Tag: Football

Tottenham Looking to End Poor Away Form Against Southampton

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Southampton and Tottenham return to Premier League business on Wednesday evening when they clash at St. Mary’s following a welcome 10-day break from action for both clubs.

The match does, however, signal the start of a busy festive period in the top division as Saints prepare for three matches in just six days while Spurs contemplate three fixtures in a slightly more favourable eight days.

Claude Puel’s team will be looking to extend their impressive home form which has seen them lose just once in eight matches on home soil in the league this season to Premier League pacesetters Chelsea.

Tottenham, lying fifth in the table meanwhile, will be seeking to end a poor run of away form which has seen them collect just three points on the road from their last five league matches.

Mauricio Pochettino returns to the south coast for only the second time since his acrimonious departure from Southampton for White Hart Lane in the summer of 2014. And the Argentine will be hoping his team can close the gap on the teams above them in the table with all three points, just as he did on his maiden return to his former employers last December.

Southampton boss Puel will be without top goalscorer Charlie Austin who has gone under the knife for surgery on a shoulder injury which is likely to keep him sidelined for anything up to four months. Austin’s absence could give Jay Rodriguez another opportunity to start after his brace of goals last time out inspired Southampton to a 3-1 win over local rivals Bournemouth.

Spurs, on the other hand, go into the match boasting an almost full strength squad with former Saints defender Toby Alderweireld and Dutch forward Vincent Janssen back to fitness, leaving just Erik Lamela still unavailable as he nurses a long-term hip injury.

Despite their iffy away form, Spurs will go into the match boasting a strong recent record at St. Mary’s. Three wins and a draw from their last four trips to the south coast should give Pochettino confidence that his team can finally turn around their dismal recent away form. Southampton though has to go all the way back to 2005 for their last home victory over Spurs.

Southampton with eight goals in eight home matches this season, and Spurs, who despite their poor recent record have still notched 10 goals on their travels, gives great value to the both teams to score market at Yes 1.80 on Betway.

Elsewhere, with Harry Kane starting to find the net with increasing regularity for the North London outfit recently, the England international is tempting at 9/2 with bet365 to net first on Wednesday evening.

Can Leicester City Finally Start to Play Like Champions?

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The 2015-16 Premier League season will go down in history as being the season that the “impossible” happened. People across the globe were speaking about Leicester City and how they overcame odds of 5000-1 to win one of the toughest leagues in world football. Most football pundits didn’t expect Leicester to repeat that feat, but they also didn’t expect them to be languishing near the bottom approaching Christmas.

Their 1-0 loss to Bournemouth in midweek was their eighth loss in the league this season. That comes after just sixteen matches. Leicester only lost three games in thirty-eight matches last season. They currently have 16pts from 16 games and that is going to leave them fighting relegation should their current points per game ratio continue.

The Distraction of the Champions League

Clearly, the Champions League has been a huge distraction for the Foxes. They managed to qualify easily from a relatively simple group. They don’t have to worry about that competition again until February. The problem is that they simply cannot seem to put a run of decent results together. They beat Manchester City 4-2 at the weekend and looked like the Leicester City of last season.

Their 1-0 loss to Bournemouth was a poor follow on from that, and once again leaves their fans fearing the worst. Leicester travels to face Stoke City on Saturday. They couldn’t have picked a worst time to play Stoke because Mark Hughes has really got his Stoke team firing again. Stoke started the season poorly but have had a run of good results in recent weeks.

The Britannia is a Fortress Again

Stoke City didn’t win a match in the Premier League this season until almost the end of October. That worrying run even had some of their loyal fans fearing the worst. Stoke City has become a very resilient team under Mark Hughes, and once again they have weathered the storm. They will provide a very formidable opponent for Leicester and especially at the Britannia Stadium.

William Hill quotes Stoke as 7-5 favourites for this match which is fair. You can get 2-1 with Stan James for the draw, while a Leicester City win is 5-2 with William Hill. It is tough to find any value with those odds. Some of the alternative odds markets may provide some interest. Bet365, for example, quote odds of 9-4 that Stoke will keep a clean sheet.

Will Leicester Find the Net?

Leicester failed to trouble the Bournemouth keeper in midweek and may do so again at Stoke. Betway quote 13-10 on the winning margin being only one goal. That particular market may be of interest to some punters. It is amazing to think that we could see the champions relegated this season.

That has only happened once before in history. Leicester should slowly start to pick up points but don’t bet too much on that happening this weekend at Stoke. Even the 2-1 odds on the draw doesn’t seem a bad bet considering that Leicester hasn’t won away from home in the league all season.

Cowboys and Patriots on Course for Super Bowl Battle

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The two favourites for the Super Bowl are in action in the days ahead as the Dallas Cowboys travel to New York while the New England Patriots host fierce rivals the Baltimore Ravens. A couple of weeks ago New England was odds-on in the NFL betting markets to win the Super Bowl, but everything has changed thanks to the superb form of the Cowboys, who now have the best record in the league at 11-1 and have already made it through to the playoffs in style. Injuries to key players like Rob Gronkowski have rocked the Patriots and their odds have gone out to 11/4, while the Cowboys are right behind them at 4/1 now.

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots

The Pats beat the Rams last weekend to go 10-2, giving them the joint best record in the AFC. The Raiders are also on 10-2 but have a more difficult fixture list in the last four games of the season, so the Patriots are looking good to secure home advantage throughout the playoffs if they extend their three-game winning streak against the Ravens. You would fancy them to beat the Ravens as they should have a psychological advantage, having beaten them in a thrilling 35-31 encounter in last season’s playoffs. The odds are low on this, however: just 3/10 at Coral and 5/16 at Ladbrokes, so you might consider betting on the spread and it will be tough for the Patriots to cover it. You can get evens on the Ravens +7 and that looks a good bet considering Baltimore are on a two-game winning streak and ran New England very close in their last meeting.

Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants

The Cowboys are the form team in the league right now. After losing the season opener, they have won a remarkable 11 games in a row and have already qualified for the playoffs. They may take a foot off the pedal a bit now, but they still want to keep the confidence surging through the team with more wins, and be assured of home advantage in the playoffs, so they are likely to make life very difficult for the Giants. The Cowboys have a great young roster, full of talented stars like Dez Bryant and Tyron Smith. The Giants, led by veteran quarterback Eli Manning and exciting wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr, are no slouches, but the Cowboys are on a roll right now and should have too much offensive power for them. The Cowboys are 3/5 to win this with 888 Sport and that looks tempting given their incredible form, but you could push it a bit further and back them to cover a -3 spread at 20/23 with Coral.

Futures betting

The Cowboys have such fantastic momentum that it is hard to look past them for the NFC right now. The Seahawks look to be their toughest opponent in the conference, but the Cowboys have proved they can win in style and win ugly and look a good shout at 13/8 with Bet365 to win the NFC Conference and go to the Super Bowl, where their most likely opponent will be New England. The Pats are 21/20 with William Hill to win the AFC, but face ferocious competition from the three teams in the exceptionally strong AFC West – the Raiders, the Chiefs and the Broncos – so that might be best avoided for now, and the 4/1 on the Cowboys winning the Super Bowl looks a good option as their odds keep dwindling.

A Bore Draw In Group D

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

WHAT was set-up as a final match Group D decider between Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich has turned out to be a dead rubber.

The two group giants meet at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night in a match that looked destined to determine who would top the group, but Atletico have already guaranteed top spot and Bayern will join them in the last 16 with runners-up position and that means this is tough to call.

When scenarios like this arise it’s very hard to gauge which one of the two sides will be taking the match the more serious of the two, and on this occasion, I believe it’s a game that neither side will care too much about.

Bayern Favourites with the Bookies

Bayern has been installed the 1.66 favourites with William Hill, but Carlo Ancelotti’s side have been far from impressive both domestically and in the Champions League.

The five-times champions of Europe were beaten 3-2 in Russia by Rostov in their last Champions League match, and are sitting in second in the domestic table behind surprise leaders Leipzig. With some crucial domestic matches approaching, including a massive home match with the league leaders, Ancelotti may decide to rest players for this dead rubber.

Last season’s Champions League runners-up Atletico have a 100 percent group record, winning all five of their matches only conceding the one goal in the process, and Diego Simone’s side look a big price at the 6.00 to win in Germany.

Atletico is right in the mix yet again in the La Liga shake-up, and at the weekend they have a massive match against Villarreal. With them already guaranteed top spot, that match is certain to take priority. Simone also looks likely to ring the changes, and with doubts surrounding the strength of both sides starting XI’s the draw looks the most appealing play in the match markets at a huge 4.00 with Bet365.

Differing Styles

These two sides are vastly different in the way the play football, with Bayern full of attacking flair and Atletico one of the strongest, if not the strongest defensive units in Europe.

This is a real difficult one to have a strong view on the goal markets as they could throw the shackles off and really go all out, or they could just go through the motions in a low scoring dull affair; I am going to take a chance on the later.

Under 2.5 is 1.91 with Coral, and that has been a winning bet in four of Atletico’s five Champions League matches; at 11.00 with William Hill, I am taking a real left-field punt on no goalscorer in Bavaria.

Premier League Betting: Can City Hang Tough at Selhurst Park

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Manchester City faces a real fight if they are to win the Premier League in Pep Guardiola’s’ first season. The bookies made City and neighbours United strong favourites in the football betting markets back in August. Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham have all made strong starts to the season. This has increased the pressure on Guardiola. Their recent 3-1 win against Barcelona will have done wonders for the teams’ morale.

