Weekend Tips

Last week produced some mixed results. Crystal Palace did the business for the bet of the day however Southampton were the let down in the fourfold accumulator.

Also mixed results in the Horse Racing as only one of the three managed to deal with the ground to get the win.

This week sees Arsenal take on Liverpool and Manchester City host Chelsea in the FA Cup. Both huge games considering what happened when they met recently. Both should be great viewing, however from a betting point I will leave well alone as other football matches are far more appealing on that front.

Another note-worthy event is USA taking on Russia in the ice-hockey at the Winter Olympics at 12.30 GMT on Saturday.

Football:

McCarthy in his Wolves days

This week there is limited action given that it is FA Cup weekend and the abysmal weather. This weeks bet of the day comes from the Championship. In form Ipswich Town are 4/5 (SkyBet) for a home win over Blackpool. Mick McCarthy has done a great job at Ipswich after arriving with the club battling relegation 15 months ago. Now Ipswich are battling it out for a play-off spot. McCarthy takes a lot of criticism sometimes for his 'style' of football but he know what to do in this division and how to get out of it.  Personally I do not think they will have enough to get to promoted this year but they are on form at present. 

However Blackpool have been on a downward spiral for months after an impressive start to the campaign. Losing Tom Ince in the January transfer window was a huge blow to the club despite it not being a surprise. Blackpool have won only one of their last 17 games in all competitions. This statistic says it all. Also Blackpool have lost their last eight away games in all competitions. So on the face of it looks a banker home win for the tractor boys. The double bet would be to combine this one with Watford to beat Middlesborough at 6/5 (SkyBet). Watford has improved of late and put in impressive displays against Brighton and Leicester. 

Middlesborough are also on a decent run of form having only lost 1 in last 10 games however I think the difference today will be Watford's firepower. Middlesborough struggle for goals and cannot see them getting more than one today. Whereas Watford's strike force is strong and even though Middlesborough have a great defensive record I do not expect them to hold out Watford. Expect Troy Deeney and Forestieri to both get on the score sheet today. 

SkyBet go 3/1 the double. 

Horse Racing:

The racing of late has been very tough as a result of the ground. Form goes out the window as punters look for a stayer who loves the mud. Over the past few weeks I have seen horses really struggling to finish and even saw a few actually walking over the line. 

Last week only Smad Place came up with the goods but and Katenko was third at Newbury while Brick Red had to settle for second at Warwick . This week action comes from Ascot, Lingfield, Wincanton and Haydock. 

At Ascot Captain Chris in the 3.50 looks good. A winner last time out in a very competitive race he looks to have a good chance here. SkyBet have him at even money. Houblon des Obeaux at 4/1 in the 2.40 is only a good shout. 

SkyBet go 9/1 the double.

At Wincanton Zarkander at 6/4 is the one to be on in the 3.35. 

At Haydock each-way bet of Sea Claria in the 1.45 at 7/1.

Weekend Tips

On last weeks bets, the accumulator success was the highlight @14/1. I hope you had that as I did. My longshot 'hollywood' bet came oh so close before Sergio Aguero scored in the 94th minute and my bet of the day was ruined by a certain Martin Fulop. A performance of amateur standard in which he gifted Arsenal 2 goals and despite getting a strong hand on Andros Santos' shot failed to stop the ball from going in. If only Ben Foster had been in goal it could have been different. Anyway moving on...

A massive saturday is now here. Two matches of huge significance. Firstly at 3pm the Championship Play-off final between Blackpool and West Ham United. The £90million game as it has been previously billed. A place in the Premier League is up for grabs as both look to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.  This is followed by the biggest game in club football, the Champions League final. At 7.45pm Chelsea take on Bayern Munich for the ultimate club prize. Both games promise to be enthralling.

Football:

Holloway dreaming of the big-time

I have long been tipping Blackpool to win the play-offs. They are the perfect play-off team. They have won the play-offs before and in Ian Holloway (left)  they have a real character who can really motivate the players. They go into this one as the underdogs. West Ham were the favourites to gain automatic promotion from the beginning of the season. With Sam Alladyce as manager, a man of Premier League experience as well as having players such as Robert Green, Mark Noble, Carlton Cole, Kevin Nolan and Matthew Taylor. All of these players have experience of playing in the Premier League. Their sqaud on paper is by far the best in the Championship and they will have been disappointed only to make the play-offs although this will all be forgotten if they win today. The key player for me is Jack Collison, he has been fantastic of late and is a crucial player for West Ham. If he continues his form Blackpool may struggle to contain him. West Ham have so many options especially on the attacking sense. In Ricardo Vaz Te, Nicky Maynard, Carlton Cole, John Carew and Sam Baldock they have plenty of goal-scorers.

The bookies go 10/11 (SkyBet) for a West Ham while Blackpool are @11/4 (SkyBet) to win it in 90 minutes.

Is it fate?
Phillips to fire Blackpool back to the premier League 

My tip is to back the outsiders in this one. No doubt that they are up against it but I just feel they will do it. I have backed them from a long-time out and will continue to do so. I think it will be a cracking match. The pressure in on West Ham and I think this will help Blackpool. I think Blackpool will be looking forward to this one more than West Ham. Big Sam will be so relieved if West Ham win this one. West Ham looked very very good in their play-off semi against Cardiff as they dominated both games although that will not happen today. Blackpool are a tricky team with fantastic team spirit and do have some quality players. In Matt Phillips and of course the legendary Kevin Phillips (above) they have two match-winners. Kevin Phillips is a goal-sorer and I am sure he will score today. He is clinical in front of goal and that is why he scores so many.  My fear for Blackpool is that of set-pieces. West ham are incredibly powerful in the air and Blackpool must cope with this.

