WGC Match Play - Rory's Raring to Go

The WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship gets underway on Wednesday & is a tournament that has seen English winners in the past two years with success for Ian Poulter & then Luke Donald during his impressive 2011 year. This year sees both of the past two champions turn up amongst 64 of the world's best for this lucrative tournament at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Arizona, it takes a certain style of play to win in matchplay & consistency & concentration are even more crucial than usual & of course a little luck along the way doesn't go amiss. We've looked at the competitors & their respective draws & the odds offered about them in order to try to dig up a bit of value.

(Rory McIlroy - we've heard the boy can play a bit of golf)

It might not be original but Rory McIlroy is crying out to be backed at 13/1 especially as the hottest superstar player in golf at the moment Phil Mickelson isn't taking part due to already planned family commitments. With Tiger Woods' decline McIlroy has become the face of golf & has put in the performances to back up that up with him rarely throwing in a bad round, someone will have to play very well this week to beat him. Rory's quarter of the draw isn't easy with him having to likely face either Sergio Garcia or the hugely talented Keegan Bradley a couple of rounds in but if he comes through that he'll be brimming with confidence & will push on for victory.

(Matt Kuchar's always smiling - of course when he's doing that even when he's losing you money it can be pretty, pretty annoying)

In the top half of the draw Matt Kuchar is on offer at a massive 50/1 & with the each way terms being 1/4 odds for the top 4 places he could offer the best value of anyone in the field. Kuchar has shown he can handle the conditions of match play events as he finished 3rd here last year plus 5th in the Cadillac Championship & 3rd in that the year before. None of the quarters are 'easy' but Kuchar can hold his own against Bubba Watson or Ben Crane if he makes it past Jonathan Byrd & it looks like he could be facing maybe McDowell or Stricker in a effort to make the semi final & the place money .

Selections:
Rory McIlroy to win at 13/1 (Stan James & Betfair)
Matt Kuchar each way 1/4 odds 1-2-3-4 at 50/1 (general)

Promotion Pushers to Punish Prey

After another nice weekend of football picks we're looking to midweek football action & some picks from the English leagues other than the Premiership. It's important not to discount betting opportunities just because you can't see it on TV & we keep a keen eye on the lower league action & there's often value to be had away from the bright lights. As ever you can follow us on Twitter @LikeBuyingMoney by clicking the button above so join up & take the opportunity to send us your best bets for the weekend where we'll post in a followers' tips blog.

(Curtis Davies hasn't always filled his potential but he's a great price to score against Barnsley)

Chris Hughton has done a phenomenal job at Birmingham City & he'll be hoping to continue his side's push for promotion from the Championship when they play Barnsley at Oakwell. Birmingham haven't been beaten since a loss to Crystal Palace before Christmas, they've since had some impressive wins away from home, beating Millwall 6-0, Sheffield United 4-0 & Leeds 4-1 & they gained a deserved replay after holding Chelsea in the FA Cup this past weekend. Barnsley meanwhile have struggled to find any consistency in their game & their form in the league since Christmas reads LWLWLWLLW & they've not played a side who are currently in the top 9 in that sequence. Birmingham have a few injuries going forward & Zigic & N'Daw are certain to miss out & Marlon King will face a late fitness test, they are rock solid defensively & have quality in attack & pose a real threat from set pieces especially when Curtis Davies comes forwards - he's available at 40/1 to get the first goal with Coral. With 6 wins in their last 8 we can't ignore Birmingham's chances here & they can be backed at a very reasonable 6/5 to take all three points.

(MK's leading scorer Dean Bowditch has scored twice in his last two games)

In League One, MK Dons host Bury at the Stadium MK. The MK Dons sit in the play-off places whilst Bury are in mid table in 13th. The Dons beat Oldham Athletic 5-0 at the weekend after a difficult spell of fixtures where they faced four of the top six. They only picked up two points from these games but three of the four were away from home. Their home form sees them unbeaten in their last three, winning two, and they have only been defeated once their all season. Visitors Bury has struggled lately with two defeats & two draws in their last four league games. They have a modest away record & have suffered defeats in half of them. They do have six victories on the road but all but one of these have come against sides who are 16th or lower in the league. We expect MK Dons to be too strong for a very average Bury side at a best price of 4/6 with BetVictor.

