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online sports betting news
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March 7th, 2010 / gabriel
Category: Betting Fixtures
February 21st, 2010 / gabriel
Category: Betting Fixtures
February 14th, 2010 / gabriel
Category: Betting Fixtures
December 19th, 2009 / Lee A Jackson
With the draws having been made for the World Cup 2010, the Champions League and the Europa League, we highlight some of the most enticing bets from a European football perspective.
1) Cristiano Ronaldo Champions League Top Scorer: 6/5 at Stan James.
Manchester United fans are probably tired of hearing about the Portuguese winger, but the undeniable truth is they miss him. It is worth getting some money down on him to be top scorer in the Champions League, simply because of who he is, and the fact that he is out in front at the moment. The extra bonus is that he players for Real Madrid, and they could go far in the competition. Even if you can pick this up as an each way bet, it is a good one to get behind. The chasing pack as it stands is pretty much the Chelsea duo of Drogba and Anelka.
Current Champions League Goal-scoring chart is:
Cristiano Ronaldo – 6 (Out in front and can easily stay there)
Michael Owen – 4 (Man Utd. Flattering, as he scored a hat trick in one game, and not a starting choice)
Milos Krasik – 4 (CSKA Moscow probably won’t get too deep in the competition)
Edin Dzeko – 4 (Wolfsburg – out)
Didier Drogba – 3 (the one most likely to catch Ronaldo)
Adrien Mutu – 3 (Fiorentina, could have a long way back from injury)
Grafite (Wolfsburg – out)
Nicolas Anelka – 3 (not as prolific as Drobga)
2) Bordeaux To Qualify against Olympiacos: 8/15 at Coral
Laurent Blanc’s French outfit have caused somewhat of a surprise in the Champions League this season, winning their group against more established competition in Juventus and Bayern Munich. They are cruising at the top of the French league, and have pieced together some nice football to get them into the last 16 of Europe’s elite competition. They have even gotten themselves a nice draw, being paired up against Greek side Olympiacos in the first Knock-out Stage. There is more than a fair chance they will progress, and there is a decent price on them to get through. Very unlikely to win it, but a kind draw and a semi final appearance is not beyond their realms.
3) Valencia to win Europa League: 12/1 at 888Sport.
The Spaniards are in the Europa League, and are a good outside tip to play their way to success. The Spanish league is stronger than most people will give it credit for, and are not really languishing far behind the English top flight. With the big clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona setting the pace at the top of Primera Division, Valencia are sitting fourth in the league, and are looking steady and efficient, with only two defeats so far on the domestic scene. They cruised unbeaten through their qualifying group in the Europa League, winning three and drawing three, netting twelve times along the way. Being drawn against Club Brugge, they should more than fancy their chances of progressing and will be a real threat in the tournament. They have Spain’s star striker David Villa in their ranks too, and he’s already one of the favourites to finish top scorer at the World Cup, so they are definitely worth an each way bet.
4) Lyon to beat Real Madrid: 2/1 at SkyBet.
If you are looking for an upset in the first knockout-stage of the Champions League, then Lyon could be your team. They are guilty of blowing a bit hot and cold, but is there a French revolution on the horizon, with Bordeaux going so well? They are sitting fourth in the French top flight league, but they have a lot of history on their side when it comes to playing against the Spanish giants. With all the fire power that Real Madrid have at their disposal, you would think that Lyon may not have much of chance, but check out the stats between the two. Madrid have not managed to beat Lyon when they have come head to head in Europe, ever. Lyon have knocked Real Madrid out of two Champions League campaigns, in 2005/06 and then again in 2006/07. The tie could all be won at home for Lyon in the first leg (which is what the above bet relates to only), which is where they overturned Madrid on the previous two encounters. They then managed to hold on to that advantage when heading back to Real for the second leg. Real Madrid’s Benzema will face up against his old club when the two meat, and while Lyon will have a tough time on their hands containing Kaka, Ronaldo and the wealth of fire power that Madrid have, they will have good hopes about the tie.
5) Italy To Reach World Cup Final: 5/1 at BetFred.
One team of note from the European perspective at the 2010 World Cup, is Italy. The Italians are what they are, efficient without flair, and it has worked for them in the past, so why not now? They have good experienced players, along with a lot of new faces on the world stage, and efficiency was exactly the name of the game when it came to qualifying top of their group to reach the World Cup 2010 Finals. They did so with one game to spare, and on the previous two occasions when Italy won the World Cup, they qualified both times with one game to spare. So, can they win the tournament twice in succession, for the second time in their illustrious history? It would be some achievement.
Category: European Football Betting
December 13th, 2009 / gabriel
Category: Betting Fixtures
November 30th, 2009 / gabriel
Category: Betting Fixtures
November 25th, 2009 / dave
After Tuesday night’s Group E matches, it was confirmed that Liverpool’s participation in the Champions League this season would be over (well, after their match against Fiorentina in early December). The Reds will instead join the seven other third-placed teams in the newly-rebranded Europa League, entering the competition at the last-32 knockout stage. They won’t be the only so-called ‘big club’ failing to make the business end of Europe’s premier competition, with Inter Milan and Bayern Munich also facing the prospect of playing Fulham instead of Chelsea next year.
Bet365 have been quick to install Liverpool as 6/1 favourites to win this season’s Europa League and, considering that the Reds have regularly featured at the business end of the Champions League in recent seasons, many people will be backing the Reds for European glory of a different kind. However, it’s worth noting that the UEFA Cup semi-finals of the past five seasons have been populated more by teams who have been in the tournament from the start, rather than those who have dropped down.
The 2008/9 season was an exception to this rule, with UEFA Cup winners Shakhtar, Werder Bremen and Dynamo Kiev having played in the Champions League (Hamburg were the other team in the final four). However, the previous four seasons has seen 75% of semi-finalists originally entering Europe’s secondary cup competition at the preliminary or the group stages. During 2007/8, Zenit, Bayern Munich and Fiorentina were the originals, while the same could be said of Spanish trio of Sevilla, Espanyol and Osasuna in 2006/7.
Middlesbrough, Sevilla and Steaua Bucharest all made the semi-finals of the 2005/6 competition having not originally played in the Champions League, while AZ Alkmaar, Sporting and Parma were the originals of 2004/5. The point with all of these examples is that the bookmakers tend to overrate ‘Champions League teams’ when it comes to pricing up the Europa League. There is a reason why Liverpool, Bayern et al finished third in their group – namely that they weren’t good enough!
In addition, Liverpool could easily find themselves preoccupied with finishing fourth in the Premier League, rather than win a competition where there is only a limited amount of glory. While there is a gap in quality between the Champions League and the Europa League, teams like Shakhtar, Werder, Benfica and Valencia are more likely to comprise the semi-finals of the competition than Liverpool, Inter and Bayern Munich. Three of the last four champions have been teams who have previously earned the right to be featuring in this tournament and are therefore more likely to treat it with respect at the later stages.
Category: Betting Advice
November 24th, 2009 / dave
Some more pieces of advice that might give you a helping hand when it comes to football betting!
1) Back No Goalscorer rather than 0-0
Anyone who has ever backed the goalless draw on the correct score market rather than No Goalscorer on the 1GS market needs their head testing! Bookmakers offer these outcomes at the same prices, yet you can back the latter and still win your bet if the game finishes 1-0. That’s because own goals don’t count as far as First Goalscorer betting is concerned, something that was in evidence when Newcastle won 1-0 at Sheffield United earlier this season. Ryan Taylor’s shot deflected off Chris Morgan and flew into the net, although no further goals in the game saw No Goalscorer settled as a winner.
However, it’s worth noting at bet365 that they offer a ‘Bore Draw Money Back’ offer, where losing correct score, HT / FT or scorecast bets are refunded if the game finishes 0-0.
2) Watch out for dead rubbers in the Champions League and Europa League
We’re coming towards the end of the group stages of both competitions, so it’s worth treading carefully when backing short-priced teams. After all, last season, we saw eventual winners Barcelona lose 3-2 at home to Shakhtar after Pep Guardiola decided to rest his entire first team. Similarly, Inter lost their remaining two group games last term against Panathinaikos and Werder Bremen, with Jose Mourinho concentrating on the domestic league instead. Although both of these teams are scrapping for their lives this time around, it’s worth noting that Lyon, Sevilla, Manchester United, Chelsea, Porto and Arsenal are all safely through to the last sixteen. Even if their respective managers field strong teams, there won’t be that level of intensity you get from a team that need the points.
Similarly, there are plenty of teams in the Europa League group stages who will be playing in the knockout stages. Shakhtar, the victors over Barca last season, might take their own turn at being complacent after achieving maximum points from four matches. They will be joined in the final 32 by the likes of Salzburg, Sporting, Galatasaray and Werder Bremen. With many sides resting players for this competition in the first place, teams don’t need an excuse to take it easy as we approach a hectic fixture schedule.
3) Keep a note of players on a scoring spree
Like many sports, football is very much a game of confidence and this is especially true for strikers. It’s not a coincidence to see a forward scoring for five consecutive matches, only to fail to hit the net in the next half dozen matches. Although the media focus will clearly be on Jermain Defoe at Villa Park this Saturday, it’s better to keep a note of players who are scoring on a consistent basis, not just at home to Wigan. Earlier this campaign, Darren Bent embarked on a scoring run of five matches and last Saturday’s goal against Arsenal could trigger something similar. Equally, Emmanuel Adebayor got his goal at Anfield on Saturday and has two home matches to start putting a run together.
Click here for last week’s tips and good luck!
Category: Betting Advice
November 1st, 2009 / gabriel
Category: Betting Fixtures
October 18th, 2009 / gabriel
Category: Betting Fixtures
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