USA may cause Italy problems as Group B gets underway

USA have a chance to prove they can challenge the “Big Three”

The standard of Group A - barring Spain of course - was perhaps even worse than we anticipated, so much so that there’s a possibility that no team other than the European champions will win a game there or potentially even score a goal. The opening Group B fixtures take place today and it should be more competitive, with both Brazil and Italy involved and Egypt and USA attempting to show that they are capable of springing a surprise:

Claim a £25 free bet when opening an account with Paddy Power

Brazil v Egypt
Holders Brazil have played in the last five tournaments and their aggregate score in opening fixtures over that time is 12-1. They have won their opener to nil on four occasions (3-0, 4-0, 2-0 and 3-0) with the one exception coming when they last kicked off against African opposition in 2003, losing 1-0 to Cameroon before going out in the group stage. Four of the last five

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

Brentford should return to form against the Daggers

Dag&Red/Brentford, 7.45pm, Sky Sports 1, Free Bets, Best Odds

Brentford fans won’t be gloating about how well they bounce back from setbacks after witnessing how badly that blew up in Manchester United’s faces on Saturday. However, the Bees have recovered from four of their previous five league defeats this season with wins in their next game.

That bodes well for them ahead of tonight’s London derby away to Dagenham & Redbridge, who have lost four straight home games without scoring. Brentford won the reverse fixture 2-1 in September when the Daggers topped the table and they have already done the double over three teams this season.

Paddy Power offer 16/5 on Brentford winning to nil while you can back them to bounce back in style with a 3-0 win - the scoreline of the last three Bees games that have followed a defeat - at 38 on Betfair.

Posted: March 23rd, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Chelsea are 11/10 with Paddy Power to beat Man City to nil

Chelsea/Man City, Sunday 1.30pm, SetSpts1, Free Bets, Best Odds

Last season Chelsea annihilated Manchester City 6-0 in Avram Grant’s second home league match in charge. Here’s why Guus Hiddink should feel confident of winning to nil in his second league game at Stamford Bridge:

» Manchester City haven’t scored on any of their last six visits to the Bridge and have gone home defeated on five of those occasions.

» Chelsea have scored nine goals in their last two home matches against the Citizens and have fired an over seventeen past City on their last six visits.

» The Blues have won three of their four domestic matches (four out of six in all competitions) to nil under Hiddink’s leadership.

» Manchester City have scored just once in their last four away league games.

Paddy Power are offering 11/10 on Chelsea winning to nil. Click here to claim a free matched bet of up to £25 when opening an account with them.

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

Why Everton/Middlesboro is unlikely to feature many goals

Everton/Boro, Sunday 4pm, SetantaSports 1, Free Bets, Best Odds

Everton are unbeaten in five against Middlesbrough and have won three of the last four so the home win looks like the most likely outcome in this weekend’s FA Cup quarter-final. Boro have upset the form book in recent weeks with wins against West Ham and Liverpool while the Toffees eliminated their Merseyside rivals and Aston Villa to reach this stage. If you aren’t keen on backing a winner then allow us to present the case for there being under 2.5 goals, which is available at 3/4 on Betfair:

» Fourteen of the last fifteen encounters between these two sides have finished with two or fewer goals being scored.

» The 4-0 loss to Tottenham was Middlesbrough’s first game in eight to have featured more than two goals.

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

Everton are 5/4 to beat West Brom to nil with Paddy Power

Everton/WBA, Saturday 12.45pm, Sky S1, Free Bets, Best Odds

Everton aren’t losing at home and West Brom aren’t winning away so it’s hard to see why this game has been televised. The home win is rather short at 1/2 so the best value bet on offer is the Paddy Power’s 5/4 on Tim Howard and co shutting the visitors out. Here’s why that should happen:

» Everton are unbeaten in five Premier League home games and over that period they have conceded just one goal, a last-gasp equaliser scored by Arsenal striker Robin van Persie.

» The Toffees have won three of their last four league games at Goodison Park while keeping clean sheets.

» All three of those wins have come against teams in the bottom-half of the table too: Sunderland (3-0), Hull (2-0) and Bolton (3-0).

Posted: February 27th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Can Arsenal take advantage of Roma’s record in England?

Arsenal/Roma, 7.45pm, ITV4, Free Bets, Best Odds

Roma knocked out Real Madrid at this stage last year but as our table above shows, they have got an awful recent record in England and have lost four of their last five visits 1-0. Their boss Luciano Spalletti is adamant those statistics won’t count against them but if they do, it means all Arsenal need to do is score. The only problem there is that Arsene Wenger’s side have failed to find the net themselves in four of their last six games. Paddy Power offer 21/10 on Arsenal winning to nil while 1-0 is 6/1 with 888sport. However, if you expect the Gunners to be contained again back a goalless draw at 9.2 on Betfair.

Posted: February 24th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment