Tag: sports betting

Leicester v Man Utd: Foxes embroiled in relegation dog fight

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Leicester City welcome Manchester United to the King Power Stadium live on television on Sunday afternoon, desperate to get back to winning ways as they face up to the very real prospect of relegation.

Less than a year after their miraculous title win and despite taking the Champions League by storm and qualifying for the last 16, the Foxes’ defence of their Premier League crown has been nothing short of woeful. The club now sits just two points above the relegation zone and are currently as short as 7/2 with Bet365 to be relegated with 15 matches left to play.

Must win game for Foxes

On Tuesday evening, Leicester travelled to fellow relegation candidates Burnley and with a valuable point just moments away, Sam Vokes’ last minute strike, aided by his hand, snatched it away to suck the Foxes further into the mire.

Claudio Ranieri’s men have picked up just 21 points from 23 games this season with their away form a huge cause for concern to their manager and fans, with no wins on the road to date. Their home form has been nothing to write home about either with just five wins from 11 games. Sunday afternoon offers them another opportunity to improve that ratio whilst also improving their prospects of retaining their Premier League status.

United toiling in pursuit of top four finish

While Leicester battle the drop, United haven’t lost a single Premier League match since Chelsea thrashed them 4-0 at Stamford Bridge back in late October. Such a record usually indicates a club challenging for the title. But for Jose Mourinho and his players, the undefeated run has consisted of far too many draws, seven to be exact.

Now a daunting 14 points behind champions-elect Chelsea and four points outside of the Champions League places, United drew another blank on Wednesday evening when they failed to break down a stubborn Hull outfit with an inspired goalkeeper the difference between the two teams. United are now a massive 50/1 with Sky Bet to defy the odds and claim an unexpected 21st league title.

Failure to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition would represent a huge failure for Mourinho given the vast sums of money spent in the summer. Ladbrokes are more confident of United’s chances of a top four finish than their title hopes, though, quoting them as low as 11/8.

United favourites to extend Foxes’ woes

United go into this clash rightly proclaimed as favourites for victory, 8/11 with Paddy Power while Leicester, desperate for a reversal in fortunes are a somewhat tempting 9/2 with Bet365 to overcome the newly-announced wealthiest club in the world, according to Forbes magazine.

Not feeling a win on either side? You can get a decent 14/5 with BetVictor for United to once again draw a blank and Leicester to gain another point in their fight to avoid being only the second English club after Manchester City in the thirties to be relegated just a year after reaching their highest peak.

Fancy a flutter on first goalscorer? Jamie Vardy has failed to hit the heights of last season but is a cracking 17/2 with Paddy Power to strike first on Sunday, while United’s man of the season to date, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, is deemed more likely at 17/5 to notch that all-important first goal.

Super Bowl Favourites New England Face Huge Spread in Playoffs

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Just eight teams remain in the NFL playoffs and they are a mere two games away from reaching the Super Bowl, so it’s all getting excruciatingly tense Stateside. First up is an intriguing showdown between the Seahawks and the Falcons, before Super Bowl favourites the Patriots start their postseason campaign against the Texans.

Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons

Seattle made short work of the Lions in the Wildcard Round, routing them 26-6 in front of their home fans, but they face a much sterner test now. The Falcons finished the regular season with four wins in a row to go 11-5 and steal second seed spot ahead of the Seahawks, who ended up 10-5-1 after losing two of their final four regular season games. That means Atlanta have home field advantage, which could prove crucial here. These two teams met earlier in the season and it was a nail-biter as the Seahawks ran out 26-24 winners in Seattle in October. It is a source of great contention for the Falcons due to a pass interference call the referee missed when they were on a fourth down play late in the fourth. You would think that win would give the Seahawks confidence, but it is worth bearing in mind two things: on that day they had home field advantage and they had Earl Thomas. In Divisional Round they will have neither.

Thomas was a beast for the Seahawks this season. The Seattle safety limited Tom Brady and Drew Brees to just one touchdown pass combined over two games. The Seahawks defence only gave up seven touchdown passes in the 11 games he was on the field (albeit three of them were against Atlanta in that 26-24 win). Since his injury, they have lost three of seven and have not looked at all as solid. They are 3-4-1 on the road compared to 8-1 at home and it is hard to imagine them travelling all the way to Atlanta and getting the win. The best odds you can get on Atlanta are at around the 4/9 mark with Sky Bet, so for more value, back Atlanta -3.5 at 3/4 with Bet365.

Houston Texans at New England Patriots

The Pats have been devastating this season, qualifying for the playoffs with the best record in the league at 14-2. The Texans, less so. They limped into the playoffs as fourth seed on 9-7 with the same record as the Titans but qualified as they had a better record against comparative teams. They benefited from a lucky draw in the Wildcard round as they hosted an Oakland Raiders team deprived of their star quarterback and his understudy due to an injury crisis, and went through. They are the weakest team left in the playoffs and this is expected to be a complete mismatch.

