Weekend round-up, match report and some tips.

First off, last weekend has seen a few surprises - Brighton kicked Newcastle out of the FA Cup, Mesut Ozil scored and Messi didn't (Barcelona was largely toothless in general) and Carlos Tevez is STILL wanted by, well, absolutely no one. Wouldn't be surprised if he'd move to Anzhi, they would happily cover his ridiculous wages and probably let him fly to games all the way from Argentina.

So, the predictions have gone as follows:

QPR v Chelsea QPR to go through

Liverpool v Manchester United over 1,5 goals
Leicester v Swindon Town over 2,5 goals
Exeter City v Charlton over 1,5 goals  [match report below]
Rochdale v Bury over 1,5 goals
AFC Wimbledon v Aldershot 1
Torquay v Northampton Town 1
Catania v Parma over 1,5 goals
Juventus v Udinese over 1,5 goals
Real Madrid v Zaragoza over 3,5 goals
Villareal v Barcelona Leo Messi to score at any time
Borussia Dortmund v Hoffenheim Robert Lewandowski to score at any time
FC Koeln v Schalke over 2,5 goals
SC Heerenveen v Utrecht 1
Racing Genk v Oud-Heverlee over 2,5 goals
Gent v Sint-Truiden over 2,5 goals 

10/ 16. If only Lewandowski carried on scoring like he did against Hamburg and Wimbledon didn't suddenly flop against Aldershot who've notched their last victory way back in early December...

Exeter City 0 - 1 Charlton Athletic

    Token pre kick-off stretching shot.

Last weekend has seen St James' Park own Exeter City entertain the League One leaders - and once a Premier League outfit, but lets not dwell on their voluminous fall in the post-Curbishley era - Charlton Athletic. With the visit from a fellow football aficionado, currently working on making the MLS and A-League this little bit more bearable on Football Manager, there was only one way I could spend this bitterly cold Saturday afternoon.

Upon arrival at the ground we've been greeted with the sounds of...yes, you guessed it right. 

If we've still had any lingering doubts as to whether we've found ourselves on the terraces of Olympiakos instead of the increasingly windy South West, this song has dispelled any and all such questions.

As the game has got under way, Exeter employed it's usual 'anti tiki-taka' tactics and tried to hoof the ball on pretty much any occassion. If you're not quite sure what I mean then think Barcelona but doing literally EVERYTHING the other way. Charlton were happy to deal with such an approach and started to dominate in the center of the pitch, which ultimately proved crucial. The hosts have created a few half-chances but either hit the goalkeeper or, like James Dunne, failed to even hit the goal. Chris Powell's team has been equally daft, basically passing the ball about, seemingly without any discernible purpose (again, think Barcelona but...no, actually don't think Barcelona, that would be an insult) so unfortunately the first glimpses of a game severely lacking in anything exciting started to show as early as around the first quarter of an hour. At that point I've still hoped for at least 2 goals to keep my accumulator going...

After a very disappointing first half we've all been asked to cheer on the young lads from Central FC in their quest to eternal glory, ie scoring a goal from the closest range possible against a keeper who didn't really give a fuck. Due to drab first 45 minutes we have clapped and cheered a couple of times, in vain hope this would appease the football gods who would send us something to clap once the real thing resumes. 

'...and he's through on goal!' Best chance of the entire game if you ask me.


10 minutes into the second half and BOOM! Completely out of nowhere, Charlton are 1:0 up. Mad scenes at the away end and deservedly so as this game have looked like a 10000% 0:0 to all the 5400 supporters. A very innocous cross from the right hand side by Graham has been quite literally pushed into his own net - with a little help from the post - by the Pole in Exeter's goal, Artur Krysiak. Cue terrible jokes about Polish keeper's not being good at handling balls...this was absolutely horrible though.


What followed was more of this

and a bit more of this, too

Exeter have had their chances with the best one coming from the subs Bauza and Logan where the latter failed to score from about 2 yards out. Cries of disbelief from the terraces have only been silenced by the fact Logie was off. Exeter haven't scored in their previous two games and this has probably been the best reason as to why they haven't scored on Saturday either.


After the referee has blown the final whistle we've been quite relieved we can all go now and have a nice, warm cup of tea. If someone were to ask me to describe this game in one sentence I'd probably go with 'Not the best advertisement for football'.




