Looking back on yesterday I was not surprised to see the demise of Spain. Last week I wrote about the fact I didn't feel Spain would be interested this time around or indeed get out of the group and so it proved. They were not a patch of the team that won the last World Cup or the Euro Championships. Chile will now play Holland to see who wins the Group, that should be a very interesting game as the team finishing second in this Group could face Brazil in the round of 16.
Equally unimpressive were Brazil against Mexico. They very much seem to be a 1 man team and if I was part of the Brazil setup I would be very worried about playing Chile next! The dutch did their best to throw away a perfect start against Australia but ultimately class told against the lowest ranked team in the competition to walk away with a slim victory.
For me Germany are the stand out team so far, Argentina have yet to kick into gear and Chile have been superb. Also I suggested recently that Ronaldo wasn't 100% fit and so it proved yesterday when he limped out of training and could be missing for the rest of the tournament, that being the case I think that cements Portugals failure at this tournament.
Today sees England take on Uruguay, so much has been said about Rooney this week, will he won't he play. If he plays behind Sturridge I think we will win, Suarez seems to be a certain starter although there have to be questions over his fitness as well. Diego Costa and Ronaldo both came here with injury doubts and neither player has been at the races, the same I think will be said of Suarez after tonights game. Its desperation time for Uruguay knowing that defeat will pretty much end their tournament.
I take England (11/10) to win this one and will also take a punt on 2-0 (17/2). England are not big scorers in World Cup games so can't see the margin being any bigger, however they are full of confidence despite the set back to Italy.
In the early game Columbia play Ivory Coast, the African nations have been poor during this World Cup shown again last night my Croatians demolition of Cameroon. The South American teams seem to be very strong, as such I can only see one result from this game and that is a Columbia win (23/10).
In the late game Japan play Greece. Greece were very poor against Columbia and I cannot see that changing against Japan. Japan despite losing to Ivory Coast did put up a good show and I can see this ending in a scoring draw.
One last thing! You know things are bad for the Spain Manager when you see that last night he came out of the stadium to board the bus and tried to get onto the Chile bus! How times change!!!!!
Good luck with your betting today.
Thursday, 19 June 2014
Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Brazil World Cup 2014 - Group H kickoff
Just a quick post today. Yesterday didn't go to plan with both African sides failing to win but Germany pulled off a great win against Portugal and look good for a long run in the tournament.
Nigeria were very poor as Iran did a great job in keeping them out with very few scares during the game. I didn't see the USA game but it seems I have under estimated the USA team!
Today sees the start of Group H, I expect like most people to see Belgium beat Algeria and Russia be too strong for South Korea. We also have Brazil playing Mexico.
Brazil did ok last week against Croatia and expect them to be improved tonight against Mexico. I expect Neymar to score again as he is the talisman of the team.
So I will go with Belgium,Brazil and Russia no surprise there!
As seems to be the trend for strikers to score I will go with Lukaku and Neymar to score first for their respective countries.
Good luck tonight!
Monday, 16 June 2014
Brazil World Cup - Group F and Group G review
Last night Argentina kicked off their tournament with a 2-1 win over Bosnia. I went with Aguero to score first but the master Messi landed to first scorer odds! Yet again another front line goal scorer bagging the goal for the country! I can;t complain as I had Benzema to score first for France and then bet again doubling my stake on Benzema to score again but had the wait for the third goal in Frances 3-0 win as the second goal was rightly judged as being an own goal! Celebration turned to concern until the frenchman put things right with a great shot later in the second half.
Tonight Germany take on Ronaldo (sorry Portugal). Portugal are only at these finals because Ronaldo dismantled Sweden in the play offs so they cannot be considered true champion material. They were in Spains qualification group but as we saw Spain are not the force they once were.
Germany on the other hand come here with a strong shout as they always seem to at the world cup! The German team seem to have been keeping themselves to themselves and will know what to do against Portugal tonight. Portugal haven't beaten Germany since the 2000 Euro Championships and since then they have lost 3 times the most recent being in the 2012 Euros with Germany winning 1-0.
I cannot see any way that Germany will lose this, I don't expect Ronaldo to be fully fit despite news reports today that he is and will go with Germany at 19/20 to win this one.
Next up Iran play Nigeria. Nigeria won their qualification group with 12 points the next team had 7 as they won 3 and drew 3 games and then beat Ethiopia 4-1 in a play off. Iran qualified top of their group ahead of South Korea so could be considered one of the stronger sides from The Asia groups. However so far Australia and Japan have both lost. From the African continent we have seen Ivory Coast win and Cameroon lose. I go with Nigeria to win this one as well by a couple of goals.
Finally Ghana face USA. 4 years ago like a lot of teams before and after them Ghana were cheated by Luis Suarez. His handball stopped a certain goal and the resulting penalty was missed. Its all history now but shows how Ghana have come on as a team over the years. Had they won they would have been the first African side to make the semi finals. Now the last time that nearly happened was in 1990 when Cameroon lost to England, and since then Cameroon have been going in the wrong direction.
At the start of the tournament I backed USA to score the least number of goals, firstly because I don't think they are in the same class as the rest of the teams in their group (Germany and Portugal being the others) and secondly they were a huge 12/1!
I'm therefore a fan of Ghana and hope they will repay my faith in them tonight!
Now then..... 188Bet tell me if I open an account with them and bet a treble if 2 win they will refund my stake with a free bet! Now I see this as a good way to combine my selections today so will be doing exactly that!
Good luck with your selections today.m
Sunday, 15 June 2014
Brazil World Cup - The Wonders of in play betting
It would seem now that the Swiss have come from behind we should look at the world that is in play betting. The most amazing fact at this world cup so far is this.
In 5 games the team scoring first have gone on to lose the game. In the Swiss game the minute Ecuador scored Switzerland were 9/2 to win the game having started the game at 7/5. I took this price and am glad I did however at half time Ray Winston (Bet365) was offering me 11/2 on the Swiss.
Brazil, Holland, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast and Switzerland have all conceded first but won their game.
Therefore in 71% of games where both teams have scored the team conceding first has won, this could be a good indicator for in play betting followers.
2 games have finished to nil so far so are not included in these stats.
Of the 9 games 8 have finished with over 2.5 goals, this is another interesting fact and shows that bettering over 2.5 goals is a useful bet in this tournament so far. I think the second round of games will be the same but the 3rd round of games could be a bit more cagey.
Games won by the team conceding first when both teams score in the game.
In 5 games the team scoring first have gone on to lose the game. In the Swiss game the minute Ecuador scored Switzerland were 9/2 to win the game having started the game at 7/5. I took this price and am glad I did however at half time Ray Winston (Bet365) was offering me 11/2 on the Swiss.
