as great as we are, we tipsters gotta eat too

Friday, June 27, 2008

YOKOHAMA FM vs JUBILO IWATA (J-LEAGUE)

<1.70> <3.30> <4.20>

both sides head into this game having enjoyed a three week break due to international football. i fancy yokohoma to come out on top, as man fo man, they are far superior. roni will be looking to get back on the goalscoring charts here, to give the marinos a much-needed boost to push them up the table.

- Eddy's prediction: $5 on yokohama @ 1.70 = $8.50

Thursday, June 26, 2008

RUSSIA vs SPAIN (EURO 2008)

<3.30> <3.07> <2.00>

russia have burnt a hole in the pockets of many with their shock win over the dutch. i advised caution in that match, but truth be told, i still expected the dutch to progress. now for spain. can they overcome the russians? they have looked like world-beaters since the return of arshavin, and early movement in the singapore pools odds indicates a few people predicting a russian win/draw in this one. in team news, kolodin and torbinsky are suspended, but i doubt this will affect russia much. kolodin will be replaced by berezutskiy, while torbinsky's absence merely limits hiddink's options off the bench. spain, though, are expected to start with cesc fabregas, and i think this is the key. xavi looks like a loser, and sometimes plays like one. i fancy spain to win this one.

- Eddy's predictions: $5 on spain to qualify for finals @ 1.55 = $7.75
$5 on spain @ 2.00 = $10.00
$5 on spain to score 1st goal @ 1.80 = $9.00


This will be a great football match. Spain, with their precise build up play versus Russia with deadly fast counter attacks. Forget the 4-1 trashing in the group stages, that will not happen again. Russia have been growing in confidence, winning the next 3 games 1-0, 2-0 and then 3-1. Spain have, conversely, shown a dip in form as defences tighten up in the later stages of the group and looked out of inspiration in their 0-0 draw against Italy. Form wise Russia wins hands down as they're definitely the team with more confidence, but I feel that the Russians were only able to defeat the Dutch due to the latter team's utterly shite defending. Spain have shown that they are capable of defending with Puyol marshalling the defensive line superbly (even though I think he's over the hill) and Iker Casillas is a great presence in goal. The Dutch also could have scored 32094324 goals if not for some poor finishing and lack of killer instinct - so many set plays were poorly defended by the Russians and were not cleared. While Spain aren't notably good at set plays, I think the mobility of front duo Torres and David Villa will exploit the spaces left behind by the Russian's Anyukov and Zhirkov and Spain will nick this game. After all, the Dutch didn't have the most mobile of strikers in Ruud van Nistelrooy and the Russians could defend easily by massing numbers. A tight draw is also likely but I think Spain will go through in the end.

- Roland's prediction: $10 on Spain Qualify @ 1.55 = $15.50
$5 on Spain @ 2.00 = $10.00
$5 on Draw @ 3.07 = $15.35

HOME UNITED vs ALBIREX (S-LEAGUE)

<1.22> <5.30> <8.30>

well. can albirex do it again? that is the question. this time, i'm gonna say no. impressive as their win against the super reds was, the super reds were a tired team, having played 467 matches in a mere few weeks. home united, though, will be bursting with energy, having not played for three whole weeks, due to their early exit from the league cup. however, i always feel that a team like albirex have a goal in them, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem to back them at +2.5. also, you could consider taking albirex to score the first goal, which has juicy odds.

- Eddy's prediction: $10 on albirex +2.5 @ 1.50 = $15.00
$5 on albirex to score first @ 4.40 = $22.00

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

GEYLANG vs SUPER REDS (S-LEAGUE)

<2.72> <3.15> <2.25>

tough match to call. super reds should get back on track after two losses, the last of which netted me some cash, when albirex beat them. however, geylang is well rested and should also not be ruled out, considering they are a good team, and are dangerous, with fazrul nawaz leading the attack. as such, i think a bet on 1st team to score is less risky, and i'm going with the reds.

- Eddy's prediction: $5 on super reds to score 1st @ 1.90 = $9.50

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

SENGKANG vs WOODLANDS (S-LEAGUE)

<6.50> <3.50> <1.45>

sengkang were kinda unlucky to lose to dalian last time out, as they showed plenty of determination, and even managed to score a splendid goal, which is very surprising. however, i just think woodlands have too much in them to allow sengkang to even grab a point here. the likes of park tae won, akihiro nakamura, and abdelhadi laakkad look like they have too much firepower for sengkang to handle, even with winston yap in imperious form.

- Eddy's prediction: $10 on woodlands @ 1.45 = $14.50
$5 on woodlands to score 1st goal @ 1.37 = $6.85

Monday, June 23, 2008

GERMANY vs TURKEY (EURO 2008)

<1.38> <3.90> <6.75>

well it has to end for turkey someday right? surely this time it's curtains for a team that has impressed many with their never-say-die attitude, overcoming injuries, suspensions, being a goal down, being two goals down, blarblarblarblar. the germans head into this after an impressive win over portugal, where they finally had the sense to drop mario gomez and marcell jansen, who've had awful tournaments. heading into this one, turkey have nihat and emre, their two most experienced and influential players ruled out through injury. add to that the suspensions of arda turan and sanli tuncay and really, i do not see turkey being able to trouble the german defence, which is game over for them, as the germans' only weakness is at the back. mehmet aurelio's return to the team should provide a little relief for turkish fans, as he seems the most capable of stemming wave after wave of german attacks. however, i do not see how germany won't win this. more predictions will come when the markets open.

- Eddy's prediction: $10 on germany @ 1.38 = $13.80
$5 on germany -1.5 @ 2.15 = $10.75

The question for this match is not which team to side, but which bet on Germany nets you the most profits. Injuries and suspensions have been covered by Eddy, so I shan't repeat them. The Turks have a trend of trying to defend well in the first half before going on an attacking spree in the second, so I'm going with Germany outright and a D-H. Although a H-H is also rather likely as the Germans have shown that they like to win the games early as seen against Portugal.

Edit: Emre is definitely out. Servet Cetin, who has impressed in the centre of defence, is also definitely out. Time to back the Germans on this one.

- Roland's prediction: $10 on Germany @ 1.38 = $13.80
$5 on Germany -1.5 @ 2.15 = $10.75
$5 on D-H @ 4.20 = $21.00
$5 on H-H @ 1.95 = $9.75

BALESTIER KHALSA vs DALIAN SHIDE (S-LEAGUE)

<2.15> <3.20> <2.85>

the battle of the shitkickers. balestier khalsa and dalian are both teams that are used to losing more than winning, but they must get going in games like these if they are going to kick on and rise in the league table. on the 1x2, all 3 results are very possible, so perhaps trying to pick a winner is not the best option to go. looking at alternative markets, i think a punt on first and last goalscorer could bring some joy. i'm looking at selection no. 9, PLAYER NOT LISTED for both. here's why. in the list of players provided by singapore pools, none of them are natural goalscorers. paul bekombo is an s-league heskey, kaze giscard is a defensive player, haruki seto is a frickin sweeper, while onyekachi hasn't scored since forever. on the dalian side, i don't fancy them to score at all. the goals for balestier are probably gonna come from players like poh yi feng, anantha rajan, or maybe even young upstart rhysh roshan rai. also, if you bet on both 1st and last goalscorer, and there's only one scorer who's not in the list, you win BOTH bets. worth a pop, this one.

- Eddy's prediction: $5 on first goalscorer is a player not listed @ 2.95 = $14.75
$5 on last goalscorer is a player not listed @ 2.95 = $14.75

Sunday, June 22, 2008

SPAIN vs ITALY (EURO 2008)

<2.25> <2.95> <2.90>

spain risk being the fourth group leader to be knocked out of euro 2008, after portugal, croatia, and of course, holland. a logical analysis would seem to favour the spanish, as they have played the better football so far, as compared to the stuttering italy. the italians also miss gattuso and pirlo for this match through suspension, so i suspect the spanish will have a slightly better time in midfield, not that aquilani and de rossi are useless slouches, though. having witnessed 3 upsets, so far, i really don't think there will be a fourth. so, it's gonna be a spain win for me.

- Eddy's prediction: $5 on spain @ 2.25 = $11.25
$5 on spain to advance to semis @ 1.75 = $8.75
$5 on over 2.5 goals @ 2.35 = $11.75

As Eddy said. Pirlo and Gattuso are out. Barzagli is also out. While Spain has a fully fit first team. Spain have also played the better football as compared to Italy. I don't think there will be a 4th upset in a row as Spain look to be firing on all cylinders at the moment. Italy's defence has been very shaky and the absence of Gattuso will hurt them as they will miss his bite in midfield, which will be where the Spanish dominate with their fluid passing. Luca Toni has been out of sorts with all his missed chances and will be well marshalled by Puyol who has been pretty decent in this tournament. At odds of 4.50, the handicap for Spain is very tempting as I see them winning by a 2 goal margin if they get an early goal.

- Roland's prediction: $5 on Spain @ 2.25 = $11.25
$5 on Spain to advance to Semis @ 1.75 = $8.75
$5 on Spain -1.5 @ 4.50 = $22.50

KOREA REPUBLIC vs DPR KOREA (AFC WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS)

<1.60> <3.30> <5.00>

the battle of the koreas. south korea obviously have the better pedigree, and in terms of individual quality, they are a class above their north korean counterparts. however, as both teams have already qualified, i expect they will go easy on each other. furthermore, south korea will miss energetic manu scum, park ji sung. in any case, if these two nations are ever gonna reunite, this has to be a draw. a south korean win will lead to nuclear missiles from pyongyang headed straight for seoul world cup stadium at the final whistle, a north korean win will lead to violent protests asking for the south korean coach to step down. a draw it is, then.

- Eddy's prediction: $5 on draw @ 3.30 = $16.50