'Best Bet' - Championship Betting Tips with Betfair

Hi, my name is Tom Mallows, online sports writer with Betfair.
I am guest writing on this blog where I shall be previewing all the weekend games in The Championship along with the Carling Cup Final.
In addition, I will also be looking in detail at a couple of the weekends LIVE TV games.

Every fortnight, I will bring you all the latest football odds, preview the biggest matches, and hopefully try and win you some cash with my 'best bet' football tips.

A fortnight ago I had a 4 home win multiple bet come in, (see my article on 12th Feb) as Birmingham, Bristol City, Preston & Arsenal ALL won their respective games as I predicted.

'My tip of the weekend' was in the FA Cup tie between Coventry and Blackburn. I fancied the Sky Blues to turn over their Premier League opponents 2-1 at Ewood Park at odds of 20/1, and all was going swimmingly until Rovers' Chris Samba scored an equalizer in the third minute of injury time. C'est la vie!

This week the Championship returns with a full set of fixtures along with a Wembley date for Man Utd and Spurs. Here’s my pick of the action:

Carling Cup Final - Man Utd v Tottenham
Sunday 1st March KO 16:00 LIVE ON SKY

Go to Betfair for all the latest football betting on the 2009 Carling Cup Final.

With the World Club Championship already in the bag, United take their second step towards an unprecedented quadruple on Sunday with a clash against Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham. The London club face a battle just to stay in the Premier League and after playing two games already this week, you could forgive Redknapp for not seeing this as a priority.

Current Match Odds:

Man Utd 4/9 Tottenham 9/4.

Scorecast:
Man Utd 1-0 13/2 2-0 13/2 3-0 15/1

Tottenham 1-0 12/1 2-0 37/1 3-0 89/1


My 'best bet' prediction:

I’m sure Spurs will put up a brave fight and will not relinquish their hold on the Cup easily, but I think United have to much quality for Spurs all over the park and I can't see an upset on Sunday.
Man Utd 2-1 Tottenham @ 8-1


Sheff Utd v Birmingham
Sunday 1st March KO 12:15 LIVE ON SKY

Alex McLeish’s Birmingham need to re-discover their shooting boots if they are to secure automatic promotion after firing blanks against Palace and Coventry in recent weeks. Sheff Utd are in the hunt for a play-off place, but have struggled to find any consistency this year.

Current Match Odds:

Sheff Utd 6/4 The Draw 12/5 Birmingham 9/4

Scorecast:
Sheff Utd 1-0 7/1 2-0 12/1 3-0 30/1

Birmingham 1-0 17/2 2-0 16/1 3-0 49/1

The Draw 0-0 9/1 1-1 6/1 2-2 17/1

My 'best bet' prediction:

Birmingham are nine points and five places better off than their opponents and despite their striking woes I’m backing them to come away with a narrow win.
Sheff Utd 0-1 Birmingham @ 17/2


The best of the rest:
Fancy a sections list this weekend?
A multiple bet can win you some 'serious' cash.

Here are my tips for this weekend’s matches:

Home Wins:

Bristol City v Blackpool
Burnley v Sheff Wed
Reading v Nottm Forest
Swansea v Charlton
Wolverhampton v Plymouth

Away Wins:

Doncaster v Derby
Barnsley v QPR
Watford v Crystal Palace
Southampton v Cardiff

Draws:

Preston v Ipswich
Norwich v Coventry

My Tip Of The Weekend:

Neil Warnock's Palace make the short trip to Vicarage Road on Saturday, to take on a recently rejuvenated Watford side under the stewardship of Brendan Rogers. However after holding Birmingham to a goalless draw on Tuesday night, I fancy 'The Eagles' to take all three points.
Palace to win 2-0 at decent odds of 18/1.

Classic Football Quotations said by Football Fans or made about Football Fans - Part One

When we won the league in '89 it was the most cosmic thing that had ever happened. Better than any orgasm ever - EMMA YOUNG, an Arsenal fan, as quoted in Tom Watt's, The End: 90 Years of Life on Arsenal's North Bank, 1993.

