robin van persie

Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie has declared that “this is our moment” as his Netherlands team prepare to take on Slovakia for a place in the quarter finals of the 2010 World Cup. "This is the best team I have played in so far. We have been on a great run in matches and when you look at the level in training, it is unbelievable” said the 26-year-old, who broke his World Cup duck when opening the scoring against Cameroon last Thursday and is the 7/2 favourite with Ladbrokes to do the same again on Monday afternoon.

Indeed, the match in Durban sees the Dutch installed as very strong favourites to book their place in the last eight of the 2010 World Cup. You might just about get 1/2 on betfair that Bert van Marwijk’s team, although the best price with a fixed-odds bookie is 4/9 (bet365). As a backer of Holland myself on the outright, I have been watching the Oranje matches with great interest and feel as though they do need to move up a gear or two to improve. Perhaps they will achieve this with Arjen Robben ready to make his first start of the competition.

The Bayern Munich winger’s World Cup hopes appeared to be over during a warm-up match against Hungary due to a torn hamstring, although some fast recovery means that the former Chelsea man could be lining up to give the Slovakian defence a testing time. He showed during his substitute’s appearance during the match against Cameroon that he can be a real threat and is on offer at 6/1 (Ladbrokes) to score the first goal and 2/1 (bet365) to feature on the scoresheet at some stage of the game.

Slovakia will go into this match as obvious underdogs, although perhaps they shouldn’t be afforded odds as big as 15/2 (bet365) that they win this match. While their first Group F match resulted in a disappointing 1-1 draw with New Zealand and the second was a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Paraguay, Vladimir Weiss’ team saved their best until last with a dramatic 3-2 win over Italy to finish second in the section and dump out the Azzurri in the process.

While Marcello Lippi’s team were a shadow of the side that won the 2006 World Cup, Slovakia will be well served by a repeat of that fearless attitude and they might at least be worth a bet at +1 on the Asian Handicap at odds of 21/20 (bet365). The Dutch only managed to beat Cameroon and Japan by a one-goal margin and it could be a tight contest in the initial stages.

Robert Vittek is one of several players in this World Cup who has managed three goals and he’s 12/1 (bet365) to send his team into a shock lead, although you might think that Robben can propel this exciting Dutch team to new heights. William Hill offer 6/5 that they lead at half-time and full-time.

Barcelona splashed out £34.5 million to sign a 28-year-old striker earlier this summer, something which means that the Catalan club might get four decent seasons out of the player if they are lucky. However, David Villa is no ordinary forward and the former Valencia man looks an excellent bet to finish Top Goalscorer in South Africa this summer.

The Spain centre forward opened the scoring against Poland during his team’s final warm-up match of the season and Paddy Power’s 8/1 about him winning the Golden Shoe should be taken, especially as the Irish bookmaker are offering each-way terms of ¼ odds for the first five places. Villa has an excellent strike rate for his country of 37 goals in 57 appearances, something which makes him rightful favourite.

The other player that catches the eye is Robin Van Persie, even if the price has shrank from 22/1 to a best price 12/1 (Sporting Bet) in the past fortnight. While these predictions might have echoes of a previous article where Spain and Holland have been tipped on the outright market, the truth is that Arsenal’s flying Dutchman should get plenty of joy from matches against Denmark, Cameroon and Japan.

When you consider that Rafael Van Der Vaart, Dirk Kuyt and Wesley Sneijder will be providing a rich supply line and the fact that RVP has been banging in the goals during the warm-up matches, it still might be worth an each-way wager on the 26-year-old.

Brazil strikers are always worthy of consideration and the Samba Kings should have an enjoyable start to the campaign against North Korea. This makes Luis Fabiano (12/1 Paddy Power) and Robinho (33/1 Victor Chandler) worth a second look, especially as the latter is looking a far better proposition than Manchester City supporters will remember him during the final few matches at Eastlands. However, Dunga is a pragmatic coach who will be looking for a safety-first approach when it comes to matches against the Ivory Coast and Portugal.

Wayne Rooney was one of the top goalscorers during European qualification for the World Cup, with nine goals in ten matches for England. It’s clear that the Manchester United has a short fuse, although a strong case can be put forward that he’s worth a gamble at 11/1 (Paddy Power). It depends whether the Three Lions are the real deal or whether they flatter to deceive again, although Rooney should have some joy during the group stages.

There are players available at bigger prices who could fill their boots in South Africa and not just with their feet! Antonio Di Natale is one such forward and the Udinese man looks a big price at 50/1 (Sky Bet) to walk away with the Golden Shoe. He managed 29 goals to finish top scorer in Serie A last season and should enjoy the freedom afforded to him by New Zealand, who will struggle against the Azzurri.

Miroslav Klose won the Golden Shoe four years ago and is on offer at 33/1 with William Hill. While the Bayern Munich striker has spent much of the domestic season on the bench or injured, he’s often the saviour for Germany as he proved in Russia during qualifying.

Here are some pieces of advice that will hopefully give you a helping hand when it comes to your weekend wagers on the football!

Pay attention to the penalty-takers for each team

Graham Alexander might be a holding midfielder for Burnley, but the Scot has scored three times from the spot this season. At this rate, he will get close to double figures for the campaign and so the odds of 7.00 about him scoring at any stage would pay over time. Frank Lampard might be injured, although he has also scored three penalties this season, while Alessandro Diamanti, Darren Bent, Steven Gerrard, Danny Murphy and Leighton Baines have all scored twice past the keeper from twelve yards.

Back players to score at any time rather than first

Let’s face it, how can you back a First Goalscorer with any confidence? While punting on Darren Bent to achieve this in every game so far this season would have resulted in a 50% strike rate, it’s always a risky bet with each goal consisting of so many variables. If you genuinely believe that a player will find the back of the net during the ninety minutes, a far safer option is to bet on them scoring at any stage. Not least because your bet is guaranteed to last the full match unless the player is sent off. When Cristiano Ronaldo played for Manchester United, the bookmakers regularly used to offer the Portuguese forward at even money, even when he was on a scoring run of five games.

If Fernando Torres is fit for the Manchester City game on Saturday, then it’s worth noting that he’s scored in four of his last five Premier League matches. Similarly, Cesc Fabregas has scored in his past three matches and also five of his past seven games for the Gunners. The Spaniard will have the urge to get even further forward at Sunderland, now that Robin Van Persie is injured.

Consider Asian Handicap and Draw No Bet markets for bigger-priced selections

Ahead of Liverpool’s match at Sunderland earlier this season, it emerged that the Reds were missing Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres for the trip to Wearside. I was therefore surprised to find the bookmakers offering 3.00 about the Black Cats on the Draw No Bet market, where you get your money back if the scores finish level. This is a sound bet if you think the outsiders are good for at least a draw.

Asian Handicap betting can be employed if you either a) think that a favourite will win by a big margin or b) think that an outsider will only lose by a slender margin at worse. Last Saturday, Norwich City were available at 1.90 to beat Tranmere with a -1.0, -1.5 handicap. If the Canaries had won by one goal, then you would get half your stake returned from this wager, although they ended up triumphing by a 2-0 scoreline. This won the bet and was far more profitable than backing them at 1.40 to win the match.

Saturday 7^th November

English Championship

Blackpool v Scunthorpe

Both Blackpool and Scunthorpe were expected to struggle at the wrong end of the table by many at the start of the season. Whilst it looks like being the case for the away side, it has been the polar opposite thus far for Ian Holloway’s tangerines.

Blackpool currently sit in 7^th position in the Championship, level on points with 6^th placed QPR and just 6 points off top. Their lofty position is mainly due to their excellent record at Bloomfield Road. Holloway has turned their home ground into something of a fortress this season with 5 wins from their 7 games, drawing the other two. Their unbeaten record is made to look even more impressive when you take into account some of the names that have tried and failed to take all 3 points home with them. Newcastle and Sheffield United were brushed aside whilst Cardiff did better than most and left with a point. Their defensive record at home has been nothing short of incredible. They have conceded just two goals this season – only Newcastle and Cardiff have managed to breach the home rearguard.

Scunthorpe came straight back up last season after suffering relegation in 2008. They were considered to be relegation candidates straight from the beginning and although they currently sit 5 points off of 22^nd, their poor form on the road looks likely to drag them down into a dogfight later in the season. Like Blackpool, they have performed better at home with 13 of their 17 points coming at Glanford Park. Nigel Adkins’ side have lost their last their last 3 away matches in the league, with defeats coming against Nottingham Forest, Plymouth and most recently Peterborough. With the exception of Forest, these are defeats against sides below them in the table which makes them all them more worrying.

