iBet: Villa will struggle against Spurs

Premier League: Villa v Spurs (Sky Sports 1, kick off 5.30pm)

Lay Villa at 2.4 to 1

There is one standout bet in the Boxing Day fixtures for me and its in a game that will go ahead (in fact Ill be there). Villa Park has undersoil heating, but Aston Villa dont have much in the way of togetherness because their manager, Gerard Houllier Houllier, is making no friends at all.

Fresh from offending every Villa fan in the land by applauding the Liverpool fans before a 3-0 thumping at Anfield, Houllier told his players they had to meet at a hotel on Christmas Day in preparation for this match.
Hes sacked the captain, and introduced unpopular double training sessions and while his heavy handed approach could pay off, there is a danger of the wheels coming off. Contrast that to the happy camp at White Hart Lane, where Harry Redknapp seems to be able to make his players jump through hoops for him.

In fairness, Harry also has what I consider to be the strongest squad in the Premiership but they have won more points from losing positions than anyone else in the division by some distance, which shows the spirit in the camp. And importantly they have the classy Rafael van der Vart back today. Kaboul and Jenas are also fit again. Villas form has been poor for the whole season. They have had an injury crisis but the players just do not seem to be behind the manager, who could well be the next to go if things dont pick up quickly.

Villas captain is now Ashley Young (a strange decision in itself). He wont sign a new contract and is a doubt for this match anyway because of injury. Villa have in fairness been saved from being in the relegation zone by their home form, where they have won four, drawn four and lost one. But they havent beaten any of the big four, although they have drawn with Chelsea and Man Utd at Villa Park. But the only teams they have beaten this season in 17 Premiership games are Everton (luckily), West Ham, Blackpool, West Brom and Wol! ves, whi ch says it all about how they have fallen away since Martin ONeill left.

Spurs, who beat Villa in October, come to this game on the back of a six-game unbeaten run in the league, the best run since Harry took over. The price to lay Villa at 2-1 is excellent in my opinion and is based more on last seasons form than this. Villa have won only one of their last 12 matches against Spurs and have a very dodgy post Christmas record, having only picked up three points in one Boxing Day game since 1999.

I expect Spurs to at least get a draw and am laying Villa for a full point.

Betfair gives you better value. To see how much more you can win go to www.betfair.com/betchecker

iBet: Villa will struggle against Spurs, sport


Football Betting Tips, Odds, Asian Handicap, Picks, Preview & Prediction

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mr. Hodgson Or: How We Learned To Stop Worrying And Blame The Manager

Image
The manager has risen from club secretary to official face of the club since the creation of football teams worldwide. He has moved from the man that kept the record books to man that is larger than the football team he manages. Commentators and pundits refer to Fergusons United or Wengers beautiful, passing football. He even has books written about him. The Manager by Barney Ronay, an excellent book that discusses the rise of the manager into the modern game, unearths some of the origins of the managers image and attempts todiscuss what kind of person the manager really is. While the book wasnt ever intended to be an academic study of the merits of various tactical thoughts of managers, it does address some of the often listed character traits ofsuccessfulmanagers. When all these traits are put together, to many the manager appears to be a father figure, a scary headmaster, a politician youd like to have a beer with, or somecombination. Yet despite all this popularity, he is little mo...
Keep reading

England World Cup camps need to lose doomsday siege mentality

Image
One day last week, near the junction of Maude Street and Rivonia Road, in the Johannesburg suburb of Sandton, a line of smiling young men in shirts and shorts strolled along the pavement towards their hotel. Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Robin Van Persie, Dirk Kuyt, Mark Van Bommel and the rest of the Dutch squad waited at the lights until there was a break in the traffic and then ambled across the road. These were some of the best known players in the world, superstars of the game, walking along city streets on their way back from training and looking as though they did not have a care. There was no security with them. None to speak of, anyway. There were no photographers running in front of them and taking their picture. There were no girlfriends tottering along beside them. None of them wore headphones. They did not insulate themselves. They seemed at one with their surroundings. It was only a snapshot of the way the Dutch are living their lives at this World Cup but ...
Keep reading

How an American Influence Is Rubbing Off On Manchester City

Image
Manchester Citys match day experience is becoming more and more American with each new season. While Maine Road was what you could expect a typical British experience of what it was like to see an English football match in the 80s, the City of Manchester Stadium experience seems as American as apple pie. In previous seasons, City have tried to focus on improving the match-day experience. Theyve added buskers, i.e. public performers, around the ground to add to the atmosphere. And recently theyve adopted American entertainment methods such as turning down the house lights before kick-off and trying to get everyone excited for the big match. Theyve also been a pioneer in English football in their usage of American social media sites such as Facebook, Foursquare, Flickr and others to create a bond with supporters. And now for their first home match in the league for the 2010-11 season, against Liverpool tonight, theyre set to unveil two new features. Both of them have a uniquely American...
Keep reading