Finally, a few tips for tonight:


Manchester United v Stoke (20:00) 1 (1.38)

Tottenham v Wigan (19:45) 1 (1.25)

Nottingham Forest v Burnley (19:45) over 1,5 goals (1.35)

Blackpool v Coventry City (20:00) over 1,5 goals (1.29)

Southampton v Cardiff (19:45) over 1,5 goals (1.34)

Charlton v Bury (19:45) 1 (1.48)

MK Dons v Sheffield Wednesday (19:45) over 1,5 goals (1.27)

Parma v Juventus (19:45) over 1,5 goals (1.41)

Today's tips.

Watford v Tottenham over 2,5 goals

Everton v  Fulham over 1,5 goals

PSV v Vitesse 1

AGOVV v Volendam over 2,5 goals [suspended due to floodlight failure]
MVV Maastricht v Telstar over 2,5 goals

FC Dordrecht v FC Zwolle over 2,5 goals

Fortuna Sittard v Helmond Sport over 2,5 goals

The Dutch 2nd Division didn't turn out to be a goal fest this time.

Ligue 1 is back this weekend yet despite the recent cup action I'd rather wait to see how the teams play in the league before making any calls. Below some predictions for today:


QPR v Chelsea (12:00) QPR to go through (4.2)

Liverpool v Manchester United (12:45) over 1,5 goals (1.37)

Leicester v Swindon Town (15:00) over 2,5 goals (1.9)

Exeter City v Charlton (15:00) over 1,5 goals (1.38) 

Rochdale v Bury (15:00) over 1,5 goals (1.32)

AFC Wimbledon v Aldershot (15:00) 1 (2.28)

Torquay v Northampton Town (15:00) 1 (1.69)

Catania v Parma (17:00) over 1,5 goals (1.44)

Juventus v Udinese (19:45) over 1,5 goals (1.35)

Real Madrid v Zaragoza (19:00) over 3,5 goals (1.62)

Villareal v Barcelona (21:00) Leo Messi to score at any time (1.47)

Borussia Dortmund v Hoffenheim (14:30) Robert Lewandowski to score at any time (2.10) [bwin]


FC Koeln v Schalke (17:30) over 2,5 goals (1.73)

SC Heerenveen v Utrecht (17:45) 1 (1.57)

Racing Genk v Oud-Heverlee (19:00) over 2,5 goals (1.61)

Gent v Sint-Truiden (19:00) over 2,5 goals (1.69)



A bit of Africa Cup of Nations for good measure:

Bit too late that, my firiend.

Friday frenzy!

Liverpool v Manchester City 2

Chievo v Siena over 1,5 goals

Napoli v Inter over 1,5 goals

Mallorca v Athletic Bilbao over 1,5 goals

Barcelona v Real Madrid over 2,5 goals

KV Mechelen v Racing Genk over 1,5 goals

Sint-Truiden v Westerlo over 1,5 goals

PAOK Saloniki v Atromitos 1

Genclerbirligi v Bursaspor 1

Galatasaray v Ankaragucu 1

Half-half this time. Here are some tips for tonight, with some more for the weekend coming up either tonight or tomorrow morning :)

Watford v Tottenham (19:45) over 2,5 goals (1.77)

Everton v  Fulham (20:00) over 1,5 goals (1.42)

PSV v Vitesse (19:00) 1 (1.22)

AGOVV v Volendam (19:00) over 2,5 goals (1.55)

MVV Maastricht v Telstar (19:00) over 2,5 goals (1.44)

FC Dordrecht v FC Zwolle (19:00) over 2,5 goals (1.71)

Fortuna Sittard v Helmond Sport (19:00) over 2,5 goals (1.6)

More mid-week fixtures.

Sivasspor v Antalyaspor 1

Besiktas v Gaziantepspor 1

Anderlecht v Gent 1

Juventus v AS Roma over 1,5 goals

Cardiff v Crystal Palace over 1,5 goals

Notts County v Preston over 2,5 goals

Scunthorpe v Sheffield United over 2,5 goals

Stevenage v MK Dons over 1,5 goals

AFC Wimbledon v Macclesfield 1

Torquay v Dagenham & Redbridge 1 

 

8/10, good stuff. Now onto today's games:

Liverpool v Manchester City (19:45) 2 (2.82)

Chievo v Siena (16:30) over 1,5 goals (1.48)

Napoli v Inter (19:45) over 1,5 goals (1.38)

Mallorca v Athletic Bilbao (19:00) over 1,5 goals (1.39)

Barcelona v Real Madrid (21:00) over 2,5 goals (1.56)

KV Mechelen v Racing Genk (19:30) over 1,5 goals (1.29)

Sint-Truiden v Westerlo (19:30) over 1,5 goals (1.31)

PAOK Saloniki v Atromitos (15:00) 1 (1.69)

 

Genclerbirligi v Bursaspor (13:30) 1 (2.52) 

Galatasaray v Ankaragucu (18:30) 1 (1.1)

Mid-week football bonanza.

