Sports Betting News » Football

Manchester clubs fight for a place in the Last-16

Tasos Vossos — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:05:53 +0000

United and City are resuming their Champions League campaign this Wednesday, with the Red Devils hosting Romanian champions Otelul Galati and the Citizens travelling to Villareal.

After three matches in the group stage, neither club has secured qualification to the next stage. Manchester United currently stands just a point ahead of third-placed Basel, while Manchester City holds the third place of Group A, a point behind Napoli.

As the Italians travel to Munich to face group leaders Bayern, City has the opportunity to get the three points in Spain and hope for a Napoli slip to climb to second place. Villareal is not an easy opponent, as City won their previous encounter with a goal by Sergio Aguero in the dying seconds of the match.

Since their first match, which ended in a 2-1 City victory, the Blues have scored an impressive 14 goals in three matches, including the 1-6 humiliation of their Manchester rivals. Mancini’s armada is going from strength to strength and it would be really difficult for Spanish league’s tenth-placed Villareal to get even a point on Wednesday.

William Hill offers a 4/7 for a City triumph, but the 13/5 for a draw is quite tempting for those willing to take the risk.

Manchester United had had two difficult weeks after their 0-2 win in Romania. They were thrashed in the Manchester derby, but they managed to advance in the Carling Cup by beating less-than-stellar Aldershot and snatched a 0-1 win against Everton, to keep within 5 points from the top.

Otelul Galati is not top-class opposition and United should not have a problem getting the three points at Old Trafford, even though they won the first match by scoring twice from the penalty spot.

Tom Cleverly will most probably miss the match because of an ankle injury, while Nemanja Vidic is suspended because of the red card he saw in Bucharest.

Ladbrokes gives a 1/10 for a United victory, the only plausible result for Wednesday’s fixture.

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Europa League Group Stage Matchday 4

Tasos Vossos — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:19:38 +0000

Tottenham fly to Kazan, Stoke visit Tel Aviv, while Fulham and Birmingham host Wisla Krakow and Club Brugge respectively in the fourth fixture of their Europa League group stage campaign.

The Spurs remain undefeated after three matches and hold the first place of Group A, having amassed 7 points. On their second away match, after the 0-0 draw in Greece against PAOK, Tottenham face Rubin Kazan in Russia, in a bid to get the three points and secure qualification to the next round.

Harry Redknapp’s men are in terrific form, having recorded 8 wins and 3 draws in their last 11 matches. Their last defeat dates back in late August, when they were thrashed 1-5 by Manchester City at White Hart Lane.

Rubin, currently sixth on the Russian league table, hold the third place of the group, a point behind second-placed PAOK. As Greeks have a theoretically easy match with Shamrock Rovers in the Republic of Ireland, it is a no-tomorrow fixture for the Russians. Spurs won their previous encounter, courtesy of a Roman Pavlyuchenko goal.

Tottenham have the quality to escape Kazan with a victory, but as this is Rubin’s last chance, a draw seems a quite possible result.

Stoke also have an away fixture this Thursday, as they travel to Israel to face Maccabi of Tel Aviv. After two wins and a draw on the first three fixtures of the group, the Potters currently stand on the top spot, two point ahead Dynamo Kiev. Maccabi, on the other hand, are at the bottom of the group with only 1 point under their belt.

Stoke won their previous clash decisively, recording a 3-0 victory. Maccabi, who share Israeli league’s top spot with rivals Hapoel, don’t seem capable of challenging the Potters. Stoke are on a three-match losing streak and an away victory can be an important psychological boost for the team.

Fulham host Wisla Krakow at Craven Cottage in a crucial match that may decide the Cottagers’ European future. Fulham are currently second on the group with 4 points, while Wisla and Odense are right below them with 3 points.

The Polish side narrowly won the previous match in Krakow by one goal to nothing, but Fulham can capitalise on their away victory at Wigan this weekend, take the three points and keep a safe distance from their competitors. It is a match that can go either way, so the 9/1 offered by William Hill for a Wisla triumph seems quite tempting.

Championship side Birmingham share the top spot of their group with their upcoming opponents Club Brugge, while third-placed Braga are just two points behind. A victory for the Blues means they can break free from this stalemate, while a defeat can see them drop to third place.

