Royal Rumble 2014 – Betting Preview

The road to WrestleMania is almost upon us and the first stop is the Royal Rumble. If you aren’t a massive wrestling fan and only watch the major PPV’s, here are a couple of tips to make this year’s Royal Rumble more interesting.

Royal Rumble winner

Batista is the overwhelming favourite to win the Royal Rumble and face the WWE World Heavyweight champion at WrestleMania. The best odds for the Animal to win are 1/2 with Coral. Since he only returned to the WWE on Monday Night after four years, the WWE may not give Batista such a big opportunity so soon.

Before the announcement of Batista’s return, CM Punk was one of the heavy favourites. Paddy Power are offering 8/1, with the Royal Rumble match one of the few accolades that CM Punk has yet to achieve in the WWE. However, with Punk entering at number one, this might be too much to overcome for the ‘best in the world’.

Daniel Bryan faces Bray Wyatt earlier on in the night and is yet to be announced to compete at the Royal Rumble match. However, as one of the most over stars in the company at the moment, I would be surprised if he doesn’t feature. His best odds of winning the match are 5/1 with Paddy Power.

My two outside bets are the stars of the future in Roman Reigns and Big E Langston. The two rookies have been on roles as of late, which reflect in the odds market. You Win and Paddy Power are offering 16/1 for Roman Reigns but Big E Langston is 25/1 with Skybet, Betfred and Sportingbet.

The 2012 winner Sheamus is rumoured to return to the Royal Rumble this Sunday and Sportingbet are offering 50/1 for a victory for the Celtic Warrior.

Most Eliminations

Only Paddy Power are offering odds for the most eliminations. Unsurprisingly Roman Reigns is the heavy favourite with odds of 5/6. Not only is he the favourite for the most eliminations but he is tipped to break Kane’s record of 11 eliminations in a single Rumble match.

CM Punk is 7/4 who eliminated 7 superstars consecutively in 2011. The Intercontinental champion Big E Langston is 5/1, and Rumble favourite Batista is 8/1 purely because it is likely that he will be one of the later superstars to enter the match. A very generous offer would be the mastermind of the Shield Dean Ambrose at 20/1.

WWE World Heavyweight championship

It is highly unlikely that Randy Orton is going to leave the Royal Rumble without the WWE World Heavyweight championship. With that being said the best odds you can get for him is 1/6 with Skybet.

However as this is a traditional one-on-one match. A disqualification victory for John Cena would win you your money. 7/1 is what Paddy Power are offering, which may be worth investing in, knowing that John Cena very rarely loses cleanly and that a disqualification is very much on the cards.

Other matches on the card

Bray Wyatt is 4/11 to beat Daniel Bryan with Skybet who is yet to lose in one-on-one competition. The best odds for a Daniel Bryan win is 5/2. This will also come in if Wyatt’s henchmen Erick Rowan and Luke Harper get involved to cause a disqualification.

The best odds for Brock Lesnar to win are 1/10, where the Big Show is 10/1 to stop the beast in carnet. Nothing but a win for the former UFC champion is expected.

The Royal Rumble pre-show features the New Age Outlaws challenging for the WWE Tag Team titles for the first time in almost 14 years. As close friends with Triple H and the authority, they are heavy favourites to become 6 times WWE Tag Team champions. They are offered as low as 1/20 with Sportingbet but 1/8 with Paddy Power. Cody Rhodes and Goldust are as high as 7/1 with Sportingbet. A defeat for the Rhodes brother may be the start of their implosion.

Selections;

Royal Rumble Winner; 

Roman Reigns @ 16/1 (Paddy Power)

Big E Langston @ 25/1 (Various)

 

Most Eliminations;

Dean Ambrose @ 20/1

 

John Cena to win via disqualification @ 7/1 (Paddy Power)

F.A Cup – Fourth Round Best Bets

Following a rather disappointing third round, with very few upsets, attention turns to the fourth round of England’s most prized cup competition.

