There’s one thing losing a betting challenge – or a standalone bet for that matter – when your selection doesn’t even get close; then you shrug your shoulders, chalk it up as a bad one and move on.
But when you back Over 1.5 Goals in a game and a penalty is missed, the woodwork is struck not once but twice, a shot is cleared off the line by a defender and an open goal sitter is put wide, you can be forgiven for thinking that fate has conspired against you.
So you’ll forgive us, hopefully, for last week’s losing selection as Southampton and Bournemouth played out a goalless draw.
Annoyingly, the other three selections landed, which means that nine out of our last ten Challenge selections have been good. Unfortunately, it only takes one to spoil the party.
So we go into this latest attempt with confidence: it’s not as if that Over 1.5 Goal pick in the South Coast derby was a ‘bad bet’. With a bit of luck we’d still be moving forward.
So let’s regroup, refresh and go again with this latest instalment of the £10 to £1k Challenge:
Bet 1: Eibar vs Las Palmas: Eibar Over 0.5 Goals – £10.00 at 1/8
Thursday April 6, 18:30
We’ll start in Spain and a Thursday night clash between the impressive Eibar and goal-hungry Las Palmas.
Eibar have scored at least once in nine of their last ten games; they scored once in three of those, twice in one, thrice on three occasions and four times twice, so needless to say this is a side that knows how to put the ball in the net.
So what about Las Palmas? They have kept one clean sheet in twelve, two in eighteen. They’ve shipped 12 goals in their last five, and haven’t won away from home since the opening day of the season (W0 D3 L10 since). Eibar will surely win this game.
Bet 2: Frankfurt vs Werder Bremen: Werder Bremen +1.75 Asian Handicap – £11.25 at 1/8
Friday April 7, 19:30
For what it’s worth, the bookmakers have Frankfurt at 11/10 to win this game and Werder Bremen at 12/5….let’s show you why that is complete hokum.
Frankfurt: Form in last eight matches (W0 D2 L6 GF1 GA13).
Werder Bremen: Form in last eight matches (W6 D1 L1 GF18 GA5).
For the interests of this selection, we land if Werder win, draw or lose by one. If they lose by two, we get half our stake back.
Bet 3: Bayern vs Dortmund: Bayern Over 0.5 Goals – £12.66 at 1/10
Saturday April 8, 17:30
The clash of German football’s two titans (sorry Leipzig and Hoffenheim!) takes place on Saturday, and neither are in the rudest health.
That’s a bit unfair on Bayern, who are 13 points clear at the top, but the midweek defeat to Hoffenheim will have come as something of a shock. They will be itching to set that record straight at the weekend.
Dortmund are fourth in the Bundesliga – way below par for them – and 15 points behind the leaders. They have won a fraction more than 50% of their matches, but their recent away form of W2 D4 L3 is not what we would expect.
Bayern are scoring at a rate of nearly three goals per game at the Allianz Arena, while Dortmund have kept just one clean sheet in fourteen.
Bet 4: PSG vs Guingamp: PSG to Win – £13.93 at 1/6
Sunday April 9, 20:00
PSG are chasing another Ligue 1 title, but with a three-point deficit to leaders Monaco they cannot afford to rest on their laurels. So, a rudimentary home fixture against Guingamp will be regarded with full focus.
The Parisians are W10 D5 L0 at the Parc des Princes this term, while Guingamp are W2 D5 L9 on the road; those two wins coming before the end of October. In 2017, they are W0 D1 L5, and all of those defeats were by a two-goal margin or more.