I predict a classic high scoring game of which I a going to have a couple of quid on Blackpool to win 4-2 @80/1 (SkyBet).

My bet of the day is 11/4 Blackpool win.

Robben against his former club
is in the hunt for glory

Then tonight, a clash that many were not expecting after seeing the semi-final draw. It was all set-up for an El Classico final in which the two best teams in the world would battle it out for the title. However it was not to be as both Real Madrid and Barcelona were left stunned by Bayern Munich and Chelsea. This one promises to be a very interesting clash. Both sides are missing players due to yellow cards although for me it is Chelsea who will suffer more. The loss of Ramires, Branislav Ivanovic and Raul Mierles is huge. However despite this I still expect a terrific match in which anything could happen. Bayern Munich have a very dangerous front three. In Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben (left) they have two of the best wide players in Europe. However for me despite the stats and the media hype I personally do not rate Mario Gomez. For me is is massively overrated. He is far to wasteful in front of goal and in a game such as this he will only get maximum 2 good chances, but will he take them? I think not. They do have a magnificent team with players such as German Internationals Phillip Lahm Bastian Schweinsteiger , Thomas Muller, Toni Kroos and Manuel Neuer. Another advantage for them is the venue. The match is taking place at their home stadium the Allianz Area. This is a major advantage for Bayern and one which Chelsea will have to deal with.

On paper and in theory Chelsea are up against it and should not really win, that is why many have predicted that they will not. Although with this Chelsea team you just get the feeling they can. For many it is their last chance. Many of them were in the team that lost to Manchester United in 2008 and not many get a second chance. These players have got that second chance and in truth for many a final chance. Players such as Dider Drogba will cause Bayern a lot of problems due to his power and strength. He is the one Chelsea fans will look too. Players such as Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard I expect to also have terrific games. Can Interim manager Roberto Di Matteo win the trophy that Roman Abramovich wants so much? It really does promise to be a classic watch.

Bayern last won the tournament back in 2001 however were beaten finalist in 2010 to Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan. As a result many of their players will also feel that they have a second chance.

It will be interesting to see how the 5-2 defeat they suffered to Dortmund at the weekend affects Bayern ,if at all. Many will say just as with Chelsea's defeat to Liverpool that their minds were on this one.

For me I do think that it will be tight although am seeing a Chelsea win by 2-1. To win in 90 minutes Chelsea are a great price @ 100/30 (SkyBet) whereas Bayern are @7/10(SkyBet).

Fun bet for me is Dider Drogba to score first and Chelsea to win 2-1 @66/1(SkyBet). Either sides to win on penalties is @ 12/1 (SkyBet).

Bet for this one : Chelsea to win in 90 minutes at 100/30(SkyBet)

Horse-Racing:

Newbury 3.40: Win:  Frankel @1/4 (SkyBet) can see no other outcome

Newmarket 3.55: Eachway : Bernie the Bolt @7/1 (SkyBet)

Relegation Fears Become Very Real As Season Nears Its Climax

With eight games to go many Premier League teams are still at risk of relegation. Currently Wigan,West ham, Woves, Birmingham, Aston Villa, Blackburn, Blackpool, West Brom, Fulham, Newcastle United and even Sunderland are involved. None of these are safe.

Wigan have been struggling all year and are my favourites to go down. They just don't have enough to survive. The likes of Hugo Rodallega and Charles N'Zogbia are the key men and will have to produce if Wigan are to survive. They have picked up results recently however I feel that they will go down.

Ba is West Ham best hope for goals 

West Ham were in trouble for a long time however have picked up dramatically and with players like Demba Ba (left), Scott Parker and Victor Obinna they have a chance to survive. Demba Ba is a player I really like and am sure many Premier League teams will want to sign him this summer. Upton Park is a very tough place to go and they will have to pick up points there and fast. 

Woves are a terrific battling team and it is this that i think will see them safe. They will continue to get results and think they will make it. The likes of Kevin Doyle, Stephan Hunt and Matt Jarvis will see them safe. 

Birmingham are in really danger. Poor performances have left them in a very dangerous position. They are tricky at home which is where I see there points coming from. With Nikola Zigic and the arrival of Obafemi Martins i can see them just surviving.

Asron Villa is the one who have an outside chance of going down. They have no ability to grind out results. No fighting spirit. I look at Villa I see a beaten team, no team morale or spirit. Defeat to Woves was crucial. They just don't have the players willing to battle to see them safe. The key man is Darren Bent, his goals will be key. It a bold claim and would be a real shock but for me Villa will go down. Best bet 7-1 got to be worth a punt.

Great character--Holloway 

Blackpool have become many peoples second team after this season. With Ian Holloway (right) at the helm, Charlie Adam, terrific spirit and the way they play I hope they survive. They are on a poor run but I am hoping they can turn it around as they are great to have in the Premier League. 

West Brom will be very close to going down however under Roy Hodgson they will just make it. Three points against Arsenal would have been huge. They are a side improving and battling.

Blackburn are the another team who for me will go down. In freefall and no sign of that ending. 

Fulham will also see themselves safe. They will pick up draws that edge them towards safety. Bobby Zamora's return is key.

Newcastle are also in a dire run of form with only one win in nine. However think they will survive. They have crucial games away at Villa and Blackpool and home games against Birmingham and Woves where the safety points will come from. However they should be wary and they could easily drop back down to the championship.

Sunderland should be safe. Cannot really see them going down. Would be incredible but see them finishing 4/5 points from safety.

Prediction : Blackburn, Aston Villa, Wigan DOWN.

Is a bold claim but can see it happening.