Brazil, Holland, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast and Switzerland have all conceded first but won their game.
Therefore in 71% of games where both teams have scored the team conceding first has won, this could be a good indicator for in play betting followers.
2 games have finished to nil so far so are not included in these stats.
Of the 9 games 8 have finished with over 2.5 goals, this is another interesting fact and shows that bettering over 2.5 goals is a useful bet in this tournament so far. I think the second round of games will be the same but the 3rd round of games could be a bit more cagey.
Games won by the team conceding first when both teams score in the game.
Brazil World Cup - Group E first games
Well yesterday was not the best day for my bets with my first 3 bets going down. However I managed to recover the loses with a double bet on Ivory Coast leaving me up 6 points on the day. Not great but still in positive territory.
My view on Uruguay was simply they are overrated, they struggled to get through their qualification Group and had to go via the play offs and I didn't really see anything in the game to suggest their high FIFA ranking!
Costa Rica looked good, Joel Campbell looked very good! He is on Arsenals books although out on loan last season, will be interesting to see if he can capitalise on this game and make a name for himself at this tournament.
Following the failure of Uruguay you might have thought Group D would be wide open, little did we know Pirlo was still the master and the young English are still a bit raw. I think England are 2 world class players short and the future is bright but we need to be looking at today, and today we are not good enough. Don't get me wrong, watching Sterling and Sturridge running at the defence was great to see and must be allowed to continue. Rooney needs to be playing in the centre or not at all, playing him wide is not his game and never has been! I expect England to beat and therefore knock out Uruguay next week then it will all depend on how Costa Rica do against Italy so we can work out the permutations for the final game.
So to todays fixtures.
The first thing to note is if we purely look at qualification form most games have gone to form. Eg Uruguay might be considered a surprise to lose to Costa Rica but Uruguay came through the playoffs so are efectively the worst South American side in the tournament whereas Costa Rica finished second in the CONCACAF. It must be said the South American group is stronger but as we saw on a one game playoff anything can happen! So bearing this in mind we have Switzerland v Ecuador. England played a friendly against Ecador recently at Wembley and drew 2 each. So they can score goals but they also concede.
Switzerland didn't lose a game during qualification winning 7 drawing 3. They are the top seeds in this group so should really come out on top.
The bookies make Switzerland 6/4 fav to win with Ecuador at 21/10 i can't look further than Switzerland and consider 6/4 to be a big price. Uruguay showed yesterday that South American sides can lose and this will happen to Ecuador today.
Next up is France and Honduras, some making France the dark horses of the tournament. Honduras drew 0-0 recently in Miami against England in a game stopped for an Electrical storm, I don''t see Honduras as a threat to France however France at 1/3 are a bit too short for me to bet on. I have noticed that a lot of the main strikers are scoring for their countries in the opening games. Neymar, Van Persie, Cavani, Balotelli, Sturridge, Sanchez to name a few! Benzema is 11/4 to score first and as short as 8/11 to score any time! He played really well recently in the 8-0 win over Jamaica so I will back him to score first at 11/4.
Finally tonight we have my pick for winners, Argentina. Playing Bosnia who are appearing in the finals for the first time. The game again is set up to be a one sided affair with Argentina currently 4/11 to win the game! Once again this is too short so I will probably look at some other markets during the day and see how the other bets fair before making a punt.
Hopefully we will see some more great action and goals today!
My view on Uruguay was simply they are overrated, they struggled to get through their qualification Group and had to go via the play offs and I didn't really see anything in the game to suggest their high FIFA ranking!
Costa Rica looked good, Joel Campbell looked very good! He is on Arsenals books although out on loan last season, will be interesting to see if he can capitalise on this game and make a name for himself at this tournament.
Following the failure of Uruguay you might have thought Group D would be wide open, little did we know Pirlo was still the master and the young English are still a bit raw. I think England are 2 world class players short and the future is bright but we need to be looking at today, and today we are not good enough. Don't get me wrong, watching Sterling and Sturridge running at the defence was great to see and must be allowed to continue. Rooney needs to be playing in the centre or not at all, playing him wide is not his game and never has been! I expect England to beat and therefore knock out Uruguay next week then it will all depend on how Costa Rica do against Italy so we can work out the permutations for the final game.
So to todays fixtures.
The first thing to note is if we purely look at qualification form most games have gone to form. Eg Uruguay might be considered a surprise to lose to Costa Rica but Uruguay came through the playoffs so are efectively the worst South American side in the tournament whereas Costa Rica finished second in the CONCACAF. It must be said the South American group is stronger but as we saw on a one game playoff anything can happen! So bearing this in mind we have Switzerland v Ecuador. England played a friendly against Ecador recently at Wembley and drew 2 each. So they can score goals but they also concede.
Switzerland didn't lose a game during qualification winning 7 drawing 3. They are the top seeds in this group so should really come out on top.
The bookies make Switzerland 6/4 fav to win with Ecuador at 21/10 i can't look further than Switzerland and consider 6/4 to be a big price. Uruguay showed yesterday that South American sides can lose and this will happen to Ecuador today.
Next up is France and Honduras, some making France the dark horses of the tournament. Honduras drew 0-0 recently in Miami against England in a game stopped for an Electrical storm, I don''t see Honduras as a threat to France however France at 1/3 are a bit too short for me to bet on. I have noticed that a lot of the main strikers are scoring for their countries in the opening games. Neymar, Van Persie, Cavani, Balotelli, Sturridge, Sanchez to name a few! Benzema is 11/4 to score first and as short as 8/11 to score any time! He played really well recently in the 8-0 win over Jamaica so I will back him to score first at 11/4.
Finally tonight we have my pick for winners, Argentina. Playing Bosnia who are appearing in the finals for the first time. The game again is set up to be a one sided affair with Argentina currently 4/11 to win the game! Once again this is too short so I will probably look at some other markets during the day and see how the other bets fair before making a punt.
Hopefully we will see some more great action and goals today!
Saturday, 14 June 2014
Brazil World Cup 2014 - Group C and Group D kickoff
Today we will see the entrance of England into the World Cup! They have only won 2 or their previous 6 opening World Cup matches so hopes are high but reality could soon set in!
Last night we saw the Spanish get taken apart but a fantastic Dutch performance, I always felt that the Dutch might win but not by that margin. However first game up today is the first game from Group C - Columbia v Greece. With Chile winning a tighter encounter than the score line suggests against Australia (3-1) the South American teams have started this tournament well. I expect Columbia to carry on that trend today against a reasonable but not electrifying Greece side.
Columbia are odds on 10/11 to win the game so I will take a chance on 10/3 for the draw at half time and Columbia to win the game.
Following that game we have the opening fixture from Group D Uruguay v Costa Rica here again Uruguay are pretty unbackable at 9/20 to win the game so I expect Uruguay to come out flying and be winning at half time and full time at 21/20.
Then the big one! England against Italy, so much has already been written about this game but the stats are the stats! England 2 wins from 6 opening fixtures. In
2010 - 0-0 Algeria,
2006 - 1-0 Paraguay,
2002 - 1-1 Sweden,
1998 - 2-0 Tunisia,
1990 - 1-1 Rep of Ireland,
1986 - 0-1 Portugal
So we can't beat European sides in opening games! However I do believe this England side have the ability to win the game the question is will Roy allow them to express themselves and go for it or will he play a system not to lose the game. I'm not sure exactly what I will bet on as I will wait for the teams to be announce (for me the key is whether Wellbeck or Stirling plays) however I think it will be a low scoring game, so I can see 0-0 1-0 or 1-1, I don't think England will lose.
Good luck with your bets today, if you want to share them in the comments please do.
Friday, 13 June 2014
Spain v Holland!
What a great game to start the first full day of action. A repeat of the last world cup final - its the first time that has happened folks!
For me I think Spain are on the decline and I don't think they will win the cup this time around, indeed I have doubts that they will get out of the group! Chile are very strong and if Holland can get something from tonights game it could spell the start of the end for Spain.
They have some great attacking options but then so do the Dutch!
So what will i bet on tonight?
I really don't think Spain will win but this could end 0-0. So I'm going to bet 5pts on Holland at 19/4 and 10pts on Holland and the draw at 21/20.
Enjoy the game!
What a great game to start the first full day of action. A repeat of the last world cup final - its the first time that has happened folks!
For me I think Spain are on the decline and I don't think they will win the cup this time around, indeed I have doubts that they will get out of the group! Chile are very strong and if Holland can get something from tonights game it could spell the start of the end for Spain.
They have some great attacking options but then so do the Dutch!
So what will i bet on tonight?
I really don't think Spain will win but this could end 0-0. So I'm going to bet 5pts on Holland at 19/4 and 10pts on Holland and the draw at 21/20.
Enjoy the game!
Group A World Cup - Mexico v Cameroon
The Lions of Cameroon have only won 1 game since the world cup of 1990 when England knocked them out in the quarter finals! This leads me to think that they will once again struggle to get out of Group A. Unlikely to beat Brazil and based on last nights game unlikely to get anything from Croatia they need to win today to give them any chance at all.
Mexico struggled to the world cup beating New Zealand in a play off. However Fifa still have Mexico ranked 20th in the world, although in past years they have been a lot higher.
I feel Mexico are best placed to win this game although I expect Croatia and Brazil to progress from this group.
Today I'm going with Mexico to win. Priced at 5/4 looks a reasonable bet.
This could come down to who will be able to score? Javier Hernandez (6/1 to score first) (hasn't scored in the last 9 games for Mexico) or Samuel Eto'o (7/1 to score first) - the old timer who didn't havve the best season at Chelsea!
Mexico struggled to the world cup beating New Zealand in a play off. However Fifa still have Mexico ranked 20th in the world, although in past years they have been a lot higher.
I feel Mexico are best placed to win this game although I expect Croatia and Brazil to progress from this group.
Today I'm going with Mexico to win. Priced at 5/4 looks a reasonable bet.
This could come down to who will be able to score? Javier Hernandez (6/1 to score first) (hasn't scored in the last 9 games for Mexico) or Samuel Eto'o (7/1 to score first) - the old timer who didn't havve the best season at Chelsea!
Thursday, 12 June 2014
Group D Review - Brazil 2014
Group D
The England Group! This Group is made up of England, Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica. We have heard so much about Pirlo from Italy, Suarez from Uruguay and Rooney from England! So whats going to happen here then? Last time around Uruguay ended up in the Semi Finals thanks to Suarez and his hands on that occasion! England disappeared without trace against Germany and Italy went home early having been dumped in the Group stages and finishing bottom!Since then things have changed for the Azzuri they finished runners up to Spain 2 years ago in the Euro Championships, Roy has got hold of the English side and they appear fairly competitive in this company and Uruguay finsihed 5th in their World Cup qualification and had to beat Jordan to get the the finals at all!
So what of Costa Rica you ask........
Well Costa Rica are ranked 28th in the world at the moment and finsihed 2nd behind USA in their qualification group. The finished above Honduras and Mexico so are by no means also rans here. However I don't think they will affect how this group pans out in all honesty but might get a sneaky draw at some point.
We know Italy have an aging side, we know Suarez has just had a knee operation, so it doesn't matter if he plays or not, he won't be running around like he did in the premiership this past season, he will not be 100% which can only help Englands chances.
England have youth on their side and if Sterling is given the chance to bomb up and down for 70 minutes we might just see some fireworks! If England keep players fit and healthy I can see them getting to the Quarter Finals at least..................
Englands opening fixture is in the Rain Forest on a pitch that looks like this! So I think the passing game is out!
My view of the Group might surprise a few, this is how I see it!
England
Italy
Uruguay
Costa Rica
Wednesday, 11 June 2014
Brazil World Cup - Group C Review
Group C
Group C could be considered to be one of the weaker groups in the World Cup this time around although that doesn't make it any easier to pick the qualifiers from this group. Its probably safe to say that these teams won't be contesting the final however it doesn't mean these group games will not be worth a watch.
Columbia are the seeded team in this group however they haven't qualified since 1998 when they were in Englands group losing 0-2 to England on that occasion and failing to get out of the group. They are now ranked 8th in the world and come into the tournament in good form. They have only conceded 2 goals since losing to Uruguay 0-2 in September 2013 which is not a bad record!
Greece are currently ranked 12 in the world so should give Columbia a good game! Greece came from nowhere to win the European Championships in 2004 when they didn't even qualify then won every game 1-0 to win the whole thing! I can't see this happening again however they could at least beat Japan, if they can get something from Columbia or Ivory Coast they could scrape through.
The Ivory Coast are one of those teams that on paper you would expect them to go quite well, their team is slightly aging but with the likes of Yaya Toure anything is possible. This group does look ideal for them and they could progress if they can get a fast start.
Finally the Japanese side have the skill and technique to run around their opponents all day, they come into this tournament as Asian champions but they lack a potent goal scorer and could struggle to trouble the opponents net.
