Premiership Prophecy - Gunners to have Liverpool's Measure again?

After a break for the Internationals, the Premiership makes a welcome return this weekend, and the obvious highlight is Arsenal’s visit to Liverpool for which bet365 are betting to 107% and go 11/5 the Gunners with Liverpool at 11/10 (11/5 the draw).

This will be the fourth meeting between the two sides this season and Arsenal have won all three so far, including twice at Anfield. That record suggests that the Gunners have got Liverpool’s number and, while we’re unlikely to see a repeat of the cup goalfests, we’d much rather be backing them over Liverpool, and doubling up on Newcastle at 5/6 who look a shoe-in to beat Man City. City were lucky to escape with a draw against Chelsea and were then fortunate to come up against a Boro side resting key players ahead of FA Cup commitments, and they won’t find Newcastle so generous. The Arsenal – Newcastle double pays £146.67 for a £25 stake at the current bet365 prices.

It’s hard to see either Watford or Blackburn getting a result against Chelsea (1/3) and Man United (3/10) respectively and that’s reflected in the match odds, but there’s still some value to be had in bet365's double result market, where you can get odds of just over 9/4 by backing both Chelsea and United to be ahead at half time and full time – that’s a nice little earner!

In other games, Charlton (11/10) can put further pressure on Sheffield United (just four points above them and with a stiff task away at Bolton on Saturday) by beating Wigan, while Fulham (6/5) are also worth backing with home advantage against a Pompey side who have been frankly rubbish in 2007. At those odds, we’re also going to get a decent return on our Premiership acca (including Arsenal, Newcastle, Chelsea and Man United), especially as bet365 will boost our returns by a tidy 20% (£563.76 for a tenner!).

Tottenham play Reading on Sunday April 1st and only a fool would be looking to back anything other than the home win at 4/6 with bet365. True, Spurs have been in-and-out at times this season, but they’ve found some form in recent weeks and they look a solid bet to beat a Reading side who have been shaky on the road.

Goals could be at a premium when Aston Villa play Everton on Monday night, so everything points to a bet on the ‘unders’ at 4/7, although bet365's 30 In-Play markets on this game looks sure to spice things up a bit.

Get lucky with your Premiership bets at bet365 this weekend!

Euro 2008 Qualifiers

It’s a hugely important weekend in sport as the Euro 2008 qualifiers resume and the Cricket World Cup moves onto the Super Eights stage.

After taking just one point of six in their autumn double header against Croatia and Macedonia the pressure is really on Steve McClaren and England this weekend as they travel to Tel-Aviv to take on an Israel side in good heart following some decent results in their qualifying campaign. England are without the services of Peter Crouch, Ashley Cole, Gary Neville and Darren Bent for this vital fixture and it may be that Championship player David Nugent plays for the Three Lions. SportingOdds are offering England at tasty odds of 3/4 for this massive match while those who fancy another blow to the McClaren reign can back Israel at 7/2.

For the other home nations it’s an equally important weekend with Wales taking on Steve Staunton’s fragile Republic Of Ireland, Scotland, under new boss Alex McLeish, host Georgia at Hampden while Northern Ireland look to keep up their qualification hopes against Liechtenstein. Ireland’s rugby team fluffed their lines in their opening match at Croke Park in the Six Nations and SportingOdds are offering odds of 4/1 that Wales pour more agony on Steve Staunton’s side as they make their Croke Park bow.

The opening week of the Cricket World Cup had just about everything! From the brilliant six sixes from Herschelle Gibbs, the infamy of the ‘Fredalo’ affair and the tragedy of Bob Woolmer’s death so let’s take stock as the Super 8 section gets ready for blast-off.

SportingOdds are offering a host of markets for you to make money on including Total Match 6’s, Mode of 1st Dismissal and Total Match Wides. As well as this our in:play markets have been hugely successful already with our clients as they’ve been enjoying betting opportunities like Runs In Next Over, Score Off 3rd Ball? and Boundary off 6th Ball? to name just three.
Another great reason to bet with SportingOdds this weekend is that we’re offering all new clients a Free £30 Bet on the event of their choice. So enjoy the weekend’s action and remember to bet at the best prices with SportingOdds.

