Yes - the Falcon does have Large Talons

We're delighted the flat season is finally beginning & it's great that the first fixture is back home at Doncaster & the tremendous Lincoln handicap rather than like in 2011 where the first turf fixture of the year was at Leicester. As well as the beginning of the UK flat racing season there is the world's richest horse race with the Dubai World Cup at Meydan & Kempton has some high class action on the all weather too. We've looked at the meetings & come up with some selections that should offer up some decent value.

(Smart Falcon can rule in the Dubai World Cup)

The Dubai World Cup sees Aidan O'Brien's So You Think as the current favourite but a European based trainer has never managed a winner in the race, unless you count Godolphin's Saeed Bin Suroor who is based in Dubai for half of the year, & there is good reason even without that statistic to think that odds of 5/2 offer no value at all. The ex-Antipodean champion picked up three Group One's last year but they were some of the weakest we've seen, winning one at 1/7 & another at 4/6, the other win in the Eclipse was decent but conditions far suited So You Think compared to 2010 Derby winner Workforce & he didn't real give that form a boost at all. So You Think then lost his next three, albeit in the very best races around, but maybe that showed his true level of form, a Group One performer but not an elite Group One winner & it tends to be top horses winning this race. We reckon that the Japanese horse Smart Falcon offers a much better bet at odds of 13/2 with Ladbrokes. The horse is a winning machine with 19 wins from 26 runs & horses from Japan have consistently proven they are right up with the top Europeans & jockey Yutaka Take could try & make all on his mount in a bid to emulate Victoire Pisa's success last year. Godolphin always have to be respected as Sheikh Mohamed loves to win this race that is his brainchild, Mahmood Al Zarooni trains their best chance in Capponi & his thrashing of good yardstick Silver Pond here last time warrants respect.

Elesewhere on the Meydan card the best bet of the day looks to be in the first thoroughbred race of the day as Bin Suroor's African Story looks a horse on the upgrade & this acquisition that switched from Andre Fabre at the end of last year can take the Godolphin Mile & we reckon in some style too. He gave some good rivals, including the reopposing 2nd Snaffy, a real beating last time & also won on his UAE debut. Although African Story lost the next time that was under the jockeyship of Mikael Barzalona & he's got Frankie Dettori on board today as he was for both of those wins. We really like the 2nd favourite Western Diplomat & backed him heavily in a couple of races at the backend of last season but African Story is a cut above & the current price of 7/4 surely won't be available come the time of the race.

(Light From Mars (the grey) could provide a value winner in the Lincoln)

Back in the UK & we have to pick a selection for the flat season's traditional curtain raiser in the Lincoln Handicap, although we were surprised to see just three 4 year olds in the lineup considering the success that age group has achieved in the race. Trainer John Quinn has won the race before with Blythe Knight in 2006 & we like his Light From Mars, he won a 25 runner handicap off a mark of 2 pounds higher at Newbury on his seasonal debut last year & there has been some money for him here suggesting connections fancy a good run. Light From Mars disappointed in every race after that win last year but in a few races he either encountered unsuitable softish ground or raced over indequate distances & that has all helped his mark drop from a high of 101 back down to 95 & he can exploit that reduced mark at best odds of 14/1. The favourite Eton Forever is highly respected but odds of 6/1 are probably just on the skinny side & we're happy to stick with the bigger priced winner.

Finally we come to Eshtibaak who we think can turn the Roseberry Handicap at Kempton into a procession, John Gosden is already in great form this year & could make it get better with a third win in a row from this unexposed sort. The son of Dalakhani made his debut last April, coming 5th, but didn't run again until smashing his maiden field in October & then made a very good comeback run last Friday by beating the useful Colour Guard pulling 7 lengths clear of the third. Chief rival here is William Haigh but we think that Alan Swinbank's gelding may have used up his handicap mark after winning 5 in a row & going from a mark of 70 to today's 95. At odds of 5/2 Eshtibaak can prove himself to be a Group horse in a handicap & slam these rivals, with the step up a furlong further to 1m 3f really suiting this galloping type.

Selections:
Dubai World Cup - Meydan 6.40 - Smart Falcon to win at 13/2 (Ladbrokes)
Meydan 2.10 - African Star to win at 7/4 (Boylesports & 888Sport)
Doncaster 3.15 - Light From Mars to win at 14/1 (Boylesports, Totesport & Betfred)
Kempton 3.30 - Eshtibaak to win at 5/2 (various)

A £1 yankee with all of these winning would be paying over £2000!

Tremendous Toffees to Topple Paper Baggies

Another weekend of football action is just about upon us & we know that you all want to make money off of the fixtures so you can fill your petrol tanks up but also want to get out & enjoy the clement weather so rather than spending your usual hours of studying in darkened rooms we've done that bit for you & come up with some more top selections. If you've been following recently you'll see that we've been having some great results & although the midweek footy was a mixed bag rather than the perfection we've become accustomed to, we reckon we'll be bouncing right back here as we look to make hay whilst the sun is shining.

