Football is a funny old game, and our last attempt at this challenge fell, bizarrely, after Rosenborg – who had lost one of their previous 27 matches – proceeded to fall to defeat to an Odd side who scored with their only two shots on target; the second of which came in the 93rd minute.
We’re going to stick to our guns though with Double Chance betting; this gives our selection a 66.6% chance of landing even without taking into account any other factors. And that’s how we kick off attempt two at this £10 to £1k challenge this week….
Bet 1: Scunthorpe Double Chance against Swindon Town – £10 at 2/11
Saturday October 29, 15:00
You just have to follow your nose when seeking out these ‘sure bets’ – ha, as if anything of the sort exists, and the numbers stack up in this fixture.
Scunthorpe, unbeaten in seven home games this term (four wins, three draws), welcome Swindon to Glanford Park; they of one win in seven on the road.
Scunny top the table, average two goals scored per game and are W4 D3 L1 in their last eight. Swindon are W2 D2 L4 and languish in 20th in the division; surely they won’t stop us from getting the ball rolling here.
Bet 2: Liverpool to Score against Crystal Palace – £11.82 at 1/7
Saturday October 29, 17:30
Again, we are following the numbers here, but knowing that Liverpool have scored in five of their last six outings (at an average of 2.50 per game) and that Palace are yet to keep a clean sheet in 2016/17 is enough for us to get involved here.
No team has had more shots on target in the Premier League this season than Liverpool, a whopping 6.56 per 90 minutes to be exact, and without any European distractions once again Jurgen Klopp can select his strongest squad here. The Eagles could have any combination of Gigi Wijnaldum, Adam Lallana, Saido Mane, Daniel Sturridge, Philipp Coutinho and Roberto Firmino flying at them, and Klopp’s hunger for goals should come up trumps for us here.
Bet 3: Nice Double Chance against Nantes – £13.51 at 1/4
Sunday October 30, 14:00
We’re off to France now and surprise leaders Nice; although, as anyone who has watched them play this season knows, it is not all that surprising.
They are unbeaten in ten (eight wins, two draws), have conceded just seven goals and netted 20 themselves, and their current run of form – which features games against Monaco and Lyon, amongst others – reads W5 D0 L0 GF13 GA1.
Can Nantes halt their fine run? It seems unlikely; the visitors have won just two of their last eight, and those came against Bastia and Lorient who are ranked 15th and 20th in Ligue 1.
Almost half of all the goals conceded by Nantes have come in their last four games too, so Nice will be disappointed if they don’t win this match – we have the Double Chance in place as protection.
Bet 4: Las Palmas vs Celta Vigo – Over 0.5 Second Half Goals – £16.89 at 1/5
Sunday October 30, 19:45
If you get the chance to watch Celta Vigo play on telly then do so; they are a wonderfully eye-catching team to see. They have won four of their last five matches, and stuck four past Barcelona and the same away against Deportivo in the last three weeks. Defensively….slightly chaotic would be the best way to describe them, having been thumped 0-5 by Villarreal a fortnight ago. Goals seem to follow them wherever they go.
To Las Palmas they travel this week, and a goal-fest really is in the offing here. Only La Liga’s ‘big four’ (Barca, Real and Atletico Madrid, Sevilla) have recorded more shots on target this season than the hosts, and yet at the other end of the pitch only Betis, Granada, Espanyol and Osasuna have yielded more. So, there will be plenty of goalmouth action here.
One final stat to whet the whistle: of the 30 goals scored/conceded by Celta this term, 22 have come in the second period of matches.