Israel v England - Ignore the Patriotic Punt?

England are in desperate need of a win going into their Euro 2008 qualification game against Israel this weekend, but should we be having a patriotic punt on the boys at bet365's 5/6?

Well, first the good news. Wayne Rooney (9/2 first goalscorer with bet365) is fully fit and Owen Hargreaves (5/1 to score anytime) is ready for his first competitive game under the new boss. Both missed the defeat against Spain the last time England played so, with them back in the side, England certainly have the capability to take all three points.

However, given England’s poor results recently, there are surely better bets elsewhere, and their opponents should not be under-estimated. Israel impressed during World Cup qualification, in which they went unbeaten and only missed out on the finals on goal difference, and they would be on a 14-match unbeaten run but for an unfortunate 3-4 home loss to Croatia back in November. The Israeli defence looked all at sea that day, but the Croatians are full of goals - 15 in their last four games – and that certainly can’t be said of England right now. In fact, you could make a strong case for a home win at 7/2, but we’ll settle for the draw at a tasty 9/4 with bet365.

With an England win heavily favoured in the bet365 correct score market, there’s some terrific value here too. The Israelis have several attacking players in their line-up, so you can virtually count on them creating chances against England - they’ve blanked only once in their last 19 games – so the 11/2 on offer for a 1-1 stalemate represents value, but a 2-2 draw at 14/1 is no forlorn hope either.

Even better, as this game is one of bet365's ‘Big Matches’ this weekend, you could even be placing your correct score bets for free. Have a winning correct score bet in the preceding ‘Big Match’, Republic of Ireland v Wales (kick off 3.00pm), and bet365 will give you a free bet to the same stake on the England game. If this is a winner too, have another free bet, and so on. The match kicks off at 6.30pm UK time and bet365 will be betting in-play throughout on up to 30 markets.

Premiership Prophecy - United too hot for Trotters

Chelsea cut Man United’s lead in the Premiership to six points when beating Man City 1-0 in the week - prompting bet365 to cut them to 7/2 for the title (1/6 United) – but the gap is likely to be back to nine points by the time they kick off against Sheffield United on Saturday.

That’s because the Red Devils should be far too hot Bolton in the 12.45pm early kick off game on Saturday, and bet365 certainly think so too judging on their 3/10 quote on the home win. If that’s too short for you then, considering Bolton’s poor form of late, try a punt on the double result at 4/5 instead. Expect United to come out of the traps quickly to blow the Trotters away early doors. Remember, the last time these two teams met, Wayne Rooney took the match ball home, and he’s 16/1 with bet365 to score another hat-trick.

Of course, Chelsea look to have a relatively easy task too and (with just 1/6 on the home win) a punt on the bet365 correct score market could pay dividends. The Blades have been tricky opponents at Bramall Lane this season, but they’ve failed to score in losing each of three away games at top-six sides, so back Chelsea to win 2-0 and 3-1 at 5/1 and 9/1 respectively. And have a bit on the Scorecast too, especially as bet365 will refund your stake if your nominated player scores first but your correct score is a loser – Frank Lampard / Chelsea 3-0 at 22/1 will do nicely!

Things are looking pretty grim for the current bottom three teams and it’s hard to see either Watford or West Ham getting anything on the road against Tottenham (2/5 bet365) and Blackburn (8/11) respectively. However, there’s still a glimmer of hope for Charlton, who are finishing their season strongly, and they could be worth backing at 7/5 with bet365 to beat Newcastle (lost consecutive aways against Fulham and Wigan) at the Valley. That would be bad news for Man City, who must travel to Middlesbrough (19/20), and the Citizens could be a lot shorter than the current 5/1 on offer with bet365 for relegation after the weekend.

In other games, Wigan (11/10) are fancied to beat Fulham and Reading (10/11) can give their European ambitions a boost by beating Portsmouth. Talking of a boost, you can give your Premiership accas one by placing your bets with bet365 as they will add up to 60% to your winnings. This weekend, try Man United (3/10), Tottenham (2/5), Blackburn (8/11), Middlesbrough (19/20), Wigan (11/10) and Reading (10/11), which pays £294.91 for a £10 stake, including a bet365 bonus of 20%.

