Betting Picks

Event: Premiere League Soccer

Stoke City at Burnley

Wednesday March 10, 2010, 14:45 EST

March is in full swing and the sports book is full of a wide range of events, including NCAA basketball, hockey, the NBA, and of course soccer.  Races in the Premiere League are heating on, and Wednesday’s sole match has a lot at stake for a team looking to keep their spot in the Premiership.

Stoke City visit’s a desperate Burnley club this week as the Clarets are looking for victory to move out of the relegation zone. They sit in 19^th position at 23 points, one point behind Hull City and Wolverhampton. As bad as they have been, a win puts them out of relegation and among many clubs fighting to survive.  Stoke City meanwhile sits at 11^th with 34 points, well away from the relegation zone, but well away from 5^th placed Manchester City who has 49 points. Still, the team has exceeded expectations and is looking for a very successful top half finish this year.

Though Burnley has been abysmal throughout much of the season as admitted through a coaching change in January, the club has faired well at home on Turf Moor.  All six of the club’s victories this season have come at home, as have four of their five draws; that is 22 of their 23 points this season.   In their last home match, however, they were upset 2-1 by Portsmouth, the lone team below them in the table. Brian Laws has taken over for Owen Coyle and has yet to see continued success and is simply trying to keep the team out of the drop zone.

Looking to rebound from that as well as a road loss to Arsenal, Burnley faces a Stoke City club that has been playing very well of late. A loss to Arsenal last week was their first in eight matches, and only have five losses on the road.

The Clarets hope that some of their injury problems will be solved in the coming games.  The possible return of Steven Fletcher, Steven Caldwell, and Chris McCann would greatly help the efforts against Stoke City. The Potters too may see a couple players return, but star Glenn Whelan does not appear to be ready. With a healthy club, and a crowd behind them, Burnley has the potential to earn a much needed victory.

Betting management Pick: Look for Burnley to rebound at home where they have found success this season.  Stoke City has been flying high of late and should be due for a let down.  The Clarets are incredibly desperate, and such teams come together to find ways to win.  Burnley will earn at least a point, and pull out all the stops to earn three and move out of the relegation zone.

Bet on March Madness as we are only a week away!

Event: Bolton Wanderers at West Ham United

Saturday, March 6^th, 10:00 am EST

March is upon us, and the sports book offers a lot to choose from.  College basketball gears up, the NBA makes a playoff push, the NHL trade deadline has just ended, and the baseball betting heads into spring training. However, the English Premiere League is in full swing, and offers a lot of exciting competition this weekend.

Two teams at the top of the bottom third of the league in West Ham United and Bolton are looking to make a move up and distance themselves from potential relegation. Five clubs sit within three points of Hull City, who currently sits in the final relegation spot with 24 points. West Ham and Bolton have 27 and 26 points respectively, and a win this weekend will go a long way to making sure they don’t fall into the bottom three. Statistically, the teams are not as evenly matched as they may seem with both winning six of 27 matches played, and West Ham earning one more draw than Bolton. For a team that has lost twice as many matches as they have won, West Ham only has a goal differential of minus 8, while Bolton is at minus 19.

Despite the stats, these teams always play each other tough. West Ham’s Valon Behrami said, “This is a game like the Hull one, against a team on the same level and they are a physical team.” He went on to add, “We need to win as we are at home…this is a very, very important game.”

West Ham is in the midst of a tough stretch of schedule.  The Hammers fell 3-0 to Manchester United last week, and have Chelsea and Arsenal to look forward to in the coming fortnight.  With three tough opponents in four matches, West Ham needs to prevail against Bolton and earn three points.

The Wanderers will be no easy task, however, coming off a victory and playing a West Ham team they beat 3-1 in December. Bolton defender Sam Ricketts said, “Wolves was the start of a massive run of games for us…Confidence is good and has always been good…but three points gives us all that little extra lift.”

Both teams are desperate for a victory to put some breathing room between themselves and relegation in the final standings.

Betting lines:

The betting lines are out for this game and naturally favour the home team. Playing at home gives the Hammers enough of an advantage to prevail. They have not lost a match in Upton Park in five matches, and have no surrendered a goal in four. Bolton, meanwhile, has lost four of its last five on the road, and has no scored a goal on the road in four matches.  In fact, prior to scoring one goal and earning a 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton last week, the Wanderers had failed to score in 6 straight Premiere League games, and seven of eight.  Still yet, Bolton has had continued success against West Ham, winning five consecutives matches.  Look for history to win over stats, as Bolton earns a draw, or even a surprise victory on the road.

Pick: Bolton

Event: International Friendly, USA v. Netherlands.

Wednesday, March 3^rd, 2:45 EST

March is upon us, and the sports book offers a lot to choose from.  College basketball gears up, the NBA makes a playoff push, the NHL trade deadline nears, and the MLB heads into spring training.  However, around the world a huge slate of international friendly competitions is on the slate Wednesday in the soccer world, with some very interesting match ups as teams continue to prepare for the World Cup in South Africa this summer.

One of the many exciting match ups takes place in Amsterdam, where the number three ranked Netherlands host the United States team.

This is the toughest game for the U.S. yet, and they will have nearly their full contingent of players. However, they will be lacking the services of Oguchi Onyewu of AC Milan who is out with a knee injury, as well as Steve Cherundolo who is still suffering from a shoulder problem. Clint Dempsey and Charlie Davies will also be out for the Americans.

Despite a few injuries, the U.S. team should come out strong and play well on the road. A strong motivating for the American players is the fact that this will likely be the last opportunity for some of them to impress before head coach Bob Bradley chooses a 23-man squad to compete in South Africa. Two players that have been emerging of late are Brian Ching and Eddie Johnson, both of whom are looking to make the final team.  Ching scored first for the U.S. in a recent friendly on home soil against El Salvador. Sacha Klestjan scored in stoppage time for the Americans to give them a 2-1 victory and plenty of momentum heading to Amsterdam.

In South Africa, the Americans have drawn Slovenia, Algeria, and a tough opponent in England in their first match. The U.S. will be taking this friendly very seriously as they try to improve and become serious contenders this summer.  Failing to move out of the group would be considered a massive failure by the Americans.

The Dutch, meanwhile, look to continue their strong play.  They will be without star Robin van Persie, but the continued strong play of Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder is expected to lead the Oranje. This is the team’s first friendly of the year, and should be boosted by playing at home in PSV Stadium. The Netherlands have scheduled three more friendlies prior to the World Cup, all of which are at home.

Their group opponents in the World Cup are Japan, Denmark, and Cameroon.  With high expectations, the Netherlands are expected to finish at the top of their group and move ahead.

Betting lines:

The Dutch are favorites in this match, but need to be careful not to overlook the American squad.  The U.S. will continue to embrace the underdog role, and will have to get comfortable playing and winning from that position if they hope to be successful come this summer.  Don’t look for them to give up if they get down early. The U.S. will play strong and composed, and look for a close game, and the Americans to give the Netherlands a surprising draw. The U.S.A. – Netherlands match is just one of many in the sports betting world Wednesday, so check out all the exciting battles as teams get ready for South Africa.

Event: Wolverhampton at Bolton

Saturday, February 27^th, 10:00 AM EST

As February draws to a close, some sports have ended, some are heading towards the final stretch, whiles others are just getting underway.  Fortunately, the Sports book is open for betting on soccer, and the English league is in full swing.

The beauty of the Premier League is that those teams far out of first still are motivated to play strong and not finish in the last three spots, where they would be relegated out.  With that in mind, an exciting match up takes place this weekend between two teams fighting for their survival, looking to move out, or stay out, of the league’s basement.

Wolverhampton sits uncomfortably with 24 points in the 16^th position, a mere point ahead of Bolton in 18^th, currently in position for relegation.  It will be a long continued fight as the season goes on, with seven clubs currently within four points of one another.  Two of those teams will likely be relegated at the end of the season. So there is much motivation in this weekend’s match as both teams looks to earn a three and move away from the pack.

For a team that has only won six matches all season, Wolverhampton is relatively decent when it comes to playing on the road, having earned two victories and three draws. Bolton meanwhile, has taken three of its five wins at home. The last meeting between these two teams took place in early December in Wolverhamton, where the home town Wanderers edged Bolton 2-1.

Wolverhampton is looking to bounce back from a respectable 2-0 defeat to Chelsea, while Bolton is trying to get out of a lengthy scoring drought. They have failed to find the back of the net in five straight league matches.  Two of the matches were scoreless draws; the team’s last victory was a 1-0 triumph at home against Burnley one month ago.

Goals have come no easier for Mick McCarthy’s team either, as they are tied with Portsmouth for fewest goals scored in the league. They have 21 goals in 26 matches. And it doesn’t seem like it will get any easier any time soon, as the team continues to suffer from injuries. While leading score Joey Craddock will be on the field, the next two top scorers, Nenad Milijas and Kevin Doyle are sidelined. Andy Keogh and Matt Murray are still suffering from long term injuries as well. The bright side for Wolverhampton is that they will welcome Michael Mancienne to the match, after having to sit out the Chelsea match due to terms of his contract.

Pick:

Wolverhampton will be favoured at home, but its close, and they don’t have a particularly strong advantage playing at home.  Both clubs have seriously struggled to score goals this year, and there is no reason to suspect that may change.  Sports book reviews will help to maximize winnings and bet on multiple games, but for this match take the draw between two closely ranked teams that will fail to break from the pack. Sports betting with soccer is easy to do, and it is time to take advantage of the games when two evenly matched clubs take to the field.