Selections:
Birmingham City to beat Barnsley at 6/5 (Coral & William Hill)
Curtis Davies to score first at 40/1 in Barnsley v Birmingham (Coral)
MK Dons to beat Bury at 4/6 (BetVictor)

Klitschko v Chisora - not a game of Slapsies

The WBC Heavyweight title bout tonight has been given an added bit of spice after Dereck Chisora slapped the Champion Vitali Klitschko at the weigh in but we wouldn't want to make too much of that as the line between pro boxing & pro wrestling style antics seems to be more blurred by the year.

(Dereck 'Del Boy' Chisora won't be doing Britain proud in this fight)

It seems amazing that Chisora has this 'opportunity' at this stage of his career as he's lost two of his last three fights, first to Tyson Fury & then last time out in an admittedly disputed decision to European Champion Robert Helenius, his shot at the title shows how shallow the depth of the heavyweight division really is. Chisora is a full 7 inches shorter than Klitschko at just 6 feet tall & his reach is 6 inches shorter than his opponent too making it very difficult to see how he'll land a puch unless he gets on Vitali's inside. Getting on the inside of Vitali Klitschko is easier said than done as he has such an outstanding an concussive jab that regularly keep opposing fighters from getting close  that has contributed to him never having been knocked down in his career with his two losses coming courtesy of a retirement when winning & thanks to a cut eye against Lennox Lewis who he was up against on the scorecards. Other than those two unfortunate losses Klitschko has won 43 fights with 40 coming by knockout or technical knockout & that is the key stat here, Chisora is a low grade fighter up against one of the most dominant heavyweights of all time & the one with the best knockout ratio of any heavyweight champ ever.

(Outstanding physically & mentally - Vitali Klitschko can notch up his 41st win by KO)

We make the Klitschko win by knockout around 1/10 by our odds & can barely believe him winning by any method is only 1/12 as this is a massive mismatch, instead you don't have to be the heaviest punter around to get on the 2/5 for Vitali to win by knockout on Betfair. Klitschko often does his damage by repeated punches rather than one killer knockout blow & in 9 of his last 10 fights he's won by knockout in the 8th round or later & Skybet offer a very tempting 7/2 for Klitschko to win in rounds 9-12, for an individual round bet we'll go for Klitschko in round 10 at a price of 14/1.

Selections:
Vitali Klitschko to beat Dereck Chisora by knockout or TKO at 2/5 (Betfair)
Klitschko to win in rounds 9-12 at 7/2 (Skybet)
Klitschko to win in round 10 at 14/1 (general)

Black Cats a Bad Omen for Wenger's Men

This weekend sees FA Cup ties so there are no Premier League matches & we've looked at through the fixture list to find a bet in the cup's fifth round plus bets from Leagues One & two as well. We're trying to bounce back from a horrible midweek for us where Brighton seemed to let everyone down at home to Millwall plus Man City prevailed against Porto & our opinion with a great result in the Europa League. As ever you can follow us on Twitter @likebuyingmoney by clicking on the follow button above. We've been fairly football heavy recently as the NFL season has ended but now the golf is back in the swing of things we'll hopefully get some previews up plus Cheltenham Festival is only a month away & the start of the flat racing season is getting closer on the horizon so we'll spreading things out a bit!

(Kieran Richardson has been maturing & improving at Sunderland)

We couldn't let this weekend go without picking out one for the FA Cup & we think that Sunderland to beat Arsenal would be a popular piece of cup magic with Martin O'Neill continuing to work the oracle at the North East club. Sunderland were a little unfortunate to come away with nothing in the league meeting here at the Stadium of Light last Saturday after holding the Gunners for 70 minutes before taking the lead through the impressive (& impressively tattooed too!) James McLean as they allowed Aaron Ramsey to equalise & then the now departed Thierry Henry to get the winner. Circumstances are different now, Arsenal were on a bit if a high with Henry back but he's now jetted back to the US & they are coming off a crushing midweek defeat to AC Milan in the San Siro. That game on Wednesday should mean that Sunderland are both fresher & more prepared for this mentally & Arsenal will know that if they lose here that yet another season without a trophy awaits them. Arsenal's defence still has problems with even Tomas Vermaelen not looking great at times whereas Sunderland have a really effective unit & Michael Turner has done well in the absence of Wes Brown, the other ex-Man United players in defence of Bardsley, O'Shea & the underrated Kieran Richardson have all contributed to allowing the forward players to play some great counterattacking football. McLean has obviously been a real gem for the Black Cats but Stephane Sessegnon has impressed throughout the season with some great inventive play & some cool finishing. The worry for Arsenal is that they face a real hangover from the Champions League, even without that Sunderland are playing such good football they'd have a very real chance & with O'Neill taking this cup challenge very seriously they offer awesome value at 19/10 to win.

(The passionate Paulo Di Canio has his Swindon side firing on all cylinders)

In League Two, Swindon Town travel to Hereford at Edgar Street, Swindon are in 4th position with only two points separating the sides from 1st to 6th places whilst Hereford are in 21st spot facing a relegation battle. The Robins are in a formidable run of form with only one defeat in the league since October 2011 plus a FA Cup victory over Premiership Wigan Athletic & a pending trip to Wembley for the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final. On Tuesday night a stunning strike from Billy Bodin put them on their way to beating promotion rivals Crawley Town 3-0 & they have won their last six league matches: scoring 14 & only conceding three. Hosts Hereford have struggled all season & have lost exactly half their league games, they have gained more points on the road this season than at Edgar Street where they have only 12 points from 16 games with 10 defeats & have conceded on average nearly two goals per game. Swindon can prove to be far too strong for a poor Hereford side as they look to continue their fine form at a best price of 5/6 with Coral.

(All in a day's work for Sheffield United captain Chris Morgan)

In League One in form Sheffield United take on Preston North End at Bramall Lane in what very much used to be a ‘Championship’ fixture. The Blades find themselves currently sitting in the second automatic promotion spot behind Charlton after a fantastic run of results, Danny Wilson’s side head the form table with a very impressive 5 wins in their last 6 league outings, more impressive though is the Red and White’s home form in which they have won 6 out of 6 scoring 16 and conceding just 2. Saturday’s opponents Preston have been gaining mixed results of late with Graham Westley beginning to steady the ship after his arrival from Stevenage just over a month ago; they come into the game on the back of a win having defeated Hartlepool with a fantastic strike from Dan Mayor on Tuesday night. Highlights of the game (courtesy of the BBC) can be seen here. As the highlights suggest Preston were a touch lucky to take all three points having invited the visitors to have 15 shots (to their 4) efforts on goal. We think that Sheffield United, with Ched Evans spearheading the attack, will prove that much more clinical in front of goal and collect all three points. United are available at a best price of 4/7 with Ladbrokes and Coral.

Selections:
Sunderland to beat Arsenal at 19/10 (PaddyPower)
Swindon Town to beat Hereford United at 5/6 (Coral)
Sheffield United to beat Preston North End at 4/7 (Ladbrokes and Coral)

@likebuyingmoney Twitter followers’ tips week 16

After week 14 our followers were making a £24.52 loss after another good week, could they keep it up in week 15? Here's a reminder of what was tipped up last week and a roundup of the results:

Follower	Selection	Result
@graemelambert	Liverpool to beat Man Utd at Old Trafford	A Rooney brace gave United a 2-1 victory LOSER
@dollo1979	France, England and Wales (rugby) & Man City	3 out of 3 winners with the France game cancelled (treble @ 1.75) WINNER
@dollo1979	France (-9), England (-8) and Wales (-12) (rugby) & Man City	England only just beat Italy 19-15 so not the -8 needed LOSER
@DaveLane1	Sunderland + Blackburn double	A Thierry Henry late winner puts pay to this double LOSER
@GHorsfall	Hereford to beat Cheltenham	Despite taking a early lead Hereford drew 1-1 LOSER
@plankorama	Blackpool, Ipswich, Leeds, Leicester, Peterborough, Reading & Southampton games over 1.5 goals	Two games cancelled (one after 36 minutes at Ipswich) but all the rest came in @ 3/1 WINNER
@LeeHooper1	Tiger Woods to win the AT&T	After a disappointing final round Tiger fell out of contention LOSER
@rigger60	Blackpool, Sheffield United & AFC Wimbledon	One winner, one draw & one cancelation LOSER
@Jugador84	Italy +7 to beat England	England only just beat Italy 19-15 so Italy +7 @ evens WINNER

After only a couple of winners this week our followers’ current loss has increased very slightly to -£24.77, from £1 stakes.

Detailed below are the selections for the weekend of the 18^th / 19^th February:

@ShanePollard16 I really like Sunderland 6/5 DNB after what happened at the San Siro Wednesday night. O'Neil has played first choice XI in the cup as well so that's a bonus. Can Sunderland reverse the 2-1 victory by Arsenal over them last weekend?

@Douglie9 is back with a double of Motherwell and Ross County. Motherwell (13/8) are at home to Hearts & Ross County (2/5) host Ayr. The double pays over 5/2.

@LeeHooper1 our golf expert says Mickelson at 9-4 in running with SJ to win Northern Trust Open after Round 1. He is quite simply on fire.

@Jugador84 our Cardiff City fan has two selections of #bestbet Ipswich Cardiff to produce goals over 2.5, also like Chopra to score anytime. The over 2.5 goals is the best price of 10/11 with Coral & for Chopra to score against his old side is 13/8 anytime & 6/1 first goalscorer.

@rigger60 fancies a treble of Stoke, Torquay & Southampton. Stoke (11/10) face a trip to League Two side Crawley in the FA Cup whilst Torquay (11/13) & Southampton (4/7) are both in league action. The treble pays just over 5/1.

@JKTwinkle has a FA Cup double of Bolton and Stoke.Both travel to lower league opposition in Millwall (vs Bolton) & Crawley (vs Stoke). The double pays 9/2.

@Ricabii fancies a Memphis Grizzlies -4 and Cleveland Cavaliers +9.5 double. The Grizzlies travel the Denver Nuggets & the Cavaliers travel to Miami Heat. The double pays just over 5/2.

@bowmani19 early selections are Torquay, Norwich, Sheffield Uts, Swindon & Ross Co, £6.50 returns £77 #betting.

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.

Europa League - Schalke's Strikers to Shoot them to glory

Normally the Europa League doesn't hold too much interest for English football fans but only two years ago Fulham made the final with Liverpool in the other semi final & this year sees giants Manchester United in this competition rather than fighting out the Champions League latter stages as usual. United are joined in the knockout stage by title rivals Manchester City & 1970s throwbacks Stoke City bring their unique style to the continent, there are some good bets to be had this Thursday night plus we're looking at an outright winner as well.

(Porto's new signing from Brazilian club Santos, Danilo looks quite a player)

Manchester City's Champions league campaign failed to ignite in a tough group also containing German powerhouses Bayern Munich & a useful Napoli side, City performed creditably at home with two wins (one against a weakened Bayern side) & a draw but their only points away from home came against hapless & pointless Villareal & City face a daunting away trip to opponents F.C. Porto in this first knockout round of the Europa League. Porto are the current holders of this cup, gaining that victory under previous coach Andre Villas-Boas & have an arguably stronger squad than last season as they sold star forward Radamel Falcao for 40m Euros but retained most of the rest of the team (although Falcao's fellow Colombian Fredy Guarin has just joined Inter on loan with an option for a permanent move). Porto have bolstered their squad with Steven Defour & Eliaquim Mangala from Standard Liege plus have brought in two of Brazil's brightest defensive talents in Alex Sandro & Danilo, Danilo a midfielder & right back signed in the January transfer window looks to have all the attributes needed to be a world star. The Portuguese league isn't known for being ultra competitive, Porto won without losing a match last year, but they've still only conceded 12 goals in their 18 games so far, although they trail Benfica by 5 points, showing just how watertight they can be. Up front Hulk continues to be a menace scoring goals himself & getting plenty of assists, he's struck up a decent partnership with fellow Brazilian Kleber & they'll cause City problems here.

City haven't had the greatest runs of form since Christmas, going out of the Cups & drawing away to West Brom & losing away to Sunderland & Everton, in fact their only away wins in the league since 5th November came against rock bottom Wigan & a negative Villa side this past weekend. The Citizens haven't looked nearly so good without Africa Cup of Nations competitors the Toure brothers & will be hoping to have them back as soon as possible after their disappointing loss in the final, they probably won't be back in time for this game though & City still won't have the presence of Yaya driving them forwards from midfield. Although still great at home Mancini's cautiousness means City are unlikely to be too expansive here & would surely settle for a draw, that's dangerous as Porto are a top notch team & although they disappointed in the Champions League they'll look to rally & will want to take a lead to Manchester. Bearing in mind City may settle for a draw we think that Porto at Evens in the draw no bet market is a real tempter & should be backed, they'll need a result here before going to the Etihad next Wednesday.