Mid-week fixtures is where it's at. So here's a few tips for tonight:

Sivasspor v Antalyaspor (16:00) 1 (2.02)

Besiktas v Gaziantepspor (18:30) 1 (1.48)

Anderlecht v Gent (19:00) 1 (1.63)

Juventus v AS Roma (19:45) over 1,5 goals (1.37)

Cardiff v Crystal Palace (19:45) over 1,5 goals (1.4)

Notts County v Preston (19:45) over 2,5 goals (1.86)

Scunthorpe v Sheffield United (19:45) over 2,5 goals (1.86)

Stevenage v MK Dons (19:45) over 1,5 goals (1.37)

AFC Wimbledon v Macclesfield (19:45) 1 (2.1)

Torquay v Dagenham & Redbridge (19:45) 1 (1.67)

Weekend round-up + some news.

Norwich v Chelsea over 1,5 goals
Sunderland v Swansea over 1,5 goals
QPR v Wigan 1 
Wolverhampton v Aston Villa Steven Fletcher to score at any time
Everton v Blackburn 2
Barnsley v Millwall over 1,5 goals
Leeds v Ipswich Town over 1,5 goals
Notts County v Milton Keynes Dons over 1,5 goals
Rangers v Aberdeen 1
Atalanta v Juventus both teams to score
Espanyol v Granada over 1,5 goals
Real Betis v Sevilla 1 

Manchester City v Tottenham over 2,5 goals

Arsenal v Manchester United over 2,5 goals

Inter v Lazio 1

9/15, not too bad considering the start was awful (no goals at Carrow Road).


Fact of the day: Real Madrid have scored over 100 goals in all competitions thus far this season, including 67 goals in only 19 games in La Liga. Spanish journalists have calculated that if they carry on banging them in at such lethal rate they will finish the season with over 130 league goals. Their current record (and a La Liga record, too) is 107 goals under John Toshack in the 1989/1990 season. Fucking hell.

In other news, Josip Kuze is suspected to have been involved in a match fixing scandal in Albania while he was coaching the national side. The allegations revolve primarily around the friendlies against Argentina (0:4) and local rivals Montenegro (3:2), managed by fellow countryman, Zlatko Kranjcar. Dirty stuff popping up all over Europe at the moment...

Here we go again!

This weekend we welcome Bundesliga and Eredivisie back but after yesterday's flop (I've had Moenchengladbach v Bayern as a draw either at halftime or fulltime) I'd rather sit back and watch how the action unfolds before making any calls.

As for other leagues, here's a few tips for today:

Norwich v Chelsea (12:45) over 1,5 goals (1.25)
Sunderland v Swansea (15:00) over 1,5 goals (1.4)
QPR v Wigan (15:00) 1 (2.14)
Wolverhampton v Aston Villa (15:00) Steven Fletcher to score at any time (2.94)
Everton v Blackburn (15:00) 2 (6.4)
Barnsley v Millwall (15:00) over 1,5 goals (1.39)
Leeds v Ipswich Town (15:00) over 1,5 goals (1.27)
Notts County v Milton Keynes Dons (15:00) over 1,5 goals (1.25)
Rangers v Aberdeen (15:00) 1 (1.34)
Atalanta v Juventus (19:45) both teams to score (2.06)
Espanyol v Granada (17:00) over 1,5 goals (1.37)
Real Betis v Sevilla (21:00) 1 (2.52)

A (very dire) round-up.

Chelsea v Sunderland X2
Manchester United v Bolton Wayne Rooney to score at any time [two assists  ≠ goal, Wayne]
Tottenham v Wolverhampton 1
WBA v Norwich City over 2,5 goals
Newcastle v QPR  both teams to score
Nottingham Forest v Southampton over 1,5 goals
Leicester v Barnsley over 2,5 goals  
Bury v Sheffield United over 2,5 goals
Bournemouth v Notts County over 2,5 goals
Sevilla v Espanyol over 1,5 goals
Mallorca v Real Madrid Karim Benzema to score at any time
Valencia v Real Sociedad  1
Athletic Bilbao v Levante over 1,5 goals
Benfica v Vitoria Setubal 1 to win and over 2,5 combined goals scored
FC Porto v Rio Ave 1 to score over 1,5 goals
Celtic v Dundee Anthony Stokes to score at any time
Hearts v St. Mirren 1
Lazio v Atalanta German Denis to score at any time
AC Milan v Inter Milan over 1,5 goals scored

Napoli v Bologna 1
Wigan v Manchester City over 2,5 goals
MVV Maastricht v Willem II Tilburg over 2,5 goals

I can always claim I got the Italian results wrong as it's the mob which is fixing them. Or, at the very least, the Atalanta result; after all Cristiano Doni - former Atalanta midfielder - was arrested on suspicion of match-fixing...and was reportedly hiding behind his Porsche when the police arrived to apprehend him. Disgraceful, utterly disgraceful.