Blackpool have strengthened considerably during the close season with a host of new arrivals already impressing. They managed to make last year’s loan signing of Charlie Adam from Rangers permanent whilst they also brought in Jason Euell, Hameur Bouazza and Jay Emmanuel –Thomas who has impressed since joining on loan from Arsenal. These players, along with David Vaughn, make up a potent, and vibrant, midfield and attack so it’s no surprise the problems they have caused other teams, especially at home. All 5 should be fit, ready and free of suspension to take their place tomorrow afternoon. As for Scunthorpe, they will be without their talismanic striker Gary Hooper who will miss the match through illness, this is a massive blow to United as he is their joint top scorer and also is vital to the way Adkins sets his side up.

A player I’ve not mentioned yet is Blackpool’s Ben Burgess. The Irish striker may not be everyone’s cup of tea and can be frustrating when he’s not on his game. However, I think he’s been very impressive for ‘Pool this term and his link up play allows the like of Adam and Bouazza to get into the box to create and score goals. Whoever he’s partnered with tomorrow, whether it be Euell, Brett Ormerod or on his own, he’ll be a constant pain for Scunny’s defence, especially their massive centre half Rob Jones. This will be a key battle in tomorrow’s match.

Blackpool may well be punching above their weight this season, whether they do so for the entire 46 games remains to be seen. I think their midfield and attacking options will be far too much for Scunthorpe who have already proven to be weak and feeble on the road.

My selection: Blackpool to beat Scunthorpe

Best odds available: 3/4 available with Paddypower

English Premier League

Manchester City v Burnley

Saturday see’s a North West derby between two sides who may be close together geographically, but are miles apart in terms of the current footballing climate in England.

Since Man City were taken over by the Abu Dhabi group in 2008, they have spent an obscene amount of money on a plethora of new players. This season has seen the purchase of players such as Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez, Kolo Toure and Gareth Barry. All four came from teams who finished higher than City last season so it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to work out why they jumped ship. Hideous financial weight aside, Mark Hughes’ side have had a very decent start to the season, currently occupying 4^th spot and having a game in hand over the top two. They have stuttered of late with 4 draws from their last 4 matches. 3 of these matches were away from home and came against sides who have decent enough home records. Their home form this season has been good with 10 points from a possible 12.

I’ve tipped Burnley before on this blog but it was when they were defending their excellent home record, away from Turf Moor is another matter altogether. They have yet to pick up a single point on their travels losing all 5 matches thus far. They have conceded a massive 17 (joint 2^nd worst in the league) with only a couple of goals managed at the other end – both game against Blackburn incidentally which means they haven’t scored in the other 4. Owen Coyle should be praised for his sides home form but he may also be criticised for employing the same tactics away as he does at home. Their expansive football leaves them wide open for the better sides in the league to cut them open at will when they go visiting.

City will have Adebayor and Toure back fit so Hughes will have a load of options to fill his midfield and attack. I imagine the former Arsenal hitman will return to the starting line-up as they looked rather toothless without him last week. He may be partnered by Craig Bellamy and Tevez in attack with Stephen Ireland pushing for a recall in midfield. Coyle is expected to name the same side that defeated Hull last Saturday.

If Hughes does go with Ireland in midfield it will mean there will be a direct link between the other midfielders and the 3 upfront. This has been missing from City’s play in recent weeks as Ireland has found himself on the bench more often than not. Hughes may look at Burnley’s porous defence and style of play and see it as an ideal opportunity to restore the controversial Irish man to the side.

You won’t get much of a return backing City at 1/3 or so but there are several good value bets elsewhere in this match up. Burnley have lost 4 of their 5 away matches by at least two goals so my main bet in this game is Manchester City -1.

Another bet which caught my eye was for the home side to win both halves tomorrow. After a lacklustre couple of games recently, they’ll be sure to come out firing infront of their own supporters. In order for this bet to be successful they need to beat Burnley in both halves of the match (do not get this bet confused with the half time/full time wager.

My selections: Manchester City (-1) to beat Burnley – available at EVENS with several bookmakers including 888Sport

Manchester City to win both halves tomorrow – available at 5/2 with Skybet

English Premier League

Wolves v Arsenal

Arsenal travel to Wolves on Saturday evening looking to continue their strong start to the season by gaining all 3 points in what is sure to be an interesting and entertaining match.

Wolves foiled my Aston Villa tip a couple of weeks ago and have been stubborn opposition of late with 3 draws in as many matches. Their come from behind draws against Stoke and Villa have been particularly impressive considering the strength of both those sides.

