Elephants can charge to Final Victory

We got two out of two in yesterday's football (our third pick Charlton's game was cancelled) & we're going to try to follow up again today with a double across the continents as we look in the Premier League & Africa Cup of Nations for winners.

(Didier Drogba - been one of the best in world for years & can get the first goal here)

The Ivory Coast have been in imperious form throughout the Africa Cup of Nations tournament & continued their run of wins without conceding by beating Mali 1-0 on Wednesday night, they were unfortunate to not win by more as they twice struck the woodwork & had the Malian keeper working hard. Zambia have impressed throughout the tournament & came up with a dominant win versu Sudan in the quarter final before shocking Ghana in the semi. The Zambians used some brave tactics against Ghana by allowing them possession & trusting their defence & midfield to limit their chances & were fortunate with Asamoah Gyan missing a penalty & a gilt edged chance before they struck late on through Emmanuel Mayuka to win 1-0. If Zambia repeat those tactics against the Ivory Coast it seems unlikely that The Elephants won't be able to find a way through somehow as they have a great combination of power, pace & skill throughout the side, supported by a rock solid defence. We're big believers that the best players perform in the biggest games & we can see Yaya Toure having a stormer but in terms of goals you need look no further than Chelsea's Didier Drogba who has 3 of his team's 9 goals so far & is a generous 15/4 to score first with BetVictor. We think the Ivory Coast will have just a little too much for Zambia, they create too many chances to be stopped from scoring & haven't really even looked like conceding so far & a heavy bet on them to win in 90 minutes at 4/7 is advised.

(West Brom's Shane Long is awaiting a late fitness test - he's great)

In another Midlands derby we see Wolverhampton Wanderers take on West Bromwich Albion at Molineux in a game that could prove pivotal in this seasons relegation fight as Wolves are only out of the zone through goal difference & West Brom have just a 5 point gap between themselves & the teams (including Wolves) on 21 points. Mick McCarthy's men came up with a massive win last weekend when coming back from 1-0 down against QPR, enthuiasm for that win has to be tempered by the fact that Rangers were playing them off the park before Djibril Cisse foolishly got himself sent off, that was just their 5th win of the season & we can't be backing them at short odds of 6/4. West Brom conversely created some good chances for themselves against Swansea last week but could only find the net once & suffered a loss, Roy Hodgson has his team well drilled & most of their games are tight & the last time they lost by more than a single goal was back in November against Spurs. Key to the game could be the fitness of Shane Long as he carries a real goal threat & has been what West Brom have been missing this year, he'll have a late fitness test. On Wolves' side they have plenty of selection problems especially in midfield with Karl Henry suspended (unfortunately not permanently), Michael Kightly out, loanee Frimpong out for the season & Dave Edwards & Jamie O'Hara only hopeful at best. McCarthy is making positive noises about trying to get back to back wins but the QR win was their first in 10 & we're going with West Brom in the draw no bet market at 6/5, the draw is a big player as this is likely to be a traditional derby battle but the odds aren't great so we'll stick with the away side.

Selections:
Ivory Coast to beat Zambia at 4/7 (Boylesports, Stan James & PaddyPower)
Didier Drogba to score first at 15/4 (BetVictor)
West Bromwich Albion to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers in the draw no bet market at 6/5 (BlueSquare & Ladbrokes)