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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.

Last Friday, 32 nations discovered their fate as the draw for next summer’s World Cup took place in Cape Town. Never before has the draw received so much attention, with the media keen to identify ‘Groups of Death’, despite the fact that every team playing in the competition are there on merit (with the exception of South Africa).

A couple of bookmakers have already decided to offer a generous cashback special on the World Cup, with Sky Bet offering to refund all losing outright bets if England are triumphant. This is possibly an attempt to encourage less English people to back their own country, with many UK bookmakers likely to run up liabilities on Fabio Capello’s team ahead of the tournament starting.

Similarly, Boylesports are offering to refund all losing outright bets if France repeat their 1998 victory and win the World Cup for the second time. This is a reaction to the controversial way in which Ireland were eliminated from the play-offs by Les Bleus, although this is not a vintage French team, with Blue Square offering 16/1 that Raymond Domenech steers them to glory.

The bookmakers have already gone into overdrive with a wide range of markets on the 2010 World Cup, with every group match already priced up by the likes of Paddy Power and Sky Bet. In addition, betfair have set up the matches on their website, although it might be some time before there is reasonable liquidity. Paddy Power have also priced up correct score, double chance and HT / FT opportunities for each game, with each of these related to the match betting.

Coral, Sky Bet, Paddy Power and bet365 have also priced up a ‘Stage of Elimination’ market for 14 of the 32 teams, with England available at 9/2 (Coral) to go out of the competition at the semi-final stage. For those that think that Brazil might suffer in the ‘Group of Death’, Paddy offer 5/1 that the five-time winners go out at the group stage, although Portugal might be a more sensible bet with the Irish firm at 6/4.

Totesport have priced up a ‘Top African Team’ market and it’s no surprise to see Ivory Coast available at even money, although a tough group could see Ghana (9/2) or Cameroon (11/2) go further than their continental cousins. Totesport also offer ‘Top European Team’ which is naturally a competitive market, but will anyone get further than Euro 200 winners Spain (11/5)? It’s no surprise to see Europe a best price 4/9 (bet365) to be the winning continent, with South America next at 9/4 (Blue Square).

Finally, Blue Square have opened a market on which England players will make the 23-man squad that jets out to South Africa in the summer. Shaun Wright-Phillips is clearly a borderline decision at 10/11, with Gabby Agbonlahor an interesting price at 9/4. His Villa team-mate James Milner looks more likely to take a place on the plane, with his odds at 4/11 right now.

We now know the 32 teams who will contest the 19th renewal of the World Cup next summer in South Africa. France’s progress to the finals was heavily controversial, although Stan James offer a best price 16/1 that Raymond Domenech’s team repeat their success of 1998. The big surprise on Wednesday evening was the exit of Russia, although the bookmakers don’t rate Slovenia’s chances in their first ever tournament. Coral make them 400/1 outsiders, although they are there on merit after finishing second in a tough qualifying group.

Portugal managed to ease through against Bosnia despite missing Cristiano Ronaldo, although they are sure to have officially the world’s best player back for the finals. Sporting Bet offer 18/1 that Carlos Queiroz steers the team to glory, although they continue to lack a cutting edge up front. Meanwhile, the dream is still alive for Euro 2004 winners Greece, who landed a 1-0 win in Ukraine to go through this week. Otto Rehhagel’s tactics worked a treat in Kiev, although the bookies are less convinced that they’ll make an impact in South Africa. Victor Chandler offer 150/1 that they are triumphant.

Some people are suggesting that the 2010 World Cup winner is going to come from a select group of two. Spain proved during Euro 2008 that they are an outstanding team and Ladbrokes make them slight favourites at 4/1 to prove that they’re the best nation on the planet. Manager Vicente del Bosque is blessed with some technically brilliant players and it’s hard to pick holes in them at the moment. Similarly, Brazil have an excellent World Cup pedigree and Paddy Power are lifting their heads above the parapet by offering 5/1. The South Americans have featured in three of the last four finals and qualified easily. Perhaps backing both of these teams will prove to be a profitable excursion.

In recent months, one of the big market movers have been the Ivory Coast, with William Hill going as short as 20/1 that they become the first African nation to win the tournament. They very nearly beat Germany in a friendly recently and have arguably the world’s best striker in Didier Drogba. The Elephants will have plenty of competitive match action in the African Nations cup and are the continent’s best chance of success. While the hosts will obviously have home advantage, they looked to be a mediocre team during the Confederations Cup and Coral are prepared to lay them at 200/1.