Birmingham won the match in Belgium a fortnight ago, after which the forth-placed side of the Belgian table recorded two defeats, including an impressive 4-5 loss at the hands of Genk.

The Blues’ six-match winning streak ended with the 0-0 draw against Brighton this weekend. However, Club Brugge have the quality to get a positive result, so going for the 3.40 offered by Bet365′s for the draw is not an unreasonable move.

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Wayne Rooney is the only English player named on the 23-man shortlist for the 2011 Ballon d’Or

Monsoon — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:52:35 +0000

The prestigious award is the most coveted individual honour in world football, and is currently in the possession of Lionel Messi, who is looking to claim it for the third successive season.

Rooney is one of four Premier League-based players to make the list along with United team-mate Nani, Liverpool’s Luis Suarez andSergio Aguero of Manchester City.

Rooney is looking to be the first Englishman in a decade to take the award, with Michael Owen the last one to take the honour in 2001.

Former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is one of eight players from Barcelona to make the cut, whilst Real Madrid boast five candidates including 2009 winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

The coach of the year is also decided at the same event, and that sees Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Andre Villas-Boas all nominated.

Player nominees:

Eric Abidal (France), Sergio Aguero (Argentina), Karim Benzema (France), Iker Casillas (Spain), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Dani Alves (Brazil), Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon), Cesc Fabregas (Spain), Diego Forlan (Uruguay), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Thomas Muller (Germany), Nani (Portugal), Neymar (Brazil), Mesut Ozil (Germany), Gerard Pique (Spain), Wayne Rooney (England), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands), Luis Suarez (Uruguay), David Villa (Spain), Xabi Alonso (Spain), Xavi (Spain)

Coach nominees:

Vicente Del Bosque (Spain/Spain national team), Sir Alex Ferguson (Scotland/Manchester United), Rudi Garcia (France/Lille OSC), Pep Guardiola (Spain/Barcelona), Jurgen Klopp (Germany/Borussia Dortmund), Joachim Low (Germany/Germany national team), Jose Mourinho (Portugal/Real Madrid), Oscar Tabarez (Uruguay/Uruguay national team), Andre Villas-Boas (Portugal/FC Porto, Chelsea), Arsene Wenger (France/Arsenal)

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Euro goal as Manchester United’s Alex Ferguson orders double

Monsoon — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:41:27 +0000

Sir Alex Ferguson is targeting an Old Trafford double to see United through to the Champions League knockouts.

The Reds currently sit on five points in Group C – two behind leaders Benfica.

But the United boss hopes victory over Otelul Galati tomorrow night at home will set up an Old Trafford clash with the Portuguese that will see his side home safely to next February’s last 16 with a game to spare.

“We have to win, without doubt. We’re at home and I expect us to win and, if we do that, it’s in our hands when we play Benfica at home (on November 22),” said Sir Alex, below.

“It’s always been better to finish first than second. After getting the first result against Galati and then playing them again at home, we’ll hopefully go into the Benfica game with eight points. That will be an important match.”

While United take on the Romanians, Benfica play Basel in Lisbon. “I expect Benfica to beat Basel as they’re in a bit of disarray with Thorsten Fink (the Swiss side’s ex-boss) going to Hamburg,” he added.

“We’ll hopefully win our game and, when we play Benfica at home, it’ll be the decider in our section.”

United beat Galati 2-0 with two Wayne Rooney penalties in Bucharest last month.

“Having watched Galati, I knew nobody turns them over. Their games against Basel and Benfica had been tight and they were exactly that way against us,” he said.

“Galati set out their stall to make sure they weren’t going to be embarrassed.

“They were well organised, really determined defensively and they got stuck right into us. Some of the tackles in the second half were very aggressive. It made it a difficult type of game but I think we improved enough after half-time to be the better team.

“We finished the game comfortably enough.

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Lescott’s warning to his Manchester City team-mates

Monsoon — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:29:54 +0000

City are determined not to “do a Chelsea” and allow their dream start to turn into a nightmare.

In fact, Blues stalwart Joleon Lescott says the Blues are intent on extending their red-hot

Premier League form into the Champions League as they fly out to Spain today.

City have been unstoppable in domestic competition, scoring 36 goals in 10 league games and last week netting five at Wolves to reach the Carling Cup quarter-finals. But Lescott says the team has to heed the warnings of history, not least the way Chelsea collapsed after a similar start to last season.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side scored 21 and conceded one in their first five games until they ran into the Blues and lost 1-0 at the City of Manchester Stadium.

They then imploded in November, winning just two out of 11 to hand United the title.

That is why, Lescott says, no-one at City is too impressed by the Blues’ blitz.

“It’s a great situation to be in but we won’t take anything for granted,” said the big defender. “United were beating teams at the start of this season, Chelsea did it last year and probably had a bigger gap when they were beating teams by the same margins.

“So we know it’s not over and it won’t be an easy task to stay there but we are determined and confident.

“Everyone has a blip at some stage but it’s about condensing it to one game rather than three or four, and we are confident that if we do drop form at any stage we can bounce back strong.

“The way the manager picks his teams, he keeps everyone at it and fresh, so maybe it might not come so early in the season.” City head to Villarreal on top form but their opponents lie bottom of the group after the 2-1 loss at City, and have struggled in La Liga this season, chalking up only their second win of the season at the weekend.

They have also run into an injury crisis, losing main striker Giuseppe Rossi, Etihad Stadium goalscorer Cani, Marco Ruben, Marcos Senna, Nilmar and now Colombian defender Cristian Zapata.

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Everton FC defender John Heitinga admits EFC are falling behind top clubs – but insists they will recapture defiance

Monsoon — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:47:20 +0000

JOHN Heitinga admitted Everton FC’s form against the Premier League’s top clubs has suffered a worrying dip so far this season – but insists they will recapture their defiance.

The Holland international started his second consecutive game in the 1-0 defeat by Manchester United on Saturday, as the Blues dropped to 16th.

But although Heitinga, 27, accepts the gap has widened between Everton and the top four, he says their majority possession and work ethic deserved greater rewards against Alex Ferguson’s side.

He said: “Of course they have the money and the better players. But if you consider how much money they spent on their team, and how much money we spent on our team then the gap is not so big because we were the better team at times.

“But you have to be realistic, and the top four is better than the rest at the moment. At the moment the gap seems wider.

“Last season and two seasons ago we would beat all the big teams here, and so far we haven’t got one point against the big sides. So it’s for us to fight a little bit harder, and we’ll see what’s going to happen in the future.

“The United game was one of our better games recently. We had a lot of possession and created a lot of chances, but we were a little bit unlucky because they had only two or three shots on goal and scored a goal. We had plenty of chances but just couldn’t score.”

Heitinga, who joined from Atletico Madrid in summer 2009, believes referee Mark Halsey denied Everton a legitimate 93rd minute penalty during Saturday’s game, when Magaye Gueye appeared to be fouled by Patrice Evra.

“It was a big opportunity when Magaye came into their area, and in my eyes it was a penalty kick but OK you have to accept the decision of the referee,” he said. “We needed to be a little bit lucky in those situations.

“The league table doesn’t look great, but if you see the teams we’ve played against in the last couple of weeks, you know we need to win in the next few games. The start last season was worse than this season.”

Asked if Everton would benefit from signing a striker in January, the defender said: “Of course, but then you need money.

“We have got a good squad if everybody is fit, and in the game against Chelsea we showed that the form of the team and the spirit is good. Everyone was trying to win every battle and show the crowd that we wanted to give a good performance.

“I was out for a bit with a small injury, and I’ve been back in training for two weeks and I’m feeling fit and well. I’m looking forward to playing, and I’m still happy to be playing for Everton because it’s great to be here.

“If you see all the fans, it’s not for nothing that it’s the People’s Club. The spirit is good and I want to give a little bit better for the team, and show my experience for the team.”

Heitinga insisted that he is relishing the battle to establish himself in the heart of Everton’s defence ahead of Sylvain Distin, who was a last-minute injury withdrawal on Saturday, and Phil Jagielka.

“I’m a professional, and the best one needs to play,” he said. “It’s up to me and the other players to show the manager we are the best and make it harder for him to pick the team.”

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Andy Carroll hails his strike partnership with Luis Suarez

Monsoon — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:46:53 +0000

ANDY CARROLL believes his double act with Luis Suarez is starting to click as he hailed his Liverpool strike partner as the best in the Premier League.

The Reds’ record signing is targeting an extended run in Kenny Dalglish’s side after netting his third goal of the season in Saturday’s 2-0 victory at West Brom.

Carroll impressed on his first league start for nearly a month but admitted he owed a debt of gratitude to Suarez, who produced another man of the match display alongside him.

“Luis is a great player who works so hard for the team and it’s nice to have him up top with me,” Carroll said.

“Luis drops off, gets the ball into his feet, can dribble with it and slip people in. We just try to stretch defenders and try to make the pitch as big as possible.

“I thought it was a good move for my goal. Luis put me in and I had time to take a touch and slip it past the keeper. It was great to score again – there’s no better feeling really.

“Luis makes it easy playing alongside him. I think we played well together and hopefully that will carry on.

“I couldn’t name a better player in the Premier League than Luis. He’s fantastic to have in the squad. He makes chances and scores goals himself so he’s a great all-round player and he showed that again.”

After scoring in the derby victory at Goodison at the start of October, Carroll found himself on the bench for the league games against Manchester United and Norwich City.

However, the £35million man was recalled by Dalglish for last week’s Carling Cup win at Stoke City and retained his place against the Baggies.

Carroll is desperate to become a permanent fixture in the Liverpool side.

I’ve been disappointed to be sat on the bench,” he said. “But when you are left out it just makes you work harder the next day in training to get your place back.

“We have a big squad, players come and go every week. It was a different XI at West Brom compared to the previous week and the week before that. Everyone is fighting hard in training for a place.

“I’ve been working hard every day to get my fitness up and to try to get a place in the team and I think I earned it.

“I thought I played well against Stoke and again on Saturday – to get a goal made it even better. We will have to see what happens next weekend. I want to get my name in the starting XI every week.”

Liverpool slipped back to sixth place following Spurs’ win over QPR yesterday but they are only one point adrift of third-placed Chelsea.

The Reds have now gone seven games unbeaten in all competitions and Carroll believes the fact Saturday’s win was achieved without either Steven Gerrard or Jamie Carragher highlighted the depth in Dalglish’s squad.

“It was a good game to be involved and I thought all the lads played well,” Carroll said.

“We showed what we can do. We passed it around well and deserved the three points.

“It was tough not having Stevie or Carra in the squad. They are great players and we need them in the team once they’ve got over their little niggles.

“But we have fantastic players that can come in. The game showed we’ve got lads who can step in when needed and do a job.”

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Everton can upset Manchester’s momentum according to Pete Nordsted

BestBetAdvice — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 09:56:20 +0000

Pete advises punters to study the history book for teams who have bogey opponents and expects Man Utd to have a battle on their hands at Stoke.

This weekend it could be a case of deja vu for some clubs as we have a couple of strong historical head to head trends and each one offers some very good value if you believe that the previous form will continue.

First up we have the Manchester City vs Everton game and despite the Citizens great start to the season they have an awful record when playing at home to the Toffees in recent years. Looking at the recent head to head record Everton have won on their last four visits to the Etihad stadium and the Merseyside club can be backed at around 7/1 (8.0) to continue this good run. This seems a very big price indeed given that this is such a strong trend.

Next up we have Newcastle who are hosting Blackburn where once again Rovers have won on their last four visits to St James’ Park. Steve Kean’s team can be backed at around 3/1 (4.0) to repeat this.

It is amazing how season after season you get these odd results that continue to go against all rationale. From a personal perspective I would certainly not be looking to back Man City and Newcastle at their current prices given their recent record against their weekend opponents.

However, before we can start counting our winnings this strategy does come with a word of warning. Trends can very easily be reversed as you only have to look at the Spurs v Chelseafixture to see how the north Londoners have ended years of Blue dominance.

One trend I’m certainly hoping to see broken is that of Manchester United winning at Stoke. The Red Devils have won on their last three visits to the Britannia but I am hoping that the Potters can put a stop to this run.

Last season’s FA Cup finalists have had a solid start to the season and have already taken points off Chelsea and Liverpool on their own patch. Stoke City v Manchester United is one of my three draws this weekend

Pete’s Weekend Tips
Last weekend we got back on track with a draw in the Aston Villa v Newcastle game and I felt we were slightly unlucky in the Blackburn v Arsenal & Everton v Wigan matches.

To get a full rundown of the draws and to get the free Premier Betting Newsletter just head over to Premier Betting and sign up. Remember, you only need one draw in three to come off to earn a profit.

