Euro 2008 semi final special offers
As we near the closing stages of Euro 2008, Boylesports are still coming out with special offers - see below for the latest!
“Too Klose For Comfort” - Germany v Turkey
Euro 2008 Semi-Final, Wednesday 7.45pm - If Miroslav Klose scores the last goal of the game (90 mins play only), Boylesports will refund losing First/Last/Anytime Goalscorer, Correct score & Scorecast single bets on this match.
“Smart Arsh” - Russia v Spain
Euro 2008 Semi-Final, Thursday 7.45pm - If Andrei Arshavin scores either the first or last goal of the game (90 mins play only) Boylesports will refund losing First/Last/Anytime Goalscorer, Correct score & Scorecast single bets on this match.
Unfashionable Turks can upstage Croatia
Turkey’s second-half showing in the dramatic 3-2 win over the Czech Republic on Sunday showed they are the real deal. Fatih Terim’s men now face a classy Croatia side in the quarter-finals on Friday and soccer betting fanatics shouldn’t rule out another upset.
Turkey’s first two games were far from convincing, despite beating Switzerland 2-1 in their second clash, but on Sunday in Geneva Terim’s men came of age.
After a poor first half and trailing 1-0 at the interval Turkey went 2-0 behind against the run of play, but the Turks kept their composure and delivered when it mattered. Three goals in the final 15 minutes is no mean feat but Turkey were full value for the win after pinning the Czechs on the backfoot with crisp and accurate passing.
Turkey teams of the past would have lost their discipline at 2-0 down, just look at the debacle against Switzerland in the World Cup play-off in 2005 when a mass brawl erupted, but Terim seems to have instilled a strength and self-belief in his squad.
Croatia will be tough quarter-final opponents having racked up three straight wins en route to winning Group A, but they are not invincible and may well be surprised by Turkey’s techical ability.
Slaven Bilic’s men are many pundits’ dark horses for the tournament and they are the 2.04 favourites on Betfair to dispose of Turkey in 90 minutes.
But Turkey are a resilient bunch and will prove tricky opposition for a Croatia team which may now start to miss the goalscoring prowess of Eduardo.
Ivica Olic, Ivan Klasnic and Mladen Petric have all played up front for Croatia so far and although they work hard, especially Olic, none of the trio look top class.
Their midfield has been cruising through the tournament, while the back four have yet to be tested.
Turkey this time around have forward players with undoubted ability and Arda Turan, Tuncay Sanli and two-goal hero Nihat Kahveci can cause Croatia problems.
At 27.0 to win the title Turkey look decent value but the safer bet for football betting professionals is to back the Turks to qualify - the equivalent of a two-horse race - at a tasty-looking 2.8.
By Phil Tomlinson
This week on The Betting Blog
Well, Tiger has proved me well and truly wrong. It just shows what a truly great competitor he is, claiming victory at the US Open despite limping around 91 holes and clearly not playing as well as we know he can.
This week, Euro 2008 enters the knockout stages, with some attractive looking showdowns. There have been some slightly unexpected results in group games, which means some big names will be squaring up.
My two picks, Spain and Holland are both performing well, but Croatia might be worth a punt at this stage as well.
We’ll also preview the rugby at the weekend, with England’s much-changed side facing New Zealand in the second test. There are a few new names, and the bookies won’t know what to expect so there should be some opportunities for us.
Euro 2008 latest betting
Hopefully, that bet on Holland to go through will pay off nicely after their impressive performance against the World Champions.
Tonight sees my other tipped team in action as Spain take on Russia. The bet tonight is on Fernando Torres to score first, available at 9/2 with Bet365 and Ladbrokes.
An Anytime Goalscorer bet on Cesc Fabregas might also be worth a small investment as he looks to impress on the international stage - the best odds are 13/2 with Paddy Power.
Updated: Euro 2008 special offers
Despite being sadly bereft of any UK representatives, Euro 2008 will take centre stage this month and it’s time to adopt a team to follow. Perhaps Greece can do it again, and you’ll get good odds on that, but Germany are currently among the favourites unfortunately!
Here’s a run down of some special betting offers - the Boylesports one looks particularly attractive.
“A League of their Own”
If the last goal of any group stage game is scored by a Premier League player, Boylesports will refund losing single first, last & anytime goalscorer, correct score & scorecast bets on that particular match.
“Fallen at the Last”
If your team is beaten in the Euro 2008 Final, Boylesports will refund your losing win single stake on the tournament outright market.
If a player is shown a red card in any of the group matches, Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st/last goalscorer, correct score & scorecast singles on that match.
Euro 2008 - adopt a team
Europe is about to go football crazy once again as the continent-wide party resumes in Austria and Switzerland.
