Tag: Football

Manchester Derby Betting Preview: Three Hidden Wagers

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The first Manchester derby of the season is set to take place on September 10 and this time around the tension is palpable.

With Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola about to square off for the first time under the bright lights of Old Trafford, fans, pundits and neutrals are all licking their lips in anticipation of this tactical master class.

Options Galore for Fans and Punters Alike

Will Guardiola invert his wing-backs and go with a 4-1-4-1 system and if he does, how will Mourinho counter City’s attacking flow? What if Mourinho floods the middle of the park with players in a bid to shut out City and counter on the break?

The tactical possibilities for both sides are enough to get football fans around the world salivating, but what about those who sense a chance to make a few extra quid during this Manchester derby? What do all these possibilities mean for the pre-game betting markets?

From a general perspective, United are the betting favourites with Sun Bets. 13/10 is the current price on Mourinho’s men to do the business, while 11/5 says City will take three points back across Manchester.

However, with so much potential on the pitch, there’s a lot more value out there then a simple outright bet. In fact, with Paddy Power offering some off-the-wall bets, the canny punter could pick up a pretty penny when the tackles start to fly this Saturday.

Manchester United vs. Manchester City Best Bets

So, with this in mind, we’ve cherry picked some of Paddy Power’s more interesting bets you might have missed ahead of the big showdown:

Jose Mourinho to be sent to the stands – 10/1

If there’s anyone with more passion on the touchline than Mr. Mourinho then we’re yet to see him. While the likes of Rooney or Ibrahimovic are more likely to score a caution than Mourinho, he’s never been one for shying away from a tense situation. If the score line is tight and things aren’t going his way, Mourinho could easily find himself watching from the stands which makes 10/1 a price you can’t ignore.

Ibrahimovic and Iheanacho to both score in 90 minutes – 13/2

With United and City both firing on all cylinders this season, goals will certainly be on the cards this Saturday. If that’s the case, then Ibrahimovic and Iheanacho are likely to be in the mix, and that makes 13/2 a hugely attractive proposition. In fact, if you’re looking for slightly more value from this intriguing head-to-head, then one player to outscore the other could also be a solid bet. 2/1 says Ibrahimovic will reign supreme while 4/1 says his counterpart will bang in the most goals. Either way the odds make these wagers worth a punt.

Goal to be scored between the 86th minute and fulltime – 25/1

A Manchester derby at Old Trafford just wouldn’t be the same if there wasn’t some late drama. While the days of the Ferguson 94th minute winner might have gone, there’s no denying that United have a knack of stealing games at the death. Of course, nothing is certain in a game of this magnitude, but given United’s history of late goals there’s no reason this bet couldn’t materialise. Indeed, if you treat it as one of those small stake/high return propositions, then 25/1 is a price you should be more than willing to take.

Whichever way you slice it and however you ante-up, Manchester United vs. Manchester City looks set to be a barnstormer. Whether you take advantage of the bets outlined above or you visit Paddy Power for the latest live odds, there’s plenty of potential this weekend if you’re willing to look for it.

Can Middlesbrough Earn a Place in Football History?

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

When Middlesbrough Football Club’s men take to the pitch this weekend it won’t just be a potential three points on the line. Despite being relative minnows in the context of the Premier League, the Riverside team have enjoyed a fruitful start to the 2016/2017 football season and now they have a chance to go down in history.

For Boro, promotion from the Championship last season was a defining moment in the club’s history and Aitor Karanka’s side has a chance to add some more sparkle to their résumé with a victory over Crystal Palace.

With a win and two draws already under their belt, Middlesbrough are placed sixth in the Premier League’s three games. That sort of form means that Middlesbrough are already the most successful newly promoted side of the football season, but a win against Palace could take things a step further.

The Stats Favour Boro

According to the stats, a win on September 10 would make Middlesbrough the third most successful newly promoted Premier League side in history. What does that mean in reality? Well, in short, it means Middlesbrough are playing way beyond expectations so far this football season.

Of course, three points is clearly more important than a place in the history books, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with a little added incentive. In fact, a look through the current matrix of odds seems to suggest that Boro being on the cusp of something special has swayed the market. Bet365 and Unibet both have Boro as the 6/5 favourites, while BetVictor has as slightly better price at 13/10.

For those that like to rely on something more concrete than fate when they’re anteing up, it’s worth noting that Palace have only managed two League wins in 24 matches against Middlesbrough. Compounding that dismal record is the fact that Alan Pardew’s men have lost their opening trio of Premier League matches this season.

A Palace Win Could Raise a Few Smiles

Of course, we all know that football is a funny old game and you could be laughing all the way to the bank if Palace pull off an upset. Odds of 5/2 at Paddy Power and 13/5 at Betfred show some signs of value, while a slightly less lucrative 2/1 on a draw with William Hill appears to be something of a happy medium.

While the stats would suggest that Boro will clinch another three points on Saturday, there’s very little chance it will be a walkover. The pressure of a positive start can often hamper a newly promoted side and if this manifests itself over the weekend then Boro could quickly crumble. A single goal either way could easily determine the outcome of this game which makes Sky Bet’s markets an attractive proposition.

A Win Won’t Come Easy

8/11 on under 2.5 goals won’t pique the interests of many serious bettors, but 9/2 on a 1-0 Middlesbrough victory is certainly nothing to sniff at. Moreover, if you fancy the other side of the equation, a successful bet on a 1-0 victory for Palace will get a 13/2 return on your money, which by all accounts, appears to be one of the game’s best bets.

History might not be on Palace’s side, but a place in the history books could cause Boro to falter. Pressure can often turn strong sides into quivering wrecks, and if that happens on Saturday then Karanka’s men could find themselves in all sorts of trouble. However, if Middlesbrough’s players can block this fact out of their minds, another three points is certainly well within reach.

For more Middlesbrough vs. Crystal Palace betting odds, make sure you check out our top partner sites, including Sun Bets, today.

 

Friendly reminder – Get on John Carver!

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Well, what an interesting few days we’ve had. Remi Garde is now the long odds on favourite to become the new Newcastle manager (1/6!) after it was reported the Newcastle board had reached out to him. After doing a bit of digging around, it was reported when he left his previous job he said he wouldn’t consider work before the summer of 2015 for personal reasons.

Even if he did join before the January transfer window closes, could he actually get any business done, could he really improve the squad so they challenge for any titles or trophies this year? Doubtful. Mike Ashley doesn’t seem to want to plough money into the team willy nilly after some high profile flops.

This is all teeing it self up nicely for John Carver to remain as manager until the end of the season. Hell will freeze over before Newcastle get relegated, with sights lowered and exceptions low, Carver could waltz his way through the remainder of the season and get out unscathed, with a high profile Premiership management job under his belt.

Add to this what the great man Jose Mourniho said about Carver at the weekend:

He said to me, ‘if you keep playing like this you’ll get a five-year contract as Newcastle manager’,” Carver said. “It was nice. At the end of the game he said, ‘you deserve the job, you’re ready for it now. He said ‘I hope you get it’. We just laughed and he gave me another hug – he must have hugged me 10 times today.”

After doing some digging, BetVictor offer the same concession as Skybet, that should any caretaker manager take control of 10 or more fixtures, they’ll pay out on that person.

Bet victor are currently 12/1 on Carver, Skybet 8/1.

The way this is going and the fact no real progress has been made thus far with regards to an outside appointment, Carver is 1/3 of the way there for the concession payout.

Worth a punt.

PS. Carver is trading at under 10/1 on betfair, so the 12/1 on Bet Victor wont be around for long.

Pre Christmas Football Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Well, its that time of the year again. Next Thursday we’ll all be getting horrifically drunk while enjoying time with our families. For the avid sports fans among us, Christmas day is perfect for researching not only the boxing day football, but also the excellent racing. It’s the one day of the year where there is no betting activity (unless you like basketball that is!)

I’m going to put up my best bets, while focusing on just the one game, the “big” TV game on Saturday.

Manchester City v Crystal Palace.

Now, Aguero is out. The main man is out injured. In his absence City have started Dzeko and Jelovic and they’ve not had anywhere near the impact Aguero has had. That said, City have won their last 5 with a reasonable amount of ease. They haven’t been smashing the goals in with absence of Aguero, but they’ve been doing enough.

Palace on the other hand have drawn 3 of their last 4 games and have only won 1 game away from home all season. On their day they are a decent outfit who COULD beat anyone, but they’re just horribly inconsistent, as bar most of the teams in their situation.

So, on that note. We think City win, but 3/10 with Skybet isn’t much of  a price. We like the idea of this offer.

Purchase GTA 5 for Xbox One or PS4 for £45 and should City win you’ll get your money back. Act quick as this offer is for a limited time ever! Head over to DiscountIf.

Best bets:

Manchester City to win to nil 11/10 Skybet

Manchester City -2 Handicap 21/10 Skybet

Save the rest of your money to back Aston Villa to beat Swansea away from home on boxing day at 18/5 with Skybet 😉

 

Premiership Saturday 11th January Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Finally! The Premiership is back. No more of this FA Cup and Capital One Cup nonsense. There are questions to be answered this weekend with both West Ham and more importantly, Manchester United needing to bounce back as soon as possible. This article will focus on several games from a betting angle and briefly discuss each fixture.

The action kicks off at 12:45 with Hull vs Chelsea. How Hull could do with more points to edge further away from the relegation zone, we at BetCirca just cannot see that happening however! Chelsea, despite not playing the attractive football Jose is insisting they are, have more than enough quality to see off Hull in the early kick off. Currently 8/13 best price with Coral to win – however we prefer the look of Chelsea to win and both teams to score at 3/1 on William Hill! Chelsea have a leaky defence at the best of times.

Talk about potential 6 pointers! Cardiff vs West Ham IS a 6 pointer. No two ways about it. If Big Ole gets the better over Big Sam tomorrow his job could be very much under threat (even though he’s currently 1/5 to get the chop). Cardiff are rightly favourites for this but it’s a no bet game for us. Southampton vs West Brom is a similar sort of fixture. Southampton’s good start to the season has been forgotten after a string of bad results while newly appointed Pepe Mel has 2 days to get his West Brom team ready for another 6 pointer. We feel it’s too soon for Pepe Mel to make an impact – Southampton to win at 17/20 on BetVictor is the play.

Without wanting to sound like a broken record – Fulham vs Sunderland is another 6 pointer and we just don’t know which way this’ll go! Just when you expect Sunderland to get battered they pull a 2-1 win over Manchester Utd in the micky mouse cup. Fulham have enough strength to make a game of it. Not even going to attempt to decipher that fixture.

And now onto the final game of the day. Manchester United vs Swansea. If you’re like me and quite enjoy opposing Manchester United because they’re still priced up as champions you’ll be all over Swansea. At 6/1 i honestly wouldn’t put it passed the swans to win at Old Trafford yet again. The safest option here though is the draw no bet market at 19/5 on Bet Victor. Swansea win and you’re laughing – draw and no harm is done.

If you put our 3 selections into a treble you’ll get 35-1 on William Hill. Juicy.

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.