Leg 1: Republic of Ireland
Leg 2: Sweden
Leg 3: England
Leg 4: Greece

Bet Type: Accumulator
Odds/Best Priced Firm: 4.53 with BetFred

Our four-timer this week isn’t going to make anyone rich any time soon, but we shouldn’t encounter too many problems landing this beauty!

We begin with our friends the Irish, who could potentially knock us out before we’ve even got a taste of Friday’s internationals. The Republic of Ireland travel to Armenia for their opening Group B clash, without manager Giovanni Trapattoni, but have been boosted by the news that Robbie Keane is fit enough to feature and is set to start up front alongside Kevin Doyle. Both Keane and Doyle haven’t had a fruitful start to the new season, with neither managing a goal and Keane rarely featuring at all. Their attentions now turn towards their country and getting the ROI back on map with qualification for Poland-UKraine 2012, but ‘The Boys in Green’ begin with a tricky trip away to Armenia, where the hosts can literally be anything on their day.

The absence of Damien Duff is a concern as Ireland now look more solid in midfield rather than boasting creativity, but in two reliable forwards Ireland should prosper providing their midfield keep it together and maintain the flow of possession through to their attacking assets. John O’Shea and Richard Dunne’s experience will serve Ireland well at the back, with their goal being guarded by an astute Shay Given, so theirs a chance here of Ireland sneaking a narrow away win, possibly by the slimmest of margins in a 1-0 win. We don’t care much about the final scoreline, just that Ireland arrive home in Dublin the victors!

Next up comes the improving Swede’s, who will be bitterely dissappointed that they didn’t qualify for South Africa during the summer after failing to qualify from a tough Group A which contained Denmark, Portugal and Hungary, who they’ll face on Friday in Solna. Since that disappointment however, Sweden have gone about rectifying their World Cup flaws by playing half-a-dozen friendly internationals against a variety of opponents. In six mixed encounters, Sweden played Italy, Oman, Wales, Bosnia, Belarus and Scotland, with only the Italians recording a win over Erik Hamren’s side.

On home soil Sweden recently beat Scotland 3-0 in a convincing win in all aspects, while before that they also beat a dangerous Bosnia side, so Swedish tails are rightly wagging ahead of their European campaign. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is their star player and his morale will have sky-rocketed after he completed his big-money move to the San Siro with AC Milan, and he will be eager to impress his new employers while on International duty. We watched their opponents, Hungary, against England and despite taking a second half lead before squandering their advantage, we didn’t see an awful lot that would frighten Sweden, who should have all the necessary ingredients to begin qualifying with aplomb.

Now England maybe still reeling following their disastrous World Cup, and this was clearly evident in a recent friendly with Hungary, where the Three Lions required a sublime brace from captain Steven Gerrard to spare their blushes and make an instant return to winning ways. However, that poor display came before the season commenced and with valuable miles now on the clocks of the players, we’re expecting nothing less than a performance of real quality, this despite missing key personnel in the form of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Peter Crouch. There is, though, plenty left in reserve for Fabio Capello, with the midfield boasting mass amount of creativity, guile and craft while we all know what Rooney can do when in the mood – The latter ended his lengtyh scoring drought just before the international break with Manchester United and the Bulgarians could be the unlucky opponent where Rooney locates his swagger and confidence in front of goal.

The Greek’s are a weird sort; never nice to look at but always thereabouts these days when it comes to making an appearance in the high profile tournaments. So often clinical and rarely overwhelming, Greece will fancy their chances of qualifying for another European Championship, eight years after they claimed the 2004 crown, in a Group F where only Croatia look a threat on paper. With that said, it’s pivotal that the Greek’s, who are under new management Otto Rehhagel’s resignation in the form of Portuguese manager Fernando Santos,  get off to a promising start and at least keep up with Croatia, who should collect all three points from their clash with Latvia.

Santos hasn’t made too many changes to the Greece team, which is good because the players will know each other well but they really did look poor when striding forward during the summer’s finals and something urgently needs to change from that point of view. And it should, with the Portuguese renowned for playing technical football with a bit of flair. It will take them a while before they really get in the groove but we’re hoping to see some significant signs of forward improvement from Greece.