However, everyone knows it’s not quite all-inclusive, since none of the UK countries will be represented. That doesn’t stop it being a thrilling competition to follow and bet on, so it’s time to adopt a team to follow all the way through.
After the initial disappointment of England’s failure to qualify, we can start to see the up-side - we can choose from any of the competing teams, without being constrained by patriotism, and perhaps our side will actually lift the trophy rather than suffer a painful defeat in a quarter-final penalty shootout.
We have provided an overview of each competing nation and the best odds available to allow you to make up your mind.
Group A
The Czech Republic could be the beer-drinkers team of choice - a few pints of Staropramen and Budvar will go nicely whilst watching a team that ought to progress from the group stages. The Czechs are available at 22/1 with SkyBet.
If you are a Manchester United fan, Portugal could be the team for you and you’ll enjoy seeing Cristiano Ronaldo terrorising the hosts. He’s not the only one with a touch of flair in this side, which also features Deco and Ricardo Quaresma, and that should be enough to see them through. They are 7/1 with Boylesports.
Perhaps you would like to side with the co-hosts, Switzerland? They are notoriously uncontroversial, and that’s exactly why they might be the ideal team for the neutral! Personally, I can’t see them progressing too far, but if you fancy cheering them on, you’ll get odds of 33/1 with totesport.
If the inert Swiss aren’t your cup of tea, maybe you should take on the fiery Turks. Never far from the troublesome action, Turkey are bound to ruffle a few feathers and their team isn’t too bad either. You’ll get around 50/1 on Turkey with Paddy Power.
Group B
It gets a bit political in Group B as a number of central European neighbours square off against a backdrop of turbulent histories. If you are a glory supporter, Germany could be your adopted team as favourites at 4/1 with BetFred and Ladbrokes.
If you prefer a team slightly less straight-laced and more of a crowd favourite, the Austrian side might be for you. As co-hosts they will have a lot of support, but the lack of ability on the pitch probably won’t work in their favour - they are 150-1 outstiders with BetFred.
There may be one or two Polish fans living in the UK, so perhaps you’ll join forces with them as you watch the action. Poland probably won’t play the most exciting attacking football as their strategy seems to be based around defence, but they have a decent chance from emerging from their group - you can back them at 50-1 with Bet365.
Croatia make up a tough group, and although they mightn’t have too much support having sealed England’s fate in qualifying (or not), but the East Europeans could be the surprise team of the tournament. They normally score a few goals, and could be good value at 14/1 with totesport.
Group C
The group of death sees France, Italy, Holland and Romania vying for just two places, and the French will probably be many people’s adopted nation. They have a host of names well-known to followers of the Premiership as well as a guy that looks like a character from Road Trip. You know who I mean - back the French at 9/1 with Bet365.
World Champions Italy will probably fancy their chances should they escape from this group. The Italians have a reputation for fiery tempers, falling out with each other and most importantly beingalmost impenetrable in defence. They are 7/1 with Blue Square.
Holland are also in with a shout of lifting the cup, with the great Marco Van Basten at the helm. You won’t miss them in their bright orange strip, and they will have to play some decent football to reach the knock-out stages - as one of the less-fancied teams in the group, they might just surprise a few people at 7/1 with Coral.
If you are going to pick a team from Group C, will it really be Romania? Can they really emulate Greece’s efforts last time around and completely stun the football world? I doubt it to be honest, and the 50/1 with VCBet probably isn’t worth taking!
Group D
Are you a glory supporter? Well, Greece are the defending champions so why not back them? They will always be the underdogs, written off and ignored, but maybe just maybe Otto Rehhagel’s side can be kings of Europe again and make SkyBet regret their odds of 40/1.
Maybe you are a Chelsea fan and Russia is the team for you. You might win the affections of Roman Abramovich by donning the Russian colours, and you might be interested to see Guus Hiddink (Russia’s manager) in action in case he comes to Stamford Bridge one day. They are 28/1 with Extrabet, among others.
Sweden is always worth a look, and if they win it’s worth considering a move to a country that boasts 50 stunning blonde women to every 1 man (estimated). Henrik Larsson has returned to the squad and there are a few other familiar names such as Olof Mellberg and Zlatan Ibrahimovic - they are a relatively attractive 40/1 with William Hill.
Finally, and here’s my tip for the tournament, Spain - perennial underachievers like England, they probably won’t disappoint those looking for highly paid stars and appalling penalty displays. With Cesc Fabregas, David Vilaa and Fernando Torres in their ranks, this might just be their year - I’m sure I’ve heard that before, but that’s where my pesetas are going. 11/2 with Extrabet - come on!
If you don’t want to adopt a team, but are just looking for some betting value, get onto Betfair and back Holland - I reckon they’ll get through their group (remember it wasn’t long ago that Italy and France nearly didn’t qualify at all) and then you can lay them off again before the quarters.
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!
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