SUPERETTAN ......

Only two fixtures in Sweden's second division today, but both look very interesting.

I will return to the other match later and will start with Ljungskile-IFK Norrkoping.

The visitors have been regulars in this blog and I have no wish to desert them now. The home side have little to play for, being a little too far off the main contenders.

IFK have lost only once in the last 13 and won 4 of their last 5, scoring 13 goals. Victory will take them to within one point of the playoff slot, currently held by Orebro, who are Norrkoping's next opponents, 3 points today will leave their fate firmly in their own hands.

After making such a poor start to the season, surely IFK will not things slip now, having worked so hard to get back into contention.

4 points IFK Norrkoping level ball asian line 1.99

Good Luck.

ROSENBORG ......

A win for Rosenborg tonight will take them to within a point of league leaders Brann, with a game in hand.

Norway's biggest club have the title destiny in their own hands, something that seemed very unlikely 9 rounds ago when they trailed the leaders by 10 points.

With a trip to Brann on the horizon, they would like to enter that game with an advantage.

They suffered a surprise cup defeat to Sandefjord last Thursday, but have won 6 league games in a row, if anything the loss should have given them a wake up call.

Today's opponents Odd, struggle to keep a clean sheet, just one in 14 starts and have less to play for, just a Royal League place.

RBK enjoy playing them, have won this fixture in 5 of the last 6 years, won here 5-0 last season, infact they did the double, with an 11-0 aggregate.

They are without Daniel Braaten who is suspended, but with such motivation, they should be able to overcome his absence.

4 points Rosenborg -1/4 ball asian line 1.85.

Good Luck.

MONDAY ...........

WOW ! Bet some of those Ryder Cup boys have headaches this morning, looked like they were ready for some major celebrations.

We managed a small profit last week, it was important to get back on track, so reasonably happy with that. Time to push on this week.

Today looks REALLY interesting, I am going to put up 3 selections, maybe even 4 ! Yes, I know it's Monday, but what can you do.

First post will be online at 13.00 cet.

Please check back.

Something has got to give ........

.... when Barcelona host Valencia tonight in La Liga's big game of the day.

Both sides are unbeaten. The trip should hold few fears for the visitors, who took 4 points off the Spanish and European champions last season and have not lost at the Nou Camp in 5 visits.

Valencia see theirselves as real title contenders and welcome the chance to prove their credentials. Having spent heavily in the summer, including 25m euros for Joaquin from Betis, the club are looking for a quick return on their investment. Striker David Villa is on fire and looking to add to the 3 goals he scored against the Catalan giants last season.

I feel the one goal asian line is a massive handicap for Barcelona to overcome and see little downside to the bet. A match to savour.

5 points Valencia +1 goal asian line 1.75

Good Luck.

MARSEILLE .......

..... need 3 points to rejoin Lyon at the top of Ligue 1.

They travel to bottom club Nantes, who play their first game for new coach Georges Eo.

OM have conceded only two goals this season in 6 starts, both from penalties. that is an average of 1.4 goals fewer per game than the home side.

Marseille took all 3 points in this fixture back in April and will be desperate to win today, as this will be Franck Ribery's last game, before starting a suspension. It is a good job he is such a wonderful player, as a career as a male model was never really an option.

6th win in a row for OM.

4 points Marseille -1/4 1.82 asian line.

Good Luck.

FEYENOORD .....

.... host Excelsior in the latest Rotterdam derby.

Both sides have injury problems, if Charisteas doesn't pass a late test, the home side will go with the same 11 that grinded out a 3-2 win at Veendam in midweek.

Feyenoord simply have to finish in the top 4 and a win today is seen as vital in that aim, a two goal victory will take them above the visitors and give them bragging rights as the city's top club.

Not too many recent meetings between these two but Feyenoord have won the last 3, scoring 15 goals in the process, all wins by 3 goals or more.

PROBABLE TEAMS
Feyenoord: Timmer; Tiendalli, Greene, Saidi, Bahia; Buijs, De Guzman, Lucius, Hofs; Kolkka, Van Hooijdonk (Charisteas).