(Oxford midfielder Asa Hall has scored 5 in his last 7 games)

Down in League Two, Oxford United host Morecambe at the Kassam Stadium, Oxford (who we tipped pre season at 3/1 for promotion) are in the play-off places & are looking to push towards the automatic spots whilst Morecambe are in mid-table. Oxford have won three of their last four league games with the latest being a 2-0 away victory at Accrington Stanley on Tuesday night & have a solid home record this season with ten wins out of 19 games & only two defeats. Recently at home they are unbeaten in their last seven & have won three in a row against AFC Wimbledon, Rotherham & leaders Swindon Town. Visitors Morecambe have had mixed form recently & they have lost four of their last seven league games, they do have a decent overall away record but have only picked up 6 points out of a possible 18 in their last six away matches. We expect Oxford to be too strong for Morecambe & push towards the automatic positions at the best price of 4/6 with BetVictor & Coral.

(Tom Ince has come on leaps & bounds for Blackpool & offers a credible goal threat)

Blackpool host Southampton in a Championship clash that is to be televised on BBC Two on Staurday evening & the bookies seem to be underestimating the likelihood of this being a goal filled encounter by offering odds of 8/11 on there being over 2.5 goals. In Blackpool's last 17 league games there have only been only two with less than 3 goals in & they've only failed to score once in that sequence, with the evergreen Kevin Phillips still proving himself to be the most naturally gifted English finisher since Gary Lineker. Many more of Southampton's games have tended to have less than three goals in (7 of the last 10 have been under) but that reflects the fact that teams tend to try to contain the deserving league leaders & their excellent partnership at the front of Lallana & Lambert, even Billy Sharp has started to get in on the action, predictably scoring a brace past former club Doncaster last week. Blackpool boss Ian Holloway doesn't tend to behave like most other managers though & with the TV cameras on he's likely to tell his players to go out & show their best quality which is in attack, that could mean a really entertaining game & plenty of goals. We were expecting odds more like 8/15 or 1/2 about the over 2.5 goals bet so that 8/11 looks very juicy indeed, with plenty of attacking threat from both sides & players like Tom Ince keen to impress expect a cracking game with a few goals thrown in too & take the bet!

(New signing Nikica Jelavic has made the switch to Premier League football look easy so far)

In the Premiership, Everton entertain West Bromwich Albion at Goodison Park, Everton are in the midst of a typical season finishing strongly after a slow start & are on the tail of Merseyside rivals Liverpool whilst West Brom need a few more points to guarantee safety again. The Toffees are in fine form currently with four victories & two draws in their last eight league games plus a 2-0 away victory over Sunderland in the FA Cup to book a Wembley semi-final trip. Deadline day signings Steven Pienaar & striker Nikica Jelavic have added some much needed attacking flair & goals to an already solid defensive unit based around Jagielka & Distin with the added attacking threat of Baines down the left. At home Everton have won three of their last four matches with impressive victories over Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea & Manchester City. West Brom were blown away in the first 30 minutes last weekend by Newcastle United in a 3-1 defeat & that extents their winless streak to three matches, away from home they have lost five games so far & more worrying they have conceded at least one goal in 93% of their matches. We believe that Everton will continue their fine form at the expense of West Brom at a standout price of 20/23 at BetVictor.

Selections:
Oxford United to beat Morecambe at 4/6 (BetVictor/Coral)
Blackpool v Southampton at 8/11 (various)
Everton to beat West Brom at 20/23 (BetVictor)

@likebuyingmoney Twitter followers’ tips week 22

After week 20 our followers were making a £31.32 loss after a poor week, could they improve their form in week 21? Here's a reminder of what was tipped up last week and a roundup of the results:

Follower	Selection	Result
@jcenever	Forest & Brighton both to score	Game finished in a 1-1 draw (BTS @ evens) WINNER
@JKTwinkle	Blackburn to beat Bolton	Bolton ran out 2-1 winners in the relegation battle LOSER
@richie_life	Chelsea vs Tottenham & Reading vs Blackpool - over 2.5 goals	Reading won 3-1 but London Derby finished in a stalemate LOSER
@tyrone3165	Swansea, Norwich, Arsenal, Man City & Birmingham	Two winners, two draws & one defeat puts pay to this five fold LOSER
@tyrone3165	Walsall, Burnley, Chelsea, Bolton & Reading all to draw	Close - Three draws but Bolton & Reading were victorious LOSER
@rigger60	Torquay & Swansea double	Torquay won but Swansea suffered a home defeat to Everton LOSER
@Douglie9	Dunfermline, Arsenal and Southampton all to win	Both Arsenal & Southampton won but Dunfermline could only manage a draw LOSER

Our followers’ had a poor week 21 & increased their overall loss to -£36.32, from £1 stakes.

Detailed below are the selections for the weekend of the 31^st March / 1^st April:

@toddycounago simply just tips Yeovil. Yeovil travel to Bournemouth and are the best price of 17/5 with betVictor for the three points.

 @Jugador1984 my #bestbet this week is Cardiff to see off Millwall in the early kick off Saturday. Cardiff are the general price of 10/11 – remember it’s a 12:30pm start!

 @rigger60 fancies a cheeky double of Port Vale (11/10) to beat Dagenham & Redbridge & Wigan (17/10) to beat Stoke City. The double pays just over 9/2.

 @grays67lufc first selection is a Southampton/Tranmere double which pays around 6/1. Championship leaders Southampton travel to Blackpool whilst in-form Tranmere have a trip to Bury.

 @grays67lufc's second selection is another double of Fulham/Sheffield United which pays just under 4/1. Fulham host Norwich City & Sheffield United have an away match against Hartlepool.

@Ricabii is going all out for a 4 timer with Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham & Everton all to win at 8.37 & we wish him the best of luck - a nice payout if it comes in.



Thanks again to all those who submitted their suggestions, we'll round up the results at the beginning of next week’s post.

To enter next week please send a tweet and include #likebuyingmoney with your best bet.

The Hunter has caught the scent of his prey

Another nice set of results for us last night as Bayern beat Marseille in France & Sheffield United proved far too good for Chesterfield, it made up for Hull being really disappointing on Tuesday. We're keen to get some more money in your pockets before the weekend's football plus the world's richest horse race in the Dubai World Cup!

(Everyone but the bookies can be celebrating if Huntelaar can bag another)

Our tie of the week doesn't come in the Champions League but instead in the less glamorous European competition of the Europa League where the ultra attacking German side Schalke play host to Athletic Bilbao who showed a great deal of quality when beating Man United in both legs in the previous round of matches. Since losing three in a row (Bayern, Freiburg & Twente) at the end of February/beginning of March, Schalke have gone into overdrive winning three times in the league & scoring 9 goals plus overturning their 1-0 deficit in the first leg by slamming Scchhhhhteve McClaren's Twente 4-1 in the home game. They were our fancy for outright glory in this competition once it got down to the knockout stages & that was thanks to their outstanding front pairing of Raul & Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, the 'Hunter' has been in incredible goalscoring form with 40 in 38 games this year putting him right there with the best around & he has 13 in 10 European games this season, 13/10 for Huntelaar to score at anytime is simply the wrong price & should be backed heavily.

(Javi Martinez could be key for Athletic Bilbao if they're to succeed in Germany)

Bilbao haven't won in 4 in the league but looked outstandingly organised, hardworking & importantly plenty of qaulity when going forward when beating United home & away, that quality up front is spearheaded by Fernando Llorente whose power & finesse is right up there with the best strikers around currently. Llorente should be fit here which means they'll have an attacking threat & they'll want an away goal (overrated as away goals are....) so that means there should be chances in the game & both sides can finish so 8/11 about over 2.5 goals looks very nice odds. Athletic Bilbao concede over a goal a game in La Liga & we just feel that without a watertight defence any team will pay the price against Schalke - they've played some great stuff in recent weeks & Jermaine Jones has often been instrumental, he'll sit in front of his defence in this one & help drive the team forward at every opportunity, always seeming to play a pass that puts the team on the attack. With home advantage we feel that last year's Champions League semi finalists Schalke will come out on top in this one & Bilbao are maybe being slightly overrated after beating Man United who've disappointed in Europe all season, at odds against we have to be with the Schalke win at 6/5 as they look to push on for outright glory.

We're anticipating one of the games of the season so don't be surprised to see this end up 0-0 now!

Selections:
Schalke 04 to beat Athletic Bilbao at 6/5 (various)
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to score at anytime at 13/10 (Coral)
Schalke v Athletic Bilbao over 2.5 goals at 8/11 (BetVictor, Stan James & Boylesports)

Top strikeforces to detonate on helpless foes

We didn't get much luck woth Tuesday's picks as Hull went down limply against Portsmouth & our other pick Shrewsbury in the lead against Port Vale but having their game abandoned! We're having a look at the best club competition in the world tonight & also a League One match between a club riding high & another right at the bottom, good luck with any bets you have & hopefully these can give you some pointers.

(Franck Ribery can return to haunt his old club Olympique de Marseille)

It looks like there could be an exciting match in place in the Champions League as Marseille host attacking powerhouse Bayern Munich in the first leg of their quarter final. Bayern are still in the  chase for domestic honours as they trail Borussia Dortmund by 5 points but Marseille are having a very disappointing season on the home front & are currently in 9th place in Ligue 1, it's been better for them in Europe but this should be the point of their exit from the competition. Bayern have lost twice in Eurrope so far but one was when fielding a very weakened side at the Etihad versus Manchester City & then although they lost 1-0 in Basle, thy comprehensively turned it around with a 7-0 demolition at home a week later. Marseille have got this far after qualifying in 2nd in the same group as Arsenal even though they lost twice at home in that group stage, to Olympiakos & Arsenal, two sides definitely inferior to Bayern. Going through in the last round over two legs against Inter Milan may read well for Marseille but Inter are a mess this year & have just had to replace Claudio Ranieri as manager, if they are to have a hope though they'll need to win here & that could mean they take to atttacking the German side. Everyone knows Bayern's weakness & it comes in defence although their young defenders seem to have shored them up a bit this year with just 18 conceded in the league, there's still a suspicion that they are a bit too naive in Europe though & so they make up for it by having one of themost exciting & potent attacks around. Mario Gomez is the real deal & has 36 goals in 39 games so far this season including 11 in Europe, we know how good Arjen Robben & Franck Ribery can be but Toni Kroos is also emerging as a real star & we think they'l all be looking to get on the scoresheet tonight. Bayern have scored 26 goals in their last 5 games & will come to France looking for the win. Marseille's fist choice keeper is suspended & that is bad news for them but it got worse at the weekend with key defender Diawara seriously injured & likely to be out for the remainder of the year, with these problems in defence the have to look to attack plus Bayern are great going forwards so over 3.5 goals at 11/4 is worth a wager plus Bayern to win at 10/11 is a confident selection.

(Ched Evans scored the goal in the reverse fixture v Chesterfield & will fancy another)

In League One recent Johnstone's Paint Trophy winners Chesterfield travel to take on 3rd placed Sheffield United at Bramall Lane but it's unlikely to be as happy a day for Chesterfield as their Wembley excursion was. Sheffield United will go back into 2nd place above city rivals Wednesday if they win or draw here & they'll be desperate to get a win over the league's bottom placed club, with home form of 13 wins from 19 games they are pretty formidable opposition for Chesterfield & their two away wins in 19 games. Ched Evans keeps banging the goals in & has 6 in 6 & in their last match United went away to MK Dons & stuck five in the back of the net & they'll be licking their lips about facing Chesterfield who've been conceding an average of two in every away game. Chesterfield's recent form has also been indicative of their league position with one win in 7 although they did scrape 3 draws in a row before succumbing to Huddersfield last week. We strongly suspect that the Johnstone's Paint win won't have done Chesterfield any favours & they may be emotionallly & physically tired, with Sheffield United rested odds of 11/8 for the Blades to win by two or more goals look a steal!

Selections:
Bayern Munich to beat Marseille at 10/11 (Paddy Power & Ladbrokes)
Marseille v Bayern Munich to be over 3.5 goals at 11/4 (William Hill)
Sheffield United to beat Chesterfield with -1 goal handicap at 11/8 (Skybet & Ladbrokes)

No safe Ports in a storm here

We're back with more football bets for Tuesday night from the Championship & League Two, we'll be having a look at games throughout this week as there is plenty of action from various competitions including the Champions League & Europa League. We're especially looking forward to Thursday & a mouth-watering matchup between our Europa fancies Schalke & Manchester United's conquerors Athletic Bilbao, both sides have some quality & look full of goals. As ever you can follow us on Twitter @LikeBuyingMoney & keep up to date with our latest posts, just click the follow button at the top of this page or search for us on there. We're in red hot tipping form so make sure you're first to see the bets before the bookies do & shorten up the available prices!

(Hull skipper Robert Koren adds some real class to the midfield plus his fair share of goals too)

Nick Barmby's Hull City travel to the South coast to take on Portsmouth as they continue to push for a playoff place, knowing that wins & not just draws are becoming ever more important - it's a fixture rearranged from early February where a frozen pitch scuppered the tie. Portsmouth are in all sorts of trouble off the pitch & aren't faring much better on it with just one win in their last 11 games, a surprise 4-1 thumping of Birmingham , it should be noted they were drawing 1-1 there until Birmingham had David Murphy sent off. Pompey now sit rock bottom (they've had a 12 point deduction) & will surely be utterly deflated after what will have been a crushing defeat to fellow strugglers Coventry on Saturday, that loss means that they are now 6 points away from safety with just 8 games remaining. Hull have actually lost their last two in the league but there was little shame in losing to Southampton last week & Leicester are very good when they put everything together. Until the last two games Hull hadn't lost in the league since Barmby took the reins although they have struggled to score the goals needed to turn draws into wins although with Portsmouth also being pretty goal shy, they've only scored more than once in one of their last 11 games, that may mean that Barmby feels he can throw caution to the wind & really attack. Hull travelled to Cardiff just a couple of weeks back & managed to combine their great defence with a bit more attacking intent & reaped the rewards with a 3-0 win, the Tigers will surely have to pounce on Portsmouth whilst they are already wounded & we like the 17/10 available for the away win.


(Striker James Collins will be looking to add to his 13 league goals so far)



In League Two Shrewsbury Town entertain Port Vale at New Meadow, the Shrews are currently sitting in the final automatic promotion place & will be looking to increase their points advantage over the chasing pack whilst Port Vale are in 16th spot. Shrewsbury are in good current form having won three of their previous four league matches with the latest being 1-0 away at Morecambe at the weekend despite being reduced to 10 men. Shrewsbury's home record is simply formidable with 14 victories from 18 matches & they haven't been beaten in front of the home faithful all season. Visitors Port Vale have struggled of late with three defeats in their last four matches & have lost their last two away matches, on the road this season they have picked up 21 of their 26 points against sides in the bottom half of the table & they have lost all five of their games against sides in the top seven so far. With such a disparity between Shrewsbury's home form & Porty Vale's away form Shrewsbury should be far too strong for an average Port Vale side as they look to gain automatic promotion at the best price of 4/5 with BetVictor.

Selections:
Hull City to beat Portsmouth at 17/10 (BetVictor)

Shrewsbury Town to beat Port Vale at 4/5 (BetVictor)

A £10 double wth BetVictor givves returns of £48.60

Lets Lash the Bookies at the Curragh

Sunday sees the opening meeting of the Irish flat racing season at the Curragh & we reckon we've a couple of fillies that can give us a great beginning to the year. Hopefully you were folowing us in on our bets for Saturday where we had Premio Loco win at 5/1 in the Winter Derby & all three of our football selections were successful with Tranmere & Sheffield Wednesday winning & the Arsenal to win by more than one goal bet coming in comfortably.

(Anam Alta can stamp her authority all over the Express Stakes at the Curragh)

The day's feature race is the Group 3 Express Stakes for fillies & mares over a mile & we'rre sweet on the chances of the top weight Anam Alta, a 4 year old with just the 6 runs under her belt but having won half of those including a Group 3 at the back end of last year meaning she carries a penalty here. Dermot Weld's filly has campaigned exclusively over shorter distances previously with one run over 6 furlongs & the other 5 over 7 furlongs but there's reason to believe this will suit as she's out of a Sadlers Wells mare & has tended to do good work at the end of her races. Anam Alta decimated her 7 runer field in that Group 3, having a 108 rated rival 6 lengths bck in 2nd as she relished the soft undergound conditions & the going repot here is Yielding, Soft in places. It was Anaam Alta's previous race that initially caught our attention as she gave the very useful Alanza a race on unsuitable quick ground before finishing 2nd, Alanza went on to win the Sceptre Stakes at Doncaster & then started at just 4/1 for th Group 1 Sun Chariot, that shows the type of class Anam Alta has & we're unconvinced by her oposition here. We don't want to go anywhere near 3 year olds taking on their older counterparts this early in the year & Aidan O'Brien's Twirl looks like going off way too short based on what she's done so far, a 3rd followed by a convincing win in a maiden, she's pominent in the 1000 Guineas beting but it's all to do with connections rather than what we've seen on the track. Princess Sinead raced 5 times as a two year old, getting 5th in a Group 1 & 3rd in a Group 3 but she may just be a precocious sort, she's by Jeremy, & we're happy to avoid. Of the other ollder horses Crystal Gal is a consistent Listed performer & Libys Dream recently landed a Listed contest at Wolverhampton but both have pounds to find here with th selection. Anam Alta could make odds of around 4/1 look very overpriced come 4.05, she's already proven her class & has conditions to suit & needs to be backed here.

(Violet Lashes (in 2nd here) will hope to go one better today)

In the final race on the card Violet Lashes can win for jockey Fran Berry & trainer Jessica Harrington, she finished 5th in a 20 runner maiden on her first start before finishing 2nd behind live Classic contender Kissed in a Navan race with similar conditions to today's race. Violet Lashes was clear of the rest of the field that day & the form could be very strong as Kissed looks like she'll have a real chance in the Oaks, our pick already has the form in the book whereas 7 of today's rivals are unraced & the ones that have run haven't run to her level of form. We reckon it's worth chancing that Violet Lashes has progressed from last year, in which case she could chew these rivals up & spit them out en route to a win at odds close to 9/4.

Selections:
Curragh 4.00 - Anam Alta to win at 4/1
Curragh 5.30 - Violet Lashes to win at 9/4

Going Loco down in Aca....(ahem) Lingfield

We had a decent Cheltenham, turning a profit to a level stake but our favourite form of racing is on the flat & we can get warmed up for the start of the season next week at Doncaster with Lingfield's great Winter Derby card on the all-weather. Purists may bemoan the all-weather but there is little fundamentally wrong with it & when you get quality horses running you get a great raceday, with no worries about different strips of ground on different parts of the track it can also make things a bit easier from a punting point of view.

(Premio Loco (left) can have us going mad with delight)

Premio Loco looks a cut above his rivals in the feature race, the Group 3 Winter Derby over 10 furlongs, Chris Wall's 8 year old is a proven Group 2 performer & can show his class here even though he carries a penalty for winning at that level last year. Premio Loco has raced over the distance just once, when coming second in this contest by a nose in 2009 & tends to be a 7 furlongs to a mile specialist but we think that with a good waiting ride from all-weather specialist jockey George Baker he'll take some stopping. There aren't too many worries about this being Premio Loco's seasonal debut as he's managed five wins first time up after a 60 day break. He carries a five pound penalty for winning a Group 2 at Doncaster last September but only one rival hre is rated within half a stone & that is William Haggas's mare Soorah, on a mark of 108 courtesy of a win in Dubai, that mark may be a little inflated as she's only ever got as high as 98 on UK form & she doesn't tend to get her head in front too often. Richard Hannon gets his horses flying early in the season & that means that Cai Shen is a contender although the Iffraaj colt would need to improve a little on his form last year. Black Spirit's form is similar to Cai Shen's he finished just behind that one in a conditions race last year but was giving 3 pounds to the younger horse & with just to wins from 12 runs we aren't keen. Premio Loco has been running in good Group 2's & 3's for years & has proven class, he doesn't seem to be slowing with age & although the trip is a slight concern, that's the only negative for us & odds of 5/1 look pretty good for the win.

