Pick out a treble of draws in Europe this week

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With a midweek schedule brimming with betting opportunities, it’s easy to waste a fiver on Tuesday, then a tenner on Wednesday and finally a score on Thursday as you try to win it all back.

It’s a trap we’ve fallen hooter-first into before, forcing us to produce a shrewder plan, where we can stake a tenner and the bet will still be alive on Wednesday even if our Tuesday punt leaves us looking silly.

By picking out three draws – one for Tuesday, one for Wednesday and one

Posted: March 8th, 2010 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

AC Milan will once again kick Manchester United to the European curb

Back man on right to knock man on left out of Europe

Carlo Ancelotti’s work so far at Chelsea can’t really be faulted but we were always of the opinion that his spell as AC Milan boss was often overrated.

Two Champions League winners’ medals overshadowed a decade as boss of first Juventus and then the Rosseneri in which he only won Serie A once. And whereas his last two seasons at the San Siro saw the club fighting - and failing on one occasion - just to qualify for the Champions League, his rookie

Posted: January 11th, 2010 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

The obstacle Man United must overcome to make history

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Manchester United remain marginal favourites to win their 19th league title next season despite losing Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. To confirm their place as the country’s most successful side in history, they must become the first English team to win four successive titles. How hard can it be?

FOURTH SEASON SYNDROME

Huddersfield (1926-27)
The first ever team to win three successive top-flight titles were toppled by Newcastle when they attempted to win a fourth in 1926-27. The Terriers started poorly, winning just three of their first 12 games but by March they were joint-top. Newcastle had a better goal average and a game in hand but Jack Chaplin’s side were in a good position - they still had to play Newcastle and in the previous three seasons they had saved their best form for the final stages of the season. However, they won just three of their final 11 games and lost 1-0 at Newcastle, meaning they finished the campaign five points behind the Magpies in second. Huddersfield haven’t won the title since.

Arsenal (1935-36)
Herbert Chapman won the first two of Huddersfield’s three straight titles and tragically died while on course to deliver the second of Arsenal’s trio. They sealed the second under Joe Shaw and then the third under George Allison but were slow out of the blocks in season four. A good run in late 1935 saw

Posted: July 10th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | 1 Comment

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

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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

Chelsea’s decision to appoint Carlo Ancelotti gains support

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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.

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

Why Arsenal may need to score again to eliminate Roma

Roma/Arsenal, 7.45pm, Sky Sports Xtra, Free Bets, Best Odds

Arsenal will take confidence from the fact Chelsea completed their job in Italy having arrived with a 1-0 advantage but will also be aware how hard Juventus made things for the Blues. Roma are even better at home than Claudio Ranieri’s side so Arsenal may need to score and force their opponents to score three. Sometimes they find that easy - Cardiff, Burnley - but sometimes they make things really difficult for themselves - West Ham, Sunderland, Fulham. Here are some interesting stats about tonight’s match:

» Roma are unbeaten in twelve home matches and have won ten of them.

» The Italian side have only failed to score once at the Stadio Olimpico since Manchester United won 2-0 there on April 1 last year and that was against league leaders Inter.

Posted: March 11th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment