Welcome to the first of our monthly betting blogs, bought to you with our chums from Sporting Bet. Hopefully this yarn every four weeks will give you the inside track on what's worth betting on, plus why you should be punting your hard earned on it.
Below are a few bets worth keeping an eye on for the following month, all of varying levels of likelihood. Enjoy and happy betting!
Bolt-on
El Classico rival multis
Oh La Liga, you may have Messi and Ronaldo, but Barca and Real's dominance is turning you into the continental version of the Scottish League, where the Celtic-Rangers duopoly numbs the mind. However, predictability breeds betting profits. Backing Barca or Real as singles produces a tight profit margin, so take them both as a multi.
Usually both Barca and Real would be around 1.30 to 1.40, but a multi and you'd be looking at 1.70 to 2.25. When you can double your money (2.00 or better) on both of them winning, then get involved!
The league obviously isn't void of any depth, it does include last season's Europe League winners Atletico Madrid, who sit at the summit of the table at the time of writing, and a decent Valencia side.
If you're looking to stretch the value of your multi, throw in Atletico and/or Valencia (preferably when they're at home to a team who finished in the bottom half last season) for a bit of added value.
Chance it?
Mackems' home comforts
Sunderland are more formidable at home than their league positions usually suggest. Last season they beat Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal at the Stadium of Light, while this term they've already dispatched big-spending Manchester City 1-0.
This weekend Sunderland will entertain free-scoring Arsenal. As you might expect, the visitors from London are favourites at 1.65, with 3.40 for the draw and 5.00 for a home win. The latter interests here.
England striker Darren Bent is the chief threat and it was his strike last season that sealed the 1-0 win over Arsenal. Take two bets here, firstly the 5.00 for the outright Sunderland win, while Sunderland to 1-0 once again pays 13.00.
Next up at home for Sunderland after that is two top teams, both with indifferent form - Manchester United then Aston Villa. Sunderland should offer good value to win both. United have already drawn away at Fulham and Everton, while Aston Villa have lost 6-0 at newly promoted Newcastle and 2-1 at Stoke most recently.
It is unlikely Sunderland will fail to win for three home games, so keep backing them and you should get a return somewhere along the line this month.
You never know!
Draws can mean wins
Allow us to let you into the inner sanctum of FourFourTwo's favourite A-League bet, which if you land, has you rolling in the profit. With the salary cap and the embryonic nature of the A-League, it creates a very level playing field for all teams. It also means that so called 'bankers' are very hard to come by, but it does open up the door for several draws.
A deadlocked tie always offers good value, usually about 3.30 in the A-League, and the early stages of the competition always throw up plenty of those. We saw four in Round 1 and three in Round 2, but recent weeks have seen more results one way or the other. However the possibility of a round of draws still looms large in the coming weeks - particularly this weekend.
Struggling Newcastle host a Perth team that rarely travels well, over-achieving North Queensland host twice before Champions Melbourne Victory in another even tie, defensively sound Brisbane entertain table-topper Adelaide, then stuttering Melbourne Heart have poor travelers Wellington, before resurgent Gold Coast take on high-flying Central Coast.
Picking winners out of that lot is not going to be easy, so take fives draws in a multi. This week's draw odds are four lots of 3.30, plus 3.25 for Heart v Phoenix. That's a multi of 385!
To add a bit of further interest to your betting month, we'll be running a democratic betting pool for charity. All you have to do is vote for which one of the three punts below you like the look of most and Sporting Bet will put up $50 for the bet. All the proceeds at the end of the season will go to a charitable cause, with three charities put up to the vote at the time.
