fernando torres

There are some interesting goal scoring football bets around at the moment, as some of the Premier League’s top performers are showing their early form. Here we take a look over the race to win the Golden Boot for the Premier League, as some of the familiar faces in the goal scoring charts hit their strider, while some unfamiliar names are encroaching near the top of the odds. With football odds forever changing, because of goal scoring feats in weekend and midweek Premier League matches, now is a good time to browse over this market, simply because there is now an international break for the Euro 2012 qualifiers, including England v Montenegro on October 12th. Here we not only take a look at the leading contenders to finish top of the Premier League goalscoring charts, but we also assess their pro’s and con’s to help you decide who to back in your football betting.

Didier Drogba, Chelsea 9/2 at BetFred

Total League Goals: 6
Goals All Competitions: 6
2009/10 League Goals: 29

Pros: The big talismanic striker has a proven track record of goals, and just keeps on going. He is the fulcrum of the Chelsea attack, and will be again this year, even though there is pressure on him from youngsters in the squad. He will remain the main source of goals, and if Chelsea are going to retain the Premier League title they need him. He does make for a strong bet again after winning the Golden Boot last year, out shooting main challenger Wayne Rooney. Chelsea are such a heavy goal scoring side, that he will get plenty of chances to fill his boots.
Cons: Age isn’t on his side any more, and sometimes goes missing in action. With such good form of players around him like Anelka and Malouda, may get a little less time on the pitch this season.

Carlos Tevez, Man City 6/1 at BetFred

Total League Goals: 5
Goals All Competitions: 5
2009/10 League Goals: 23

Pros: He is the main man at Man City, and his ability and class immediately stands out on the pitch. Had an incredible season last year, carrying the Man City attack, and it looks as if it will be that way again this season. A lot of the goals he scored are spectacular and is one of the best technical finishers in the league. Every team would like him, in their side, there’s not much doubt about that. Has better players around him than last season. Can he push Drogba?
Cons: He is not in the most attack minded team, even though City have spend big in the summer on attacking players. The City style is still caution first, and they don’t create as many chances as they should. With a quality strike partner and better service from midfield, he could do so much better.

Dimitar Berbatov, Man Utd 13/2 at 888Sport

Total League Goals: 6
Goals All Competitions: 7
2009/10 League Goals:

Pros: United’s record signing is finally starting to return the expectations surrounding him. He has gotten off to a blinding start, which is just as well for United as Rooney has disappeared. Has some quality touches and can unlock defences with his technical ability. On his day he can look a world beater, and in a United side which likes to attack, he should be in the mix heavily when he plays.
Cons: One thing which Berbatov has been labelled as, is lazy. He hasn’t always shown the commitment to his side in terms of putting in the leg work. That was his downfall last season, and you can’t help but feel that once Rooney returns to full fitness, and once the hard winter matches get here, Berbatov may just fade back into his shell. Does he have the commitment and consistency to deliver?

Darren Bent, Sunderland 7/1 at Blue Square

Total League Goals: 5
Goals All Competitions: 7
2009/10 League Goals: 24

Pros: Remarkable that he has picked up where he left off last year, and proving not be a flash in the pan as people thought he might be. His goal scoring feats at Sunderland were remarkable last year, and earned him and England call up. The club look to him for goals, and he keeps delivering. With a new strike partner Asamoah Gyan, Bent really could be even more potent instead of being a lone striker. May not be the classiest player, but he certainly gets stuck in a knows where the back of the net is.
Cons: Playing in a Sunderland side which is just lacking the quality up front to supply him with more chances. That’s all that is missing really from making him a true contender for the Golden Boot. If he was at Man Utd, then you would back him heavily for example. It sums a lot up when three of his five goals have been from the penalty spot. There is a lot of pressure and expectancy upon him, but probably doesn’t have enough support around him to give him the chances he needs.

Wayne Rooney, Man Utd 10/1 at BetFred

Total League Goals: 1
Goals All Competitions: 1
2009/10 League Goals: 26

Pros: One of the most naturally gifted strikers in the league, and a fully fit and match sharp Rooney is something to be feared as shown last season where he was lethal. Give him a chance and he will finish it, or he has the ability to go and create his own chances out of nothing. The benefits of playing at United in a system which suits his game as lone striker will always help him.
Cons: Looks as if he is starting to feel the pressure from the media and the weight of expectation. Again missing out because of injury at the moment, and looking as if he is playing second fiddle to Berbatov. It’s been a long time now since we’ve seen the best of Rooney, you probably have to go back to March for that, and it’s just not there for him at the moment. United aren’t on top of their game either, with lack of quality coming from the middle of the park. Not looking good for Rooney this year.

