley on Monday. Jose Mourinho seems very smug after his successful summer signings and Diego Costa seems to have slotted in well. This is the sort of fixture that cost the Blues the title last season but I will be very surprised if they don’t start off in style.

Tips

Man United to beat Swansea 3-0 @10-1 BetVictor

Hull to beat QPR @11-5 BetVictor

Spurs to beat West Ham @11-10 Paddy Power

Arsenal to beat Crystal Palace 3-0 @7-1 Ladbrokes

Liverpool to beat Southampton 4-0 @18-1 BetVictor

Man City to beat Newcastle 2-0 @9-1 BetVictor

Chelsea to beat Burnley 4-0 @21-1 BetVictor

Champions League Final Preview – Betting

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

It’s hard to write this sort of post when I’m already on Bayern Munich at fancy prices to win the Champions League, but i’ll try.

Bayern Munich ran away with the league in spectacular fashion, 25 points clear of Dortmund. We all know they demolished Barcelona over two legs, which is a mightly impressive feat its self. Their last 4 CL fixtures they’ve conceded no goals, not only that, i don’t actually remember Barcelona having a clear chance at goal in the 2nd leg, did they?

Their final game of the season was essentially worthless, as the title was sown up. However, Bayern impressively won 4-3, having conceded 3 goals in the first 10 minutes! They dug deep to record a 29th win in the league.

Dortmund on the other hand lost 2-1 at home to Hoffenheim, again, it can be argued the game meant nothing. Importantly however, they haven’t won in 4 games (including the Real Madrid defeat). Bayern however, you have to go back to October last year for their last defeat.

This will appear as a strongly biased article towards Bayern, but from a betting perspective i just cannot see any reason why Bayern won’t lift the trophy at Wembley. They are the form side who have a good record against Dortmond. While riding the crest of a Bayern look perfectly poised to take home the Champions League trophy.

From a betting angle, if you didn’t get the big prices on Bayern to win prior to their Barcelona first leg, then you’ll find it difficult to back Bayern at 5/6 knowing they were 4-1 pre Barca. But if a shade of odds on doesn’t put you off, go fill your boots.

Bayern win 5/6 Stanjames
Bayern -1 Handicap 12/5 Stanjames
Bayern -3 Handicap 12-1 William Hill (you never know, worth a small investment!)
Muller to score any time and Bayern win 11/4 William Hill

Nearer the event it self i will update the betting opportunities, i’m sure some bookies will have some juicy offers or money back specials. Keep your eyes peeled.

Premiership Football Tips – April 6th 2013

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Whilst most of the weekend’s best games take place tomorrow, we’ve still got 4 Premiership games today to get our teeth stuck into, with the betting interest coming in the 3pm kick-offs. If you aren’t watching and getting stuck into the lottery of the Grand National, then hopefuly we should have some more likely but slightly less glamorous returns for you.

Only Manchester United have a better record than Arsenal in their past 8 games, who have won 5 of their last 6. The Gunners will be desperate to retain their Champions League spot and won’t be letting up against a West Brom side who have gone off the boil recently. We’ll add an Arsenal victory into our accumulator of the 3pm kickoffs.

The second team we’ll add into our accumulator is Aston Villa. Stoke have been on a poor run of form taking only 1 point from their past 5 games and relegation is a danger for a side which is finding it hard to get on the scoresheet. Goals aren’t a problem for Villa but their leaky defence is, but this is a game where Stoke’s one-dimensional play-style will be less complicated for Villa to counter than the flair of Liverpool. They showed a lot of early promise in that game, and if things go their way today, the 29/10 with Bet365 will look a big price.

We’ll round things off with Swansea. They’ve had a tough run of fixtures recently and will want to get back on track with a victory here. They’re unlikely to make it into Europe and with the pressure off, could find themselves getting back on track. The return of Angel Rangel and Chico will bolster their defence, and with Norwich only scoring 5 Premiership goals in 2013, from 11 games, it could be hard for them to break down Swansea.

The treble of Arsenal, Aston Villa and Swansea pays a juicy 20.60/1 with Bet365, so we’ll be cheering the away sides on this afternoon.

Premiership Relegation Tip

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Well, this year looks to be one of the closest relegation battles ever. Will Wigan escape again? Will Villa finally lose their premiership status after being one of the founding members? Can QPR perform miracles? Well, the latter doesnt seem possible, but the other two are more likely.

However, we’ve found a right cracking bet for relegation. Sunderland. Sunderland are currently 7/2 to go down. Let’s see why they could well be getting relegated:

Next 5 games –

Home – Manchester United
Away – Chelsea
Away – Newcastle
Home – Everton
Away – Aston Villa

Now, on all known form, they could lose to Manchester United, Chelsea, Newcastle and Everton. Aston Villa could be the nail in the coffin, a real 6 pointer.

Final 3 games:

Home – Stoke
Home – Southampton
Away – Tottenham

Wigan have a game in hand and currently sit on 27 points, Sunderland on 31 points, Villa on 30 points.

Aston Villa’s next 5 games:

Home – Liverpool
Away – Stoke
Home – Fulham
Away – Manchester United
Home – Sunderland

Now, Villa are on a 2 game winning “streak” – but this could and should end with the visit of Liverpool to Villa park. Stoke and Fulham are both winnable games for the Villans, and should they beat Sunderland, Villa could secure safety after these next 5 games.

Wigan, with a game in hand, have the following 5 games:

Home – Norwich
Away – QPR
Away – Manchester City
Home – West Ham
Away – Tottenham



Wigan could easily perform their amazing end of season run that sees them secure premiership status. Norwich, QPR and West Ham are all winnable games for Wigan, should they win those 3 and lose the other 2, they’ll be on 36 points.

If Villa beat Stoke or Fulham they’ll be on 33 points. Then Sunderland comes to Villa park. On the assumption Sunderland don’t pick up any points in the 4 games between now and the Villa trip, they’ll be sitting on 31 points, potentially in the bottom 3. Should Villa win, Villa would move 5 points clear of Sunderland and would give Sunderland a massive task to escape relegation.

This is obviously all based on opinion. Sunderland could quite easily go on a winning streak and win all 5 games, but we don’t think they will. 7/2 (Stanjames) is the price on them getting relegated and with their next 5 games being so difficult compared to those teams below them, we think this is a great interest bet.

I’ve missed out Southampton in all of this because i feel it’s a 3 horse race for the dreaded 18th spot.