Disclaimer: Gambling is for over 18’s (says the 23 year old who has been gambling for about 16-17 years), and only bet money that you can afford to lose.
If you had no interest in horses last week and had placed £1 on each of my 7 football selections, you would have made a profit of £8.56 with 3 selections coming in. This is without mentioning the tip of Balthazar King in the Grand National who came a very creditable 2nd place.
- Palace kept a clean sheet and the generous 4/1 offered by StanJames was very good odds for a team who has now have 10 clean sheets for the season.
- Jason Puncheon at 9/2 to score anytime was a good (no kidding!) bet with him scoring 2 goals and being valued as the player of the week in Europe by WhoScored.com.
- The Banker Treble of Man Utd, Wigan and Wolves paid 4.11/1 with all 3 securing victories.
This week is a strange one to predict. With Palace all but safe in the eyes of the media (but not the fans, as we know what can happen), Palace have what looks to be their easiest home game since February when we faced West Brom, with Man Utd, Southampton and Chelsea visiting since then. With Man City and Liverpool to come, it would seem to be the easiest game remaining, which in true Palace style, we will end up losing!
Villa have lost their last 3 games, but have scored in their last 5, though have recently lost Christian Benteke to injury. They haven’t won away from home since New Years Day, and have draws against Liverpool and Cardiff back in that time.
- Anytime Goalscorer – Jason Puncheon – 4/1 Paddy Power. Why change a bad thing? Though it has been rare this season for Puncheon to have consecutive games of good form, he has put together 2 excellent performances and last week, he matched Luis Suarez as the only players this season to have 6 shots on target in a game.
- A strange bet with Marathon Bet – A substitute to score a goal – 3/1 Marathon. Rather than continuing the Glenn Murray to score anytime bets (best odds 14/5), why not hope to take advantage of the better odds with Marathon? The best part of this is that at least 2 from Chamakh, Gayle and Murray will be on the bench, so you are getting 3/1 on any of the 3 used subs from each team scoring a goal.
- After the recent great run, the best odds you can get on a clean sheet are a puny 29/20 with Ladbrokes, so why not tempt fate and go with Palace to win to nil – 23/10 with Ladbrokes. A team full of confidence against a team low on confidence with their top International striker out for months, there is a reason why Palace are favourites in this game.
Obscure Value Bets (while wearing red and blue tinted glasses):
- Joe Ledley to score the first Crystal Palace goal – 19/2 BetVictor – As the marauding 3rd midfielder, Ledley is getting in great positions to score, and is excellent in the air as well as with his feet.
- Crystal Palace to win 2-0 – 19/2 – A comfortable (yeah right!) 2-0 victory would all but seal safety for Palace. The first in the Premier League era. Wouldn’t it be nice to relax for a few weeks?
I’ll finish with a few general football tips and a horse I expect to do well at the weekend.
- Banker Treble: Everton, Preston and Fleetwood pays 3.76/1 with BetVictor
- Risky Treble: Stoke, Bournemouth and Rochdale pays 10/1 with Ladbrokes
Random Horse Racing Tip for Saturday: Newbury 1.50 – Mutashaded. Strong race, but I fancy the Hanagan/Varian combination to bear fruit once again.
Obscure Palace-related horse of the weekend: Newbury 4.05 – Eagle Top. Full brother to talented mare The Lark.
Scottish National Tip: Tidal Bay. The class horse of the field and unluckily brought down in last week’s Aintree race.
If you want to read more about Horse Racing and tipping, then visit my weekly column at http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/sport/horseracing/ – 5 Aintree winners and 5 places last week.
You can comment, praise or slate me via Twitter through @cpfcpatriot