For me the group will finish
Columbia
Ivory Coast
Greece
Japan
Could be an interesting group to bet on match outcomes as they are well matched as a group of 4.
The Ivory Coast are one of those teams that on paper you would expect them to go quite well, their team is slightly aging but with the likes of Yaya Toure anything is possible. This group does look ideal for them and they could progress if they can get a fast start.
Finally the Japanese side have the skill and technique to run around their opponents all day, they come into this tournament as Asian champions but they lack a potent goal scorer and could struggle to trouble the opponents net.
For me the group will finish
Columbia
Ivory Coast
Greece
Japan
Could be an interesting group to bet on match outcomes as they are well matched as a group of 4.
Monday, 9 June 2014
Brazil World Cup 2014 - Group B Review - Spain to miss out
GROUP B
Current World Cup holders find themselves in Group B with their World Cup 2010 Final opponents The Netherlands. In my view the Dutch have improved since that day, infact their kick em and hit em tactics they employed in that game seem a distant memory and was ill-advised at the time! The Spanish team is 4 years older and could be considered an "ageing" team, that said they are still a quality outfit, and given the Champions League was contested by the 2 Madrid clubs suggest that they will still be a force to be reckoned with. However in the heat and given a number of the team have UEFA Championship winners medals and World Cup medals will they be as hungry to do it all again?
Chile are the interesting team here, ranked above the Netherlands in the FIFA rankings and from the South American continent they must be considered a threat to this group. Australia make up the quartet, I fear they will struggle to get a goal let alone a point against these 3 teams.
I don't think this group is a given for Spain, despite being ranked 1 in the world they could be vulnerable to teams with more to gain. Spain are 1/6 to qualify from their group, this is incredibly short given the quality of Chile and the Dutch. Spain play The Netherlands first in this group, whoever fails to win that game will be struggling to qualify, I just have a sneaky feeling it will be Spain that will struggle and could be another previous winner to come back and struggle at the next competition.
I can see The Netherlands winning this Group and Chile going through in second place.
Predicted finishing positions
The Netherlands
Chile
Spain
Australia
The Netherlands at 3/1 and Chile at 4/1 to win the group are huge prices, I would avoid the spanish at 4/6 as they are too short and could well struggle from the start!
Brazil World Cup 2014 Group A Review
Group A is made up of Brazil, Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon. The expectations of the home support are high and Brazil should not have any problems dealing with the other countries in this Group. If we assume that Brazil will run away with the Group the interest lies in who will finish second.
Using FIFA Rankings (Brazil ranked 3) we see Croatia are ranked 18 and Mexico are ranked 20, Cameroon are not the force they once were when they led the African Nation into the quarter finals back in 1990 with Roger Millar, Cameroon are currently ranked 56. Croatia went up 2 spots in the last FIFA reshuffle with Mexico falling 1 place.
Given this scenario the likelihood is Croatia and Mexico will be competing for the second qualification spot. Croatia are slightly shorter priced that Mexico, with Croatia 11/10 and Mexico 5/4.
Their head to head record shows Croatia winning 2 matches and Mexico winnning 1. Mexicos' win came at the 2002 World Cup.
I take Mexico to get through the Group on the basis that I expect Croatia to lose their opening game against Brazil and Mexico will beat Cameroon. As such when Croatia play Cameroon the pressure will be on Croatia to win the game which may cause an upset.
I expect the Group to finish like this
Brazil
Mexico
Croatia
Cameroon
Using FIFA Rankings (Brazil ranked 3) we see Croatia are ranked 18 and Mexico are ranked 20, Cameroon are not the force they once were when they led the African Nation into the quarter finals back in 1990 with Roger Millar, Cameroon are currently ranked 56. Croatia went up 2 spots in the last FIFA reshuffle with Mexico falling 1 place.
Given this scenario the likelihood is Croatia and Mexico will be competing for the second qualification spot. Croatia are slightly shorter priced that Mexico, with Croatia 11/10 and Mexico 5/4.
Their head to head record shows Croatia winning 2 matches and Mexico winnning 1. Mexicos' win came at the 2002 World Cup.
I take Mexico to get through the Group on the basis that I expect Croatia to lose their opening game against Brazil and Mexico will beat Cameroon. As such when Croatia play Cameroon the pressure will be on Croatia to win the game which may cause an upset.
I expect the Group to finish like this
Brazil
Mexico
Croatia
Cameroon
Brazil 2014 World Cup Thoughts
Its been somewhat of a long time since my last post! But its time to get back into the swing of things.
I thought I would just have a quick look at some interesting stats around the world cup.
Brazil are currently best priced 3/1 favs with most bookmakers and with the World Cup being in Brazil no surprise there!
However you have to go back to 1998 to find a World Cup where the hosts won, that time it was France although they did not go into the tournament as favourites or even start the final as favourites against Brazil so home advantage has its benefits. Home advantage may not work too well for Brazil either as there is unrest in side the country concerning the amount of money that has been spent on the World Cup, as such it will be interesting to see how the fans react as the tournament progresses.
There is clearly a lot of talk about whether the European teams can make an impact in Brazil due to the heat, it's clearly going to be hot in some of the venues but not so hot in others. For example England will play Italy in the heat an humidity of the Amazonian city of Manaus where the temperature can get up to 30 Degrees C. However in Porte Alegre the temperature will be around 19C. France and the Netherlands will be playing here.
As such I fancy France to beat Hondurus (15 June) here and the Netherlands to beat Australia (18 June) as heat will be less of a factor.
England will play Uruguay in the Arena De Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo where the temperature should be a much more reasonable 20C. This shouldn't be too much of a problem for England and I fancy England to win this one. The big danger would have Suarez but given he has had a minor knee operation he is unlikely to be the force he has been in the Premiership this season. We will have to see how he performs against Costa Rica - assuming he even starts.
I like the look of Belgium and expect them to win their group, however should they get out of their group they will face Germany or Portugal! And should they win that the likelihood is that they would then face Argentina, given this potential route through the competition I can't consider them as winners, however the best price of 22/1 is reasonable but unrealistic to come in! I do however expect them to play Argentina but can't see them getting any further.
For me, I like the look of Argentina, they haven't won the World Cup since 1986 and Messi has never really performed on the World Cup stage to a level he would want. Given the conditions and location of this years tournament I think they will be hard to beat and fully expect them to get to the final, where in all probability they will face Brazil. Backing up Messi we have Aguaro and Higuain up front, Mascherano and Champions League Winner Angel Di Maria in midfield and Zabaleta and Demichelis Premier league winners with Man City at the back. Most of the Argentine side are based in Europe and most of the squad play for top European sides as such they are full of experience and should be considered a major threat.
