Tag: Wayne Rooney

International Soccer – Italy v England Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Although we landed five successful bets on the England v Lithuania match, we were left cursing as England failed to find one more goal to clinch our forecast 5-0 outcome. They now travel to Italy for a friendly International which should tell us more about the progress made by Roy Hodgson’s side in recent months.

Post-match quotes from Wayne Rooney suggesting that teams will start to fear England must be put down to over-enthusiasm from the skipper. I don’t think the Germans will be quaking in their boots just yet after a few comfortable victories against poor opposition. Germany have been spluttering themselves since Brazil and just about scrambled a draw at home to Australia while the likes of Brazil and Spain have plenty of problems of their own.

Italy beat England in the World Cup but showed a lack of adventure which ultimately cost them dear against Uruguay, albeit in a game marred by the Suarez biting incident. The Italians have a new coach and are going through a re-building phase so it should be fairly evenly matched. Had the game been at Wembley, you would fancy England to come out on top.

Of course, I have to mention Harry Kane as the hype machine has gone into overdrive after his debut goal. Hodgson will be under pressure to give the Tottenham striker his first full cap on Tuesday and that will provide him with valuable experience. I don’t like these friendly games much as a betting medium and a draw seems the safest option.

The pick of the evening’s International games has to be the clash between The Netherlands and Spain. The visitors will be spurred on by the prospect of revenge for that 5-1 thrashing in Brazil which effectively brought their World Cup dreams crashing down. They too are trying to rebuild and are likely to introduce some new players on Tuesday night.

Both sides struggled in their weekend Euro qualifiers, Spain scraping a 1-0 win over the Ukraine and the Netherlands rescuing a point in a 1-1 home draw with Turkey. The Dutch are without the influential Robben and Van Persie at present while Diego Costa is an absentee for Spain. I expect this game to be tight as well but Spain may just be good enough to grab the victory. The Netherlands are struggling under Guus Hiddink in his second spell with four defeats in seven games.

Italy v England DRAW @9-4 Ladbrokes

Italy 1 England 1 @11-2 William Hill

Spain to beat The Netherlands @6-4 Betfred

Netherlands 0 Spain 1 @8-1 Paddy Power

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 – Sunday 22nd March

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Manchester City finally managed to apply a bit of pressure to Premiership leaders Chelsea by beating ten-man West Brom 3-0 on Saturday. The gap is now three points but the Blues have two games in hand starting with a trip to struggling Hull City on Sunday.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho reports no serious injury concerns ahead of the match but Hull are without striker Nikija Jelavic. That could be a big blow to their hopes of avoiding the drop. Steve Bruce’s side are currently just three points above eighteenth placed Burnley. A win would put them level with Everton but they have struggled against the top sides this season. Tottenham, Southampton and Man City all won at the KC Stadium and Chelsea are odds-on to continue the sequence.

If there is some value to be found, it may be with Eden Hazard in the goal scorer markets. The brilliant Belgian has opened the scoring in three of the last four away games for the Blues. He is also the designated penalty-taker and Chelsea are long overdue a favourable award.

The big match of the day is the clash between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield. Both sides are in contention for a top four spot and automatic Champions League qualification. Liverpool really need a win to continue the momentum of their charge up the table and are the only unbeaten side in the Premiership in 2015.

United played well in the first half against Tottenham last week and raced into a 3-0 lead. Wayne Rooney was in fine form that day and will be hoping to end a run of nine games at Anfield without scoring. Louis van Gaal has been rather harshly treated in the media despite taking United into third place and a win here would be a massive result. Neither defence looked secure at the start of the season but they have tightened up a lot recently. It could be worth taking a punt on a 0-0 draw at around 9-1.

The final game of the day is at Loftus Road as QPR try to drag Everton into the relegation battle. The Toffees eased their fears with a comfortable win over Newcastle last weekend but were hammered in the Europa League on Thursday. This looks another tricky one to call and the draw makes most appeal at 5-2.

Liverpool v Man United DRAW @5-2 Bet365

Liverpool 0 Man United 0 @10-1 Coral

Eden Hazard to score first @6-1 Paddy Power

Eden Hazard to score and Chelsea win @11-4 Paddy Power

QPR v Everton DRAW @5-2 Boylesports

United revival to continue against Stoke

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Chelsea’s failure to beat Sunderland at the weekend has offered a glimmer of hope to those pursuing the Premiership leaders. The busy Christmas fixture list always plays a vital part in the title race and there are some interesting midweek fixtures to kick-off a hectic month.

Manchester United have climbed back up to fourth place after a run of three consecutive victories, the first time that they have achieved this since Louis van Gaal took over in the summer. They still have defensive problems but have plenty of options going forward. Angel Di Maria picked up a hamstring injury inside ten minutes against Hull on Saturday and will miss tonight’s clash with Stoke.

Wayne Rooney is enjoying one of the most consistent scoring spells of his career at present, seemingly revitalised by being awarded the captaincy at club and International level. Van Persie scored a vital goal to silence his critics and they also have Falcao waiting in the wings. Juan Mata has been completely overshadowed since the influx of new players in the summer but he has been showing signs of his best form recently and could be the key player on Tuesday. Take a chance on the former Chelsea man opening the scoring in a comfortable home win.

Liverpool scrambled a 1-0 win over Stoke on Saturday, although they were clinging on grimly in injury-time. Brendan Rodgers will re-instate with Steven Gerrard in the line-up at struggling Leicester. The Foxes were unlucky not to get a point at QPR in a match that saw an incredible 51 attempts on goal. I don’t expect tonight’s game to be anything like as entertaining and can see Liverpool sneaking another 1-0 victory.

One of the key stats tonight is the fact that QPR are yet to register a single point on their travels. That does not bode well for the visit to eighth-placed Swansea who have only lost once at home this season. Wilfried Bony has been leading their attack well and he can add to his tally of six goals in another poor away-day for Harry Redknapp’s men.

Newcastle’s revival hit the buffers at West Ham on Saturday, ending a run of five consecutive wins. Alan Pardew will be looking for an immediate response at Burnley, another side who have pulled their socks up recently. The home side are unbeaten in three games and their fans will make sure that there is a cup tie atmosphere at Turf Moor tonight. I can see this game ending in a draw, not a bad result for either side.

Burnley v Newcastle DRAW @23-10 Bet365

Leicester 0 Liverpool 1 @9-1 William Hill

Wilfried Bony to score and Swansea win @9-4 Betfred

Juan Mata to score first @7-1 Paddy Power

Wayne Rooney to score and Man United win @11-10 Paddy Power