(Noble Storm lines up at Lingfield's 2.55 & can wreak havoc on the Surrey track)

The Listed Hever Sprint at 2.55 sees a great renewal with plenty of quality sprinters lining up for what should be a really exciting race, Bordelescott is the class animal here as he's a two time winner of the Group 1 Nunthorpe but at  10 years old time may finally be catching up to Robin Bastiman's great servant, the little horse managed just 3 runs last year but didn't manage a place. Oasis Dancer has been making hay since being tried on the all-weather, coming 2nd at Kempton in December before winning 3 on the bounce, starting at Wolverhampton & then twice here, whilst those have been impressive he's never even raced over this minimum distance of 5 furlongs, let alone won & could be in trouble against the specialists. The horse we like is Ed McMahon's Noble Storm who is a real 5 furlong specialist with 8 wins over the distance including a rout in a Listed race at Haydock in May of lst year. Noble Storm has something that many sprinters don't & that is consistency, in 27 lifetime runs he's come in the top 3 places 18 times, so two thirds of the time he's picked up place money at the least. Medicean Man is another nice type although we have a suspicion that a mark of 108 slightly flatters Jeremy Gask's gelding, when stepped up to Group company at the end of 2011 he was deep back in the pack in two races won by Deacon Blues. The fly in the ointment could be Robert Cowell's Italian import Spirit Quartz, having its first UK start, but overall we're more than happy to side with Noble Storm - this is a horse that started 7/2 favourite for a Group 2 last year & gained two wins & a 2nd from his four races in 2011.

Selections:
Lingfield 2.55 - Noble Storm to win at 9/2
Lingfield 3.25 - Premio Loco to win at 5/1

Arsenal Guns to Overpower Villa's Light Artillery

We're looking forward to this weekend's football action - there looks to be some tight games in the Premier League & we wouldn't be surprised to see an upset involving a relegation threatened team putting one over on a bigger club, QPR did it on Wednesday to bring up our 4-1 tip here on what were some decent midweek results for the team. We are going to try & continue the fine football tipping form with three selections for Saturday with one pick from the top tier & then two from our favourite division of League One. Good luck with all of your picks & our number one tip is to keep those accumulators small; the bookies love it when you hand over slips with 57 teams on. Try to forget about the dream money & you can instead give yourselves a chance of large, but not life changing, payouts on a regular basis!

(Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain looks a real class act for Arsenal)

Alex McLeish's pedestrian Aston Villa side face an unenviable trip to the Emirates to take on an in form Arsenal who seem to have really found their stride, especially since a disappointing run of one league win in 6 games at the turn of the year. Arsenal have been in fine form recently, playing the type of football that they've been renowned for over the years & have rattled off 6 league wins in a row plus nearly produced the comeback of all comebacks against AC Milan in the Champions League. Demolitions of Blackburn & Spurs at home have been complemented with impressive wins at tough places to travel to on the road, Liverpool, Sunderland & Everton have all been beaten with Wenger's men even getting a rare clean sheet against the Toffees on Wednesday night. Obviously Robin Van Persie is Arsenal's main man with the incredible amount of goals he's been scoring this year but the emergence of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been a real boost & could prove critical as they strive to finish as high as possible & guarantee Champions League qualification. Villa look overmatched here, they've just two league wins in 9 in 2012 & they came against Fulham last weekend with a last minute winner & against the league's worst in Wolves, they've actually only lost 3 away games thanks to the containing setup that McLeish employs but also only have 3 away wins with a league high 8 draws. Arsenal have the game to combat sides that try to defend as they have so many technically gifted players who can find space & play balls through a defence & with Villa being so unproductive going forward it should mean that Sagna can bomb on to help out & ThomasVermaelen will provide a threat at set pieces - a real area of weakness for Villa this season. We think Arsenal will go all out in this one as they seek to maintain momentum & that means taking Evens for them to win by two clear goals or more seems a fair bet & we'll be on come 3pm on Saturday.

(Ronnie Moore has been all smiles since his return to Tranmere Rovers)

In League One, Tranmere Rovers host Exeter City at Prenton Park. Tranmere are in 16th position & are looking to pull away from the relegation zone whilst opponents Exeter are in the bottom two. Tranmere were on a winless run of 11 matches when gaffer Ronnie Moore returned to the club for his 2nd spell in charge, since then they are unbeaten & have won three of their last five league games with the latest being away to Rochdale in midweek. They have gained 71% of their points at home & their record there against sides in the bottom half is impressive with seven victories & no defeats in ten games. Exeter have struggled all season & they have lost five of their last six league games, they have the worst away record in the league where they've suffered 13 defeats in 19 games & have only picked up 10 points. They aren't the greatest side in the league but know how to take advantage of weaker rivals & we expect a resurgent Tranmere to continue their good current form at the expense of Exeter at evens.

