The month of January is not even over but, already, 2010 is shaping up to be an annus horribilis for me, at least in betting terms. A quick look at my Ladbrokes account statement tells me that I have staked €435 since the turn of the year. My return? Absolutely zilch.
There could be some salvation in the African Cup of Nations where I had backed Ghana with €50 each way at 5/1. Having defeated Angola in the quarter-finals, one more win will ensure I will get at least some return on that punt. In hindsight, my other outright bet was stupid beyond belief. I backed Didier Drogba to be top scorer but, following the withdrawal of Togo, the Ivory Coast were going to play one fewer group game than 13 of the other 15 countries in the tournament so his chances of topping the scoring charts were always going to be reduced. As it turned out, he did even worse than I could have envisaged, netting just once in three games before the Elephants packed their trunks and went home.
But as long as there is a balance in my account I’ll carry on regardless and there is plenty of action on this week upon which to place a bet. It is rare that a Carling Cup tie dominates the headlines, especially in a week in which there are eight Premier League games featuring most of the protagonists, with the obvious exception of Manchester United and Manchester City.
The sides meet in the second leg of their semi-final at Old Trafford on Wednesday night in one of the most eagerly anticipated derby games for years. There was a good deal of excitement about the first leg too but what unfolded at Eastlands suggested that it was the mere entrée before the plat principal. As we all know by now, City lead 2-1 on aggregate thanks to two goals from Carlos Tevez after Ryan Giggs had given United the lead.
Tevez’s celebrations, and subsequent hilarious but probably ill-judged comments about Gary Neville, have served only to ratchet up the mutual antipathy between the Argentine and the club which employed him for two years. It might have been wise to keep his counsel until he saw how the second leg unfolded. As Shay Given has pointed out, City were under the cosh for long spells in the second half and it remains to be seen if they can withstand that sort of pressure at Old Trafford. Remember, they conceded twice to Scunthorpe United at the weekend, albeit with a weakened team.
I’ve decided to go with United (4/6) as well as four other odds-on favourites Everton (4/6 to beat Sunderland), Newcastle United (8/13 to defeat Crystal Palace), Celtic (2/5 to beat Hibernian) and Dundee United (8/13 to defeat St Johnstone). I’m going with ten treble combinations of €5 for a total stake of €50 and potential return of €201.86. Things can only get better eh?
