frank lampard

World Cup group matches don’t get any more tense and exciting  than the one taking place in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday afternoon, where England need victory in order to qualify for the last sixteen of the competition. For such a huge game, many bookmakers are offering promotions and concessions which are well worth checking out.

Over at Paddy Power, they are still reeling from having to refund all losing 1st / last goalscorer, correct score and scorecast singles on the England v Algeria match last Friday and their Bore War promotion is continuing for this game. There’s obviously a strong chance that Slovenia will look to keep things tight and play for a goalless draw, something which would result in another mass refund.

Bet365 go even further with their Bore Draw offering, with the UK bookmaker also offering to refund Anytime Goalscorer and Half Time / Full Time bets if the match finishes goalless. Customers should note that this applies to every match taking place during the World Cup and there are bound to be a few cagey goalless draws when we enter the knockout stages.

Bet365 also have their Penalty Payback promotion where they will refund any losing bets on the outright market on a team that is knocked out of the World Cup on spot kicks.

Back to the England v Slovenia match and Victor Chandler will have their “Roo Beauty” promotion running for this and every other England match in the World Cup. If Wayne Rooney scores the last goal of the match, they will refund all losing First Goalscorer and Correct Score bets on that match as a free bet. It’s certainly high time that the Manchester United forward delivered the goods for the Three Lions.

Meanwhile, William Hill are offering a special England and Germany bet which is sure to attract the attention of patriotic punters. Both teams are in action on Wednesday and face a strong chance of playing each other, although Hills offer 6/1 that England qualify for the last sixteen and Germany miss out. If the Three Lions win their game, it could be a nice bet to have in the evening as the Germans battle it out with Ghana. This bookmaker offers over 180 markets on the big match.

Over at Sky Bet, they are offering plenty of England special bets, as has been the case throughout the summer. You can actually bet on whether Fabio Capello will still be manager of England by the end of the World Cup (yes = 2/7, no = 5/2), while they also offer customers some England qualification combinations.

You can get 4/1 that England draw and go out on points, with Sky Bet offering 18/1 that the Three Lions draw and go out on goals scored. There are also World Cup Enhanced Multiples available, with 7/4 available that England and USA win on Wednesday afternoon and 10/3 that England, Germany and Serbia all win.

Chelsea will look to reclaim their top spot in the Premier League, after being leap-frogged by both Arsenal and Manchester United. Chelsea are on 48 points, two behind leaders United, but have two games in hand over Alex Ferguson’s men. They can give themselves a huge advantage by leaping one point ahead with a win over Birmingham at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. Boss Carlo Ancelotti has injury worries over Frank Lampard, and is hopefully that he will be fully fit as Chelsea push on with their title charge. Lampard was withdrawn early from their FA Cup victory over Preston on the weekend, as a precaution over his fitness.

Some good news for Chelsea is that Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou are heading home, after favourites Ivory Coast crashed out of the African Cup of Nations to England’s World Cup opponents, Algeria. That will boost the challenge of the Blues, not that they have struggled without the big centre forward, as Nicolas Anelka has been in possibly the most sparkling form of his career. He won’t be back in time to make Wednesday’s line-up, but should make a return to action on the weekend. First the London side need to find a way to overcome Birmingham, who are proving that they are no pushovers in the league this year. Bad news from the African Cup of Nations, is that influential midfielder Michael Essien will be missing for up to 6 weeks after picking up an injury.

Under Alex McLeish, Birmingham have recently gained draws against both Manchester United and Chelsea. They have climbed to seventh in the Premier League and are on a fantastic unbeaten run of 12 Premier League games without defeat. That is a club record for the Midlanders, and having been the first team to stop Chelsea scoring this season in a 0-0 draw, they will be hoping for more of the same at the Bridge. Chelsea have the best home record in the Premier League and Birmingham will meet the Blues in a confident mood, having found the back of the net 14 times in the last three matches.

Birmingham, thanks to a lot of consistency, should field the same side which they have done for the large part of the season. They had been in the hunt for Liverpool’s Ryan Babel to boost their scoring, but nothing has come of that of yet. Instead they have confirmed that they want to sign Ranger’s striker Kris Boyd to look for more potency up front. Birmingham have only scored 9 home goals all season, so there is a lot of room for improvement. McLeish has already signed a new playmaker for midfield, with Michel joining them from Spanish side Sporting Gijon. He won’t be available for Wednesday night’s match though.

BETTING STATS

Last 5 Head to Head
Birmingham 0, Chelsea 0
Birmingham 1, Chelsea 1
Chelsea 3, Birmingham 2
Birmingham 0, Chelsea 0
Chelsea 2, Birmingham 0

Last 5 League Match Goals
Chelsea – 12 For, 5 Against
Birmingham – 5 For, 3 Against

Last 10 Matches Form
Chelsea – W6, D3, L1
Birmingham – W6, D4, L0

Win Percentage
Chelsea have a 90.9 win percentage at home
Birmingham have a 40.0 win percentage away from home

Match Prices:
Chelsea to win: 5/19 at Expekt
Draw: 5/1 at SkyBet
Birmingham to win: 14/1 at Totesport

Betting Advice: Two thoughts come to mind when looking at this game. One, is that Birmingham’s great unbeated run has to end some time, and the second is that Chelsea won’t like having been pushed down into third. Even with the games in hand they have, it should give them enough incentive to put on a confident display. Both factors lean heavily towards backing a comfortable Chelsea win at Stamford Bridge, even though Birmingham are tight at the back.
Over 2.5 Goals: Evens at Coral

England Fans Player of the Year

Naturally as we had towards the end of the calendar year, it is time to dust off all the trophies and awards. The English FA are getting in on the act, asking England football fans to choose who they believe has been the national side’s best player of the year. England have had a successful year under Fabio Capello, qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, with only one defeat in their Qualification Group. Capello, who is a tactician probably unlike any other England has ever had at the helm, has brought a larger degree of confidence, which has seen them grow into a world force. At full fitness England have a team to compete, at least going forward where they have been scoring freely all year. Wayne Rooney of course leads the field in that area, ably backed up from midfield by Frank Lampard. Those two players are the stand-out leading candidates to take the England Fan’s Player of the Year. The work undertaken at the back is often overlooked when it comes to voting, and certainly only Chelsea’s John Terry and Ashley Cole have stood out in the England defence.

Voters will need to go the FA’s website in order to cast their vote, but as always, this is a great opportunity for Bookmakers to open a market. John Terry, Frank Lampard and Glen Johnson are the three players who have made the most appearances in the last twelve months, playing 10 out of the 11 matches. Not one player has appeared in all twelve matches. So who is likely to win the award? It looks as if it will come down to two players, Lampard and Rooney as they have been the most consistent and outstanding performers through the World Cup 2010 qualifying campaign. Steven Gerrard’s injury will keep him out of the genuine running, while Jermain Defoe’s impressive displays have all come off the bench.

England Fans Player of the Year Betting
Wayne Rooney – 1/8 at Blue Square
Frank Lampard  – 8/1 at 888Sport
Steven Gerrard – 14/1 at Blue Square
Jermain Defoe – 16/1 at 888Sport
John Terry – 20/1 at Blue Square
David Beckham – 33/1 at 888Sport

Emirates Stadium
Sunday, November 27
Kick Off 4pm

It is one of the most eagerly anticipated derby matches of the season, as the Premier League sees Arsenal vs. Chelsea topping their weekend bill. Arsenal are playing catch up to Chelsea, and the Gunners currently sit in third place, 8 points behind the leaders. A defeat at home to the title favourites, would put them a massive 11 points behind them after just 14 matches of the new season, and that in itself will be a total which will be hard to overcome for Arsene Wenger’s men. Arsenal suffered a surprise defeat at home in the Premier League last weekend, falling 1-0 to visitors Sunderland. They regained some composure to see of Standard Liege in the Champions League in midweek, and that will have eased Wenger’s mind.

Both sides have players on the injured list, as to be expected around this time of the year. The main problem for Arsenal is in left back position, where Gael Clichy is missing still through and injury, and cover, and touted future England star Kieren Gibbs will also miss the game after fracturing a metatarsal in the Champions League victory. There is also concern over William Gallas, but the defender is likely to face up to his old club. Arsene Wenger will also be without star striker Robin Van Perise, as the Dutchman will be out for several weeks. For Chelsea, there may be a sooner than expected return to action for Frank Lampard, after he had to pull out of the recent England friendly against Brazil with a torn muscle. He could make the starting eleven if he comes through a late fitness test, and fellow midfielders Deco and Michael Ballack both returned from respective injuries during Chelsea’s midweek win over FC Porto.

