FA Cup Odds Make Manchester Clubs Favourites Ahead Of Quarter Finals

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The FA Cup Quarter Finals take place this weekend and there look to be some interesting ties, the highlight of which is no doubt the meeting of the current top two sides in the Premiership, Manchester United and Arsenal. That is not the only game to look forward to in Manchester, the only remaining Championship side left in the competition, Reading, take on Man City on Sunday.

The early kick off on Saturday sees Carling Cup winners Birmingham return to cup action against Bolton. Birmingham slipped into the bottom three last week but they have largely been solid at home, losing just over a quarter of their games at St Andrews. Bolton have struggled away from home in the league but seem to manage ok in the FA Cup, their last two wins in the competition have come on the road. This should be a very tight game and a draw might be the best call at around 23/10.

The evening game on Saturday is the game that is most likely to involve the winners of the competition. FA Cup favourites Man Utd, who are 12/5 to go all the way this year, play host to Arsenal who are rated at 7/2 with the bookies to win the FA Cup. If they can beat Man Utd they would surely become the favourites but that is a tough task at Old Trafford, where Man Utd have dropped just two points in the league all season. Despite two recent losses United are fancied to win the match at just over even money.

The first of the Sunday matches is Stoke versus West Ham and this looks possibly the most open of all the Quarter Finals. Stoke are generally very good at home but they have struggled for results recently, winning just once in six league matches. West Ham meanwhile are starting to pick up wins and with both sides looking to have good claims the draw is probably the best option at 12/5. The other Sunday game will see Man City take on Reading. City go into this game as strong favourites at just 2/5, Reading have proved themselves a tough team to beat in the competition but their great run is likely to come to an end.

For up to the second odds and tips on value bets, check out the football pages on Valuechecker.co.uk.

Champions League 2011 Betting Odds See Support For English Clubs After Successful First Leg Ties

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It seems the Champions League Second Round first leg games and results were kinder to the English clubs than the two Spanish clubs left in the competition, despite the Spaniards being the favourites in the Champions League 2011 Betting Odds.

Spurs and Arsenal were particularly well backed in the Champions League Odds as they were, and probably still are, the least likely of the English clubs to progress, Spurs hold a massive advantage over AC Milan following their 1-0 win at the San Siro, they are 16/1 to win the Champions League, the same odds as their rivals Arsenal, who also hold a one goal lead over their opponents but they have to go to the Nou Camp to face Barcelona who are still favourites to win the competition at around 2/1 with most bookies.

Just like their Spanish counterparts Barcelona, Real Madrid also failed to record a win in their first leg tie, the champions League Second favourites who are under the guidance of two times Champions League winner Jose Mourinho, drew 1-1 with Lyon and they don’t quite look ready for Champions League glory, they are 9/2 in the outright betting which puts them just ahead of Chelsea, who look certain to progress to the next round after beating FC Copenhagen 2-0.

Man Utd were the only English team not to win their first leg, they are now 8/1 chances to win the Champions League and any kind of win at Old Trafford will guarantee that. The first leg results mean England have closed the gap on Spain in the winning nationality betting, the unbeaten English sides are now 6/4 to be the winning nationality of the Champions League whilst the winless Spain are 10/11. The Italian sides all lost their first legs and they are way behind Germany now, Italy can be backed at 20/1 with Germany at 14/1.

The Champions League Second Round Second Legs take place over the next two weeks on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. For the latest odds, bets and football tips, you can’t go past OLBG.co.uk.

Not a happy new year for Midlands clubs

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2011. Bells chime and endless resolutions are made and broken in the space of seconds. But for the clubs at the bottom of the Premiership, the outcome to any resolutions made is out of their hands unless their form improves dramatically.

With four points separating the bottom eight teams the race to beat the drop this year is as difficult to predict as ever. As most football fans who get free bets know, only once in the Premier league’s history has the drop been avoided when a club has been bottom on Christmas day, but this season could well see West Brom joined in the league history books.

Perhaps most surprising of all the clubs caught up in the relegation battle is Alex McLeish’s Birmingham. Off the back of an excellent season last time around and with the backing of Carson Yeung’s millions, most of those who Bet with Paypal predicted the Blues would be heading towards the summit of the table rather than wallowing at its foot.

Most observers would predict that the fiery Scot will soon score that elusive away win and ease them away from danger. Generously keeping Birmingham off the bottom of the table is fellow Midlands based outfit Wolves, who have yet to show any indication they will move from that position for the remainder of the season.

The obdurate Mick McCarthy is likely to think otherwise, and if Kevin Doyle can find his scoring form as he did last season, they may well avoid the drop. Completing the bottom three at the turn of the year is another surprise package

Lack of English clubs in Europe shows inadequate depth of Premier League

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Although Liverpool and Manchester City are both clubs more than capable of making a lasting impact in the Europa League this season, a fact clearly demonstrated in the current odds of winning UEFA Europa League list, the distinct lack of other English clubs making it through to the group stages suggests that the Premier League is not as strong as years gone by.

With the likes of Aston Villa failing to make it to the group stages, despite facing the level of opposition that they were quite rightly expected to defeat in the qualifying rounds, the question that now begs to be answered is whether Fulham’s performance last season in the Europa League will turn out to be an anomaly, rather than the dawning of a new era in which sides not from the top four of the Premier League progress through to the latter stages of Europe’s second tier club competition.

This question is becoming all the more pressing given the fact that Manchester City are unlikely to be in the competition again next season, something that their obvious Champions League ambitions and odds of winning premier league make clear.

With City the only British team prepared to (or even able to) put out their strongest side in this season’s competition, it’s clear why this is a worrying situation made all the more concerning in light of the fact that Liverpool, a club in dire need of some sort of momentum, still refuse to put out a top side in the Europa League.

If this trend continues, the Premier League may yet rue the fact that English sides choose to see themselves as being above the Europa League, especially if they begin to struggle in the Champions League if and when they finally get there.