Football Betting

MLS All Stars/ West Ham

"It's always nice to play against a quality team," said a straight-faced David Beckham recently, perhaps unaware that Joe Cole, Paolo Di Canio and co left Upton Park at the same time he swapped Manchester for Madrid. But even though West Ham may not be the glamour opponents that the MLS are expecting, there will be a Londoner thrilling the fans tonight. No, not Anton Ferdinand or Mark Noble but Estelle, who will be providing the much-needed half-time entertainment.

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Are West Ham worthy favourites?

» West Ham start as favourites but on all six occasions where the MLS All Stars have competed as one (as opposed to an Eastern Conference versus Western Conference game) they have been victorious.

» The All Stars have played British opposition in each of the last three years, beating Fulham 4-1 in 2005, Chelsea 1-0 in 2006 and Celtic 2-0 last year.

» But West Ham boast a 100% record so far in pre-season though, defeating Hampton and Richmond 4-2 and MLS side Columbus Crew 3-1.

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» Coral's odds of 15/8 on Dean Ashton scoring any time are tempting considering the striker scored in his last three league games last season and in the friendly against Columbus Crew.

» Just one of those four goals was the first in a match though so don't go too heavy on Ashton scoring first which is a best-priced 11/2.

» chickendinner superfact: Not since Landon Donovan (2001 and 2002) has anyone scored in back-to-back All-Star Games so it may be wise to steer clear of last year's scorers Juan Pablo Angel and Juan Toja.

» The last hat-trick in an All-Star game was scored by Donovan in 2001 (when it was East versus West). He's 40/1 to repeat the feat this year. One player scored a hat-trick against West Ham last season: Fernando Torres.

Betting on Beckham

» Beckham has scored five goals against West Ham in the past.

» On the last three occasions that Beckham appeared against West Ham, his team were victorious.

» And the last time that he faced them was in an FA Cup game in 2003 where Man United won 6-0.

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» Beckham has scored the opener against West Ham on two separate occasions. The last time he managed it (in 2002) the final score was 5-3 to Man United.

» Last year's MVP (Most Valuable Player) was Juan Pablo Angel, who like Beckham had previously played in the Premier League and was making his first appearance for the All Stars.

24/07/08

All Stars/ West Ham, best odds