The Sports Bookie Blog

There seems to be some value to be had from bet365’s Premiership coupon this weekend, not least in the Saturday 5.15pm kick-off at the Madejski Stadium (live on Sky Prem Plus).

bet365 make the Royals 11/2 (6.50) to triumph against the league leaders, which is huge considering Reading’s last display at Bramall Lane and United’s poor showing at home to Arsenal. I’d give Reading around a 25% chance to a win so the price on a home win is HUGE!

The Red Devils are 1/2 (1.50) to grab all three points but at an estimated 50% away win chance that’s a very poor price. Yes - United have to favoured as “most likely” winners but 1.50 is no sort of price to be chasing for away success.

bet365 make Liverpool 4/6 (1.66) favourites to beat Spurs in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off which seems right on the money to me with the Anfield side still about 60% likely in my book to win this game at home.

Back in London, Fulham are a massively priced 6/1 (7.00) to repeat last season’s win over Chelsea and that is also worth a wee shot as it’s always a game with a bit of passion and with Michael Ballack out and Chelsea eyeing a midweek Euro Cup game I’d have to say that Fulham are 25%-30% chance - so more very good value..

Blackburn might also be worth an interest – they’re as big as 13/5 with bet365 to land the spoils at the Riverside and I’d say that Rovers are at least as likely as Boro to win this one - so the price is excellent.

RELATED LINK :
Bet365 Bookmaker Review at BookieLabrat.com

Arsenal impresssed the odds layers with the manner of their 1-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday and are now just 10/1 with Hills to win the Premiership.

It took a late Emmanuel Adebayor strike at Old Trafford for the Gunners to win their first Premiership gameof the season, but the midfield dominance during the game prompted William Hills to cut Arsene Wenger’s men from 18/1 to 10/1 third favourites - although the best prices are still 12/1 (13.00) at BetFred 

Chelsea are still overwhelming favourites though at 4/10 (1.40) at Paddy Power, while Manchester United were eased from 5/2 to 7/2 (4.50) with Bet365.

Liverpool’s title odds are going into reverse and the Anfield side have been pushed out to 16/1 (17.00) by VCBet after their 1-0 defeat at Chelsea.

RELATED LINK :
Detailed bookmaker ratings and reviews at BookielabRat.com

Time to nail my colours to the blog again with a loud “Come on you Goooonnnneerrrrrss” for tonights Champions League matches.

Arsenal travel to face Hamburg tonight, and I hate waiting for the games to start - the nerves kick in even before I’ve got up out of bed and get worse after lunch.

Then there’s the specific game worries about this one :
 - Arsenal always do poorly in Germany (1 win from 8 games)
 - No Thierry Henry tonight
 - We’ve been missing so many chances recently.

But with the quality of players that Arsenal do have at the club  there’s always plenty of scope for hope, and I’m getting a wee gut feeling that the lads may come up with another one of those great Euroepan away day performances that we saw last season.

So - here’s hoping that I’m not going to be a miserable git around 10pm tonight eh?

 :-) 

It’s only been three months since Barcelona beat Arsenal 2-1 in Paris, and we’ve had a World Cup in between - but it seems a long time between club football doesn’t it?

There are 8 group games on Tuesday night with Chelsea, Barcelona and Bayern Munich seen as very likely winnersand 8 more games on Wednesday night with Manchester United, AC Milan and Dynamo Kyiv all strong home favourites.

Three of the best games (well for me anyway) are taking place on Wednesday night as :
 - Lyon face Real Madrid (after beating them 3-0 here last season)
 - Porto (2004 CL winners) face CSKA Moscow (2005 UEFA Cup winners)
 - and Hamburg play Arsenal (last season’s runners up) who are starting slowly.

It should be a very interesting couple of days.

For all the betting previews and match action check out the UEFA Champions League page at GoonersGuide.com or follow the live scores during the evenings play.

Good luck and may your team win !!

