Tag Archives: Countdown

Capital One Cup Countdown!

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Former Premier League outfit Wolves start their League Cup campaign this Saturday with what should be a straightforward match against Aldershot (Wolves 2/5 to win).

The newly relegated side face the League Two outfit at Molineux and should be shoe-ins to progress to the second round with ease.

However, new boss Stale Solbakken will not want his tenure to get off to a losing start, especially with the ongoing transfer speculation surrounding skipper Steven Fletcher, and it could be a nervy afternoon.

Especially as last season the Shots were a surprise package in the tournament, defeating higher placed opposition West Ham, Rochdale and Carlisle on their way to the last 16 of the competition.

Dean Holdsworth’s men can be backed at 7/1 to pull of a victory and continue last season’s League Cup giant killing.

Leeds United vs Shrewsbury Town

Championship side Leeds United have only ever lost once to Shrewsbury Town at home in nine matches, but tellingly that was the last time the Shrews played at Elland Road.

Despite it being in the old Division Two back in 1988, Graham Turner’s men will be hoping to repeat the 3-2 score line they achieved backed then.

The Shrews can be backed at 40/1 to win by the same margin, but a Leeds United 1-0 or 2-0 win would be a much safer bet, both at 6/1.

Neil Warnock’s promotion-chasing outfit will be giving new players a run out to familiarise them with the Yorkshire surroundings.

New £200,000 signing Luke Varney has said he is raring to go.

“People have said the cup game is a hindrance but, personally, I think it’s blessing,” said the former Portsmouth, Derby and Charlton winger.

Doncaster Rovers vs York City

Doncaster welcome newly promoted York City to the Keepmoat Stadium for a Yorkshire derby in the first round of the Capital One Cup.

The odds will be stacked against the Minstermen, with Rovers having the better head-to-head stats against their Yorkshire rivals. But City will be keen to stand out after an eight-year exile from the Football League.

Players will be keen to impress York manager Gary Mills, as a chance to gain a first XI place is up for grabs.

York are 7/2 to come away with a victory and can be backed at 40/1 to grab a 3-2 victory over League One Rovers.

Last season York were prone to shipping lazy goals in the Conference but were equally quick to make up for it by playing a ‘we’re going to score one more than you’ brand of football.

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Euro 2012 Countdown!

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With Euro 2012 rapidly approaching, countries across the continent are finalising their plans ahead of the big kick-off next Friday. Co-hosts Poland and 2010 World Cup finalists Holland are among the sides in action on Saturday, with plenty of options available for the punters.

Denmark v Australia

Denmark were shock winners of their qualifying group, beating Norway to the sole automatic qualification spot in Group H.

However, they will have to raise their game still further at the finals, with Germany, Holland and Portugal – again – lying in wait in Group B.

The need to hit the ground running should ensure they take their friendly clash with Australia in Copenhagen seriously.

Australia will also see this as a key game with the first of eight matches in the final phase of World Cup qualifying taking place in Oman next week.

Key Aussie duo Josh Kennedy and Brett Holman are unavailable, meaning Holger Osieck’s men look weak up front.

For that reason, a Denmark win and clean sheet looks the value bet, with 2-0 priced at a handy 6/1.

Match odds – Denmark 4/5,  draw 23/10,  Australia 16/5

Poland v Andorra

Poland had the luxury of automatic qualification thanks to their co-hosting of the tournament so the players will be desperate for competitive action after two years of friendlies.

They will also be keen to erase the memory of their miserable Euro 2008 campaign, where they picked up just a point.

They should go into their tournament opener against Greece next week with confidence given their opponents on Saturday, Andorra, are ranked 205th in the world and finished bottom of their qualifying group without picking up a point.

Goals are where the value is in this fixture, with a 3-0 Poland win the value bet at 21/5.

Match odds – Poland 1/25,  draw 10/1,  Andorra 22/1

Norway v Croatia

Slaven Bilic’s Croatia were surprisingly beaten into second place by Greece in qualifying, but a 3-0 play-off victory over Turkey ensures they have the chance to go at least one better than their quarter-final appearance four years ago.

It is a side packed with talented individual players, but they face a tough task in a group alongside Spain, Italy and the Republic of Ireland.

Norway have not qualified for a major tournament since Euro 2000 and were narrowly beaten 1-0 by England in a friendly last weekend.

Norway manager Egil Olsen is a wily old boss who sets out his team to keep it tight at the back and they only conceded seven goals in qualifying.

However, they only scored 10 at the other end so a Croatia clean sheet is a tip here.

With the likes of Luka Modric, Nikica Jelavic and Ivica Olic in their side Croatia surely have too much for their Scandinavian opponents, with a 1-0 win priced at a potentially profitable 11/2.

Match odds – Norway 6/4, draw 21/10,  Croatia 8/5

Holland v Northern Ireland

Holland will once again head into a major tournament with plenty of backing to go all the way.