4/1 is available with a lot of bookmakers however I took 9/2 earlier on this month.
History of the opening fixture.
2010 (South Africa)- South Africa 1 - 1 Mexico
2006 (Germany) - Germany 4 - 2 Cost Rica
2002 (South Korea) - France 0 - 1 Senegal
1998 (France) - Brazil 2 - 1 Scotland
1994 (USA) - Germany 1 - 0 Bolivia
1990 (Italy) - Argentina 0 - 1 Cameroon
The opening fixture this time around is Brazil V Croatia, the bookies give Croatia no chance at 10/1. With Brazil at 3/10 there isn't much value. We haven't seen over 2.5 goals in the opening game that often, however I thing Brazil will be keen to come out of the traps flying. If they score early I can see them scoring at least 3. Over 2.5 goals is available at Evens.
If you fancy Brazil to win rather than the 3/10 for winning the game you can get 3/4 on Brazil winning at half time and then at full time. This gives slightly better value.
If you need a new account for the world cup click here
I thought I would just have a quick look at some interesting stats around the world cup.
Brazil are currently best priced 3/1 favs with most bookmakers and with the World Cup being in Brazil no surprise there!
However you have to go back to 1998 to find a World Cup where the hosts won, that time it was France although they did not go into the tournament as favourites or even start the final as favourites against Brazil so home advantage has its benefits. Home advantage may not work too well for Brazil either as there is unrest in side the country concerning the amount of money that has been spent on the World Cup, as such it will be interesting to see how the fans react as the tournament progresses.
There is clearly a lot of talk about whether the European teams can make an impact in Brazil due to the heat, it's clearly going to be hot in some of the venues but not so hot in others. For example England will play Italy in the heat an humidity of the Amazonian city of Manaus where the temperature can get up to 30 Degrees C. However in Porte Alegre the temperature will be around 19C. France and the Netherlands will be playing here.
As such I fancy France to beat Hondurus (15 June) here and the Netherlands to beat Australia (18 June) as heat will be less of a factor.
England will play Uruguay in the Arena De Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo where the temperature should be a much more reasonable 20C. This shouldn't be too much of a problem for England and I fancy England to win this one. The big danger would have Suarez but given he has had a minor knee operation he is unlikely to be the force he has been in the Premiership this season. We will have to see how he performs against Costa Rica - assuming he even starts.
I like the look of Belgium and expect them to win their group, however should they get out of their group they will face Germany or Portugal! And should they win that the likelihood is that they would then face Argentina, given this potential route through the competition I can't consider them as winners, however the best price of 22/1 is reasonable but unrealistic to come in! I do however expect them to play Argentina but can't see them getting any further.
For me, I like the look of Argentina, they haven't won the World Cup since 1986 and Messi has never really performed on the World Cup stage to a level he would want. Given the conditions and location of this years tournament I think they will be hard to beat and fully expect them to get to the final, where in all probability they will face Brazil. Backing up Messi we have Aguaro and Higuain up front, Mascherano and Champions League Winner Angel Di Maria in midfield and Zabaleta and Demichelis Premier league winners with Man City at the back. Most of the Argentine side are based in Europe and most of the squad play for top European sides as such they are full of experience and should be considered a major threat.
4/1 is available with a lot of bookmakers however I took 9/2 earlier on this month.
History of the opening fixture.
2010 (South Africa)- South Africa 1 - 1 Mexico
2006 (Germany) - Germany 4 - 2 Cost Rica
2002 (South Korea) - France 0 - 1 Senegal
1998 (France) - Brazil 2 - 1 Scotland
1994 (USA) - Germany 1 - 0 Bolivia
1990 (Italy) - Argentina 0 - 1 Cameroon
The opening fixture this time around is Brazil V Croatia, the bookies give Croatia no chance at 10/1. With Brazil at 3/10 there isn't much value. We haven't seen over 2.5 goals in the opening game that often, however I thing Brazil will be keen to come out of the traps flying. If they score early I can see them scoring at least 3. Over 2.5 goals is available at Evens.
If you fancy Brazil to win rather than the 3/10 for winning the game you can get 3/4 on Brazil winning at half time and then at full time. This gives slightly better value.
If you need a new account for the world cup click here
Sunday, 9 October 2011
League 2 Review October 2011
We have now entered October so its a good time to review the season so far and look for possible league winners. Today I will be looking at League 2 where we have seen the demise of Plymouth Argyle, a heavy defeat for Crawley and the emergence of Morecambe.
At present the teams in League 2 have played 12 games, last season after 14 games Chesterfield were top and went on to win the League. Currently Southend head the field with 25 points, should they win their next 2 games they will be ahead of where Chesterfield were last season.
Its interesting to see pre season favourites Crawley Town in second place, they have had a mixed start with some good wins but also a heavy defeat at early pace setters Morecambe. Crawley have conceded 17 goals so far, which is in my view slightly high for a team priced at 11/8 to win the league! Southend have only conceded 12 goals thus far showing they are nice and tight at the back!
When looking at the past 10 seasons we can see that the winner has come from the top 6 by this stage of the season, so this means that the winner should come from one of the following teams.
Southend, Crawley, AFC Wimbledon, Shrewsbury, Oxford and Morecambe. Shrewsbury are second favourites at the moment at 7/1 with Southend at 9/1 and Oxford 10/1. AFC Wimbledon and Morecambe are seen as the outsiders of the group at 18/1 and 22/1 respectively.
At the start of the season I was looking at Southend as my team for the season and nothing has changed to affect this thought. Crawley at 11/8 are way too short and have not shown the dominance that you would expect from a team as short as that price at this stage. I have no doubts that Crawley will be promoted but not necessarily as champions.
Paul Sturrock at Southend has been here before with Plymouth, so he has the pedigree and the experience to complete the double with Southend.
I will take the 9/1 this week as I look to set up some winning bets for the end of the season.
Friday, 23 September 2011
Weekend of 24/25 September 2011
Following the Carling Cup fixtures in midweek we return to the bread and butter of the League. At the time of writing Leeds are 2-0 up on Brighton showing how hard it is to play on a Wednesday and then again on a Friday 0 all in the name of tv money! To be fair to Brighton they have done extremely well and the tv money from the cup game apparently pays for one of their players wages for a whole season! So to give up 3 points may be worth it in the long run!
Last weekend we saw Stoke, Fulham, Man City, Birmingham all struggle after European games so I will follow that theme by going for Crawley to win at Aldershot. Aldershot played Rochdale on Tuesday night winning 2-1 and progressing to the 4th round for the first time in a long time. Crawley have had a bad few weeks but returned to form at the weekend winning 3-1 at home to Bradford after going a goal behind. At 11/8 Crawley are good value to win against a side that could be more interested in the 4th round draw of the Carling Cup rather than 3 points at home!
Down at Home Park Plymouth have sacked Peter Reid after 7 defeats in a row. Given the financial strife its comes as a shame/blessing for Reid, they have put senior pro Fletcher in charge whilst the sale of the club is finalised. This could be a situation of a team getting up for the new manager against a side that has only won once away all season and that was at Hereford 4-0. Hereford lost 6-1 at home last week to Gillingham, which puts the Macclesfield game in perspectice. Macclefield have failed to score in any of their previous away games so I'm going out on a limb to pick Plymouth at 2/1.
Burnley have yet to win at home this season, tomorrow they will entertain Southampton, the current pace setters in the Championship. Southampton are another side that figured in midweek so will have those extra miles in the legs, they managed to beat Preston 2-1. I fancy Burnley to get a rare home win tomorrow again based on the fact that they didn't play in midweek, 19/10 is the price for the home win.
Finally I will be including Ipswich in my bet, playing away at Middleborough. Ipswich did well to beat Coventry last Monday night and will be up for the trip to the North. Middlesborough lost to Crystal Palace in midweek after beating them last weekend at the same ground. I feel Ipswich will be the fresher side and at 4.1 are great value.
Good luck with your weekend betting!
Monday, 19 September 2011
Weekly Accumulator
This midweek I'm going for a mixture of league and cup games.
On Monday night I like the look of Ipswich at home to Coventry. At 21/20 Ipswich are hugely overpriced given Coventrys bad start to the season.
On Tuesday I like the look of Rochdale away at Aldershot. 8/5 for a higher league side to beat a league 2 side is again great value, Rochdale seem to get up for big games and should proceed to the next round of the cup this week.
Aston Villa need a good cup run as their manager searches for some confidence in the side and a need to win over the fans. They are unbeaten this season after drawing at home to Newcastle and should be able to overcome a poor Bolton side who have struggled this term albeit they have had some tough fixtures includeing Man U , Man c and Liverpool. Although losing at home to Norwich cannot be a good thing and a resting of key players on Tuesday night could be in order.
Finally I'm going for Millwall away at Wolves. By their own admission Wolves never got started on Saturday and were thumped 3-0 at home by QPR. To be fair QPR played well when drawing with Newcastle on Monday last week and should really have won that game as well. Wolves started well but have stuttered over the last 2 weeks but I'm sure they have enough in their locker this season to once agaiin survive. Survival is key for Wolves and again I expect McCarthy to rest some of his key players for some fringe players whereas Millwall could play a decent lineup as they push for another cup final. At 10/3 Millwall are great value after their 0-0 draw with local rivals West Ham on Saturday.
The bet will pay £412 if the results go my way, but to cover myself I am confident of Ipswich so will place a bet on Ipswich to cover my outlay here so if the accumulator doesnt come in the Ipswich result should make sure im slightly better than break even.
Sunday, 18 September 2011
A bit of a catch up
Now that i'm back from holiday I will hopefully get back on top with my posts. I managed 3 results our of 4 yesterday and picked up 4 out of 4 today.
Yesterday I picked up Bournemouth away at Exeter, Bournemouth had a good away win last week and were too big at 2/1 away this weekend. A 2-0 win proved the point and i doubt we will see Bournemouth at that sort of price again for a while to lower league sides. Secondly I went for a short price home team in Southend. They were entertaining a dreadful Plynouth side that is in all sorts of bother again this season, Peter Reid has also just been sacked. This is probably a relief for Peter and I am sure he will succeed elsewhere, maybe back at Stoke working with Pulis?
My third selection was Preston away at Brentford. Preston have picked up form lately and at 15/8 were deemed reasonable value and a good win saw the bet home. Finally I had Hereford to draw at home with Gillingham. It was a game where Hereford on form hadnt done much wrong this season and Gillingham done "ok". However the 1-6 scoreline dented the bet and indded gave Gillingham their biggest away win ever!
In the premiership all of the promoted sides won on the same weekend for the first time since 2007. This was all the more interesting as only one of the teams were at home and only 1 goal was conceded by the 3 sides. I'm not sure whether this means these teams will be any more successful in avoiding the drop however after watching QPR V Newcastle on Monday night it came as no surprise as they should have won that game easily as well. I think the addition of Joey Barton and Shaun Wright Phillips is huge for QPR and should ensure that they stay up this season.
Today I invested some of my winnings on a Yankee, Spurs to win, Sunderland to win, Fulham to draw and Man U to win. My first 4/4 of the season so its been a good day!
The reason for the bet was based on Spurs resting the entire squad for the European fixture in midweek. They have had a difficult start with defeats against the Manchester clubs but showed resolved against Wolves last week. They played well today and deserved the 4-0 result. Sunderland have also had a tricky start however it was the fact that Stoke travelled to Kiev in midweek that prompted my selection. Most of the Stoke played have probably never had that sort of travel pattern before and history shows sides playing in Europe struggle on return to the league. Fulham have done ok and look like being draw specialists again, playing a Man City side that struggled in Europe suggested that Fulham might not have enough to win but should be able to get a draw which indeed they did, coming from 0-2 down to draw 2-2.
Finally Man U are the stand out side in the league so selecting them to beat Chelsea was straightforward. The Bet paid around 16/1 which made a nice addition to yesterdays 3/4.
This week we have Carling Cup action when I expect some more Premier League Teams to fall. I will review the situation and put up my selections on Monday evening.
Friday, 2 September 2011
Weekly Review
It maybe an International weekend and I may still be on holiday but the lower leagues play on all the same so its only right that I complete a review of some of the games.
Chesterfield host Leyton Orient, this is the "battle for the bottom" of League 1. A big change from last season when at this stage both sides were going well and of course Chesterfield ended up winning the league and being promoted. This season neither side has managed a win, Orient haven't even troubled the oppositions net in their away games. Orient also haven't played any of the fancied sides for promotion so could well be looking at a long season ahead. Its a big come down following their close call with the play offs last season. There was no last minute inward transfers on Wednesday meaning the same set of players that lost 5-0 at Brentford need to get their heads sorted out and start picking up points. It must be pointed out that Orient have lost to 4 of the current top 10 sides.
As for Chesterfield, they have also struggled badly this season, picking up a single point against fellow promoted side Stevenage at home. Since then they have lost at home to Preston and lost 3 away games most notably against MK Dons 6-2.
Chesterfield picked up a loan signing and a new striker during the end of the transfer window and will hope that these players bed in quickly and start putting some wins together.
