Forest to pull up more trees

There is a full round of Championship fixtures on Tuesday night and Nottingham Forest look set to continue their resurgence with a win over fellow strugglers Doncaster Rovers.

After seeing off Coventry and Birmingham, Forest were held to a 1-1 draw at Barnsley last time out but they should be too strong for rock-bottom Donny on Tuesday night.  The South Yorkshire side are without a win in their last seven league fixtures and have managed just two wins and seven points on the road all season.

Doncaster are five points adrift of safety and appear to be heading into League One.  Forest are priced at 4/6 to secure the win and pile the pressure on the Rovers.  The draw is 11/4 and Doncaster are 4/1 to take all three points.

New Leeds United boss Neil Warnock couldn’t secure a win in his first game in charge as the Elland Road side suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to league-leaders Southampton.  Warnock’s second game in charge is a tricky trip to Hull City on Tuesday, with the Tigers a formidable side on home soil.

Nick Barmby’s men are unbeaten in their previous seven fixtures and can be backed at evens to see off Leeds, the draw is 12/5 and an away win can be backed at 11/4.

Derby County’s hopes of sneaking into the play-offs appear to be all but over, with the Rams currently 12 points adrift of a top six spot.  The Pride Park outfit seem set to finish mid-table as they’re 15 points clear of relegation, and pushing for as high a finish as possible remains their only realistic goal for the remainder of the campaign.

In contrast, Blackpool are involved in the battle for a top-six spot as they seek an immediate return to the top flight and the Seasiders could well take all three points when the two sides meet in Derby on Tuesday night.

Derby have been in shocking form of late and are without a win in seven, losing four and drawing three.  Blackpool have lost just once in their previous 10 league fixtures and have also won their last three away games.  The Seasiders can be backed at 11/8 to take all three points, while Derby are 15/8 to seal the win and the draw is priced at 12/5.

Ipswich have picked up of late with four wins in their last five games but they face a daunting trip to St Mary’s on Tuesday, where league leaders Southampton have won 13 of their 17 games to date.

Saints seem set to secure back-to-back promotions and should be too strong for the Tractor Boys, who are well clear of relegation but too far from the top six to mount a serious late promotion charge.  The home win can be backed at 8/13, while Ipswich are 9/2 and the draw is available at 14/5.

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Can Spurs pull off a miracle?

Tottenham’s Champions League dream seems almost certain to come to an after being thrashed 4-0 at the Bernabeu last week but midfielder Jermaine Jenas believes the north London outfit still have a chance of reaching the last four (Barcelona are the evens favourites to secure the Champions League, Real Madrid 10/3, Spurs 150/1).

It will take a massive effort and a great deal of luck if Spurs are to overcome a four-goal deficit, but Jenas reckons it is too soon to write off their chances.

“If anyone is going to do it, we can,” he told Talksport. “We’ve produced some amazing comebacks already this season.

“There is always a chance. You just don’t know what will happen here. Who is to say they don’t get a player sent off or something like that happens.

“We know we have to go out and score goals, we’ll go all-out to attack and see where it takes us.”

Spurs need to secure a massive 4-0 victory, which is priced at 100/1, if they’re to force the tie into extra time and smashing Real Madrid by such a margin may seem a mighty task, but they’re still good enough to beat the Spanish giants.

Tottenham were reduced to 10 men in the early stages of the first-leg after Peter Crouch was shown his marching orders and from there on in it was never going to be easy in the intimidating home of Spain’s capital club.  However, with home advantage and, hopefully at least, calmer heads Spurs will be desperate to at least restore some pride after their hammering in the Spanish capital and Spurs are 13/8 to win the tie over 90 minutes.

The White Hart Lane side will have to go out on the attack from the off if they’re to stand any chance of extending their European run, but that will of course leave space at the back for Real’s stars to exploit.  The game should see plenty of goals and both teams to score is priced at 8/15, while over 2.5 goals pays out at 8/13.

Former Real man Rafael van der Vaart will be eager to grab a goal against his former employers after his unsuccessful spell with Los Blancos, the Dutchman is 6/1 to score first or 7/4 to grab a goal at any time.

Reigning champions Inter Milan also appear doomed to stumble in the last eight after slumping to a 5-2 defeat at home to Bundesliga outfit Schalke 04 last week.

The Italian outfit have a three goal deficit to recover but will have to score at least four due to the away goals rule, and like Spurs they will have to attack from the start if they’re to stand any chance of retaining their title.

The Nerazzurri are 6/4 to win the match in 90 minutes and 7/2 to be winning at half-time and full-time in the Half-time/Full-time market, both of which could well be worth some consideration considering Inter need to come out flying if they’re to progress further than the last eight.

Schalke striker Raul, who is the leading scorer in the UEFA Champions League from the 1992-93 season onwards with 70 goals, found the net in the first-leg and is 13/8 to help himself to a goal in the second-leg on Wednesday.  The veteran frontman has a fantastic pedigree in European competition and will be looking to get on the score-sheet against the Italian giants in front of the Schalke faithful.

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Play Off Final Prediction: Can Blackpool Pull Off Cardiff Shock?