Belgium V Germany

Friday, September 3rd – 19:45 GMT (LIVE STREAMING via Bet365)
EURO 2012 Qualifier, Group A

This young and fresh German team fulfilled their potential earlier than expected when reaching the semi-finals at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, but coach Joachim Lowe claims there is still plenty more to come from a side which looks every bit a champion in the making on World Cup form.

Unless you were an avid follower of the German Bundesliga, Germany’s 23-man party which took to South Africa during June/July boasted much of the unknown about it, with household names few and far between and the majority players for the future. However, in reaching their peak so early on, the expectation levels around the world are rightly huge for this talented German team, and many will fancy their chances in Poland-Ukraine for the 2012 European Championships should they qualify from Group A.

Germany are 6/1 with Ladbrokes to go one better than their semi-final appearance in South Africa by progressing to the EURO 2012 final before lifting the trophy for a record fourth time, but must first ensure the teams in Group A – Turkey, Austria, Belgium, Kazakhstan & Azerbaijan – don’t cause them too many problems en route to qualification for the finals in just under two years time.

The big news from Germany this week was on the captain debate, as Michael Ballack’s ankle injury ruled him out of the summer’s final and Joachim Lowe handed experienced full-back Philipp Lahm the captains arm band. Speculation back home in Germany was that Lahm would continue as captain of the back of a promising World Cup bid, but that theory was soon squashed by coach Lowe, who insisted that Michael Ballack, now of Bayer Leverkusen after moving back to Germany as a free agent following Chelsea’s refusal to offer the German stalwart a new contract, would remain as German skipper with Philipp Lahm vice-captain.

Ballack wasn’t included in Lowe’s 23-man squad for their upcoming EURO qualifiers with Belgium and Azerbaijan meaning Lahm will continue to lead the team until Ballack return to full health.

Germany’s first qualifying game is against Belgium, who have gone off the boil in recent campaigns and didn’t get anywhere near to making the cut for South Africa. The Belgians also possess a terrible record against their neighbours, having lost the previous 14 meetings with their last victory over a German side coming way back in 1954.

Anything less than a winning start for Joachim Lowe’s men would be a genuine surprise, despite playing away in Belgium, and the Germans are 4/7 (1.57) to continue where they left off in South Africa, which was playing dazzling, at times breathtaking, football and also scoring plenty of goals. We don’t see Germany slipping up in Brussels and if your of the same opinion than I suggest you snap up their odds of 4/7 (1.67) available with most firms.

Match Odds:

Belgium – 6.50 VCbet
Draw – 4.20 bWin
Germany – 1.57 Bet365, Ladbrokes, PaddyPower

Matt’s Tip: Germany to WIN – 1.57 Bet365

San Marino V Holland

Friday, September 3rd – 19:45 GMT (LIVE STREAMING via Bet365)
EURO 2012 Qualifier, Group E

South Africa’s beaten finalists, Holland, begin their journey to what they hope will be another major final in the form of the European Championships in Poland & Ukraine in under two years time. Since suffering that bitter 1-0 loss to Spain in Johannesburg, Holland have been seen just the once, when drawing 1-1 in Ukraine, and did appear to be nursing a World Cup hangover. Somehow, Bert Van Marwijk need to lift his troops mentally in time for their EURO 2012 qualifiers, although the Dutch coach has been handed a generous gift in the form of San Marino for his teams first competitive assignment since the World Cup – A team ranked a bewildering 202 in the world, with only five countries in the world lower than San Marino the FIFA’s World Rankings.

It is understandable why San Marino are as poor as they are, although you have to give the players a great deal of credit simply for turning out for every game and giving 110%, as defeat after defeat is demoralising for the best of sides. And that has been the case for Europe’s smallest populated participant in these EURO qualifiers, with San Marino having never won a meaningfully game, certainly not a EURO qualifier, and managed to lose all ten of their 2010 World Cup qualifiers by an aggregate scoring of 47-1.

To say the writing is on the wall would be an understatement, with the bookies of the exact same opinion having priced the Dutch up as 1/100 shots, with Boylesports‘ quote of 125/1 springing a giggle out of myself as if they’re desperate to avoid taking bets on Holland and having to shell out on a couple of pounds to silly punters. To be brutally honest, that price should be ten times bigger considering the colossal gulf in class between the two sides.

There aren’t many markets involving this game worth mentioning, but the goalscoring area maybe where some minor value lye’s in a contest which is expected to be very one-sided. Van Marwijk will be without offensive duo Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie for the tranquil trip to Serravalle, San Marino, where the weather will be gorgeous atop of a half-filled Stadio Olimpico stadium; a fearsome name for a venue but the locals don’t do it justice I’m afraid. Eljero Elia is Robben’s likely deputy, but the role of striker, in a three pronged attack, still has a question mark surrounding it. In the wake of Van Persie’s recent withdrawal through injury, Van Markwijk has backwards by selecting Hamburg’s 34 year-old forward, Ruud Van Nistlerooy who, should he feature on Friday, would make his first appearance for Oranje for over two years.

However, considering Van Marwijk will now look forward, as well as the fact their opponents are roll em’ over San Marino, it is unlikely that the former Manchester United and Real Madrid will start proceedings, which means Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who will also ply his trade in the German Bundesliga in opposition to Nistlerooy, should be handed his 37th international cap despite not playing a massive amount of football recently. The former AC Milan flop has a pretty nifty record at international level, having scored 16 times although many have come against weak opposition, and he will appreciate a run out on Friday in a game where he will be expected to score six or seven, let alone the two we need.

Klass-Jan Huntelaar is 13/8 (2.62) with WilliamHill to score two goals in San Marino on Friday, which looks a snip considering the Marino defence is likely to be bombarded throughout. The same firm will be handing out odds of 5/1 on the same player bagging a hat-trick. We are all over both!

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Selections:

To Score 2 or More (Brace) – 13/8 (2.62) WilliamHill
To Score a Hat-Trick (3) – 5/1 WilliamHill

France V Belarus

Friday, September 3rd – 20:00 (LIVE on ESPN)
EURO 2012 Qualifier (Group D)

Since taking over the reign from Raymond Domenech, who left French football in turmoil, Laurent Blanc has been left with the tough task of restoring some pride to the French game following not only an abysmal performance at the latest FIFA World Cup in South Africa but also after the well speculated in-camp bust up between the management and players which resulted in Domenech’s stock as a manager dropping catastrophically and high profile members of the French team being suspended from national team affairs.

It will be some time before the footballing world forgets France’s embarrassing display in South Africa, with the reputation of the FFF – French Football Federation – currently on its knees. That could all change with an accomplished performance in the European qualifiers, and by that we mean a succession of impressive displays and not just a couple of opening wins over Belarus, whom they face in Paris on Friday, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. But it would be a start, a positive and significant step in the right direction for the French side who will be without Nicolas Anelka, Franck Ribery and Patrice Evra after they were suspended by the FFF, while Arsenal’s Samir Nasri, Panathinakos’ Djibril Ciss and Toulouse forward Andre-Pierre Gignac miss out through injury.

Of the 23 which travelled to South Africa as part of the French shambles, just nine remain as Laurent Blanc looks to inject his own style and feel on the French national team. He has already made the headlines back home by selecting four uncapped players for the two qualifiers with Belarus and Bosnia, with Kevin Gameiro (FC Lorient), Cederic Carraso (Bordeaux), Benoit Tremoulinas (Bordeaux) and Mamadou Sakho (PSG) all receiving an unexpected call from Blanc. It was also interesting to see Blanc call up two players seemingly cast aside by Domenech in Louis Saha and Karim Benzema, with the latter set to start against Belarus on Friday.

We think it’s fair to say that French football is no undergoing somewhat of a transitional period, but Laurent Blanc’s squad is still littered with quality so anything less than three points against Belarus at home would be a major shock. In defence they have two dangerous and creative wingers in Arsenal duo Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy, while Philippe Mexes robust manner should fill keeper Hugo Lloris with confidence. Abou Diaby didn’t really feature a great deal under the old regime but could be in line to start in that holding role, whilst the form of Florent Malouda for Chelsea will please coach Blanc, with the French lacking any sort of cutting edge in the final third in South Africa.

We aren’t expecting fireworks from the off, more along the lines of something clinical and decisive from Laurent Blanc’s new look French side. Belarus have been a tricky opponent down the years, a side with great ability on the floor and one never afraid to throw men forward into attacking moves. Bernd Strange’s players will try to capitalise on France’s current predicament and situation, but the French should have enough in their lock to see of the Belarusian challenge.

