Saturday Night’s Alright… For Betting (So is Sunday!)Plus The Geegees
The Footy
Welcome to our first column where we'll look at a few things to watch out for when betting on football at the weekend. As it is the summer and the pampered spoiled major European league superstars about to resume pre-season training, the focus for the next month or so will be on lesser known leagues and teams.
1 – Fun Times with German Amateurs
I’m not sure if it is because they are bad at football, or perhaps they’ve been on the ale for all of Friday, but German amateur teams sure like getting a double-figure beating at the weekend. Last Saturday saw Hamburg of the second division destroy fifth tier Buchholz 13-1.
It was one of several double-digit mauling’s in Germany. This weekend has several more possible mismatches; hopefully, a few of them will be in play.
2 – Beware Wounded Lionesses
Both England and Sweden ladies suffered heartbreak in World Cup semi-finals this week. Both teams will feel that they left a World Cup final place on the pitch as they had their chances to snatch glory. It is nice to know that FIFA doesn’t discriminate when it comes to pointless third and fourth-placed playoffs. With the pressure off, perhaps England will do enough to get past the Swedes.
3 – Don’t Cry for Argentina
Speaking of teams that perform when the pressure is off; it takes us neatly to the other pointless third-fourth placed playoff on this weekend. Argentina had no answer to their great rivals, Brazil, but should at least grab the bronze by beating a Chilean side that belied a complete lack of form to make the semi-final. In the end, they got walloped by Peru!
4 – America to get Kicked in the Nether Regions?
Sunday sees the Women’s World Cup Final and the United States have been installed as the hot favourites. As they are the defending champions, it seems fair to see them at 1.44 on first glance. There is every chance they rise to the biggest of occasions like they usually do.
However, they are up against the European Champions. While the Netherlands were admittedly the hosts in 2017, they defeated England 3-0 in the semi-finals and have shown that they too can dig deep on the big occasion. Don’t be surprised if the future is orange on Sunday as the Dutch shock the holders.
5 – Alisson in Wonderland?
Brazil hasn’t always looked fantastic en-route to the Copa America finals and can consider themselves fortunate to get past a pretty poor Paraguay side on penalties in the quarter-finals. However, they were much better when disposing of Argentina in the semi-finals. They will surely fancy the job against a side they beat 5-0 in the group stages.
Aside from keeping the Brazilians out, Paolo Guerrero and company have to find a way past the giant Brazilian goalkeeper, Alisson Becker. He has kept nine consecutive clean sheets for club and country. Since he last conceded a goal, Becker has won the Golden Gloves awards the Premier League, Champions League, and Copa America, while winning the Champions League itself. It will be one of the biggest shocks of the year if he isn’t holding the Copa America aloft on Sunday night.
The Geegeez
1 – RIP John
It's sad news for racing fans, as John McCririck died in hospital yesterday morning. He was a “marmite” character and a man who caused some controversy along his career. One thing is for sure though, he brought colour and character to the betting ring and will be remembered by many.
2- Enabling A Paris Win
Today's feature race, the Group 1 Coral Eclipse, sees the Gosden trained super-mare take on some of the best. Trading at around even money, this is the start of what could be a victory in the L'Arc de Triomphe. Can she do the treble?
3 – We Love A Stat
Keep an eye out for William Haggas trained runners at Sandown, this afternoon. He's got a 22% strike rate at the course his form over the last 14-days is exceptional. 15 winners from 49 runners for a strike rate of over 30%.
He's got four runners at the course today and they'll worth futher investigation –
1.50 – Muthmir
2.25 – Mojito
3.00 – Hidden Message
4.10 – Cristal Breeze
All are decent prices and a couple at each-way could do the trick.
We'll be back next week with more insights into the footy and geegeez world and let us know what you're backing in the comments 🙂
Patrick & Eddie for the Football Advisor
