|
o |
Welcome to Better Bet Football Blog..
Betterbet
are
offering a free
25 pound (GBP) bet if you sign up this week!
Click here for more
info or ring
08000 898887
We update our
Football blog
daily with Football betting odds and
tips,
Football news
and info on
Football Matches and Football Player info and
online Football
betting.
We have included several Betterbet
RSS feeds
and and
RSS Football News Feed for you.
They provide you
with an excellent FREE source of
online betting information
(See
betterbet Links in the RH margin).
Football
News on Saturday, September 30, 2006
Liverpool to see off Bolton
Premiership action dominates Saturday as always and the lunchtime encounter between Bolton and Liverpool should ignite a day of intriguing clashes all over the country.
The Trotters confounded many pundits - ourselves included - when they carved out a 1-0 win at Portsmouth last Monday night through a mixture of tenacity, perseverance and downright luck.
However, classier Liverpool will be a different proposition and Rafael Benitez's men, despite almost conceding three-goal lead to Galatasaray in the Champions League in midweek, should have enough in their make-up to get a narrow win.
Later in the day bottom side Sheffield United welcome Middlesbrough and although this game may not be the most attractive of fixtures for the football purist, already it is shaping up to be a crucial encounter.
The Blades have found the top flight a struggle but we have the feeling that United can grab their first league win of the season against the unconvincing Teessiders and kick-start their Premiership campaign.
We will take Bet Direct's 10/11 for a Liverpool away win and double it up with the Blades to triumph at 7/5 at home.
Football
News on Friday, September 29, 2006
Silvestre faces six-week lay-off
Silvestre signed a new contract with United last month Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre will be out for six weeks with a broken metatarsal. The 29-year-old France international picked up the foot injury in the Premiership defeat to Arsenal earlier this month. "His injury was a little bit more serious than we thought at the beginning," said United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz. United do have other left-back options in Gabriel Heinze and Patrice Evra. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson is also currently without Ryan Giggs, who is still a fortnight away from fitness.
Football
News on Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Chelsea and Liverpool in Champions League double
Champions League match day two and Wednesday's English interest lies with Liverpool and Chelsea. The Anfield men welcome Galatasaray while Chelsea travel to Levski Sofia and we will tip a double on these two fixtures.
The ever-changing Reds save some of their best performances for the European stage and manager Rafael Benitez will change his side, incredibly, for the 94th time as Liverpool aim to build on their opening draw in Eindhoven.
The Koppites have almost a full-strength squad to choose from and with enough quality strikers at his disposal, the home side should be good enough to grab all three points.
Levski are the first Bulgarian club to feature in the group stages of Europe's elite club competition but were handed a harsh Champions League lesson when they were thrashed 5-0 by Barca in their opening Group A game.
And Chelsea, despite struggling to play the type of football their huge wage bill might demand, will also be too strong for the home side Bet Direct will give you 5/6 for the Scousers to be winning at half-time and full-time and 10/3 for a draw half-time/Chelsea full-time. We will go with that double - why don't you join us?
Football
News on Monday, September 25, 2006
Carry on Harry
Manchester United could only force a draw at Reading on Saturday which will give Portsmouth encouragement when they take on Bolton at Fratton Park tonight.
Pompey can go back top of the Premiership with a win over the Trotters and who would bet against them in this remarkable run of form they are in.
Harry Redknapp's side must fancy their chances in this fixture which will see the two managers implicated in the recent Panorama 'Bungs' programme - Redknapp and Sam Allardyce - in the opposite dugouts.
The south coast side, with David James and Sol Campbell in fine form, have yet to concede a league goal while Bolton have still to win away this season. Those kind of statistics, which point to an inevitable Pompey win, are always liable to come back to haunt but not on this occasion.
Bet Direct will gives you even money for the home win which will have us investing on Harry's men continuing their recent and remarkable run of form.
Football
News on Sunday, September 24, 2006
Resurgent Everton to collect at St James
Sunday's live televised game sees resurgent Everton make the trip from north west to the north east and the delights of Newcastle.
The Goodison Park side are in impressive form this season, unbeaten in five league games and sitting in fourth place. Heady days indeed. And despite a poor record at St James' Park over the years, Davie Moyes' men will be confident of keeping their fine run going and so they should be with red-hot Andy Johnson ripping up the division.
The former Crystal Palace striker has made a dream start to his career on Merseyside with five goals in as many games and Bet Direct are offering 6/1 for the Bald Eagle to be first goalscorer against a leaky Toon defence. We like to go with form and so we will have a few quid on the Everton hit-man getting his side off to a good start at St James and the 9/4 for the away win might tempt us some more.
Football
News on Saturday, September 23, 2006
Reading to struggle against Man U
Probably one of the strangest looking fixtures the Premiership has ever seen occurs when Reading entertain Manchester United at the Madejski Stadium.
The hosts recovered from being two two goals down to beat Middlesbrough on the opening day before seeing off Manchester City in their last game at home which suggests they could be a formidable outfit on their own patch.
However, we have to temper that optimism by pointing out that the Royals haven't faced anyone of United's quality yet.
The Old Trafford side were surprisingly beaten - and indeed outplayed - by Arsenal last Sunday and so Sir Alex Ferguson's men will be determined to bounce back immediately and rekindle their title aspirations.
We reckon Reading will put up a decent display in the first half before succumbing to the power, pace and ability of the visitors after the break.
On that basis, our stake money will be on Bet Direct's 3/1 for the draw/Man Utd.
Babayaro hit with three-match ban
Babayaro clashed with Kuyt at Anfield Newcastle's Celestine Babayaro has admitted to a Football Association charge of violent conduct after a clash with Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt. Babayaro, 28, appeared to catch Kuyt with his arm during the Magpies' 2-0 defeat at Anfield on Wednesday and he will now serve a three-match ban. According to the new Fast Track procedure for such cases, Babayaro was offered a three-match ban and accepted. The incident was not seen by match officials but was caught on video.
Football
News on Friday, September 22, 2006
Preston to have too much class
Friday night's football sees Preston welcome Barnsley in the Championship in a game in which we think the home side can confirm their title aspirations.
The Lancashire side ground out a 1-1 draw at Derby last week and find themselves only four points off the top of the table.
Mid-table Barnsley have won twice on their travels this season but manager Andy Ritchie could not hide his disappointment after seeing his side dumped out of the Carling Cup by MK Dons.
Ritchie had made nine changes from the previous league win over Wolves but could find it tough to regain that form at the drop of a hat and the fact that he has complained about the six games his side will play in the month of September, sends out all the wrong signals.
We reckon Preston will have too much class for the Yorkshire side and will have a few shillings on Bet Direct's 11/2 for the home side to win 2-0 with a side bet at 10/1 for 3-0.
Football
News on Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Our six team Wednesday accumalator
Wednesday night offers an interesting mix of Premiership, Carling Cup, and CIS Insurance Cup matches from north and south of the border.
Given that there are so many red hot favourites in most of the games, for the first time this season we are going to go for an accumulator across all three competitions.
In the Premiership Liverpool host Newcastle United who, it must be remembered, have a terrible record at Anfield.
The Koppites went down narrowly to Chelsea at the weekend while the Toon notched up a rare win the in the capital against West Ham.
But we will take Liverpool to scrape through this game at 1-2 with Bet Direct and will add that to Carling Cup matches involving Manchester City, Derby and Aston Villa.
Bet Direct is posting City at 4/7 to beat Chesterfield away, the Rams are 6/4 to win at Doncaster and Martin O'Neill's Villa to beat Scunthorpe in Yorkshire are priced at 4/9 - all of them should come through.
In Scotland, Hearts will take care of Alloa away with ease at 1/5 while their Edinburgh rivals Hibernian, fresh from a fine win over Rangers on Sunday, are 8/15 to see off Gretna at home and we see no problem there.
Tipping so many teams is not usually our style. However, barring some unlikely shock results around the country - and of course, aren't all shock results unlikely - this six-team accumulator should pay dividends.
Football
News on Monday, September 18, 2006
Oxford to see off Crawley
Monday night sees Conference Football getting a chance to show its wares on television with the match between Crawley Town and Oxford United.
The U's are unbeaten at the top of the table after nine games but lost their 100% home record with a 1-1 draw with Grays Athletic on Saturday.
Second bottom Crawley, on the other hand, are languishing in second bottom with only two league victories to their name all season.
And such is their financial state, they continue to operate under the threat of extinction.
To add to their woes, they were hammered 3-1 by Southport and can't look forward to such another difficult game within 48 hours.
Bet Direct has Crawley priced up at 3/1 for the home win while Oxford are a more stingy 4/5 but even at those short odds, we thing it's easy money taking the visitors to leave with the three points.
Football
News on Sunday, September 17, 2006
Home win at Theatre of Dreams on super Sunday
The strange sight of Portsmouth at the top of the Premiership will undoubtedly raise a few eyebrows but realistically England's big four teams are in action this afternoon.
Chelsea take on Liverpool at Stamford Bridge with perhaps as many people looking to see if rival bosses Jose Mourinho an Rafael Benitez shake hands at the end of the game as the preceding 90 minutes.
Both sides are packed with quality and arguments can be made for each but Bet Direct are showing 21/10 for the draw which we think is fair odds between two teams who often share the spoils.
The focus will then turn north to Manchester United who take on Arsenal at Old Trafford where another pair of cantankerous overlords, Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, try and get one-up on each other.
The Red Devils are off to an unusually good start to their Premiership campaign while the Gunners languish well off the pace even at this early stage of the season.
And to be honest, we can't see Wenger's side getting much respite in the newly-expanded Theatre of Dreams.
We take United to win this game comfortably and will take Bet Direct's 9/5 for the home side to be winning at the interval and when the whistle goes after 90 minutes.
Football
News on Saturday, September 16, 2006
Villa / Pompey Saturday double
Saturday's televised double-header encourages us to tip an away win double with Portsmouth our first bet when they travel to Charlton for their lunch-time kick-off.
The Londoners, with only one league win to their name all season, are hampered by numerous injuries and have yet to find their top form.
On the other hand, Pompey, yet to concede a goal in four matches, can go top of the table with their fourth win of the season and we think they are outstanding value with Bet Direct of 8/5 for the away win.
Struggling Watford take on Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa with the mercurial Irishman's rejuvenation of the midland side the talk of football at the moment.
Like most new managers, O'Neill is benefiting from a set of players desperate to impress and we will cash in on this new lease of life while we can.
Villa came close to beating West Ham at Upton Park last Sunday but - with the prospect of Milan Baros returning after injury - we expect them to have no such problems with the Hornets who are looking for their first win of the season.
Bet Direct will offer 6/4 for Villa which we will add to our Pompey bet for a double we reckon will come up trumps.
Beckham reveals England heartache
Beckham believes he could still do a job for England David Beckham says he has a "burning desire" to prove new England coach Steve McClaren wrong after being dropped from the national team. "I know people said I should have seen it coming, but it was a total shock," said the former England captain, 31. "It's a terrible feeling not playing for England after 10 years, but I'm not bitter - more disappointed and hurt." Beckham told the Daily Mirror: "He has made a decision, but I've got a burning desire to prove him wrong." The Real Madrid star revealed McClaren had told him "you are one of the casualties" when he took over from Sven-Goran Eriksson following England's disappointing World Cup campaign in Germany. I'd love to say I'll reach 100 caps and go beyond that, but I wouldn't tell anyone to bet on it David Beckham He added: "It's hard to take when the reasoning behind it was to move on but, I still believe I have got two or three more good years left in me. "I thought I could move on with the team and not get left behind. "I heard there were some reports that I had begged and pleaded with him not to do it. "Well, obviously I was upset but nothing like that happened. I was upset but I am a man and I would never crawl to someone to pick me for the team." Beckham, capped 94 times by England, said he will always "be available" to play for his country. "I didn't announce my international retirement because I want to play for England again," he said. "I still want to reach that milestone of playing for England 100 times and help them win the European Championship. "It's a target I set myself a long time ago and I won't give up now." Beckham added: "I want to fight my way back in. Steve McClaren says the door is still open. I'm not so sure. "I'd love to say I'll play for England again in the future. I'd love to say I'll reach 100 caps and go beyond that, but I wouldn't tell anyone to bet on it."
Football
News on Tuesday, September 12, 2006
United to triumph in Battle Of Britain
Ironically, the biggest game in Europe this week - as far we are concerned - is the Battle of Britain between Manchester United and Celtic at Old Trafford.
These two clubs have met on numerous occasions over the years but this is the first competitve match between the English and Scottish Champions and what an encounter it promises to be in front of around 75,000 fans.
The visitors have recently added real quality to their squad in the shape of Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Danish midfielder Thomas Gravesen and travel south as current SPL leaders.
However, United have started the season on fire and although the mercurial Christiano Ronaldo is suspended, Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes are set to return.
We think the Red Devils will be just too strong for the Hoops although we tip the Scots to nick a goal at some stage.
Bet Direct's 8/1 for United to win 2-1 is tempting as is 9/1 for a 3-1 scoreline. We may hedge our best and have a bit of both.
Football
News on Monday, September 11, 2006
Reading for Monday night home win
Monday night's football has Reading making their Premiership debut on live television when they take on Manchester City at the Medejski.
A whole new set of football fans will be seeing the Royals for the first time and they will be looking to make a good impression but, as in most league fixtures this season, Steve Coppell's men will have to be at their best to take three points.
Former Liverpool star Dietmar Hamann is set to make his City debut in midfield however, the Eastlands club have several absentees through injury and suspension which should give the Premiership new boys plenty of heart.
Reading have three valuable points on the board already. An opening-day win over Middlesbrough was followed by narrow defeats at Aston Villa and Wigan before the international break but Steve Coppell knows his men need to win a good proportion of their home games to ensure survival.
However, that match against Boro, which was won after coming back from a two-goal deficit, should offer the right encouragement and we suggest you take the 6/4 Bet Direct will give you for a Reading win.
Football
News on Sunday, September 10, 2006
Villa to be sent home crying by Argentinian West Ham
All eyes will be on the Hammers' new signings Carlos Tees and Javier Mastering when Aston Villa come calling to Upton Park.
The two Argentineans who are the talk of English football at the moment.
God knows why they opted for Upton Park rather than some of the more glamorous clubs in the Premiership but nonetheless they are in east London and certain to play some part against Martin O'Neill's side.
The enigmatic Irishman seems to have rejuvenated Villa who could have Stalin Petrol making his debut in the midfield after signing from Celtic.
A draw at Arsenal on the first day of the season was an optimistic sign for the mainlanders who usually give value for money on their travels.
However, we think West Ham will be carried away on a tide of Argentinean passion and we take them to get all three points. Bet Direct will give 11/10 for the home win which seems generous enough.
Football
News on Saturday, September 09, 2006
United to claim their Spurs
Saturday offers two of the most attractive and exciting fixtures of the season when Everton take on Liverpool at Goodison and Manchester United welcome Tottenham to the revamped Old Trafford.
The Scousers' local dispute is always worth watching but it could be too early in the season to sort the bragging rights out which leads us to think the draw is the most likely outcome.
Bet Direct will give you 19/10 for the draw and if you are feeling brave this weekend - and we are - then you can double it up with the later game in Manchester.
Signs are that Sir Alex Ferguson is getting his side together just in time for their Champions League campaign which starts next week against Celtic at home.
Tottenham's record at Old Trafford is abysmal and even this early in the season they are having to field a weakened side through injury.
New signing Steed Malbranque has undergone a hernia operation which will sideline him for two months.
The player himself opted for the operation following his £2m move from Fulham last week, just what those war-weary Spurs fans wanted to hear.
On the other hand, United are growing in strength. Striker Alan Smith has come through three reserve outings as he recovers from the broken leg he suffered during last season's FA Cup defeat at Liverpool.
With all this in mind, we think United could stroll this game and will take Bet Direct's 6/5 to be winning at half-time and full-time.
Football
News on Thursday, September 07, 2006
Smith hoping for Man Utd return
I am just itching to get involved again Manchester United's Alan Smith Manchester United's Alan Smith says he is ready to return as a substitute against Spurs on Saturday after nearly seven months out with a broken leg. The 25-year-old broke his leg on 18 February, but has now come through three appearances for the reserves. Smith was originally expected to be out of action for the whole of 2006. "If the gaffer were to ask me if I'd be ready for the bench against Spurs, I'd say 'yes' without hesitation," Smith told the Manchester Evening News. Smith said he hoped to be involved in the near future even if United boss Sir Alex Ferguson decided against including him on the bench at the weekend. "Ninety minutes of Premiership football would be very difficult at the moment but to come on as a substitute would be no problem," added Smith. "If you are playing at Old Trafford, you get that adrenaline rush and that would see you through. "If it is not this weekend then we have the Champions League starting next week against Celtic and, with seven allowed on the bench, then there might be a chance." Smith is desperate to make up for his lengthy spell on the sidelines, with his face becoming a familiar sight in the Old Trafford stands. "I am fed up of watching," he told MUTV. "I am just itching to get involved again. I have had to put the reins on myself a little bit but overall I can't wait."
