Brommapojkarna. It’s probably a name you’d ever heard prior to last week’s £1k Challenge picks, and quite frankly it’s one we’re more than happy to never see again after the Swedes cost our latest attempt at betting infamy.
The Swedish Superettan leaders managed to conspire to lose 0-1 to bottom-but-one outfit Frej Taby last week; the same Frej Taby that had lost five of their previous six matches, conceding 14 goals along the way.
We will soon welcome back Europe’s finest football leagues, and that should ultimately aid our quest in landing the big prize. But until those have had a few weeks to bed in, we will continue our trawl around the world’s more obscure competitions – a strategy that saw us more than sextuple our original stake during the last attempt.
Let’s get into it!
Bet 1: Mark Allen vs Thor Chuan Leong: Allen to Win – £10 at 1/7
Wednesday August 2, 16:00
What a price this is for one of snooker’s major ranking event winners against a player that has just three career century breaks to his name.
That’s not to make light of Leong’s efforts, but we’re happy to go against a player who has lost his last five matches and who has been beaten comfortably by the game’s elite players in the past few months: 1-4 and 1-5 against Neil Robertson, 0-5 against Ryan Day and 0-6 against Jimmy Robertson.
There is an element of risk in that this is the first to four frames – hence the generous price – but there’s no way that Allen has travelled all the way to India to be knocked out of the event in the qualifiers.
Bet 2: Jubilo Iwata vs Hiroshima: Iwata +1.25 Asian Handicap – £11.43 at 1/9
Saturday August 5, 11:00
We’ll hop over to Japan now where we find Jubilo Iwata in great form. They’ve won their last six games – five by a margin of two goals or more, and that’s a run which includes comprehensive victories over third-placed Gamba Osaka (3-0) and fourth-placed Kashiwa Frontale (5-2).
Hiroshima, by contrast, are struggling. They’ve won 2/19 this term, and lost five of their last six. The most worrying aspect for them is that they have conceded at least three goals in half of those outings, and that does not bode well ahead of a trip to a red hot opponent.
Bet 3: PSG vs Amiens: PSG to Win – £12.70 at 1/8
Saturday August 5, 16:00
The French Ligue 1 campaign kicks off in earnest this weekend, and while ordinarily we would steer clear of a league in the early stages until things settle, it’s hard to ignore PSG at this price against newly promoted Amiens.
The Parisians will be desperate to bounce back after missing out on the title to Monaco last term, and they will look to begin in style in front of their own supporters here. Neymar or no Neymar, they are still an outstanding outfit.
Amiens must be one of the least convincing league runner’s up in history: their goal difference of +18 suggesting they were better than the rest of Ligue 2 by barely 0.50 goals per game. If they conceded at a rate of a goal per game in the second tier, lord knows how they will cope at the Parc des Princes.
Bet 4: DC United vs Toronto: Toronto +1.25 Asian Handicap – £14.29 at 1/8
Sunday August 6, 00:00
The early bird might catch the worm, but the night owl gets the best prey and that’s certainly the case in the early hours of Sunday.
The MLS is an outstanding proposition for punters, and this fixture pits the very best team (statistically) in the East and West conferences against the worst.
Toronto have made the most of their home advantage in Canada this term, and while their away form isn’t quite as impressive they have only lost 3/11 on the road.
DC United have only taken 11 points from a possible 30 at home – the second worst record in the MLS, and their recent form is most troubling. They have lost six on the bounce, and their last defeat was a 0-4 trouncing at the hands of a Minnesota United side that had only scored once in their prior four outings.