Category: Betfair

Europa League Betting Preview: Atletico Madrid v Valencia

Richard Aikman believes we could see goals galore in the second leg of this hotly contested quarter-final between two Spanish teams. “Over 2.5 goals is a miserly 1.66 but over 3.5 is a more appealing 2.64 ; when you consider that Valencia hit four in their last away match in this competition a goal fiesta is not out of the question.” As the 2-2 first leg at Mestalla proved there is little to separate these two exciting sides, but we can at least rely on the goals to flow Thursday’s eagerly awaited Spanish derby. The last three UEFA Europa League matches involving these attacking outfits have produced an impressive 16 goals, and the 3-0 home victories for each at the weekend underlined their attacking nature. Valencia strengthened their hold on third place in La Liga by overcoming Osasuna thanks to second-half strikes by Joaquin and David Villa (twice), while Atlético saw off Deportivo La Coruña after Juanito, Diego Forlan and Tiago each scored for the hosts.

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Apr 07, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Europa League Betting Preview: Standard Liege v Hamburg

The German side travel to Belgium with a narrow advantage on Thursday night but are they overly reliant on their classy Dutch striker? Richard Aikman selects the best bets for what should be an absorbing clash. “Both sides have nothing else to play so each are expected to throw caution to the wind. That makes over 2.5 goals an appealing bet at 1.92 .” Hamburg hold a slender advantage from the first leg but Standard’s away goal and strong home record in Europe will leave them full of confidence for the return leg in Belgium. Dieudonné Mbokani gave the visitors the lead last week with a powerful header before two quick-fire replies nudged Hamburg ahead.

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Apr 07, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Europa League Betting Preview: Wolfsburg v Fulham

They may have been formidable at the Cottage this season but Fulham have a terrible away record and they will have to be at their best if they are to keep the German champions at bay. Richard Aikman selects the best bets. “How Fulham can be expected to beat the resurgent Germans is a mystery. Fortunately, they don’t have to and a draw 4.0 would appear to be their best chance of progressing.” Life would be a great deal easier for Fulham had they not conceded a last-minute goal against Wolfsburg and their abysmal away record suggests a draw 4.0 is the best they can hope for in the return leg. Goals by Bobby Zamora and Damien Duff put the Cottagers in the box seat last week, but Alexander Madlung’s late effort has left the tie hanging in the balance. It’s not that Wolfsburg should hold any particular fear for Fulham, even if they did hammer Hoffenheim 4-0 at home on Saturday with Edin Dzeko scoring twice, but their woeful travel sickness is their greatest enemy. Fulham have not won on the road in eight attempts, and that victory came against Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup back in January. Worse still, the Londoners’ other away scalps this season number just three: Basle, Vetra and Portsmouth

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Apr 07, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Premier League Relegation: Don’t rule out another Great Escape

Andrew Atherley picks out some FA Cup semi-final scoring patterns and tells us why fans of Hull and Burnley have plenty of reasons to be optimistic about their chances of avoiding the drop. “Either of those scenarios would see a re-evaluation of the Relegation 2009/10 odds, and recent history shows it is not too late for a seemingly doomed team to escape the drop.” FA Cup patterns become more set in the later rounds of the competition, and there are a couple of trends worth noting for this weekend’s semi-finals. Here’s one pattern: 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0 – that’s the string of results in the last four semi-finals contested by two teams from outside the established big four of English football. It’s a small sample of results, but it might just be a sign of how careful teams become when they can sense what might be a once-in-a-career chance of reaching an FA Cup final. That impression is backed up by results in all semi-finals involving a pair of non-big four teams since the mid-1990s – seven out of nine had under 2.5 goals (in fact, all of those seven had under 1.5 goals) and the only ones that went over 2.5 goals had a lower-league team on the losing side. Sunday’s Tottenham v Portsmouth semi-final will be a low-scoring affair if it conforms to the pattern, but that goes against market expectation

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Apr 07, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

In-Running Betting at the Masters: Beware the 10th!

