Tag: Soccer tips

Premier League Preview 3rd March

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Manchester City’s defeat at Liverpool on Sunday has shifted the balance firmly in favour of Chelsea in the Premier League title race. Bookmakers have pushed City out to 7-1 to retain the title but there is plenty of time for further twists and turns along the way.

The top teams are in action on Wednesday night with City having the much easier task at home to Leicester while the Blues travel to West Ham. Tuesday night’s action largely concerns the other end of the table with two relegation scraps at Aston Villa and Hull. If Tim Sherwood had any doubt about the task he faces at Villa Park, their seventh successive defeat at the weekend will have brought the message home.

There have been some remarkable stats in the Premier League this season, one of which is the incredible lack of goals from Villa. They have scored a miserly 13 goals all season which is less than half of the total managed by QPR, ahead of them on goal difference at present. Christian Benteke has looked a pale shadow of his former self since returning from injury and they desperately need to find a goal from somewhere.

They face a West Brom side that are on a great run of form since Tony Pulis took over. A 1-0 win over Southampton on Saturday hoisted them eight points clear of the drop zone. They may be without Saido Berahino on Tuesday but could still be good enough to take all three points. If you fancy a long shot to open the scoring, defender Joleon Lescott has scored more goals against Villa than any other side in his career.

The Hull v Sunderland game does not exactly scream goals either with Gus Poyet’s side having failed to hit the target in four matches. Hull grabbed vital points against Villa and QPR and could have enough quality to do the same to the Black Cats.

The wheels have come off a bit at Southampton in recent weeks and a top four finish is starting to look like a pipedream. It was very entertaining while it lasted but they too are struggling to hit the back of the net, Graziano Pelle in particular. They are at home to Crystal Palace who have been transformed since the arrival of Alan Pardew. Most worrying for Saints, Palace seem far better away than at home at present. They look overpriced at around 4-1.

West Brom to beat Aston Villa @21-10 Bet365

Joleon Lescott to score first @33-1 Bet365

Aston Villa 0 West Brom 1 @7-1 BetVictor

Hull to beat Sunderland @23-20 Ladbrokes

Hull 1 Sunderland 0 @6-1 BetVictor

Crystal Palace to beat Southampton @19-4 BetVictor

Southampton 0 Crystal Palace 1 @13-1 BetVictor

Champions League Preview 25th February

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Arsene Wenger will be relishing the prospect of meeting his old club Monaco in their first leg Champions League last 16 tie. The two sides clash at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night , the first time that they have ever met in European competition.

Wenger led Monaco to the French league title in 1988 during a seven-year spell in charge. Silverware may have been hard to come by at Arsenal in recent years but they have a good chance of reaching the last eight in the Champions League and are still defending the FA Cup which ended their long trophy drought last season.

The Gunners have failed to reach the last eight since beating Porto in 2009/10 but they are in good form in the Premiership and have a stronger squad than in previous years. There is healthy competition for most places, particularly up front since the return to fitness of Giroud and Walcott. The form of Sanchez and Cazorla has been key to Arsenal’s recent form and they look to have enough fire power to take a first leg lead.

Monaco won Group C with the best defensive record in the competition, conceding only one goal. They have also been in good form domestically with a defeat against Guingamp their first in nine games. The wise bet here may be to go for the Gunners to win by a single goal.

The other Champions League tie is between Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid. Leverkusen were knocked out comprehensively by PSG last year and have a poor record against Spanish opposition. They are currently only sixth in the Bundesliga and have been leaking goals in recent matches.

Spanish champions Atletico were beaten in the final by Real last season and have failed to keep pace with their rivals this season in La Liga. They did manage to beat them at home and away and are strong favourites to make it through to the last eight.

It will be interesting to see former Liverpool and Chelsea striker Fernando Torres back in action in this competition. All of his goals for the club have so far come in the Copa del Rey. His first spell with Atletico was back in 2004 to 2007 when the Champions League was just a pipedream.

Arsenal to win by 1 goal @9-4 Bet365

Atletico Madrid to win @31-20 BetVictor

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

Premiership Preview Feb 21st – 22nd

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

After last week’s FA Cup matches, the Premiership returns this weekend as Chelsea and Man City renew their chase for the title.

The Blues maintained a 7-point advantage thanks to Willian’s 89th minute winner against a stubborn Everton side last week. They are at home to struggling Burnley while City welcome Newcastle to the Etihad in the late kick-off. Chelsea will be eager to apply the pressure on Manuel Pellegrini’s side by stretching their advantage to ten points.

Chelsea fought out a 1-1 draw in Paris on Tuesday, albeit with a rather negative display. Diego Costa looked a bit rusty after his three-match ban for the stamping incident against Liverpool and will be looking to improve on his performance on Saturday. Burnley have been playing well without much reward in recent weeks. Even if they do break the Chelsea back line, the chances are that the Clarets will concede. The value may be in the goalscorer market with Juan Cuadrado impressing in his limited playing time so far. This could be the ideal platform for the Colombian to open his account for the Blues in a comfortable home win.

City should beat Newcastle, especially now that Sergio Aguero has rediscovered his shooting boots. Two goals against Stoke should have cleared away any cobwebs and he can hit the target again so ensure that City hang on to Chelsea’s coat tails.

There are two cracking games on Sunday with Tottenham facing West Ham and Southampton at home to Liverpool. The Hammers took a beating at West Brom in the Cup while Spurs spluttered to a 1-1 draw against Fiorentina in the Europa League. Sam Allardyce’s side have been suffering with injuries recently and could be on the receiving end of another hiding at White Hart Lane. Mauricio Pochettino tried to rest Harry Kane on Thursday, ironic considering he was a regular starter in Europe at the start of the season before forcing his way into the side. No prizes for imagination but Kane can score in another home win.

Liverpool have scraped a couple of nervous victories with goals from Mario Balotelli recently and it will be interesting to see whether he makes the line-up on Sunday. He did himself no favours with his insistence on jumping the queue to take the penalty. Southampton were unlucky not to get a result at Anfield at the start of the season and can make amends here.

Juan Cuadrado (Chelsea) to score at any time @9-4 Betfred

Chelsea 3 Burnley 1 @12-1 Bet365

Sergio Aguero (Man City) to score first @7-2 Betfair

Sergio Aguero to score 2 or more goals @19-5 Boylesports

Man City 4 Newcastle 2 @50-1 Betfred

Tottenham 3 West Ham 1 @14-1 Coral

Harry Kane (Spurs) to score first @7-2 Coral

Southampton to beat Liverpool at 8-5 Paddy Power

Europa League Preview 19th February

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After the opening matches in the last 16 of the Champions League, attention switches to the Europa League with Everton, Liverpool, Spurs and Celtic in action on Thursday.

24 teams have battled through the group stages to reach the last 32 and have now been joined by the Champions League “failures”. Chelsea won the trophy in 2013 after being eliminated at the group stage and Liverpool will try to emulate them this season.

Brendan Rodgers has got to prioritise the Premier League, FA Cup and this competition but there are excellent reasons to pursue all three. Their recent victory over Tottenham revived hopes of a top four finish while the Europa League winners now qualify for the Champions League. Having missed out on a Capital One Cup final, the club are intent on providing Steven Gerrard with a grandstand finish in the FA Cup.

They face Besiktas in the first leg at Anfield with the familiar figure of Demba Ba returning to the scene of his breakaway goal for Chelsea that all but ended Liverpool’s title charge last season. Besiktas finished above Tottenham in their group and should provide the Reds with a tough test, especially if Rodgers fields a weakened team. Daniel Sturridge is certain to be involved at some stage but I don’t expect this to be plain sailing for Liverpool.

Roberto Martinez has managed to end Everton’s miserable run of form in recent weeks, largely by playing defensive football. They came within moments of keeping a fourth consecutive clean sheet against Chelsea having shut out Liverpool. They will surely adopt a similar policy when they travel to Young Boys, a dangerous opponent with seven consecutive European wins. Their impressive group form included a 2-0 win against Napoli and they could prove too good for the Toffees with home advantage.

Tottenham are at home to Fiorentina, a side that includes Micah Richards, Alberto Aquilani and Mohamed Salah. The latter has already opened his account since joining the Italian side from Chelsea in January. They beat Sassuolo 3-1 on Saturday and will give Mauricio Pochettino’s side plenty to think about here. However, Fiorentina have only kept one clean sheet in twelve and Spurs have enough fire power to gain a first leg advantage.

Celtic face Roberto Mancini’s Inter Milan at Celtic Park and will need to grab a lead if they are to have any chance of progressing. They won their eighth successive match when beating St Johnstone on Saturday while Inter have also improved recently on the domestic front. They are still languishing in mid-table and struggled through the group phase but could have enough class to win away from home.

Young Boys to beat Everton @19-10 Totesport, Betfred

Inter Milan to beat Celtic @31-20 BetVictor

Liverpool v Besiktas DRAW @16-5 BetVictor

Tottenham to beat Fiorentina @5-4 Bet365

Real Madrid and Porto for Champions League double

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

There are two further Champions League matches on Wednesday night with Real Madrid away to Schalke and Basel at home to Bayern Munich. If you were expecting to see the Premiership teams in action after Chelsea on Tuesday, the matches are being dragged out over the next fortnight. Arsenal and Man City return to the fray next week.

Real Madrid thrashed Schalke 6-1 in the corresponding fixture last season with Ronaldo, Bale and Benzima helping themselves to two goals apiece. A 3-1 defeat in the return leg consigned Schalke to a 9-2 aggregate thrashing. Former Champions League winning manager Roberto Di Matteo is now at the helm for Schalke and they are expected to put up stronger resistance this time.

Di Matteo has brought in Matija Nastasić on loan from Manchester City and his side are now back in the top four in Germany. Summer signing Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has already scored nine goals in the Bundesliga but they were taken apart by Chelsea in the group stages and it is difficult to see them holding out for 90 minutes.

Swiss champions Basel meet Porto in the in Wednesday’s other match. Basel reached the last sixteen by holding out for a 1-1 draw at Liverpool in December, finishing second to Real Madrid in Group B. Basel beat Liverpool 1-0 at St. Jakob-Park and restricted Real to a single goal. That was only their second home defeat in their last eleven European home games.

Porto have not lost to a team from Switzerland since the Grasshopper Club in the 1980/81 UEFA Cup. They are unbeaten in the Champions League so far this season and finished five points clear at the top of Group H. They were held to a 2-2 draw at Shakhtar on matchday two but won their other away games at Athletic Club and FC Bate Borisov.

Porto won the competition in 2004 but have not gone beyond the semi-finals since. This is the seventh time that they have reached the last 16 since their victory and their league form suggests that they can go further this year. Porto have won ten of their last 13 matches with Colombian striker Jackson Martínez scoring 12 goals in his last 13 games. Both Porto and Real Madrid are capable of winning comfortably and the win double pays around 5-2.

Wednesday Double

Porto to beat Basel @29-20 BetVictor

Real Madrid to beat Schalke @4-9 BetVictor