Football Betting Tips

World Cup 2010 - English Bets: Chapter 1

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:32:00 +0000

The World Cup is only one week away and there are a lot of interesting bets involving not only the English national team but also the Premier League teams. Yep, even during off season.

Fabio Capello finally named his selection of 23 players and Walcott axe was the only surprise. As England has a relatively easy group - a win over USA on the first of the group will practically ensure their place in the knockout stage. England will probably have to meet France somewhere on the road to the semis, but with its current squad, a win over the Frenchmen shouldn't be a hard task. If this will go according to plan and if English players will be able to finally show their talent on the biggest stage in the world - winning the World Cup itself is a real option. Placing a bet on this to happen has a great value with odds of 7 decimal. Now all that is left is to prey for Rooney’s groin to recover…

We will do our best to bring you with bargain bets throughout the World Cup starting tomorrow when we’ll show you some value bets in bets involving players, Premier League Teams and the World Cup!

By the way, 15% of BetUknow users predict England as winners, come and place your World Cup bets in BetUknow's new predictions game, The Predictor Challenge

A tight competition

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:52:00 +0000

8 matches to go till the end of the Premier League season and things at the top of the table are still unclear. Just as it seemed that we’re heading to a Manchester United – Chelsea battle all over again, Arsenal came from behind, grabbed a couple of wins and took advantage of both United and Chelsea slip-ups to form one of the tightest championship fights we had in recent years.
It would be very interesting to see how Chelsea handle the unexpected elimination from the Champions League at such an early stage. This shocking home defeat to Inter Milan can cause a sort of a turmoil Chelsea can find themselves on the losing end of a couple of matches, resulting in forfeiting the title. This weekend is a huge test for Carlo Ancelotti’s lads.

While Arsenal has a relatively easy home match against West-Ham united (even though the mini London derby is never too easy), Chelsea plays against Blackburn in Ewood Park in a tough match. 71% of BetUknow's members predict Chelsea as winners. Nevertheless, the most interesting game of the week sees Manchester United host Liverpool. Man Utd are on a great run (well…actually Rooney is in a great form, and that's enough), while Liverpool cannot manage to win more than 2 matches in a row, falling one point behind the fourth Champions League spot. The majority of BetUknow members predict that Manchester United will win the match, and, quite frankly, this looks reasonable.

Come choose your winners here BetUknow

A crucial period

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:47:00 +0000

As I see things, we are now entering the most crucial period of the season. The players are in great conditions, the Champions League is back and the FA and Carling Cups are getting to the crucial stages.
This month will supply us with the answers whether Arsenal is to remain a title contender, alongside with Chelsea and Man Utd, can Liverpool fight back for 4th place, battling Aston Villa, Manchester City and Tottenham to it, and also - which teams will run safe and which ones will fight against relegation, as only 4 points separate the 5 last teams in the table (excluding Portsmouth).

Well, this weekend will get us closer to the answers. Chelsea host Arsenal for a crucial match on Sunday – a win for the blues and Arsenal can forget about the title race. A day before that will see Liverpool host Everton in the Merseyside derby, and their level of performance they showed last week, in their unconvincing win over Bolton, won't be enough. Liverpool must win and perform well if they want to play Champions League football the next season. In two other matches, Burnley host West Ham and Sunderland host Wigan and these teams need the points to start their escape from the relegation zone.

56% of BetUknow members think that Liverpool will win the Merseyside derby, and more than 60% predict Chelsea to win the London derby. Place your fantasy bets to win real prizes @ Betuknow

Happy new Premier League year

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:14:00 +0000

The Christmas is here and we are about to enjoy 5 straight days of English football. Due to the congestion of the matches during this period of time, good performances are the key to keep your season on track. Take Chelsea, for instance, they have to win both their matches in order to maintain the 4 points gap at the top of the table, since no less than 4 of their players will be leaving for the African Championship games.
Portsmouth must also try and win as many points as they can before the departure of Kanu, Dindane and Belhaj, while Manchester City with new manager Mancini must win in order to prove that they can truly leave Hughes' saga behind and start a new era. So in conclusion – some team will have a merry Christmas while other will… uhhh… won’t!

I chose to highlight a couple of tight and herd-to-predict matches, as you can find great odds in them:

Fulham-Tottenham (2.9/3.3/2.5) - (bwin, Expekt, Ladbrokes) It'll be interesting to see whether Tottenham can break into big 4 and continue their great form after 2 wins in a raw, one of them an impressive 3-0 over Manchester City. Still, they run into high flying Fulham, who are on a 5 match unbeaten run, and winning their last home match 3-0 over Manchester United.

Sunderland-Everton (2.4/3.4/3) - (Ladbrokes, Ladbrokes, Expekt. The Black Cats won only once in their last nine games and have slipped into 10th position. This is a huge opportunity for them to try and get back on track, showing the same skills that helped them climb up the table on couple of months ago. Still, they have a high obstacle in the form of Everton. The Toffees struggle to find their form, earning a dull home point with Birmingham a week after a huge 3-3 away draw at Chelsea. This inconsistency means they hover only 2 points above the relegation position. You don’t have to be too witty to realize that Everton must win in order to revive their Premier League inspirations

BetUknow members predict a draw in both matches. You can try and take these two bets, as one is enough in order to make some decent profit.
Place your fantasy bets @ BetUknow

This season shows that anything can happen

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:59:00 +0000

This season’s Premiership offers a chance for everyone. Unlike previous years, where the top 4 used to hammer every other team, this season see them concede points on regular basis. Last weekend saw Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool lose points on home soil. If that wasn’t enough, the midweek matches saw both Chelsea and Liverpool struggle to beat much inferior opponents as Portsmouth and Wigan.
Still, in contrast to Chelsea and United, which top the table, Liverpool form not only sent them all the way down to 6th place, 5 points adrift of Aston Villa in 4th, but it also canceled Liverpool main strength of recent years – playing at Anfield. You don’t have to be rich or even too strong to take points from Liverpool at Anfield, as the draw results with Manchester City and Birmingham suggest. As long as this won’t change – Liverpool should not even dream of making it to a Champions League spot.
Still, why Rafa is pondering of how to solve this, he’ll have to wary on his Saturday trip to the south the face the rejuvenating Portsmouth. Since Avram Grant was appointed things calmed down a bit, but there is no doubt he has his work cut out for his, as Pompey’s squad lack the quality and depth. Surviving in the Premier League will be a miracle as Pompey look too weak, but if Grant want to keep this dream alive – he has to come up with something from the home match with Liverpool.

It’s not surprising to see the bookies consider Liverpool as clear favorites for this one (1.55 @ Bwin), but this season shows that anything can happen. BetUknow bettors predict Liverpool as winners, share your thoughts with us @ Betuknow

Liverpool's lost season

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:11:00 +0000

The 16 teams which qualified to the next round of the Champions League were determined yesterday, and the absence of Liverpool from this list is amazing, consider the relative weakness of this year’s Champions League. In recent years Rafa Benitez knew that as long he completes a good Champions League campaign will give him the support and confidence from his owners and supporters, regardless of his achievements in the Premier League.

But now, with the Champions League campaign over, Rafa will have to start and bring results from Liverpool's next matches in the Premier League. Not an easy task for a team that lies 12 points behind league leaders Chelsea, to say the least, but that’s the only way for him to save his job at Merseyside. Well, he’ll have his work cut out for him, as his next match sees Arsenal coming to Anfield.

In my opinion there is nothing Rafa can do to save this bad season. Moreover, at the moment I can't even see Liverpool finish in the top 4. The squad it too thin, the players are not good enough and, apparently, Rafa has lost his magic. A win on Sunday might be the first step in the right direction, but a defeat will probably make Rafa a dead man walking, leaving Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City to fight on the 4th and last Champions League spot

BetUknow members predict that the match will end in a draw (3.25 @ Expekt). Predict the outcome of this and other Premier League matches here:
BetUknow

A crucial match for Liverpool

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:52:00 +0000

This Premier league weekend brings us a couple of interesting and crucial matches. Let’s take a look at two of them:

Liverpool vs. Manchester City-
Liverpool host Manchester City in a match which will determine the rest of the former's season. In recent seasons, Liverpool's focus was set on the Champions league. It seemed that all Rafa Benitez was aiming for was to win the Champions League, and if this wasn’t enough – he saw the Premiership as a way to qualify to next season’s Champions League. Winning the title wasn’t as important to him as seeing Liverpool drawn to the groups stage of the Champions League.
Alas, it looks that only a miracle will get Liverpool to the Round of 16, and although miracles are quite fond of Liverpool, we find it hard to see this happen. At the same time, Chelsea have opened an 11 point gap from Liverpool at the top of the table and Liverpool’s season is so bad so far, that they find themselves 6 points adrift a Champions League spot. Since Manchester City are also fighting for a place in next year’s Champions League, Liverpool face a must-win situation here.

Sunderland vs. Arsenal-
Sunderland, which show great form since Steve Bruce took over, play against Arsenal. Arsenal play the most exciting football this season and if Sunderland want to keep their run and challenge for the Europa League spot, they will have to take some points from Arsene Wenger's talented team.
According to the bookies, Sunderland chances to win the match are not high, with odds of 6.2 it seems like no one really thinks they will take all 3 points. Still, this looks like a good way to make some money if you really believe the Black Cats are capable of producing a shock result…

Place your fantasy bets now - BetUknow

Chelsea vs. Manchester United

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:28:00 +0000

I know that this is still an early stage of the season, but the match between Chelsea and Manchester United on Sunday is crucial to the championship battle.
Both teams secured a place in the Champions Round of 16 and can now set their focus on the Premiership title. Well, at least till February. Chelsea are the current leaders of the Premier League, with 27 points, but Manchester United are breathing down their necks in second place, with only two points separating them.
As their league position shows, both teams have started the current season in great form, despite the taking only a point from their last Champions League matches.
A 5 points gap will give Chelsea a great advantage in the Championship title race and while knowing that, BetUknow community believes that Chelsea are the better team and will be the happier side at the end of the day.

Surprising Results

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:33:00 +0000

The last couple of weeks brought some surprises in Premier League: Stoke winning at White Hart Lane, Wolves taking a point back home from Goodison Park, Chelsea's two away losses to Aston Villa and Wigan and Liverpool's impressive performance in their home match with Manchester United.
That was quite a long intro, won’t you say? The reason for me to do so what to practically get you ready for this statement: “I have no idea how this weekend's fixtures will end!!!”. Fulham host Liverpool, Portsmouth seeking their 2nd win at home against the unpredictable Wigan Athletic, Everton looking for a win against Aston Villa in order to narrow the 6 points gap between them, and London's derby between Arsenal and Tottenham can go either way. No easy matches on the line. In fact, there are no easy matches in the Premiership this season…
Still, let’s focus on the Arsenal – Tottenham match.
Arsenal are coming to the derby in a good form, winning 4 out of their last 5 matches. Tottenham, on the other hand, have gained only 4 points out of 9 from their last 3 matches, which put their great start to the season in perspective…
BetUknow's community sees Arsenal as the derby winners. What do you think ?

3 Interesting Matches

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:09:00 +0000

After a short break, the Premier League is back with a lot of top action in this weekend’s fixtures.
Chelsea travels to Villa Park on a mission to keep the gap between it and Manchester United, as the red devils play at home against Bolton.
Liverpool is playing away against a high-flying Sunderland squad who’s enjoying a great start to the season. Liverpool must win in order to keep the championship hopes alive as a 9 points gap could sabotage their chances of winning the title, even at such an early stage of the season. This match also features the league’s current top goal scorer Fernando Torres (8 goals) and the person right on his tail, Darren Bent (7), in a battle to find the net.
Another interesting match this round is between Tottenham and Portsmouth. Pompey lost 7 of their first 8 matches, if they continue with their current form they will see themselves in the same position at the end of the season (a championship spot). It would be interesting to see whether Avram Grant, former Chelsea manager and Pompey's new director of football, will be able to put them back on track.