Friday the 13th.

Feels great to have finally put the academic matters behind me (not indefinitely though) and focus on what football has to offer this coming weekend! Also, betfair have been doing some maintenance work over the last days and, as per, they're experiencing some issues after the site was supposed to run smoothly; therefore the odds are all taken from bwin.


Chelsea v Sunderland (14.01, 15:00) X2 (2.85)
Under Martin O'Neill the Black Cats have won 5 and drew 1 of the their last 7 games, they are definitely the team with arguably the greatest momentum in the EPL. Chelsea on the other hand are generally unconvincing, despite the 2:0 victory over Portsmouth in the FA Cup last weekend. Seeing how Terry and co. will attempt to cope with Sessegnon, McClean, Vaughan and Gardner will certainly be one of the most interesting things to happen this Saturday afternoon.


Manchester United v Bolton (14.01, 15:00) Wayne Rooney to score at any time (1.65)


Tottenham v Wolverhampton (14.01, 15:00) 1 (1.28)
If Spurs can carry on to break the defensively-minded teams as they did against West Brom and Everton then they really can think of staying in the top for a longer while.

WBA v Norwich City (14.01, 15:00) over 2,5 goals (1.83)


Newcastle v QPR (15.01, 13:30) both teams to score (1.78)
Mark Hughes has taken over at QPR and usually the teams respond rather well in the first game under the newly appointed manager. The arrival of Federico Macheda on loan from Man Unted could potentially alleviate their defencies up front; Hughes' teams have usually displayed an attacking mindset too - which comes as no surprise given Sparky was a forward in his playing days.  Newcastle, on the other hand, seem to be getting back to the winning ways they've impressed us with at the start of the season, the ease with which they dismantled United at Sports Direct Arena being a point in case. It remains to be seen how are they going to cope without Tiote and Demba Ba, however Cabaye has been doing amazing work in the midfield and the return of Hatem Ben Arfa might provide that much needed spark in the opponent's third.

Nottingham Forest v Southampton (14.01, 15:00) over 1,5 goals (1.31)

Leicester v Barnsley (14.01, 15:00) over 2,5 goals (1.75)

Bury v Sheffield United (14.01, 15:00) over 2,5 goals (1.80)

Bournemouth v Notts County (14.01, 15:00) over 2,5 goals (1.83)

Sevilla v Espanyol (14.01, 17:00) over 1,5 goals (1.30)


Mallorca v Real Madrid (14.01, 19:00) Karim Benzema to score at any time (1.60)
The Frenchman has been firing them in left right and center as of late. And to think he was on the brink of an early exit after a pretty laclustre start to his career at Bernabeu... 

Valencia v Real Sociedad (14.01, 21:00) 1 (1.40)

Athletic Bilbao v Levante (15.01, 17:00) over 1,5 goals (1.31)

Benfica v Vitoria Setubal (14.01, 18:30) 1 to win and over 2,5 combined goals scored (1.48)

FC Porto v Rio Ave (14.01, 20:30) 1 to score over 1,5 goals (1.25)


Celtic v Dundee (14.01, 15:00) Anthony Stokes to score at any time [no odds available]


Hearts v St. Mirren (14.01, 15:00) 1 (1.72)

Lazio v Atalanta (15.01, 11:30) German Denis to score at any time (2.80)


AC Milan v Inter Milan (15.01, 19:45) over 1,5 goals scored (1.30)
Massive game in Serie A. Rossoneri are currently leading the pack but a fantastic run of form - 5 wins out of 5 - has seen Ranieri's Inter move up to 5th spot, only 8 points behind the leaders. Nerrazzuri finally have most of their defensive block back, Sneijder resumed training and the forward duo of Pazzini and Milito are linking up as they have been expected to at the start of the season. As if the rivalry didn't create enough tension on the pitch alone, the fact two clubs are seemingly battling it out to acquire the services of one Carlos Tevez only adds to the atmosphere.