This weekend I am going for the following draws Wigan v Spurs (3.25), Stoke v Man United (3.75) and QPR v Aston Villa (3.20) with the Wigan v Spurs game being the strongest of these selections.

Match Odds; Wigan 3.75, Draw 3.25, Tottenham (Sportingbet)

• Record of teams of Wigan’s grading against teams of Spurs grading reads W5 D8 L5
• Wigan’s recent home record against teams of Spurs grading is W0 D3 L1
• Spurs recent away record against teams of Wigan’s grading is W1 D3 L1
• Head to Head recent record at Wigan reads Wigan 1 Draw 3 Spurs 1
• Wigan have drawn three of their last five home matches.
• Spurs have drawn zero of their last five away matches

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Stoke City captain Ryan Shawcross: We have a chance of beating the Premier League Champions

BestBetAdvice — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:36:25 +0000

The Potters host Sir Alex Ferguson’s side at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday but their skipper insists that his side can cause an upset against the in-form champions

Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross has rallied his team ahead of the visit of Manchester United on Saturday, insisting that his side have a chance of beating the Premier Leaguechampions.

Tony Pulis’ men picked up their first defeat of the season with a 4-0 hammering away to Sunderland last weekend after an impressive nine-game stretch of picking up points, after kicking off their campaign with Europa League qualifying back in July.

However, having beaten Tottenham on penalties on Tuesday in the League Cup, Shawcross feels that his side can bounce back fully from the defeat to Steve Bruce’s men with a strongperformance against his former club at the Britannia Stadium.
He told Stoke’s official matchday magazine: “It was probably a bit of a reality check for us to be honest, especially having been on a nine-game unbeaten run to start the new season.
“Good runs have to come to an end, but it was disappointing for it to end in that fashion at Sunderland. The result and the performance were disappointing, but we move on now and we set our sights on another unbeaten run like the one we have just had.
“It will be hard to start that off against Manchester United because they are a top team, but everyone is beatable, and we know if we have the fans right behind us and we perform in a way we know we can, then we do have a chance.”
The 23-year-old has impressed during his time in Staffordshire and has been linked with a number of moves away from the club, most notably to Tottenham and Liverpool, but the centre-back insists that his future lies with Stoke.
“I’ve always said that I wanted to play in Europe and Stoke City have given me that opportunity, so my future is undoubtedly here at the Britannia Stadium,” said Shawcross.
“I really do love it here, the fans are great to me and the manager is absolutely top class.
“He is probably the biggest factor in wanting to be here because I really enjoy working underneath him because he keeps making me a better player and has shown unbelievable faith in me.
“With the group of lads we have here too, I don’t think anyone would want to leave. It’s a great set-up with a very good team who are all striving to bring success to the football club.”

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Goal-crazy Man United all set to be firing on full power at Stoke City on Saturday

BestBetAdvice — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:06:55 +0000

Sir Alex Ferguson could have his full complement of strikers fit and available for the first time this season.
The five-strong first-team hit squad will be vying to keep the rampant Reds’ fires burning at the Victoria Ground.
Wayne Rooney will spearhead the attack and look to keep his incredible goalscoring run going.
He has netted in all five of United’s opening Premier League matches – recording nine goals – and is closing in on Ruud van Nistelrooy’s club record of scoring in 10 consecutive league games in 2001-02.
Danny Welbeck was forging an impressive partnership with Rooney at the start of the season and contributed goals against Spurs and Arsenal before injuring his hamstring.
But the Mancunian striker came on against Leeds at Elland Road on Tuesday to signal that he is back fit for action after three weeks on the sidelines.
He could be competing with Javier Hernandez to partner Rooney in the Potteries.
Hernandez is back in training at United after bruising his leg following the X-rated tackle by Chelsea’s Ashley Cole at Old Trafford last Sunday. United boss Fergie reckons the Mexican should be ready for selection against Basel next Tuesday in the Champions League but don’t rule out a comeback at Stoke, where he scored twice last October in the Reds’ 2-1 win.
Michael Owen, of course, has posted notice that he must be seriously considered after scoring twice in the first half at Elland Road in the Carling Cup.
And Dimitar Berbatov played a full 90 minutes in Yorkshire to dust the cobwebs off after kicking his heels all season with just two sub appearances against West Brom and Chelsea.
The Reds have blasted in 28 goals so far this season, starting with three at Wembley in the Community Shield against City.