We’re rollicking along quite nicely in this latest version of the £10 to £1000 Challenge; perhaps vindicated by our decision to leave goals-based selections on the shelf and instead focus on straightforward results.
So that’s eight correct selections so far, and while the kitty takes a while to get going it will certainly build rather handsomely if we can get through the next couple of weeks unscathed.
Here’s how last week’s picks panned out:
- Bet 5: Garbine Muguruza vs Magdalena Rybarikova: Muguruza +4.5 Game Handicap – this is as easy as it gets with Muguruza winning 6-1, 6-1; a result which would have cleared a -9.5 handicap!
- Bet 6: Oakleigh Cannons vs North Geelong: Oakleigh Draw No Bet – a straightforward 4-0 win for Oakleigh in another sweat-free selection.
- Bet 7: Gnistan vs KPV: KPV/Draw Double Chance – League leaders KPV continued their fine start to the season with a 1-0 win.
- Bet 8: Lyngby vs Silkeborg: Lyngby +1.25 Asian Handicap – The second phase of Danish football kicked off last week, and Lyngby maintained their excellent form with a 2-1 victory.
So we’ve trebled our initial £10 stake already now we have £32.58 in the kitty. If you wat to cash out your tenner and bet on with ‘free money’, feel free.
Bet 9: North Geelong vs Green Gully: Green Gully Draw No Bet – £32.58 at 1/10
Saturday July 22, 06:00
Talk about kicking a team when they are down. We are going to oppose North Geelong again this week after their 0-4 demolition at the hands of Oakleigh Cannons last time out, and there really is nothing to promote the course of Australia Victoria’s bottom team.
They’ve won just one of their 22 league outings this term, and have since lost eight on the bounce at a goal difference of -22. Their last three results have been 0-4, 1-5 and 0-4, and if you look up the word ‘hapless’ in the dictionary there lies North Geelong.
Green Gully are good enough to take full advantage. They have only lost 4/22 this term, ad in their last three outings alone they have beaten leaders South Melbourne 2-1 and stuck four past St Albans. Their away record reads W4 D5 L2, and that’s good enough for us to get involved.
Bet 10: VPS vs JJK: VPS/Draw Double Chance – £35.84 at 1/10
Sunday July 23, 16:00
Naturally, we’re backing the second-placed team in Finland’s Veikkausliiga, Vaasa PS, to get a positive result against the bottom side, JJK.
The hosts’ stats look quite bizarre. They are deservedly second – W8 D6 L3 – and yet their goal difference is just +2. But if we were to tell you that they conceded 12 goals in their opening four games – but have shipped just five in their last eight – you would probably understand why.
It’s been a tough start to life for JJK, or Jyvaskyla as they might be listed with your bookmaker. They have won 1/17, lost 10 of their last 13 and have shipped 18 goals in their last six games….scoring just two in reply. Their task is not made any easier by conceding at a rate of greater than two goals per game away from home.
Bet 11: Phil Taylor vs Gerwyn Price: Over 13.5 Legs – £39.42 at 1/8
Sunday July 23, 22:00
For the uninitiated, the World Matchplay darts starts this weekend from Blackpool, and the retiring Phil Taylor will wave goodbye to a tournament that has been so kind to him over the years.
There are bound to be nerves around for the Power then, and a lack of competitive darts of late might mean he takes longer to hit his stride than normal.
Gerwyn Price, in contrast, has been globetrotting with tungsten in hand. Since the end of May he’s reached the semi-finals of the Dubai Masters, the final of the World Cup of Darts in Germany, the last eight of the Shanghai Masters and the quarters of the US Masters.
We think that Taylor will win this match, make no mistake, but there is ample scope for Price to pick up the four or more legs he needs for our selection in this best-of-19 match.
Bet 12: Ian White vs Rob Cross: Over 13.5 Legs – £44.35 at 1/12
Monday July 24, 22:00
We’ll end the week with darts as well, in a game that looks too close to call.
Rob Cross and Ian White have met four times in competitive action, and here are the four results: 4-6, 6-5, 3-6, 4-6.
As you can see, neither of these two give an inch when they are playing each other, and even a 10-4 scoreline either way gets the fourth and final wager of the week over the line.