Showing posts with label expect. Show all posts
Showing posts with label expect. Show all posts
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Friday, March 15, 2013
Serie A Betting: Expect goals as Conte's Juventus visit Bologna
"In the last 22 head-to-heads, Juve have recorded 13 victories, with eight games ending all-square and Bologna triumphing just once."
Italian football expert Dave Farrar thinks Juve's visit to Bologna could provide entertainment, but he doesn't expect the same at Pescara...
Bologna v Juventus
Juventus moved nine points clear at the top of Serie A with their 1-0 win at home to Catania last weekend and it's difficult to see second-placed Napoli or anyone else catching them with just 10 games left to play.
This weekend's opponents Bologna hardly looked equipped to trip up Juve, either. Bologna sprung a surprise by winning 1-0 at Inter last weekend - although it won't have been a surprise to readers of this column, as we backed Bologna at 5.2 - but it would be asking too much to expect Stefano Pioli's side to claim two major scalps in a row.
The historic stats also suggest a win will be beyond Bologna. In the last 22 head-to-heads, Juve have recorded 13 victories, with eight games ending all-square and Bologna triumphing just once. Opta also reveal Juventus are unbeaten in their last 10 Serie A visits to Bologna (W6-D4-L0) and La Vecchia Signora's formidable away form - just two defeats in their last 32 Serie A games on the road - also tells you which way this encounter is likely to go.
The 1.72 on Juventus will hold little appeal for many bettors, so you might prefer to focus on the Over 2.5 Goals market. Ten of Bologna's 14 home games and six of Juventus' 13 away games have featured over 2.5 goals. Overs is my selection.
Recommended Bet
Bologna v Juventus Over 2.5 Goals @ 2.02
Fiorentina v Genoa
Fiorentina made it three wins from four when they won 2-0 at Lazio last weekend, moving above Lazio and Inter into fourth place in the standings.
La Viola's games are generally entertaining - 16 of their 28 league fixtures have featured three goals or more - and home fans at the Artemio Franchi are likely to enjoy what they see this weekend.
Fiorentina have won four and drawn two of their last six meetings against Genoa, keeping clean sheets in each of those wins. They have netted at least once in each of the last 10 meetings between the sides, with Genoa failing to record a victory on their last 14 trips to Florence (W0-D5-L9) and losing on each of their last six visits. Genoa's away form generally is a concern, too - they are winless in their last seven.
The stats all suggest the 1.4740/85 on Fiorentina is justified. If that's too short I would recommend backing Fiorentina -1.0&-1.5 Asian Handicap. With that selection, you'll make a profit if they win by two goals or more, something they're entirely capable of doing - seven of Fiorentina's 10 home wins this season have come by two goals or more.
Recommended Bet
Fiorentina -1.0&-1.5 Asian Handicap @ 2.02
Pescara v Chievo
Right now, Pescara are unbackable. They're stuck in the relegation zone, and a run of just one point from their last nine league games makes it easy to see why. They have lost their last four home games so home advantage appears to be no advantage at all at the moment.
Not that I have much faith in Chievo, either. They have lost their last three Serie A fixtures on the road and had managed just one point from five games before last weekend's surprise 2-0 win over Napoli. Their longer-term form and league position (16th) make it clear that win over second-placed Napoli was the exception rather than the rule.
Most bettors would understandably swerve this game altogether but the one market worth considering is Under 2.5 Goals. Sixteen of Pescara's 28 games have had under 2.5 goals. The same applies to 17 of Chievo's 28 games.
Unders is therefore my selection, although traders out there may like to wait until after kick-off as bigger prices may become available once the game is under way. These two sides have conceded the most goals of any teams in Serie A in the opening 15 minutes of games: nine for Pescara, eight for Chievo.
Recommended Bet
Under 2.5 Goals @ 1.70
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Sunday, February 3, 2013
Two And a Half Goals: Expect fireworks at the Etihad on Sunday
"I feel this will be the day City show they are still very much in the title race by putting on a show against Liverpool."
