Mike's Football Bets 29th October

A busy weekend of bets so I will get straight into it…

Over at the Emirates this weekend I am keen to follow in Arsenal to overcome a -2 Asian Handicap at 1.91 with Paddy Power against what looks a very poor West Ham side. After a recent blip against West Brom, the Gunners have perked up and with Fabregas & Walcott back they look a much more potent team. Arsenal have won by 2 goals or more in 13 out of 16 games against the bottom 12 teams since last season and I expect Robert Green to be a busy man!

Fulham also have a strong home record against the bottom 12 teams and have won 9 out of 12 games against these teams since the 09/10 season. They have had a very tough start to the season but have still drawn against Man Utd and Everton at home, with the only blip a narrow defeat to Spurs because of a very dubious goal. I fancy them at 1.91 with Pinnacle to have too much for a Jekyll and Hyde Wigan outfit.

I am keen to continue to follow in a fave team of mine this season – Bolton, who take on Liverpool who were far from convincing when beating poor travellers Blackburn last week. The trotters have drawn at home with the likes of Man Utd, Fulham & Birmingham and beaten Stoke this season so far and are a very tough not to crack at the Reebok. A draw looks to be the most likely result and I am taking a +0.25 AH on the home team at 1.98 with Ladbrokes.

Blackburn may be terrible on the road but at home they are a completely different proposition and if Samba and Nelson are back in defence, Chelsea will find it hard to break them down. Only Arsenal and Everton have won their in recent teams and then only by the odd goal. Blackburn at 1.95 with a +1.25 Asian Handicap from Betinternet looks value.

I also see value in siding with Sunderland away at inconsistent Newcastle this weekend in the North East derby. The +0.25 AH on them is 2.07 with Betinternet but I am going to include it as a shortlist only due to the complications that such intense derby games can bring.

Main Bets
1.5 pt Arsenal (-2 AH) V West Ham. 1.91 Paddy Power
1 pt Fulham to beat Wigan. 1.91 Pinnacle
1 pt Bolton (+0.25 AH) V Liverpool. 1.98 Ladbrokes
1 pt Blackburn (+1.25 AH) V Chelsea. 1.95 Betinternet

Shortlist Bets
1 pt Sunderland (+0.25 AH) V Newcastle. 2.07 Betinternet

Whatever you bet on, good luck!

Mike

Mike’s Football Bets 29th October

A busy weekend of bets so I will get straight into it…

Over at the Emirates this weekend I am keen to follow in Arsenal to overcome a -2 Asian Handicap at 1.91 with Paddy Power against what looks a very poor West Ham side. After a recent blip against West Brom, the Gunners have perked up and with Fabregas & Walcott back they look a much more potent team. Arsenal have won by 2 goals or more in 13 out of 16 games against the bottom 12 teams since last season and I expect Robert Green to be a busy man!

Fulham also have a strong home record against the bottom 12 teams and have won 9 out of 12 games against these teams since the 09/10 season. They have had a very tough start to the season but have still drawn against Man Utd and Everton at home, with the only blip a narrow defeat to Spurs because of a very dubious goal. I fancy them at 1.91 with Pinnacle to have too much for a Jekyll and Hyde Wigan outfit.

I am keen to continue to follow in a fave team of mine this season – Bolton, who take on Liverpool who were far from convincing when beating poor travellers Blackburn last week. The trotters have drawn at home with the likes of Man Utd, Fulham & Birmingham and beaten Stoke this season so far and are a very tough not to crack at the Reebok. A draw looks to be the most likely result and I am taking a +0.25 AH on the home team at 1.98 with Ladbrokes.

Blackburn may be terrible on the road but at home they are a completely different proposition and if Samba and Nelson are back in defence, Chelsea will find it hard to break them down. Only Arsenal and Everton have won their in recent teams and then only by the odd goal. Blackburn at 1.95 with a +1.25 Asian Handicap from Betinternet looks value.

I also see value in siding with Sunderland away at inconsistent Newcastle this weekend in the North East derby. The +0.25 AH on them is 2.07 with Betinternet but I am going to include it as a shortlist only due to the complications that such intense derby games can bring.

Main Bets
1.5 pt Arsenal (-2 AH) V West Ham. 1.91 Paddy Power
1 pt Fulham to beat Wigan. 1.91 Pinnacle
1 pt Bolton (+0.25 AH) V Liverpool. 1.98 Ladbrokes
1 pt Blackburn (+1.25 AH) V Chelsea. 1.95 Betinternet

Shortlist Bets
1 pt Sunderland (+0.25 AH) V Newcastle. 2.07 Betinternet

Whatever you bet on, good luck!

Mike

Mike's Football Bets 22nd October

It’s been a crazy few weeks in the Premier League, even by its own often sometime ridiculous standards. What with all the lawyers, court cases and offers of 250k a week wages – it all makes me pine for the days when the biggest news of the day was the quality of mullet on offer. Check out some of these beauties for some light relief!  What was Barry Venison thinking!

There may be no mullets on offer at Stamford Bridge this weekend but it does feature my first bet of the weekend where I am very keen on Chelsea to overcome a 2.25 goal Asian Handicap at 2.1 with Bet365. Last season they won 8 of their 11 games against the bottom 12 of the league by 3 goals or more and have already stuck 4 and 6 past West Brom and Blackpool this year. They host a limited Wolves side and I see an easy 3 points here with hopefully lots of goals!

I also want to continue my net-busting bets on Blackpool this weekend where 12bet are offering 1.83 on over 2.5 goals when they visit Birmingham. The home team’s defence has lost the mean look it had last season and Blackpool have gone overs in 7 out of 8 games already. Ian Holloway ended his last game against Man City with 4 strikers on the field, whereas Brum will see this as a must win game and won’t sit back either.

I am quickly picking up some favourite teams for this season and one of these is Bolton who I am backing with a 0.25 Asian Handicap away at Wigan (1.85 Pinnacle). There are two sides going in contrasting directions and I am a fan of Owen Coyle and what he is doing at Bolton, who could be a dark horse this season.

Another quarter ball Asian Handicap for me is on West Brom to overcome Fulham, who continue to have a very poor record on the road. The Cottagers have drawn all 4 games away this season, whereas the Baggies have shown fantastic resilience and plenty of skill by beating Arsenal and drawing with United away recently. I am taking the -0.25 Asian with Canbet & SBObet on the home team at 1.90.

Main Bets
1.5 pt Chelsea (-2.25 AH) V Wolves. 2.1 Bet365
1.5 pt Blackpool V Birmingham. Over 2.5 goals. 1.83 12bet
1 pt Bolton (+0.25 AH) V Wigan. 1.85 Pinnacle
1 pt West Brom (-0.25 AH) V Fulham. 1.90 Canbet, SBOBet

Shortlist Bets
1 pt Man City V Arsenal. Under 2.5 goals. 1.93 Pinnacle/12bet

Whatever you bet on, good luck!

Mike

Mike’s Football Bets 22nd October

It’s been a crazy few weeks in the Premier League, even by its own often sometime ridiculous standards. What with all the lawyers, court cases and offers of 250k a week wages – it all makes me pine for the days when the biggest news of the day was the quality of mullet on offer. Check out some of these beauties for some light relief!  What was Barry Venison thinking!

There may be no mullets on offer at Stamford Bridge this weekend but it does feature my first bet of the weekend where I am very keen on Chelsea to overcome a 2.25 goal Asian Handicap at 2.1 with Bet365. Last season they won 8 of their 11 games against the bottom 12 of the league by 3 goals or more and have already stuck 4 and 6 past West Brom and Blackpool this year. They host a limited Wolves side and I see an easy 3 points here with hopefully lots of goals!

I also want to continue my net-busting bets on Blackpool this weekend where 12bet are offering 1.83 on over 2.5 goals when they visit Birmingham. The home team’s defence has lost the mean look it had last season and Blackpool have gone overs in 7 out of 8 games already. Ian Holloway ended his last game against Man City with 4 strikers on the field, whereas Brum will see this as a must win game and won’t sit back either.

I am quickly picking up some favourite teams for this season and one of these is Bolton who I am backing with a 0.25 Asian Handicap away at Wigan (1.85 Pinnacle). There are two sides going in contrasting directions and I am a fan of Owen Coyle and what he is doing at Bolton, who could be a dark horse this season.

Another quarter ball Asian Handicap for me is on West Brom to overcome Fulham, who continue to have a very poor record on the road. The Cottagers have drawn all 4 games away this season, whereas the Baggies have shown fantastic resilience and plenty of skill by beating Arsenal and drawing with United away recently. I am taking the -0.25 Asian with Canbet & SBObet on the home team at 1.90.

Main Bets
1.5 pt Chelsea (-2.25 AH) V Wolves. 2.1 Bet365
1.5 pt Blackpool V Birmingham. Over 2.5 goals. 1.83 12bet
1 pt Bolton (+0.25 AH) V Wigan. 1.85 Pinnacle
1 pt West Brom (-0.25 AH) V Fulham. 1.90 Canbet, SBOBet

Shortlist Bets
1 pt Man City V Arsenal. Under 2.5 goals. 1.93 Pinnacle/12bet

Whatever you bet on, good luck!

Mike

Mike's Football Bets 15th October

My phone has been buzzing this week with enough Liverpool FC jokes to give Ken Dodd a coronary and the bookies predict there will be little relief for the reds this weekend with Everton clear favourites at a best 2.52 to win the Merseyside derby. I never like betting in these derby games and it’s hard to see a confident edge with even the under 2.5 goals line a very short best priced 1.68 with Expekt. Perhaps a better bet is the 11/5 with Betfair on there to be a red card as some of the challenges regularly seen in this fixture are enough to make even Jackie Chan wince (or Nigel De Jong nod approvingly).

It’s just a short drive down from Goodison to find my first main bet this weekend as Bolton host Stoke at the Reebok where I fancy Owen Coyle’s outfit to take all 3 points. The home team are a much changed outfit no longer hoofing the ball up field at every opportunity (unlike their opponents) wit Continue reading

Mike’s Football Bets 15th October

My phone has been buzzing this week with enough Liverpool FC jokes to give Ken Dodd a coronary and the bookies predict there will be little relief for the reds this weekend with Everton clear favourites at a best 2.52 to win the Merseyside derby. I never like betting in these derby games and it’s hard to see a confident edge with even the under 2.5 goals line a very short best priced 1.68 with Expekt. Perhaps a better bet is the 11/5 with Betfair on there to be a red card as some of the challenges regularly seen in this fixture are enough to make even Jackie Chan wince (or Nigel De Jong nod approvingly).

It’s just a short drive down from Goodison to find my first main bet this weekend as Bolton host Stoke at the Reebok where I fancy Owen Coyle’s outfit to take all 3 points. The home team are a much changed outfit no longer hoofing the ball up field at every opportunity (unlike their opponents) wit Continue reading

Mike’s Football Bets 8th October

It’s a blank weekend in the Premier League due to yet another International break, where we get to witness the somewhat dubious delights of Kevin Davies falling over in an England shirt. Surely he is destined to join the likes of Michael Ricketts in the one-cap wonder stakes!

With the break I have been delving into the Ante-post market, where all 5 of my current bets are winning. This is an area that can be very lucrative if you get it right and my goal here is to try and find a number of bets, which have been priced up more on a knee jerk reaction than stats. Take the head to head between Wigan and Wolves, where the former team where as big as 13/8 after just a couple of games. I made these two teams very similar and the odds have adjusted on Wigan down to 5/6. I will keep an eye on these odds as a further swing could see Wolves go out in price, meaning we can lock in definite profit here.

Speaking of Wolves they are now a best 5/1 to finish rock bottom this year, which may also be worth keeping an eye on. Last season they were the lowest scorers in the league and their goalie Hahnneman made the most saves of any keeper.

So what other teams are being judged on knee-jerk stats? Well the first team that jumps to mind is Liverpool who despite a dreadful few weeks are not as bad as some doom-mongers have them to be. Totesport have slashed them from 200/1 into 11/1 in the past week in the relegation market, which is frankly ridiculous! There is more chance of me winning Mr Universe than the reds going down this season.

One other market I am weighing up is the Top 6 finish and especially the 9/4 on Aston Villa to repeat their 6th spot from last year. Gerard Houllier is no mug and I think this is value compared to the best 11/8 on Liverpool and 2/1 on shot shy Everton to do the same.  One to watch for now.

One bet I am advising featuring Villa is for them to overcome a -12.5 pt handicap against rivals Birmingham at the end of the season, which you can get at 10/11 with VCBet. Last season Birmingham over-performed and still finished 14 pts behind the Villains. I expect Brum to hit around 45 pts this season, while Villa should get up to at least 60. A further 1 pt investment in this bet.

Latest Ante-Post Bet
1 pt Aston Villa -12.5 Handicap V Birmingham. 10/11 VCbet.

Existing Ante-Post Bets (already advised)
0.5 pt Stoke to finish in top half of table. 7/2 Ladbrokes
0.5 pt West Brom top newcomer 9/4 Ladbrokes
1 pt Sunderland to finish above Newcastle 3/4 Bwin
1 pt Blackpool to concede most goals this season 11/8 VCbet
1pt Wigan to finish above Wolves this season. 2.63 VCbet (Ante-post)

Whatever you bet on, good luck!

Mike

Mike’s Football Bets 1st October

One of my 2 main bets this weekend is on Birmingham who look to be priced wrongly at 2.08 with 188bet to overcome a 0 Asian Handicap against Everton. This is an effective draw-no-bet on them to continue their excellent home form against their out of sorts opponents. Everton actually haven’t been playing too badly – they just are so powder-puff up front that they couldn’t finish their tea. I expect resurgence from them soon but I doubt this will start this weekend although a draw is a possibility.

My second main bet was touch and go as I must admit I ummed and aaahed on whether or not to back Bolton at 2.07 with a 0.25 Asian Handicap away at West Brom. The Baggies are much improved but then so are the Trotters under Owen Coyle and I make them closer than the odds or stats indicate. Going against the crowd here but for a 1pt risk I am happy enough to do so and take on West Brom once again. A draw gives us a 0.5 pt profit and I hope the Baggies don’t go boing boing this weekend!

At White Hart Lane, Spurs host Villa in a game where two of the biggest excuse-laden managers in Redknapp and Houiller face up. If Villa win, expect Harry to bemoan his huge squad is ‘down to the bare bones’ while Houiller will claim his side have ‘turned the corner’. Betting wise the under 2.5 goals line appealed as in recent seasons Villa have gone under in most away games while Spurs keep it tight against the top teams. You can get 2.09 on this with 188bet, which indicates a 47.8% chance and I make it more like 55% so this is my one shortlist bet of the weekend.

Elsewhere I also considered Sunderland with a +0.75 AH at home to Man Utd, although with Ferdinand, Scholes & Fletcher back for the away team, they should be improved upon last weekend at Bolton.

Chelsea V Arsenal is the big game this Sunday and while I expect a home win, the best priced 1.76 on this with 188bet is short enough for me. The only angle I considered is the over 2.5 goals line at 1.9 with 188bet, which suggests a 52.6% chance and I make it slightly higher than that at around 55% minimum. Considering Arsenal’s two goalkeeping impersonators in Almunia and Flappyhandski and Chelsea’s usual attacking thrust at home, it could be an option. Not strong enough for a bet for me though.

Keep an eye on the Blackpool – Liverpool game as well this weekend as if Ian Holloway has any sense he will get his team stuck into Roy Hodgsons wobbling side from the off. You can get 28/1 on both HT/FT results of Blackpool/Liverpool and Blackpool/Draw, which could be worth a very speculative interest.

Main Bets
1 pt Birmingham (0 AH) V Everton.  2.08 188bet
1 pt Bolton (+0.25 AH) V West Brom. 2.07 Pinnacle

Shortlist Bets
1 pt Spurs – Villa. Under 2.5 goals. 2.09 188bet

Whatever you bet on, good luck!

Mike

 

Mike’s Football Bets 23rd September (In Full)

Plenty of very appealing bets this weekend and it’s proven hard to narrow them down as lots tick the boxes.

One of my strongest is at Upton Park where I expect goals as Harry Redknapp returns to one of his former teams – West Ham. The Hammers saw over 2.5 goals in 61% of all games, whilst Spurs did so in 58% of their matches last season – a trend that is continuing this year. The overs at 2.00 with Skybet suggests they have this as a 50% chance, whereas 60% seems more likely especially considering the home sides shaky defence. Hopefully Robert Green will be in nets!

I am also continuing my backing of Arsenal to overcome a 2 goal margin at home against bottom half teams (see my previous analysis here). They should have too much for West Brom but it’s worth noting as well that a lot of the Gunners goals come late in the 2nd half when they have worn these teams down. You can get 4/1 on a HT/FT result of Draw/Arsenal, which also doesn’t look too bad.

In the Saturday lunchtime kick-off we have the first real test of Chelsea this season who travel up to Eastlands for a crunch game. With 2 Italian managers in charge I think this could be a tight defensive affair and we have already seen how Mancini is lining up with De Jong, Barry & Toure solid in midfield. Since Bobby Manc (as the natives know him) took over, City have played 10 games against top 8 teams with 7 of these going under 2.5 goals. The 1.96 on this suggests a 51% chance of happening and I rate it more likely than that.

Over at Craven Cottage, I also spy a value bet on Fulham who take on an out-of-sorts Everton, who have a miserable record at this ground. 12bet and SBOBet offer 1.99 on Fulham with a 0 Asian Handicap, which I feel is value. I also continue to want to side with the over 2.5 goals on Blackpool who will persist with their attacking approach in the derby against Blackburn. The 1.91 on this with a number of bookies is a shortlist bet.

Other bets under consideration that missed out included under 2.5 goals between Newcastle and Stoke, although at 1.8 this looked fairly short.  The same reasoning precluded me from advising Birmingham to beat Wigan at 1.87, a price that is a bit on the skinny side for me.

Main Bets
1.5 pts West Ham V Spurs – Over 2.5 goals. 2.0 Skybet (early pick from Thursday)
1 pt Arsenal (-1.75 AH) V West Brom. 1.95 Bet365
1 pt Man City – Chelsea – Under 2.5 goals. 1.96 Canbet/12bet/SBObet

Shortlist Bets
1 pt Fulham (0 AH) V Everton. 1.99 SBObet/12bet
1 pt Blackpool – Blackburn. Over 2.5 goals. 1.91 Pinnacle/SBObet/Canbet/10bet

Whatever you bet on, good luck!

Mike