Football Betting
Premier League Betting
With their regular Champions League meetings it feels like Chelsea face Liverpool every other week in pursuit of one of their many prizes. Their last meeting was the memorable 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge although I doubt we’ll see anything quite so thrilling this time around.
A week ago we’d all have confidently backed Chelsea to win this one but their implosion at Wigan showed previously unseen chinks in the Blues armour. They go into this one also without Petr Cech after his red card last time out. I actually fancy Liverpool to get something out of this game and Fernando Torres looks very much like the man to do it.
Manchester United have been going about their business efficiently and quietly with the evergreen pair of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes still pulling all the strings. Sunderland have shown some promise this season under Steve Bruce but were hapless at Burnley two weeks ago and were extremely flattered by the 5-2 scoreline as they beat Wolves on Sunday. United should win this at a canter.
Arsenal face Blackburn in Sunday’s earlier kick-off with the Gunners eking out a narrow 1-0 win after being outplayed for long periods against Fulham last weekend. Rovers lack much of the quality that took them to seventh in the table as recently as 2008 and Sam Allardyce’s side are going to be looking down more than up this season. Arsenal should see off Rovers with something to spare.
Wolves to see off Portsmouth and Tottenham to win at Bolton are the other two selections for this round of games.
Premier League Betting
Championship Betting
Preston have been knocking on the door of the premier league for several seasons now with play-off heartbreak for David Moyes, Billy Davies and Alan Irvine. They sit third in the Championship table this season despite the loss of influential midfielder Paul McKenna and face West Brom in Saturday’s early kick off.
Whilst the Baggies sit above them it has been a strange couple of weeks for Roberto di Matteo’s side as they thrashed Middlesbrough 5-0 at the Riverside before losing 1-0 at home to struggling Crystal Palace. I like the look of Preston and at 8/5 they can continue their excellent progress under Irvine.
As predicted here, Nottingham Forest came away from struggling Plymouth on Sunday with all three points thanks to Chris Gunter’s first goal for the Midlands club. Forest have been playing well without getting the rewards over recent weeks and are formidable opponents away from home. They make the short journey to Peterborough on Saturday and at 19/10 are good value to secure all three points away from home for the second week in a row.
League One Betting
Leeds face Charlton on Saturday in a match which was a top flight clash as recently as 2004. The top two in League One have been in good form so far this campaign with Simon Grayson and Phil Parkinson making great strides in returning their teams to a league more suited to their recent history.
Charlton have done well so far but Leeds look like they will win this division comfortably and so look good value to see off the Addicks at 4/5.
League One betting
Scottish Premier Betting
The first Old Firm match of the season kicks off on Sunday lunchtime with Rangers looking to end a miserable goal-less sequence and to bridge the four points by which they trail their Glasgow rivals.
It’s nearly three hundred minutes since Ranges scored a league goal and frustrating goalless matches against Motherwell, Kilmarnock and Aberdeen show no real pre-Old Firm form. Celtic haven’t hit the ground running yet either with Tony Mowbray’s mean still finding their feet and an admission from the Hoops manager that they are short of midfield creativity.
Home advantage should give Rangers the edge but their lack of goals must be a worry to Walter Smith. The 15/2 about a 0-0 draw is tempting but Celtic might even be worth a small investment at 7/1 to nick this one 1-0.
Scottish Premier Betting
La Liga Betting
Barcelona and Real Madrid are matching each other stride for stride this season so far but this weekend could be when the Whites finally lose their 100% record. They travel to a Sevilla side who look increasingly like the only challengers to the duopoly at the top of La Liga and at 5/2 in front of their own fans at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Sevilla look like terrific value.
Barcelona face Almeria at the Nou Camp and even at 16/1 I wouldn’t back the away team to get anything out of this one. Atletico can finally register a win at home to Zaragoza on Saturday night after their encouraging draw at Valencia.
Malaga are 7/4 to win at Xerez who have yet to score a point or a goal. Even though Malaga are by no means the best team in the division they can profit from Xerez’s continued adjustment to the top flight.
La Liga Betting