Use BetUknow's widget to predict the winner in the Pompey vs. Spurs match:

Champions League Betting Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:18:00 +0000

This Tuesday will see the 2009/2010 Champions League campaign kicks off. The 4 representatives of the EPL were drawn in to relatively easy groups, managing to avoid super powers such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Inter Milan. No wonder that anything but topping their groups will be a huge surprise.
According to Betfair, the Premier League teams are between the favourites to win this year’s Champions League, but the Spanish giants – Barcelona and Real Madrid were marked as clear favourites with better odds to finish as winners: 5.3 and 6 respectively.
But let’s leave May 2010 aside and focus on this Tuesday and Wednesday. The first week sees Liverpool host Hungarian champions Debrecen, in what should be an easy win for them, while at the same time Arsenal travel to Liege, to face Standard Liege and Manchester United will play against Besiktas in Turkey. Both are tricky away matches, but both Arsenal and United should record wins.
Carlo Ancelloti said last week that Chelsea's main target is the Champions League, and he thinks that his team is finally up for the challenge. Chelsea begin their campaign against Porto on Tuesday without Didier Drogba and Jose Bosingwa, suspended for their semi-finals show of last year. Porto, just like Chelsea, enjoy a great start for the season and it looks that the new striker Radamel Falcao Garcia fills the gap Lisandro Lopez left.
It could go either way on Tuesday; let me know your thoughts:

The Premier League is back!

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:15:00 +0000

After the international break, we are glad to welcome the Premiership back. This weekend brings us a couple of hectic matches, involving 4 of the better teams in the league.
The first one brings Arsenal to the Stadium of Manchester, to play boldly rich Manchester City. In recent years, this was a must win match for Arsenal, but with the new and improved Manchester City, they look as favourite for this one. As these two will probably fight for a Champions League spot to the end, this match is highly important for them both.

BetUknow community find it hard to predict the outcome of this match, have your say here:

As soon as this match ends, we shift our attention to White Heart Lane, where steaming hot Tottenham take on Manchester Untied. Now, there is no doubt that United is the better team, but Spurs kicked of the season in the best possible way. This is a massive test for both teams. United will need to show they have what it takes to win yet another championship, while Tottenham should use this match as a way to show they are set and ready to challenge the top 4 clubs of the Premiership.

BetUknow predictors think that Manchester United will win the match. Place your bets here:

Premiership - Round 4

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:57:00 +0000

It was only a week ago when everyone thought that Manchester United and Arsenal are not in the same league. Arsenal looked doomed after Manchester City raided them off their best striker while United… well, with Sir Alex at the helm you are always a huge favourite… Still, the first 3 rounds taught us that anything could happen as Arsenal scored 10 goals in their first two matches while Manchester United managed losing to Burnly.
This season, the title race is wide open for the top-4 clubs (sorry, but Manchester City and Tottenham will have to settle for a Europa League spot), as Arsenal managed to display great football even without Adebayor and Toure and Manchester United got weaker while Liverpool and Chelsea kept the same squads, more or less.
Manchester United host Arsenal on Saturday for a battle between two teams who could win the title.
Well, let’s see what you think about this match:

You should also pay attention to the match involving Everton and Wigan. The embarrassment of the 1-6 loss to Arsenal on their season opener was supposed to motivate last season's 5th place finishers to win their next match, but with another loss to Burnly and the release of Lescott it seems Everton will not be able to repeat last season’s achievement.
Pick your winner here:

The English Premier League 2009/10 season

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:33:00 +0000

This past Sunday’s Community Shield featured the two top title contenders, (excuse me Liverpool fans), in great performance and showing mid-season form. The four goals scored and the penalty shoot-out gave us a great taste of things to come in the ’09-’10 EPL season.

If we put the title battle aside, a more interesting battle in this upcoming season is shaping up to be the battle for fourth place which brings with it a Champions League birth.

Arsenal released two of its stars from last season, Adebayor and Toure, to the rebuilt and cash-rich Manchester City that is positioned to be its direct rival for a spot in the Champions League. We should also pay close attention to Tottenham that got stronger, on paper at least, with the signings of Crouch and Bassong, not to mention Redknapp's first full season. Add Everton and Aston Villa to the race for fourth and you can anticipate a close and exhausting battle for the Champions League’s last spot.

