Saturday Column – The Footy and The Horses
The Footy
Even the most optimistic Manchester City fan was taken aback by what unfolded on Saturday. They blitzed poor Watford to the point where it was 5-0 inside 20 minutes! It has been several months since City supporters saw such a demolition! Will the backlash from the Norwich defeat continue, or will Everton show their resolve?
As I do most weeks, I’ll leave the English Premier League to more capable individuals and focus on games you don’t see mentioned on many websites.
1 – Back to Barbados (If You’re an Insomniac)
As I said last week, the Barbadian Challenge Cup is ongoing, and there have been some big scorelines. Poor old Fitts Village has lost both their games by a score of 8-1! Villa Hall defeated Checker Hall 7-5 (not a misprint) last Sunday.
It remains to be seen how many games are in-play this weekend, but I can see a potentially great opportunity for night owls. On Sunday at 2 am, BDF plays the Barbados Soccer Academy. After going unbeaten in their first four league games last season, the Academy lost 17 of their next 19! This run included heavy losses including 10-0, 8-0, 8-0, 6-2 and 5-1 defeats.
The double-digit massacre came against Sunday’s opponents, BDF. Bet365 has odds available for this game at the time of writing. BDF is 1.20 to win, so the -2 handicap should be close to Evens. I’d also expect the goal line to be over 4.5. I’ve noticed that when Barbadian games are likely to become ridiculous scorelines, you know within 10 minutes.
If you happen to be awake, consider giving it a few minutes. Also, don’t bet if you are coming in pissed after a night out!
2 – Female Footy Focus
With such an emphasis on the men’s game, it is easy to miss out on the vast number of weekend women’s matches. In the English women’s premier league, Manchester City’s women aim to continue their pillaging at 12:30 pm on Sunday. They are away to Everton ladies but are worth a look on the -1 handicap at anywhere near Evens. Last season, City won the two fixtures against Everton by scores of 4-0 and 3-0.
The Spanish women’s second division is always worth watching with silly scores the norm. However, the league has changed with the vast number of regions condensed into North and South. It should make the second tier more competitive with fewer teams, but there will always be mismatches. In the Southern section, Collerense and Juan Grande already look inferior to the rest. Check out in-play games to see if there is a likely hiding or goal-fest available.
3 – Czech Out This Youth League
The Czech u19 league is well underway and offers its fair share of mismatches. The low-quality sides tend to struggle badly in away matches, although the dreadful Meteor Praha has bucked this trend by being worse at home! They have lost all four home games and conceded 20 goals in the process. They play at 10:45 am on Saturday against the middling Opava.
The 10 am game between Slavia Prague and Ceske Budejovice on Saturday has all the makings of a big win for the home team. Slavia has been better on the road with 16 goals scored in 3 wins. However, Ceske has conceded 13 in their four away games and look ripe for a tanking.
At the time of writing, Slavia was 1.10 to win, so a -3 handicap is likely to be around 2.50 or thereabouts. One point to note; Ceske has only endured one hiding (8-0 away to Sparta Prague), so there is a chance they keep the score down. Slavia has 9-0, 4-0, and 5-1 wins so far this season.
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The Horses
1 – Champion jockey Silvestre de Sousa set to return on Wednesday
Silvestre de Sousa announced that he will return to the saddle at Kempton's all-weather meeting next Wednesday after being sidelined following a fall at Chelmsford last month.
The reigning champion jockey sustained a broken collarbone when his mount Alnadir fell in a 1m2f handicap at the Essex track and is set to ride work for the first time since the incident on Saturday.
He said in his Star Sports blog…
2 – Richard Fahey: Possible Touch in Cambridgeshire
Top trainer Richard Fahey guides us through his runners around the country on Saturday and he quietly fancies a big run from Another Touch in the Cambridgeshire.
I was very proud of Growl last week when he was second in the William Hill Ayr Gold Cup. He’s a star, the second time he’s been runner-up in the race and he was just unfortunate to get mugged by the winner after out-battling Gulliver inside the final furlong.
Check Out The Top Trainer's Insights
3 – The Stats
We head to Chester today and our trainer is Andrew Balding. He's showing a 22% strike rate for the last two weeks and has a 21% strike rate at the course. He's got a 50% RTF and three runners at the course, today. I'll be backing them all –
13:35 – Strait Of Hormuz
16:30 – Inclyne
17:05 – Seeusoon
We'll be back next week with more insights into the footy and the horse's world and let us know what you're backing in the comments 🙂
Patrick & Eddie for the Football Advisor
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