as great as we are, we tipsters gotta eat too

Saturday, April 19, 2008

MIDDLESBROUGH vs BOLTON (EPL)

<1.85> <3.15> <3.70>

boro have been playing well of late, grinding out impressive draws against the likes of manyoo, arsenal, and losing narrowly to chelsea. bolton, on the other hand, have had a terrible run of form, before nabbing a crucial win over a lacklustre west ham, journeyman kevin davies starring in that game. he won everything in the air, put his body on the line, and grabbed the winner to give them some hope of avoiding the drop. however, he's suspended for this match, and as such, i believe boro have enough in them to finally convert their superb form to wins, starting with this match.

- Eddy's prediction: $5 on middlesbrough @ 1.85 = $9.25

I seem to be agreeing with Eddy this week. Middlesbrough to win simply because front man for Bolton Kevin Davies is out, and Middlesbrough have the better squad and momentum.

- Roland's prediction: $10 on Middlesbrough @ 1.85 = $18.50

Friday, April 18, 2008

REAL ZARAGOZA vs RECREATIVO HUELVA (LA LIGA)

<1.75> <3.25> <4.00>

zaragoza have been suffering from an inexplicably poor run of form recently, in a season where their general form was already erratic at best. boasting the likes of diego milito, pablo aimar, alberto zapater, ayala, in their ranks, they should not be stuck in the relegation zone, 3 points behind recreativo huelva. but they are. not for long though, as i fully expect them to take maximum points in this vital clash which could decide which team goes down to the spanish segunda. they should have too much quality, plus they haven't won for the longest time. however, recreativo have the irritating knack of being the bogey team for most punters, so i'm just going to have a small punt.

- Eddy's prediction: $5 on zaragoza @ 1.75 = $8.75

WIGAN ATHLETIC vs TOTTENHAM (EPL)

<2.40> <3.20> <2.50>

tottenham have gone off the boil in recent weeks, their most recent win being a 2-0 triumph over portsmouth on 22nd March. since then, they have been whacked 4-1 by newcastle, and turned in limp displays to draw with blackburn and boro with 1-1 scorelines. their poor form could be due to the fact that they really have NOTHING to play for. they have secured their place in the uefa cup, and they're definitely not gonna get relegated. wigan also seem to have built up a nice buffer for themselves, after a crucial win over birmingham, and the amazing draw at chelsea. what i feel will decide this match is individual brilliance, and i expect berbatov to be key in this game, unlocking wigan's slow defence. however, as i mentioned before, tottenham don't have to win this game at all, so although I'm tipping them for the win, don't bet your house on it.

- Eddy's prediction: $5 on tottenham @ 2.50 = $12.50

Spurs will win this one, by the virtue of the fact that I have an 80% win rate on Asianbookie's tipster's championship and I took Spurs this weekend. Not on a big bet though.

- Roland's prediction: $5 on Tottenham @ 2.50 = $12.50

Thursday, April 17, 2008

ARSENAL v READING (EPL)

<1.22> <4.80> <9.80>

arsenal arsenal arsenal, a terrible run of form has seen them tumble out of contention for every competition they were involved in. the matches they have lost though, against liverpool, chelsea, manu, all had something in common. arsenal dominated all the exchanges, and generally deserved to draw, or even win all of them. such is their luck, that they emerged with losses at crucial moments. now that wenger has conceded the title, i fully expect him to start walcott, ahead of eboue. this would give arsenal the freshness needed to bring the fans some cheer. reading, looked very poor against fulham at the madejski stadium last week, managing ZERO shots on target. arsenal to win this one.

- edit: Eddy's prediction: $5 on arsenal @ 1.22 = $6.10. I'd put $10 before, but now I'm not so sure, especially as it seems reading are gonna reshuffle their pack radically. they need the points desperately as well, so $5 will do it for me.

Arsenal will win this one. They deserved to win against Manchester United but failed to because it's not their year. They will carry their performance into the next match because they have nothing else to play for having being knocked out of the Champions League. Expect Wenger to bleed his youngsters and perhaps sub on Denilson and Walcott in the second half after they have already overrun a Reading who haven't been living up to their first season form.

- Roland's prediction: $10 on Arsenal @ 1.22 = $12.20

TAMPINES vs YOUNG LIONS (S-LEAGUE)

<1.72> <3.35> <4.00>

tampines to win this one. they may have lost to geylang 1-0 last week to net me my huge payout, but i think that the overall quality in the tampines squad is leagues ahead of the young lions, who needed two late late goals from their only two players of note, khairul amri and hariss harun, to see off balestier khalsa. i expect the likes of aliff shaffaein and qiu li to prey on the inexperience and naivete of the young lions to emerge from this clash with all three points.

edit: Eddy's prediction: $5 on tampines @ 1.72 = $8.60. i'd bet $10 at first, but latest injury news shows mustafic fahrudin and qiu li OUT for this match. so proceed with caution, guys.

EVERTON vs CHELSEA (EPL)

<3.50> <3.20> <1.88>

everton did the unlikely this season at stamford bridge, taking a point from chelsea with a late cahill equaliser. chelsea's title challenge is also likely to be over, after heskey deflated them with a last-minute leveller. reports seem to focus on chelsea's frailty, failure to put chances away blarblarblar, but they seem to forget that chelsea absolutely dominated the match, and were unlucky to come up against an outstanding chris kirkland. kirkland has been the second-best keeper in the league this season, imo, behind david james of course. as such, i expect chelsea to put this right, and clinch a win at goodison park to at least hang on in the title race.

- Eddy's prediction: $10 on Chelsea to win @ 1.88 = $18.80

Everton have been bad upfront the past few games, with the absence of Arteta and Osman sorely affecting their attacking play. One would think that Chelsea would clinch this easily, but keep in mind that Drogba and Lampard are both out too - both very important players in the Chelsea attack. Everton have the 4th best defence in the league and I expect them to be able to emerge with a point against a Chelsea that is rapidly losing faith in their manager.

- Roland's prediction: $5 on Draw @ 3.20 = $16

DALIAN SHIDE vs ALBIREX NIIGATA (S-LEAGUE)

<1.97> <3.10> <3.35>

dalian have certainly shown signs of improvement in recent matches, while albirex's last outing was a shocking 6-1 capitulation at the hands of tampines rovers. to make matters worse for albirex, towering forward ryota doi is out for them, and that reduces their options in attack. akira takase, though, has beena bright spark for albirex this season, and i do think that he will score in this match. i'm tipping albirex to win this one, simply because they've been playing too well to deserve such poor results.

- Eddy's prediction: $5 on albirex @ 3.35 = $16.75

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

VFL WOLFSBURG vs VFL BOCHUM (GERMAN BUNDESLIGA)

<1.67> <3.35> <4.30>

terrible run of form for my tips. what was a healthy $50+ profit has been whittled down to $20+. still more than roland, of course, but i would love to stem this run sooner rather than later. tip: when out of luck, go for "safer" bets. in this case, vfl wolfsburg, with their good home form, should be backed. wolfsburg will miss grafite, their brazilian striker through suspension, but bochum are not without their injury worries as well. lastuvka, zdebel, ono, and dabrowski all miss out. however, i just expect wolfsburg to have that much quality to see off bochum here. dun be greedy and go for them to overcome the -1.5 handicap though.

- Eddy's prediction: $5 on vfl wolfsburg @ 1.67 = $8.35

Monday, April 14, 2008

YOUNG LIONS vs BALESTIER (S-LEAGUE)

<1.48> <3.70> <5.50>

same rules apply here. balestier khalsa's rot has to end somewhere. young lions haven't looked the most impressive of teams, and their over-reliance on khairul amri could be punished by a balestier khalsa team who know how to make things difficult for opposition attackers. they managed to limit the rampant saffc to just a hard-fought 2-0 win last time out, and i think the least they'll do here is keep the scoreline down. as such take them on the handicap, and if u fancy a little excitement in your life, go for the win. it's at 5.50, and as shown by geylang's win against tampines last week, nothing is impossible. or impossible is nothing, if you're an adidas man. it's 5.50, just do it.

- Eddy's prediction: $5 on balestier khalsa +1.5 @ 1.58 = $7.90
$5 on balestier khalsa to win @ 5.50 = $27.50

Sunday, April 13, 2008

ALMERIA vs VILLARREAL (LA LIGA)

<3.00> <3.15> <2.10>

almeria were unlucky to be on the receiving end of a spanking by atletico last week, as they finished the game with only nine men, after juanito and ruben pulido were sent off. the two are suspended for this one, as well, and villarreal will be looking to bounce back, having lost to sevilla by 2 goals to nil, last time out. i say, take villarreal, as nihat looks in impressive form, and i really do think villarreal can do it.

- Eddy's prediction: $5 on villarreal @ 2.10 = $10.50

VALLADOLID vs ATLETICO MADRID (LA LIGA)

<2.80> <3.30> <2.13>

both sides head into this one having secured vital wins last weekend. for valladolid it eases the relegation fears for a while, while atletico are chasing the final champions league spot, and 3 pts were very handy. atletico managed to beat almeria 6-3 in a rather crazy match. i expect atletico to pick up from where they left off, to send valladolid back into relegation trouble. racing santander, in 5th place, will have put atletico under some pressure with their win over valencia, and as such, i think atletico have enough to win this one.

- Eddy's prediction: $5 on atletico @ 2.13 = $10.65