One of the teams that has drifted the most is Argentina and the rumour on the grapevine is that the bookmakers are out to get Diego Maradona’s team next summer. Bet Fred offer a standout 10/1 about the Albicelestes, although they were slightly fortunate to qualify and having Lionel Messi in the team does not equal success. However, firms are reporting a brisk trade on the Netherlands and England to win next summer’s competition. The Dutch blew the opposition away in qualifying and have been cut to 14/1 (bet365), while England are 13/2 (Coral), with Fabio Capello fielding a weakened team against Brazil recently. It might be worth taking this price now as there will be a flood of patriotic money coming for the Three Lions by the time next summer comes around!

There will be plenty of nerves on display in Lisbon, Athens, Dublin and Moscow this coming Saturday, with eight teams battling it out for four World Cup places. These matches are sure to be popular as far as pre-match and In-Play betting is concerned, so we’ve taken a look at our favourite bookmakers to find some top promotions.

Over at bet365, they are running their usual Bore Draw Money Back offer, where correct score, HT / FT and Scorecast bets are refunded if a match finishes 0-0. We would say that these type of matches have a much stronger chance of finishing goalless, especially as the first leg games are bound to be tight and cagey. Teams will be afraid of conceding and you can bet that the likes of Bosnia and Slovenia will be setting up defensively against Portugal and Russia respectively.

Meanwhile, Paddy Power have come up with a typically crazy promotion for the Ireland v France match, which ties in with the X Factor! John and Edward are one of the favourites to be eliminated and, if they are evicted on Sunday, then your losing First Goalscorer, Correct Score and Scorecast bets will be refunded. The pair were close to being axed last week so this could be a popular promotion.

Meanwhile, although Ladbrokes don’t have any set promotions for the four matches, they are providing a unique type of bet. The Quatro enables to you to select a combination of the winning team and the amount of goals scored. For example, they offer odds of 2.50 that Ukraine win or draw in Greece PLUS there are two goals or less in the match. Similarly, Ladbrokes offer Goal Time Quatro, so for example you can back Republic of Ireland to score first PLUS the first goal being scored after the 27th minute. At odds of 4.00, it’s not a bad shout.

My personal hunch is that the matches are likely to be low-scoring. If you look at the previous first leg scores in the play-offs, there are often few goals involved and it could therefore be worth looking at the Under 2.5 Goals prices. Stan James are offering some great odds on this market, going best price for the Greece v Ukraine and the Ireland v France matches. Doing four lines of trebles on the quartet of games would return a profit if three involve two goals or less and the Bosnia manager has already stated his intention to pack out the midfield in Portugal.

Over at Unibet, they have priced up some goalscorer match bets, with Kevin Doyle being paired with Thierry Henry and Robbie Keane going head-to-head with Nicolas Anelka. Meanwhile, Canbet customers should be aware that you get a 10% bonus on any winnings from a multiple bet. Providing you include at least three selections and that your accumulator amounts to odds of at least 6.00, you can get 10% added to the pay-out.

Of course, all of the bookmakers we mention will be offering In-Play betting on the four World Cup qualifying matches, while bet365 will be streaming the games from Moscow, Lisbon and Athens so that you can watch and bet on the action!

October 10th sees another step forward in England’s World Cup 2010 qualifying campaign. Thank to a 100% record so far in their first eight games, Fabio Capello’s side have already qualified, thanks to a thumping 5-1 home victory against Croatia. Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard netted two-a-piece, while Wayne Rooney rounded off the scoring after a comical miss-kick by the Croatian keeper. England will be keen to see out the qualifying process and maintain that perfect record, something the Dutch did (albeit playing two games less) and only the powerhouse of Spain can achieve this same feat now. This will be a big feather in England’s cap, and why their odds have been cut to lift the trophy in South Africa next year, and are 11/2 at Bet365 to do it.

The match against the Ukraine holds a lot of importance for the Group, not for England themselves clearly, although they will be keen not to let up on their current excellent run of form, but to see who clinches that all important runners-up place. Croatia are in second place in the moment, two points ahead of the Ukraine, but having played a game more. Things would have been a lot closer if the Ukraine had managed better than an away 0-0 draw in Belarus in their last match, while England was doing them a favour by hammering Croatia. They could not take advantage however, and now face the task of needing to beat England to keep themselves in with a chance.