Sticking with the trend of last rounds predictions, it may pay to delve into a mixture of outsiders and goalscorers, with teams now stepping up the hunt for glory and putting out as strong a starting eleven as they can muster.

Double Delight;

Tony Pulis has done a fantastic job since taking over at Crystal Palace, and his side travel to holders Wigan on the back of a solid run of form which has seen them climb out of the relegation zone to 16th place.

Wigan on the other hand have found themselves floundering in eleventh place in the Championship, way below expectations. They have struggled to show the spark which seen them win the trophy last year, and it took a replay to see of MK Dons in the last round.

All this added together, means the current 27/10 for Crystal Palace seems exceptionally large. Usually it pays to steer clear of bottom-half Premier League sides travelling to Championship opposition, with questions asked over desire and commitment.

However, you can guarantee Pulis will have his men completely motivated and up for the challenge, and he will hope to improve on his record in the competiton, having guided Stoke to the final in 2011, before being beaten by Manchester City.

They should have too much class to see off Wigan, and they become the first selection in an enticing double.

The second selection is ironically, also a bottom half (relegation threatened) side, travelling away to a Championship side.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken over the reigns at Cardiff City and guided his side past Newcastle in the previous round, and he has pinpointed a cup run as important to instilling confidence around the club, which will help them fight against relegation later in the season.

His side travel to Bolton, who are currently struggling in the Championship, and come into the game on the back of a 7-1 defeat at the hands of Reading.

You can be certain confidence will be extremely low, and Solskjaer’s men may well be able to take advantage of this. The Bluebird’s should realistically be favourites, yet are currently being offered at 9/5 to beat Dougie Freedman’s men.

Cardiff have managed to take the scalps of many big Premier League sides this season, and although they are currently sitting at the foot of the table, they have the belief and ability to be able to beat any side in the league on their day, which should mean they can surpass Bolton Wanders, and it is worth chancing at the prices.

This means that the double pays 9.36/1 and is definitely worth a small punt.

Any-time scorer double;

Any-time goalscorer bets are becoming increasingly popular with punters, and it is easy to see why. It gives hope throughout the entire game, as you know regardless of the score, if your player is on the pitch, you have a chance of winning your bet up until the ref blows the full-time whistle.

The first member of the elite duo we are going to back, may well be a surprising choice. The early kick-off is between Bournemouth and Liverpool, in which Liverpool are firm favourites to go through.

However, the Reds always look prone to conceding of late, and with Simon Mignolet’s current form being questioned, it would be no surprise to see the magic of the cup occur, and Bournemouth net a goal at some stage of the afternoon.

This means siding with Lewis Grabban (7/2), to net any-time could well be a profitable venture. The striker recently celebrated his 26th birthday by holding talks with Brighton about a potential move to the fellow Championship side, however he turned them down and signed a new contract at the Cherries.

It would be perfectly fitting for him to show his loyalty to the fans, by netting a goal against such esteemed opposition and his pace and prowess are sure to give Liverpool defenders a torrid time at Victoria Park, and he is definitely worth chancing at odds of 7/2 to score any-time.

The second part of the double comes in the shape of Adam Lallana, with the Englishman likely to be starting in an attacking role against Yeovil, on Saturday.

His ability to find the right spaces and class to choose the right pass or finish, has led the 25 year-old to be given his first chance in an England shirt this season. He will be looking to try and barge his way into Roy Hodgson’s plans for Brazil, and he knows the F.A Cup is one of the best ways to do it.

He netted in the previous round against Burnley, and will be hoping he can do the same against a weaker defence. The bookies are split with his odds ranging from 11/8 to a top-priced 2/1, and this should be exploited and added to the other selection of Grabban to form a 12.5/1 double.

Highest Scoring Game;

It is always difficult to predict the highest scoring game in an F.A Cup weekend, with thrillers being played out left, right and centre.

