Tag: Soccer tips

Euro 2016 – England v Lithuania Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Marco Reus struck early for Germany against Australia to give Betcirca followers a 5-point profit but what a great effort by the visitors to draw with the World Champions. Admittedly it was only a friendly but it continues a worrying run of form for the Germans since their famous win in Brazil.

Attention turns to England on Friday and their Euro 2016 qualifier against Lithuania. England have already got one foot in the next round with four wins out of four and are not likely to slip up here. Roy Hodgson has not been blighted by the Premiership managers on this occasion and should be able to field a strong side.

A stray bit of paper indicating that Harry Kane will lead the attack was enough for the media to go into a frenzy but it is hardly a surprise. With 29 goals in all competitions and a relatively easy home game, this is surely the ideal time to see if the Tottenham man can fulfil his potential on the International stage.

He has come a long way from being a fringe player at the start of the season and is now the first name scribbled on the team sheet at White Hart Lane. Bookmakers are apparently dreading goals from the Spurs man on Friday with 20-1 proving surprisingly popular for a Kane hat-trick. I’m not sure if he will accomplish that on his debut but there are probably worse bets than the 4-5 that he scores during 90 minutes.

Let’s not forget the great form shown by Wayne Rooney since he took over the captaincy. He is also on hand for any penalty awards that go England’s way so is also worth considering in the goals markets.

Lithuania have beaten San Marino and Estonia but were thrashed 4-0 by Switzerland and this could be one of those nights when England can bag a few goals. The odds on 5-0 and 6-0 make plenty of appeal and that would underline England’s dominance in the group.

England/England H-T/F-T @1.45 Sportsbet

Over 3.5 goals @8-5 888Sport

England 5 Lithuania 0 @17-1 BetVictor

England 6 Lithuania 0 @40-1 Coral

Kane to score and England win @10-11 Ladbrokes

Rooney to score and England win @8-11 Ladbrokes

England to score 4 or more goals @5-2 Coral

Premiership Preview – Saturday 21st March

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

As expected, the Premiership interest in the Champions League came to an end this week with Arsenal and Man City following Chelsea out of the exit door. Everton were thrashed last night to end their run in the Europa League so domestic football is all that remains for EPL fans.

Manchester City were fortunate to escape without an embarrassing score line in Barcelona, thanks largely to Joe Hart in goal. That defeat followed on the heels of an expensive defeat at Burnley in the Premiership and they need to start winning immediately if they are to have any hope of defending their title.

The knives are already out for Manuel Pellegrini as there seems no room for failure these days. They are at home to West Brom in the early kick-off and I expect Albion to give them a game. Odds of around 4-1 for a draw are tempting as City try to drag themselves back in touch with Chelsea. They are now looking over their shoulders at the chasing pack and another slip up on Saturday could see them drop to fourth this weekend.

Southampton’s season has faded slightly but they were still good enough to hold Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last week. A similar display would bring them three points at home to Burnley, although the Clarets will be buoyed by their win over City.

Dick Advocaat begins his short-term appointment at Sunderland with a trip to London to face West Ham. Sam Allardyce, linked with the Sunderland job for next season, has allowed his side to slump alarmingly in recent weeks. Even so, the Black Cats were so appalling against Aston Villa last week that it would be no surprise to see a home win.

Tim Sherwood has seemingly produced a miracle cure at Villa Park with his side scoring goals and winning. They could continue the trend at home to Swansea who lacked a cutting edge against Liverpool last week, eventually losing 1-0 to a fluke goal by Henderson. I was impressed with Arsenal against Monaco in midweek. What a shame that they did not play half as well at home. Their Champions League may be over for another year but they are challenging City for second place and I can’t see them slipping up at Newcastle.

Tottenham were awful against Man United in the first half last week and need to bounce back at home to Leicester while Stoke v Crystal Palace has “draw” written all over it.

Man City v West Brom DRAW @19-4 Bet365

Aston Villa to beat Swansea @6-4 Bet365

Arsenal to beat Newcastle @8-13 Paddy Power

Southampton to beat Burnley by 1 goal @27-10 BetVictor

Stoke v Crystal Palace DRAW @23-10 Bet365

Tottenham to beat Leicester @3-5 Bet365

West Ham to beat Sunderland @9-10 BetVictor

Europa League – Dynamo Kiev v Everton Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Who would have thought that Everton would be the last surviving Premiership club in Europe this season? Sadly, that is the case as The Toffees face Dynamo Kiev of Ukraine in their second leg Europa League tie on Thursday.

