Monthly Archives: September 2012

Patched-up Reds a worry

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West Brom should not be dismissed at 15/8 (90 minutes) to send Liverpool (11/8, draw 12/5) packing from the Capital One Cup third round at The Hawthorns on Wednesday.

Key to this recommendation is the impressive home form of Steve Clarke’s men, having lost only twice in their own back yard since the end of February in all competitions. Already this season they have chalked up wins against the same opponents, in-form Everton and newcomers Reading – all to nil.

Clarke has also made some smart acquisitions in the form of striker Romelu Lukaku from his old club Chelsea, as well as midfield livewire Claudio Yacob and Markus Rosenberg from Werder Bremen.

Rosenberg will be hoping to break his duck for his new club if Lukaku is rested along with playmaker Zoltan Gera, while Shane Long, who made a positive impact when introduced as a substitute against Reading, could also be in line for a start.

The pair can be backed at 2/1 and 13/8 respectively in the Anytime Goalscorer market.

Chris Brunt said experience gained from the Premier League had given the players the understanding to get over the line and revealed he was enthused by the spirit in the camp.

The skipper told the official club website: “If you look across the squad, we’ve got a lot of Premier League experience and that speaks volumes in games like Saturday, when it’s scrappy and not free-flowing.

“We know how to win games and we did it again against Reading.”

Brendan Rodgers will have to dig deep into his already-depleted squad for the trip to the Black Country and the Capital One Cup is unlikely to feature near the top of his priority list.

The Northern Irishman is without Jonjo Shelvey, who starts a three-match ban following his red card against Manchester United, as well as long-term injury-victim Martin Kelly and fellow defender Dan Agger.

Fabio Borini is also unlikely to be risked because of a swollen ankle sustained in the 2-1 defeat by the club’s bitter rivals on an emotionally-charged afternoon on Sunday.

The former Swansea boss made a raft of changes for the Europa League last week and will not want to risk senior stars such as captain Steven Gerrard and striker Luis Suarez.

Curiously, the only away game Liverpool failed to score in so far this season was against West Brom, but, with so many changes planned, punters may decide they are worth taking on.

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Underdogs Gers to see off ‘Well

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ally mccoistIt’s not often you will see Rangers not odds on to beat Motherwell at Ibrox but, of course, times have changed and the Old Firm outfit will have their work cut in their Scottish Communities League Cup third round tie on Wednesday (Rangers 7/4, draw 12/5, Motherwell 7/4 – Match Betting).

Rangers have made a mixed start to life in the Scottish Third Division but they remain unbeaten in the league and their home form, as you would expect, has been formidable with three wins from three.

The Gers faithful have not let their club down in their hour of need and, amazingly, over 45,000 fans showed up over the weekend for their 4-1 hammering of Montrose.

It’s this support that the home side will need if they are to cause what would be classed as an upset against Motherwelll and it will indeed be a win for the underdog if Rangers can progress, according to manager Ally McCoist.

The former Scotland striker says ‘Well are the favourites for Wednesday night’s encounter and for good reason, with the Steelmen sitting pretty at the top of the Scottish Premier League table.

That’s a position Rangers know all too well but McCoist does still have players at the Old Firm outfit who can cause the Motherwell defence problems.

Much will rest on the fitness of midfielder Ian Black, as the home side are struggling with a few injuries to key personnel.

Top goalscorer Andy Little and former Hearts winger David Templeton are out with a foot and ankle injury respectively, so McCoist will have to shuffle his pack.

As for the visitors, manager Stuart McCall has no new injury problems following his side’s 3-3 draw with Aberdeen over the weekend.

The Motherwell boss will be looking to field a strong side, with the opportunity of a rare win at Ibrox on the cards.

However, McCall’s side looked very sloppy at the back against the Dons at Pittodrie and that will be an area Rangers will look to capitalise on.

This should be a very competitive and close encounter but, backed by their fanatical home support and against a potentially suspect defence, Rangers might just edge this one at Ibrox (10/1 – Rangers 2-1 correct score).