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play off final 300x203 Play Off Final Prediction: Can Blackpool Pull Off Cardiff Shock?The clubs contesting this season’s Championship play-off final reached this stage by contrasting routes; one was in the hunt for promotion all season and nearly always in the top six, while the other slipped in on the final day of the campaign.

You Can Bet on this: Play-off Final: Cardiff v Blackpool

Ian Holloway’s Blackpool are the team that sneaked into the play-off picture at the death. Late momentum counts for a great deal and the Tangerines were able to eliminate Nottingham Forest- generally considered to be the third-best team in the division- in the semi-finals.

Like Forest, Cardiff City have always been near the top after just missing out on the play-offs last season. Dave Jones’ side were able to prevail over Leicester City in the semi-finals which meant the final will be contested by two clubs who have never been in the Premiership.

Cardiff haven’t been in the top flight since way back in 1962; Blackpool had their last tilt at the big boys in 1970/71 but finished rock bottom, winning just four league games.

You Can Bet on this: Play-off Final: Cardiff v Blackpool

Though Blackpool have a more recent history of top division football it is the Welsh club who have been considered the team more ready for the Premier League. Blackpool are one of the smallest clubs in the Championship in terms of resources and Ian Holloway has got them this far on a relative shoestring.

While the Tangerines have stayed within modest means, Cardiff desperately need the financial boost that reaching the Premier League would provide. The Bluebirds have faced winding-up orders in the High Court on several occasions this season.

Over the 46-game Championship marathon, Cardiff accumulated six more points than Blackpool. Jones’s team were better on the road but Blackpool scored goals for fun at Bloomfield Road.

Cardiff had two double figure scorers (Whittingham and Chopra) to Blackpool’s one (Adam). They also had two players (Whittingham and Bothroyd) on double figures for assists. Adam again was Blackpool’s top man in this area on eight.

Jones has the bigger names to call on but Holloway can point to a formidable team ethos with Charlie Adam proving to be an absolute steal from Rangers for only £500,000.

Blackpool have less to lose from this game as the seaside club were never expected to get this far. If they triumph, it would be an even greater feat than Burnley’s promotion a year ago.

But Cardiff have more players who have experienced big games at a higher level, including six who played in the 2008 FA Cup Final. This should make the difference and see the Welsh club become the 41st side to appear in the Premier League.

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  2. Newcastle United v Cardiff City- A Heavyweight Championship Clash
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Play Off Final: Can Blackpool Pull Off Cardiff Shock?

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play off final 300x203 Play Off Final: Can Blackpool Pull Off Cardiff Shock?The clubs contesting this season’s Championship play-off final reached this stage by contrasting routes; one was in the hunt for promotion all season and nearly always in the top six, while the other slipped in on the final day of the campaign.

You Can Bet on this: Play-off Final: Cardiff v Blackpool

Ian Holloway’s Blackpool are the team that sneaked into the play-off picture at the death. Late momentum counts for a great deal and the Tangerines were able to eliminate Nottingham Forest- generally considered to be the third-best team in the division- in the semi-finals.

Like Forest, Cardiff City have always been near the top after just missing out on the play-offs last season. Dave Jones’ side were able to prevail over Leicester City in the semi-finals which meant the final will be contested by two clubs who have never been in the Premiership.

Cardiff haven’t been in the top flight since way back in 1962; Blackpool had their last tilt at the big boys in 1970/71 but finished rock bottom, winning just four league games.

You Can Bet on this: Play-off Final: Cardiff v Blackpool

Though Blackpool have a more recent history of top division football it is the Welsh club who have been considered the team more ready for the Premier League. Blackpool are one of the smallest clubs in the Championship in terms of resources and Ian Holloway has got them this far on a relative shoestring.

While the Tangerines have stayed within modest means, Cardiff desperately need the financial boost that reaching the Premier League would provide. The Bluebirds have faced winding-up orders in the High Court on several occasions this season.

Over the 46-game Championship marathon, Cardiff accumulated six more points than Blackpool. Jones’s team were better on the road but Blackpool scored goals for fun at Bloomfield Road.

Cardiff had two double figure scorers (Whittingham and Chopra) to Blackpool’s one (Adam). They also had two players (Whittingham and Bothroyd) on double figures for assists. Adam again was Blackpool’s top man in this area on eight.

Jones has the bigger names to call on but Holloway can point to a formidable team ethos with Charlie Adam proving to be an absolute steal from Rangers for only £500,000.

Blackpool have less to lose from this game as the seaside club were never expected to get this far. If they triumph, it would be an even greater feat than Burnley’s promotion a year ago.

But Cardiff have more players who have experienced big games at a higher level, including six who played in the 2008 FA Cup Final. This should make the difference and see the Welsh club become the 41st side to appear in the Premier League.

  • Share this on del.icio.us
  • Digg this!
  • Share this on Reddit
  • Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon
  • Post this to MySpace
  • Share this on Facebook
  • Tweet This!
  • Add this to Google Bookmarks

Related posts:

  1. Newcastle United v Cardiff City- A Heavyweight Championship Clash
  2. Will Liverpool play with Shankly mentality again?
  3. Champion’s League Final is sure to live up to expectations.


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