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International Friendliesby Ben, last updated 2005-11-08 08:05:47I'll probably give this weekends friendlies a miss. May have some small bets but nothing big on meaningless friendlies. Nigels Picksby Nigel RidgewayLAST WEEK'S PICKS - BLACKBURN, NEWCASTLE & WEST HAM ALL WON!ENGLAND 7/4 TO BARGE PAST ARGENTINA Sa Nov 12 - 4.45 pm ko There may be nothing at stake on Saturday but, given the fierce rivalry between the two teams, this match is unlikely to be played like a friendly (bet live in-Play on up to 14 markets!). And with neither side rock solid at the back, and key defenders missing, we can expect some goals (‘over' 2.5 goals comes in at 8/11 here at bet365). As regards an outright bet on the game, neither England's poor record in friendlies and Argentina's recent away form inspires much confidence but, if you must bet on the result, the value could lie with England at 7/4. England aren't the only team looking to rebuild their reputation with a win here against their old rivals. Since qualifying comfortably, the Argies have suffered three successive away defeats, the last two coming after a 3-1 win over Brazil in Buenos Aires. That inconsistency, along with the absence of some key players (Lionel Messi is suspended), makes Argentina opposable. The fixture should at least give us an indication of England's chances next summer, but even a victory against their old foes is unlikely to see a change in their current price of 8/1. Live Game Pick: England @ 7/4 bet365 latest World Cup prices ... Brazil 3/1, Argentina, Germany 13/2, England 8/1, Italy, Holland, France 10/1, Spain 18/1, others on bet365 website. SWISS TO ROLL TURKS OVER AT 13/10 Of course, betting in friendlies isn't everyone's cup of tea, which is why we'll be concentrating our main bets this weekend on the World Cup Play Offs. Turkey are as short as 4/7 to qualify against Switzerland (5/4), but they'll look to do their winning on home soil, so there's a good case for backing the Swiss at 13/10 on Saturday. The Swiss were sold in qualifying (no-one managed to actually beat them), and they'll have to get a result on home soil to have any chance of making it to Germany. As with Euro 2004, the underachieving Spaniards are seeking qualification by the backdoor, and they must now unlock a stubborn defence which has kept five clean sheets in their last six games. The Slovaks will be happy to take a draw back east, and that looks the most likely result at 10/3, while they can be backed with a degree of confidence at 1.825 on the Asians getting a goal and a half start. In the other game, the Czech Republic should be too good for a Norwegian side, who were flattered to finish second to Italy in a weak group. World Cup Play Off Picks: Switzerland to beat Turkey @ 13/10 Slovakia to draw with Spain @ 10/3 (Asian Handicap @ 1.825) Czech Republic to beat Norway @ 7/5 Bet with bet365 Gerry's Picksby Gerry McDonnellBecks, Rugs and Rock and RollWe’ve all heard the _expression, ‘It could be a war out there’, when Argentina play England at football; it’s not a cliché, it’s a valid prediction. Tension between the two countries began to surface in 1982, when an argument broke out over the Wolves and Ipswich defender, Mel Venus. The hostility increased at the World Cup of 1998, where in a moment of madness, David Beckham made a decision that upset the whole of England; he agreed to marry Victoria Adams. Also in ’98, Beckham was sent off for kicking Diego Simeone, but fate allowed Beckham to partially redeem himself four years later, as his penalty effectively sent the Argies home from the 2002 World Cup. David Beckham and his wife normally shy away from the spotlight, but he’s always at the centre of attention when England face Argentina; you can back Beckham to score the only goal of the game at 55/1. In a somewhat surprising move, Sven has recalled David ‘Calamity’ James and Peter Crouch to the squad for the Argentina match; hopefully he’ll play James up front and Crouch in goal. Admittedly, i’m not a football manager, I’m a gambling guru; but if I had to pick an England team, I wouldn’t touch Crouch with a barge-pole, in fact, I’d rather play the barge-pole. For all you believers, Crouch is a 9/1 shot to score the last