TQ marks your card for the in play betting at Augusta “It doesn’t matter if you are Tiger Woods 6.6 or Phil Mickelson 15.5 you will not win this tournament from outside the top ten at the halfway stage. To be really fair it is unlikely you have much of a chance outside the top four or five such is the record of the frontrunners in this tournament.” Augusta National is loved by so many because of the mystique that surrounds it. The Masters has an aura that no other tournament has and cannot be replicated. In many ways a lot of it was built up over the years by the annoying lack of coverage that the outside world was permitted to see. It is still not great but much better than it used to be and is a great help to in-running punters. Golf is a notoriously difficult sport to punt on in-running with broadcasters often showing slightly delayed pictures

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Apr 07, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Evening Market Movers: Wednesday April 7

This evening’s market movers from Kempton… Kempton 5.30 Absinthe 4.3 into 3.5 Plymouth Rock 4.1 into 3.1 6.00 Musical Mark 5.4 into 3.6 7.00 Gracious Melange 3.7 into 2.8 Dream On Buddy 4.4 out to 7.4 Totally Ours 15.5 into 11.0 7.30 Cold Turkey 3.24 into 2.86 8.00 King’s Song 4.5 into 2.42 Franco Is My Name 4.0 out to 4.8 Rowan Tiger 7.5 out to 10.0 8.30 Take My Hand 9.2 into 4.8 Ballyvonane 10.0 into 7.8 9.00 Sunrise Lyric 5.8 into 4.3

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Apr 07, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Major League Baseball Betting: Boston and NY set the tone for a thrilling season

The MLB opened with a bang on Sunday as one of the game’s great rivalries was renewed but the 2010 season really gets into the swing with a full schedule this weekend. Nick Shiambouros selects the best bets. “Sunday saw a gritty performance from a resilient Boston team and they showed that they will fight New York all the way to the last pitch this year.” The Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 9-7 in a thrilling game in Sunday’s season opener. New York blew a 5-1 lead in this high scoring game. The great CC Sabathia lost his way on the mound for the Yankees and Boston made him pay

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Apr 07, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Kempton Placepot: Wednesday 7th April

Not one of the four Flat meetings today looks an easy Placepot target but Kempton, a track that the team has become very familiar with in recent months, probably makes the most appeal. 5:30 – Nothing original in the first, but both Plymouth Rock and Absinthe stand out a mile as two lightly-raced sorts, still on the up when last seen, amongst a group of fully exposed rivals, so it’s difficult to envisage a first-leg exit with both on side. 6:00 – The second leg needs keeping simple too, with the sole newcomer making little appeal and the ones at the head of the market, Swindler and Musical Mark , the only ones with any worthwhile form to their name. 6:30 – Leg three strikes as a real potential stumbling block, but, equally, will contribute to a larger payout than the majority of evening meetings at this track. As the one with the most solid form Port Hill has to be the first selection, a repeat performance of his last two starts (when filling the runner-up spot) sure to see him thereabouts, though the feeling is that he’s vulnerable to improvers with Red Amy looking one with the most potential in the race and Mick Channon’s Tallawalla on a good mark now if she can build on the promise of her two-year-old efforts. 7:00 – Gracious Melange’s winning debut at this track was full of promise but, at such a short price in a race where so many have the potential for better, she’s worth opposing.

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Apr 07, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

IPL Betting: Bangalore Royal Challengers v Deccan Chargers

Tobias Gourlay sees new arrivals helping Bangalore get stronger and stronger as the tournament goes on. Venue and Conditions Thursday’s only IPL game takes place at the M

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Apr 07, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Betfair Big Interview: Jody Craddock

Wolves are close to surviving in the Premier League despite last week’s late defeat at Arsenal. Betfair went to meet long-serving defender Jody Craddock to learn more. “I once sold a painting for two grand – the very first Championship one I did of all the Wolves players celebrating winning the play-offs in 2003. Sir Jack Hayward bought that.” Hi Jody, so how many more points do you need to secure Premier League survival? As many as we can get. Before the Arsenal game I said another six, but that was only guessing. In reality you can’t set targets, you win a game and then it seems the team below you win a game, so that’s why you just need to get as many as you can. Eight points from four games before the Emirates has set you up, though

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Apr 07, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post
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