In Wednesday’s other Scottish League Cup encounter, Aberdeen, who will be buoyed by their late comeback against the SPL leaders, travel to East End Park to take on Dunfermline (Dunfermline 2/1, draw 12/5, Aberdeen 13/10 – Match Betting).

With Jim Jefferies at the helm, the Pars have a manager with plenty of experience in the top tier of Scottish football and his side, who sit in second place in the First Division, are capable of causing an upset.

However, the Dons who, despite playing out draws in all four of their last four outings in the SPL, have plenty of firepower and, with the likes of Scott Vernon and Josh Magennis in attack, they should have too much for Dunfirmline (2/1 – Aberdeen 2-0 correct score).

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Blues set for clean sweep

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Manchester City (6/1 – Capital One Cup outright), Everton and Chelsea are all in action in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday and, although it might not all be over in 90 minutes, the trio of Blues should all progress to the fourth round of the competition.

Premier League champions City are preparing to host a struggling Aston Villa side at the Eithad Stadium, with the visitors eager to make the most of their distraction from league problems (City 1/3, draw 4/1, Villa 8/1 – Match Betting).

The Villans will have to make big improvements from their performance at the weekend after they handed Southampton their first points in the Premier League this term, with a 4-1 defeat at St Mary’s.

Following the loss on the South Coast, manager Paul Lambert has stated he believes Darren Bent and Christian Benteke will make a formidable partnership this season but they need time to gel.

The former Norwich City boss might be tempted to give the duo more time on the field and they could cause the Citizens defence problems.

As for City they will be looking to get back to winning ways after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Arsenal on Sunday.

Manager Roberto Mancini will look to bring some fresh legs into the starting line-up for Tuesday night, with the likes of Mario Balotelli, Jack Rodwell and Carlos Tevez (who were all on the bench against the Gunners) set to feature.

Even if it was a City second team you would still fancy them to overcome Villa and the Blues should come out on top comfortably.

Tuesday will also see the Blues of Merseyside make the trip across the Pennines to West Yorkshire to face a potential banana skin against Leeds United at Elland Road (Leeds 10/3, draw 5/2, Everton 5/6 – Match Betting).

Everton will be buoyed by an impressive performance against Swansea City at the weekend, in a game they dominated at the Liberty Stadium.

That game finished 3-0 but it could easily have been a win by five or six goals, which will have pleased manager David Moyes ahead of the trip to Leeds.

As for the Whites, they too go into this game on the back of a win, and were boosted by the news the potential takeover at the club is edging towards a conclusion before beating Nottingham Forest 2-1.

Leeds will be a tough prospect on home soil but with the injury list ever increasing for Neil Warnock, Everton should have enough strength in depth to progress, even if it does take extra-time or penalties.

The Blues of London make up a strong treble of teams who should go through, as Chelsea host Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge (Chelsea 1/4, draw 5/1, Wolves 9/1 – Match Betting).

Wolves have started to settle into life in the Championship as they push for promotion back to the top flight.

Chelsea have a host of young players coming through the ranks at the Bridge and manager Roberto Di Matteo will be looking to give them a run out.

Even if they do field their young guns, Chelsea should have too much firepower for Wolves, who will be more focused on their Championship campaign.

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Ставки на матч «Алания» – «Анжи»!

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Футбол. Чемпионат России. Премьер-Лига

Алания – Анжи. Как не забавно это прозвучит, но эти команды впервые встретились в далеком 95-м году.GB Anzhi Zhirkov 12 300x188 Ставки на матч Алания Анжи! Дело происходило в рамках 1/16 Кубка России . Вы конечно можете не поверить, но в той встрече именно «Анжи» одержал волевую победу над своим именитым соперником. Да-да, я не ошибся, современное поколение может и не знать, но именно в том сезоне клуб из Северной Осетии завоевал золотые медали чемпионата России! А нынешний «Анжи» 1.60 в тот момент был лишь скромным представителем второй лиги.

Да, в это сложно поверить, но в тот момент никто и подумать не мог, что через 15-16 лет в клубе появится сам Роберто Карлос, а уж про форвардов уровня Это`О и говорить не приходится! А нынешний рулевой махачкалинцев Гус Хиддинк в тот момент, как раз начал руководить сборной Голландии. Думаю, тогда он и в самых смелых мечтах не думал, что будет работать с командой с Северного Кавказа! Но все течет, все меняется…

И вот уже «Анжи» готовится к встрече с «Аланией» 5.00, после выездной ничьей с «Удинезе», что самое поразительное, так это отношение к этому результату! Если еще 10 лет назад для любого российского клуба ничья на выезде в матче еврокубка, да еще и в Италии – это была настоящая победа, но сейчас это воспринимается, как досадная случайность. Написав эти строки, я задумался, что все-таки российский футбол, как бы его « не пинали» прошел уже большой и местами весьма славный путь.

Так вот своими дорогами, с момента первой встречи двигались и сегодняшние противники. «Алания», после победы в чемпионате, успела, и вылететь в первый дивизион, и вернуться сейчас назад, а «Анжи» теперь является топ-клубом, причем не только в России, но и Европы. Вот представьте, что  в том 95-м году кто-то бы мог подумать, что  «Анжи» будет фаворитом группы, в которой находится «Ливерпуль»?

Хоть матч и проходит во Владикавказе, но победу с большой долей вероятности одержит «Анжи», если только махачкалинцы не оставили все силы на итальянском поле…

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Euro midweek football bonanza

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There may be no Champions League or Europa League action this week but there are a few games taking place in Serie A, La Liga and the Bundesliga throughout the week so we thought we’d take a look at the midweek fixtures.

There is a full programme in Serie A with most of the games taking place on Wednesday, but on Tuesday Fiorentina host defending champions Juventus in what could be an intriguing contest.

La Viola have won their last two home fixtures, against Udinese and Catania respectively, scoring four goals and conceding just once, while Juve sit at the top of the table having won all four of their league fixtures to date.

The Old Lady also demonstrated their resolve and desire with a 2-2 draw at Chelsea in the Champions League, having fought back from 2-0 down to seal a share of the spoils.

Juve have won convincingly in both away games to date, beating Genoa 3-1 and Udinese 4-1 and the Turin outfit appear to be the team to beat in Italy in these early stages of the season.

Fiorentina do have goals in them, however, and have found the net in each of their last five games, losing just once against Napoli.  The hosts will provide a stern test for Juve but the reigning champions should just about edge this tie and the best bet in this particular fixture could well be the away victory, which is priced at 11/10.

If you think Fiorentina can dent Juventus’ title charge they’re priced at 13/5 to take maximum points and the draw is 11/5.

Bayern Munich failed to secure any silverware last season for a second successive campaign and the giants of German football have begin the 2012-13 season with real purpose, winning all seven of their games to date and scoring 22 goals in the process.

Wolfsburg visit the Allianz Arena on Tuesday and Bayern should stroll to victory against a side who have drawn their last two games and sit 10th in the Bundesliga table.

Bayern are 1/5 to win the match but it may be worth considering a Bayern/Bayern result in the half-time/full-time market, which is priced at 4/9.

Eintracht Frankfurt also have a 100% record in the Bundesliga after four games but they face their biggest test yet on Tuesday when they host reigning champions Borussia Dortmund.

Dortmund are yet to win on the road this season, with one defeat and one draw, yet they’re considered the 4/5 favourites to take all three points ahead of this fixture.

Dortmund undoubtedly have a stronger squad on paper than their opponents on Tuesday but they did lose a key player in Shinji Kagawa in the summer and could struggle to take maximum points on Tuesday.

Frankfurt look good value at 3/1 to seal the win on Tuesday and continue their fine start to the season, but the best bet could be the draw, which is priced at 13/5.

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Tangerines to tame Terriers

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Blackpool have the chance to reclaim top spot in the Championship table when they host Huddersfield Town in a roses clash on Monday night (Blackpool 4/6, draw 14/5, Huddersfield 4/1 Match Betting).

The encounter at Bloomfield Road will be a return for Simon Grayson to the club who he promoted to the second tier of English football before moving to Leeds United and now the Terriers.

Huddersfield make the trip across the Pennines on the back of two straight victories, over Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday, so confidence will be high in the side from West Yorkshire. The recent results have been all the more impressive after the side sold star striker Jordan Rhodes for £8m in the summer transfer window.

Grayson will be looking to strengthen his attacking options either in the emergency loan market or in the January transfer market, but for the trip to Bloomfield Road he will have to look to the likes of Lee Novak (8/1 first goalscorer), James Vaughan and Sean Scannell for goals.

The worry for the Huddersfield faithful is that only two goals have been scored between the three attackers, with the current topscorer being midfielder Adam Clayton, who followed Grayson from Leeds.

Huddersfield will be without John Lynch, as the defender is suspended for Monday night’s game having been shown a red card in the derby win over Wednesday in midweek. Lynch’s absence will see Anthony Gerrard fill the void alongside Peter Clarke in the heart of the Terries defence.

If those two players do start alongside each other they will certainly have their work cut out against a free-scoring Blackpool outfit, who have scored 15 goals in six games so far this term.

Tangerines boss Ian Holloway has the luxury of a full squad to select from and the tactician certainly has some talented players to choose from. Tom Ince (9/2 first goalscorer) has been the standout performer for the Seasiders and he will be a prime candidate for first goalscorer on Monday.

With the likes of Kevin Phillips, Gary Taylor-Fletcher and Nathan Delfouneso, who scored two goals in midweek, Holloway’s side have plenty of attacking options.

Huddersfield have performed above expectation in the Championship so far and Grayson has really been showing his experience at this level. However, the Terriers look like they need one or two extra players just to bring that bit of quality to a hard working side, who will have no problem in avoiding relegation this term.

But it’s that lack of goals which could be their undoing on Monday night, as the home side will have attacking threats in so many areas of the field and on the substitute’s bench.

Holloway managed to change things around in midweek and the fact he can bring Barry Ferguson and Stephen Crainey back in the team shows how far they have come. It should be a competitive game but the Tangerines should come out on top as they head to the top of the Championship table.

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Rivals ready to go again

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Liverpool entertain bitter rivals Manchester United at Anfield and champions Manchester City play host to Arsenal on a busy day of Premier League action and Totesport betting opportunities on Sunday.

Liverpool v Manchester United

These two great rivals meet upon a backdrop of emotion following the release of Hillsborough documents last week. Both clubs have appealed to the fans to end the unsavoury chanting that have dogged these fixtures in recent years, but not to lose the great rivalry that makes this game so special. Liverpool (7/4) have the recent edge in this fixture, having won four and lost none of their last five games in all competitions at home to United (13/8). However, the Reds have made a stumbling start to life under Brendan Rodgers and are yet to register a league win this campaign. They have struggled for goals and with Wayne Rooney also absent for the visitors, chances should be at a premium. The best bet appears to be the 1-1 draw priced at 11/2.

Newcastle v Norwich

Chris Hughton will be guaranteed a warm reception by the Newcastle fans when he makes his first return to St James’ Park since being controversially sacked in December 2010. His successor, Alan Pardew, is equally popular after guiding the Magpies (8/11) to fifth place last season. They face a Norwich (4/1) team who are showing signs of ’second season syndrome’. After a magnificent 12th place finish upon their return to the top flight last year, the Canaries have struggled for goals this time around and are still searching for their first win. With Toon striker Demba Ba showing signs of getting back to his best with a brace at Everton on Monday, it’s unlikely City will get the points here. Back a 3-0 Newcastle win priced @ 12/1.

Manchester City v Arsenal

Both Manchester City (8/11) and Arsenal (9/5) have made solid starts to the season and will put their early title credentials to the test at the Etihad Stadium. City were taught a harsh footballing lesson at Real Madrid on Tuesday, conceding two last minute goals to lose 3-2. Meanwhile Champions League veterans Arsenal won 2-1 at Montpellier. Don’t expect goals on Sunday though, there have been just six goals scored in the last six league meetings between the two sides. All three fixtures finished 1-0 last season and history looks likely to repeat itself here, back 1-0 to City priced @ 6-1.

Tottenham v QPR

Spurs (1/2) will go hunting for their first home win of the season at the fourth time of asking against QPR (6/1) on Sunday. After a shaky start, Andre Villas-Boas’ men have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks, defeating Reading 3-1 last weekend and drawing with Italian side Lazio in the Europa League on Thursday. Despite a summer of heavy investment QPR have yet to really get going this season, though they will be encouraged by a solid display in the 0-0 draw with Chelsea last weekend. They are very poor travellers though, taking just three points from their last 45 available and that run looks unlikely to improve here. Back the 2-0 win to Spurs priced @ 6/1.

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Ставки на матч «Терек» – «Локомотив». «Барселона» принимает «Гранаду».

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Футбол. Чемпионат России. Премьер-Лига

Локомотив – Терек. Да, да лидер чемпионата принимает в гости  «Локомотив» 2.50. После последней игры вMaicon ball 1 300x216 Ставки на матч Терек Локомотив. Барселона принимает Гранаду. Санкт-Петербурге «Терек» завладел единоличным лидерством в чемпионате! Честно, мало кто мог предположить это перед стартом Премьер-Лиги. Да что уж там перед стартом, даже перед предыдущей игрой с «Зенитом» все были уверены, что уж сейчас-то «Терек» проиграет, но не тут-то было.

Надо признать грозненцы сейчас показывают цельную игру, и каждый игрок знает, что ему делать на поле. В этом безусловная заслуга Станислава Черчесова, который создал более чем боеспособный коллектив. Все отмечают так же то, как хорошо эта команда подготовлена физически. Магомед Оздоев так и вовсе заявил, что в последние 15 минут футболисты «Терека» двигаются так, будто не было предыдущих 75-ти!

В матче не смогут принять участие два футболиста «Локомотива» – это Роман Павлюченко и Даме Н′Дойе. Безусловно, Славену Биличу придется нелегко, но в этом году в Грозном легко не будет никому. Если «Локо» сможет привезти из Чечни хотя бы ничью – это уже станет большим успехом.

Буквально только что ЦСКА обошел «Терек» 2.55 и теперь занимает 1-е место в чемпионате, так что грозненцам некогда расслабляться.

Футбол. Испания. Примера

Барселона – Гранада. В марте этого года скромная «Гранада» 29.00 забила ни много, ни мало 3 мяча на Камп Ноу!!! но  к сожалению, это не помогло им уйти от поражения, так как в свои ворота они пропустили пять…

Вот и сегодня сколько бы «Гранада» не забила, «Барселона» 1.07 в ответ может забить больше. Впрочем, такая ситуация у «сине-гранатовых» наблюдается почти в каждой встрече. В последней из них они принимали московский «Спартак», и надо отдать должное «красно-белым» они оказали самое яростное сопротивление и даже вели в счете во втором тайме, но Месси, он и есть Месси.

Я не знаю, как футболисты «Гранады» захотят провести эту встречу, либо, как весной с «шашками на голо», либо «выкатят клубный автобус в штрафную», но в любом случае они наверняка проиграют. Весь вопрос в том, с каким счетом?

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Tigers out to maul Foxes

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Hull City have got that all important winning momentum behind them which will be put to the test when they make the trip to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City (Leicester Evs, draw 12/5, Hull 11/4 Match Betting) on Sunday.

The Tigers have enjoyed their best start to a season in 19 years under manager Steve Bruce, who has seen his side win their last three outing in the Championship.

A 3-2 victory over Yorkshire rivals Leeds United at Elland Road in midweek will have given the squad plenty of confidence, for what will be a difficult trip to the East Midlands against another promotion contender.

Hull have shown plenty of resilience in the league this term and their three recent wins saw the side come back after going behind to claim the victories in two of the encounters.

If Bruce’s side go behind at the King Power Stadium, don’t rule out the Tigers still getting something out of the game, as they look to strengthen their position in the top six (28/1 Leicester HT/ Hull FT).

Hull are still without the likes of Matty Fryatt, Jack Hobbs and Tom Cairney through injury but so far they have been able to fill the void left by the trio.

In better news for Bruce, he has been able to welcome back Paul McKenna into the fold and the influential midfielder will be able to add plenty experience in the middle of the park to contrast with the likes of Robert Koren.

Jay Simpson was largely quiet against Leeds but he is a threat at Championship level and Leicester will have to keep an eye out for the striker, who has bagged three goals this season.

As for the Foxes manager Nigel Pearson he will be determined to get one over on his former employers who he joined in June 2010 before returning to Leicester just over a year later.

The home side will be pleased to welcome back playmaker and talented goalscorer Andy King who has been out of action with a hamstring injury but will return for Sunday’s encounter.

Leicester themselves are on a decent run at the moment, having secured wins over both Wolves and Burnley in their last two outings.

Looking at both sides, this game should certainly have goals in it, as Hull have only failed to score once against the Foxes in their last 18 league meetings.

With King returning and the likes of Jamie Vardy and Ben Marshall at their disposal, Leicester have the ability to score goals and backed by their home crowd they will be a tough proposition.

However, Hull have looked very impressive in recent weeks and Bruce and his men may well be heading back to Yorkshire with all three points on Sunday evening (11/1 Hull 2-1 win – correct score).

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Blues to get back on track

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The Premier League action continues on Saturday with six games in total and the one that stands out most is the meeting between Chelsea and Stoke, which sees a true clash of cultures (Match Betting – Chelsea 1/3, draw 4/1, Stoke 19/2).

The Blues will go into the match full of disappointment, having squandered a two goal lead in the Champions League against Juventus and will be looking to get straight back on track after their superb start to the campaign.

One of the only bright spots to come out of Wednesday’s draw was the performance of Brazilian youngster Oscar, who will be desperate to continue his progress following his brilliant display in his first start for the club.

Unlike last year when they visibly struggled, the Potters don’t have European football to deal with this time around and should be fresh ahead of the game at Stamford Bridge.

Tony Pulis’ men will surely be looking to use their physical advantage over the Blues and, after seeing their defensive frailties in midweek, are likely to try and expose their opponents at the back.

This one really does have the potential for an upset but Chelsea may feel they have a point to prove and should come through comfortably (Chelsea 5/1 to win 2-0).

The other game that really stands out on Saturday is the clash between Southampton and Aston Villa at St Mary’s (Match Betting – Southampton 7/5, draw 12/5, Villa 2/1).

This may not be the most glamorous tie but with both sides struggling so far this term, three points could prove vital come the end of the campaign. Southampton truly were a breath of fresh air in the opening weeks, as their cavalier style saw them come agonisingly close to wins over both Manchester clubs.

However, they were outclassed by Arsenal last Saturday and it will be interesting to see how they respond to that drubbing.

Despite the positively brought to the club following the summer appointment of Paul Lambert, Villa unfortunately look set for another long and difficult season. Now bereft of the talent that saw them look set to go on and challenge for the title under Martin O’Neill, the Villains currently have to rely on seasoned veterans and unproven youngsters.

Despite this though, they earned a surprise win against Swansea last time out and will be looking to kick on after their sluggish start to the season.

Like the first game, this looks almost too close to call but the Saints will be desperate to win and should come through in what may turn out to be a thriller (Match Betting 28/1 to win 3-2).

In the other games, Swansea will be confident of continuing their fine home form against injury-plagued Everton, while West Brom will fancy themselves to carry on Reading’s dismal return to the Premier League.

Elsewhere, West Ham will be hopeful of earning another home win against Sunderland while Fulham will see their trip to Wigan as a superb chance to earn their first away points of the campaign.

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