Slaven Bilic is now odds-on to take charge of Portsmouth

The final remaining Premier League vacancy may soon be filled*

Croatia boss Slaven Bilic is now the 4/5 favourite with Sky Bet to be named Portsmouth’s next manager after his agent confirmed the club had been in contact yesterday.

The prospect of a move increased further today when Andrea Gicic, a Croatian journalist and friend of Bilic, revealed that he would consider doing a Guus Hiddink-style job share until the World Cup qualifiers ended.

The former West Ham and Everton defender is highly-rated in the UK because of his team’s respectable performance at Euro 2008, which they qualified for at England’s expense. The fact that Croatia are struggling to even make the play-offs this time around is apparently irrelevant.

*Technically the Wigan post is still vacant, but it won’t be for long

Posted: June 10th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

chickendinner go fishing for World Cup qualifying draws

Ireland, Portugal and Croatia are 50/1 to all draw with Bet365

England’s trip to Kazakhstan looks almost certain to end in an away win - England have won all five of their qualifiers, they’ve lost their last four - so we’ve diverted our attention elsewhere. Identifying multiple draws is a tough task but the rewards can be spectacular. There are three games where we think the spoils are there for the sharing and should all three miraculously come in, you will win £50.97 for a pound stake on Bet365:

Albania v Portugal (7/2): Portugal drew with Albania at home and have won none of their last four qualifiers, drawing three. They do have Luis Boa Morte back though!

Bulgaria v Ireland (7/3): Ireland have drawn their last two away qualifiers and drew at home to Bulgaria. The hosts have drawn four of their five.

Croatia v Ukraine (5/2): This one is a long shot because the only group game these sides have drawn so far came against each other in Kharkiv but neither of them have lost to anyone other than England.

Click here for a £200 Free Bet Basket when opening a Bet365 account

Posted: June 6th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | 1 Comment

Brawn will challenge Felipe Massa’s supremacy in Turkey

Click here for the latest odds on Sunday’s Turkish Grand Prix

Ross Brawn was still at Ferrari in 2006 when Felipe Massa first won the Turkish Grand Prix but now the latest challenge in his sensational first season as an owner is to end the Brazilian’s three-year winning streak. It’s hard to back against Jenson Button right now but the Scuderia have improved recently so if Massa’s run is to end, he should go down fighting:

Do you think Ferrari are ready to fight back? If so Massa is available at 8.0 on Betfair. Click here to claim a £25 no loss free bet when opening an account with them.

» The two Ferrari drivers are the only two men who have won in Istanbul. Kimi Raikkonen took the chequered flag while with McLaren in 2005 and Massa has won in all three of his seasons to date with the Scuderia.

Posted: June 5th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

The stage is set for a Kimi Raikkonen win but his car probably isn’t

Click here for the latest Spanish Grand Prix odds

Kimi Raikkonen has won two of the last four Spanish Grands Prix, Finnish drivers have triumphed in five of the last 11 and Ferrari in six of the last eight. Despite that, it’s not worth piling all your money in on the 2007 World Champion at 16/1 on Bet365 because past performances count for nothing in Formula One right now. Here are some stats that might prove more useful:

Click here to claim a £200 Free Bet Basket with Bet365

» The last eight races in Catalunya have all been won by the driver starting in pole, as have 11 of the last 12.

» The Spanish Grand Prix was the only race that Jenson Button took points in last season - finishing sixth.

Posted: May 8th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment