Tag: Tottenham

Chelsea set to seal Premiership title

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

There are two Premiership fixtures on Sunday and Chelsea have the chance to seal the title in the early kick-off at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues had to come back from a goal down to beat Leicester in midweek but they did so in some style. Goals from Drogba, Terry and Ramires put them on the verge of winning the title for the first time since 2010. A win over London rivals Crystal Palace will be enough to wrestle the prize away from Manchester City who have been left trailing since drawing level on points on New Year’s Day.

Chelsea have led the Premier League since the start of the season and have only been beaten twice. Defeats at Newcastle and Tottenham have been the only blips on an otherwise dominant campaign. They have come in for criticism in recent weeks for being boring but the league table does not lie and a thirteen point lead illustrates their superiority.

Jose Mourinho has been keen to keep his players focussed on the job in hand and he will not take the visitors lightly. A one-goal victory would be perfectly satisfactory, even if it does leave their supporters biting their nails for the closing minutes. The superb Hazard is likely to have Loic Remy ahead of him in attack but I am taking a punt on Nemanja Matic to score the winner. His capture was a masterstroke by Mourinho and he would be a very appropriate player to strike the championship winning goal.

If Chelsea have secured the title, there could be something of a cloud over Manchester City for the late kick-off at Tottenham. It will be a surprise if Manuel Pellegrini is still at the helm next season after a moderate campaign with no silverware. A top four spot looks virtually assured after Liverpool dropped further points at Hull so there isn’t any real pressure on City here.

Tottenham have a miserable record against City, most particularly Sergio Aguero who scored four goals in the reverse fixture. That game included four penalty awards but the result flattered City. This game should be entertaining and the sides can share the points at 2-2.

Tips

Chelsea 1 Crystal Palace 0 @6-1 Paddy Power

Nemanja Matic to score first @25-1 Paddy Power

Tottenham v Man City DRAW @11-4 Bet365

Tottenham 2 Man City 2 @13-1 BetVictor

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

Chelsea 8-1 for treble after League Cup victory

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Jose Mourinho again proved himself to be the master tactician as he out-foxed Mauricio Pochettino with Chelsea beating Spurs 2-0 in the League Cup final at Wembley.

Much of the pre-match build-up had focussed on the suspension to Nemanja Matic forcing Mourinho to re-think his midfield strategy. With Mikel injured, Mourinho turned to Kurt Zouma to play the holding role in midfield, primarily to negate the attacking threat posed by Christian Eriksen. Spurs had torn Chelsea apart in a 5-3 win at White Hart Lane on New Year’s Day but there was to be no repeat on Sunday.

Deflected goals in either half from John Terry and Kyle Walker (own-goal) gave the Blues a relatively comfortable victory in the pouring rain. Eriksen did strike the Chelsea cross-bar from a free-kick early on while the only real threat from Harry Kane was intercepted by a superb tackle from John Terry. Chelsea had chances to increase their lead through Hazard and Fabregas while Diego Costa was a persistent thorn in the side of Tottenham’s defence.

The earlier defeat of Man City at Liverpool by two goals to one had set up a perfect weekend for Chelsea. Two brilliant strikes from Henderson and Coutinho proved sufficient to dent City’s title hopes as they remain five points adrift of Chelsea having played a game more. The defeat ended a miserable week for Manuel Pellegrini’s side who had been fortunate to escape with only a 2-1 defeat at home to Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

City have been pushed out to 6-1 to win the Premiership and 66-1 to win the Champions League. Lionel Messi’s double-miss in the closing seconds has given City a slim hope of overturning the deficit in the return leg in a fortnight’s time but few expect them to do so.

Chelsea drew 1-1 in Paris against PSG and have the away goal advantage for the return leg. They will start that game as favourites but can expect a tough match against a very talented side. Paddy Power are offering odds of 8-1 against Chelsea going on to complete a treble of Capital One Cup, Premiership and Champions League. Their next fixture is a London derby at West Ham on Wednesday night while City should have little difficulty at home to Leicester. We will be previewing all of the midweek Premier League action on Betcirca.

League Cup Final Preview – Chelsea v Spurs

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The first domestic silverware of the season is decided on Sunday when Chelsea clash with London rivals Tottenham in the final of the Capital One Cup at Wembley.

Jose Mourinho led Chelsea to success in this competition back in 2004/05 before taking them to Premiership title glory. They go into the weekend with a five-point lead over champions Man City, although that gap could be reduced to two points this weekend. That won’t be a concern for Mourinho’s side on Sunday as they seek revenge for a painful 5-3 league defeat at White Hart Lane on New Year’s Day.

Much of the media spotlight has focussed on the enforced absence of Matic from this match after his red card against Burnley on Saturday. He was given a two-match ban and his natural replacement, Mikel, is currently injured. Ramires will almost certainly be asked to deputise in the holding role in midfield. Matic did play in that nightmare 5-3 defeat and Chelsea will have to defend a lot better on Sunday. Cahill and Terry were made to look woefully short of pace by Harry Kane who seems to carry Tottenham’s hopes on  his shoulders at present.

Mauricio Pochettino attempted to bluff his way into the next round of the Europa League by saving key players for this match. The plan back-fired in spectacular style and their season could be reduced to chasing an elusive top four spot once again if they lose on Sunday.

It is ironic that, in spite of all the money invested on new players, it is Kane that Spurs look to above all others. He will be under enormous pressure to perform this weekend and it would be no surprise to see him score yet again. If he is to justify the hype and wear the England number nine shirt for years to come, he will surely relish a Wembley Cup final. Unfortunately for him, the back-up crew can sometimes be found wanting. They were poor in midweek and were extremely fortunate to save a point at home to West Ham last weekend.

Kane could rock Chelsea with an early goal but I still expect Mourinho’s more experienced side to come back to win. They have plenty of potential goal scorers including Costa and Hazard and can edge to a 2-1 victory.

Best Bets

Chelsea to come from behind and draw or win @15-4 William Hill

Both teams to score @6-7 Unibet

Harry Kane to score first @7-1 Ladbrokes

Chelsea 2 Tottenham 1 @8-1 888Sport

Chelsea to win by one goal @29-10 BetVictor

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

Europa League Preview 19th February

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

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