Attempt Five of the £10 to £1000 Challenge marches on, and while Bet 10 – Leyton Orient vs Morecambe was postponed and thus void – our other three selections landed comfortably enough.
Here’s a quick recap:
- Bet 9: Port Vale vs Bury: Bury Over 0.5 Goals – The Shakers once again did the business for goals-based punters, finding the net twice in a 2-2 draw on Friday evening.
- Bet 10: Leyton Orient vs Morecambe: Over 1.5 Goals – Void.
- Bet 11: AZ Alkmaar vs Sparta Rotterdam: Over 1.5 Goals – It took a surprisingly long time to get going this one, but eventually the match finished in a 1-1 draw.
- Bet 12: Monaco vs Lorient: Over 1.5 Goals – Monaco’s awesome form in the second half of 2016 continued here in a classy 4-0 victory.
So, accounting for the void fixture, we now have £66.10 in our account to work with as we head into the latest instalment of the £10 to £1000 Challenge. Here are this week’s betting tips:
Bet 13: Eupen vs Standard Liege: Standard Liege Over 0.5 Goals – £66.10 at 1/8
Thursday January 26, 19:30
A quick foray into the Belgian Jupiler League for Bet 13 where we are backing Standard Liege to find the net against a Eupen side that are yet to keep a clean sheet this season.
Yes, you read that correctly, Eupen have conceded at least once in all 22 of their league outings to date, including 13 in their last six. All in all, they have shipped 51 goals in 22 appearances.
Standard Liege returned from the winter break with a disappointing 0-3 loss to runaway leaders Club Brugge, but we’re not too disheartened; they had bagged 12 in five prior to that.
Bet 14: Middlesbrough vs Accrington Stanley: Under 4.5 Goals – £74.36 at 1/8
Saturday January 28, 15:00
You know the drill here: plucky underdogs Accrington head to their Premier League opponents with the intention of parking the bus and getting eleven men behind the ball, in an attempt to earn a draw and a money-spinning replay on home turf. It worked for Plymouth at Liverpool, so why not for the Accies here?
Have Middlesbrough got the ability to open up their lowly opposition? Probably, but we certainly don’t see them handing out a thrashing. They have only scored twice in a game in 4/22 starts this term, and they haven’t found the net three times or more in 90 minutes at all. We know Aitor Karanka favours the pragmatic approach, and we don’t expect that to change here.
Incidentally, and for what it’s worth, this Under 4.5 Goal wager would have landed in 46 of these two sides’ combined 48 league outings this term.
Bet 15: Michael van Gerwen vs Simon Whitlock: Over 11.5 Legs – £83.66 at 1/8
Saturday January 28, 21:00
This is the Unibet Masters darts on Saturday night, and this match sees newly crowned world champion Michael van Gerwen tackle another former world finalist in Simon Whitlock.
Make no mistake: we expect MVG to win this match comfortably, but he won’t have played competitive darts in nearly a month here and no doubt has been enjoying himself in celebrating his world title victory. We expect a slow start from him here.
Simon Whitlock was showing signs of form at the tailend of 2016, has put in some decent showings against the Dutchman in the past and has the scoring power to win legs on throw at will. Look, even if he loses this game 10-2 our selection lands!
Bet 16: Espanyol vs Sevilla: Sevilla +1.25 Asian Handicap – £94.12 at 1/9
Sunday January 29, 15:15
What a job Jorge Sampaoli has done in turning Sevilla into genuine La Liga title contenders, and this +1.25 Handicap in their favour has landed in 18/19 outings this term thus far.
Espanyol’s home form of late looks mighty impressive – W3 D4 L0 – but let’s look a little closer. To say they have enjoyed a charmed fixture list is something of an understatement; in that run they have played Granada (19th), Deportivo (16th), Sporting Gijon (18th), Leganes (17th) and Eibar (10th), so if we were being overly harsh we might suggest they have actually overachieved. Sevilla should have too much for them come Sunday.