ITALY .... SERIE A .... NAPOLI - CAGLIARI

First Serie A start in 7 years for Napoli, who have made 4 big signings Lavezzi ( the new Maradonna/ Tevez ... fill in the gap) , Zalayeta, Blasi and Gargano, they will join a squad which has long been groomed for this return.

Cagliari will rely on their home form and the odd away draw to keep them in A, but have lost Suazo and Esposito up front. One of Italy's biggest clubs to start their campaign with a win and send the fans crazy.

4.5 points Napoli -1/2 ball 2.02 asian line.

Line ups ....

NAPOLI: Iezzo; Cupi, Maldonado, Contini, Garics; Hamsik, Gargano, Bogliacino, Savini; Calaiò, Lavezzi.
CAGLIARI: Fortin; Ferri, Bianco, Lopez, Del Grosso; Foggia, Parola, Conti, Biondini, Fini; Matri.

Good Luck.

SUNDAY PLANS AND A BIT OF A MOAN !

Firstly, the moan ....... I am very unhappy about Bordeaux's failure to beat Lorient, in a match where, once again, there was some very strange officiating.

The hosts twice had the lead, enjoyed 62% possession, missed a penalty and had a good looking goal disallowed. The first Lorient equaliser looked clearly offside and they then drew level in the last minute of regulation time . Sometimes you are not meant to win !

Going to cover The Barclays USPGA tournament final round, along with the football today and will definitely be posting 3-4 selections on the blog, maybe a little more. Very interesting day with a full programme in Spain and Italy ...... the new season has well and truly arrived !

Back shortly.

LIGUE 1 ... FC GIRONDINS de BORDEAUX - LORIENT

Yes, this is Ligue 1, not Ligue 2 as I called it on the email service earlier today !

I do not normally like to back teams after they have lost for us, but have to make an exception here. Bordeaux had no luck at all last week, they are playing really well and will be strengthened by the return of two key players this evening.

Lorient have posted some fantastic results, but have been fortunate to meet PSG and Lyon at exactly the right time. Man for man, they match up poorly with their hosts.

These two met at the end of last month in a friendly, with my selection winning 1-0 away from home, as they have done in 6 (one draw) of their last 7 meetings.

Teams like Bordeaux must feel that Lyon might be beatable this year and if looking to put in a challenge, fixtures like this, must be won.

4.5 points Bordeaux -1/2 ball 1.87 asian line.

Good Luck.

LEAGUE 1 ....

WALSALL - SWANSEA

Swans have been creating a fantastic number of chances, far and away the highest in the league, without getting their just reward. They defeated Walsall 2-0 in the League Cup just 11 days ago, fielding a "b" team and will be very confident in collecting maximum points today. This is possibly the best team in the division and results need to start proving that.

The asian level ball quote of circa 1.70 is a little on the low side, but is , of course, the safer option, however, I will side with the straight win.

4 points Swansea 2.50 + general quote.

Back later.

LEAGUE 1

LEAGUE 1
DONCASTER ROVERS - BOURNEMOUTH

Donny boss Sean O'Driscoll probably knows as much about the visitors as anyone currently associated with the South Coast club, having been in charge for many years. What he doesn't know can probably be filled in by the four former Bournemouth players he has signed, especially their star player James Hayter, who was there for 11 seasons and was their perennial top scorer. Having stripped the club of their best talent and with funds at his disposal that others only dream about, it will be a little embarassing if his team do not put Bournemouth to the sword today.

The visiting team have yet to score this season and are missing 3 players today. Rovers fans are raving over long time loan signing Matt Mills from Manchester City, who is the "final piece in the jigsaw", he starts and should be on the winning side today.

4.5 points Doncaster -1/2 ball 1.73 Unibet.. 1.74 + exchanges OR -3/4 ball 1.9o asian line.

Back later.

LEAGUE 2 ...............

BRADFORD CITY-WREXHAM

I have discussed before how sometimes you can get excellent training reports about teams, things suddenly just click and the whole mood at the club changes and is uplifted. Things have gone very well for Bradford this week and they are very motivated for the win today.

Another huge crowd is expected, over 14,000 (!) turned up for their opener, remember, this is the 4th level of English football and without another home start for 3 weeks, victory is seen as vital. They have gone behind early in each league start todate, so might start a little cautiously, but have been creating a lot of chances ( averaging 15 per game) .Home win.

4.5 points Bradford -1/2 ball 2.14 asian line.

Good Luck.

SCOTTISH DIVISION 1 .... CLYDE - ST JOHNSTONE

Saints have started with 3 draws, but surely today, it is time to return to winning ways.

Clyde are in a mess, have lost all their 3 starts conceding 9 goals and were lucky to only lose 4-0 against Partick last week and St Johnstone are a much stronger team than PT. The hosts are missing several players and because of financial problems have had to sell and replace them with youngsters. Boys against men never works.

4.5 points St Johnstone -1/2 ball 1.83 asian line.

Back shortly.

FRANCE LIGUE 2 ....

GUINGAMP-AMIENS

Guingamp finally came good last week and we can expect them to build on that convincing win. Amiens have 3 key players missing and look weak through the centre.

4 points Guingamp -1/4 ball 1.83 asian line.

LIBOURNE- CLERMONT

Hosts are an attacking side, freely scoring and conceding, they tried a more defensive formation last week and it failed miserably, back to basics and facing a team scoring goals, that are missing 4 defenders, I have to go "over".

4 points "over" 2.25 goals 1.93 asain line.

NIORT-MONTPELLIER

Niort lost just their 2nd home start in 40 last time out, but were terribly unlucky in that match, they are missing their best striker, but that is offset by the visitors loss of their starting goalkeeper. Niort back on track.

5 points Niort level ball 1.78 asian line.

Good Luck.

FRIDAY PLANS ....

Plenty to pass on today, I wrote about five selections on the email service and will cover 2-3 of them on the blog this afternoon.

I have some very strong information already for the weekend, so make sure you check the blog out regularly in the next few days.

Weymouth were unlucky yesterday and were the victims of some very strange decisions from the officials. Well on top, they were a goal up before being reduced to 10 men and conceding two quick goals, they then dominated the match and continued to do so, even with 9 players late in the game, but couldn't breaktrough . Never mind !

Back later.

BLUE SQUARE PREMIERSHIP/ CONFERENCE ..... WEYMOUTH - BURTON ALBION

After two away defeats, Weymouth will be very happy to be on home soil, where they are traditionally very strong and are desperate for a good result, especially ahead of a tough away trip to Exeter, which comes up next. They have been experimenting with the formation lately, but after looking all at sea in the loss at Stevenage, look set to return to the flat back four, which most observers feel, suits them best.

Burton are struggling, especially at the back, where they have conceded 7 in three starts, at least two in each. They have one win to their name, but even in that, they were 3-1 down with 7 minutes to play and that victory, commendable as it may seem, owed as much to their opponents stepping off the gas, as to Burton's invention. Their situation is unlikely to improve, until the treatment room empties a little, especially as it is mainly full of defenders.

I cannot see Weymouth losing this and am happy to take them with the level ball option.

5 points Weymouth level ball 1.93 asian line.

Good Luck.

THURSDAY PLANS .....

Good Morning !

Pleasing day yesterday, all four selections won, Romania, Norway and Northern Ireland covered their handicaps easily enough and David Healy scored the first goal after just 5 minutes, which was not too long to wait !

Fairly quiet looking Thursday, but I will be putting one selection online later this morning and might have another, much later in the day.

Please check back.

FINALLY !

John Isner finally got around to defeating Benjamin Becker ( see below) , but it took 3 days, due to the weather. Later today, fingers crossed, he is due to meet David Ferrer, who beat a tired looking Isner last week.

I cannot put him up as a bet, it is too late now, but his odds of circa 2.68 do look big, about a hungry young player.

Good Luck.

EURO 2008 QUALIFIER .....

NORTHERN IRELAND - LIECHTENSTEIN

Huge game for the Irish, it is Nigel Worthington's first match in charge and following wins over Spain and Sweden, he will want to carry on the good work of his predecessor. A win will take them above Spain and into second place in the group, a fantastic achievement. They are very motivated and know how important this match is.

N.I won the reverse fixture 4-1, with David Healey notching a hat-trick, he is the top scorer in qualifying and has 29 goals in 56 International appearances. Healey has made a fine start to life at his new club Fulham, with two goals in three Premiership starts. Even at short odds, he looks the only likely first goalscorer and with bookmakers now offering place terms for the first 4 goals, looks a bet to nothing, in a match the home side could run away with, if they get an early goal.

4 points Northern Ireland -1.75 goals 1.84 asian line.
1.5 points each way Healey to score the first goal 3.75 + 1/3 odds 1234 general .

Good Luck.