At 6.45 the Millwall supporters were taken under escort towards the stadium. As they passed a public house, a group of 30-40 males came out, and bottles and glasses were thrown and pub windows smashed. After a while it became apparent that both groups were from Millwall and each thought the other were Bristol City supporters - REPORT from the National Criminal Intelligence Unit, before a match at Ashton Gate, 2001.

The only point worth remembering about Port Vale's match with Hereford on Monday was the fact that the attendance figure, 2,744, was a perfect cube, 14 x 14 x 14 - LETTER from a 'Disillusioned Supporter' to Stoke-on-Trent's Sentinel newspaper, 1979.

Adrian attends Bromley Comprehensive and is a keen goalkeeper. In his spare time he likes listening to music and playing computer games. His favourite players have left the club. - CRYSTAL PALACE programme on the mascot for a game v. Leicester, 1999.

It wasn't so much the death threats or the vandalism, but when you sit with your family in the directors' box and hear a couple of thousand people chanting 'Gilbert Blades is a wa*ker,' then you feel it's time to go - GILBERT BLADES, on resigning as Lincoln chairman in Anton Rippon's book Soccer: The Road to Crisis, 1982.

It's the right of every Englishman to fall asleep if he wants, particularly if he is watching Arsenal - JUDGE Michael Taylor quashing a fan's conviction for drunkenness after he dozed off during a match, 2004.

I went with two friends to watch Forest's game at Barnsley. It cost over £60 to watch the football equivalent of what French farmers have been feeding their cattle - LETTER to Nottingham's Football Post, 1999.

Man offers marriage proposal to any woman with ticket for Leeds v. Sheffield United game. Must send photograph ( of ticket ) - ADVERT in Yorkshire Evening Post as Second Division title race came to the boil, 1990.

I don't think it's much fun when 50,000 spectators are singing 'Posh Spice takes it up the ar*e' every weekend - VICTORIA BECKHAM on the TV documentary Victoria's Secrets, 2000.

At the Worthington Cup Final, when there was trouble on the pitch, with Robbie Savage involved, there was this guy behind me yelling: 'Savage, you cheating, long-haired, gypsy Welsh c*nt.' I had to turn to him and say: 'Oi mate, less of the Welsh.' - PAUL WHITEHOUSE, comedian, actor and Welsh-born Tottenham fan, 1999.


(To see more classic quotations made by Managers, Chairmen and Players alike posted on this site previously, type Quotations into the search box in the top left hand corner of the page).

'Best Bet' - Championship Betting Tips with Betfair

Hi, my name is Tom Mallows, online sports writer with Betfair.
I am guest writing on this blog where I shall be previewing all the weekend games in The Championship along with a selection of Premier League fixtures

In addition, I will also be looking in detail at some of the weekend's LIVE TV games.

Every fortnight, I will bring you all the latest odds, preview the biggest matches, and hopefully try and win you some cash with my 'best bet' football tips.

This weekend sees seven fixtures in the Championship and six tasty looking fixtures in the FA Cup Fifth Round involving Championship sides. Here's my pick of the action:


Watford v Chelsea
Saturday 14th February KO 17:30 LIVE ON SETANTA

Both these sides have had their troubles recently. 1984 finalists Watford, in the Premier League just two years ago, now find themselves struggling at the wrong end of the Championship. Manager Brendan Rogers will be facing the side he left earlier in the season to take over at Vicarage Road.

Chelsea meanwhile have endured a mini-crisis of their own, slipping behind in the title race and sacking boss Luis Felipe Scolari this week after just five months in the job. Guus Hiddink is widely tipped to take temporary charge – but not in time for Saturday.

Current Match odds:

Watford 9-1 Draw 4/1 Chelsea 5/2

Scorecast:
Watford 1-0 24/1 2-0 84/1 3-0 319/1

Chelsea 0-1 13/2 0-2 6/1 0-3 10/1

Draw 0-0 14/1 1-1 10/1 2-2 26/1


My ‘best bet’ prediction:

Chelsea may have their troubles, but I think they will have too much quality for Watford. It won’t be easy through, so my football betting advice would be to back a low scoring away win.
2-0 Chelsea win @ 6-1.


Swansea v Fulham
Saturday 14th February KO 12.45 LIVE ON ITV1

This has all the ingredients for a cup upset. The Premier League side who struggle on the road travel to a lower division side high in confidence and fresh from knocking out Premier League Opposition in the last round.
Roberto Martinez has done a great job with Swansea. Not only has he guided them to the FA Cup 5th round but his side look well set for a late promotion charge, couple this with their attractive attacking brand of football, they are a tough proposition for anyone at the moment.

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson has invested wisely to help the club into mid-table following last seasons last-gasp relegation escape. But the team still has a poor away record and that could count against them on Saturday.

Current Match odds:

Swansea 7/4 Draw 5/2 Fulham 15/8

Scorecast:
Swansea 1-0 8/1 2-0 14/1 3-0 35/1 2-1 11/1

Fulham 0-1 8/1 0-2 17/1 0-3 47/1 1-2 11/1

Draw 0-0 6/1 1-1 10/1 2-2 18/1


My 'best bet' prediction:

I smell an upset here, and an opportunity to make some cash. A 2-0 home win carries some decent looking odds.
Swansea 2-0 Fulham @ 14/1.

The best of the rest:
Fancy a sections list this weekend?
A multiple bet can win you some 'serious' cash.

Here are my tips for this weekend’s matches:

Home Wins:

Birmingham v. Notts Forest
Bristol City v. Southampton
Preston v. Norwich
Arsenal v. Cardiff

Away Wins:

Doncaster v. Sheff Wed
Derby v. Man Utd
Charlton v. Plymouth

Draws:

Burnley v. Wolves
Ipswich v. Blackpool
Sheff Utd v. Hull

My Tip Of The Weekend:

I fancy Chris Coleman's Coventry to spring a FA Cup surprise against Blackburn at Ewood Park. Sam Allarydce's side are deep in a Premier League relegation battle and may take their eye off the ball on Saturday.
Blackburn 1-2 Coventry @ 20/1.

Go to Betfair for all the latest football betting for this weekend’s FA Cup games, plus all the latest Cheltenham odds for the Festival in March.

Watch The Clip Of Last Saturday's Superb Sky Sports Soccer AM Soccerettee & Crystal Palace fan 'Nicola'

Last Saturday was another frustrating day as for the second time in four days (& the third time in a month) Crystal Palace's Championship fixture was called off - not due to Peaches Geldof's pending divorce, Chloe Madeley/Finnigan being caught smoking cannabis from a bong or that 'idiot' Gordon Brown.........no you guessed it, the weather!

About 18 months ago I decided I was going to watch & post on this site a weekly video clip of the Soccer AM Soccerette, but due to my own weekly habitual need to follow my footy team both home & away, I inevitably missed most of the shows as long trips to the likes of Heavenly Hull, Stupefying Sheffield & Sunny Scunny to name but a few, meant I was forever leaving home at an early hour on Saturday mornings.

So I took the rare opportunity this Saturday morning to watch Sky's Soccer AM in its entirety (rather than being on a chuffer to Blissful Barnsley) & to my delight this week's Soccerette Nicola, is a Crystal Palace fan.

I don't know what it is, but there is something rather alluring about girls wearing football kits in the colours of your team. Answers on a postcard.

Nicola, 21 (A good age!) from Crawley, West Sussex is also a dab hand at baton twirling, in fact so good that she 'swivels' for England!

Also during Nikki's appearance, the programme makers squeeze in a rather amusing take on ITV's incredible balls-up during the midweek Merseyside derby, when they missed Everton's extra-time winning goal because they inadvertently went to an add break!

If you click on the 'article title' at the top of this piece or on the 'Link' below you can watch the celestial Nikki in all her glory, mesmerize you with her magic wand!

Link

(To watch past video clips I posted on here type Soccerette or Soccer AM into the search box in the top left hand corner of the page).

Babe Of The Month - A Bum Rap!