(Gary Madine has been celebrating plenty of goals for Wednesday this season)

Staying in League One we find Sheffield Wednesday on the road down south as the face Leyton Orient in a game they will be determined to win in order to keep their chase for an automatic promotion spot on the rails. The Owls will have been mightily disappointed not to have beaten Walsall on Tuesday night but showed great resolve to come from 1-0 & 2-1 down to get a draw, they've been getting the goals since replacing Gary Megson with Dave Jones as manager & that could be key against Leyton Orient who the league's joint 2nd lowest scorers at home with just 18 goals in 18 matches. The experienced Ryan Lowe has forged a decent partnership with the tall youngster Gary Madine with them each grabbing a goal each in 3 of their last 4 games & they should be partnered up again here. Wednesday haven't lost in their last 6 games whereas the O's have won just 1 of 7 with that coming against Brentford who've won just 3 games since mid December & that tempers our concerns around Wednesday's away record with them having won only 8 of 19 away from Hillsborough so far this year. Wednesday should have too much quality about them & can nick this one despite some defensive frailties still existing, Orient don't have the firepower to exploit that as they rely heavily on veteran striker Kevin Lisbie, & odds of 5/4 about the Wednesday win look very tempting to us.

Selections:
Arsenal to beat Aston Villa with -1 goal handicap at Evens (general)
Tranmere Rovers to beat Exeter City at evens (Skybet/Betfred)
Sheffield Wednesday to beat Leyton Orient at 5/4 (Coral)

@likebuyingmoney Twitter followers’ tips week 21

After week 19 our followers were making a £25.57 loss after a profitable week, could they continue their form in week 20? Here's a reminder of what was tipped up last week and a roundup of the results:

Follower	Selection	Result
@grays67lufc	Leeds to beat West Ham	A late West Ham equaliser stops Leeds picking up all three points LOSER
@grays67lufc	Yeovil to beat Walsall	Yeovil came from behind to win 2-1 against Walsall (Yeovil @ 5/4) WINNER
@grays67lufc	Over 2.5 goals double – Fulham/Swansea & Watford/Coventry	Swansea ran out easy 3-0 winners but a 0-0 stalemate at Vicarage Road LOSER
@GHorsfall	Accrington’s Aristote Nsiala 16/1 to score anytime	Accrington won 2-1 but Nsiala failed to get on the scoresheet LOSER
@AlexClarke91	Southampton, Charlton & Swindon	One win, one draw & one defeat puts pay to this leaders treble LOSER
@stevenhoppy180	Wales to win by 5 points against France	Close...as Wales won the Grand Slam with a 16-9 victory over France LOSER
@RaviLakhani	Vettel to win Aussie GP	Sebastian Vettel came 2nd to Jenson Button in the opening Grand Prix of the season LOSER
@rigger60	Torquay & Doncaster double	Torquay won easily at Burton but Doncaster lost 2-1 at home to Derby LOSER

Our followers’ had a very poor week 20 & increased their overall loss to -£31.32, from £1 stakes.

Detailed below are the selections for the weekend of the 24^th / 25^th March:

@jcenever fancies Forest & Brighton both to score...banker!! BTS is the best price of evens at Blue Square.

@JKTwinkle picks Blackburn to beat Bolton away. Great result last time out, looking to pull away from relegation zone. Can Blackburn win their third game in a row at 21/10 with William Hill.

@richie_life selects a double of Chelsea vs Tottenham over 2.5 goals and Reading vs Blackpool  over 2.5 goals. Both the London derby & Championship match are 4/5 so the double pays 2.24 / 1.

@tyrone3165 tips Swansea, Norwich, Arsenal, Man City & Birmingham. Nice win accumulator there it pays just over 16/1 with Paddy Power #getonit.

@tyrone3165 also likes Walsall, Burnley, Chelsea, Bolton & Reading - five teams to draw there. Pays over 427/1 with Paddy Power #goodluck.

@rigger60 has a cheeky double of Torquay (10/11) to beat Port Vale & Swansea (5/4) to beat Everton. The double pays 3.30 / 1.

@Douglie9 I fancy Dunfermline to win their first home game of the season #newmanagereffect add them to Arsenal and Southampton. The treble pays just under 11/2.

Thanks again to all those who submitted their suggestions, we'll round up the results at the beginning of next week’s post.

To enter next week please send a tweet and include #likebuyingmoney with your best bet.

Northern travellers to face away day blues

Wednesday sees some more football action & we're looking for a pair of home victories to set us up nicely for the weekend, let us know via Twiter what your best weekend bets are to & we'll post in a followers' blog, send the picks through usin the hashtag #likebuyingmoney & we'll pick it up.

(Ipswich's Grant Leadbitter has three goals in his last three matches)

In the Championship, Ipswich Town host Burnley at Portman Road, the sides sit in 15th & 14th respectively & each have 10 games to try & make a late bid for a play-off place. Ipswich have had a disappointing season really but have been in fine form since the end of January with six victories in nine league games & only one defeat, a late winner from Aaron Cresswell gave them the three points over Peterborough after two good away draws at Hull City & leaders Southampton. In front of the home faithful the Tractor Boys have won their last four in a row & are unbeaten in five. Visitors Burnley played out a 0-0 draw at Cardiff in a dire match which stretches their winless streak to five matches after three defeats & two draws, on the road they have lost three of their last four matches & they have lost 50% of their away games this season. We expect Ipswich to be too strong for Burnley & go above them in the league at a general price of evens.

