Midweek International Football betting
With all domestic football now over, its time to turn our attention to the International scene. Unfortunately for the Rep. of Ireland and England qualification for Euro 2008 was beyond them so their friendlies this week will be in preparation for the World Cup 2010 qualifiers.
On Wednesday night, England will look to bounce back from their defeat to France last time out as their welcome the USA to Wembley. The American’s have included nine British-based players in their squad for the match whereas Fabio Capello has yet to confirm how many of his stars will feature after a long season.
For the Rep. of Ireland, new boss Giovanni Trapattoni will be looking for somewhat of an improved performance after their “mixed bag” display against Serbia when his Irish side take on Colombia at Craven Cottage on Thursday night.
Boylesports are offering a money-back special for these games - if a goal is scored in 2nd half injury time in either match, they will refund all losing first, last and anytime goalscorer bets and any scorecasts on that match.
Enjoy.
Greece primed for repeat showing
Greece shocked Europe four years ago when they lifted the European Championship title in Portugal and it seems they have been written off again this time around.
Much was made of the squad’s freshness in 2004, but it was coach Otto Rehhagel’s tactical genuis which turned Greece into an Italian-like well-oiled machine.
Rehhagel’s men carved out three consecutive 1-0 wins, from the quarter-final to the final, to land the trophy and with it a remarkable piece of history.
Half of the winning squad will be back to defend their title and once again they look well-rested ahead of the June kick-off in Salzburg against Sweden.
Greece only dropped five points in qualification and racked up seven clean sheets in their 12 games and they look primed to produce another dour, but effective, defensive display at the finals.
They should squeeze through their group, just as they did four years ago, as only Spain look to have the firepower to break down their dogged resistance.
Russia historically are poor travellers and Sweden never seem to work their way out of the initial phase of tournamnets.
Then the quarter-finals could see the Greeks paired with France or Italy, who look the pair to beat from Group C, but they will not be worried by that prospect - having disposed of the French at the same stage last time around. Italy may provide a sterner test in a game which I advise you to avoid watching at all costs unless you’ve re-mortgaged the house on a ‘no-goalscorer’ bet.
If they can edge through, the semi-finals and final will pit Greece with the cream of Europe. However they showed they have no respect for reputations last time around and with a water-tight rearguard to build on, the two frontmen Ioannis Amanatidis and Theofanis Gekas might just surprise one or two people.
Rehhagel is likely to switch to a 4-4-2 formation for the finals after employing a 4-3-3 style in qualification, but that won’t alter their work ethic and if you can get a price of around 33/1 on Betfair it will be worth trading before the tournament begins.
By Phil Tomlinson
Champions League final betting
It’s the one we’ve all been waiting for, the European creme de la creme, Chelsea versus Manchester United - in Moscow (why?).
Chelsea will be out to avenge the defeat in the Premiership, whilst Sir Alex’s men will be gunning for an impressive double. There is speculation that Cristiano Ronaldo will be leaving Manchester United for a record deal this summer, and who could blame the Reds for selling him at top dollar after a 41-goal season?
With that in mind, get over to Paddy Power - if Ronaldo scores in normal time, Paddy Power will refund ALL losing single pre-match Win-Draw-Win, Correct Score, 1st/last/anytime goalscorer and Half-time/Full-time market bets on this match.
I’ve gone for Chelsea 2-1, but who knows what will happen? Enjoy the game, and let us know where you’ve put your money.
FA Cup Final betting
It’s the cup final that no one would have predicted, but some think it’s for the best.
The last few cup finals have been fairly tedious affairs (except the Liverpool v West Ham thriller, obviously) and many people have said that it will make a change for the better.
The losing side hasn’t scored a goal in most of the recent dull affairs, but this year it could be a goalfest.
I am buying the Sporting Index spread at 2.4 goals. There’s hardly anything to lose if there are fewer goals, but potentially lots to win if it’s a 5-4 classic!
UEFA Cup Final preview from Paddy Power
Rangers will be the outsiders for their UEFA Cup Final clash against Zenit St Petersburg according to bookie Paddy Power.
Walter Smith’s men are 6/5 to lift the cup to Zenit’s 8/13 and 11/5 to have won the game in the regulation 90 minutes of normal time. However with more than 100,000 fans expected in Manchester it’s a huge night for the blue half of Glasgow and Paddy Power have a wide range of bets on the 3/1 quadruple hopefuls.
Despite the quadruple still being on Rangers have been criticised this season for playing negative football. Slightly bemused that a team who have seen off Lyon, Fiorentina, Sporting Lisbon and others this season might be criticised, Paddy Power are betting on how many goals Rangers score in 90 minutes with one goal being the favourite at 11/8.
Rangers will also be meeting a couple of old boys in the Final and Paddy Power are offering 11/1 that former Rangers captain Fernando Ricksen scores against his old team and 150/1 that Zenit’s manager Dick Advocaat watches the game wearing a kilt in a nod to his former club.
Rangers’ Rover’s Return
With the final taking place at The City of Manchester Stadium, home of Manchester City, Paddy Power are also betting on who will be the first to roll out the usual “I’m in Manchester” PR stunt and be pictured pulling a pint from behind the bar of the famous Rover’s Return. Rangers manager Walter Smith is the 3/1 favourite (the same price as winning the quadruple), The Gers’ most famous fan Sean Connery is 7/2 whilst Russia’s new President and Zenit St Petersburg supporter Dimitry Medvedev is the 20/1 outsider.
They are also offering a Money-Back Special - if Barry Ferguson scores in normal time Paddy Power will refund losing first/last goalscorer, correct score and scorecast bets in that match.
Super 14 Picks Round 13
Game 78: Hurricanes v Force: Hurricanes by 14
Game 79: Bulls v Brumbies: Bulls by 8
Game 80: Highlanders v Blues: Blues by 19
Game 81: Reds v Crusaders: Crusaders by 14
Game 82: Sharks v Cheetahs: Sharks by 16
Game 83: Lions v Chiefs: Chiefs by 21
Game 84: Stormers v Waratahs: Stormers by 6
Some good games in prospect this weekend, and only the last one looks slightly contentious - go for another accumulator with Bet365 and hope Game 84 goes our way!
Guinness Premiership nears the finale
In a way, it’s a shame that Gloucester and Bath are already guaranteed a semi-final berth - their showdown this weekend would have taken on much more importance.
As it is, Wasps and Sale have it all to play for, the former taking on lowly Leeds and almost assured of a place, the latter taking on London Irish at Edgeley Park.
Harlequins and Leicester are the only other teams with an outside chance of climbing into the last four - they play each other on Saturday and will need other results to go their way.
Leicester’s defeat to Newcastle, and then Wasps bonus point victory over the same team has slightly taken the sting out of the tail of the playoff race. Gloucester, Bath, Wasps and Sale should make it, and set up a fascinating knockout finale.
The final is on 31st May at Twickenham - end of season specialists Wasps, and consistently strong Gloucester are currently joint favourites (9/4 with Paddy Power).
This week on The Betting Blog
It’s another relatively quiet week in the sports betting world, although the football and rugby premierships are coming to an end and nothing is guaranteed just yet.
The Super 14 is also reaching the knockout stages and a number of teams are still in contention. We’ll be having a look at potential winners and losers in all three leagues and keeping an eye on where the value might be for a cheeky punt.
Let us know what you are betting on this week, and if there is anything else you’d like us to preview.
Have a good week all.
Super 14 Picks Round 12
Here are my picks for this weekend’s matches. I’m slightly late posting these, but I was pretty close on the first two.
Game 71: Crusaders v Sharks: Crusaders by 7
Game 72: Reds v Blues: Blues by 8
Game 73: Cheetahs v Highlanders: Highlanders by 5
Game 74: Hurricanes v Lions: Hurricanes by 22
Game 75: Force v Chiefs: Chiefs by 9
Game 76: Bulls v Waratahs: Waratahs by 12
Game 77: Stormers v Brumbies: Stormers by 6
Ronnie O’Sullivan v Stephen Hendry
This is a semi-final line-up that those at 888 could only have dreamed about. Hendry hasn’t won the World Championships since 1999, but has shown that class never fades at this years Crucible event.
Some say that Hendry is the greatest snooker player ever in terms of results and competitions won, and that O’Sullivan is the greatest snooker player ever in terms of natural talent.
This match is a mouth-watering prospect for snooker fans, with two greats of the game going head-to-head.
Ronnie is the favourite at 3/8 with Pinnacle, and rightly so after his impressive form thus far - his 147 this week was certainly something to behold.
However, I suggest backing Hendry on the handicap of +3.5 with Bet365 - we know he has the big match temperament, and he should push Ronnie all the way.
It’s worth having a look at Sporting Index as well if you can ‘bet in play’. They offer spreads on the number of points in each frame, and there is some money to be made on minority sports like this.
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