Rovers to see off City
League One football follows the midweek internationals which took place all over Europe and Friday night's fixture brings together Tranmere Rovers and Bristol City.
Both sides go into the game on a high. Tranmere thrashed Leyton Orient 3-0 last time out while Bristol eased past Brighton 1-0. Ronnie Moore's team have moved into second place in the table but the Rovers boss is unhappy with recent attendances and is hoping to get a big crowd into Prenton Park for the visit of City.
We reckon that those home fans who come along will find their journey worthwhile because the Merseysiders should be too strong on the night.
Not only that, Rovers should be able to get their noses in front before the interval. Bet Direct will give you 11/4 for the home side to be winning at half-time and full-time.
Don't miss it.
Football
News on Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Scotland to draw - Crouch to score
A few international hammerings were handed out the weekend in the 2008 Euro Championship qualifiers but Wednesday night's games should offer more value for money.
Scotland went haywire against the Faroe Islands slamming in five goals in the first 45 minutes before going on to win 6-0, their biggest victory in a competitive game since 1969 when they beat Cyprus 8-0 at Hampden.
However, Walter Smith's side will face up to a Lithuanian side who managed to carve out a 1-1 draw with World Cup winner Italy in Naples.
Smith will revert to caution and withdraw two attackers for the trip to Kaunas and probably play Kenny Miller in a lone-striker role.
We think the Scots will do enough to get a point although how useful that will be in the long run, only time will tell.
We will take Bet Direct's 2/1 for the draw and double it up with a 9/2 bet on Peter Crouch to score the first goal when England travel to Macedonia.
Football
News on Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Germany in pole position
Germany are the 2/1 favourites to be the highest scoring team of this week's Euro 2008 qualifiers, Ladbrokes said yesterday.
Joachim Loew's side scraped a 1-0 win against the Republic of Ireland in their opening match thanks to a deflected free-kick from Lukas Podolski.
But they will be hoping to trouble the scorer more tomorrow when they travel to minnows San Marino, with the game also 2/1 to produce the most goals of the round.
Turkey, who entertain Mediterranean neighbours Malta, are 3/1 to top score with Sweden 4/1 and Israel 6/1.
England, who travel to Macedonia are 18/1 to bag the most, with the game 14/1 to provide the highest aggregate.
Football
News on Saturday, September 02, 2006
A one-sided Saturday
International football dominates the weekend and with so many one-sided matches in these 2008 European Championship qualifiers - on paper at least - the real difficulty is getting value for your money.
England are an incredible 1/80 with Bet Direct to beat Andorra at Old Trafford (ranked 132 in the world) and even Scotland are 1/9 when they take on the Faroes at Celtic Park.
Steve McClaren is without Wayne Rooney but should have Andy Johnson ready to take over up front.
However, regardless of who plays, England will win comfortably but the problem is where do we stake our cash?
We think the visitors will put up a sturdy defence of their goal before they eventually tire and crumble so on that basis, we have to take Bet Direct's even money for the second half to produce more goals than the first 45 minutes.
As a side bet, why not take 9-1 for Johnson to grab a hat-trick? The Everton player is on form and surely the chances will present themselves.
The Scots will not run up a cricket score because they simply don't have the firepower but we will have a few quid on two correct scores, 2-0 at 5/1 and 3-0 at 11/2.
Football
News on Friday, September 01, 2006
Last chance saloon for Scotland
It's the last-chance saloon for most of the Scotland under-21 when they take on France in their European Championship qualifier at Pittodrie.
A defeat in Slovenia earlier in the month means the young Scots need to beat Les Blues, and probably by few goals, if they are to have any chance of qualifying through their three-team group.
However, defeat against the French - who will surely beat Slovenia next week - will mean the end of the road for most of Archie Knox's squad who will be too old by the time the next qualification campaign begins next year.
But we don't think the Scots boys have the talent of their French counterparts - who reached the semi-finals of the European Championships last summer - so we will look to have a few quid on the visitors.
|
More misery for Steve
No FA Cup joy for Ince
Benitez shrugs off Gerrard debate
Arsenal to see off Liverpool at the Emirates
Blackburn to hold out for draw
Robins to taste Friday night FA Cup success
Stalemate at Goodison Park
Potters to cast magical spell on Coventry
Spurs to snatch a point a boost our profits
Newcastle again look vulnerable at home
|