The Premier League starts again this Saturday and there are two matches we should pay attention to: Tottenham – Liverpool, and Everton - Arsenal. All four of these squads should battle it out all season long and each even has an outside shot at a major upset and capturing the league title. For these two featured matches, the BetUknow community predicts away wins for both Liverpool and Arsenal. What do you think?

Back in business!

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:56:00 +0000

Few would doubt that the summer break has taken its toll on us. Not only did we have to manage without football, but we also had to go through the transfer fuss made by two clubs – Real Madrid and Manchester City – while the rest of the pack completed some solid signings, but not more than that. One might call this “Boring”…

Lucky for us, this time is just about over as we get closer and closer to the season’s kickoff. And as in past seasons, I will be here to give you betting tips for all Premiership matches, Champions League matches and more.

The Community Shield on August 9nd is up first as champion Manchester United plays FA Cup holder Chelsea in what is expected to be a football extravaganza! Let’s hope this will mark a great start to a great football season. We really can’t wait for it to start.
BetUknow members predict Manchester United as winners, what do you say?

The Fight against Relegation

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:04:00 +0000

A week before the end of the season, we have only one team who ensured their place in the League Championship next year… After a very bad spell, West Bromwich woke up and tried to complete an unlikely survival quest, but their two wins and two losses from their last 4 fixtures were too little, too late.
So, who are the rest of the relegation candidates?
Let's start with Sunderland, which are most likely to stay up. Inspecting next week's odds brings up that the odds for Sunderland to get relegated are approximately 1-14. Sunderland will be relegated if they’ll lose and both Hull and Newcastle win their matches. Highly unlikely…
On the other end of the scale there is Middlesbrough, who will need a miracle to survive. Boro travel to Upton Park, to play 9th place West Ham. True, West Ham have nothing to play for but considering Gareth Southgate’s lads inability to win (or to score) makes one realize that Middlesborough will play Championship football next season.
So we are left with Newcastle United and Hull.

The Magpies play Aston Villa away from home, knowing that a draw might be enough, if Hull will lose at home to already-champions Manchester United. Newcastle’s win against Middlesbrough gave them some hope but their home defeat to Fulham sent them back to the relegation zone. Lucky for them, they have a superior goal difference over Hull, so they have to prey Manchester United will do a professional job at the KC Stadium.
In normal times, we could see no way for Hull to come out with anything from their match with United, but since United have already been crowned as League Champions they will most probably field a weakened team, to try and avoid injuries before the Champions League final. This opens a window of opportunity for Hull, as they know that a win will cement their place in the Premiership.
My predictions are that Hull will end their match in a draw, Newcastle will win against Aston Villa and Middlesbrough….well….it doesn't really matter.
Bye bye Hull and Middlesbrough.

Place your fantasy bets at BetUknow and share your knowledge with us - BetUknow

The road to Rome

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Tue, 05 May 2009 09:15:00 +0000

Arsenal and Manchester United face each other tonight in an all-English encounter to decide who will get a shot at the Champions League final in Rome. Indeed, Man Utd are a much better side and they have proved it throughout this season, but both they and Arsenal know that anything is possible when all lies on one match. Still, Arsenal won’t be too happy to hear that despite all that, BetUknow members are divided between a draw and a Man Utd win.
Now let’s get to the fun part: the clash of the giants between Chelsea and Barcelona. The first leg ended in a boring 0-0 draw, as Chelsea practically pared the bus in front of their goal. Barcelona just couldn’t find a way through. Still, their amazing 6-2 win over arch rivals Real Madrid in The super Classico, will probably give them a much needed confidence boost, as once again – Barca feel as the clear favorites. Their only problem is the fact that their starting half-backs can’t play, due to injuries or suspensions. It is hard to imagine the young Fernando Cáceres holding Drogba off for an entire match.
Most of BetUknow community goes with Barcelona, but if you'll ask the community experts, they'll tell you that Chelsea will win. Place your fantasy bets in order to determine the winner - BetUknow

Can Shearer save the Toons?