The Pats are 7/4 favourites to win the Super Bowl, while the Texans are rank outsiders at 66/1. The bookmakers have completely given up on Houston: the Texans are a massive 10/1 to win this with Boylesports, while the Pats are as low as 1/20 but best priced at 1/12 with Bet Victor. There is no value there, but the point spread is the largest in 18 years of playoff games, as Vegas has made Houston 16-point underdogs. The teams met earlier in the season on Week 3, when New England won 27-0 with a third string quarterback. This time Brady will be in the team and the Texans will be crushed. New England have covered some massive spreads in recent weeks and they can get the job done here, so the evens Paddy Power is offering on the Patriots -15.5 looks a good bet.

Chelsea To Edge A Thriller Against The Champions

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PREMIER League leaders Chelsea travel to the champions Leicester this weekend, and the bookies are taking no chances on Antonio Conte’s side.

The Londoners are as short as 1.57 to win, which will be their eleventh win in the last 12, but even though they should get the three points, that is far too short a price for me to get involved with.

Leicester have made a very poor defence of their Premier League title this season and manager Claudio Ranieri has a big relegation battle on his hands, but the Italian will have his side well up for the visit of his former team, and this might be a lot closer than many are expecting.

At the weekend The Foxes celebrated a 2-1 FA Cup third round win at Everton and at home they’ve now just lost once in the last six matches boasting an impressive 4-2 win over Man City in that period; odds of 6.0 on the home side looks a spot of value.

Goals expected if history has its way

These two sides have already played twice this season and both previous meetings featured goals and over 2.5 goals in the match at 1.83 with William Hills and both team to score as a “yes” which is 1.91 with the same firm look the best bets in the match.

With goals looking highly likely for both sides and Chelsea already boasting two wins against their rivals this season, they should win the match and the best way to get with the Premier League title favourites is to get with them on some attractive correct-score plays.

Crucial match for Chelsea

It’s a must win for Chelsea with main title rivals Manchester United and Liverpool facing each other this weekend and I can see them edging a decent watch 3-1 which is a very tasty looking 15.0 with Bet365.

England striker Jamie Vardy is back in the Leicester side after missing out recently through suspension and he’s a general 9.00 to open the goalscoring against the Blues’.

It hasn’t been a great season for Vardy but it has been for Chelsea’s top goalscorer Diego Costa who is the top Premier League goalscorer at the moment with 14 goals and I really like the 4.00 on the Spaniard to open the goal scoring and the 1.91 on him to score at any time in the match.

Burnley vs. Southampton – Saints in a Turf War

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This weekend sees Southampton travel to the North to bounce back against a Burnley side who are as strong at home as they are so desperately poor away.

Coming back from the dead

December started and ended brutally for Claude Puel’s Southampton; the beginning of the month saw them crash out of their Europa league group, the end saw 3 consecutive league defeats in 7 days. Some are pointing to Southampton as an example of a victim of the packed Premier League Christmas scheduling, and it’s easy to sympathise with those claims. Fortune favours the bold, however, and Southampton will have to return to form immediately if they want to keep pace with their rivals for the Europa league spots.

The Saints won the corresponding fixture 3:1 in October, and the only other previous meeting between these two in the top flight was in the 2014/15 season, which saw both teams winning at home.

Puel has a few injuries to add to the general squad fatigue. The long-term absences of Austin, Pied and Targett are compounded by the doubt around McCarthy and Boufal, with Martina and Soares who potentially lack match fitness. They also have a midweek EFL Semi Final against Liverpool which could easily exacerbate their existing fitness problems.

A tale of two seasons

It is hard to think of another team in the Prem whose season can be so starkly divided as Burnley; their home form would put them sixth, having only dropped points in 4 games and have 7 home wins at Turf Moor, while their away form would put them bottom of the table, with 1 solitary point from 9 games. Currently 12th, Burnley are only one point behind Southampton, and a win on Saturday would see them leapfrog them by two points. Considering their poor away record, it’s a bit of a push to start thinking about Burnley competing for 7th place, but a victory here against an immediate rival could galvanise them into something truly surprising. A continuation of their great home form will be vital to consolidating or improving on their current position come May. They will go into this game looking for strategic points against a demoralised rival, confident of their ability to win.

In contrast to their opponents, Burnley’s festive fixtures proved fruitful, giving them 6 points from 9, including a 4:1 thumping of Sunderland and a spirited 2:1 defeat to Man City. Sean Dyche will certainly be thankful for a more forgiving schedule than Southampton, but his squad isn’t without injury concerns: Gudmundsson, Bamford and Arnfield are all definitely out, and there is concern for Flanagan and Boyd.

