Thanks mate. Hope you had a good christmas and new year.
Adding for tonight:
Chelsea vs. Everton +0.5 @ 1.98 @ Pinnacle (1 unit)
Here's the provisional Chelsea squad for tonight, according to the BBC.
"Cech, Hilario, Belletti, A Cole, J Cole, Ben-Haim, Alex, Carvalho, Bridge, Ferreira, Sidwell, Sinclair, Sahar, Wright-Phillips, Pizarro, Obi, Ballack."
The return of Cole, Carvalho, and possibly Cech are good news defensively. But, Chelsea will be missing the following players: John Terry, Essien, Lampard, Kalou, Shevchenko, and most importantly Drogba. Too many problems offensively. They've been playing like crap recently and getting some lucky wins.
Everton are off the back of a pitiful loss to Oldham in the FA Cup. They should be extremely motivated to get a decent result, possibly a draw or away goal for the 2nd leg. They'll be missing two important players in midfielders in Arteta and Pienaar. Both of whom have provided alot of creativity to the team. Nonetheless, Yakubu, Johnson, and Cahill should work hard enough to cause problems, and the rest of the side are very tough defensively.
Adding for tonight:
Chelsea vs. Everton +0.5 @ 1.98 @ Pinnacle (1 unit)
Here's the provisional Chelsea squad for tonight, according to the BBC.
"Cech, Hilario, Belletti, A Cole, J Cole, Ben-Haim, Alex, Carvalho, Bridge, Ferreira, Sidwell, Sinclair, Sahar, Wright-Phillips, Pizarro, Obi, Ballack."
The return of Cole, Carvalho, and possibly Cech are good news defensively. But, Chelsea will be missing the following players: John Terry, Essien, Lampard, Kalou, Shevchenko, and most importantly Drogba. Too many problems offensively. They've been playing like crap recently and getting some lucky wins.
Everton are off the back of a pitiful loss to Oldham in the FA Cup. They should be extremely motivated to get a decent result, possibly a draw or away goal for the 2nd leg. They'll be missing two important players in midfielders in Arteta and Pienaar. Both of whom have provided alot of creativity to the team. Nonetheless, Yakubu, Johnson, and Cahill should work hard enough to cause problems, and the rest of the side are very tough defensively.
actually dont know too much about how the teams approach these cup matches attitude wise, but it s starting here with 2 leg competition. maybe something to have in mind. i see many here on everton +0.5, but i am always scared to go against chelsea at home (they still have decent players no matter who is playing).
it looks like the under is a good option here. if everton wins the +0.5 i dont think we will see a 2-2 draw. it will be more of a 1-1,0-1.0-0 result especially with the defensive strength and offensive strength of both teams. also both teams cannot win the tie here in the first leg..caution will rule. i dont know past results from the cup-semis, but i can imagine that the first leg games were lower scoing than the second leg.
for the Arsenal match..the over seems obvoius (as in most Tottenham games). but they played recently under in the league and again the first leg might keep scoring down.
but this might all be reflected already in the 2.5 line in what should normally a 2.75 line in a league match.
i will still go with the over, but can anybody confirm to me if i am missing any news on Arsenal...why are they only -0.25 at home...should they not be at least -0.5????
are there any big players missing?????
it looks like the under is a good option here. if everton wins the +0.5 i dont think we will see a 2-2 draw. it will be more of a 1-1,0-1.0-0 result especially with the defensive strength and offensive strength of both teams. also both teams cannot win the tie here in the first leg..caution will rule. i dont know past results from the cup-semis, but i can imagine that the first leg games were lower scoing than the second leg.
for the Arsenal match..the over seems obvoius (as in most Tottenham games). but they played recently under in the league and again the first leg might keep scoring down.
but this might all be reflected already in the 2.5 line in what should normally a 2.75 line in a league match.
i will still go with the over, but can anybody confirm to me if i am missing any news on Arsenal...why are they only -0.25 at home...should they not be at least -0.5????
are there any big players missing?????
Yeah, the first legs in this competition are known for having games go under 2.5 goals.
The value on Everton is because of two things:
1)Chelsea injuries/suspensions. The three players who will always influence a game for Chelsea are: Drogba (he can score at anytime, he bullies the defence, creates space for others, and can hold the ball up), Lampard (influential, and gets important goals), and Essien (he provides a major threat coming forward, and often is the player that influences the team to work harder). All of them are out. Also, Hilario will be in goal and that can cause problems when defending setpieces. The team still has alot of talent with Malouda, Joe Cole, Wright-Phillips, and Ballack. But, they don't have the same cutting edge.
2) Everton's motivation: First semi-final in 12 years. The fans were expecting a good cup run. They're doing well in the UEFA Cup but losing at home in the FA Cup was embarassing, and the manager was very frustrated. One reason they lost was because he was resting big players for this match. A 1-0 loss wouldn't be bad, but I feel that they have a good chance to get a draw or even sneak a win.
As for Arsenal. Both matches in the league this season have gone over 2.5 (3-1, 2-1 - Arsenal won both matches).
The line is -0.25 because Wenger always plays his younger second team in the Carling Cup. They are still a great team, and excellent attacking wise. In defence though, they'll have Senderos at the back who is always a liability. Spurs will play their strongest attacking team as the cup competitions are the only thing they can really challenger for this season. Even with Ledley King back, they still struggle defensively. So, it makes sense that two good offensive teams with changed/bad defences, could provide more than 2 goals. I hope so anyway!
The value on Everton is because of two things:
1)Chelsea injuries/suspensions. The three players who will always influence a game for Chelsea are: Drogba (he can score at anytime, he bullies the defence, creates space for others, and can hold the ball up), Lampard (influential, and gets important goals), and Essien (he provides a major threat coming forward, and often is the player that influences the team to work harder). All of them are out. Also, Hilario will be in goal and that can cause problems when defending setpieces. The team still has alot of talent with Malouda, Joe Cole, Wright-Phillips, and Ballack. But, they don't have the same cutting edge.
2) Everton's motivation: First semi-final in 12 years. The fans were expecting a good cup run. They're doing well in the UEFA Cup but losing at home in the FA Cup was embarassing, and the manager was very frustrated. One reason they lost was because he was resting big players for this match. A 1-0 loss wouldn't be bad, but I feel that they have a good chance to get a draw or even sneak a win.
As for Arsenal. Both matches in the league this season have gone over 2.5 (3-1, 2-1 - Arsenal won both matches).
The line is -0.25 because Wenger always plays his younger second team in the Carling Cup. They are still a great team, and excellent attacking wise. In defence though, they'll have Senderos at the back who is always a liability. Spurs will play their strongest attacking team as the cup competitions are the only thing they can really challenger for this season. Even with Ledley King back, they still struggle defensively. So, it makes sense that two good offensive teams with changed/bad defences, could provide more than 2 goals. I hope so anyway!
0-1 (-1)
YTD: 0-2-1 (-1.5 unit)
Ouch. Tough loss. Chelsea get the winner in the 93rd minute. Might have been an own goal, or 5"5 Shaun Wright Phillips managed to outjumped 6"2 Joleon Lescott... :missingte Pretty funny.
Hilario made a key mistake. If he's in goal on Saturday, then I might bet on Spurs to finally end Chelsea's amazing home record.
African Nations Cup starts on Sunday.
I have one early play for the Tuesday game between Sudan and Zambia.
Sudan vs. Zambia - OVER 2.5 @ 2.30 @ Stan James (1 unit)
Sudan have an atrocious defence but have been tipped as dark horses because of a strong attacking team. Zambia are pretty solid, are suffering from a load of injuries, but the squad features a host of attacking players. I think this is the best chance for both to get 3 points as they're in the same group as Egypt and Cameroon.
Should also have a play on Guinea +1 against Ghana. Will play that pretty soon.
I have one early play for the Tuesday game between Sudan and Zambia.
Sudan vs. Zambia - OVER 2.5 @ 2.30 @ Stan James (1 unit)
Sudan have an atrocious defence but have been tipped as dark horses because of a strong attacking team. Zambia are pretty solid, are suffering from a load of injuries, but the squad features a host of attacking players. I think this is the best chance for both to get 3 points as they're in the same group as Egypt and Cameroon.
Should also have a play on Guinea +1 against Ghana. Will play that pretty soon.