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY .... NORWAY - ARGENTINA

Argentina are not too happy about this fixture, which they see as poorly timed. They have none of their South American based players, several of the bigger european based stars are missing and almost all of the rest, have yet to start their domestic leagues. Which, following on from the Copa America and late returns from vacation, leaves them with a real fitness disadvantage.

Norway are bound to be up for this and have a strong record against SA sides. Both sides are likely to set up with identical formations and could easily cancel each other out.

4.5 points Norway +3/4 ball asian line 1.76.


ARGENTINA likely starting line up Oscar Ustari, Javier Zanetti, Nicolas Burdisso, Ezequiel Garay, Gabriel Milito, Javier Mascherano, Luis Gonzales, Maximiliano Rodriguez, Diego Milito, Lionel Messi, Ezequiel Lavezzi.

Back shortly.

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY ....

ROMANIA - TURKEY

I can never back Turkey in friendly matches, they are a talented team, but always seem to be experimenting, which, after all, is what tehse games are for, or seemingly not trying. They have named a fairly strong squad for this fixture, but look a little weak in midfield and with Besiktas ( almost entire defence) and Fenerbache both facing huge and finely balanced, Champions League ties next week, surely they will have asked for an easy time for their players.

That same argument is true for the home nation too of course, but I feel it is less relevant, when on home soil. Romania have a fine record to protect too, not having lost a home game since early 2005 and climbing 16 FIFA ranking places in that time.

Can realistically only see 1X in this game and with the -1/4 line, only one side to play.

5 points Romania -1/4 ball 1.83 asian line.

Good Luck.

THE MISSING DAY !

Blogger was down almost all of yesterday, which meant it was impossible to post anything online. Very frustrating.

Guess that if I could have picked a day this week for it to happen, that would have been the one, with limited sporting action, so in that respect, it was lucky. Just hope that there are no further repeats.

Anyway, fingers crossed that everything is fine today and I will be back later, with the first of three selections.

Good Luck.

BLUE SQUARE PREMIER / CONFERENCE ... EXETER CITY- YORK CITY

Hosts are 100% so far, with two fairly convincing wins over divisional lesser lights, Crawley and Altrincham. Despite which, on paper at least, they look weaker than last season, when they lost out in the play-off final at Wembley. Several players left to join Torquay in the Summer and they are without 3-4 tonight.

York have lost both starts, but must be feeling a little hard done by. They outplayed Cambridge for long periods in their opener, battering the goal without much success, lost concentration for 5 minutes and lost. Exactly the same thing happened last time out, at Burton, 3-1 up with 7 minutes to go, they contrived to find a way to lose ! They have been read the riot act over this and I expect a far more focused showing this evening, they are unbeaten in 4 trips west, with 3 wins to their name, taking the half ball handicap, they look a decent bet.

4.5 points York +1/2 ball 1.97 asian line.

Good Luck.

ONE FOR THE NOTEBOOK ....

I have been reading much about a 15 yo Serbian tennis player, Filip Krajinovic, who is supposedly, "the real deal".

Brad Gilbert for one, will tell anybody that will listen just how good he is and Andy Murray's coach is a very good tipster. Understand that Krajinovic is head and shoulders above everyone else at the Bollettieri training camp/school and already being dubbed the new Djokovic. Long way to go to live up to that, but fun to follow his progress.

Good Luck.

ATP TENNIS .... NEW HAVEN ... JOHN ISNER - BENJAMIN BECKER

John Isner is the latest tennis giant ( 6'9'' 205cm ... that is from his bio, think he is taller !) , with a really massive serve on the scene. Unknown three weeks ago, he won a future, followed by a challenger and then, the very next week, made the final in Washington. Taking the scalps of Henman, Becker, Haas, Monfils, before losing to Roddick . He served an incredible 144 aces in his 6 matches, including 30 against his opponent today, in what is , obviously, their only meeting to date.

Becker, is not in the best of form and has lost in the first round of his last 5 tournaments and in 8 of the last 10, 12 of his last 17. Infact, he has won just 7 of his last 23 matches.

Isner has had a weeks rest and should be ready ro resume his meteoric rise into the top 100.

4.5 points Isner to beat Becker 1.699 Pinnacle // similar should be available on the exchanges.

I will be back later with some football news.

FINLAND ... TAMPERE UNITED - TURKU TPS

Second and third in the table meet. Tampere are 6-1-0 at home and have dominated this fixture in recent years, winning 4 of the last 5 at home and with an 11-3-0 record home and away.

Having gone 5 away starts unbeaten at the beginning of the season, Turku have lost their last two, conceding 6 goals.