Fernando Torres, Liverpool 12/1 at BetFair

Total League Goals: 1
Goals All Competitions: 1
2009/10 League Goals: 18

Pros: The Spaniard is still one of the world’s best finisher when he fit and enjoy himself. Last season he was plagued with injury but still managed to weigh in with a decent tally. A world class finisher, and if he moves to Man City as rumours are expecting to in January, it could boost his tally a lot.
Cons: In a very poor Liverpool team. In very poor health and fitness. In very poor match fitness. Torres deserves better and he has looked increasingly frustrated at Liverpool. He has had his critics, but he has not been getting any quality service this season. Was rushed back to quickly for the World Cup, and like Rooney hasn’t looked his best for a long time. Needs to be fully fit and on a better team to challenge and even fitness looks a long shot at the moment.

Florent Malouda, Chelsea 16/1 at BetFred

Total League Goals: 6
Goals All Competitions: 6
2009/10 League Goals: 12

Pros: Has really come on in his Chelsea career. Remember how long it took Didier Drogba to look like a class act after moving to Chelsea? Well, Malouda looks to just been finding his feet this year. Getting more involved in games, and making a more direct impact up front along with Drogba and Anelka. Could weigh in with a decent tally of goals, although it would be something special to beat his team mate Drogba.
Cons: Playing wider and behind the main front man, he doesn’t get as many chances. He is flourishing, but his place in the team is for support as opposed to being a main source of goals.

Nicolas Anelka, Chelsea 20/1 at Blue Square

Total League Goals: 2
Goals All Competitions: 7
2009/10 League Goals: 11

Pros: Carries the can a lot when Drogba goes missing, but when playing with Drogba, Anelka falls back into a support role and doesn’t find the goals to easy to come by. He stands up well in European matches, but just doesn’t have that quantity of league goals in him. Class player, brilliant in his support role, and should have his fair share of goals.
Cons: Anelka is not a main goalscorer, not in the league anyway, and that is because of how Chelsea set up, and focus the attack around Drogba. Will score important goals but just doesn’t have the amount of impact that Drogba has.

Marouane Chamakh, Arsenal 22/1 at 888Sport

Total League Goals: 2
Goals All Competitions: 4
2009/10 League Goals: n/a

Pros: Looking very sharp early in his Arsenal career, and will only get better. Arsenal play some of the best football in the league, and a technically gifted striker roaming around up front for them, will be in amongst the goals quite a bit. With Robin Van Persie missing, he should get plenty of action as Arsenal will look to him for goals. Playing on such a fantastic football side will also help, and Arsenal are big scorers in the league, and they could be rewarded well through Chamakh.
Cons: Unknown and untested in the physical Premier League over a full season. Other than that, the Gunners should be able to get a decent return on him.

Didier Drogba has now gone level with Florent Malouda in the scoring charts after his brilliantly-taken goal against Arsenal and the Ivorian is a best-priced 7/4 with Paddy Power to win the Premier League Golden Boot this season. There seems to be no stopping the Chelsea striker retaining his prize this term and he didn’t disappoint by keeping up his goal-a-game strike ratio for the English champions.

Carlos Tevez was also on the scoresheet on Sunday to fire home the opening goal against Newcastle and that means that the Argentinian has five Premier League goals to his name this season. Paddy Power offer 5/1 that he wins the Golden Boot and you can only imagine that the former Manchester United striker will get more chances as his Manchester City team continue to gel and create more chances.

Are these two players going to be the ones battling it out for the Golden Boot this season? It’s hard to see who is going to trouble them in the scoring charts, although some people might be taking a punt on Dimitar Berbatov, who is 9/1 with Ladbrokes to land the spoils. The Bulgarian has six goals to his name this season, although three of them were against Liverpool and his disadvantage could be the eventual return of Wayne Rooney to form.

The England striker will be playing a little catch-up when he next pulls on a Manchester United jersey, although the bookies aren’t quite ready to write him off just yet and Ladbrokes offer 16/1 that we see Rooney finish top of the pile. He is only five goals behind and did score in big volumes last term.