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:34:00 +0000

Tomorrow's match is a crucial one for Newcastle United. A win will place them in the 18th place with 33 points, only one point away from safety, while leaving Pompey deeply involved in the fight for Premiership survival.On the other hand, a defeat will most probably bring Newcastle’s status as a Premiership side to an end, especially when their next match will be at Anfield, versus high flying Liverpool.
So a question comes to mind – Was Alan Shearer right to join Newcastle? Well, the jury are still out on this, but with not long to go till the end of the season, we’ll know whether Shearer will be a hero or a villain soon enough.
In any case, we see three possible outcomes for Newcastle’s next month:
1. Newcastle manage a win against Portsmouth with a couple of wins over Middlesborough and Fulham (after the Liverpool clash) they secure their top flight status.
2. They lose the game and start getting ready for their away match at Peterborough.
3. The match ends in a draw and Newcastle have no other choice but grabbing a huge away win at Anfield next week.
What do you say?

Place your bets on the Champions League matches: BetUknow

Key Players

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Who's a more crucial part for his team? Van Persie/Adebayor for Arsenal or Gerrard for Liverpool? Tonight's match sees Liverpool and Arsenal battle at Anfield without their key players and it’s hard to decide who will be harmed the most.
A bit more than a month ago, Arsenal were in the 5th place with 8 points separating them from Aston Villa, but then something has changed, (might be Arshavin's new breeze) and the Gunners got into form. Now Arsene Wenger's team is 6 points above Aston Villa and instead of fighting just for the chance to take part in next year’s Champions League qualifying round, all of a sudden they threaten Chelsea's automatic qualifying spot.
On the other side of the pitch we have Liverpool with their fantastic season, still in the title race even though they lost the good form they had a month ago.
With all due respect for both teams and their players, Liverpool without Gerrard is a different team, exactly like Arsenal without Van Persie and Adebayor is. Even though the subs for both teams include players like Lucas, Benayoun, Vela, Bentdner and more, It won’t be the same without both team's key players.
According to BetUknow community, Liverpool will be tonight's winners, share your thoughts here:

The EPL teams are searching for the CL final

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:55:00 +0000

Federico Macheda’s celebrations are a thing of the past as the Red Devils prepare to face Porto this evening, at the Champions League quarter finals first leg. This isn't a regular match for Manchester United, as the Portuguese team finished the reds dreams to win European glory back in 2004, and continued all the way to win the title. BetUknow's punters have full faith in the reds expected win; this explains the 1.4 odds you'll get for a Man Utd win at the bookies.
Arsenal face a difficult encounter with Villarreal at the El Madrigal. The EPL team is back on form in the recent weeks, and seems capable of joining Man Utd in the CL's semis, but it all depends on the result they'll get today. According to BetUknow punters the Gunners will have a jolly ride back to London, as the community of punters are divided between a draw and an away win.
Another highly anticipated match sees Liverpool and Chelsea collide. What more can I say about this encounter that hasn't been said in recent years? BetUknow punters think that Liverpool's good form will give them an advantage and a glorious win.

The English Premier League vs. Serie A

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:45:00 +0000

If we ignore the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid, the 2008/9 Champions League has brought us a fierce Anglo-Italian battle for the most prestigious football title.
The first match brings Manchester United (1st in the EPL) and Jose mourinho's Inter Milan (1st in Seria A). The 0-0 draw in the first leg puts Manchester United in a good position, and it’s safe to say that at Old Trafford the match will evolve differently. If Man Utd will play for 90 minutes with the pace they showed in the first 20 minutes of the first leg, they will easily pass by the Italians.
The second encounter is between Chelsea (2nd in the EPL), and Juventus (2nd in Seria A). Both teams had a great start for their seasons, but later lost their momentum. Still, it seems as if Chelsea's new gaffer, Guus Hiddink, put them back on track while Juventus still struggle. Chelsea’s 1-0 advantage should be more than enough to book them a place in the next round.
So, while Manchester and Chelsea look certain to qualify, Arsenal will have to work hard to get there. Arsenal (5th in the EPL) face AS Roma (6th in Seria A) with a 1-0 advantage, yet that win wasn’t too convincing as The Gunners needed Van Persie's successful penalty kick to keep them in contention.
BetUknow members think that Arsenal will complete the mission and join Man Utd and Chelsea in the next round with another win at Italy, what do you think?

Is the title race really over?

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:32:00 +0000

Manchester United have completed their game in hand against Fulham and the 3-0 win tightened their grip of the top spot, them 5 points clear from Liverpool who are in 2nd. Martin O'Neill's side will find it hard to challenge United’s title run and Chelsea’s dismal run has put them practically out of contention (10 points behind with 13 weeks to go), even with Guus Hiddink at the helm.
Well, miracles do happen, but this does not seem to be the case… The title race can be sealed this weekend if results go United’s way.
Aston Vila host Chelsea and a draw is written all over the place. There is also a consensus among BetUknow's community that the teams will share the spoils. Liverpool, on the other hand, face Manchester City. This cannot be considered an easy task; furthermore - I think Rafa's mind is already set on the encounter with Real Madrid next Tuesday, as he probably realizes winning the Champions League will guarantee him a new contract. Assuming that Alex Ferguson's dream team won't slip against lowly Blackburn….we will be able to crown them as League Champions on Sunday.

Last chance to stay in the race

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:09:00 +0000

Today's match at Anfield is more than just another match between two Premiership giants. Even Chelsea’s desire to revenge their home defeat to Liverpool is not the reason for this match to be more important the usual. The important thing is the fact that a draw result here will practically crown Manchester United as champions as it will cost both Liverpool and Chelsea the chance of winning the title. Honestly, they both do not deserve to win it this year, but let’s be faithful to the truth - neither does Manchester United.
According to the bookies Liverpool are the favorites with odds of 2.5, while the odds for Chelsea win are 3 and 3.25 for the draw. BetUknow community of bettors has full faith in the draw, while my gut feeling is that Chelsea will get their revenge.

The dynamic 2008\2009 season

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:59:00 +0000

Only a month ago it seemed like this season will see either Liverpool or Chelsea crowned as League Champions. Now, with 22 matches gone, it seems that once again Man Utd will be the champions, with 5-10 points separating them and the runner-ups.
The same goes with Hull City, who had won only once in their last ten matches. This comes as a total contradiction to their brilliant start of the season.
And it keeps going! Portsmouth made a couple of good signings in the summer, with Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe. 3 months later and Defoe plays for Tottenham and Pompey are hovering 3 over the foot of the table. West Brom and West Ham are on a good spell while Newcastle and Tottenham remain unpredictable. Yep, 2008/2009 season is very dynamic.
Nevertheless, BetUknow members manage to overcome these setbacks and keep on producing accurate predictions. The wise thing to do, then, is to stay tuned!

The Premier League teams in the FA Cup 3rd round

noreply@blogger.com (Liad) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:49:00 +0000

The FA Cup is one of the few ways for a team which season is going quite poorly, to enjoy some unforgettable joyous moments, not to mention making a mediocre season – a successful one. For underachievers such as Tottenham, Blackburn and Sunderland, the FA Cup is the best remedy, and who knows? They might take a good cup run and make it a stepping stone towards improved league performances.
Using my gut feeling and BetUknow top predictor's predictions I will try to concentrate on two possible surprises:

1. Sheffield Wednesday v Fulham: Roy Hodgeson managed to turn Fulham’s fortunes and after avoiding relegation, The Cottagers are performing quite well this season, finding themselves high in the table. This makes them clear favourites for this one, but… Hmm… being a favourite is unknown turf for them. While they will have to come out and attack, Wednesday will try to hold the lines and sting with a couple of counter attacks. I won’t be surprised if this will happen.

2. West Ham United v Barnsley: Last season saw Barnsley managing their way to the semi finals, after a string of shocking wins against both Liverpool and Chelsea. Well, I'm not saying they can repeat this amazing run, but a draw at Upton Park does not seem to be farfetched.