France are around 1/3 (1.36) to begin Laurent Blanc’s regime with a win, and they should, but those odds are far too slim for our liking. The team struggled in a recent friendly in Norway, when losing 2-1 in Blanc’s first game in charge, and we reckon it could be another close run thing as the French wheels slowing begin in motion.

France are 3.50 with SkyBet to WIN by just the 1 Goal – 4.00 with Bet365 to do so by 2 – while France to WIN whilst keeping a Clean Sheet can be had at odds of 1.91 with PaddyPower. All three interest us and are worth nibbling at.

Matt’s Selection:

France to WIN by 1 Goal – 3.50 SkyBet
(Or)
France to WIN by 2 Goals – 4.00 Bet365

France to WIN to NIL – 1.91 PaddyPower

Speculation surrounding the next permanent Aston Villa manager, following the departure of Martin O’Neill in August, has been rife but a huge spanner has been thrown into the works for potential suitors as Villa’s current caretaker manager, Kevin MacDonald, has publicly announced that he has told Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner that he wants to be considered for the post.

Kevin MacDonald has always been fairly prominent in the betting but had never confirmed whether he would actually like to be in contention for the Villa Park post. He has now made his intention perfectly clear and bookmakers around the country have reacted accordingly.

Just 24 hours ago MacDonald was available at around 3/1 to take over at the Villa helm on a more permanent basis, and the shrewd few which had their fivers on the caretaker will be laughing now as Coral’s quote of 2.87 is the best you’re going to get today.

MacDonald’s record at the Villa helm so far doesn’t read too bad: W2 D1 L2, although his cause wasn’t helped with the team’s exit from the UEFA Europa League following a 4-3 aggregate defeat to Austrian side Rapid Vienna.

The nearest competition seems to be with Sven Goran Eriksson and David Moyes, with both fitting Lerner’s specifications of the next manager boasting a great deal of Premiership calibre and knowledge of the English game – Although David Moyes is unlikely to swap Merseyside for Villa when his Everton side boast a greater array of talent than what is currently on offer at Villa Park. Which leaves Sven Goran Eriksson. The Swede somehow managers to be in the reckoning for almost every job, but Eriksson’s reputation had dithered in recent years and he no longer demands the respect of clubs like he used to.

You can currently get 6.00 on Sven Goran Eriksson being the next Aston Villa manager with VCbet, with Coral going the shortest at 3.50. David Moyes is a best price 15.00 with VCbet but it would seem every bookmaker has a different opinion on the Toffees manager, with Ladbrokes‘ price of 5.5 the shortest by some way, but the general consensus is roughly an 8.00 shout.

Outside of these two it really is slim pickings, but at the same time I don’t see either of the aforementioned being selected; Sven Goran Eriksson would take up the post but surely wouldn’t interest Villa, while I can’t see Moyes packing his bags at Everton to move to Villa Park. We’ve mentioned Alan Curbishley on several occasions before regarding other managerial posts, the Fulham one in particular, but no-one has taken a keen interest in the former Charlton and West Ham manager but yet he has a tonne of Premiership know-how and ticks just about every one of Randy Lerner’s boxes. SO at odds of 17.00 with Bet365 we feel Curbs is worth a shout, as is Gareth Southgate – A former Aston Villa player, former Premiership manager with Middlesbrough and a person the fans should take to is appointed. Southgate has been out of the job for what seems an eternity now, since being relived of his duties at The Riverside nearly a year ago now, and it’s about time he stopped boring us with his appearances on ITV1 and got his feet under the managerial table once again.

Gareth Southgate looks a sensational punt considering and, at odds of 23.00 at PaddyPower, is certainly worth a nibble. The fact he is so large is a concern as it probably means someone has heard a whisper that either he or the club isn’t interested, but worth a few pennies nevertheless.

Matt’s Tip: Gareth Southgate – 23.00 PaddyPower

Next Permanent Aston Villa Manager betting:

Kevin MacDonald – 2.87 Coral
Sven Goran Eriksson – 6.00 VCbet
David Moyes – 15.00 Bet365
Alan Curbishley – 17.00 Bet365
Gareth Southgate – 23.00 PaddyPower

I’ve come across some hypocritical managers in my time but new Inter Milan boss Rafael Benitez really does take the biscuit, or in his case the whole pack. It wasn’t long ago when Barcelona announced their concrete interest in signing Liverpool’s combative midfielder, Javier Macherano, only for Benitez to halt the Catalans’ pursuit by stamping an audcaious £50MIL price tag on the Argentine skipper. Mascherano’s qualities have always been well publicised through his high profile peformances for Liverpool, who were often playing at the highest level during his three-year spell with the Reds, and the defensive-midfielder has built up a formidable reputation as being one of the most destructive midfielders in the modern era; although whether any defensive-midfielder is actually worth the quoted £50MIL is up for debate.

A year later, during a period where Liverpool Football Club were going through one of their driest spells in terms of form, Mascherano’s value has suddenly dropped catastrophically, this despite Rafa being at the helm as the Reds endured their worst domestic and European campaign for years. Supposedly, in the eyes of a deluded Benitez anyway, Mascherano was no longer worth the original and ridiculous price quoted by Benitez of £50MIL, but now somewhere in the region of a misely £12MIL; reportedly what Inter MIlan offered for a player which had made 95 appearances for Liverpool since joining from West Ham and had become a fan favourite. If I was Liverpool I would have sent them a video message of Rafa’s interview twelve months earlier when he claimed Mascherano was worth half-a-hundred-million with the words ‘You were saying…’. Instead, Liverpool let Roy Hodgson go to town on the club by laughing hysterical at their offer, claiming it must have been some sort of joke – although Rafael Benitez being the brunt of a rare Roy Hodgson gaf maybe punishment enough, as well as the fact Barcelona actually stepped up with a serious offer with Mascherano later snapping up the opportunity to join the reigning Spanish champions instead of jumping ship to Benitez’s shaky Inter ship, with the Spaniard already losing his grasp on the UEFA Super Cup with a 2-0 loss in Monaco to Atletico Madrid.

The English Premier League has been underway for several weeks now, the German Bundesliga for a couple and the French, well, does anyone really care? The Italian Serie A and the Spanish La Liga only recently sprung into life, with Genoa kicking off the new Serie A season with a 1-0 win away at Udinese, and Athletico Bilbao mirroring Genoa’s start with a victory in Hercules by the same scoreline.

On Sunday, the day after the curtain raisers, the big guns begin their domestic campaigns, everyone that is Inter Milan who can still be found licking their wounds following their 2-0 defeat in Friday’s UEFA Super Cup to Atletico Madrid, who too won’t feature until next weekend. However, the likes of AC MIlan and Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid, will all be in action in a day where everyone involved will be desperate to begin the new season with a bang.

Real Mallorca V Real Madrid: Sunday, 29th August – 20:00 GMT (Sky Sports 1)

We begin with the team which missed out on the Primera crown last term by three points, Real Madrid. Pipped to the post by Barcelona, the Galacticos will want to start as they mean to go on by winning their opener. Of course, the introduction of Jose Mourinho as manager has undoubtedly led to Madrid receive plenty of support from punters in all competitions, but the La Liga is right at the top of their list of priorities this season, along with the UEFA Champions League. The latter competition especially is where Mourinho has shown his true talent as manager, lifting the prestigious and most sought after trophy in Europe aloft on two seperate occasions, doing so with FC Porto and more recently with Inter Milan, though he did fail to capture the trophy with Chelsea.

Mourinho’s summer captures included Benfica’s rising star, Angel Di Maria, Chelsea’s Ricardo Carvalho, whom played under the Portuguese maestro when with Chelsea, Pedro leon from Parma, a player Racing Santander had high hopes for in Sergio Canales; one of the stars in the recent U19 European Championships with Spain, and two players which shone for Germany during the summer FIFA World Cup in South Africa; Sami Khedira & Mesut Ozil.

Former Galacticos manager Mauricio Pellegrini had already brought together a host of accomplished stars but failed to get the best out of them. Mourinho has inherited the Argentine’s rich wealth of stars but has crucially injected some of his own unqiue style and feel by signing a host of stars to his liking, which means there is no excuse for failure should Real Madrid underachieve under Mourinho as the team did under Pellegrini.

The Special One begins his reign as Real Madrid manager officially in Mallorca, at venue where they won so convincingly last season when a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick was complimented by Gonzalo Higuain’s last strike in a 4-1 win. The home encounter also went the way of Madrid by a 2-0 scoreline, which leads us to beleive that with Mourinho bringing in his reinforcements over the summer and bolstring a squad which already boasted an embarrassment of riches, that there will only be two results; a Real Madrid victory and a hefty one at that.

We are all anticipating Mourinho selecting several debutants for Sunday’s clash against a team which finished an impressive fifth in La Liga last term, but the gulf in class between the two was 34 points, and the gap is expected to rise this season. That sizeable gap in quality should be apparent in tomorrow’s game although there’s little value to be had in Madrid’s quote of 1.44 with Boylesports. In fact, it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise in the world to see Madrid begin with a stutter, considering the liklihood of Mourinho fielding a mixture of players new and old, but the fact Mourinho hasn’t really reinforced a defence which was certainly suspect last season does lead us to believe that Mallorca may be in with a shout of at least getting on the scoresheet. After all, this is a home fixture for them, a game they are expected to do some attacking in despite the class of the players standing at the other end of the pitch.

Iker Casillas has so often been touted as one of the best goalkeepers in the world and on occasions he’s proven pundits right, but he’s not as reliable as he used to be, not the shot-stopper of old, and was so suspect for Spain during South Africa that some were even hinting at the possiblity of Casillas paving way for Pepe Reina, although they were more like whispers. Even so, Casillas isn’t being shown in his best light right now and with the Madrid defence looking far from world-class nor inpentrable, we think there is more than just a sniff of value in Mallorca spoiling Madrid’s chances of beginning the campaign with a clean sheet.

Real Mallorca are 1.57 with PaddyPower to get on the scoresheet tomorrow and spoil an immaculate start for Iker Casillas, but with Madrid almost certain to score at some stage considering Mourinho has a wealth of attacking options, you may as well take Coral’s odds of 1.83 on Both Teams to Score.

Serie A Picks:

Fiorentina – Napoli (Both Teams to Score – YES) – 1.80 Bet365

Parma to BEAT Brescia at home – 1.83 WilliamHill

La Liga Picks:

Real Zaragoza to WIN at Deportivo La Coruna – 3.75 WIlliamHill

Espanyol to BEAT Getafe – 2.20 SkyBet

Blackpool V Fulham – Saturday, 28th August (15:00 GMT)

A little piece of history will be made down at Bloomfield Road on Saturday, when Blackpool play host to the renowned poor travellers Fulham in the clubs first ever home Premier League fixture – Their first top flight home fixture since 1970.

The Tangerines made a sprightly start to the season with a resounding win over slow starters Wigan at the DW Stadium, but their aspirations of going on a point-spree were soon dashed as Arsenal provided manager Ian Holloway with an early dose of Premiership reality, not that the former Leicester City and Plymouth Argyle manager was under any illusions as to how difficult surviving in this league would be. Fans, though, well they were beginning to get a little ahead of themselves, although to some extent rightly so, and they should maintain their positive aurora ahead of their teams clash with a side unwillingly boasting one of the poorest away track records in Premier League history, in London outfit Fulham.

The Cottagers haven’t really escaped Gear 1 as of yet having drawn their opening two games of the season, but their draw last Sunday at home to Manchester United will have lifted their spirits ahead of a fixture which, just like their opposite numbers, they will eye up as a definite point-scoring opportunity.

Blackpool, despite not actually locating the back of Manuel Almunia’ goal, created a couple of decent openings at the Emirates last weekend, while they were all over Wigan at the DW on the opening day. Fulham, well they were slightly lethargic in their season opener when playing out a 0-0 stalemate with Bolton, but they improved immensely for the visits of the Red Devils and had created several glorious openings.

There are so many reasons as to why this fixture has goals written all over it starting with the fact both sides will consider this very much as a winnable encounter, but both these teams have the know-how and the courage to play some attacking football, with Blackpool in particular. Fulham’s Premier League class may edge them through this tricky fixture but Blackpool won’t go down without a fight, so Both Teams to Score at odds of 4/5 with BetFred looks a cracking bet.

Tottenham Hotspur V Wigan Athletic – Saturday, 28th August (15:00 GMT)

When a fixture contains an overwhelming favourite and a donkey, you don’t often find a great deal of value around. That certainly isn’t the case with our pal Peter Crouch who, by his own acclaim, can spot a bargain or two, just ask Monica Mint, the teenage hooker he bedded for a mere £900 – I’m sure him and John Terry will now have hours of endless conversations when the pair next HOOK up for England duty – Like advice for one another on where to find them, can I pay extra to bag one with a husband, that sort of material really.

I was massively impressed with The Sun’s headline after Tottenham’s hammering of Young Boys, a name so  wrong on so many levels, claiming Peter Crouch bagged a three-some following his hat-trick haul against the Swiss boys. Classy!

As Crouch himself would say; enough of the small talk and on to business… Tottenham play host to a leaky Wigan on Saturday in a game which surely promises another heavy loss for the travelling Latics, who’s fans deserve a knighthood for sticking with them through thick and think so far following an horrific start to the season. Chris Kirkland was England’s next top goalkeeper a couple of years ago but he committed international suicide when signing on the dotted line for Wigan Athletic from Liverpool. The Wigan defence has never been lined with glistening stars, I mean they had Titus Bramble on their books for Christ sake, but this is a current crop containing misfits strung together over the summer by a deluded and soon to be out of the job Spaniard. Roberto Martinez has drafted in Antolin Alcaraz and Steve Gohouri as some sort of weird, two left-footed centreback duo, two of the worst centre-half’s I think I’ve ever seen, to the point where Wigan fans are actually begging Titus Bramble to come back – Desperate times indeed.

Jermain Defoe is set to undergo an operation on a groin problem early next week but is expected to play some part on Saturday before jetting off for a month on the sidelines, but surely Harry won’t let three-star Peter Crouch sit on the bench for Saturday’s three-point banker with Wigan. Spurs have a striker bang in form with the lanky Crouch, a player determined to put his off-field drama to bed by nailing a few points for his team.

Wigan’s full-backs is an area of the field where the problems will start I’m afraid, as both Blackpool and Chelsea exploited those positions to huge affect. There’s no way Ronnie Stam, a name which really does flatter to deceive, and Maynor Figueroa will live with the pace, the trickery and agility of Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon, arguably the two best wingers in the Premier League right now along with Chelsea’s Florent Malouda. Both Bale and Lennon are going to have the time of their life’s out on the flanks on Saturday, hitting the byline with any fuss whatsoever and who will be waiting inside the Wigan penalty area to pounce, none other than the Green Giant himself, Peter Crouch.

Crouch is 4/1 with Bet365 to open Wigan’s floodgates tomorrow (First Goalscorer), while he’s EVENS with 888Sport to score at any point in proceedings. If there was such a bet as Peter Crouch to Score with a Header then we would have smothered it, but 888.sport, the king of novelty player bets, haven’t opened such a market for this fixture – Devastated!

NAP Accumulator: Everton, Hull City, Scunthorpe & Sheff Wed (All 4 to WIN) – 54/1 WilliamHill

Premiership Punt: Blackpool, Wolves – Newcastle DRAW, Man City & Everton – 56/1 Ladbrokes

All to Draw: Wolves – Newcastle, Leyton Orient – Exeter, Portsmouth – Cardiff, Lincoln – Crewe (4 Draws) – 123/1 PaddyPower

Both Teams to Score (Goals Galore): Blackpool – Fulham, Portsmouth – Cardiff, Bristol Rovers – Southampton, Port Vale – Torquay (4 Matches) – 9/1 BetFred
 

NPower Championship

Ipswich Town (5th) v Bristol City (21st)

Saturday 28th August 2010 – 3pm

Ipswich Town will be looking to record their first home win of the season when they host Bristol City at Portman Road on Saturday. The Tractor Boys have already won both of their away matches as Roy Keane’s side have got away to a great start in this new campaign.
They dismissed Gordon Strachan’s Middlesbrough on the opening day 3-1 at the Riverside, then drew with Premiership-relegated Burnley 1-1, and then last weekend won again on the road at Crystal Palace 2-1 to remain unbeaten in their first three.

Head-to-head, Ipswich Town have the wood over The Robins, winning six of their last ten meetings, with the last three fixtures between the two sides ending in draws.

It’s rumoured that Keane is restricted to loan signings, something which may become more prevalent in the near future for a lot of clubs now that the threat of administration has reared it’s ugly head at various clubs recently – but he’s secured the services of Wigan striker Jason Scotland on a season-long loan. If Scotland can replicate his Championship form that he achieved with Swansea City, Ipswich will be in a very strong position.

Bristol City have found the start of their new season a little traumatic with the sudden departure of new manager Steve Coppell early in the piece, and this has obviously not helped matters as their opening results suggest;  a 0-3 loss at home to promoted Millwall, a 1-1 draw at Doncaster Rovers, then a 3-3 draw against Barnsley (a game The Robins would surely have won with Coppell in charge?), and they find themselves one point above the relegation zone – but it’s ridiculous to mention relegation at this early stage.

Caretaker manager Keith Millen has made a couple of interesting signings recently though; Bournemouth striker Brett Pitman and former Ipswich Town hit-man Jon Stead have joined the west country outfit in a bid to turn around their fortunes.

And I’m sure these signings will have the desired effect, but will take time to bed down in the new style of play. It will also be interesting how Stead does against his former employers should he figure in Saturday’s squad.

The verdict:  I’m confident that Bristol City will quickly turn things around, but their new signings will need time to gel. I’m therefore backing Ipswich Town to get their first home win of the season.

Pick:  Ipswich Town @ 1.91 with Pinnacle Sports

Dagenham & Redbridge V Tranmere Rovers

Saturday, 28th August – 15:00 GMT
English League One

The new nPower League One season is still in its early doors but we already have a potential relegation six-pointer on our hands this weekend as Tranmere  travel down to Dagenham in a clash between two sides rooted to the bottom of the league table.

After gaining promotion to League One via the lottery of the play-off’s last season, the aim for Dagenham & Redbridge this term was to avoid relegation at all cost and slowly but surely establish themselves as a League One club. Back-to-back defeats has scuppered to their objective somewhat, beginning the season with 2-0 loss at Hillsbrough to Sheffield Wednesday – One of the fancied teams for promotion back to the Championship – before narrowly losing at Notts County, 1-0.

Tranmere have made a knack of fending off relegation despite several close-calls in recent seasons, and narrowly escaped the drop last term when finishing a point above relegated Gillingham. However, the signs are already mounting that another difficult campaign lye’s ahead for Rovers, who themselves have began slowly by picking up just one point from their opening three league fixtures, having played a game more than Dag & Red as well.

Funnily enough, though, Tranmere’s form is a reversal to that of Dagenham’s, who have suffered two early defeats but both have come on the road. Tranmere’s two defeats in three games have both come on home soil while they their only point thus far came away at Huddersfield in a game they weren’t expected to get anything from.

Tranmere are rapidly becoming League One’s red herring on current form, losing the games they should be getting a result from but picking up points in fixtures they seemingly had no hope of getting anything from. On the other side of the coin we have a Dagenham side which had been scoring goals for fun in League Two for the last couple of season but have yet to even find the target this season, but Saturday’s meeting with Tranmere will be their first fixture held on home soil and the Daggers are anticipating a sizeable turnout for Saturday’s game at Victoria Road, and with a loyal Dagenham following behind them, some may well fancy their chances of registering their first win of the season at a venue where they have found scoring goals a doddle in recent season.

However, our only reservation is that Paul Benson, Daggers’ top goalscorer last season, could be on his way out of the club after Dagenham accepted an offer from Charlton Athletic earlier in the week. Benson had a tidy scoring record at the club scoring 70 goals in 171 appearances, and his imminent departure has made us rethink our options with this fixture, as Benson really is a goal-getter at this level and without him there will be question marks over Dagenham’s ability to score goals. So, instead, Tranmere could worth chancing at delightful odds, putting their League One nous to good use by make it back-to-back away games without defeat – A nifty run for a club expected to struggle.

Tranmere Rovers are rated as a 5/2 (3.50) chance with SkyBet to overhaul the Daggers at Victoria Road, 6/4 DrawNoBet with PaddyPower and WilliamHill, but I’m siding with an air of caution and backing them to pick up a result of some sort – Rovers are 8/11 with Boylesports to Draw or Win (Double Chance)!

Matt’s Selections:

Tranmere Rovers Draw or Win (Double Chance) – 8/11 Boylesports (Main Bet)

Tranmere Rovers to WIN – 5/2 SkyBet
Tranmere Rovers DrawNoBet – 6/4 PaddyPower or WilliamHill