Tag: Mario Balotelli

Premiership Preview Feb 28th – March 1st

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

What a miserable week that was for British teams in Europe! Manchester City and Arsenal are on the ropes in the Champions League while Liverpool, Tottenham and Celtic all went out of the much-maligned Europa League. City really should be dead and buried but Lionel Messi’s incredible double miss left their hopes dangling by a thread. There was no such reprieve for Arsenal and they will need to produce something spectacular to get out the hole that they have dug for themselves against Monaco.

Premiership leaders Chelsea play Tottenham in Sunday’s Capital One Cup final as Jose Mourinho bids to win his first trophy since re-joining the Blues. It can hardly be called a drought after one season but they won’t have it easy having lost 5-3 against Spurs in the league this season. Mourinho’s side will also be keeping an eye on title rivals City who could cut their lead to just two points if they win at Liverpool on Sunday.

It was ironic that Mario Balotelli was substituted before the penalty shoot-out, one of the few things that the Italian is good for. Perhaps not the most inspired piece of management by Brendan Rodgers but he won’t care if they can beat City on Sunday. The Premiership title holders seemed to be back firing on all cylinders after scoring nine goals in two Premiership matches but they looked clueless against Barcelona. If in doubt, go for the draw seems the best policy.

That could apply to a number of games this weekend with the clash between Stoke and Hull and London derby between West Ham and Crystal Palace looking evenly matched. The Hammers have flattered only to deceive on a number of occasions in recent weeks and their failure to hold on to a 2-0 lead at Tottenham last week summed up their season.

Man United stumbled against Swansea but should get back on track at home to Sunderland. There is no sign yet of the miraculous form that took the Black Cats to safety a year ago, but it is still early days in the relegation battle. Everton could end up being the sole surviving British team in Europe and they travel to Arsenal who must be stunned by their Champions League defeat. Will the Gunners be able to resume normal service? 11-2 looks a big price for Everton.

High-flying Southampton were disappointing against Liverpool last weekend and could suffer a further blow at West Brom on Saturday. Albion are looking much better under Tony Pulis and 5-2 under-estimates their chances.

West Ham v Crystal Palace DRAW @5-2 Ladbrokes

Man United to beat Sunderland @2-5 Paddy Power

Stoke v Hull City DRAW @5-2 Totesport

West Brom to beat Southampton @5-2 BetBright

Liverpool v Man City DRAW @13-5 Bet365

Everton to beat Arsenal @11-2 William Hill

Europa League Preview February 26th

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Liverpool, Everton, Tottenham and Celtic are in action in the Europa League on Thursday as they bid for a place in the last sixteen. Although this competition is the poor relation of the Champions League, it can still provide plenty of entertainment as the Celtic versus Inter Milan tie illustrated last week.

Inter cruised into a 2-0 lead before Celtic hit back and a see-saw game ended 3-3. The Italians won’t be taking anything for granted in the second leg and look a solid bet to go through. Italian teams are famous for their ability to defend slender leads so it was surprising to see them ship three goals at Celtic Park. Argentine striker Rodrigo Palacio scored twice in the first leg and has been rested this week. He is worth supporting in the goalscorer markets.

Everton will be going through the motions when they host Young Boys with a 4-1 first leg lead. Romelu Lukaku scored a hat-trick in the reverse fixture but was unable to produce the same clinical finishing in the Premier League at the weekend as the Toffees scrambled a 2-2 draw at home to Leicester. They shouldn’t need him tonight as it is virtually a dead rubber and one to avoid, betting wise.

Liverpool still have work to do in Turkey against Besiktas with only Mario Balotelli’s controversial penalty to defend. The arrogant Italian grabbed all the headlines in a dour encounter at Anfield and it would be no surprise to see him heading for pastures new in the summer. Besiktas aren’t anything special but they are good enough to make Liverpool work hard for a place in the next round. The best bet may be Liverpool in the “draw – no bet” market.

Tottenham are level with Fiorentina after a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane. Mauricio Pochettino tried to rotate his squad for the first leg but ended up in no-man’s land with a poor result and his side being extremely fortunate to salvage a point against West Ham. He is now trying to save enough for Sunday’s Capital One Cup final against Chelsea and his team selection will tell us how serious he is about this competition.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see his plans blow up in his face with this match stretching to extra-time or even penalties. I think Spurs will go through but it may cost them at the weekend.

Liverpool to win DRAW NO BET @4-5 Coral

Inter Milan to beat Celtic @8-13 SkyBet

Rodrigo Palacio to score at any time @8-5 Paddy Power

Tottenham to qualify for last 16 @6-4 Bet365

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