The two London sides are the Premier League’s top scorers, with Arsenal topping the chart with three more goals scored than the Blues. However, Chelsea have the tightest defence in the league, and have a good sequence of clean sheets going. That is exactly what boss Carlo Ancelotti is building his success upon, and from that confidence comes the ability to go forward and score goals, something which Chelsea have been doing for fun lately. Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka gets the chance to put one over on his old club, and is becoming an icon of dependability for Chelsea. It was Anelka who got the solitary goal in the victory over Porto which confirmed Chelsea as winners of their Champions League group. The Frenchman has been carrying the weight of the Chelsea attack, especially when Didier Drogba has been missing. Whatever the personal, Chelsea seem to keep going from strength to strength. Droga will likely be starting after returning to action against Porto.

Arsenal however, will need to ensure that they find a way to be sharp in front of goal without Van Persie. He is a key player for them, and they do not quite have anyone who brings the same composure in linking up with the midfield. The 1-0 loss against Sunderland saw the Gunners firing blanks for the first time in 21 matches, and the game just illustrated the importance of Van Persie to Arsenal. They will need to be resourceful and find ways to try and break down the strong Chelsea defence. At this stage of the season last year, Arsenal beat Chelsea, and it was the road to ruin for short-lived boss Big Phil Scholari at the helm at Stamford Bridge. But now the Blues have the calm and collected Carlo Ancelotti, no stranger to success. Chelsea are five points ahead of Manchester United, and they will expect it to be at least the same come Sunday evening.

Betting Stats:
Last Five Premier League Head-to-Head
Arsenal 1, Chelsea 4
Chelsea 1, Arsenal 2
Chelsea 2, Arsenal 1
Arsenal 1, Chelsea 0
Arsenal 1, Chelsea 1
Arsenal 0, Chelsea 2
Arsenal 2, Chelsea 2

Last 10 Matches
Chelsea W8, D0, L2
Arsenal W6, D1, L3

Win Percentage
Arsenal 100% Home record (5 from 5)
Chelsea 66.7% win success away from home (4 out of 6)

Last 8 Premier League Games Goals:
Arsenal 23 Goals For, 7 Goals Against
Chelsea 21 Goals For, 5 Goals Against (current 4 game clean sheet streak)

On a normal run of things, it would stand to reason to expect plenty of goals in this game. The confidence is visibly growing in Chelsea, both in attack and in defence. The physical presence of Drogba alone should cause the Arsenal centre halves problem, and Chelsea have a wealth of experience and class in the middle of the park to tear teams apart, something they have been showing of late. Arsenal are not adept at keeping clean sheets, and that means Chelsea should be able to find the back of the net without too much difficulty. Arsenal will need to be at the sharp passing, creative best, with the likes of Andriy Arshavin and Cesc Fabregas running the show. How much of a look in they will get against the likes of Lampard, Ballack, Deco and Essien though, could be the big difference between the two sides. Chelsea have the all round game, Arsenal can look brilliant on their day, and can be out muscled.

Arsenal to win: 9/5 at BetFred
Draw: 12/5 at Boylesports
Chelsea to win: 7/4 at Totesport

Betting Advice: Chelsea are rightly favourites, but there isn’t a lot to chose from between this two free scoring teams. The visitors will be at full strength, whereas the Gunners won’t be. A draw wouldn’t be too bad for the Blues, whereas it would mean Arsenal would likely lose further ground to those around them in the league. For great value, head on over to Ladbrokes, for a Quatro…
Chelsea to win or draw with 3 or more goals scored in the match: 21/10 at Ladbrokes

Anytime Scorer:
Dider Drogba – If he plays, he would be worth taking as anytime scorer (2/1 at Coral). Why? In eight matches against the Gunners, he has netted 8 times.
Nicolas Anelka has 7 goals in 9 match against his former club Arsenal too (2/1 at SkyBet) .

Clean Sheet
Chelsea to keep a clean sheet – 5/2 at Paddy Power
Chelsea to win with a clean sheet – 10/3 at Boylesports

Chelsea will look to continue their incredible run of form, with their next Champions League fixture away in Madrid on Tuesday. The London side, who came under some criticism after suffering two away league defeats, have responded in the best way possible over the recent run of matches. Since throwing away three points against Aston Villa in the league, Chelsea have scored seventeen goals unanswered in four matches, including the 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Match day three of the Champions League. It looks as if some beast has been awoken after the league defeats, and Chelsea, already favourites for the Premier League, and hotly tipped to challenge Barcelona for the Champions League, look to have found their stride.