Darren Bent is 10/1 with Coral after failing to add to his tally of five goals against the Red Devils on Saturday, although the Sunderland striker could be the each-way value as he was last season, especially if a few penalties come the way of the Black Cats.

Of course, we shouldn’t forget Florent Malouda, who has scored as many goals as his team-mate Didier Drogba and also gets into advanced positions for a team who could easily score 100 times this season. The Frenchman will be aiming for 20+ goals and he is on offer at 16/1 with bet365 to win the Golden Boot.

Arsenal’s Marouane Chamakh is on offer at 40/1 (bet365) and the Moroccan has managed to score two goals for the Gunners this season and could be open to rapid improvement under manager Arsene Wenger. Andrey Arshavin has also scored a couple for the North London team and Paddy Power make him a 50/1 shot to be a surprise winner.

As for Fernando Torres, many punters will have given up on the Spaniard after incurring another injury for Liverpool during Sunday’s match with Blackpool. Bet365 lead the way in taking on the Spaniard with their quote of 16/1 and they might not find too many takers.

It’s one of the biggest Premier League matches of the season to date and the bookmakers have been pulling out all the stops to provide customers with some outstanding betting value on the action at Eastlands.

William Hill are enhancing many of their odds for the match and this includes offering odds of 50/1 that Carlos Tevez scores first and Manchester City win by a 2-1 scoreline. They paid the price for boosting their odds when Arsenal slotted more than five goals past Blackpool on Saturday.

Over at Paddy Power, they also have a special promotion regarding Carlos Tevez. Place a first goalscorer, last goalscorer or correct score bet and they will refund any losing stakes if the Argentine striker scores the last goal of the game.

Bet365 have so far dodged a bullet for this round of Premier League fixtures by virtue of the fact that there have been no 0-0 draws. That’s because the world’s leading bookmaker are refunding bets on correct score and half-time / full-time markets if any match finishes goalless. This offer applies to every soccer match for every league in the world – there are no exceptions.

Bet Fred are well known for money back specials and they have a promotion which centres on Fernando Torres for Monday night’s match. The Spaniard is set to make his first Premier League start of the season for Liverpool at Eastlands and if he scores the last goal of the game, the bookmaker will refund all correct score, first & last goalscorer and Scorecast bets as a free bet.

Meanwhile, Blue Square have a number of player specials available for the match and there’s some value to be had if you hunt around for it! Carlos Tevez is available at 16/1 to score in both halves oif the match, while you can back James Milner to score at odds of 3/1. The former Aston Villa player will be making his debut tonight and also hoping to make a big impression after signing for around £23 million.

You can back Steven Gerrard to score from outside the box at odds of 8/1, while Mario Balotelli is 4/1 with Blue Square to open the scoring. The Italian received a yellow card on his debut last Thursday and you can get 5/2 that he’s booked again and 33/1 that the striker receives a red card.

Over at Ladbrokes, they have created over 100 pre-match markets for the Manchester City v Liverpool match and that includes a market called ‘Coupled Correct Scores’. This is where you can back two correct scores, with Manchester City 1-0 or 2-0 available at 3/1. You can go for 2-0 or 3-0 at 13/2 with Ladbrokes, while Liverpool to win either 2-0 or 3-1 is available at odds of 8/1.

Liverpool v Rabotnicki Betting Odds

Rabotnicki to win: 12/1 at Totesport
Draw: 5/1 at Boylesports
Liverpool to win: 1/4 at Stan James

Thursday, July 29th, Skopje, Macedonia, Kick Off: 19.45 GMT

New Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson takes his troops in competitive battle for the first time on Thursday, as the Anfield outfit look to book their place in the Group Stages of the Europa League. Yes, that is the extent of Liverpool’s adventures in Europe for this season, having to qualifying for the Europa League, and it begins against Macedonia side Rabotnicki Skopje. There have been hints that while Hodgson was expected to leave some of his senior players out of the side, he is respectful enough of the competition to contemplate throwing in the likes of Steven Gerrard and former Chelsea player Joe Cole. Both were involved at the World Cup, along with the likes of Jamie Carragher, Glen Johnson, Milan Jovanovic and Javier Mascherano and wanted to give them some extra rest ahead of the new season. But the Anfield boss could well be leaning towards putting Gerrard and Cole in particular, right into the starting line up. While the situation is not too tough of one, it is one which needs a confident hand to get through without any kind of scares. The calming influence of the midfield general Steven Gerrard, would certainly help in that factor.

Despite the quality of the opposition, Liverpool and Hodgson can afford no early scares as they look to qualify for the competition. There will be a play-off round for them if they get through this third qualifying round, so there is still work to do. Hodgson’s decision may go against the advice of the Anfield medical crew, who are insistent that the players still need more of a break in order to be ready for the new Premier League season which starts in August. Liverpool lost to German side Kaiserslautern 1-0 on the weekend in which new signing Milan Jovanovic got a run out, and under pressure striker David Ngog got a start. The speculation over Fernando Torres still swells, as Hodgson is hopeful that he will stay at the club, but admits that the player has a problem with the club, and not Hodgson himself. If he does depart it will leave a huge hole in the club, and although Torres is expected to return to training on Monday as he recovers from an injury, the window of opportunity to transfer him will be closing soon.

Argentinean midfielder Javier Mascherano has demanded that he be allowed to leave Anfield, as he wants to join up with former boss Rafa Benitez at Inter Milan. Mascherano and Maxi Rodriguez both turned up for training at the beginning of the week, but the Mascherano camp has been unhappy about his future at Anfield. Contract talks between him and the club have fallen down, and it is more likely than not that Hodgson will agree to the sale, in order to raise some funds for the club. Despite missing out on Champions League football, and despite the threat of departing players, there is a sense of optimism around Liverpool supporters that the clearing out of Rafa Benitez has been helpful. There is an unknown quantity in charge no, in terms of experience at the top level of the English game in Hodgson, but he could just be the right hand needed to steady the ship. Their first task is to come through the Europa League qualifier away leg on Thursday in Macedonia, and take on step closer to reaching the group stage. Last season, Hodgson took Fulham all the way to the final of the Europa League, where they lost to Atlético Madrid, Liverpool’s conquerors in the competition. They really should have not too many problems in this fixture, the only concern is the lack of striking power up front and being able to take changes.

Europa League Third Qualifying Round To Qualify
Liverpool: 1/33 at Bet365
Rabotnicki: 14/1 at Bwin

Odds for the Chelsea v Manchester United Community Shield and 2010/11 Barclays Premier League betting are still leaning towards success for Chelsea, even though they have received more bad news on the injury front. Premier League champions Chelsea will start the season without their talismanic striker Didier Drogba for the opening salvos of the new football year. The Ivorian Coast star has undergone surgery for a groin problem that was bothering him for the greater part of last season, and being the main threat up front for the Stamford Bridge outfit, the decision was made to put him under the knife now. While Drogba, who finished at the Premier League’s top scorer last season, will likely miss the start of the Premier League season it is something of a pro-active move by the club. The trouble is how quickly will he be able to get up to match fitness and sharpness? His absence will leave just Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou up front for the Blues. But there are other injury worries for boss Carlo Ancelotti to deal with too, as goalkeeper Petr Cech will be sitting out the start of the season, along with defender Alex. The club are also waiting for new signing Yossi Benayoun to recover from a groin problem as well. Chelsea have yet to make a big splash into the transfer market yet, but they, along with Manchester City, seem to have the deepest pockets if they do want to go shopping. Could these early injury problems swing a little bit of advantage to rivals Manchester United? The online bookmakers have Chelsea still as favourites to win the league, and they are 6/4 at Bet365 to retain their title, while Manchester United are 2/1 at Ladbrokes.

Community Shield Odds
Chelsea to win: 27/20 at SportingBet
Draw: 12/5 at Stan James
Manchester United to win: 2/1 at Totesport

Chelsea v West Brom Odds (Chelsea’s first Premier League Match of 2010/11 season)
Chelsea to win: 1/6 at BetFred
Draw: 13/2 at Bwin
West Brom to win: 14/1 at William Hill

On the injury front, England captain Rio Ferdinand could be out still for a lot longer than Drogba. The United centre half, who missed the 2010 FIFA World Cup, may not make a return to action until September because of the ligament damage which he did while training with the International side. While that will put him out of the start of the season, it could also mean that he won’t be fully fit when England take to the field in their two Euro 2012 qualifying matches at the start of September. United will also be missing Michael Owen and Owen Hargreaves, but one of their most impressive and positive players from last season, Antonia Valencia has recovered to take part in full training. Alex Ferguson was pleased to sign defender Nemanja Vidic to a new long term contract. United are currently in the United States waiting to take on the MLS All Stars on Wednesday. After beating Celtic and then the Philadelphia Union, Manchester United fell to the Kansas City Wizards 2-1 on Sunday, who aren’t the best side in the MLS by a long shot. But, United have been fielding a mix of youngsters and veterans, as expected, and their inexperienced back four, which included the less than impressive looking Chris Smalling, simply could not handle the pressure exerted by the speed and physicality of the Wizards’ front line. Don’t read anything into it though, it will be a much stronger United at the start of the Premier League season. United, who start their season on August 16th, plays Premier League returnees, Newcastle United. Both United and Newcastle have been linked with Real Madrid legend Raul, who is leaving his home club. The Spanish striker was expected to go to Germany, but there are hints that he could end up in the Premier League.

Manchester United v Newcastle United
Man Utd to win: 2/9 at Bet365
Draw: 5/1 at Boylesports
Newcastle to win: 12/1 at Paddy Power

News from Anfield is still surrounding striker Fernando Torres. Main protagonists in the race to sign him, Manchester City are reportedly not really that interested in pursuing his services after all. City are looking elsewhere and weighing up their options. The future of the Spanish striker is still up in the air, as he has yet to come out and confirm what he wants to do. Online bookmakers are still leaning towards him going to Eastlands, if anywhere, and Torres to Manchester City is Evens at SkyBet, while Torres to Chelsea is 2/1 at SkyBet. Meanwhile, new boss Roy Hodgson is on the hunt for striking bargains to fill out his squad, and he has been trying to get rid of Frenchman David Ngog. It looks as if the striker, who has failed to make an impression at the Club, is shooting himself in the foot by demanding £2 million in wages. That high price for a striker who hasn’t proven himself in the Premier League, means no-one else will want him and he could find himself further down the pecking order at Anfield this season. Liverpool are currently 13/8 at Paddy Power to land themselves a Top Four finish this season. Which is an incredibly long way from 4/9 at Paddy Power not to.

Where there are transfer rumours there will be Manchester City. The ongoing sage of Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli took a new turn as reports came out that he had signed for Roberto Mancini. This was quickly refuted by the agent of the promising youngster, who said that the player has signed nothing. Balotelli has been attracting the attention of quite a few top Premier League clubs, but there appears to be no definite direction to where he may end up. City are also looking at Wolfsburg’s Edin Dzeko, which looks as if it would be a huge coup if they could land him. Mancini is looking at offers for Brazilian star Robinho though. Are Manchester City buying their way to success. Even after they spent big last summer, this is looking like a further step up in terms of the quality of players being head-hunted and brought in. Manchester City are 5/1 at Bet365 to win the Premier League, third favourite behind Chelsea and Man United. City can also be taken for 8/1 at SkyBet to do the double over United in the league in the 2010/11 season, which would sound something of a shift in power in the city.

Manchester City are also at the transfer saga over Aston Villa’s England international James Milner. The 24 year old, who seems to have been around forever, has stated that he wants to leave Villa Park. He has held talks with manager Martin O’Neill, talks which have been labelled amicable, but the problem for Manchester City, is that clubs selling players know that City have money, and are jacking up the price. There is a hint of that going on over James Milner, who would be a great capture for Manchester City, and probably a boon for the England international side too. O’Neill has said that the offer which came in for Milner, was not up to his valuation of the player, and unless that valuation is met, then Milner won’t be going anywhere. Milner himself joined up with the rest of the squad on the weekend, and took part in full training and is expected to fly out to training camp in Portugal with Villa midweek. Man City are still favourites to capture the signature of Milner, and are priced at odds of 1/10 at SkyBet to do so.

Fulham have still not appointed a manager, with stand in Ray Lewington holding things together at the moment. The club failed in their attempt to get Martin Jol from Ajax, and they don’t seem to be in too much of a rush to fill the spot vacated by Roy Hodgson. Sven Goran Eriksson’s name is still firmly in the hat, but Cardiff’s Dave Jones has ruled himself out, committing himself to stay with the Welsh side.

Next Permanent Fulham Boss
Sven Goran Eriksson: 6/4 at Bet365
Mark Hughes: 3/1 at Bet365
Dave Jones: 15/2 at Paddy Power
Jurgen Klinsmann: 9/1 at Blue Square
Alan Curbishley: 11/1 at William Hill
Ray Lewington: 20/1 at Bet365

Upcoming Club Friendly Odds

July 27, 2010

July 28, 2010

In my opinion, there are only three players who can win this prize next season, providing that they stay with their respective clubs! The first of these is Wayne Rooney who will definitely be a Manchester United player throughout the forthcoming campaign and the 24-year-old will also be eager to put a disappointing World Cup summer firmly behind him.

Until last season, the Red Devils striker was not exactly prolific in front of goal, although 26 league goals for Manchester United illustrates that he has to be seriously considered to win his first Premier League Golden Boot. Stan James and Bet Fred are currently laying Rooney at odds of 11/2 and the England international is going to be a major threat in front of goal now that he’s figured out how to score goals with his head.

A former Manchester United team-mate of Rooney’s could be the biggest threat, someone now plying his trade down the road at Eastlands. Indeed, Carlos Tevez has to be classed as the ‘form horse’ on the Top Goalscorer market after scoring a stack of goals during the second half of last season. Hitting the ground running might see the Argentina international get his nose in front, especially as he will be part of a strengthened Manchester City team that has added Yaya Toure and David Silva to its ranks.

Tevez is a stand-out 14/1 (Bet Fred) to win the Premier League Golden Boot and this looks like tremendous value. Although he has been linked with a move to Real Madrid, it’s unthinkable that City will want to let this quality forward leave and it’s telling that Sky Bet have decided to lay him at odds of just 8/1. It’s hard to believe that the 14/1 will last until the start of the new football season.

However, Rooney and Tevez were left trailing by a Chelsea striker last season and Didier Drogba could be the one who leads the charge this time around. There is a slight doubt whether the striker will remain at Stamford Bridge next season (especially with the player’s agent making strange comments that link him to Manchester City). The Ivorian was just one short of 30 Premier League goals last term and Paddy Power’s 6/1 about him retaining his Golden Boot look tasty.

We shouldn’t forget that Drogba missed several games due to injury last season and was also absent throughout January due to the African Nations Cup. Providing he enjoys an injury-free season, there should be a bounty of chances that fall his way, although he doesn’t take the penalty kicks for the Blues.

Outside of this trio, it’s hard to have confidence in any other player winning the Golden Boot. Stan James have taken a big position on Fernando Torres, offering 8/1 about the Liverpool striker compared to the 9/2 available with Paddy Power. However, the Spaniard doesn’t seem to last a season without getting injured several times and the Reds are going through a transitional period at the moment, even if they did manage to land Joe Cole.

Robin Van Persie (10/1 William Hill) is another player who would be worth a second glance were it not for the fact that he bruises easily, while the best each-way propositions are Darren Bent (20/1 Bet Fred) and Jermain Defoe (20/1 Stan James). It was the former who scored 24 goals to land the each-way money at 40/1 last season.

Once again, it appears that Manchester City are going to spend over £100 million on players this summer, with David Silva and Yaya Toure the first of the new arrivals at Eastlands. This is the first time that the bookmakers are considering them to be serious Premier League title contenders and the 5/1 currently available with Ladbrokes and bet365 might only get shorter as the new season approaches.

There are two schools of thought regarding Manchester City winning the Premier League. Some might argue that Roberto Mancini might take at least another twelve months to mould this team into something special, especially as they finished a full 19 points behind champions Chelsea last season.

However, the flip side of the argument is that having significant spending power will enable Manchester City to outmuscle any rival bidder in the transfer market and they look set to reunite James Milner with former Aston Villa colleague Gareth Barry. With a couple of other new signings certain and a squad already packed with international players, they might be worth a second look at 11/8 on Coral’s betting without Manchester United and Chelsea.

Chelsea are the marginal favourites to retain the Premier League title, although much depends on whether Didier Drogba stays at Stamford Bridge. Although Carlo Ancelotti has insisted that the Ivorian will be with the Blues next season, it appears his agent has been in discussions with City and the striker’s departure would leave a big gap in the team’s attack. If Drogba stays, then bet365’s 6/4 is a fair price, although his departure would make life difficult – even if Michael Essien is back to full fitness.

Another reason that Manchester City might win the Premier League this season is the fact that Chelsea and Manchester United won’t be any stronger than last season. Sure, the Red Devils might not have as many injuries in defence, although Sir Alex Ferguson has declared that Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez will be the only players to arrive at Old Trafford this summer. Perhaps the midfield will therefore remain short of creativity, even if Wayne Rooney is likely to score a hatful of goals. Victor Chandler are happy to lay the Red Devils and that’s where you will find a best price of 11/4.

Arsenal seem to have spent most of the summer fending off Barcelona’s interest in Cesc Fabregas, with the Spanish champions swooping over the Emirates like a hungry vulture determined to eat some juicy prey. So far, the Gunners have succeeded in keeping their captain on the books and Arsene Wenger is playing a typically shrewd game with a club that aren’t blessed with money after splashing out on David Villa. Wenger is also set to recruit a new goalkeeper and his team are 7/1 (Paddy Power) to win the title.

The only other two teams with a realistic chance of winning the Premier League are Liverpool (16/1 Bet Fred) and Tottenham Hotspur (40/1 bet365). It was the Reds that won the race to sign Joe Cole recently and the retention of Steven Gerrard means there is cause for optimism at Anfield.

Reds start in third qualifying round of Europa League

Liverpool now know their fate for finishing seventh in the Premier League last year, and missing out on the Champions League. They will face either Macedonia side Rabotnicki, or Mika from Armenia in the Third Qualifying round of the Europa League. The fixture for the home leg of the tie, is at Anfield on July 29th, and the return fixture is on August 5th. Should Liverpool win their way through that, then they will face a two leg play-off to get into the Group Stage of the tournament. This is quite a fall from grace for the Anfield outfit, which have been enjoying the European high life in the Champions League over the past seasons. They failed to get out of the group stage in last year’s Champions League though, and ended up joining the latter stages of the Europa League, where they failed to make the final after running into Diego Forlan’s Atletico Madrid.

This will be the first test of Roy Hodgson’s managerial career at Liverpool, after moving from Fulham in the summer, following the departure of Rafa Benitez. Hodgson is apparently set on keeping Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, supposedly telling them that they are not going anywhere. Those are quite bold words, as it is hard to see them rejecting a multi million pound deal for Torres if it comes in for the Spanish striker. The future over Argentinean Javier Mascherano is still uncertain, as Hodgson has been able to get a hold of the midfielder, who has been linked with moves away. The biggest transfer rumours will continue to be around Torres, who is still recovering from injury. Liverpool are in financial difficulties, and the club is up for sale, so deals for their star striker Torres could be very tempting. The future of both he and Gerrard could all depend on how well Liverpool get off to the start of their new season. Should they be flailing in the league again come the January transfer window, it may be even harder to hang on to them if Hodgson manages to keep them both for the start of the season.

Liverpool are 12/1 at Stan James to win the Europe League, while other English representatives in the tournament Manchester City (15/2 at Coral), and Aston Villa (25/1 at SkyBet) both enter into the tournament at the Play Off stage, which comes after the third round of qualifying (where Liverpool are starting). Other big names in the tournament are Italian giants Juventus (14/1 at Stan James) and last year’s winner’s Atletico Madrid (16/1 at Stan James).

Let’s start this article with a few stats:

•    Spain have won their last three World Cup matches by a 1-0 scoreline
•    David Villa has scored the opening goal on two of those occasions, although the match against Germany saw him playing as the (less effective) front man
•    Spain have been level at half-time in these three matches before going to find a winner in the second half

Therefore, if you believe that we will see the Sunday’s World Cup final follow a similar pattern, then there are some corresponding bets that might catch the eye:

•    Spain to win in ninety minutes is 11/10 with bet365
•    Spain to be level at half-time and ahead at full-time is 4/1 with Paddy Power
•    Spain to win by a 1-0 scoreline is 11/2 with Ladbrokes
•    Spain to keep a clean sheet is 5/4 with Sporting Bet
•    Spain to ‘win to nil’ is available at odds of 21/10 with Paddy Power

While a Netherlands goal will mean the latter three bets are losing selections, we  should also bear in mind that the Dutch go into this match as outsiders and that’s because the bookmakers are not expecting them to have a lot of possession at Soccer City. Therefore, their first port of call will be to ensure they keep things tight against the European champions before looking for ways to attack.

Yes, Holland beat Brazil and some might fancy backing them at 11/4 (bet365) to beat the other team that headed the pre-tournament outright market. The Dutch have certainly had Lady Luck on their side, playing a fluid formation with Wesley Sneijder going forward! However, are the Oranje really any better than a vibrant Germany team that were clearly second best against Spain during the semi-final on Wednesday night?