Ukraine’s final game is away against the whipping boys of the group, Andorra, so it should be a given that they will pick up maximum points there. So, in order for them to stand a chance of taking second place, they will need to beat England. Things would be made a lot easier for them, if Croatia were to suffer an embarrassment against Kazakhstan in their final group match, but that is something that they cannot rely on. The Ukraine need to go all out to beat England, and in the end, if they can secure the two wins they need, then it won’t matter what Croatia does.

This is an interesting match, and it will be drawing a lot of attention. Fabio Capello will hopefully keep the team together in order to build some stability ahead of World Cup. The planning starts now, and the competition for places in the starting eleven should hot up, especially with the Premier League getting into the swing of things. England are in free scoring mode at the moment, as so the permutations for placing bets are both intriguing and challenging. In game live betting is always an attractive option for following the action, and with Bet365 you can have the very best of both worlds.

Bet365 offer a comprehensive betting service, and along with that, they provide live streaming of games, for a one stop online shop for betting and watching. They stream over 4,000 live events per year with this service. But only users with funded Bet365 accounts will be able to enjoy the live stream of the game, as the broadcast for the Ukraine v England game is exclusive to Bet365, and no other bookmaker or TV channel has the privilege to show it. This is a major coup for Bet365 and makes a grand statement about their place in the competitive Bookies market.

You too can have access to the live streamed game, by opening an account with Bet365 and depositing some funds. That’s all it will take, but not only will you get to enjoy the game, by opening a new account you will also reap the benefit of a 100% Initial Deposit Bonus. Just make that deposit of £20 or more and you will be given back a 100% on your initial deposit, up to a maximum of £200. Remember, that the streaming of the England game is free on Bet365, as opposed to certain newspapers, which are charging around £15 to watch a live stream. For that money, you can put it towards your Bet365 deposit, watch the game, and hopefully pick up some winnings too.

Wednesday, September 9th
8.00pm Kick Off at Wembley

England midfielder David Beckham could be back in a different kind of England shirt in the summer, this time one of the English Premier league club shirts. His season for LA Galaxy finishes in November, and Becks has stated that he has options to come back to England. Last year Becks was loaned out to AC Milan, who, reportedly are keen to have him back. He’s clearly not stating any names of clubs involved in taking him on loan until he returns to LA for March, but he knows the importance of keeping up his full fitness during the MLS off season. The World Cup is just around the corner, and a fit Becks is a bonus to have on the bench.

Beckham has leadership and experience, and will be somewhat embittered by the failure to qualify for Euro 2008 when the Croats beat them in the last qualifying game at Wembley. That game has been much talked about in the run up to Wednesday’s clash, but coach Fabio Capello has been keen to dismiss talk of the players being single mindedly out for revenge. Taking a cool approach, Capello pragmatically stated that the disastrous defeat for England had no bearing on current events. It was in the past and that is where it should stay, and that watching videos of that game now will not help the current English position. Instead Capello has been studying the most important games of the Group 6 Qualifying matches, including Croatia’s struggle to overturn Belarus, and how successful England were when they defeated Croatia 4-1 earlier in the campaign thanks to an Aaron Lennon hat trick.

Croatian team coach Slaven Bilic has been spouting a little bit of rhetoric ahead of the match, as he initiated the role of being protagonist in the mind games. He insisted that under Italian Fabio Capello, England had lost some of the English-ness that had always made them difficult to play against. One can only assume he will be referring to the physical force of past English teams which relied on long balls and a big physical presence up front. That certainly is not the Italian’s way, as England displayed at times in their friendly match against Slovenia on Saturday. There were passages of creative midfield play, that were slick and decisive, and with Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard at the heart of the team, there is a good balance of both power and finesse. John Terry and Wayne Rooney certainly won’t be pulling out of any physical challenges.

After thanking former West Ham and Everton defender Bilic for saving him the trouble of a thinking up a team talk, Capello’s main headache before the game has been who will be the second striker. Will he stick with Heskey up front to create room for Rooney, or will he start with the red hot Jermain Defoe who has netted five times in the last three England games? The coach knows, but he’s just not telling yet. The other main position up for contention is in Beckham’s position on the right wing. With the former Captain starting on the bench, the position will be filled by either Shaun Wright-Phillips or Aaron Lennon. Guesses will be that it will be Heskey and SWP lining up for kick off.

The only positive thing that came out of that night in 2007 in the 3-2 defeat, was the fact that it meant Steve McClaren was no longer going to be England manager. The history and disappointment of that Wembley night will still be on the minds of the few participants who were there though. Only Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry are likely starters on Wednesday from that rainy Wembley line-up. Motivation for the English should come simply from the fact that there is a World Cup place with the nation’s name on it. That is something Capello recognises as being more important than revenge.