Get lucky with your Premiership bets at bet365 this weekend!

Cricket World Cup 2007

New Bet365 Customers - £100 Not Out

bet365 make Australia 9/4 favourites to win the cricket World Cup, but the competition looks wide open and many bet365 customers have been keen to snap up the 17/2 on England after their recent success in the Commonwealth Bank Series. The critical phase of the tournament is going to be the Super 8 stage with eight equal teams matching up against each other, and the outright winner is likely to be the team that can handle the pressure best.

Exciting stuff and, as the tournament proper doesn’t get under way until Tuesday March 13th, there’s still plenty of time to get stuck into bet365's numerous outright markets including ‘Top Batsman’ – top of their list is Ricky Ponting at 13/2 – and ‘Top Bowler’ – Monty Panesar at 40/1 anyone? Alternatively, an accumulator on all four group favourites to prevail – Australia (8/13), India (10/11), England (10/11) and West Indies (4/7) - pays out £462.59 to a £50 stake at bet365 Howzat!

However, the real betting action takes place once the first ball has been bowled as bet365 step up to the crease with up to nine ball-by-ball live markets via their In-Play Console. Fortunately, all matches in the tournament proper start at 13.30GMT so, unlike the Ashes, you won’t have to burn the midnight oil when placing your bets. New customers will even get £100 free bets to place on a market of their choice, so why place your World Cup bets anywhere else?

Free £30 Bet with SportingOdds.com

Liverpool v Man Utd

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Premiership Prophecy - Win More with Bet365

We are now at the business end of the season, and Man United are getting close to their first title in four years. A win at Anfield on Saturday will take them 12 points clear but the smart money has been on Liverpool at 8/5 with bet365, who are once again betting every Premiership game to 107% this weekend (17/10 Man United, 21/10 the Draw).

The Reds are on a real high after their victory at the Nou Camp and a 4-0 thrashing of Sheffield United. Of course, United will provide them with a stern test but you can’t pick any holes in Liverpool’s home record this season (11-3-0), while they are on course to equal last season’s fine record of just eight goals conceded at home (just three conceded so far). So it’s quite easy to make a case for a home win that would really open up the title race, especially as Chelsea (1/2 bet365) are expected to get a win at Portsmouth.

If these two games weren’t big enough, bet365 have included them as part of their ‘Big Match’ correct score free bet offer this weekend, which means that any customer with a winning correct score bet on the Liverpool-United game will be entitled to a free correct score bet (to the same stake) on the Portsmouth-Chelsea game. Yet another reason to place your Premiership bets with bet365.

At the other end of the table, a trio of away wins could stir things up in the relegation battle. Charlton look to have got the bit between their teeth and are still in with a shout of Premiership survival. That can’t be said of their opponents Watford who look to have blown their chances after taking just one point from their winnable games against Wigan and Everton. Back the Addicks at a tasty 9/5 with bet365 and at the same time have a speculative wager on an improving Wigan at a massive 11/4. Their opponents Man City have won just one of their last six Premiership home matches and they may find themselves playing second best to a team that is fighting for Premiership survival. The trio is completed by Tottenham (6/5) who have notched ten goals and three wins against much better sides than their opponents West Ham.

At those odds, it’s tempting to have an accumulator on all five of our picks, especially as bet365 will top up our winnings to the tune of 10%. A tenner acca on Liverpool (8/5), Chelsea (1/2), Charlton (9/5), Wigan (11/4) and Tottenham (6/5) pays out a juicy £990.99, including the bet365 bonus (up to 60% available for the more optimistic amongst you!).

In other games, Arsenal look way too short at 2/5 to beat Reading (13/2). They are by far the most likely winners, but their games have been coming thick and fast, while their suspensions from the Carling Cup final won’t help either. We’re not saying Reading will win, but they’re playing well enough to grab a draw and the odds are tempting too – 10/3 with bet365.

Best of luck with your Premiership bets this weekend.