Their sides have always possessed talented individuals, but it is their ability to gel as a unit that has sometimes been questioned.

Bert van Marwijk appeared to do just that by guiding them to the World Cup final in 2010, despite criticism for their physical tactics, and they will be desperate to go one better this time around.

On paper Northern Ireland are facing a monumental task if they are to keep their opponents at bay for the full 90 minutes.

Not only are they ranked behind the likes of Guyana and Vietnam in the world rankings, but new boss Michael O’Neill has picked an experimental side as he looks to unearth a new generation of talent.

A Holland win is a certainty so the value is again with goals and a 5-0 win priced at 16/1 is not beyond the realms of possibility.

Match odds – Holland 1/6, draw 6/1, Northern Ireland 14/1

Portugal v Turkey

Portugal were forced to qualify for Euro 2012 via the play-offs and another tricky obstacle was put in front of them when they were drawn with Holland, Denmark and Germany in a formidable Group B.

Turkey reached the semi-finals in Austria and Switzerland four years ago but after finishing a commendable second behind Germany and ahead of Belgium in qualifying, they crashed out of the play-offs to Croatia.

However, Abdullah Avci’s men should provide Cristiano Ronaldo and co with a tricky challenge before the action kicks off next week.

There certainly appears to be a smaller gap between the teams than the 27 places in the current world rankings suggests so the draw appears to be the bet to make in this one – 1-1 is priced at 11/2.

Match odds – Portugal 8/15, draw 11/4, Turkey 9/2

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Boxing Day Countdown!

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The annual Boxing Day extravaganza of football is upon us, with only a couple of alterations due to the planned London Tube strike. There are seven Premier League games on up and down the country, with some matches a lot easier to call than others.

1 – The bankers

Liverpool v Blackburn
Man Utd v Wigan
West Brom v Man City

The way the two Manchester teams are performing it’s hard to see either Wigan or West Brom pulling off a shock, while the way Blackburn are playing it would take a huge step up to take anything away from Anfield.

Manchester United blew Fulham away in midweek and, despite Wigan recording huge morale-boosting draws with Chelsea and Liverpool in the last week, Old Trafford remains a tough place to go (United 1/6, draw 6/1, Wigan 20/1).

City are also firing on all cylinders and look capable of blowing any side away, so it could be a long old Boxing Day for the West Brom defenders (West Brom 13/2, draw 10/3, City 4/9).

At Anfield, Liverpool may not be on top form but with morale at rock-bottom at Blackburn and the boss under intense scrutiny this is a chance for Dalglish’s team to re-ignite their form in front of goal (Liverpool 1/4, drive 5/1, Blackburn 11/1).

2 – The possible upsets

Chelsea v Fulham
Stoke v Aston Villa

Chelsea are also a team stuttering through the season and look like they need a resounding win to ignite some new-confidence in them. That opportunity could come on Boxing Day as Fulham showed in midweek defending is not their best trait.

Man Utd ripped them apart with ease and the Cottagers could again struggle against the pace of the likes of Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge. The statistics don’t make good reading for travelling fans, as Fulham have beaten Chelsea only once in the last 30 league and cup meetings, but Chelsea do have a tendency to misfire (Chelsea 3/10, draw 4/1, Fulham 11/1).

Stoke currently occupy their best Christmas position for 37 years and face a Villa side who have taken only eight points from the last 30. The combination of Stoke’s set-piece power – which will be boosted by the return of Peter Crouch – and Villa’s struggles at the back point towards a home win and some Christmas cheer in the Potteries, but it will all depend on which Villa turns up (Stoke 10/11, draw 12/5, Villa 16/5).

3 – Too close to call

Bolton v Newcastle
Sunderland v Everton

It’s a case of a team looking up and a team on their way down at the Reebok Stadium and Bolton will be hoping their midweek win over Blackburn gives them a springboard over the festive period.

Newcastle are without a win in six games and travel to Bolton with a poor record in this fixture – indeed Bolton have won seven of the last eight home encounters with Newcastle. The visitors are a side in decline and desperately need to turn around their slipping fortunes (Bolton 6/4, draw 9/4, Newcastle 15/8).

Finally, at the Stadium of Light the dark clouds are turning brighter as Martin O’Neill has won two of his first three games in charge. There is a new-found confidence among the Black Cats but the head-to-head record against Everton makes dire reading – with the Toffees unbeaten in their last 13 league meetings with Sunderland.

Saying that, times are hard around Everton so this Boxing Day could be the time for the Black Cats to break the hoodoo (Sunderland 6/4, draw 9/4, Everton 15/8).

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The Final Countdown

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The new Premier League season is just a matter of days away and that means it’s time to finalise your Fantasy Football team in order to take the competition to the cleaners (Manchester United – 13/8f – Premier League Outright 2011/12).

Picking your XI is not exactly a science, but it’s not far off the mark to suggest it’s probably one of your most important tasks this week in order to hit the ground running and set the early pace.

So who should you go with?  Allow us to suggest five star men who we feel will not let you down from the word go.

Safe Pair of Hands

Whatever people say, football is all about goals – scoring them and keeping them out. All that fancy-Dan stuff has secured Arsenal absolutely nothing for over half a decade in the Premier League.

Barcelona may well have swept all before them but that’s in La Liga which is a two-horse race and underlined by the fact third favourites this term, Valencia, are available at 50/1. So you’re going to need a safe pair of hands.

We’d love to go with Liverpool stopper Pepe Reina, however counting against him is a defence which is far from convincing so it’s got to be fellow Spaniard David De Gea at Manchester United.

Fair enough he conceded two against Manchester City in the Community Shield and doesn’t appear to understand too much English at this point, but rest assured United have the best defenders in the Premier League to protect him.

Fergie will also have him working flat-out on the lingo when he’s not rolling around in the mud on the training paddock.

Defensive Rock

While keeping goals out is the name of the game for keepers, defenders who weigh in with the odd strike or two are worth their weight in gold.

We can’t think of too many defenders who take set-pieces these days like Roberto Carlos, so it’s all about the men who get on the end of free-kicks and corners.

Step forward Tottenham’s William Gallas ,who may have drawn a blank last season, but who can get amongst it this term as 11/4 shots Spurs chase a return to the top four.

Midfield Dynamos

There are two men we’re looking for in the middle of the park – the kind of guys who drive you on from box to box where the game is won and lost.

For us, Spurs ace Gareth Bale is a no-brainer although he has a lot to live up to if he is going to repeat last season’s heroics.

But hopefully he will do and also provide the ammunition for Gallas to maraud forward for dead-ball situations.

We’re also going to go with Manchester United’s Nani who has stepped out of the shadows and is long overdue a big season for a Red Devils side which is arguably much stronger than last year’s vintage.

Hot Shot

Your main man up front is your talisman, the player who can get away with 89 minutes of dross if he comes up with a winner out of nothing.

Of course, he’s going to need decent service – see the inclusions of Bale and Nani – and we think someone like Liverpool’s Luis Suarez fits the bill.

However, he may not be quite ready for the big kick off after winning the Copa America earlier in the summer, so we need to look elsewhere.

Carlos Tevez, Fernando Torres and Dimitar Berbatov all have pedigree and are  – or were – worth well over £100m between them, however for differing reasons we have some reservations.

So the man we’ll take is Aston Villa’s Darren Bent, who has more than proven himself over the years and is guaranteed to start for Alex McLeish’s men.

Bent can be backed at 12/1 to finish the 2011/12 season as top scorer.

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Copa America Countdown

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The 43rd edition of the Copa America starts in Argentina on Friday with 9/5 shots Brazil looking to underline their dominance of South American football having won the tournament four of the last five times since 1997.

The only time the Samba Kings have failed to reign over the last 14 years was in 2001 when host nation Colombia secured their one and only title thanks to a 1-0 win over Mexico.

However, they are not the favourites pre-tournament with that honour instead falling to the latest hosts, Argentina (evens), despite their shoddy performance on the international stage since taking the Copa America back in 1993.

Manchester City captain Carlos Tevez has underlined the importance of winning and he feels home advantage can help to banish the memories of near misses in 2004 and 2007.

“I am dying to win the Copa,” confirmed the industrious forward. “I played in the last two finals which we lost to Brazil. But now we will have home support behind us and this will be key.”

The winner is widely expected to be either Argentina or Brazil, with Chile the third favourites but still a 10/1 chance, which confirms the expected two-horse race.

The scene is set for Lionel Messi to take his place among the greats of world football, with arguably only the 24-year-old’s record at international level currently keeping him just below legendary status.

Messi’s importance to the cause has been highlighted by Angel di Maria – an enemy at club level since his switch to Real Madrid – who said of the Barcelona star: “We have got to show Argentina have it in us to win the title. That means getting the ball, moving it around and linking up with Leo.”

La Albiceleste get the ball rolling with a clash against Bolivia before what should be relatively straightforward meetings with Colombia and Costa Rica (Argentina 3-0  Correct Score – 9/2).

The prize for topping Group A for Argentina will be a quarter-final against the weakest side to emerge from the group stage and coach Sergio Batista, who tasted international glory with the side at the 2008 Olympics, will not have to remind his players of that fact.

Brazil - who face Paraguay, Venezuela and Ecuador in Group B – will also face a third-placed qualifier if they top their group and if, as expected, Argentina see off their last-eight opponents along with Brazil then the two will be kept apart in the semi-finals.

Prediction: Argentina to beat Brazil in the final in Buenos Aires on July 27.

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