Bet on it being a good night for Europe’s heavyweights

Click here to claim a free £25 bet when opening a Betfair account

Germany and Italy are both available at odds greater than evens to beat Argentina and Cameroon tonight – meaning that a £10 double on the second and third most successful nations in World Cup history with Betfair tonight will return £37.10.

If you’re a bit of a daredevil and think that bet is a little too straight-forward then why not throw an away team into the mix?

Croatia had a poor World Cup qualifying campaign but still managed to pick up twice as many points as Belgium, so odds greater than 6/4 on Slaven Bilic

Posted: March 3rd, 2010 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Will this be the year when England finally deliver?

We’re not convinced. Farewell 44 years of hurt, roll on 48!

This could well prove England’s best chance to win the World Cup in 20 years (we’re too scarred to wonder “what if” about the collapse against Brazil in 2002) but it still looks like they will come up short.

There’s no doubt that the Three Lions have the might coach in Fabio Capello, and for a second it looked like the team wasn’t too shabby either, but events so far this season haven’t been great preparation.

In goal, first-choice David James has been permanently crocked, second-choice Robert Green has endured a blip - his first since joining West Ham in 2006 - and third-choice Ben Foster has been awful.

Birmingham loanee Joe Hart has been the star performer but has just one cap, and if he took the number one jersey would be heading for the World

Posted: January 7th, 2010 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

England’s Ashes price drifts despite drawing the First Test

Click here to claim a £25 no loss bet with Betfair

The price of England regaining the Ashes has dropped despite the fact they managed to hold on for a draw in the First Test in Cardiff.

The hosts are 3.75 to win the series having been 3.35 when we wrote a preview on July 1. However, if anything the result should cause great encouragement, as Australia had won 29 of their previous 34 series openers.

Posted: July 13th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

There’s more chance of Angelina Jolie becoming US President than…

Click here to claim a £25 free bet with Paddy Power

chickendinner were pretty shocked to find Paddy Power offering odds of just 20/1 that Angelina Jolie becoming US President before she dies. That means that the Irish bookies believe there is more chance of that happening than:

» Padraig Harrington retaining the USPGA Championship (28/1)

» Portsmouth finishing bottom of the Premier League (22/1)

» Bayern Munich or Juventus winning the Champions League (22/1)

» Robin van Persie or Carlos Tevez winning the PFA Player of the Year (22/1, 25/1)

» Madonna adopting her next child from England (33/1)

Posted: July 9th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Five stats about the first ever Ashes Test to be held in Wales

Click here for all the latest odds on the 2009 Ashes opener

The first ever Ashes test to be held in Wales kicks off on Wednesday at Cardiff’s SWALEC Stadium but it’s hard to tell who - besides Glamorgan chairman Paul Russell - is happy about it. Andrew Strauss says his men will be walking into the unknown, Ricky Ponting thinks England have “got a bigger advantage there than anywhere else in the country” while Shane Warne thinks playing the first test there is “a disgrace”. Here are five stats to help you bet on this unpopular opener:

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

1. Australia tend to kick off Test series spectacularly. They have won the opener in 29 of their last 34 series, drawing four and losing just one.

2. England also get off to spectacular starts in Test series, although more of than not they are spectacularly bad. Over the last four years, Andy Flower’s men have contested 15 series, winning the opener in just one.

Posted: July 6th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Five reasons why England can regain the Ashes this summer

Click here to claim a £25 free bet when opening a Betfair account

Despite being whitewashed in Australia, England are just 3.35 on Betfair to regain the Ashes. The reason for the rather short price, beyond patriotic punting, is that Australia have lost some big names while Andrew Strauss’ men are much harder to beat at home. Here are five reasons to be optimistic:

1. Since Australia last won the Ashes away from home in 2001, England have contested 15 home series. Of those they have won ten, drawn three and lost just two, boasting an aggregate test score of 30-8.

2. That contrasts with England’s poor form prior to Australia’s last win here in 2001. Ahead of that, England had won just six of the last 15 series they had hosted and had a negative aggregate test score of 18-20.

3. Prior to the last six Ashes series, Australia had won at least four of their previous five test series. This year they arrive in nowhere near as convincing

Posted: July 1st, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | 2 Comments