With games of this type I like to go with the home side.
Another side struggling this season after a great season last year are Bournemouth. 5th this time last year after promotion they find themselves fourth from bottom this time around. It could be the case that Bournemouth will struggle after the events of last season rather than feature at the top end again, as is sometimes the case for teams in their second season in a particular league.
Bournemouth play Notts County, County narrowly avoided relegation last season sit in relative safety in mid table with 6 points. Notts have lost 3 games all to sides that were among the favourites for promotion and also now sit in the top 10 however 2 wins against sides sitting in the top 7 shows that the side can play and beat reasonable opposition.
Bournemouth however despite beating Sheffield Weds they have performed poorly against Stevenage and Walsall at home and have lost away to Charlton and Carlisle. Charlton have started well so that defeat can be forgiven but losing to sides not expected to challenge is a worrying sign for the south cost side.
Given Notts Countys bright start and interesting wins I would be looking at County to pick up another 3 points at the weekend.
In League 2 Rotherham travel to Swindon. Before the start of the season Swindon were amongst the favorites for promotion however they have stuttered since winning their opening game. Indeed they have now lost 4 of their 5 games and languish at the wrong end of the table. It will be interesting to see how Di Canio reacts to this situation in his first managerial role. Rotherham however have had a blistering start picking up 13 out of 15 points from their opening 5 games. Rotherhmas 2 away games were at Crewe and Plymouth, 2 of the bottom 3 sides with home wins against Oxford and Gillingham and probably a surprise 2-2 draw at home to Barnet.
This time last year after 4 games Rotherham were sitting 3rd but eventually faded away from the championship picture.
This game could end in a draw, however 7/4 for the league leaders to win is a great price and maybe worth a gamble?
In my final review for this week concerns Southend and Northampton. Southend have started the season in reasonable form, beating Hereford and losing to Burton at home and only losing to Crawley away, with wins at Accrington and Port Vale.
Northampton have struggled this season, drawing 0-0 with Accrington but losing to Cheltenham and Morecambe. Away they have beaten Aldershot but lost at Bristol Rovers. It must be noted that Aldershot have also lost their other home game 0-1 to Torquay.
At Evens I would take Southend to get 3 more points on the board and push further up the league.
Now that we are at the end of August I can take my first look at some trends for league winners.
In League 2 I have bad news for Rotherham! The team winning the league inthe past 10 seasons has never lead after August. Hartlepool, Walsall and Scunthorpe all came close by finishing second but 1st place has never been achieved.
In league 1 Leicester did manage the feat in Season 08/09, Luton did the same in 04/05, this bodes well for MK Dons! I do expect the winner of League 1 to come from one of the current top 4 but I don't expect it to be MK Dons, Charlton, Preston and Sheffield United are all knocking on the door!
In the championship QPR lead on September 1st and won the league last season, Newcastle did the same the season before, Wolves also achieved the feat in 08/09, Portsmouth also managed the feat in 02/03. Brighton are currently top dogs and are available at 15/2 for the league, an interesting price indeed! For me I still feel West Ham at 2/1 are the team to beat.
Chesterfield host Leyton Orient, this is the "battle for the bottom" of League 1. A big change from last season when at this stage both sides were going well and of course Chesterfield ended up winning the league and being promoted. This season neither side has managed a win, Orient haven't even troubled the oppositions net in their away games. Orient also haven't played any of the fancied sides for promotion so could well be looking at a long season ahead. Its a big come down following their close call with the play offs last season. There was no last minute inward transfers on Wednesday meaning the same set of players that lost 5-0 at Brentford need to get their heads sorted out and start picking up points. It must be pointed out that Orient have lost to 4 of the current top 10 sides.
As for Chesterfield, they have also struggled badly this season, picking up a single point against fellow promoted side Stevenage at home. Since then they have lost at home to Preston and lost 3 away games most notably against MK Dons 6-2.
Chesterfield picked up a loan signing and a new striker during the end of the transfer window and will hope that these players bed in quickly and start putting some wins together.
With games of this type I like to go with the home side.
Another side struggling this season after a great season last year are Bournemouth. 5th this time last year after promotion they find themselves fourth from bottom this time around. It could be the case that Bournemouth will struggle after the events of last season rather than feature at the top end again, as is sometimes the case for teams in their second season in a particular league.
Bournemouth play Notts County, County narrowly avoided relegation last season sit in relative safety in mid table with 6 points. Notts have lost 3 games all to sides that were among the favourites for promotion and also now sit in the top 10 however 2 wins against sides sitting in the top 7 shows that the side can play and beat reasonable opposition.
Bournemouth however despite beating Sheffield Weds they have performed poorly against Stevenage and Walsall at home and have lost away to Charlton and Carlisle. Charlton have started well so that defeat can be forgiven but losing to sides not expected to challenge is a worrying sign for the south cost side.
Given Notts Countys bright start and interesting wins I would be looking at County to pick up another 3 points at the weekend.
In League 2 Rotherham travel to Swindon. Before the start of the season Swindon were amongst the favorites for promotion however they have stuttered since winning their opening game. Indeed they have now lost 4 of their 5 games and languish at the wrong end of the table. It will be interesting to see how Di Canio reacts to this situation in his first managerial role. Rotherham however have had a blistering start picking up 13 out of 15 points from their opening 5 games. Rotherhmas 2 away games were at Crewe and Plymouth, 2 of the bottom 3 sides with home wins against Oxford and Gillingham and probably a surprise 2-2 draw at home to Barnet.
This time last year after 4 games Rotherham were sitting 3rd but eventually faded away from the championship picture.
This game could end in a draw, however 7/4 for the league leaders to win is a great price and maybe worth a gamble?
In my final review for this week concerns Southend and Northampton. Southend have started the season in reasonable form, beating Hereford and losing to Burton at home and only losing to Crawley away, with wins at Accrington and Port Vale.
Northampton have struggled this season, drawing 0-0 with Accrington but losing to Cheltenham and Morecambe. Away they have beaten Aldershot but lost at Bristol Rovers. It must be noted that Aldershot have also lost their other home game 0-1 to Torquay.
At Evens I would take Southend to get 3 more points on the board and push further up the league.
Now that we are at the end of August I can take my first look at some trends for league winners.
In League 2 I have bad news for Rotherham! The team winning the league inthe past 10 seasons has never lead after August. Hartlepool, Walsall and Scunthorpe all came close by finishing second but 1st place has never been achieved.
In league 1 Leicester did manage the feat in Season 08/09, Luton did the same in 04/05, this bodes well for MK Dons! I do expect the winner of League 1 to come from one of the current top 4 but I don't expect it to be MK Dons, Charlton, Preston and Sheffield United are all knocking on the door!
In the championship QPR lead on September 1st and won the league last season, Newcastle did the same the season before, Wolves also achieved the feat in 08/09, Portsmouth also managed the feat in 02/03. Brighton are currently top dogs and are available at 15/2 for the league, an interesting price indeed! For me I still feel West Ham at 2/1 are the team to beat.
Saturday, 27 August 2011
Weekend football information
As I'm currently out of the country my analysis will be short at sweet this week. I won't be betting myself however the following might be of use.
In the premiership Wolves travel to Aston Villa for the early kick off. An interesting fact is that these teams have played the same teams this season already! Wolves beating Fulham and Blackburn, Villa beating Blackburn and drawing with Fulham. The fixture between Villa and Wolves has recently gone with the away team, Wolves winning at Villa in March this year and Villa winning at Wolves late in 2010! I would be tempted by the 14/5 on offer on Wolves to pick this up again and keep their run going.
Last season Wigan only won 5 games at home and play a QPR side that now includes one J Barton signed from Newcastle. I'm not sure whether he will play on Saturday but its an interesting move by QPR! QPR won at Everton last week after being dismantled in their first home game against Bolton. I think Wigan will striggle to win home games again this season so would be looking at QPR at 2/1 or under 2.5 goals at 7/10.
I hope these little tip bits are of help for the weekend, enjoy the football and any other betting opportunities that come up this week!
In the premiership Wolves travel to Aston Villa for the early kick off. An interesting fact is that these teams have played the same teams this season already! Wolves beating Fulham and Blackburn, Villa beating Blackburn and drawing with Fulham. The fixture between Villa and Wolves has recently gone with the away team, Wolves winning at Villa in March this year and Villa winning at Wolves late in 2010! I would be tempted by the 14/5 on offer on Wolves to pick this up again and keep their run going.
Last season Wigan only won 5 games at home and play a QPR side that now includes one J Barton signed from Newcastle. I'm not sure whether he will play on Saturday but its an interesting move by QPR! QPR won at Everton last week after being dismantled in their first home game against Bolton. I think Wigan will striggle to win home games again this season so would be looking at QPR at 2/1 or under 2.5 goals at 7/10.
I hope these little tip bits are of help for the weekend, enjoy the football and any other betting opportunities that come up this week!
Monday, 22 August 2011
Man United to beat Spurs?
Having had a look at the stats for the past 10 seasons we see that Spurs have only once picked up a point at Old Trafford the home of Man United. To make matters worse for Spurs they have only scored on 3 occasions, once scoring twice but conceding 5!
They hav only crossed swords in this time in August once, in 2007 when Manchester won 1-0.
It is often the case that pundits say the best time to play Manchester United is at the start of a season! So looking at the last 10 years of home games played at Old Trafford we can see that infact Manchester United have never lost in August in the 10 seasons I have looked at! Furthermore they have only drawn on 3 occasions. Spurs for their part have not loast away since 2008 when they were beaten by Middlesborough.
In the 15 games Manchester United have played at home they have only conceded 6 goals in 5 of the games. This shows that actually Manchester United are pretty ruthless at home in August.
Both sides have picked up maximum points in their August games when playing as they are tonight since 2008 so something has to give tonight.
I understand that Modric is not in the right frame of mind to play for Spurs tonight - but I'm sure he will pick up his £40K wages anyway this week. Spurs were very impressive last week against Hearts in the Europa Cup - really it shows the class between the Scottish Premier and the English Premier, nevertheless Spurs did play well again without Modric.
Manchester United started with a 2-1 win s I suggested they might away at WBA, however they have injury doubts around Vidic, who is almost certainly out and Ferdinand who is also a serious doubt. This means that the back line for Man Utd is severely dented with Rafeal also out and the new goalie David de Gea still settling in. The average of the Man Utd back line could be 20 years. Given Spurs haven't won at Old Trafford since 1989 it means that almost all of the backline have never seen Spurs win at Old Trafford in their lifetime!
As ever Man Utd will be strong going forward and will no doubt score. I do give Spurs a glimmer of hope although all the stats suggest otherwise.
It could be a day for Spurs to get a draw as I expect Man U to concede, the question will be who plays in goal for Spurs and how interested Rooney is!
I'm going to suggest a 1-1 draw or 2-2 draw as the draw is 11/4 where as 13/2 for 1-1 and 16/1 for 2-2 is much more interesting pricewise!
I'm going to bet 1/2 my stake on these outcomes as this is more a punt that a golden opportunity as chances are Man U will win and stretch their good home form.
They hav only crossed swords in this time in August once, in 2007 when Manchester won 1-0.
It is often the case that pundits say the best time to play Manchester United is at the start of a season! So looking at the last 10 years of home games played at Old Trafford we can see that infact Manchester United have never lost in August in the 10 seasons I have looked at! Furthermore they have only drawn on 3 occasions. Spurs for their part have not loast away since 2008 when they were beaten by Middlesborough.
In the 15 games Manchester United have played at home they have only conceded 6 goals in 5 of the games. This shows that actually Manchester United are pretty ruthless at home in August.
Both sides have picked up maximum points in their August games when playing as they are tonight since 2008 so something has to give tonight.
I understand that Modric is not in the right frame of mind to play for Spurs tonight - but I'm sure he will pick up his £40K wages anyway this week. Spurs were very impressive last week against Hearts in the Europa Cup - really it shows the class between the Scottish Premier and the English Premier, nevertheless Spurs did play well again without Modric.
Manchester United started with a 2-1 win s I suggested they might away at WBA, however they have injury doubts around Vidic, who is almost certainly out and Ferdinand who is also a serious doubt. This means that the back line for Man Utd is severely dented with Rafeal also out and the new goalie David de Gea still settling in. The average of the Man Utd back line could be 20 years. Given Spurs haven't won at Old Trafford since 1989 it means that almost all of the backline have never seen Spurs win at Old Trafford in their lifetime!
As ever Man Utd will be strong going forward and will no doubt score. I do give Spurs a glimmer of hope although all the stats suggest otherwise.
It could be a day for Spurs to get a draw as I expect Man U to concede, the question will be who plays in goal for Spurs and how interested Rooney is!
I'm going to suggest a 1-1 draw or 2-2 draw as the draw is 11/4 where as 13/2 for 1-1 and 16/1 for 2-2 is much more interesting pricewise!
I'm going to bet 1/2 my stake on these outcomes as this is more a punt that a golden opportunity as chances are Man U will win and stretch their good home form.
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