Tag: Manchester City

Champions League Preview 24th February

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Chelsea managed to cling on to a 1-1 draw at PSG last week in the Champions League and it is now the turn of Premiership rivals Man City to re-start their European campaign.

City’s inexperience in Europe has cost them dearly in previous seasons but they managed to qualify from the group stages despite a miserable start to their campaign. Manuel Pellegrini will have emphasised the need for discipline to his players after City finished both legs of last season’s clash with Barcelona a man short.

A 5-0 win over Newcastle helped City close to within five points of Chelsea in the title race and will have given them the perfect tonic for Tuesday night’s game.  The return of Yaya Toure from the African Cup of Nations was a key factor in Saturday’s impressive victory but he is suspended from this match. They do at least have a fit front-line with Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko both on the mark against Newcastle and new signing Wilfried Bony waiting in the wings.

Barcelona are obviously not short of talent themselves with the daunting prospect of Messi, Neymar and Suarez in a side that has scored 22 goals in their last five away games. A shock 1-0 defeat to Malaga at the weekend dented their La Liga hopes but it was surely no more than a blip.

In Tuesday’s other game, Juventus meet Borussia Dortmund in Turin, a repeat of the 1997 UEFA Champions League final. Massimiliano Allegri’s team are unbeaten in ten home games in Europe and 45 in all competitions. Paul Pogba has been in outstanding form and they look a good bet to take a decisive advantage from the first leg.

Dortmund finished above Arsenal in Group D but got off to a terrible start in the Bundesliga. Two successive victories have helped them out of the relegation zone but it is hardly Champions League form.

There are plenty of special offers floating about on this one. Bet365 are a free in-play bet of up to £50 on the game for anyone betting pre-match. This is only available to customers in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

New customers to Betfair can have odds of 5-1 about a Barcelona victory or 9-1 if you fancy Man City to triumph in the first leg. This applies up to a maximum stake of £10. New Unibet customers can have 6-1 against a City victory up to £10.

Best Bet

Juventus to beat Dortmund @11-10 Paddy Power

Chelsea to maintain Premiership advantage

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Chelsea and Manchester City each face tricky opposition on Wednesday night in the Premier League. The London club moved seven points clear of the champions on Saturday courtesy of Branislav Ivanovic’s fine drive against Aston Villa. They now face Everton at Stamford Bridge as leading scorer Diego Costa sits out the final match of his suspension for the stamping incident against Liverpool last month.

Everton have not won at the Bridge in their last twenty visits and were beaten 6-3 in an extraordinary game at Goodison Park earlier in the season. Roberto Martinez’s team were hovering dangerously close to the drop zone before their victory over Crystal Palace recently. A dour 0-0 draw with Liverpool suggests that they have steadied the ship and should provide a tough test for Jose Mourinho’s side. If the Blues are to go on to be crowned champions, these are just the sort of games that they need to grind out a result. Ivanovic scored a vital goal against Liverpool prior to his strike against Villa and looks over-priced in the goals markets.

Manchester City have been poor recently and have only picked up three points in their last four league matches. Sergio Aguero is yet to hit the target since returning from his latest injury while you have to go back to September to find Edin Dzeko’s last goal. They travel to Stoke who are in great form at present. Mark Hughes had the satisfaction of inflicting a rare home defeat on Manuel Pellegrini’s side earlier in the season and his side can cause further problems on Wednesday.

How ironic to hear Sam Allardyce criticising Manchester United for their long-ball tactics at the weekend. This is Big Sam who was positively purring with delight after parking a claret and blue bus in front of goal against Chelsea last season and escaping with a point. The Hammers are a different side altogether this season and now travel to St Mary’s hoping to dent Southampton’s hopes of a top four spot. Both sides have been struggling in front of goal recently and this match could produce a stalemate.

United salvaged a point at West Ham and should have little trouble at home to seventeenth placed Burnley. Wayne Rooney started the season in great form but has not managed a shot on target in nearly seven hours of football this year. Fortunately for United, they have plenty of other attacking options with the unlikely figure of Fellaini providing them with an old-fashioned target man when the chips are down.

The other match that takes the eye on Wednesday is Crystal Palace at home to Newcastle. Alan Pardew will relish the prospect of moving within two points of his former club with a win here. The two previous fixtures between these teams produced eleven goals so it may worth taking a punt on a 3-2 win for the Eagles.

Chelsea to beat Everton by one goal @27-10 BetVictor

Branislav Ivanovic to score first @22-1 BetVictor

Branislav Ivanovic to score at any time @8-1 Betfred

Stoke v Man City DRAW @14-5 Betfair

Southampton 0 West Ham 0 @10-1 William Hill

Man United 3 Burnley 1 @12-1 Bet365

Crystal Palace 3 Newcastle 2 @40-1 Bet365

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 😉

 

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