Excelsior: Zwarthoed; Bandjar (Gyan), Drost, Van Nieuwstadt, Zijm; Van Dieren, Bruins, Guijo-Velasco; Slory, Simr, Steur.

4 points Feyenoord -1.5 goals 1.95 asian line.

Good Luck.

PARMA-ROMA

I really like the "over" here.

Meetings between these two always produce goals.

Eleven of the last twelve meetings have been "over", the only loser producing 2 goals. Parma have some defensive problems today.

Using the 2.25 asian goal line, this looks must bet material.

5 points over 2.25 goals Parma-Roma 1.71 asian line.

Good Luck.

It's time to be honest .....

I have a stinking hangover and want to watch the Ryder Cup.

Luckily I did all my research yesterday, going to put 4 football selections online, two are very strong bets, but write ups will be brief........ sorry.

Back in 15-20 minutes.

RYDER CUP

I still think Europe will win the Cup, but feel it could get close. For anyone wishing to trade in running. you could bet the USA at 8.4 on Betfair, with a view to trading out later.

Feel that Sergio will win, what will be his 10th match in a row, but think the odds of 1.63 are a little skinny, so only a token bet for me.

Darren Clarke, along with Garcia, has played the best golf this week and he should be able to defeat Zach Johnson, in what is sure to be an emotional match.

2 points Garcia 1.63 to beat Cink pinnacle
3 points Clarke 1.77 to beat Johnson pinnacle

I will be back shortly with my first football selection.

Good Luck.

My final selection .....

....... is going to be the "over" in the Reading-Manchester United match.

Not going to go into any great details, Steve Coppell's side like to attack, that is their forte. United will be delighted to play one of the division's lesser lights, who are prepared to play football, should be a very nice match to watch and I expect goals.

Reading have scored 62 in their last 25 home games, United 40 in their last 25 away, looks "over" to me.

4 points Reading-Manchester United over 2.25 goals 1.71 asian line.

I will have some Ryder Cup singles bets up in the morning.

Good Luck.

Tom Lehman looks a decent enough bloke .......

....... but is he mad ?

How can he put both Woods and Mickleson out again, at least he could mix up the Woods/Furyk pairing, it is obviously not working.

Think Garcia with anybody, looks a winner just now, he and Donald should beat Mickleson and Toms.

Back later.

I suspect "bubbles" will be heard around Manchester this afternoon.........

No, not Michael Jackson's pet monkey, but the sound of West Ham supporters celebrating a win.

City look very poor just now, how they managed to defeat Arsenal, remains one of life's mysteries. They have only scored that goal and the two in the 4-2 thumping by Blackburn all season.

Hammers need to get their season back on track asap. Boss Alan Pardew, admits he still does not know his best line up, but with Tevez, Mascherano, Zamora, Cole, Benayoun, Harewood etc he has a problem Stuart Pearce can only dream of.

It is hard to comprehend why Andy Cole was allowed to leave, Dickov, Corradi and Samaras do not stand comparison with the Hammers offensive options.

The Irons have had a free week to sort things out and that was sorely needed, they should look more of a team today.

I will put my final football bet online at half time during the UK football, may put a golf bet up shortly.

4 points West Ham +1/4 ball asian line 1.88.

Good Luck.

Next up .......

.... I am going to take the "over" in the Shrewsbury Town-Darlington game.

The visitors are probably the strongest side in Division 2 and favour an attacking style. They have created 115 chances this season and hit the woodwork 6 times. On the road, their games have averaged 3.0 goals and they shared 6 in a cup thriller at Reading in midweek.

Today they have very big defensive problems, so will be left with few options but to "go for it".

Town have averaged 3.3 goals in all home games and have their own defensive problems today, they definitely miss their first choice goalkeeper.

Given the circumstances, over 2.5 goals seems a stand out bet.

4 points over 2.5 goals Shrewsbury-Darlington 2.085 asian line.

Good Luck.

I think Barnet have made .....

........ significant progress this season, under Paul Fairclough.

They have been VERY unlucky to just collect one point from their last two matches, games in which they dominated for long periods.

Fairclough has targeted today's trip to Bury as a must win fixture and as such, rested most of his side for the midweek trip to Leeds.He described this as "massive" in terms of their season.

Everyone is back today and all but one of the 21 man squad are fit and available. Reports of all matches have been good this season and they have mustered 103 shots in their 9 starts. This compares very favourably with goal shy Bury, who have totalled a division low 62 attempts, only scored 7 all season and none in the last 4.

I fully expect Barnet to come away from Gigg Lane with something for their troubles.

4 points barnet +1/4 1.87 asian line.

Good Luck.

HELLO !

I am going to post 4 football bets today, first will be online at 12.00 cet.

Garcia and Olazabal have started well this morning. Some players are simply not firing, or maybe not "up" for this, may try to put a bet up for the afternoon session, if the pairings are announced in good time.

Back later.

Sergio Garcia .........

........ looked the best golfer on display Friday.

In Saturday's Fourballs he has once again been paired with Jose Maria Olazabal and they face Mickleson and di Marco.

Neither of the Americans came into the Ryder Cup in the best of shape and after 36 holes of golf, di Marco looked weary and big Phil, not the most motivated guy in the world.

In contrast the Spanish pairing look bursting with life, Sergio would play overnight, under floodlights, if that were possible.

Think the 2.16 , it may get bigger, with Betfair and Pinnacle is a very nice price, if you can bet there, the 2.25 with Corals, looks even better.

3 points Garcia/Olazabal to beat di Marco/Mickleson 2.16 +.

Good Luck.

I like the "over" in the BMG-Dortmund ....

..... game tonight.

The winner of this tie will go top of the Bundesliga, even if it is for just one night. These two usually serve up plenty of entertainment and 7 of the last 8 have finished "over".

I am paranoid that it will not be possible to post this, so am going to end it here.

Hopefully things will be back to normal tomorrow, I will get something online early in the morning.

4 points over 2.25 goals BMG-Dortmund 1.83 asian line.

Good Luck.

Regular readers ...........

..... may recall, I detailed Barnsley's defensive problems pre season.

That has certainly proved to be the case and they have been leaking goals, especially "on the road". Barnsley have given up 12 goals in just 4 starts, losing the last two by 4-2 and 5-1.
Boss Andy Ritchie, rested some players in midweek, but was still angry at their defensive errors, extra training has been the order of the day at Oakwell.

Last year, in their promotion season, they lost 9 away games, easily the worse record of the top 6 clubs. They have promised to attack tonight and that will play into the hand's of Preston, who are finding their form, are unchanged, unbeaten in 6, will go third with a win and who's biggest problem is which striker to leave on the bench.

Preston are a confident selection.

4 points Preston -1/2 1.74 asian line / 1.77 betfair.

Good Luck.

Computer problems ......

Not been able to write anything this afternoon, will shortly put up two bets.

Sorry.

Lindsay Davenport ...

... meets Amelie Mauresmo in China this morning. I covered their last match recently and have to side, yet again with the American, at a VERY big looking price on Betfair.

The earlie article can be found here .....
http://ubet2win.blogspot.com/2006/08/beware-injured-tennis-player.html

3 points Davenport 2.52 betfair.

Good Luck.

FRIDAY UPDATE .........

The Montgomerie-Harrington odds are up to 3.05 on Betfair, win or lose, serious value.

I will put a brief Tennis post online shortly, first football review will be at 14.00 cet.

Please check back.

CELTIC PAIRING TO REPEAT ............

The Ryder Cup opens with a titanic match up between, in the blue corner, the celtic twosome of Colin Montgomerie and home boy, Padraig Harrington. Verses, in the red,white and blue corner, world number 1&2, Tiger Woods and Slim Jim Furyk.

Two years ago at Oakland Hills in the opening fourballs, Monty and Harry beat Woods and Mickleson, 2&1, a win that set the tone for the rest of the Ryder Cup.

Let's get to the nitty gritty, I like the Europeans , they knew that Woods/Furyk would be paired in the opening tie and this is the match up they wanted.

In all Ryder Cup matches todate, Woods and Furyk have won 13 out of a possible 35 points (37%), Monty and Harrington 29 from 44 (66%). Why should the US pairing be big odds on ? It makes little sense to me and is based purely on reputation.

4 points Montgomerie/Harrington to beat Woods/Furyk 2.88 betfair .

Good Luck.

VEENDAM-FEYENOORD

I have to pass on a VERY strong word for Feyenoord in the Dutch Cup tonight.

No time to write a review, so you will have to decide whether or not to get involved, but they are desperate to progress. Pierre van Hooijdonk will return and is looking for goals.

I will be back online tonight to post some updated Ryder Cup information and two bets which start early tomorrow morning.

You may be able to find some 1.50 for the straight win, if so, take it. If restricted to the asian handicap, you will have to give 1.25 or 1.50 goals.

4 points Feyenoord -1.25 goals 1.68.

Back later.

Good Luck.

I have to recommend a small bet on .......

... the tennis in Kolkata, India.

The 18 yo from Belarus, Olga Poutchkova, faces veteran Australian Nicole Pratt, who is winding down a long, but hardly illustrious career.

Olga has collected 5 ITF Women's circuit titles in her short time on tour, the same number as Nicole has in 7 times longer.

Poutchkova looks set to break into the big time, has collected 3 titles this year, all on fast courts. She recently earned her first major scalp when beating Ana Ivanovic (WR 15) and won her opener here, with the loss of only one game.

Pratt struggled to defeat Sunitha Rao (WR 221) in 3 sets and the 15 years she has to give her, up and coming opponent seems too much.

3 points Poutchkova to beat Pratt 1.64 betfair.

Good Luck.

GOOD MORNING !

I have lots to pass on today, my first selection will be online in 30-45 minutes.

Please check back.

RYDER CUP 2006

The K Club, County Kildare, Ireland.

Everything favours Europe. The course has been set up to favour the European players and the greens have been made as slow as possible.

The weather certainly looks to be doing it's part, the forecast is wet and windy, with a little thunder thrown in, this morning, the winds hit 40 mph !

Most of the Europeans arrive in good form and certainly match up well with the US team, which looks to have a few weak links. Vaughn Taylor, JJ Henry, Brett Wetterich and Zach Johnson are hardly household names, even in their own homes and are hardly going to strike fear into their opponents. Several others arrive in indifferent form.

The 3 big names..... Tiger has won only 33% of his 15 pairings, losing 10, Mickleson has won just 6 of his 15 doubles, Furyk has a good singles record, but has only won one, of 11 foursome or fourball's. So in the pairs, which make up 16 of the 28 matches, the three star players have collected just 14 points out of a possible 41, around 34%. Great golfers, but are they team players ? I think not.

The simple fact is that the US side are a collection of individuals, Europe are a team. They just don't get it, in recent Ryder Cups I have heard tales of the Americans eating breakfast at 12 different tables.

I have not yet mentioned the 13th man, no, not Ian Woosnam, the non playing captain, actually he is my only concern, not sure about his man management skills, but the Irish, they will simply not let "their" men lose. 40,000 people each day, even for practice sessions, unreal.

With everything in their favour, I expect Europe to dominate the foursomes and four balls over Friday and Saturday, this has been very much the case in recent Ryder Cups. They took an 11-5 lead into Sunday two years ago and things will certainly not change under these conditions.

I am going to return to this later in the week, think it will produce some golden betting opportunities. Suggest we start with an outright bet on Europe, to my mind they should be 1.50 and they are available at 1.95 on Betfair, that is must bet material.

The fourball matches commence at 09.00 cet on Friday, will look for Europe to win that group of 4 matches and will strongly consider opposing Furyk, given his awful record, regardless of who he is paired with.

5 points Europe to win the Ryder Cup 1.95 betfair.

Good Luck.

GRETNA have come a long way in a very short time............

.... it now looks like they are finding their true level.

Their progress has been well documented in an earlier post ......
http://ubet2win.blogspot.com/2006/08/i-have-to-expect-goals-tonight.html

After winning the opening 4 games of the season, they have been hammered 4-0 at home by Dundee and held 1-1 by new league leaders, Livingston. If you add the 7-3 aggregate UEFA Cup beating by Derry City, you will see that they have lost the aura of invincibility.