:-)

Liverpool had a miserable Saturday, losing 0-3 to city rivals Everton and also suffering a key injury that may have further impact on their season.

The Norwegian defender Riise, 25, will miss Liverpool’s Champions League tie against PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday and Sunday’s league game against Chelsea at least.

The injury is a repeat of the one Riise suffered on the first day of the season in the draw at Sheffield United.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez said: “It’s not too serious but John will be out for the next 10 to 15 days.”

The NCAA Football season continues this week with a blockbuster clash between the No. 1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and the No. 2 ranked Texas Longhorns.

Home field advantage is with the Longhorns who began their season with a 56-7 win over North Texas, while the Buckeyes kicked off with a its season with a 35-12 win over Northern Illinois.

Last season the Longhorns upset the Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio 25-22. Can they upset the No. 1 ranked team in the country with home field advantage?

RELATED LINKS : Our top 2 Bookmakers for NCAA bets :

PinnacleSports, Bet365

The NFL Season kicked off tonight with the Pittsburgh Steelers beginning the defense of their Super Bowl crown with a first up win against the Miami Dolphins.

Despite the absence of Super Bowl winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger the Steelers came back from a 17-14 deficit to down the Dolphins 28-17.

A big weekend for NFL fans continues on Sunday with 13 big games to bet on with the Indianapolis Colts at the New York Giants on Sunday night Football.

Week one of the NFL season concludes with two games on Monday night with Minnesota at Washington before San Diego face the Raiders in Oakland.

RELATED LINKS : Top 3 Rated Bookies for NFL Bets

PinnacleSports, Bet365, Mansion Sports

The Inside Wagering Line From Pinnacle Sports Book By Simon Noble

The wait is over. The NFL season - bread and butter for many bettors - starts tomorrow so what are our sharp players betting?

Miami +1 -109 at Pittsburgh

Through most of the preseason, this line was trading at +4.5 with fairly balanced action. Ben Roethlisberger underwent an appendectomy at the beginning of the week, and is out for the Steelers’ opener. His loss dumped the spread 3½ points, making the Steelers only a slight favorite. With his absence, the total also dropped 3 points from 37.5 to 34.5. We’re still seeing a number of wagers on Miami for $400-$500 each.

Philadelphia -5.5 -104 at Houston

We opened the Eagles as a 3.5-point favorite. The line stayed fairly level until recently, when we were hit by a barrage of sharp money. Much of the action was played buying half-points to take Philadelphia -2.5. We think we’re getting the best of it anytime a player buys points from us, but those sharps disagree. Other than Pittsburgh/Miami, this is our most heavily traded game.

Ryder Cup: US +125

The 2006 Ryder Cup at the K Club, Co Kildare, Ireland opened with Europe and US even at +105 (with the tie at +1000). While we’ve taken heavy balanced action on both teams, the market has drifted favoring Europe slightly, now trading at -105. While some sharps take early positions on this event, there are more who bet it closer to tee off.

Pittsburgh Steelers 2006 Superbowl Champs Promotion

Just two months after THAT World Cup Final - France host Italy in a rematch when Euro 2008 qualifying continues on Wednesday.The French will clearly have a score to settle at the Stade de France(scene of their own World Cup triumph in 1998) when they face Italy’s world champions.

Of course Zidane, whose red card for head-butting Marco Materazzi overshadowed the final, has now retired while the Italian defender is suspended for having taunted the Frenchman into action.

Although nothing will make up for defeat in Berlin on penalties, France will want to turn the page with a win that would also put them in an excellent qualifying position in Group B.

They will also go into the game after a convincing 3-0 victory in Georgia on Saturday that will have lifted spirits in the French camp.

Italy, by contrast, need to pick themselves up after a surprise 1-1 draw with Lithuania in Naples, albeit with a side missing several rested World Cup winners.

My pick - France to win 1-0

(update)

France won 3-1

 :-)