The value

Bookies are favouring Southampton for the win here, with Bet 365 having Southampton at 11/10, Burnley and Draw are both at 12/5. These odds seem pretty tasty, and with Burnley Double Chance at 3/4, going with the home side could be profitable, if a bit risky. Southampton is a very capable on their day, but considering Burnley’s home form, and the fact they have had a 7-day break (compared with Southampton’s 3 days) suggest that it might be worth going with the outsider.

Looking at the goals market, Under 2.5 goal is backed by the bookies, at 8/13 with Bet Victor. Southampton does statistically favour Under, and Burnley goes either way. However, Southampton’s last 5 games in all competitions have gone Over 2.5. I would definitely consider putting a small stake on Burnley to Win & Over 2.5.

Can Tottenham Maintain their Great Title Form?

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Tottenham fans simply cannot forget how they let the title slip last season. What made matters even worse was in how they were eventually overtaken by close neighbours Arsenal and finished third. Those wounds still run deep around White Hart Lane. Tottenham struggled to come to terms with playing at Wembley and were subsequently dumped out of the Champions League a few weeks ago.

Their form in the Premier League has been excellent. They currently have 42pts from 20 games and should that form continue until the end of the season, they will surely make the top four. Tottenham is currently 7pts behind leaders Chelsea. Their impressive 2-0 win against The Blues last week took some momentum out of the Chelsea title charge. It also dragged Spurs back into the race.

Tottenham Simply Must Win

If Tottenham really is going to contest the title race then they must surely beat West Brom at home. With a seven-point deficit to overcome, securing three points at home to middle of the table teams is a necessity. Tottenham has started 2017 with a bang. They thumped Watford 4-1 away and then recorded back-to-back 2-0 home victories against Chelsea and Aston Villa in the FA Cup.

West Brom on the other hand, is a very resilient team under Tony Pulis. They have also had an impressive first half to the season. With an impressive 29pts recorded so far, West Brom currently sits eighth in the table. They may have lost at home to Derby County in the FA Cup last weekend, but that won’t have bothered Tony Pulis too much.

Where are the Best Bets?

Despite Tottenham arguably having one of the best squads in the league, their odds in this match are prohibitive. William Hill offers the stand out odds of 4-11 for a Spurs home win. You can also get an attractive 10-1 from Ladbrokes for an away win for West Brom. While Tottenham may be in decent form, they have drawn a lot of games this season and especially during the opening twelve matches.

This means that the 9-2 offered by BetFred may tempt a few people should you predict a Tottenham slip up. The chances are that Tottenham will win but the value is thin at best with odds of 4-11. While the 10-1 from Ladbrokes for an away victory does seem tempting, you will lose your money a significant number of times placing bets like these given how well Tottenham are playing at the moment. The recommended bet here would be to back Tottenham while placing a quarter of your stake on the draw as a safeguard.

Can the Tigers tame the Toffees?

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Hull City vs Everton may not be a fixture to arouse the passion except if you come from Hull or Liverpool. However, there are a few interesting bets on offer and is the reason why we are previewing this game. Hull have had a tough season so far. They are clearly going to be one of the teams that will either get relegated or escape by the skin of their teeth. Losing Steve Bruce was a blow and they no longer look the same team without his guidance. Mike Phelan came in to steady the boat but his lack of managerial experience as a number one is proving to be costly.

Time to Make a Move

Hull dare not risk a gap developing at the bottom of the table. History tells us that teams that sit bottom of the league on New Years’ Day rarely survive. Hull City host Everton in what will be a vital festive programme for the Tigers. Everton has been inconsistent of late and the injury time loss to close rivals Liverpool didn’t help.

There are several interesting bets on offer that represent value. Firstly we can see odds of 19-5 from BetVictor for a Hull City victory. Everton has certainly been stronger than Hull this season. The key question is does that really convert to such poor odds for the home team in this fixture? To find odds of almost 4-1 for a home team to win a Premier League fixture is a rarity.

Everton is certainly well below the level of the top clubs and odds of 19-5 do seem like value. The problem with taking such a bet is that Hull is not playing well enough to win many games. You can also get odds of 13-5 on the draw with BetVictor which is another great value bet in our opinion.

Can Everton be backed for Value?

If there is value in backing Hull and the draw then you clearly cannot have it all ways. Something has to give. By sheer definition, backing Everton cannot be value. You can get odds of 4-5 for an Everton victory with Ladbrokes. Those odds are too short given the inconsistency of Everton’s season and the fact that they are the away team.

Even if Everton should prevail and take all three points, those odds are still too short. Betting is about finding the best value bets and not just identifying which team is likely to win. Mike Phelan must realise that his team clearly needs to push on after Christmas and start picking up regular points.

Hull will need to reach at least 35pts to have a realistic chance of surviving. Their current points per game total leave them short of that figure. If Mike Phelan cannot get an increased effort from his players then he could well be the next Premier League manager to get the sack.