Credit to Arsenal for dominating their second leg tie in Monaco but they couldn’t quite pull off the 3-0 win needed to keep alive their Champions League hopes. Manchester City were outclassed for a second time by Barcelona, although it is fair to say that the draw was not kind to them. Everton are no certainties to keep the flag flying in Europe after fighting back for a 2-1 win at Goodison Park last week.

Romelu Lukaku has not been that consistent this season but he was on his best form that night. The Kiev defence didn’t seem to know how to deal with his battering-ram approach, although the decisive goal came from a spot-kick. Lukaku seems to have assumed the role of penalty-taker ahead of Leighton Baines and that is something to bear in mind in the goal scorer markets.

On the domestic front, Everton have been woeful this season and a weekend victory over Newcastle was greeted with great relief by the home fans. Life is bad enough for Evertonians with Liverpool surging up the table without facing the spectre of relegation. The scenario seems unlikely now, although the Toffees still need to gather a few more points to be guaranteed safety.

Their involvement in Europe has been cited as a reason for some of their disappointing league performances and that may well be the case. Martinez has certainly adopted a positive approach to a competition that has been given scant respect by other sides. If they can get past Kiev on Thursday, they are into the last eight and a Cup final would mark a major achievement for Everton. David Moyes kept them in the top half of the table but never managed to secure a trophy in his long tenure.

Everton have been impressive on their travels, particularly at Young Boys where Lukaku bagged a hat-trick. The Belgian International has now scored seven goals in his last seven games and looks worth a bet to help the Toffees keep Premiership interest alive in Europe, for a little longer at least.

Everton to win @14-5 BetVictor

Romelu Lukaku to score at any time @11-4 Betway

Champions League – Monaco v Arsenal Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Things are looking ominous for British teams in the Champions League this season. Chelsea were knocked out last week by PSG following a tetchy 2-2 draw after extra-time. The Blues had drawn 1-1 in Paris but were eliminated on the away goals rule. Arsenal and Man City both lost their home legs and need to produce something special to extend their interest in the competition.

Arsenal face Monaco on Tuesday night needing to overturn a 3-1 deficit after a disastrous first leg at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners were guilty of some woeful defending and were duly punished by a well-organised Monaco side. That leaves Arsenal having to score three times against a team that qualified with the best defensive record in the competition. They only conceded one goal in three home games in winning their group.

Although Arsenal have become a regular fixture at this stage of the tournament, they are facing elimination before the quarter-finals for the fifth consecutive season. Arsene Wenger has been quick to blow his own trumpet about their record in the competition but there is a growing frustration at their inability to go deep into the competition.

The Gunners have faced such adversity in the past and are capable of putting up a brave fight. They won 2-0 in Bayern Munich after losing the home tie 3-1. It was not enough to keep them in the competition and I fear that they will face a similar result on Tuesday. Just one goal from Monaco will effectively kill-off any lingering hopes that Arsenal may have and a 2-1 away win seems a real possibility.

Arsenal have been in fine form in the league and are now just one point behind champions Manchester City in third place. They recently stunned City with a victory and have also beaten Manchester United. Monaco are unbeaten in their last 16 at the Stade Louis II but they face a tricky tactical dilemma. The natural tendency is to try to hold what you have and that could give Arsenal a chance to forge a victory.

Tuesday’s other tie sees Atletico Madrid welcome Bayer Leverkusen to Spain with the Germans having won the first leg 1-0. Atletico could be left to rue the failure to score an away goal and go into this game with only one win in six games. Their patchy recent form almost mirrors that of Chelsea who came unstuck last week. Diego Simeone’s team will be without Diego Godin and Thiago Mendes through suspension while Leverkusen are only a roll with five consecutive wins. If Leverkusen poach a goal, this is going to be really difficult for the home side.

Arsenal to win @11-8 Totesport

Monaco 1 Arsenal 2 @9-1 Paddy Power

Atletico Madrid to win @8-11 Bet365

Champions League – Porto and Real to progress

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The Champions League returns this week with the first four quarter-finalists to be decided. The match of the week looks to be the clash at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and PSG on Wednesday night with the tie delicately poised at 1-1. We will be previewing that game in detail tomorrow.

Tuesday night sees Porto welcome Basel to Portugal with the tie also level at 1-1 after the first leg. The home side are unbeaten in the competition this season and finished top of Group H.  They have not lost any of their last eight home games in Europe and are bidding to reach the last eight for the first time since 2008/09.

They have won six of their last seven matches in all competitions and have not conceded a goal in five league matches. Basel scraped through to the last sixteen by knocking out Liverpool on matchday six but finished 11 points behind Real Madrid in their group. They have only been to the knockout stages once before where they were thrashed 8-0 on aggregate by Bayern Munich. It’s difficult to see anything other than a home win for Porto, probably without reply.

The other tie sees Real Madrid defending a 2-0 lead at home to Schalke. They should have few problems reaching the last eight for the fifth consecutive season as they try to become the first side to defend the trophy in the modern era.

Real put Schalke to the sword at the same stage last season, winning 9-2 on aggregate with a 6-1 victory at the Bernabeau. The German side have improved under new coach Roberto di Matteo but face an impossible task trying to rescue the tie. Ronaldo scored four against Schalke last year and scored in the first leg so it is no surprise to see him short in the goal scorer markets here.

Schalke edged through courtesy of a goal from substitute Max Meyer against Maribor in their final group match. They recorded their first victory in five league games last weekend but this may be an exercise in damage limitation for the visitors. Carlo Ancelotti’s men can afford to be patient and pick them off in the second period.

Tips

Ronaldo to score and Real Madrid win @8-13 Paddy Power

Real v Schalke: Over 2.5 goals scored @4-9 Betfair

Porto to beat Basel to nil @6-5 William Hill

Premier League Preview 4th March

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

There are some cracking Premier League matches lined up for Wednesday night as Chelsea and Man City continue their chase for the title.

The Blues were given some valuable breathing space by City’s 2-1 defeat at Anfield on Sunday but will need to be at their best to take three points at West Ham. Sam Allardyce usually has a trick or two up his sleeve against the Blues and managed to enrage Jose Mourinho with a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge last season.

West Ham’s season is in danger of petering out but they will surely be up for a London derby. Oscar only played a few minutes as substitute in the Cup final on Sunday and he could be worth a bet to score the opener in a narrow win for Chelsea.

City are not exactly in a slump after losing to Barcelona and Liverpool and it is worth remembering that they scored nine in their previous two matches. Normal service should be resumed at the expense of Leicester City at the Etihad. The bookmakers aren’t giving much away here but Sergio Aguero could be worth a look in the goal scorer markets.

BTSport are at St James’s Park to see Newcastle play Man United, traditionally a fixture that brings plenty of goals. United have made steady if not spectacular progress under Louis van Gaal and can just edge this one. You are not going to get rich by backing Liverpool to beat Burnley following their impressive win over City on Sunday. The Clarets usually put up a brave fight and may give Reds’ supporters a few nervy moments.

If there is to be an upset on Wednesday it could come at White Hart Lane. Mauricio Pochettino looked a thoroughly miserable figure in the Wembley rain as he saw his side crash out of a second Cup competition within the space of a few days. He will doubtless ring the changes for the visit of Swansea but may find it difficult to motivate his dishevelled troops. The Swans look worth a bet to sneak a victory with 1-0 being generously priced.

Arsenal bounced back from their embarrassing defeat against Monaco with a comfortable 2-0 win over Everton. They now face struggling QPR and should come away with all three points. Stoke play Everton in the night’s remaining fixture. The Toffees are proving impossible to predict at present, following their impressive Europa League form with a poor display at Arsenal. Stoke have a way of grinding out the results lately and will fancy their chances of another three points here.

Sergio Aguero to score two or more @7-2 Boyle Sports

Man United to win by one goal @11-4 Skybet

Santi Cazorla scores and Arsenal win @100-30 Paddy Power

Stoke 1 Everton 0 @13-2 Bet365

Tottenham 0 Swansea 1 @15-1 BetVictor

Swansea to beat Tottenham @9-2 Totesport

Oscar to score and Chelsea win @4-1 Paddy Power

Liverpool to win by one goal @14-5 BetVictor