(Djibril Cisse celebrates & QPR fans will be doing cartwheels if they beat Liverpool)

Once again Liverpool look overrated by the bookies in a league match, this time away to Queens Park Rangers, the Reds are best odds of 5/6 to win but taking odds on about a team that have only won 2 of their last 9 league games doesn't appeal too much to us. Neither side score many although QPR have tried to do something about that with the signing's of Zamora & ex-Liverpool player Djibril Cisse, now that Cisse's back following his ban he does add a bit of quality & much needed threat up front. Mark Hughes has had plenty of time to plan for this game as QPR haven't played since a somewhat unfortunate loss to Bolton on the 10th & they have pretty much a full line-up to pick from other than the injured DJ Campbell & Heidar Helguson. Liverpool meanwhile only played Stoke on Sunday & are going to be without Glen Johnson & Daniel Agger in defence again as well as their most dangerous player going forward in Craig Bellamy. Boylesports are going a standout 4/1 about a home victory for QPR & those odds are just about  big enough to be of interest with it looking a good time to face Liverpool who've now qualified for Europe thanks to their League Cup win & look altogether more focused when it comes to Cup matches.

Selections:
Ipswich Town to beat Burnley at evens (various)
Queens Park Rangers to beat Liverpool at 4/1 (Boylesports)

Crouching Tigers Hiding Goals

There are plenty of midweek football games to bet on but taking a selective & serious approach can be sensible when there are plenty of opportunities, getting really stuck into your most fancied bets is often more rewarding than many bets paying out small amounts, we've looked right through the leagues & found two games where we feel confident there's money to be made. We want regular followers to start thinking about their best bets for the weekend too & once you've made your selections send them through on Twitter to @LikeBuyingMoney using the hashtag #likebuyingmoney, we'll post them up on our regular followers' blog - it's a great way to get involved & also gets you thinking & planning your bets rather than impulsive last minute wagers. If you aren't already following us on Twitter why not?! It's great fun & if you already have an account you can find us @LikeBuyingMoney or just by clicking the follow button at the top of this page.

(Crewe's rising star Nick Powell is in fine form & looking to propel them towards the playoffs)

In League Two, Crewe Alexandra entertain Bradford City at the Alexandra Stadium, the hosts are in 9th position & chasing a play-off place whilst Bradford are in 18th & looking to pull away from the relegation spots. Crewe are in good form currently & beat league leaders Swindon Town 2-0 at the weekend, they have won their last two league games which has stretched their unbeaten run to seven games with three wins & four draws. They've been especially good at home recently, picking up 17 points out of a possible 21 & in Nick Powell they have a player bang in form with five goals in his last six games. Bradford have lost their last two games against AFC Wimbledon & Aldershot Town which has seen a run of three defeats from five league games, their away results have been poor all season & ten defeats out of 18 games sees them with the 3rd worst record in the league. With three away defeats in row now for Bradford & the current form of Crewe we can't see pass a comfortable home victory at evens with Bet365 & Boylesports.

(Hull captain Jack Hobbs is marshalling his defence excellently)

In the Championship current leaders Southampton travel north to face Hull City & their impregnable defence at the KC Stadium. Hull haven't lost since Nick Barmby was appointed as permanent manager back in early January & have conceded just 3 goals in 11 games as the former attacking midfielder has made his side one of the most difficult to play against in the league & to 7th place just outside the playoff spots. Hull haven't exactly beenn setting the world allight in terms of scoring goals & wins & have seen 5 nil-nils in their recent 11 game unbeaten sequence, that stingy defence will be key to keeping Southampton & their quality strikeforce at bay. The Saints have also been in great form, unbeaten in 10 in the league & star striker Rickie Lambert has been in fine form, scoring a hattrick as they came from 2-1 down to win against Millwall on Saturday. With 68 goals from their 37 games there isn't much that stops Southampton scoring but we think that just makes it all the more likely that Barmby will set his men up to frustrate the visitors, Southampton were recently comprehensively outplayed by Leeds at Elland Road & were slightly fortunate on Saturday as they were awarded two late penalties to rescue it at Millwall & we're not keen on 6/4 for them to win. We do like 4/5 about there being less than 2.5 goals as 13 of Hull's last 16 have featured 2 or less, with fewer goals in a game the draw also becomes more likely & backing 0-0 & 1-1 at coupled odds of just bigger than 3/1 makes more appeal than backing the draw at 23/10.

Selections:
Crewe Alexandra to beat Bradford City at evens (Bet365 & Boylesports)
Under 2.5 goals in Hull City v Southampton at 4/5 (BetVictor)
Hull v Southampton correct score to be 0-0 at 10/1 (Stan James) & 1-1 at 6/1 (William Hill)