(How do you stop him scoring? Udinese's 34 year old phenomenon Antonio Di Natale)

Udinese weren't able to qualify for the Champions League after meeting Arsenal in the qualifying rounds but they came through in 2nd place behind a good Atletico Madrid side in their Europa League group with Celtic behind & now they come up against Greek side PAOK Saloniki in their first knockout game. PAOK topped the group containing Tottenham & beat them at White Hart Lane thanks to a lightning fast start, scoring twice in the first quarter of an hour against their hosts who began lethargically & then couldn't ever claw their way back, it does need to be mentioned that Spurs never really seemed to be too concerned with the competition though. PAOK also managed a very creditable draw away to Rubin Kazan which is no mean feat & they are worthy of respect although they are now shorn of star winger Vierinha who moved to Wolfsburg in the transfer window, he was a real goal threat & they'll now have to rely even more heavily on academy product Stefanos Athanasiadis who's managed 4 goals this year in the competition. Udinese lost some of their top players for big prices in the Summer with Alexis Sanchez & Christian Zapata heading to Spain whilst Gokhan Inler moved to Napoli but they've coped admirably & currently sit 4th in Serie A. Veteran & club legend Antonio Di Natale is still banging the goals in at the age of 34, he was on fire with 28 league goals last year & has carried that on in 2011-12. Udinese will be hoping to have the Ghanaians Kwadwo Asamoah & Badu back but even if they don't they should be able to break PAOK down & a price of 4/5 for Udinese to prevail looks too good to be true, PAOK will likely come to defend meaning a win to nil is likely & we like the look of a 2-0 home win at 7/1.

(Things haven't always gone totally to plan for City & Mancini in Europe - why are they favourites?)

In terms of outright winners it seems fair to see Manchester's City & United at the head of the market although we can't quite work out why City are ahead of last year's Champions League finalists especially as they have to first get past a classy Porto side just to progress past the first knockout stage. The worry with having a bet on either of the English sides is whether they'll be treating this competition with enough respect to actually win it, Ferguson used words to the effect that it was a punishment having to play in the Thursday night competition & he has left Patrice Evra, Ryan Giggs & Dimitar Berbatov at home for their first away trip to Ajax although there has been no injury news as of yet. There should be motivation for winning the competition for Ferguson as it is the one trophy that has so far evaded him both with Aberdeen & United & we'd be much keener to back them at the prices, especially given their European pedigree, than Man City, even if Mancini can keep his combustible squad operating it seems difficult to believe they can keep up the pace on two fronts especially now that their rivals are breathing down their necks in the all-important title race.

(Schalke's Raul & Huntelaar may just be the best strike partnership in Europe)

Instead we really like the look of the German side Schalke 04 to take this at odds of 12/1, they won the competition back in its days of the UEFA Cup in 1997 & their free flowing football can prove dangerous to any opponents that face them. Although Schalke faced a bad loss to league rivals Borussia Monchengladbach this past weekend they had previously been on a great run of form losing just twice since 24th September & their strike force of Real Madrid legend Raul & Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has been particularly successful. Huntelaar looks revitalised after not quite living up to expectations at first Real Madrid & then AC Milan, his understanding with Raul is especially impressive with them linking up regularly to torment defences. In home-grown players like wonderkid Julian Draxler & the technically talented Lewis Holtby the strikers get a great service from midfield & Christoph Metzelder provides experience in defence whilst captain Benedikt Howedes looks like he'll end up being a mainstay in central defence for the national side for years to come. The one real worry for last year's Champions League semi-finalists is that starting goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann has been lost to injury although they've reacted quickly by bringing Timo Hildebrand back to his homeland from Sporting in Portugal. Schalke have great European experience & are likely to take treat this competition with respect & should be able to progress past Czech opponents Viktoria Plzen in this round before really unleashing a charge.

Selections:
Porto to beat Manchester City draw no bet at 10/11 (Betfred & Blue Square)
Udinese to beat PAOK Saloniki at 4/5 (Boylesports, BetVictor & William Hill)
Udinese to beat PAOK Saloniki 2-0 at 7/1 (William Hill)

Schalke to win Europa League outright at 12/1 (Various)