goal. One of my South American contacts has advised me to back Placente to score the first goal for the Argies at 50/1, but I’ve found that somewhat hard to swallow. I’ll be on the draw at 15/8. The Americans are marching towards Scotland, and somewhat surprisingly, it’s not related to North Sea oil. According to FIFA, the Yanks are the 7th strongest team in the World, which is absolutely ridiculous; it’s the biggest joke in International football since Robbie Savage. Don’t fall for FIFA’s rug-pulling, Scotland are terrific value at 7/5. France v Germany is an interesting match. Both countries dislike America; I wish they could both win. With Thierry Henry firing on all cylinders, France are the call at 5/6. The following specials are all available at Super Soccer. “Oil be back” – The USA to win from behind 11/1 “Argy bargy” – Argentina to have a player sent off 8/1 “Turk up like a kipper” – Hakan Sukur to score with a header 8/1 “The Italian Job” – Italy to score three or more goals 7/1 “Rocking Robin” – Van Persie to score two or more goals 9/1 “A Swiss Roll” – Switzerland to score three or more goals 11/2 “Lord of the Fries” – Thierry Henry to score a hat-trick 16/1 “Throw the towel in” – Germany to have a player sent off 11/1 Quote of the week: “He is very special, and I would like to have him in the World Cup squad.” Sven Goran Eriksson should have spent more money on English lessons, Peter Crouch is the subject. Stat, you’re a liberty: Wayne ‘Rucker’ Rooney may be considered the best thing since canned lager, but his contribution to World Cup qualification was minimal. Rooney hasn’t scored a competitive goal for England since Euro 2004. Acc of the week: Scotland Holland France Spain Uruguay The five-fold pays a juicy 18/1. Weekend Betting: Scotland v USA International Friendly Saturday 12th November 16.00 Live on Sky Scotland 7/5 Draw 11/5 USA 6/4 Get on: Scotland Here’s a sentence you rarely see, Scotland are value to win a football match. Match Special: Scotland to keep a clean sheet 6/4 Argentina v England International Friendly Saturday 12th November 16.45 Live on BBC Argentina 7/5 Draw 15/8 England 7/4 Get on: Draw This is why bookmakers all drive Ferraris. Any result is possible, except the one that I back. I’m losing my money on the draw. Match Special: Lampard to score a penalty 7/1 Holland v Italy International Friendly Saturday 12th November 19.45 Live on Bravo Holland 6/5 Draw 2/1 Italy 2/1 Get on: Holland The future’s bright, the future’s orange. 6/5 for the Dutch is a corking investment. Match Special: Van Nistelrooy and Van Persie both to score 8/1 France v Germany International Friendly Saturday 12th November 20.00 Live on Eurosport France 5/6 Draw 9/4 Germany 13/5 Get on: France The French have quality throughout their team. The Germans have Michael Ballack. Match Special: Henry and Trezeguet both to score 5/1 Norway v Czech Rep World Cup Qualifying play-off 1st Leg Saturday 12th November 18.30 Norway 2/1 Draw 2/1 Czech Rep 5/4 Get on: Czech Rep The Czech’s were unlucky to draw Holland in their qualifying group. Will the Czech Republic lose? Nor way. Match Special: Milan Baros to score at any time 6/4 Switzerland v Turkey World Cup Qualifying play-off 1st Leg Saturday 12th November 19.45 Live on Setanta Switzerland 6/4 Draw 15/8 Turkey 7/4 Get on: Switzerland The Swiss will get the result they need at home, but the 2nd leg in Turkey will be no picnic. Match Special: Frei to score with a header 7/1 Spain v Slovakia World Cup Qualifying play-off 1st Leg Saturday 12th November 21.00 Spain 1/4 Draw 7/2 Slovakia 10/1 Get on: Spain The Spanish were rubbing their hands after the draw, they can afford to take a little siesta and still win the match. Match Special: Raul to score two or more goals 7/2 Uruguay v Australia World Cup Qualifying play-off 1st Leg Saturday 12th November 23.00 Uruguay 4/7 Draw 9/4 Australia 5/1 Get on: Uruguay The Uruguayan coach will play videos of neighbours in the dressing room pre-match to get the players nicely wound up. Uruguay beat Argentina at home, and drew with Brazil home and away; the Aussies are if for a mullering. Match Special: Uruguay to score in both halves 6/4 ← 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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