Month: May 2024

Saudi Arabia again for some heavyweight boxing action. China v USA in what could be a very short fight.

Deontay Wilder comes in to this one on the back of a few losses. His overall record reads 47 fights, 43 wins (42 KOS) 1 draw and 3 losses.  His huge early career record though isn’t packed with names. The likes of Audley Harrison, Malik Scott, and Eric Molina hardly movers and shakers. When he stepped up in class, he was found out with 2 defeats and a draw against Tyson Fury. A UD loss to Joseph Parker is not a result u want on your card either.  Zhilei Zhang has a record of 29 fights, 26 wins (21 KOS) 1 draw and 2 losses. His opponent level is also mediocre.  A draw with Jerry Forest is poor while losing to Hrgovic is not great either. He flattened Joe Joyce twice recently but also has the “L” to Joseph Parker (another points loss)

Betting selection – Wilder looks to have ran out of gas in his career and the Fury Triple definitely aged him. Zhang is no spring chicken either but has a heavy hand. Take Zhang win at 1.67 or 4-6 Bet365.

Biggest club game of the calendar as we travel to London, England for the UCL final.  Dortmund want to add to their single title while this would be Madrid’s 15^th!

Dortmund ended season in 5^th in Bundesliga, 27 points off Leverkusen. They have qualified for this competition though already. In UCl so far this season they topped a “group of death” heading PSG, Newcastle, and Milan. Knocking out PSV Eindhoven, Atletico Madrid, and PSG on their way to the final. Overall form has been 7 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses.  Madrid won La Liga by 10 points. In UCL so far they have topped their own group winning all 6 games. Beating Napoli, Braga, and Union Berlin. KO stages saw them passing Leipzig, Man City and Bayern Munich. Overall, they have been unbeaten with 8 win and 4 draws.

Team news: Dortmund have a doubt over striker Sebastien Haller who returns from injury. Madrid will have to do without Tchouameni while GK Lunin has a bug. Courtois is fit after a long layoff and is an upgrade anyway should the Ukrainian miss out.

Head-to-head statistics: 10 games – 3 wins Dortmund, 3 draws and 4 wins Real Madrid.

Betting selection – Bellingham will be key man against his old club for sure. I expect Madrid to prevail here. With 23 goals in 41 games this season for Los Blancos.  I take Jude Bellingham score in 90 minutes at 3.20 or 11/5 Unibet.

County Louth for this League of Ireland match that is a bottom v top clash.

Dundalk sit in bottom place in the league with 12 points from 17 games. Overall form is 2 wins, 6 draws and 9 losses. Home form of 2 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses. Recent form is 2 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses. Derry are 2^nd in the table with 31 points, 6 off the top spot. Overall form is 8 wins, 7 draws and 4 losses. Away form is 2 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses. Recent form of 4 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss.

Team news: Dundalk have doubts over John Mountney. Derry has no new injury or suspension problems.

Head-to-head statistics: 20 games – 8 wins Dundalk, 7 draws and 5 wins Derry.

Betting selection – Derry will be too strong for the home side here. Take Derry win at 5-6 or 1.83 BetWay.

Stockhorn Arena for this 2^nd leg playoff for a Swiss Super League position. Tie is balanced after 1-1 draw in the 1^st leg in Zurich.

Thun ended season in 2^nd place in Swiss Challenge League with 76 points from 36 games. Overall form was 23 wins, 7 draws and 6 defeats. Home form an unbeaten run of 18 games with 15 wins and 3 draws. Recent form of 6 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss (an unbeaten run of 7 games) Grasshopper ended season 2^nd bottom of the relegation round. Overall form was 10 wins, 8 draws and 20 losses. Away form of 2 wins, 5 draws and 12 losses. Recent form 2 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses.

Team news: Home side are without Wyssen and Tebily while Grasshopper lose Dijon Kameri.

Head-to-head statistics: 20 games – 10 wins Thun, 7 draws and 3 wins Grasshopper.

Betting selection – Grasshopper have not won an away match since December (a run of 10 games) I fancy Thun to qualify here, they were arguably the better side in Zurich while Grasshoppers simply cannot perform on the road. Take Thun qualify at 1.91 or 10-11 Bet365.

Final round shoot out in Copa Libertadores. These two sides will go head to head for a qualification place, all while hoping Fluminense can eliminate Alianza Lima in the other tie.

Cerrro Porteno are top of Paraguay Primera Apertura with 42 points from 20 games (2 games left) In Copa Libertadores so far they have 1 win, 2 draws and 2 defeats. At home 1 win and 1 draw. Recent all competition form for them is 5 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. Colo Colo are 5^th un Chile Primera Apertura with 23 points from 15 games. In Copa Libertadores they have played 4 games more than the home side having come through the preliminary stages. They have 3 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses. Away form is 1 win, 2 draws and 1 loss. All competition recent form for them is 4 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss.

Team news: Home side miss Quintana and Valdez. Caballero and Morel are doubts but should be fit. Key men out for the visitors with Arturo Vidal and Damian Pizarro suspended.

Head-to-head statistics: 3 games – 2 wins Cerro Porteno , 0 draws and 1 wins Colo Colo.

Betting selection – These sides have identical records going into this one- all tie breakers are equal so a 0-0 draw or any win takes the home side through. Any draw with goals or a Colo Colo win take the Chileans through. I take Cerro Porteno 0.0/-0.5 at 1.80 or 4-5 Bet365.

France Ligue 1 playoff first leg and a trip to Loire region as St Etienne host Metz.

St Etienne ended the season in 3^rd place in Ligue 2 with 65 points from 38 games. They won a one game playoff over 4^th place Rodez 2-0 to get here. Overall form was 20 wins,  8 draws and 11 losses. Home form of 11 wins, 4 draws and 5 losses. Recent form is 4 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats. Metz ended Ligue 1 in 16^th place with 29 points, avoiding direct relegation on goal difference over Lorient. Overall form was 8 wins, 5 draws and 21 losses. Away form of 5 wins, 2 draws and 10 defeats.

Team news: Home side have no new injury worries. MF Thomas Monconduit is available for them. Visitors will miss Tetteh, Asoro and Jallow.

Head-to-head statistics: 20 games – 9 wins St Etienne, 5 draws and 6 wins Metz.

Betting selection – Two legged tie and I see both home wins. To be a bit more cautious we will take St Etienne 0.0/-0.5 at 1.83 or 5-6 Bet365 – we get half stakes returned if a draw.

Copa Libertadores action and Brazil take on Bolivia. The roles are reversed here somewhat though as Gremio are bottom of the table and The Strongest (as their names suggests) topping the pile.

Gremio are on 3 points after 3 games in the group, 1 win and 2 losses. Last two games have been postponed due to the terrible weather in the area. Indeed, they must play their “home” games at Estadio Couto Pereira in Curitiba (which is 700KM away) The Strongest have 10 points from 5 games with 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss.

Team news: Gremio miss Mathia Villasanti suspended, injuries abound with Martins, Milla, Robert and Pedro Geromel out. Visitors miss Wayar, Lino and Arrascaita.

Head-to-head statistics: 1 game – 1 wins The Strongest.

Betting selection – Lots of factors against Gremio here. Not playing at home, lots of players out and not being in great form generally. The Strongest should qualify but will try and keep it tight. Take The Strongest +1.5/2.0 at 1.975. We get paid on The Strongest winning or a draw. A 1 goal Gremio win pays out for us also. A 2 goal win gets us half stakes returned.

Olympiacos make the short journey North to AEK’s OPAP Arena for the Conference Final against Fiorentina.

Olympiacos ended season in 3^rd in Greek Super League. Playing on a Thursday night in Europe was too much of a distraction. The Greeks dropped down to Conference League after finishing 3^rd in Europa Liga behind West Ham and Frieburg. Overall, in Conference league they had 6 wins and 2 losses. Recent overall form is 4 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. Fiorentina ended the season in 8^th which was good enough for Europe next year. In Conference League they are unbeaten with 6 wins and 6 draws.

Team news: Olympiacos have Stevan Jovetic fit, they have no new injury issues. Fiorentina miss Riccardo Sottil.

Head-to-head statistics: 5 games – 1 wins Olympiacos, 3 draws and 1 wins Fiorentina.

Betting selection – Goals for sure here, even though it’s a major final I see this swinging one way than another. Take Both Teams Score 1.91 or 10-11 WilliamHill.

Sweden Allsvenskan and a top half clash at Elada Stadion in Malmo.

The home side are top of the Allsvenskan with 28 points from 11 games. Overall form is 9 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. Home form of 5 straight wins with +14 goal difference (no goals conceded yet) Recent form is 5 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. Elfsborg are in 8^th with 16 points. Overall form is 5 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses. Away form is 1 win and 4 losses. Recent form is 4 wins and 4 losses.

Team news: Home side are without Anton Tinnerholm and Niklas Moisander. Elfsborg will have Per Frick back to full fitness.

Head-to-head statistics: 20 games – 12 wins Malmo, 4 draws and 4 wins Elfsborg.

Betting selection – Malmo have been unreal at home and 5 straight wins with 14 scored and yet to concede. Take Malmo -1 at 1.65 or 13-20 Asian handicap – we get stakes returned if Malmo win by 1.

Conference Liga playoffs and is a second leg tie at Profertil Arena, Austria Vienna lead 2-1 from the opening leg.

Hartberg sit in 5^th place in the Championship Round of Austria Bundesliga. They have 28 points from the 32 games. Overall form of 12 wins, 9 draws and 11 losses. At home they have 6 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses. Recent form is 3 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses. Austria Vienna were dropped in Relegation Round and they ended it in 2^nd place. Overall, they had 12 wins, 10 draws and 10 losses. Away form of 6 wins, 2 draws and 8 losses. Recent form of 5 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses (won last three)

Team news: No new injury worries for the home side. Austria Vienna will miss Lucas Galvao and Marko Raguz.

Head-to-head statistics: 19 games – 5 wins Hartberg, 2 draws and 13 wins Austria Vienna.

Betting selection – Avoid defeat and Austria Vienna will take a place in Conference League Playoffs round next season. They should take that Austria Vienna draw no bet at 4-5 or 1.80 Spreadex.