However, this particular market looks of great interest this round, due to a rather generous price on Manchester City taking on struggling Watford.

City have been sweeping all before them at the Etihad this season, and they have already registered over one hundred goals so far this season. They may not play their first string against Watford, but they have class in abundance and could well run riot.

Aguero will be given the nod to continue his return to fitness, and he alone will cause Watford some serious problems. They are 5/1 to be the highest scoring game, with Southampton v Yeovil at the same price. The Saints may well rest a few players, and take their foot of the gas when they establish a decent lead, whereas you can be certain City will be out to knock up a massive margin.

So, the 5/1 does look extremely tempting, and should be taken on City v Watford to be the highest scoring F.A Cup game this weekend.

Selections;

Crystal Palace & Cardiff both to win @ 9.36/1

Grabban & Lallana to score any-time @ 12.5/1

Man City v Watford to be the highest scoring game @ 5/1

The Grand National – Ante-Post Preview

In a little over two months time, the nation will unite for the one day a year where horse-racing takes centre stage.

The Grand National never fails to draw a mass worldwide crowd, and betting shops fill up with the ‘one race a year punters’ who love to have their pennies on a mount in the Aintree spectacular.

With 40 runners likely to line-up, it is always incredibly difficult to select the winner, as so much can happen across the four and a half mile venture, with 30 obstacles to negotiate.

However, at this time there are plenty of value bets to get stuck into, and hopefully you will be able to watch the price drop and drop until the day of the big race, which makes it all the sweeter.

Obviously we have less to work with at this stage, such-as we don’t know the official weight, whether they will get to the race in top shape etc, but this is all reflected in the price.

Feeling Bleu;

Unfortunately, my biggest fancy for the race would have been the consistent Cappa Bleu who has gone close in the previous two years, however he has been ruled out of the big race after picking up a knock. Trainer Evan Williams has stated a bid for the 2015 Grand National to be on the cards, but unfortunately he will miss what looked set to be a great opportunity.

Tea for me;

However, Wales will still be very well represented in the race, with last year’s third placed finisher Teaforthree lining up again for another crack at the big race.

He looks ideally suited to the stamina test at Aintree, and proved his capabilities in handling the track when putting in an inch perfect round of jumping, before staying on at one pace towards the end of the race.

The fact he has never fallen on a racecourse is a major plus, as the Aintree fences, although having been amended over the last few years, still take no prisoners. There are no stamina doubts for the 10-y-o, and his added touch of class may well prove extremely hard to peg back.

A sold run in the Welsh National in December will have acted as a perfect blowout, and the performance was enough to show he has retained his ability, and he should well be able to outrun his current 25/1 odds.

Time to Walkon;

Alan King is yet to win the Aintree feature, however he knows what it takes to win a big race, having landed last year’s Scottish National with Godsmejudge who is currently 33/1 for the English equivalent.

However the Barbury Castles handler is double handed in this year’s race, and it’s his other intended runner, Walkon, which is of more interest.

The 9-y-o grey excels in big field races, and looks the ideal candidate to attack the obstacles at Aintree. His last visit to the Grand National meeting was a semi-successful effort, finishing runner-up in the Topham Chase, over the National course last year. This effort is enough to instill effort in the punters who know the gelding can handle the unique Aintree obstacles, and if he has retained any of his previous class he should be able to mount a serious challenge.

He disappointed on his last visit to Merseyside, unseating when favourite for the Old Roan chase in October. He makes his re-appearance on Saturday in the Argento Chase at Cheltenham, and a good run there could see his price shorten severely. The 66/1 currently on offer looks very generous, and if he manages to line-up safe and sound come April, there is no way he will be the same price.

Selections;

Teaforthree @ 25/1 (Various)

Walkon @ 66/1 (Various)

F.A Cup – Third Round Best Bets

The magic of the F.A Cup is one thing that continues to give hope to teams and fans-a-like during their dark periods of supporting their club.