Tonight they go to Edinburgh and a meeting with, bang in form Hibernian, who have been very kind to us recently. Hibs are looking for their 5th win in 6, buoyed by an impressive victory over Rangers at the weekend.

Boss Tony Mowbray has vowed to field his strongest side and has done his homework on Gretna, having them watched several times and seen them himself, on at least one occasion.

Here is some additional information ....
http://ubet2win.blogspot.com/2006/09/tony-mowbray.html

They should be capable of taking advantage of the chances that Gretna's open style of play invariably present.

4 points Hibernian -1/2 1.50 .... unibet/ bet 365 ..... 1.53 exchanges.

Good Luck.

BRENTFORD ........

Just a quick update, they have now won just once in 9 starts.

The injury situation is not getting much better, Chris Moore was sent off last night so he will be missing and the Bees boss, Leroy Rosenior, appeared to get TWO red cards. After being sent to the stands by the referee, he somehow found his way back onto the pitch, not too hard at Brentford, when it all "kicked off".

Actually they played very well in the first half and did not deserve to go in at the break one down, different story in the second half and Luton ended worthy winners. Brentford are capable of some decent football, but do not create enough chances.

If any of you come across this referee ....... CLIVE PENTON, he is useless and deserves plenty of abuse. I know it is a difficult job, but the standard of officiating in the lower leagues is terrible. He is one of the worse.

Back later.

Going to give Cagliari one more chance .....

.... today, when the host Livorno.

Cagliari had early chances to take the lead at Reggina, but wasted them, having started the season with two losses, a win is now vital.

Livorno coach, Daniele Arrigoni, is sure of a very noisy reception from the home fans, twice in charge of the Sardinian club, his second stay lasted only 90 minutes, or one game, the supporters refusing to accept him back.

Arrigoni strongly favours a squad rotation policy, rumours are that even "superstar" striker Cristiano Lucarelli, is not immune and could start on the bench. Whether that is true or not, 2-3 changes will definitely be made. These changes have already got him into trouble with the club's owner, who was very critical of the line up for the big derby game with Fiorentina last weekend.

It all turned out well, with a 1-0 win, but to be criticised so strongly, just two games into a new season, hardly augurs well for his long term future.

Hard to know where their priorities lie, with a big game against Milan at the weekend and a UEFA Cup trip next midweek, you can understand Arrigoni wanting to keep the squad fresh.

Cagliari are playing a little better than two losses would suggest, they are confident that things will come good and training has gone well this week, the team spirit remains upbeat. They took 4 points off the visitors last season and have not lost in the last 7 meetings. At -1/4 ball on the asian handicap they look a nice bet.

Late news......... it looks like the Lucarelli news is correct and number 99 starts on the bench.

4 points Cagliari -1/4 2.01 asian line.

Going to post one more bet for tonight a little later.

Good Luck.

I am very confident ........

.... that Elfsborg can put theirselves back into pole position, in the race for the Championship, when they travel to Gothenburg and a match with Hacken tonight.

With leaders AIK facing tough derby games against fellow challengers, Djurgardens and Hammarby, in the next 7 days, the team from Boras will never have a better opportunity to win their first title for 45 years.

After GAIS they have home ties with Orgryte and Oster, so 3 in a row against sides firmly entrenched in the relegation zone. The ball is definitely in their court.

Hacken look booked for Superettan, they have only won twice all season and their record at the Rambergsvallen is even worse, at home they have collected only 2 points from a possible 27.
Defensively, they are poor and have given up more goals than any other team in the division and a whopping 22 in the last 10.

Due to their dire league situation, they have to go for the win and that should play into the visitors hands. Comfortable on the road, Elfsborg remain the only unbeaten away side in Allsvenskan. They will travel with confidence, as they have "owned" this fixture in recent times, with 6 wins and 5 draws in the last 11 meetings.

The Yellow Ones should collect the points.

5 points Elfsborg -1/2 ball asian line 1.85.

Good Luck.

TEAM NEWS ...

James Keene, Jonathan Berg and Johann Gudmundsson are suspended, Mathias Östberg, Thomas Rosenqvist, Kenneth Gustavsson, Anton Holmberg, Mikael Sandklef and Johan Friberg are all injured, for GAIS today.


Thats nine players out. Keene is the top scorer and they are now left with just one striker, Edier Frejd, he has scored one goal in 47 appearances, over 3 seasons. The 3 suspended players are, arguably, the most important to the team.


A win tonight will virtually secure Halmstads Allsvenskan status and the points are there for the taking.


If you are quick there is still 2.78 available on the exchanges, anything above 2.60 is worth taking.

I will be back in 30 minutes with another post.

3 points Halmstads 2.78 betfair.

Good Luck.

WEDNESDAY ........

Good Morning !

I have lots of information to pass on today, there will be at least 3 selections and a review for something happening at the weekend, that you really should read.

First post will be online within the hour.

Please check back.

CREWE ALEXANDRA - WIGAN ATHLETIC

Both sides could probably have done without this match tonight.

Wigan's first priority will be to preserve their Premiership status, they have plenty of players unavailable tonight, but will still be able to name a strong starting line up.

Now that Crewe have recovered after a very poor start to Division 1 life, they will give everything to regain their place in the Championship. They have two very difficult away games in the next 7 days, with trips to Yeovil and Swansea.

Dario Gradi is set to rest at least two of his "superstar" teenagers, namely Nicky Maynard, Luke Varney and Michael O'Connor. There were a dozen Premiership scouts at the last Crewe game and the "buzz" surrounding these players is unbelievable at the moment.

Crewe are obviously not as effective without their stars, whatever 11 Wigan put out will be stronger.I just get the feeling that, despite whatever he may say to the contrary, Gradi will be happy to just concentrate on the league.

3 points Wigan -1/2 1.98 asian line/ betfair.

Good luck.

EVERTON UP FOR THE CUP !

The Toffeemen travel to play Peterborough in tonight's live SKY offering.

David Moyes will rest a couple of starters, but has named a strong squad and has made it very clear, that Everton are taking the Cup seriously.They have had Posh watched and are aware of the aerial threat they pose, especially from the long throw in.

Assistant boss Alan Irvine said "Our players have got to treat this as if it was just another Premiership match. The more teams who are not taking it seriously, the better the chance for those that are. We see this as a chance for us. We have had a great start and it would be a shame for that great start to be affected by a poor performance in the cup. We want to keep the momentum going by playing well and scoring goals."

The following squad was due to travel ....
Wright, Howard, Hibbert, Lescott, Weir, Naysmith, Valente, Arteta, Cahill, Osman, Carsley, Davies, van der Meyde, Beattie, Johnson, Anichebe, Hughes.

I have heard (unconfirmed) that Weir was unable to travel, but regardless, it looks a good side.Several players including Beattie, Davies and especially van der Meyde have a lot to prove and will welcome their chance on live television.

Posh have a depleted squad at present, coach Keith Alexander, would not have been able to name 16 players for Saturday's match, had he been unable to arrange two last minute loan deals. Of course they will be "up" for this match, but the class difference is great and Moyes is well aware of the pitfalls, having coached in the lower leagues.I consider that a big advantage when it comes to games like these.

5 points Everton -1/2 1.48 betfair.

Good Luck.

Pompey to continue strong start ........

Harry Redknapp is going to take the opportunity to rest a few players and to introduce some recent signings.

Andy Cole is set for his first-team debut and may be joined by Niko Kranjcar, Rodolph Douala and Manuel Fernandes.They all played for the reserves last week and will be hungry to prove what they are capable of.

They travel to play Mansfield who have lost 4 of their last 5 and were poor in the 1-0 loss to Torquay, at the weekend.

Stags boss Peter Shirtliff, was not impressed by their performance, in his post match interview he said ......
"We never really looked like scoring".
"I was disappointed by our determination and aggression in their box, which was non-existent".
"We have got a few knocks and bruises, as well as players feeling sorry for themselves and I am not interested in the Portsmouth game right now,don't know if the players are".

All things considered Pompey should have far too many options for the home team who are 83 places below them in the league structure.

4 points Portsmouth -1 goal asian line l.89

Back later.

Good Luck.