I did manage to post a profit at the weekend but it was no thanks to my research because it turns out Barrow and Kettering Town were meeting in a FA Trophy rather than a Conference match. Still, the result went the way I wanted so it hardly mattered.
If that result was a shock, there were certainly some surprises in the Premier League where Wolves defeated Spurs at White Hart Lane, Manchester United lost at home to Aston Villa and an injury-ravaged Everton claimed a 3-3 draw away to Chelsea. Fair play to anyone who had that in a treble.
But it would be an even greater upset were Wolves able to claim anything from their visit to Old Trafford on Tuesday evening. When the sides met in the Carling Cup in September, a Danny Welbeck goal was all that separated them but bear in mind that Mick McCarthy’s side were not only up against Manchester United light but the home side played for an hour with only ten men after Fabio Da Silva was sent off.
It will be much tougher this time around and you cannot help but feel that United will take out the frustration of the defeat to Villa against Wolves who have moved out of the bottom three on the back of two successive wins. And a similar tale should unfold at Stamford Bridge where Chelsea host Portsmouth.
Both Portsmouth and Wolves have something in common – in their two previous meetings with top three sides, they have conceded four goals each time. The two strugglers have tightened up at the back since which makes me wary of backing them to lose by more than two goals. Instead, I’m going to back both United and Chelsea to win with three or more goals in the match which at least covers the possibility that the visitors put up a bit of a fight and make the title-chasers work for their three points.
As a double, this pays out €66.62 on a €30 stake. With my remaining €20, I’m going to back those outcomes again but throw in the two FIFA Club World Cup games on Wednesday which see Barcelona take on Mexican outfit Atlante in the second semi-final and Congo’s TP Mazembe clash with Auckland City in one of the games to decide the minor placings. Unsurprisingly, Barcelona are favourites to win their game at 2/7 but I’m a little surprised to see that the African champions are priced at only 5/6 to defeat the Kiwis. With those two games thrown into the mix, €20 would pay out €127.96.