Arsenal have went about their business pretty quietly on the whole considering they have lost to both halves of Manchester already. Despite those defeats they are 3^rd, 5 points behind leaders Chelsea with a game in hand. They have been particularly strong at home with 5 wins from 5 but the aforementioned losses have been the only times they have left with nothing this season. They have already defeated Everton and Fulham away which are both hard at the best of times whilst they were 2-0 up and coasting at Upton Park last month before a couple of dodgy decisions and before you know it it’s 2-2.

Despite Mick McCarthy’s home side being resilient of late, they have yet to face a team of Arsenal’s class and quality. A 4-1 mauling of AZ in the Champions League midweek is evidence that Arsene Wenger’s side are in top form.

I fully expect Arsenal to collect all 3 points tomorrow but again, you won’t get rich backing them at 2/5. So in order to make the bet a little more interesting I’m taking Robin Van Persie to score at anytime and Arsenal to win. Van Persie has been Arsenal’s go to guy this season and has scored in their last 3 away matches in the league, he has 7 in total this season.

My selection: Arsenal to beat Wolves and Robin Van Persie to score at anytime

Best odds available: 6/4 with several bookmakers including Boylesports

Good luck and happy punting.

Arsenal should have been sitting a lot more comfortably at the top of Group H, and would be doing so were it not for a late equaliser by Dutch Champions AZ Alkmaar on Match day three. The Dutch have a reputation for holding one of the best home records in European competition, and Arsenal looked to have broken through that barrier, but could not close out the game. Arsenal will qualify from Group H with no problem, but now they are only one point ahead of second placed Olympiacos, which will be a little disappointing to Gunners boss Arsene Wenger. Arsenal have been playing well this season, lighting up games with attacking football, and battling hard when they need to.

In the North London derby on Saturday, Arsenal trounced rivals Tottenham Hotspur 3-0, in a game which was not particularly fluent at the Emirates Stadium, but was one which will have pleased Wenger for the group spirit that his side showed. Often labelled as being a bit lightweight in physical games, the Gunners worked hard to gain the three points to put some distance between themselves and Spurs. In the Champions League, Arsenal were somewhat blessed by being drawn in one of the easiest groups going, but they have at least made it entertaining. They had to fight back from a 2-0 deficit to win on Match Day one, earned a comfortable win on Match day two, then suffered the agony of a late equaliser on Match Day three.

AZ Alkmaar boss Ronal Koeman will look forward to taking on Arsenal again as a manager, as he is on a five match unbeaten streak against them. They are a long way off the title pace in their domestic league, and they will have to travel to London without their top scorer, Mounir El Hamdaoui, who picked up an injury in a domestic cup game recently. The Dutch side aren’t in any kind of shape at the moment, with just two wins in eleven matches in all competitions. That is not the form to be taking to the Emirates, and they can be assured of a stern test in front of a passionate crowd of Gooners. Arsenal are leading the way in the stats chart, when it comes to having produced the most shots on target in the Champions League so far, so the AZ defence could have a long, busy night.

Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie can’t stop scoring at the moment, and is a vital cog in the Arsenal machine, especially while they are suffering so many injuries. In stark contrast to Liverpool, the Gunners have been coping well while some of the star players have been missing, with Wenger not afraid to give his youngsters a chance. When you have the class of player in your youth system which Arsenal have, then it’s easy to see why, and it is something which the club prides itself on. With an absentee list which includes Clichy, Eduardo, Denilson, Rosicky, Walcott, Wilshere, Fabianski, Bendtner and more, Arsenal are still producing and are chasing Champions League success as well as pushing Manchester United and Chelsea hard in the Premier League.

Arsenal to win: 1/5 at Stan James
Draw: 6/1 at Bet365
AZ Alkmaar to win: 16/1 at Paddy Power

Betting Advice: When it comes to Arsenal playing at home, you are usually guaranteed a banker. They have won all of their league games there so far this season, and they boast an rich history of success at home in the Champions League, where only Manchester United have actually managed to win in recent years. Their defence may not be the strongest, but they can usually outscore teams with relative ease, can the Gunners. AZ Alkmaar on the other hand have been a bit of a disappointment as one of the new faces in the Champions League. They have picked up two draws and loss, with only two goals to their name. That’s in contrast to Arsenal’s six goals and seven points.
Arsenal to win 2-0: 11/2 at BetFred