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Football betting tipsby Ben, last updated 2007-10-04 00:20:38Premiership Betting - Matchday 8 PreviewThe new Premier League season continues to throw up surprises. Portsmouth scored seven goals at home to Reading last Saturday, as many as Chelsea have managed all season. Following Tottenham’s titanic 4-4 home draw with Aston Villa, White Hart Lane has now produced an average of five goals per game, whereas the mean at Old Trafford is just one. It just goes to show that there are no certainties in football, other than getting up to 60% better Premier League betting odds at PinnacleSports.com.
With his side 4-1 down after 60 minutes of Monday’s home game against Aston Villa, Martin Jol must have felt that his time at White Hart Lane had run out. However, showing the unpredictable nature that has characterised their season so far, Spurs pulled themselves back from the brink with three goals to salvage a point, and Jol a stay of execution. That miracle doesn’t change the fact that, despite spending £40million Tottenham have won just once, and are stuck in the bottom three. Sunday’s trip to Anfield comes therefore, at a bad time for the Lilywhites as they haven’t scored in four games against the Reds, and last won a league game in front of the Kop in 1993. In Spurs’ defence, Anfield is regularly a fortress for almost all comers, as Liverpool have lost only two league at home over the previous two seasons. The Reds’ early season momentum has however receded, and a run of below par performances culminated with Wednesday’s shock 1-0 Champions League home defeat to Marseille which coach, Rafa Benitez, described as possibly the worst display since he took over the club. The Spaniard has been accused of stifling progress with his rotation policy which he perservered with in midweek, but fans will expect a big reaction here on Sunday putting pressure on Benitez to field his strongest possible eleven. PinnacleSports.com have Liverpool as favourites 2.120 (-1) with Spurs 1.820 (+1).
Both Man Utd and Arsenal have home games this Sunday that they are expected to comfortably win, boosted by midweek Champions League victories. The Gunners’ 100% home record shouldn’t be in threat from newly promoted Sunderland. The Londoners dispatched fellow Premiership newbies, Derby, 6-0 in their last game at the Emirates Stadium, so with a near full squad to choose from Wenger is holding all the aces. The Black Cats are yet to win on the road, conceding eight from four away games, and have won just one of their last eight in all competitions. Arsenal are favourites on PinnacleSports.com’s Asian Handicap 2.010 (-1.5 & -2) with Sunderland 2.02 (+1.5 & 2). After a shaky start Manchester United supporters will be pleased to now see their team just one place off the top of the Premiership. United have hauled themselves up the table without playing particularly well; they haven’t scored more than a single goal in any game so far. However, it is the hall-mark of great side to get results despite playing below par, and it is surely only a matter of time before the floodgates open, though Michael Carrick’s broken elbow leaves Alex Ferguson short in central midfield, with Owen Hargreaves and Darren Fletcher also sidelined. Form figures certainly point to a United victory as the ‘Latics have lost every Premiership game (17 in total) against the ‘big four’ since they entered the league in September 2005, and they are blunted by the absence of England striker, Emile Heskey. PinnacleSports.com price United 1.909 (-1.5 & -2) with Wigan 2.02 (+1.5 & +2). A Naan and a LegBy Gerry McDonnellThe older I get, the grumpier I become. Old people, children and John Motson have all played a significant role in my metamorphosis, but the wife's driving is almost certainly the overriding factor.I'm not criticising women drivers in general. I've shared a ride with a number of females over the years without any complaint. Although in the interest of fairness, there wasn't a great deal of time to voice any concerns. The wife simply struggles to comprehend the basic rules of the road. She's continually looking at mirrors and playing with indicators, when she should be hitting the horn like it was Lily Allen. Her attempts at parking are equally frustrating. I've lost count of the number of times she's drove past a perfectly good handicapped spot, only to park up some 50 yards further away. It's pure selfishness. Personally, I put her woeful driving down to a lack of confidence. I've told her that a few beers would solve the problem, but some people refuse to take good advice. While these minor flaws are annoying; it's her refusal to travel at an acceptable speed that sends me into an apoplectic rage. The wife is more than happy to trundle along at 20mph, even when there's no one else on the motorway. She doesn't appreciate the fact that speed limits and traffic lights are merely unhelpful suggestions. Wayne Rooney is definitely a fan of putting his foot down; he once went over 65 in an escort. Manchester United are winning games without getting out of second gear; they'll roar past Wigan at 1/5. It's been reported that a 10 year old has broken a leg after colliding with Steven Gerrard's motor. The young lad can consider himself fortunate that Frank Lampard wasn't driving; as he'd probably have eaten the leg. I'll try to avoid getting knocked over in the rush to back Liverpool at 3/5 against Tottenham. Blackburn Rovers have something in common with Steven Gerrard; they both own a flash Bentley. Mark Hughes would definitely struggle to sell his model: it looks the part, but you can't get it to run in the summer. I'll never grow tired of seeing 4/6 for a Blackburn win over Birmingham. Gilberto Silva's luck has deserted him. The World Cup winner was first stripped of the captaincy and then demoted to the bench. If I was Gilberto, I'd steer clear of the tube station. I collapsed like a Brazilian goalkeeper when I saw 1/5 for an Arsenal win against Sunderland. Alan Curbishley will be keeping one eye on the police when he travels to Villa Park. The West Ham manager sold Marlon Harewood for £4m, so he may well be charged with robbery. It would be a crime to miss the even money for an Aston Villa win. Michael Owen is on the verge of full fitness, a mere week after undergoing surgery. As far as I'm aware, only Jesus has ever made a quicker comeback, but records are sketchy at best. I'm praying for a Newcastle win over Everton at 11/10. Reading may have been destroyed by Pompey last week, but I make them my nap of the week to bounce back against Derby. The Rams are about as useful as a second bedroom to Britney Spears: I'm taking the 4/5 for the Royals. Mariah Carey has claimed to be a distant relative of Ashley Cole; but I can't see any similarity. The singer has lost the support of thousands of one-time fans, been rocked by accusations of diva-like demands and has had numerous failed relationships with men. I can definitely see the value in backing the draw between Bolton and Chelsea at 13/5. Gareth Southgate and Sven Goran Eriksson are not on the best of terms. The hostility can be traced back to Sven's tenure as England manager, where he had the temerity to replace Southgate with younger, better players. It's always unpleasant to see a high profile pair fall out so publicly, unless they belong to Jennifer Ellison. I'll have a nice couple of quid on Manchester City at 8/11 against a goal-shy Middlesbrough. Leroy Lita has a lot to answer for. When the wife read of his mobile phone exploits, she demanded that we follow suit. I originally said that I would only consider the suggestion 'when hell freezes over', but I felt the probability was too high, so I changed it to 'when Benjani scores a hat-trick'. Pompey have tucked me up a treat, they can make it up to me by leaving Fulham with a point at 9/4. I have no problem with a couple expressing their love via the medium of film; but if I wanted to see an excited whale, I'd rent 'Free Willy'. Arsenal, Reading, Blackburn, Manchester City and Newcastle form an 11/1 weekend accer that will hopefully improve my disgruntled demeanour. Weekend Betting: Man Utd v Wigan Saturday 6th October 12:45 Live on Sky Man Utd 1/5 Draw 6/1 Wigan 25/1 Get on: Man Utd Match Special: Rooney to score two or more goals 9/2 Aston Villa v West Ham Saturday 6th October 15:00 Aston Villa Evs Draw 13/5 West Ham 10/3 Get on: Aston Villa Match Special: Agbonlahor to score the first goal 8/1 Arsenal v Sunderland Sunday 7th October 12:00 Live on Setanta Arsenal 1/5 Draw 11/2 Sunderland 22/1 Get on: Arsenal Match Special: Adebayor and Van Persie both to score 5/1 Reading v Derby Sunday 7th October 14:00 Live on Sky Reading 4/5 Draw 13/5 Derby 4/1 Get on: Reading Match Special: Reading to score three or more goals 7/2 Blackburn v Birmingham Sunday 7th October 15:00 Blackburn 4/6 Draw 11/4 Birmingham 9/2 Get on: Blackburn Match Special: Blackburn to win and keep a clean sheet 17/10 Bolton v Chelsea Sunday 7th October 15:00 Bolton 4/1 Draw 13/5 Chelsea 4/5 Get on: Draw Match Special: No goalscorer in the match 10/1 Liverpool v Tottenham Sunday 7th October 15:00 Liverpool 3/5 Draw 16/5 Tottenham 11/2 Get on: Liverpool Match Special: Torres to score a hat-trick 20/1 Man City v Middlesbrough Sunday 7th October 15:00 Man City 8/11 Draw 13/5 Middlesbrough 9/2 Get on: Man City Match Special: Elano to score the only goal of the game 33/1 Newcastle v Everton Sunday 7th October 15:00 Newcastle 11/10 Draw 23/10 Everton 14/5 Get on: Newcastle Match Special: N'Zogbia to score in a 2-0 Newcastle win 30/1 Fulham v Portsmouth Sunday 7th October 16:10 Live on Sky Fulham 13/8 Draw 9/4 Portsmouth 15/8 Get on: Draw Match Special: Match to finish either 1-1 or 2-2 7/2 ← Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 Next → |
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