4.5 points Tampere -1/4 ball 1.74 asian line.

Good Luck.

FRANCE LIGUE 1 ....

MARSEILLE - NANCY LORRAINE

A little like Manchester United, Marseille really need this win.

They will be boosted by the return of playmaker Samir Nasri and the fact that Lyon slipped up yesterday.OM added to their options by signing a striker this week.

If Nancy allow their hosts the same space they conceded to Nice last week( see above), this will end in tears. Last two meetings here 2-1 , 6-0.

5 points Marseille -1/2 ball 1.89 asian line.

Back Later.

FRANCE.... LIGUE 1....

NICE - STADE RENNES

Rennes without Pagis and Mensah ( key defender). Nice very strong at home, unbeaten in 10 starts, going back to January. They were very unlucky to lose at Nancy last week, where they had 59% possession and 16 attempts on goal, big totals for an away team in France.

H2h wise 3-1-0 .

6 points Nice level ball 1.80 asian line.


Back shortly.

FATHER AND SON ... SIR ALEX AND DARREN ..

PREMIERSHIP .... MANCHESTER CITY - MANCHESTER UNITED

I know this is a derby and United are without Rooney and Ronaldo, BUT they cannot afford to fall any further behind in the title race and have not been playing badly. They enjoyed 73% possession and 25 attempts on goal in their opener with Reading and 58% and 21 attempts against Portsmouth, so not too much wrong. City have beaten West Ham ( played well) and Derby County, who could have lost by 8 at Spurs yesterday, let's not get too carried away yet. Sir Aex will be very motivated for this, not being Sven's biggest fan.

4.5 points Man United -1/2 ball 2.00 asian line.

UPDATE ... HARGREAVES PLAYS !

DIVISION 2 .... ROTHERHAM - PETERBOROUGH

The visitors have started the season well, looking what they are, favourites to win this division. Having played on Monday, they have had a full 3 days extra rest, Rotherham played a televised local derby with Sheffield Wednesday on thursday and looked out on their feet at the end, very tired. They are without 3 players today.

6 points Peterborough level ball asian line 1.80.

Good Luck.

US PGA GOLF ..... WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP

I do not normally like to back golfers the day after they have shot a very score, but have to make an exception today.

Billy Mayfair posted a 64 yesterday, including a hole in one. However, he is one of the strongest round 4 players on tour, ranking 11,20 and 28 in the last 3 years. He is paired with Anders Hansen who is ranked 149 this year, 138 places and an average of 2.44 strokes per round less than Mayfair.

Leader Jeff Overton looked a little nervous towards the end of his round yesterday and despite holding a 3 stroke lead, I am not sure that he is quite ready to win yet.

5 points Mayfair to beat Hansen 1.952 Pinnacle.
1 point Mayfair 12.5 outright Betfair.

Good Luck.

BUNDESLIGA ..... WERDER BREMEN - BAYERN MUNICH

Feel that Bayern are going to win the Bundesliga at a trot this season and will want to put all the "upstarts" in their place, last season really hurt the men from Munich and they can make a start with victory at Bremen, who have a host of problems. Frings, Borowski, Wome and Fritz, plus two key replacements are missing, leaving them very weak on either side of the defence and messrs Klose, Toni and especially Ribery, could have a field day. These two met in the cup just 4 weeks ago, with Bayern winning 4-1 , something similar is not impossible.

6 points Bayern Munich -1/4 ball 1.83 asian line.

Good Luck.

PREMIERSHIP ..... READING - EVERTON

The visitors could hardly have started the season any better and are meeting Reading at the perfect time. As the home team have had two very tough games with Chelsea and Manchester United in the last 6 days and are without 6-7 players, at least 4 of whom, would have started.

David Moyes has been very busy in the transfer market this week and the players are aware that they are all playing for starting positions, now that there is some real competition for places at Goodison.

5 points Everton +1/4 ball 1.74 asian line.

Good Luck.

DIVISION 2 ....

DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE- WYCOMBE WANDERERS

Going to chance a little on the visitors. The Daggers are still struggling to come to terms with league life and player for player, do not match up well with Wycombe, who have received a massive boost with the return of top striker Jermaine Easter.

4 points Wycombe level ball 2.22 asian line.

Back shortly.

SPL ... HEARTS - GRETNA

Huge boost for Hearts, with the return of playmaker and key player, Laryea Kingston. They simply cannot afford to lose another home start, after the loss to rivals Hibernian in their opener, the locals ( this is a sell out) would not stand for that. Gretna still have problems both defensively and off the pitch.

5 points Hearts -1.25 balls 2.03 asian line.

Good Luck.

SATURDAY ....... WHAT'S HAPPENING !

There are eight "active" selections for this weekend on the email service and I will be putting 3-4 of them on the blog today. Exactly how many, depends upon how the lines move throughout the day. It is pointless posting selections after the value has gone.

I have received lots of messages of support from readers this week and for that, I thank you, it is much appreciated. There was a theme running through several of them, which were along the lines of "I would like to subscribe to the email service, but my stakes are too small to justify it". Which is a good point, but probably not entirely valid, as, over a period of time, it should pay for itself many times over.

In the past 7 days, 19 of the 26 football selections have won, which is a fantastic return for a service which costs less than £1.50 per day. Nothing is guaranteed in life and certainly not gambling, but this offers fantastic value for money.

That concludes the "sales pitch" for today, I will be back shortly with the first selection for today's exciting action.

Good Luck.

FRENCH LIGUE 2 .... CLERMONT FOOT - STADE BRESTOIS

Following promotion, Clermont have taken time to get going in Ligue 2, but have finally rediscovered what they do best .... attack, in the last 7 days. They have notched 5 goals in two away games , two at divisional favourites Nantes and three, without reply, at Creteil in the cup.

Last year they scored 76, 15+ more than any of their rivals and if playing with the same flair this evening, should be capable of beating a Brest team that is strong at home, but only recorded 6 wins in 42 starts on the road.

5 points Clermont level ball 1.70 asian line.

Good Luck.

FRENCH LIGUE 2 ....

CHATEAUROUX - LIBOURNE

I like the "over" 2 goal line here. The visitors look to have goals in them, all 3 league starts have been "over",at an average of 3.67 and they even conceded 2 at home in midweek to lower league opposition in the cup.

Chateauroux look defensively frail this season and are already at the foot of the table, they will, no doubt, have targeted this as a must win fixture. The hosts have scored and conceded in their last two and this looks set to become an open encounter, with both looking for maximum points.

4.5 points "over" 2 goals 1.73 asian line.

Back shortly.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON ....

I sent out two emails today, covering three football and one tennis match taking place this evening and two weekend selections.

Will put at least two of these online later this afternoon and there will be a lot on the blog over the weekend, the UK football in particular, looks very interesting.

All three of yesterday's selections won, albeit at skinny odds, but they all count. Not the best of luck on Wednesday, when Steaua conceded a very late equaliser and Bordeaux's match was turned on it's head when they were reduced to 10 men, with 70 minutes still to play. They were 1-0 up and well on top at the time and Le Mans managed just one attempt on goal in the opening 45 minutes, but "all change" after the break.

Back later.

UEFA CUP ...... AUSTRIA VIENNA - FK JABLONEC

I have received a very negative word for the Czech side, who are in poor shape and appear more than a little disorganised. They created almost nothing against a team playing for 70 minutes of the game with 10 men on Sunday and have yet to register a goal in two league starts.

The hosts are unbeaten in 6 starts and proved their well being with a 6-1 thumping of Wacker on Friday evening, giving them two extra day's rest, which, in addition to the lack of travelling, gives them a distinct advantage. Home win.

5 points Austria Vienna -1/2 ball 1.63 Exchanges.

Good Luck.

UEFA CUP ..... MYPA - BLACKBURN ROVERS

Mark Hughes is fully committed to this european campaign and will field a strong line up, minus the still recovering, Benni McCarthy. I covered Rovers in depth in my Premiership review, so no need to go into details, they are a side I like a lot and are very resilient.

Mypa are in poor form and their coach resigned after their last game, a 3-0 home loss to Haka, they are without the suspended Fofana. The visitors are several classes above and should win this comfortably.

6 points Blackburn 1.45 exchanges/ Interwetten.

Good Luck.

US TENNIS .... CINCINNATI ..... SAM QUERREY - JUAN MONACO

The big serving American has to be the choice on his favoured hardcourts, where he has played 75% of his matches and is 9-2 in the last 3 weeks, with some notable scalps.

Monaco is basically a claycourter and has played just 20% of his matches on this surface, where he is 23-25. The two met in Estoril this spring, when Querrey was trying to learn how to play on dirt and promisingly for today, our man took a set. Today the advantages are all with him and he should gain his revenge.

4.5 points Querrey to beat Monaco 1.769 Pinnacle Sports.

Back shortly.