The big concern for Bert van Marwijk is that his team have not kept a clean sheet in the past four matches, with the defence making sloppy mistakes to allow Cameroon, Brazil, Slovakia and Uruguay to score. Therefore, their customary defensive approach might end in tears and the manager might be looking for ways to get the supply line through to Robin Van Persie, who has been isolated for much of the campaign. The Arsenal striker is 15/2 (Blue Square) to open the scoring on the biggest stage imaginable and Spain do have a chink in the defence.

Joan Capdevila is the only player in the likely starting XI that doesn’t play for Barcelona or Real Madrid and the left-back could be targeted by the tricky Arjen Robben (10/1 Blue Square), who is the class act in the team, despite Sneijder (9/1 Paddy Power) scoring five goals during this tournament (it was actually four but FIFA have gifted him a 5th).

Therefore, can the Dutch manage a 1-0 win (15/2 bet365) of their own and claim their first ever World Cup? It’s unlikely, although their defensive tactics means that Under 2 Goals (10/11 bet365) can be backed with a fair degree of confidence considering that you will get a refund if there are exactly two goals in normal time.

Spain to go with Fabregas or Torres?

Spain will go into Wednesday’s semi final against Germany, with coach Vicente Del Bosque pondering what do to with the out of form Liverpool striker Fernando Torres. Del Bosque has received some good news about Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas who has been cleared fit to play. Fabregas had picked up an injury during training but despite some initial fears there was no real damage to the influential midfielder. Fabregas would be the ideal replacement to come into the side, if Del Bosque decides to start Torres from the bench. After coming back from a couple of knee surgeries in the summer, Torres has looked far short of sharp best during the World Cup so far. While Del Bosque has persevered with him, worrying about dropping him from the side and denting his confidence even further, at such a crunch time at South Africa 2010, will the coach go with form over reputation? Fabregas is likely to be heading to Barcelona in the summer, with reported bids already coming in for the 23 year old, but has not been a starting choice for Del Bosque.

Del Bosque may simply stick with his starting eleven and see if Torres can provide something up front with David Villa, even if it is only for the first half. Spain have been carrying him through the tournament, but can they afford to do so right now? Whether Torres starts or not could all depend on the degree of fitness of Fabregas. It would probably be a safer bet for Del Bosque to pull Torres off and inject some extra pace in Fabregas in the second half, rather than worrying about whether to put an out of from Torres on if the game happens to need rescuing. The Netherlands will await the winners of Spain v Germany, which itself is a rematch of the Euro 2008 final, which Spin won thanks to a goal from, yes, Fernando Torres. Apparently an octopus in Germany has predicted a win for the Spaniards, who have not been right at the top of their form throughout the tournament, and have been heavily outscored by the Germans. “Paul” has gotten all of Germany’s results right so far at South Africa 2010, and of all World Cup betting tips this has to be one of the weirdest, but certainly has had the success and the legs to run and run.

With all yellow cards being wiped out for the semi finals, Spain have a fully fit squad to pick from, as long as Fabregas is fit. How much of an influence will Torres starting or not have on the actual match? Although he has not been scoring, he has still been doing his job in creating space for the attacking midfielders to join in the play, notably Iniesta and Xavi. He is still contributing to the team, but it is like the old argument about England’s Emile Heskey, do you need a striker who is scoring? While Fabregas is more suited to the middle of the park, the other options up front for Del Bosque would be Fernando Llorente or Pedro. While Pedro is an incredibly exciting talent, his inexperience will count against him, and would you throw Llorente into the mix instead of Torres? Probably not, not at this stage of a tournament. Fernando Torres is 2/1 at SportingBet as an anytime goal scorer. Bets are that Del Bosque will stick with Torres and leave his options on the bench. Spain need to find goals from somewhere else though, and take lessons from Germany’s clinical finishing in front of goal.

Spain v Germany Match Odds
Spain to win: 7/4 at Bwin
Draw: 23/10 at Ladbrokes
Germany to win: 15/8 at Boylesports

Stage of Elimination:
Semi Final: 10/11 at Bet365
Winner: 21/10 at Paddy Power
Runners Up: 10/3 at Bet365

Team Specials
Spain to Reach Final: 17/20 at Blue Square
Spain to keep a clean sheet in the final: 11/4 at 888Sport
Spain to win to nil in the final: 10/3 at Blue Square
Spain to score in both halves in the final: 5/1 at 888Sport
Spain to win having been behind in the final: 12/1 at Blue Square
Spain to win the World Cup on penalties: 14/1 at 888Sport