Atletico on the contrast, have slumped to third from bottom in the Spanish League, and a long way short of the quality which they showed last year in order to make a presence in the Champions League. They are without a win or a single goal in Group D of this year’s competition, and their only home fixture so far was against the apparent lowest ranked team in the Group, APOEL of Cyprus, which resulted in a 0-0 draw. Chelsea have had the upper hand in the Group, right before the very first kick off, but their last away game, they did struggle to kill off a 1-0 win over APOEL. In all likelihood the match in Madrid will be a much more open game than that one ever was. The impetuous will be on Atletico to come out and attack, for despite sitting rock bottom of the group, there is still a realistic chance that they could qualify. They would simply need to start with a win over the group leaders, and that unfortunately does not look very likely.

Over recent years, regardless of the success that they have had, Chelsea have never appeared to be the free flowing, free scoring team, instead enjoying technical passing game and being happy to settle for winning matches by the odd goal. New boss Carlo Ancelotti, has sparked something new inside of them though, which is a little surprising for an Italian coach. Perhaps this is just a rich vein of form that Chelsea are enjoying, and confidence breeds success. When the goals are flying in, when you have a strike force such as Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou who are confident in front of goal, and all backed up by an impressive midfield of Deco, Lampard, Ballack, Malouda and Joe Cole, it is clear when they can pose such a threat. There could have been a lot more goals for Chelsea over the past few games and that will be a worry sign for Premier League title challengers Manchester United. The two sides go head to head next Sunday in the league at Stamford Bridge.

Another win for Chelsea in the Champions League, would see them guarantee a place in the next round, and if second placed Porto lose, then it will be more of a certainty that they will win the group. Chelsea are the only side left in the entire competition who have yet to concede a goal, and that is a big hurdle which Madrid will have to overcome. Chelsea welcome back Didier Drogba to their European games, after he has served his three match ban, which will probably spell even more woes for Atletico. One interesting stat to take note of, is that Madrid’s striker, the ex-Manchester United striker Diego Forlan, has had the most amount of shots on goal in the competition so far, yet he has failed to beat the keeper.

Atlético Madrid to win: 10/3 at Paddy Power
Draw: 13/5 at Bet365
Chelsea to win: 10/11 at BetFred

Betting Advice: Chelsea are looking irresistible at the moment, and are worth their lead in the Premier League. They will want a comfortable ride on Tuesday night ahead of next weekend’s top of the table league clash against United, and will want to stay injury free as well as maintain a huge amount of momentum in their season. For Madrid to turn their European season around, they will need to overcome a big hill, and they just do not look to have what it takes at the moment. They have some quality players there, but as illustrated in the last game, Chelsea are a class above them. Away from home it is unlikely that the Blues will have such a comfortable four goal cushion, and they’ll be happy to come away with a 1-0 win.
Chelsea to win 1-0: 6/1 at Boylesports
Frank Lampard anytime scorer: 11/4 at William Hill

Both sides won their Premier League fixtures on the weekend, but in very different styles. The Blues were wholly dominant in their 5-0 win over Blackburn at Stamford Bridge, while Bolton needed a late winner to beat Everton 3-2 at home. The big victory for Chelsea came after a 4-0 beating of Atletico Madrid at the Bridge during midweek, and both games will have lifted some concerns over two away defeats that Chelsea had suffered in the league. The game against Blackburn was their most impressive attacking display of the season, and they will be cheered even more to see Frank Lampard getting in amongst the goals again. Chelsea seemed to have let go of some reservations over the past couple of games, perhaps the disappointing away defeats having done some good in terms of showing them exactly how they need to perform week-in week-out.

Under Jose Mourinho, Chelsea would attack all competitions with their full squad, and the Carling Cup was no exception. New boss Carlo Ancelotti took a slightly different approach in their 1-0 victory over QPR in the previous round, where he shuffled the team and gave some match experience to fringe players such as Hilario, Borino and Hutchinson. That game also signalled the return of Joe Cole after a long lay off through injury, and Cole, starting his first Premier League game of the season on Saturday against Blackburn, looked back to his old best, putting in a magnificent and creative performance which will please Blues fans and England boss Fabio Capello equally.

