Betting week 4; experience key to Pompey victory

Times are hard, these selections will come off

I’m sure Henry would have had a few words with his manager Wenger during his barren run, so I decided to seek advice from the Godfather of gambling, Craig Hampshire (Coral manager). Together we have formulated 5 selections that will lead me on the road to greatness.

Sned’s Good Things

• 1pt each way, Rob Roy at 16-1 (Coral), 2:45 Newbury
• 1pt Portsmouth -1 Handicap at 11-5 (Coral), FA Cup final
• 1pt Over 12 corners at 7-4 (Coral), FA Cup final
• 1pt Essien to score anytime at 7-1 (Ladbrokes), Champions League final
• 1pt Scholes to recieve first booking at 12-1 (Ladbrokes), Champions League final

This week is all about two massive cup finals with the FA Cup and Champions League being settled this week. On paper, the Champions League final is a much more attractive proposition, but the betting opportunities are massive for both.

The FA Cup final pits Portsmouth against Cardiff at Wembley, Premiership v Championship. I can’t see any result other than a Portsmouth victory as experience will be key. Cardiff have three older heads in their team in Fowler, Hasselbaink and Sinclair, who will bring a wealth of experience, however none of the three are in form and Fowler has not even played for months.

Portsmouth’s experience comes from in-form players who make up the spine of the team in James, Campbell and Distin; I feel the influence of these players on the game will outweigh anything Cardiff can offer in resistance, hence why I’m backing Portsmouth with a handicap of -1.

The FA Cup final should see plenty of long range shooting and long balls, the perfect environment for a high corner count. The price of 7-4 on over 12 corners looks a value bet.

Wednesday sees the clash of the titans when Chelsea meet Manchester United in Moscow, in a battle to be crowned champions of Europe. I’m sure many silly markets will open about the game nearer kick-off ranging from how many times Roman will appear on screen throughout the match to how many times Martin Tyler mentions vodka and stale cigarettes when describing Russia.

My two selections are for Essien to score anytime and Scholes to get the first booking. Essien is a big game player, plain and simple; when the pressure is on, Essien turns it on. Scholes, though not malicious, could easily be described as clumsy in the tackle so is definitely worth a bet on getting the opening yellow of the evening.

Last weeks horse selection didn’t work out so well as the horse wasn’t actually able to start the race, let alone win it. This week I’ve left the horse business to Mr Hampshire who took a look at the Lockinge Stakes at 2:45, Newbury.

Rob Roy is owned by Michael Stoute and is his only horse in the race so the horse will not be a pace setter for any other Stoute horse, often the case if he has more than one runner in the race. You should always look out for a Stoute horse in the big races.

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