There’s nothing more that excites neutrals than the possibility of a big upset, and their looks set to be a few potential candidates this weekend.

Underdog Double;

Leicester City have been in fantastic form this season, mounting a serious title challenge in the Championship, and they travel to Mark Hughes’ Stoke this weekend.

Following on from a solid start to 2013, with a 3-1 win away at Millwall, Nigel Pearson’s men will be in great form and travel to the Potteries in buoyant mood.

Whereas Hughes’ men, have struggled of late, winning only one of their last six in all competitions. They come into the game having conceded a last minute penalty against Everton, throwing away a potential three points.

Their isn’t a massive difference in squad strengths between the two sides, and the pricing structure is based solely on the fact that the game is being played at the Britannia. Pearson will have prepped his players in dealing with the intense atmosphere, and the 27/10 on offer for Leicester looks too big to ignore, albeit not being too much of a ‘potential upset’.

The other team to go into the ‘Upset double’ is struggling Cardiff to beat in-form Newcastle. Yes, I know that’s not exactly what you want to hear going into the bet, but there is method in the madness.

Newcastle have been exceedingly strong in recent weeks, constantly surprising whilst racking up wins and shooting up the table. This is in a stark contrast to Cardiff’s dip in form, which ultimately (along with other things) cost Malky Mackay his job.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks set to be appointed the new Cardiff boss, and his wealth of experience on the pitch will come in very handy with the current squad at his disposal. Vincent Tan is sure to be offering hefty bonuses for impressive performances in cup competitions, and with the pressure of a league struggle put on the back-burner for a weekend, the freedom that Cardiff can play with will surely suit their expansive team.

The fairy-tale of the F.A Cup looks fitting to thrust Tan and his wild antics back into the limelight, and the stage looks set for a big game after Newcastle struggled to a defeat at the hands of West Brom, whilst Cardiff managed to keep Arsenal at bay for 88 minutes at the Emirates before conceding two late goals. The 9/2 for Cardiff looks generous, and the double pays 19.35/1.

Any-time scorer treble;

There are often selection issues from the so called ‘big sides’ in the competition, with many players being rested, with the league deemed more important. So it will pay to side with Championship sides and lower, who are guaranteed to put out their strongest eleven, as-well as paying attention to sides who are likely to play potential fringe players.

The first player to add to our treble, is Britt Asombalonga who has scored four times in only two appearances in the F.A Cup so far in his blossoming career. The 21 year-old has been in good form for Peterborough, and looks set to lead the line as Posh travel to Kidderminster hoping to avoid a potential upset. He is odds-on to net any-time in many places, with Bet365 going a stand-out 6/5, which becomes the first leg of the treble.

The second leg is a fringe player, who may potentially be sent out on loan this January, with the game acting as a potential shop window. The man is Nikica Jelavic at Everton, and although he is not guaranteed to start, the 6/4 on offer for him to net any-time looks too good to miss if he is to be given the nod.

The Croatian hasn’t been given much of a chance due to the emergence of loan signing Romelu Lukaku, and he will be looking to take advantage of any chance he is to be given. He is sure to get the service from a great footballing Everton side, who have began to thrive under Roberto Martinez. QPR are not great defensively, and Everton should be able to control the game, meaning Jelavic will be inundated with chances. The 6/4 with Bet365 is another best price, and is the second leg.

The final leg of the treble comes in the late kick-off on Saturday evening, and is Danny Welbeck who is currently 6/4. David Moyes will be taking no chances with team selection, knowing an early exit from the competition could be very cost to both him and his team. Welbeck is likely to start, and after netting twice away at the Swans on the opening day of the season, he will be confident of finding the net once more.

This means the treble pays 12.75/1 and looks a decent proposition to kick-start the new year in style.

Selections;

Leicester & Cardiff double @ 19.35/1

Assombalonga, Jelavic & Welbeck any-time treble @ 12.75/1

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