Red Devils to win the title

Three of the four Tuesday's games turned out draws, hope it turned into a nice payout for those that fancied it as well. Villa lost at home, which turned out to be a wrong selection.

I believe it is worth starting to take a position on Man Utd to win the league this year. I just cannot see them blowing it away again this year. Their main rivals for the title will again be Man City and the Citizens don't look to have the hunger to keep the trophy this year. Yesterday's goalless draw at QPR was good enough proof that this is a team that, although still formidable, is not incisive or sharp enough to win important games when they matter. Something is broken in this team; Silva cannot do everything on his own, they are missing Yaya Toure to run the midfield; Aguero and Tevez are shadows of their old selves. The team is simply not clicking and I don't think that booting away Ballotelli to Milan will cure their problems.

I still believe that Man Utd are a step behind their past teams of the treble year or of the Christiano Ronaldo years. But they are good enough to last all the way to the title. Their manager will guide them to it through sheer will. Sure, their defence is dismal but their attack is so good that they can outscore Premier League opponents at will. Last but not least, they already have a 4-point cushion with tonight's game in hand; given that they are best during the second half of the season, there's every reason to believe this gap will increase.

I firmly believe that Man Utd will win the league this year, so it's a case of accumulating position week-in, week-out, even when they lose points. They inevitably will drop points along the way, just like the rest, but the value lies in keeping the confidence and getting in as their odds go up after such off-days and nights.

For tonight's games, I like Arsenal at home to Liverpool. I think Arsenal will get better as the season goes along and they should have too much class for the Kops. Arsenal is a draw-no-bet selection.

I see Tottenham as good value as draw-no-bet at Norwich. The Canaries are struggling at the moment and Spurs will be welcoming the return of talismanic striker Defoe. Villa-Boas has surprised me with some good results since the start of the season and I expect them to win or draw at Norwich.


Draw-no-bet: Arsenal, Tottenham

No contest

Although he clearly hated the heavy ground, Camelot was too classy for his over-matched rivals and won the Irish Derby by a rather cozy 2 lengths. Next stop for the son of Montjeu hopefully will be the St Leger where he should take all the beating again. The English Triple Crown looks to be a real possibility this year. Hats of to Ballydoyle and Coolmore if Camelot attempts it because achieving it is not the best path to commercial success in the bloodstock world.

Spain thrashed Italy in the Euros to enhance their legacy among the world's greatest ever sides. Are they the best of all time? They certainly have the results to prove it as World Cup champions and double European Cup winners. I cannot recall in my time any other side that has achieved such kind of feat. What amazes me with the Spain squad is their midfield. I mean, Iniesta, Xavi, Fabregas, Mata, Silva are some of the best midfielders in the world and yet will never all fit in the starting eleven. My only regret during those Euros is that they did not get to meet Germany in the final. That would have been something as disregarding the blip against Italy, the ever-improving Germans look the stronger of the rest in Europe. I hope this Spanish squad meets Brazil, Argentina or Germany at some point in the next World Cup because a win against those will really cement their greatness.

The battle to get in the final at Wimbledon pits Novak Djokovic against Roger Federer in one semi-final. At current odds, the Serb looks great value to reach the final here. I've said it many times before, Nole has gotten the number of the aging Swiss. Federer might have looked impressive in the quarter-finals against Youzhny but he will not have it as easy against the Serb, who's been having the mental edge in their recent encounters. With Nadal out, this year's Wimbledon looks destined to go to Djokovic and he will certainly find the will and means to overcome Federer and retain his title.

Win: Djokovic

Barcelona on conquest path

Both of Tuesday's recommendations were good as Man Utd won at Blackpool, and Arsenal got more corner kicks than Ipswich. These were 3 huge points for Utd yesterday. The replacement of an out-of-sorts Rooney by the speedy Chicharito turned the game on its head. Blackpool had no legs towards the end and the old fox Ferguson again played his substitutions perfectly. Rafael da Silva got concussed but this is a warrior of a player. With his comparatively small stature, he was winning headers on the defensive and offensive ends of the field! If they win the league, the comeback win at Bloomfield Road will be remembered as one of the decisive ones.

In the Carling Cup, the floodgates opened for Arsenal in the middle of the second half, after they had so many chances going begging. I don't know if there is as good a passer of the ball today as Cesc Fabregas. He can give them pinpoint on half-volley, one touch, exterior of the foot. No doubt Barcelona would like to have him back in their fold; he would fit in nicely in their football spectacle.

Talking of Barcelona, they host Almeira today in the first-leg semi-final of the Copa del Rey. Guardiola has yet to announce his team, but I can't see them losing this at home. The best Almeira can hope for is a lucky draw. In my opinion, like on Tuesday, the value will be in the Corners-match-bet. Barcelona should win the corner match-up handily. So my 100th recommendation since the start of this blog, is a Barcelona win on Corners-match-bet.


Corners-match-bet: Barcelona