In play betting - make it pay

There is huge variance between the betting patterns and the betting previews for tonight's Capital One Cup quarter-final at Elland Road between Leeds United and Chelsea. A look through the prediction pieces of the various analysts and commentators in advance of the game would give the impression that Chelsea are ripe for the picking in this contest, while the betting market tells a completely different story. Chelsea were available to bet at odds of 5/6 and even 10/11 in places at the start of the week, but that's all changed as the money has come in for the Blues and they now trade at no better than 8/11 anywhere in the market. Leeds United can now be backed at 4/1 in places, while draw backers can avail of prices up to and including 3/1. Neil Warnock’s side have hit a rich vein of form in recent weeks, winning four of their last five matches and they'll be keen to add Chelsea to their list of Premier League scalps, having already seen off Everton and Southampton at Elland ...

When Newcastle last faced off against Stoke City, the Magpies produced an excellent display, cruising to a 3-0 victory that lifted them up to fourth place in last season's table. The contrast just seven months on could not be greater. They are now 13th in the table and falling fast after a run of three successive league defeats, punctuated only by a poor 1-1 home draw against Maritimo in the Europa League. Stoke City aren't looking like making a push for European football or anything like that, before readers start thinking that we're advising betting on them surging up the table, but they are very strong at the Brittania Stadium. Miserly in defence and backed by one of the most raucous atmospheres in the Premiership, they've succeeded in shutting down nearly all visitors to this ground. This will be their seventh game in front of their own supporters this season and only once have they even conceded a goal. Not since February have they suffered a defeat in front of their ...

The Americans have a tradition in television whereby schedules for live sporting events are laid out in advance, but the option is always to "flex" a particular tie, i.e. to swap it with another when it becomes apparent that it will be of little or no interest to the general public due to the way things pan out. Sky Sports 2 are broadcasting the Republic of Ireland vs Greece fixture tomorrow night from the Aviva Stadium and one suspects that the TV execs must have been tempted to see if there wasn't something that couldn't have been slotted in instead as a "flex" game. Andorra vs Iceland would be one more appealing fixture, while the clash of Cape Verde and Ghana would surely have been of great interest to all those property investors who purchased a little piece of the mid-Atlantic Island in recent years. Or to put it another way, there is a case to be made for the view that any game would have been better than this. The simple facts are these. The Republic ...

Some say tonight's match between Manchester City and Ajax is something of a last chance saloon for the Premier League Champions, but frankly, even that prognosis could be a little optimistic. Already Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund are long odds on to qualify from this group, while Manchester City are generally 6/1 in the "to qualify" betting markets that are on offer. Unfortunately for supporters of the Premier League side, a home win over Ajax is not going to change those odds dramatically, since anything less would mean almost certain elimination. However the beauty of betting is that we can make a profit on tonight's game even if it turns out to be nothing more than a Europa League qualifier in the greater scheme of things. Paddy Power and Ladbrokes are going out to lay the home side and they both offer Manchester City at 4/9 tonight, while draw backers will undoubtedly find themselves heading over to Bwin, who are offering 17/4 about that particular outcome. Ajax ...

A thick line of blue across the top line of oddschecker's match betting for Malaga vs AC Milan tonight suggests that the punters only want it one way when it comes to this particular fixture. Four firms still bet 10/11 about a win for the Spanish side in this fixture while you can now bet 7/2 AC Milan with plenty of companies as well as 13/5 the draw. There are no new injury worries for Malaga manager Manuel Pellegrini, who only has to subject Nacho Monreal to a late fitness test before deciding if he'll feature in the tie. Diego Buonanotte, Julio Baptista and Jeremy Toulalan are all making their way back from long term injuries and they won't feature, but otherwise the home side are expected to be at full strength. Brazilian Robinho picked up a muscular injury in his right thigh during the week and he's expected to miss out, but otherwise AC Milan are expected to be at full strength too, making it all the more surprising that the betting has been as one sided as we've ...

When the Champions League was first envisaged, it's safe to say that nights like tonight probably weren't quite what the good people of UEFA had in mind. Tonight's fixtures, while intriguing from several perspectives, feature a lot of clashes that look on the face of things to be foregone conclusions, or not too far off it. Certainly that's what the betting lines would indicate, at the very least. Juventus are generally a 1/3 shot away from home to FC Nordsjaelland, Manchester United are similarly priced to get a home win over Braga and 1/10 is the best you can do is you want to place a straight bet on Barcelona beating Celtic tonight at the Nou Camp. From our perspective, we have to ask ourselves what the dynamics are in games like this and how should they be approached from the point of view of generating a profit in our in play betting activity. As we are now into Matchday 3 of the competition, it's critical to note here that while we're still not quite in a situation ...

Normally, when we think of betting in play, we think about the concept of watching a sporting event with a view towards isolating and identifying a bet on that particular event. However sometimes we have to think outside of that particular box and to look at a sporting event with a view towards predicting where the betting market will go for future events, and then look to beat the market to the punch. The perfect example of what we're talking about here can be seen in tonight's Europa League tie between Liverpool and Udinese. Liverpool are best priced at 8/13 for this fixture (widely available), while you can bet the draw at 3/1 and Udinese at 11/2, both with BetVictor. Both these clubs are in a similar predicament - they are highly rated based on past exploits, however they are both struggling to find form this season and neither has really lived up to their reputations so far this autumn. Tonight is a tricky game to call on the basis that both sides are likely to omit key players ...

It's been an exhilarating first day of play at the Ryder Cup, but not even the most passionate European supporters could claim that the 5-3 score in favour of the American team is anything but a fair reflection of how the event has transpired so far. This morning's 2-2 draw was probably fair enough, though if Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker had grabbed a half point to give the American team an edge, that wouldn't have been a travesty either. This afternoon Nicolas Colsaerts deserved his point, but while he was an outstanding individual performer, you could make a case for saying that the next best half dozen golfers were all clad in the American colours. Most bookmakers are now betting 2/5 the United States, 5/2 Europe and 10/1 the draw, which if anything is a litle kind to the European team. Think about it in these terms - for the morning's foursomes, Davis Love had to find a way to drop four players. Steve Stricker was a relatively easy call, but Tiger Woods found some great ...

At the time of writing it's half time here between the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Ravens, and most betting firms are offering a total points line of 37.5 and a handicap of either 8.5 points or 9 points for the second half. After examining the first half in detail, a first half that has been intriguing for purists of the game, it's safe to say that while the total line looks correct, nine could be a big spread for the Ravens to cover here. The betting in-play is of course factoring in the fact that the Ravens were expected to win by a dozen or so before the game, but the home side have been somewhat flat and lethargic, failing utterly to rediscover the passion that we saw from them last Sunday night. Torrey Smith has looked dangerous and the Browns are badly missing Joe Haden in their secondary, but they aren't getting nearly enough out of players like Dennis Pitta and Anquan Boldin and without a more balanced offensive threat, the Ravens are going to struggle to move ...

Nobody would have expected the meeting of West Brom and Everton to be a top of the table clash, but that's exactly how it has worked out, with both sides entitled to be very happy with their opening games this season. The betting community are making Everton the narrow favourites for this tie, fancied by approximately 0.2 of a goal, which is perhaps a little on the low side. At the start of the season, Everton were pitched by most observers to be a low top ten club, while West Brom were expected to finish around 15th or 16th, which would be largely in keeping with the current prices. However while West Brom have exceeded expectations slightly, Liverpool's capacity to underachieve spectacularly means that the 3-0 result on the opening day of the season could be something of an anomaly. Everton's two wins, on the other hand, suggested a more consistent level of performance, which from a betting point of view, is always preferable. You can bet the Toffees at a little better than ...