Back Over 2.5 Goals in Man City v Liverpool at 1.75
The Inside Man is back with his Under/Over 2.5 Goals dilemma. Which way will he go this week in his selected matches?
Saturday
Arsenal v Stoke
Attitude plays a huge part in the scoreline of a football match.
For the bulk of this season, Stoke were consummate professionals, playing to their defensive and combative strengths. And so they chalked up the points as they went, through a long series of hard-fought and low-scoring games.
But since Christmas, that's all changed. Stoke's last six matches have all been high-scoring, yielding 25 goals in total. For me, this difference in results most likely comes from a change in mentality. With 30 points already, the Potters have positioned themselves in midtable, a healthy distance from the relegation battle. With 39/40 traditionally considered the magic number for safety, it appears Tony Pulis's side now want their points to come in big chunks, by going more ambitiously in search of wins.
And Arsenal are just the sort of team who'll relish a more end-to-end encounter, as opposed to the siege-like fixture this usually equates too. The Gunners' last six home games have contained 26 goals. And with 10 of those having been goals conceded, there should be plenty of chances for Stoke to find the net and make this a game to remember.
Recommended Bet
Back Over 2.5 goals @ 1.758/11
West Ham v Swansea
75 percent of Swansea's away games this season have been low-scoring. And the average number of goals per game is actually dropping, with three of their last four road games having ended 0-0.
There's no doubt the Swans take a defensive approach when on their travels. They boast the Premier League's best away defence, having conceded a goal less than Man City. They've also scored less goals than all the teams above them, as well as quite a few of the sides below them. And the departure of striker Danny Graham to Sunderland means Michael Laudrup now has even less firepower at his disposal.
As for West Ham, they go into this game short on confidence and unlikely to be too attacking themselves. After three heavy beatings on the road recently, the Hammers will be glad to get back to Upton Park. But their last home game saw them held 1-1 by struggling QPR, and unravelling a stubborn Swansea defence could prove even more difficult. But Big Sam is ever the pragmatist. So don't be surprised to see him settle for a sensible point, to stop the rot, and help edge his side further away from relegation.
Recommended Bet
Back Under 2.5 goals @ 2.0621/20
Sunday
Man City v Liverpool
I'm expecting fireworks at the Etihad on Sunday. I feel this will be the day City show they are still very much in the title race by putting on a show against Liverpool.
Not that their home games are ever boring. 36 goals in 12 home matches tells you that. And now that Sergio Aguero is back fit, and troublemaker Mario Balotelli has departed, that average should rise.
Liverpool will bring plenty to this party though. The Reds away matches have been even more fruitful, bearing 40 goals from their 12 games. Luis Suarez is in rampant form at the moment, while Liverpool are enjoying their most prolific run since the arrival of Brendan Rodgers, having scored in each of their last 11 league games.
City have big defensive problems going into this fixture with the absence of their rock at the back, Vincent Kompany, a massive loss for them. New signing Coutinho is unlikely to debut in time for Liverpool, and so this game looks set to be all about the forwards. With Liverpool's last six away games having all been high-scoring, I can't see any way in which that run won't continue here.
Recommended Bet
Back Over 2.5 goals @ 1.758/11
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Wednesday, July 27, 2011
7 things to expect on the new series of The X-Factor
X-Factor 
/ Dan Fitch / 27 July 2011 / Leave a Comment 
New girl Tulisa will be looking for the new Cher Lloyd - but good.
Dan Fitch looks into his crystal ball to predict the things that we can expect from the new series of The X-Factor.
With three of last year's judges having departed and Simon Cowell now working on the American version of the show, The X-Factor has reached a crossroads.
Is the format strong enough for the show to carry on being the most popular on British TV? Or will the show wither and die without the presence of Cowell?
The only way to really find out is to tune in when it returns to our screens, but until then, here are seven things to expect on the the new series of The X-Factor.
One of the most annoying aspects of the last series of The X-Factor was the sheer amount of people announcing that they were going to sing 'Make you feel my love by Adele'.
These words lead to an awful lot of grumpy old blokes who were reluctantly watching the show at the behest of their wives and children, to mutter at the TV: "It's by Bob Dylan actually".
