I OFTEN state there is a random nature to this market and I'm starting Saturday's English line with two games that prove that.
First up it's Southampton v Man City and can the Saints go marching on under new boss Mauricio Pochettino?
The Argentine's first game in charge was a fairly low key 0-0 draw at home to Everton but since then his men have netted at Man United and Wigan.
And crucially they have scored in eight of their nine matches against top-six sides with Rickie Lambert doing much of the damage.
City's defence looked ropey against Liverpool as they drew 2-2 with Liverpool but up top they can get goals from anywhere from the likes of Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez and David Silva.
Next I'm looking at Swindon v Hartlepool. This may seem strange on the face of it with a promotion-chasing side entertaining the bottom dogs.
But Pool have won back-to-back games for the first time this season and suddenly look as if they could escape the drop after being 15 points adrift when John Hughes took charge.
His side are starting to play with confidence and have posed a threat away from home, winning 3-2 at Sheffield Utd, 3-1 at Portsmouth in a must-win game and also picking up a score draw at Shrewsbury.
Swindon have been down to the bare downs as far as personnel but managed to pick up a point at Crawley then win 1-0 at Colchester so it's not all doom and gloom for Paolo di Canio's men.
Bu there could be a strange atmosphere at the County Ground after all the goings on and fatigue must become a factor for players who are being relied on week in, week out, so I can see both teams scoring.
My third choice is more conventional and I'm going for a match that always seems to produce goals.
Spurs v Newcastle at White Hart Lane has totalled 18 goals in six meetings including a 5-0, 1-4 and 2-3.
Newcastle will head to London feeling much better after scoring five in two games after strengthening their side with a flurry of Frenchman, including Moussa Sissoko who netted twice in last weekend's 3-2 defeat of Chelsea.
Spurs will be without Jermain Defoe and look a bit short up front although Emmanuel Adebayor could be available after returning from African Nations Cup duty with Togo.
However, they do have Gareth Bale and he's smashed in a couple of beauties in his last two outings against Norwich and West Brom as well as Wales's opener against Austria.
Next up it's Bradford v Gillingham. Bradford have beaten the likes of Aston Villa and Arsenal at home in the League Cup this season and seem to raise their game for meetings against better teams.
Gillingham are up there with the best in the division but lost 1-0 to Wycombe on Monday and will need to raise their game to live with a Bradford side who should be really up for it.
Four of the last five meetings have seen both score with all of them going over 3.5 goals while Bradford's last five have seen this market pay out.
Complete the fivefold with Peterborough v Leicester in the Championship. Peterborough's 15 home games have produced 55 goals – compared to for example Hull's 35.
There always seems to be goals at London Road and that was the case as Burnley grabbed a 2-2 draw last weekend. Leicester have won five times on the road and will go there chasing three points.
The Foxes have netted 16 in their last six and this should be an action-packed affair.
I have one early game and one late match so note kick-offs and decide whether you're happy with that or prefer five 3 o'clock kick-offs. Also don't take Swindon v Hartlepool if you don't fancy that one but it's the pick that's boosted the fivefold odds to around 16-1.
Southampton v Man City (5.30)
Swindon v Hartlepool
Spurs v Newcastle (12.45)
Bradford v Gillingham
Peterborough v Leicester
Perm any 4 and all 5 (6 bets)
Fivefold pays a biggest £170.50 to a £10 stake at BetVictor
Resident football tipster at Scotland's most read newspaper, the Daily Record, for over 20 years and proud host of one the best betting communities on the web with daily betting tips.
In December 2020 we sadly 
I like this BTTS Mr F … I like it alot
AC, I think it’s a good mix of obvious and not so obvious. I slightly worry about Swindon v Hartlepool but Pool have improved in recent weeks and notched up some decent away results.
I’m going to stick this BTTS on I think … Hartlepool are one of those teams who let in goals but can score a goal as well … and with what is going on at Swindon at the moment their heads could be else where …
When did David Villa sign for City? ;)
Don, sorry bad typing, you know I mean Silva.
I think Toure brothers are coming back to Man City after being k ocked out of the Cup of Nations. City might be tight at the back, don’t you think so?
Tommy, they might be back but will they be ready to play? How fresh will they be, what will their mental state by after a shock exit? Don’t think Kolo makes a difference but Yaya a class act so we’ll see. I still think Southampton will score.
I like the anytime scorers market. Thinking bale suarez van persie and aguero. A lucky 15 on that
What about the Friday night fixture between Watford and crystal palace?
James, it’s not in the Saturday line because it’s a Friday game. I’ll put up Friday tips tomorrow but it looks like one for goals although Palace haven’t been as prolific on the road as they have been at home.
Can you believe you can still get port vale @7/5 to beat Barnet on saturday ?
I have been tipped this treble
Port Vale WIN
Southend WIN
Northampton V Rochdale over 2.5 goals.
Milesey
Milesey, I’ve gone through the card and there looks a few good aways. I made a shortlist of too many (12) and Southend and Port Vale are in there. Haven’t starting looking at prices yet but just 10-11 at Ladbrokes. Who has 7-5?
Betfair had it, BUT NOW ITS SOMETHING LIKE 66/67
BET365 1/1
CORALS 11/10
Milesey
Paul
Im an aways backer (for odds value), any chance of listing your 12 or so for a look ?
Willie, my shortlist was Cardiff, Leeds, Barnsley, Yeovil, Tranmere, Crewe, Southend, Port Vale, St Mirren, Motherwell.
Anyone fancy Newcastle to shock spurs this weekend? Tempting at 7/2! Also reading at Stoke at 11/4 looks tasty!
Kevin, I really fancy Newcastle but need to see team news, especially from Spurs end, before I commit myself. Have Stoke v Reading down for a draw at the moment.
Kevin i would go for the Newcastle (Draw No Bet) at 31/10 with BetVictor for this game, spurs attacking options are depleted with Jermain Defoe sustaining an injury in the win over West Brom and Saturday’s match may also come too soon for Emmanuel Adebayor after being at the Africa Cup of Nations with Togo.
Spurs therefore without any recognised front men and after they struggled to break down the ten men of West Brom last week (as well as losing to Leeds in their previous game) there are obvious concerns for Spurs going forward and this hands a good opportunity to Newcastle to get a result.Newcastle are still without Hatem Ben Arfa but come into the game having won back-to-back league matches for the first time this season.
Newcastle lost 5-0 here last season but without the front men it isnt going to be a similar result. Odds of 31/10 against Newcastle in the draw no bet market is very appealing.
Sean
I listened to TalkSport today and AVB was talkin about a front 2 of Bale & Dempsey……..and lets face it, theres as much chance of those 2 scoring as there is wi Defoe & Adebayor !!
A game to sit back and enjoy with no other bet than Both to score or overs for me.
Willie, you’re right there. Don’t know what shape Adebayor is in after African Nations.
newcastle never do well in london, except when they beat chelsea last year, other than that they tend to get spanked in the capital…….
Dave, i can see them taking at least a point. Spurs too reliant just now on Bale and he can’t keep doing it. Newcastle on a bit of a high after beating Chelsea so will go there with confidence.
My fancies for Sat:
Chelsea v Wigan to be over 4.5 goals
Sunderland draw no bet against Arsenal
Stoke v Reading DRAW
Only problem with newcastle on sat is pardew would be delighted with a point! I went down to st James on sat and thought they were excellent although helped somewhat from less than chelsea esq defending! I think it’s a stick on for btts and at the prices spurs look a decent lay minus Defoe. Might be one for draw no bet I think.
Lionel, I get what you’re saying but at a big price you can have Newcastle plus one.
Ive got stoke down as my nap on sat also. I can’t be having reading! They’ve been getting ridiculously lucky for a few weeks now! The stats back that statement up scored 6 last 3 games from 7 on target! Stokes form is by their standards shocking but this is just the sort of match pulls has up on the team notice board with a big 3 pts circled round it. I’m expecting 2 nil!
Fancy arsenal and swansea double at the wkend!
20 quid treble with skybet
Newcastle 15/4
Qpr. 100/30
Reading. 16/5
Returns £1729
a long shot I know but fun to see just how it turns out
Havent decided on my own bets yet for the weekend but for those interested in the Swansea v Qpr game theres the chance to get a bit of value in this game,i fancy it to be a low scoring game and i like the chance of a 1-0 win for either team and also the draw but havent decided my final bet yet,anyway heres some stats..Qpr have conceded just one goal in their last five Premier League outings, including their excellent win at Chelsea, and defensively are in excellent form. They may well set up in a defensive manner and look to counter attack, as they did in that game at Stamford Bridge. With defensive tactics likely to be on display, being carried out by defenders on the top of their game, this game is unlikely to include a lot of goals.
And so the home side may well find the relegation threatened outfit tough to break down. Swansea have drawn blanks in their last three games in all competitions (including the second leg of their capital one cup semi-final with Chelsea) and have the distraction of their forthcoming capital one cup final, later in the month. The form book indicates that 0-0 would appear to be the best bet going into this one. BetVictor have the best odds for this scoreline, with 13/2 quite good value for what will undoubtedly be a nervy affair.
If you’re looking for a bit more safety with this bet, then the draw at half-time, draw at full-time bet could be of interest. Totesport are offering odds of 5/1 for this bet at the minute, and if you fancy QPR to take a similar smash and grab victory like their 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge, you can get odds of 13/1, again with BetVictor
Chris Samba looked a threat from set pieces in QPR’s recent home draw with Norwich, and with QPR likely to look to aim for the £12 million pound centre back from, Bet365’s odds of 25/1 are tempting. The Congo international does have an eye for goal for a centre back, and scored 13 goals for Blackburn Rovers during his last spell in the Premier League. Bwin have the former Anzhi defender at 19/2 to score at any time, but due to the likelihood of a game without many goals, it’s worth the risk of the first goalscorer bet with the better odds.
Sean, I’m not sure about 0-0 but depends on QPR tactics. They can’t draw their way out of trouble and need to start racking up some wins. I can see where you’re coming from through with both having three 0-0s in their last six games. Unders does look a good shout.
early kick offs I hate but tbh not worried about that selection. only game Is Swindon, they are very good at home this season but given the news that Di Canio is unhappy it may be an incentive for Hartlepool so I reckon you have a winner Paul. il stick a tenner on this plus a tenner on my own take on it…il post this up later :-)
Anybody ever tried Betfreds 30 minute limit coupon? sounds tricky but odds are decent
Stevie H, a few bookies are doing these 30-minute coupons. People like Chris Guy like these but I rarely do them unless it’s something like Barca at home or Bayern when they are too short to take just to win.
Lumping on two bets tonight
Brazil Football 21:30
Palmeiras v Athletico Sorocaba
Over 2.5 @ 1/2 Paddy Power
Tennis 23:05
M.Chardy v C.Garin
Set Betting M.Chardy 2-0 @ 1/4 Paddy Power
Doubles and singles.
Hi
I e mailed admin on 2/2/13 regarding my super single win on 01/12/12. As yet I haven’t received this and enquired if they could chase this up. Can you see why this hasn’t been transfered?
Cheers
David
Lucky Dave, admin will look at it again.
Mr F – who was drawn out for the top treble last weekend please mate?
Thanks
Paul just looking a little forward all three of the German sides Bayern, Dortmund and Schalke to qualify is just over 2/1. Do you think that represents good value? I personally can’t see any of them not progressing?
Badham, I can’t give you a proper answer just now. Wrapped up in the weekend footie and won’t look at Champions League until next week.
Champions League that is sorry
No worries Paul ill ask the sane question next week is like ur advice is all. Thanks.
Sunderland-Arsenal
Huddersfield-Cardiff
LeytonOrient-Tranmere
Morecambe-Exeter
Luton-ForestGreen
BTTS
B.Mongengladbach-B.leverkusen
Juventus-Fiorentina
Tottenham-Newcastle
Chelsea-Wigan
Looks good to me.
Tottenham v Newcastle
Sheff Wednesday V Deerby
Doncaster v Walsall
Notts Co v Crewe
All on bonus coupon Betfred at 8/1.
Anyone know an online bookie that lets you perm bets?
Yes, they all do !
Milesey
Mez, all of them as Milesey says.
Perm any 4 and all 5 what way do you put that on ??? Sorry not that good with perms
oxford v bristol rovers. aldershot v plymouth. sheff wed v derby. torquay v fleetwood. bradford v gillingham
Really fancy Dundee utd tomoro
BTTS Fourfold
Swindon v Hartlepool
Definitely a good shout. John Hughes is quality – at the start of every reign. Top club out of sorts v motivated bottom club. Two ex-Celts in charge. Goals.
Blackburn v Ipswich
Both hitting form – Rovers just strengthened strikers; lots of defenders injured. Ipswich first-choice keeper Loach out. Ipswich hit 4 away at Boro last week.
Spurs v Newcastle
Spurs at home. Short on strikers, but plenty of quality. They don’t score millions even when all their strikers are fit, but they do get it right at home whoever they put out. Hopefully, Adebayor still won’t have turned up by kick-off. But Bale is quality. Newcastle can’t defend away, but the new boys will enjoy a trip to London and they look hungry. And cold. So, they will be doing a lot of running around. Team on a high. In goal, Hugo Loris is what we used to call ‘pattery’. He makes easy saves look tricky. He lets in everything else. Cool.
Swansea v QPR
For all the very excellent reasons Sean gives above to go for a low-scoring game, this is both-to-score-MUST. It’s just ‘one of them’. EVERYTHING says it’s low-scoring – it’s pretty much nailed-on. QPR cagey, defensive these days; Swansea counter-attacking, off-the-boil. Every recent game, few/no goals. So… we all know… we’ve been there… we have the t-shirt… it’s soaked in our tears and vomit… both will score.
UHT, the first three look good but I can’t be backing Swanse v QPR for goals.
MRFIXIT,is there any chance o’ ye gettin a move on wi tha super single contest,av bin waitin fir it tae cum up fir ages,am waitin tae git tae bed,ma woman BIG AGGIE is waitin fir me and she cannae wait all nite,is it coomin up soon so a can be gettin on wi ma other friday nite special.
Jock an others, can’t hold of admin to sort out Super Single, Anyone who wants can post at the end of anytime scorers and I’ll make sure they are checked.
Two things in my favour, Mr F – that random element of BTTS/football itself… And that habit that ‘sure things’ have in betting of turning round and biting you wherever!
Of course, when it’s 0-0 at full-time, I’ll nod quietly and say: maybe i wasn’t so sharp there!
UHT, I do agree that is fairly random and any game can bring it up so why not give it a go, prices are better for these sort of matches anyway.
Reading, Leeds, Barnsley, Bristol City, Crewe, Yeovil, Shrewsbury and Burton.
Just put on 25p per stake, covered all 4-, 5-, 6- and 7-folds and the acca. Pays £51231 if they all win. Worth a try.
Heh-heh! My weekend wedge is already committed to those four. I’m also thinking that Harry’s tightened it up bigtime, but seen the other Christmas basement boys pull away in the last couple of weeks, and that will worry him, so, it’s definitely going to need more commitment to getting more than one point. Ryan Nelson’s gone and Samba’s come in – played his socks off even though not matchfit, and that can’t last. He’s invested in strikers bigtime – over the odds – he’ll be applying huge pressure on them to score. Also think QPR have been quite lucky not to have conceded. Swansea blow hot and cold, results-wise, but performance is fairly consistent and they can definitely score against QPR.
I agree there are possibly better, more solid choices, but that’s my gut instinct on this one – and there’s nothing worse than letting your head rule your gut if your gut turns out to be right!
I tend to go for Betfred bonus coupon, so, overall, the odds aren’t the issue – four right is 11/2 – it’s just picking the right four…
That’s the killer!
mr fix i wonder why u picked swindon as btts? swindon havent lost a goal in their last 4 home games. i kw they are short of players but the main core of players are still playin and doing well. just a thought paul.
Gary, I’ve explained why in the piece, just a hunch really, like UHT with Swansea v QPR. Anyone with a doubt should replace with one of their own. Right it’s off to bed, up early for first flight to London and a betting conference. Will be checking the site as often as I can though.
my bets btts
stirling v montrose
livingston v dumbarton
airdrie v morton
bradford v gillingham
to win
cardiff
portvale
doncaster
sheff wed
southend
goodluck to everyone else today :P take a punton my tips thanks
Btts
Ict/celtic
Spurs/newcastle
Sunderland/arsenal
Soton/man city
Lazio/napoli
Good luck to all
Never seen so many 0-0’s at h/t in all my life :-(