City Need to Bounce Back

Only five points separate the top five teams. This season is shaping up to be the most exciting season for years. Six teams are in with a shout of taking the title. The dramatic win against Barcelona may have been a great result for City, but that didn’t prevent them from tumbling back down to earth several days later.

The 1-1 draw at home to Middlesbrough was yet another game where the Sky Blues have dropped valuable points this season. They now trail Liverpool by two points after leading the division by four points just a few weeks ago. Another defeat would not go down too well at the Etihad, especially when they face a tough trip next week to Germany in the Champions League.

Can Pardew hang with Pep

Alan Pardew is one of the longest serving Premier League managers. He has a history of beating the big teams on the big occasions. Selhurst Park is a tight little ground that no away team likes. Their supporters generate a terrific atmosphere, and very few teams come away from Palace with an easy win.

Palace is certainly a team that can rough up their opponents. Guardiola still seems to be having problems with the City defence. Players like John Stones seem to be caught between the two objectives of needing to be expansive and eliminating mistakes. City is as short as 1-2 with Bet365, while they also quote Palace at 5-1 for the home win.

The Value isn’t with City

The Premier League is a tough uncompromising division. Any team in the league can go on a run of negative results at any time. So the question is, are the bookies reading too much into the fact that Palace has lost their last four games, and only have one win in six? City recently went on a similar winless run, but then beat West Brom 4-0 away, and Barcelona 3-1 within a matter of days.

If you fancy City to be denied and be held to a draw yet again, then BetVictor offer an attractive 19/5. It’s difficult to be overly confident in any team that can beat Barcelona 3-1, and then be held 1-1 at home to Middlesbrough several days later.

New Era for English Football in World Cup Qualifier

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

YET another new era in English football starts at Wembley on Saturday when Gareth Southgate takes charge of the England national team for the first time against the minnows of Malta in their World Cup Qualifier clash on Saturday.

As introductions to international football go, well this is about as easy as it can get for the former Middlesbrough boss with England the heavy 1.03 to get the new boss off to a winning start.

Malta are the 101.0 rank outsiders to produce ‘the’ biggest shock in international football and on the evidence of their 5-1 drubbing at home to Scotland in their Group F opener a £10 bet on Malta at 101.0 will see you lose a tenner.

I don’t think this will be as convincing as many expect though.

The Scotland defeat was the first time that Malta have conceded more than three goals in their last 11 competitive internationals and the visitors look set to park the Maltese bus in front of their goal at Wembley and hope to frustrate their more illustrious opponents.

The “Three Lions” have taken a time to break down resolute defensives at Wembley in recent matches with San Marino, but once they do get the opening goal others will follow very quickly.

The bookies have 4-0 the most likely England win at 6.50, but I prefer the 3-0 success at 7.50 with Paddy Power as I expect a whole host of substitutes in the second half, once victory is guaranteed, to disrupt the tempo of the game.

Scotland v Lithuania

SCOTLAND will be looking to continue their fine World Cup winning start to Group F on Saturday when they host Lithuania at Hampden Park.

The Scots hammered England’s opponents Malta 5-1 in their group opener, and now that they are back on home turf they will be far too strong for a Lithuania side that have only won once in their last eight internationals.

Hampden Park has become a fortress for the Scottish national side; it is a venue they’ve only lost at twice (against Germany and England) in three years on their own patch, and I can’t see Lithuania troubling the Tartan Army.

Gordon Strachan’s side are at general 1.50 for the win, and that looks a banker bet and will feature in my weekend accumulator.

These two nations are no strangers to each other having faced-off eight times previously in qualification with Lithuania winning just once way back in 2003.

In the most recent meeting at Hampden Park Scotland edged it 1-0 in 2011; in the last two meetings between the two nations Lithuania have failed to score, so I can’t see them scoring in this latest renewal, and a Scotland win to nil at a general 2.10 looks another very nice bet.

Northern Ireland v San Marino

Northern Ireland host San Marino at Windsor Park in the final match on Saturday night in another very one-sided qualifier.

The Northern Irish would never have been as short as 1.03 to win a World Cup qualifier, and that is the tiny odds on offer for Michael O’Neil’s side at the weekend to beat a side rated 211 on the current FIFA World rankings.

The two things that are certain in this match is Northern Ireland will win and San Marino won’t score.

San Marino have only managed TWO goals in their last 20 international matches so an Ireland win to nil at 1.22 with Coral is a certainty, but again offers no value to small staking players.

The pair have met twice previously in World Cup qualifying in 2008 and 2009, and at Windsor Park the Irish came out 4-0 winners and that is the joint favourite score-line again at 6.0 with Paddy Power alongside 3-0 which is the same price; of the two, a 3-0 Irish win would be my preference.