This year has seen Adele sell a ludicrous amount of albums full of songs that she actually did write, so a lot of people will cover songs from 21. In particular we are likely to hear the words 'I'm singing Someone Like You' an awful lot. Expect to see a montage of hopefuls butchering the song, who ironically sound more like an out-of-tune Dylan than Adele.
For The X-Factor to retain any bite, one of the judges had to step into Simon Cowell's shoes to become the new 'Mr Nasty'. Rather surprisingly, that man seems to be the mild-mannered Gary Barlow, who for many years remained resolutely boring quietly dignified, rather than entering into a war of words with Robbie Williams.
It seems however, that the Take That frontman relishes the task of verbally trampling on the dreams of deluded X-Factor contestants. The Sun recently reported that: "It's like Gary's evil twin turned up to judge. He's making Simon look like Mary Poppins.
"When he told singer Pebbles she looked like a man at her Birmingham audition, you could have heard a pin drop.She was mortified and immediately complained. There have been several complaints over Gary's dressing-downs. One singer said they felt like killing themselves after coming off stage. Gary has been asked to tone it down by contestants."
The X-Factor might have evolved over the years, but Louis Walsh remains reassuringly mental. For many, the highlight of the last series of the show came when Louis told 'Popcorn Paije Richardson that he reminded him of "a little Lenny Henry". We can only speculate as to why Louis will compare the black contestants to this year - Floella Benjamin? Kriss Akabusi? Al Jolson?
Without Simon Cowell around to keep him in line, we expect Louis to go even further off the rails and wouldn't be surprised to see Walsh try to challenge Gary Barlow for the position of the new X-Factor bad guy. It might seem out of character, but it wouldn't be the first time that Louis has experimented with a transfer to the dark side.
It might not be stipulated in her contract, but we're sure that Kelly Rowland is sufficiently self-aware to know that there's one person who she will be expected to call in a couple of favours from her best known former colleague during the course of the series.
Let's face it, when it comes to the judges houses stage, the people chosen in Kelly's category are going to be disappointed if 'the other one' from Destiny's Child makes an appearance. At the very least Rowland has to get Beyonce in the studio for the final duets, where she would be pretty much guaranteed to blow away Mark Owen and Dappy.
If you haven't paid much interest in the hit parade since the days of Bruno Brookes officiating over the Sunday afternoon countdown, then you may have missed the fact the the current charts are dominated RnB and hip hop acts.
The last series of the X-Factor saw Cher Lloyd having a number of raps crowbarred clumsily into her performances. With Lloyd's mentor Cheryl Cole having been replaced by someone with genuine urban credentials in the form of Tulisa Contostavios, we can expect a lot more swagga on the show that needs to be relevant.
With judging panel lacking the glamour of previous years, it seems likely that more emphasis will be put on the actual competing acts. In recent series, The X-Factor has had a curious obsession with putting as many extra dancers onto the stage as possible and it promises to reach ludicrous proportions this year.
Just because Lady Gaga and Rihanna can't set foot on a stage without being surrounded by more extras than were used in Ben Hur, Simon Cowell seems to think that the X-Factor contestants need similar gimmicks. Meanwhile, the majority of professional singers manage to do their job perfectly well, with no one else on stage but the rather necessary people who can actually play musical instruments.
Series eight of The X-Factor will be on the air in August and the show's devoted audience will no doubt be extremely interested to see how the three new judges fare. Perhaps a more intriguing question though, is how well the American version of The X-Factor will work.
Cowell and company will begin their Stateside assault in September and it will be shown in the UK on ITV 2. It's likely that a lot more people will follow the US version than previously watched American Idol. Will the fans be able to maintain their enthusiasm for both shows?
The Betfair Contrarian explains why Cardle and Cowell can be stopped and why he's desperate to recover some funds.......
Matt Cardle's victory brings the curtain down on this year's X Factor, and it's fair to say punters got this one correct from the very start....
Jack Houghton is full of conspiracy theories today as the show draws to a close but irrespective of political interventions and new voting policies, Matt Cardle should be crowned 2010 X-Factor winner nonetheless....
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