Chelsea’s decision to appoint Carlo Ancelotti gains support

Click here for the latest odds on next season’s Premier League

Here at chickendinner we aren’t convinced that Carlo Ancelotti is the right man to guide Chelsea back into title contention but it appears that punters disagree with us.

Before news of the Italian’s appointment broke, the Blues were 4.2 to win the title but by the close of play they had been backed in to 3.85, although they have dropped back a bit this morning.

Chelsea, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Ajax, AZ, Marseille, Bayern Munich, Schalke and Wolfsburg have already made managerial changes for the coming season but the famed merry-go-round is going to gather even more momentum over the coming week. Juventus, Celtic, Portsmouth and Sunderland are already looking for a new boss and Roma, Lazio and Wigan look set to join them.

Claim a £25 no loss bet when opening a Betfair account

Posted: June 2nd, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Positive signs for Liverpool, Rangers poised for the SPL

Five stats about this weekend’s football

1. Victory over West Brom guarantees Liverpool their best points finish (83 possibly rising to 86) since taking 90 in 1987-88.

2. Barring a very unlikely set of results next week, it is also likely to be the first time in 19 seasons that Liverpool have finished the season with the strongest goal difference in the division.

3. Nine teams have failed to beat a Big Four side in the Premier League this season, an improvement on last season’s 11 and Sunderland still have a chance to strike themselves off that list against Chelsea next weekend.

Posted: May 19th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Feeling patriotic? Back both English sides at almost 5/2!

Porto/Man Utd, 7.45pm, Sky Sports 2, Free Bets, Best Odds
Arsenal/Villarreal, 7.45pm, Sky Sports 3, Free Bets, Best Odds

There isn’t too much value to be found if you fancy backing the English teams to do well tonight but the best price we have found is on a Manchester United/Arsenal win double, where Paddy Power will pay out £33.73 on a £10 stake. Here’s why that could be a worthwhile bet:

English domination
It’s been almost two years since an English side were knocked out of the Champions League by foreign opposition.

Arsenal’s home comforts
The Gunners haven’t lost a European home match against foreign opposition since September 2003, when they lost their opening group game 3-1 against Inter Milan. Arsenal have conceded just one goal in ten home matches and have won their last four.

Villarreal are struggling
As well as being without a win in three games, the Yellow Submarine have won just one of their last ten away games, losing six times over that period. That run started with a 2-0 loss to Celtic, who finished bottom of their Champions League group.

Man Utd did similar last year

Posted: April 15th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Man United host a Porto side who hate travelling to the UK

Manchester United/Porto, 7.45pm, ITV1, Free Bets, Best Odds

Manchester United have been granted the best draw they could have asked for in their quest to retain the Champions League but recent defensive frailties threaten to end their run of seven straight clean sheets in two-legged European ties. However, Porto’s dreadful record in the UK means that an upset (9/1 with Ladbrokes) remains incredibly unlikely:

HOME ADVANTAGE
Manchester United’s domestic invincibility may have worn off but there are some pretty significant stats which make them the team to fear in Europe. The holders haven’t lost a Champions League home game since February 2005 and are unbeaten in 21 games in total in the competition. However, while they won all six of their European games at Old Trafford last season, they haven’t been quite as convincing this season. They beat Celtic (3-0) and Inter (2-0) but they failed to find a way past potential quarter-final opponents Villarreal (0-0) or the fifth-best team in Denmark, Aalborg (2-2).

Posted: April 7th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

chickendinner’s favourite Grand National free bet yet

Open a Boylesports account, stake £10 then claim a free £20 bet

Boylesports have pulled out all the punches to get you betting with them on the Grand National. Anyone who signs up for an account with the Irish bookmakers, who are paying each-way on five places, before Saturday and places a £10 bet will be rewarded with a no-strings-attached free £20 bet.

Our theory on how best to take advantage of the offer is to stake your initial £10 today on one of the weekend’s shortest favourites (e.g. Man Utd beating Aston Villa, Celtic thumping Hamilton or Jenson Button in Malaysia).

Boylesports will give you access to the free bet within 24 hours and you are then free to use it on the Grand National. But who will you choose? Darkness, who is 16/1 on Boylesports, came out as the winner using our five-step elimination system.

Click here to take advantage of this fantastic offer now!

Posted: April 2nd, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Manchester City have an opportunity to out-do United

Manchester City/Aalborg, 7.45pm, ITV4, Free Bets, Best Odds

Manchester United may be on the verge of winning every trophy going and breaking records on the way but their rivals have a chance to achieve something that Sir Alex Ferguson couldn’t this season: a home win over Aalborg. The Red Devils were held 2-2 by the Danes in December and City will be looking to out-do them tonight:

Strong home team versus decent away side

» Manchester City have won five consecutive home games, conceding just two goals in the process.

» The Citizens have won three and drawn one of their four UEFA Cup games at Eastlands this season (excluding qualifiers). However the opposition scored and lost by just one goal in all three victories (2-1, 3-2, 2-1).

» Aalborg are unbeaten in seven away games and have won four of their last five on the road. They average just 1.00 points per league home game this season compared to 1.89 away.

Posted: March 12th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment