Manchester City V Manchester United
The Manchester derby has in the past thrown up some unexpected results so the first bit of advice that I have is not to bet too big on any outcome here. At first look the 4+ odds on Man City look very very tempting, given the recent results that both sides have had. Man City ran out easy 3 – 0 winners against Arsenal but one look at the league table tells us that they are still only in 14th position, just two mere points ahead of Spurs and Newcastle, two clubs said to be in a “crisis”. The blue half’s biggest problem has been consistency. Big results seem to be followed by poor results and to challenge the top 4 as their intentions are, you need to be beating the likes of Spurs, Bolton and Boro, 3 teams that have beaten Man City in recent times. Enough of the history lesson though, at home Man City have been scoring for fun, averaging close to 3 a game.
Stephen Ireland has been in excellent form of late and lets not forget Robinho who has chipped in with 8 goals.
Last 5 home games
Man. City 6 0 Portsmouth 21/09/2008
Man. City 2 3 Liverpool 05/10/2008
Man. City 3 0 Stoke 26/10/2008
Man. City 1 2 Tottenham 09/11/2008
Man. City 3 0 Arsenal 22/11/2008
Robinho is back after an ankle strain picked up against Arsenal. Petrov and Bojinov are long term absentees. Other than that City have no other problems.
Manchester United are having some unusual problems at the moment. Goals are hard to come by and Wayne Rooney hasn’t hit the net for some time now. Consecutive 0 – 0 draws with Aston Villa and Villareal have not done much to inspire confidence at this moment and apart from a Ronaldo effort midweek against Villareal which crashed of the crossbar they looked a little poor up front. They haven’t had the best of this fixture either in recent times and will be keen to get revenge for losing both derbies last season.
Last 5 away games
Chelsea 1 1 Man. Utd. 21/09/2008
Blackburn 0 2 Man. Utd. 04/10/2008
Everton 1 1 Man. Utd. 25/10/2008
Arsenal 2 1 Man. Utd. 08/11/2008
Aston Villa 0 0 Man. Utd. 22/11/2008
After picking up a knock on International duty it appears that Berbatov is back in the fold though he may have to settle for a place on the bench alongside Gary Neville. Scholes looks set to miss also.
Verdict
Given the recent bickering between the two clubs and the jibes from Rooney and Ferguson (about City being a mid table club despite the invesments) it is safe to say that City will not need any motivation coming into this one. However on the other side of the fence United were beaten twice in the derby last year and don’t need to be reminded of that fact. Bottom line is that derbies like this are a bit of a lottery and il be looking for a few value bets in this one. A game to sit back relax and have a few pints in the process. Its Robinho’s first Manchester derby and with the spotlight, media attention and the camera’s on him it might be worth a few quid on him to get his 9th goal in 9 games at the Eastlands. A jab at the 2 – 2 correct scoreline should keep me interested throughout also.
Good luck!
PICKS
Robinho anytime scorer (3.8 @ unibet) 3 points
Correct score 2 – 2 ( 17 @ boylesports) 1 point
More to follow in the morning
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
My return
Im making my return to the site after taking a break from it all. Its amazing what a few weeks off betting, researching and studying can do for you. Onto the weekend and I really only have a few fancies.
Wolves V Blackpool
Wolves have been going really well this season and that’s mainly down to the scoring form of Iwelumo, Ebanks Blake and Kightly. In fact all over the field they have looked like a much-improved outfit from last season. Their defence can be a bit leaky at times but a bit like Spurs of last season Wolves just have this mentality that they can outscore the opposition. In total 14 of 17 Wolves games have gone over the 2.5 goal mark and they have been shut out only once in that spell.
Their home form is rivalled only by their two main threats to the title, Birmingham and Reading. Birmingham beat Swansea last night 3 – 2 to keep the pressure on and Reading should collect 3 points also today against Southampton so there is no room for complacency in the Wolves dressing room. 11 on their players were on midweek international duty but they have all returned with a clean bill of health.
The visiting outfit Blackpool can be more than satisfied with their opening to the season but in more recent times it has been going a bit pear shaped. Recent home defeats to Ipswich and Preston wont have helped their confidence and they have brought in former Aston Villa and England player Lee Hendrie on-loan for his experience. Blackpool have gathered more points on the road too with with the standout result a 1 – 0 win at Birmingham.
Verdict
Blackpool are no mugs on the road and this coupled with Birminghams 3 points last night and 3 points expected for Reading today should have Wolves very focused for this challenge. If their attitude is right, then this should be a comfortable home win.
PICK
Wolves – 1 euro handicap (2.63 @ betdirect) 5 points
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Reading V Southampton
Reading look to continue their great home form today against Southampton. The only time that Reading have failed to collect 3 points was against Qpr a few weeks back, a game I had the displeasure of watching where it finished 0 – 0. In the game after that Reading were shocked 1 – 0 away to Burnley. However that mini crisis seems to have been put behind then and they are looking to record 4 straight wins on the trot. Kevin Doyle has been in sensational for with 14 goals as he bids to fire Reading back into the bigtime.
Southampton are no slouches away from St Mary’s either though with 3 wins but more recently they have only managed to record one win in their last eight games and currently find themselves just outside the drop zone. Their main problem though is their inconsistency. Last weekend they were beaten 2 – 1 at home by Wolves but by all accounts left a great impression on the visiting fans with t heir slick passing and movement. The problem is though which team will turn up today? It will need to be on top form to keep this attacking Reading side at bay. Alex Pearce is on-loan from Reading and will be ineligible for today’s game, with Michael Svensson looking to replace him after his return from a knee problem. Jason Euell will also be unavailable a straight red card last weekend.
Verdict
Reading can ill afford to drop points here. Despite playing some lovely football so far they find themselves 7 points off the top so a win and a convincing win is vital.
PICK
Reading – 1 euro handicap ( 2.2 @ bluesq) 5 points
Wolves V Blackpool
Wolves have been going really well this season and that’s mainly down to the scoring form of Iwelumo, Ebanks Blake and Kightly. In fact all over the field they have looked like a much-improved outfit from last season. Their defence can be a bit leaky at times but a bit like Spurs of last season Wolves just have this mentality that they can outscore the opposition. In total 14 of 17 Wolves games have gone over the 2.5 goal mark and they have been shut out only once in that spell.
Their home form is rivalled only by their two main threats to the title, Birmingham and Reading. Birmingham beat Swansea last night 3 – 2 to keep the pressure on and Reading should collect 3 points also today against Southampton so there is no room for complacency in the Wolves dressing room. 11 on their players were on midweek international duty but they have all returned with a clean bill of health.
The visiting outfit Blackpool can be more than satisfied with their opening to the season but in more recent times it has been going a bit pear shaped. Recent home defeats to Ipswich and Preston wont have helped their confidence and they have brought in former Aston Villa and England player Lee Hendrie on-loan for his experience. Blackpool have gathered more points on the road too with with the standout result a 1 – 0 win at Birmingham.
Verdict
Blackpool are no mugs on the road and this coupled with Birminghams 3 points last night and 3 points expected for Reading today should have Wolves very focused for this challenge. If their attitude is right, then this should be a comfortable home win.
PICK
Wolves – 1 euro handicap (2.63 @ betdirect) 5 points
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Reading V Southampton
Reading look to continue their great home form today against Southampton. The only time that Reading have failed to collect 3 points was against Qpr a few weeks back, a game I had the displeasure of watching where it finished 0 – 0. In the game after that Reading were shocked 1 – 0 away to Burnley. However that mini crisis seems to have been put behind then and they are looking to record 4 straight wins on the trot. Kevin Doyle has been in sensational for with 14 goals as he bids to fire Reading back into the bigtime.
Southampton are no slouches away from St Mary’s either though with 3 wins but more recently they have only managed to record one win in their last eight games and currently find themselves just outside the drop zone. Their main problem though is their inconsistency. Last weekend they were beaten 2 – 1 at home by Wolves but by all accounts left a great impression on the visiting fans with t heir slick passing and movement. The problem is though which team will turn up today? It will need to be on top form to keep this attacking Reading side at bay. Alex Pearce is on-loan from Reading and will be ineligible for today’s game, with Michael Svensson looking to replace him after his return from a knee problem. Jason Euell will also be unavailable a straight red card last weekend.
Verdict
Reading can ill afford to drop points here. Despite playing some lovely football so far they find themselves 7 points off the top so a win and a convincing win is vital.
PICK
Reading – 1 euro handicap ( 2.2 @ bluesq) 5 points
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