Napoli v Bologna (16.01, 19:45) 1 (1.33)



Here's the last few tips coloured up:

Fulham v Charlton over 1,5 goals
Swindon Town v Wigan over 1,5 goals
Malaga v Atletico Madrid over 1,5 goals
Real Madrid v Granada Gonzalo Higuain to score at any time
Siena v Lazio X either at halftime or at fulltime
Sporting Lisbon v Porto over 2,5 goals

Tottenham v Everton 1

Manchester City v Liverpool 1

Sporting Lisbon v Nacional 1

So it's all slowly picking up in the new year...

Just a quick update:

Fulham v Charlton (07.01, 15:00) over 1,5 goals (1.28)

Swindon Town v Wigan (07.01, 15:00) over 1,5 goals (1.35)

Malaga v Atletico Madrid (07.01, 21:00) over 1,5 goals (1.3)

Real Madrid v Granada (07.01, 19:00) Gonzalo Higuain to score at any time (1.81)

Siena v Lazio (07.01, 17:00) X either at halftime or at fulltime (1.57) [bwin]

Sporting Lisbon v Porto (07.01, 20:15) over 2,5 goals (2.16)



Last tips:

Newcastle United v Manchester United 2
Barcelona v Osasuna over 2,5 goals
Real Sociedad v Mallorca 1
Everton v Bolton under 3,5 goals


And just take a peek at this great piece of skill from no other than Lassane Diarra. Yes, him.

A number of things.

First off, few bits of stats from December. I've managed to get 52 out of 110 games, which leaves me with a 47% rate. That's a decrease from November but December has seen an increase in the total number of games I
I've taken on as well as some truly shocking results. Not that I'm looking for excuses here...

Secondly, Craig Gardner's stunner against Wigan is....nowhere to be found on the Internet. Weird that you can find all highlights from the Bruce era but the ones after O'Neill has taken over and Sunderland are actually playing well (for a change) are virtually non-existent. Conspiracy?

Thirdly, I've recently started consulting betfair for odds so if it's not indicated then - from now on - these are taken from there (single market, too).


Everton v Bolton (04.01, 20:00) under 3,5 goals (1.41)

Newcastle v Manchester United (04.01, 20:00) 2 (1.73) ALTERNATIVELY, provided he plays (even though apparently he's back I still have my reservations), Wayne Rooney to score at any time (2.16)

Barcelona v Osasuna (04.01, 19:00) over 2,5 goals (1.3)

Real Sociedad v Malllorca (04.01, 21:00) 1 (2.08)


Finally, yesterday's round-up:

Real Madrid v Malaga 1 and over 2,5 goals

Wigan v Sunderland over 1,5 goals

Tottenham v WBA 1

Man City v Liverpool X (City responded far better than I've expected, despite being the inferior team for large parts of the first half; Liverpool could find some consolation - albeit minimal - in the way Henderson and Downing linked up a few times)

03.01.2012

It feels a bit weird to write '2012', can't believe 2011 has gone by so quickly...

Alright, enough of that nostalgia nonsense. A number of results went my way yesterday...actually only 1 didn't.

QPR v Norwich over 1,5 goals

Wolves v Chelsea over 1,5 goals

Blackburn v Stoke over 1,5 goals

Ipswich v Nottingham Forest over 1,5 goals

Brighton v Southampton over 1,5 goals

West Ham v Coventry over 1,5 goals

Tonight we see the return of action in a few countries, including Spain. 

Wigan v Sunderland (03.01, 19:45) both teams to score (1.75) ALTERNATIVELY over 1,5 goals (1.31)

Tottenham v West Brom (03.01, 19:45) 1 (1.33)

Man City v Liverpool (03.01, 20:00) X (3.40)

It's going to be really interesting to see how City are going to respond after two very lacklustre performances against West Brom and Sunderland (and a generally rather disappointing December, at least by their standards). The last time they failed to win twice in a row was back in Fenruary 2011 so it's been quite an astonishing ride for City. Liverpool, on the other hand, have performed rather well against the 'big' sides thus far, beating Arsenal and Chelsea away as well as drawing 1:1 with both Manchester clubs at Anfield. They haven't lost for almost a month now and Kenny Dalglish can definitely take some confidence from the fact his side kept their composure - despite the 'Suarezgate' to which the club responded in a rather unusual fashion - over the busy and demanding festive period. I can see Liverpool putting a battling performance at Etihad tonight what with Craig Bellamy in good form and always wanting to prove a point against his former clubs as well as Stevie G back in the fray, it should be an entertaining encounter. I've predicted a draw the first time the two teams met and I'll go with it yet again.

Real Madrid v Malaga (03.01, 21:00) 1 to win and over 2,5 combined goals scored (1.37)