Bolton have found life in the Premier League a real struggle this season, with Sunday’s victory over Everton lifting them into the middle of the table from just above the relegation zone. Their problems have all been at home, where they have now just won one of their five matches played at the Reebok. On their travels they have won two and lost two, and will probably head to Stamford Bridge with a full team in order to give their fans some renewed hope of a revival in fortunes. Under Gary Megson, Bolton are not quite the same physical force which they have been in the past, but they still favour a lot of set pieces as their main sources of goals. In all likelihood they will need to at least find a couple of those to edge past Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea have won all of their games this season in all competitions, having only conceded one goal. This is the archetypal uphill battle for Bolton, and even if Chelsea put out what is to be considered a weakened side, they should still be able to more than match the challenge of the visitors

Chelsea to win: 1/3 at Bet365
Draw: 4/1 at BetFred
Bolton to win: 11/1 at SkyBet

Betting Advice: Chelsea at Stamford Bridge is pretty much a banker. One thing that is not in Chelsea’s favour is that they are collectively quite an aging side, with six of the players starting on Saturday against Blackburn being in their 30’s. After playing three matches between last weekend and this, they will have probably earned a rest, and players like Salomon Kalou will be taking the field as senior players. Bolton should have a little confidence for this game, after they performed well at Old Trafford and were unlucky to come away empty handed, and then having won their first home game of the season.
Chelsea to win in extra time: 8/1 at SkyBet

Chelsea, after their 4-0 midweek win over Atletico Madrid, stay at Stamford Bridge for Saturday’s Premier League match against Blackburn. After another away defeat last Saturday at Villa, the Blues need to get their title charge back on track. The undoubted big game of the weekend occurs on Sunday when Liverpool take on Manchester United, but this is just as important. A win for Carlo Ancelotti’s men will lift them back above leaders Man United by two points, at least until Sunday, and then they will be watching the action at Anfield with a lot of interest.

Chelsea, who are currently fighting to get a FIFA transfer ban lifted until a decision has been made about their appeal against the embago, need to send a big message to Alex Ferguson about the sincerity of their challenge. Two sloppy away defeats is not title winning form, but they now have a change to start building more momentum, using their comfortable mid-week win as a springboard. Ancelotti may have a selection problem, after striker Soloman Kalou, who has been filling in in the European matches because of Didier Drogba’s ban, netted twice on Wedneday and looked quite sharp. His fellow Ivorian Coast partner Drogba is available again though, and it is likely that the senior player will get the nod. The Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka partnership has been working well over the past couple of seasons, and it is definitely the strongest line-up that Ancelotti can put out.

Frank Lampard found his goal-scoring touch for his club on Wednesday, his first since August, and that will have been met with a welcome sigh of relief. A midfield packed with Lampard, Deco, Ballack and Essien, it is no wonder why Chelsea are expected to push Manchester United all the way this season for the title. But, as predicted, the Premier League is a lot tighter than it has been for some time at the moment. Manchester, while winning, have not been overwhelmingly dominant, and with Liverpool’s slump in form, it has allowed teams like Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City to really get in amongst the action near the top.

It is a tough week for Blackburn, who are without an away win in the Premier League this year. After the visit to Stamford Bridge, they then travel to Old Trafford next Saturday. Their last away fixture ended in a tough to swallow 6-2 defeat at the hands of Arsenal. Chelsea have only conceded one goal at home, while Blackburn have only scored three on their travels. All indicators point to a strong home win, but a win for the Blues was expected when Chelsea travelled to Wigan and to Villa Park. It is something which did not happen though, both games ending in defeats for the London side.

But games at Stamford Bridge should be a different matter. With the crowd behind them and the chance to push Manchester United back down into second place, it should be a banker for Chelsea. Just as the Atletico Madrid game was perfect for them to get some confidence back, this is just the game against a bottom half of the Premier League team, to start building another one of their serious runs of going undefeated. It is likely Blackburn will come to defend and be physical, but Chelsea have the class to play their way through the heart of the Blackburn challenge.

Chelsea to win: 1/5 at SkyBet
Draw: 18/1 at Boylesports
Blackburn to win: 11/2 at Totesport

Betting Advice: Chelsea at home should be a dead cert, or as close to one as you can get in sport. They should be able to run out comfortable winners at a canter, and should be able to hold on to a clean sheet. The coaching staff will have had them working hard on defending set pieces after all the furore over their conceded goals leading to their loss at Villa.
Chelsea to win 2-0: 11/2 at Victor Chandler