England – 8/13 at Bet365
Draw – 11/4 at BetFred
Croatia – 11/2 at William Hill

Betting Tips. England should win, and the bookies recognise that. With the home crowd and vital points at stake, it should be a done deal. It will probably be worth backing up the England win bet with some other tasty tempters such as these…

First Scorer: Frank Lampard – 8/1 at Labdrokes. Big Frank can pop up at any time. If Rooney’s able to win a penalty again when it matters, this truly would be an awesome pick.

England to win 1-0 – 11/2 at SkyBet. A sensible bet. It’s unlikely this is going to be a high scoring match, with England not wanting any slip ups, and the fact that the late goal conceded against the Slovenians, was down to incredibly lazy defending, should have been driven home by Capello.

World Cup Qualifiers

You can watch all the streams listed below for FREE. However, some will need you to have some form of money in your betting account and you will, of course, need to have an account with the bookie. Some may require you have a bet before you can watch but they’re rare nowadays.

If you’re having a punt on this weekend’s Internationals then watching the game has to be a priority! Create account now with one of our highly recommended bookmakers now or simply log in if you’re already a loyal member and take full advantage of the action on offer.

Ukraine V Andorra – Saturday 5^th Sept, 15:00 GMT

• Bet365, SkyBet, Betfair, Ladbrokes

Azerbaijan V Finland – Saturday 5^th Sept, 16:00 GMT

• Bet365, SkyBet, Betfair, Ladbrokes, Expekt

Russia V Liechtenstein – Saturday 5^th Sept, 16:00 GMT

• Bet365, SkyBet, Betfair, Ladbrokes

   

   

Armenia V Bosnia – Saturday 6^th Sept, 16:00 GMT

• Bet365, SkyBet, Betfair, Ladbrokes

Moldova V Luxembourg – Saturday 5^th Sept, 17:00 GMT

• Bet365, SkyBet, Betfair, Ladbrokes

   

Turkey V Estonia – Saturday 5^th Sept, 19:00 GMT

• Bet365, SkyBet, Betfair, Ladbrokes

   

Georgia V Italy – Saturday 5^th Sept, 19:00 GMT

• Bet365, SkyBet, Betfair, Ladbrokes, Expekt

   

Slovakia V Czech Republic – Saturday 5^th Sept, 19:30 GMT

• Bet365, SkyBet, Betfair, Ladbrokes, Expekt

   

Croatia V Belarus – Saturday 5^th Sept, 19:30 GMT

• Bet365, SkyBet, Betfair, Ladbrokes

France V Romania – Saturday 5^th Sept, 19:30 GMT

• Betfair

   

Iceland V Norway – Saturday 5^th Sept, 19:45 GMT

• Bet365, SkyBet, Ladbrokes

   

Bahrain V Saudi Arabia – Saturday 5^th Sept, 20:00 GMT

• Bet365, SkyBet, Betfair, Ladbrokes

Colombia V Ecuador – Saturday 5^th Sept, 21:30 GMT

• Bet365, SkyBet, Betfair, Ladbrokes

   

Peru V Uruguay – Saturday 5^th Sept, 21:30 GMT

• Bet365, SkyBet, Betfair

   

Paraguay V Bolivia – Saturday 5^th Sept, 23:30 GMT

• Bet365, SkyBet, Ladbrokes

Sports betting week 8 - 14 June

Date	Sport	Org.	Venue	Event
6-10Jun		FIFA	worldwide	WC-Qualification matches
8-13Jun		WTA	Birmingham	AEGON Classic
8-14Jun		ATP	London	AEGON Championships (Queens Club)
8-14Jun		ATP	Halle	Gerry Weber Open
14-18Jun		FIFA	South Africa	Confed-Cup

Football at international level can more often than not be a psychological battle.

In the International arena very often the team that pulls together can achieve so much more than the team of household names who are pulling in different directions. I personally feel this is why nations such as Germany have been successful time and again and have sometimes achieved success despite their superstars retiring or being absent from major competitions.

In Euro2004 we saw the classic example of the total being greater than the sum of the parts when against all odds Greece lifted the trophy.

And it’s the current Greek squad who are attracting my betting eye this week as they line up at home to Switzerland. Greece are showing the signs of being a united squad and results during this world cup qualifying campaign have been impressive. The Swiss meanwhile have been poor on their travels with only one win in their last 6 away fixtures.

At home Greece have been a force and I feel at 4/5 with Bet365 they will see off the Swiss on Wednesday