[Tennis: 13th February to 19th February]

Re: Tennis: 13th February to 19th February Want to take an early one as prices are already falling Jie Zheng vs Maria Kirilenko Zheng to win 1.83 at Stan James (4 / 10 units) The main thing to note is the H2H record in which Zheng leads 5-1, wining the last 4 in a row and in particularly the last two have been pretty convincing 6-1 6-3 and 6-4 6-4. Although Kirilenko is the higher ranked lady, its clear that Zheng has the attributes to really trouble Kirilenko. I also think that Maria will have her own mental and physical fatigue issues having played 5 matches, 4 of them being three setters in Pattaya last week. Although she did well to reach the final, losing it in the way she did having won the first set would have been a huge dissapointment and I think the last thing she would want in her first game after that is to face someone who has such a good record against her. :hope

[Tennis: 13th February to 19th February]

Re: Tennis: 13th February to 19th February Having seen Hantuchova retain her title in Pattaya this morning, I'm going to take another current champion to retain her crown in Bogata. Hopefully this should keep things interesting throughout the week. Lourdez Dominguez Lino to win WTA Bogata Int 51.0 E/W at Bet Fred (1 / 10 units) Lino loves this tournament having made the final 3 times, and winning it twice so should be confident of going well here and we all know how important the regaining of ranking points is in terms of motivating tennis players. Her form is ok going into this tournament, having had a few matches on clay at the Cali ITF tournament this week, reaching the semi's before losing admirably in three sets to Dulgheru. Looking at the draw, she is the same qtr as the top seed Erakovic and Dokic could be a likely semi final opponent but neither of these have great clay court records and on her day Lino would be confident of taking on both of these. I expect her to meet Dulgheru again in the final who for me is the strongest player here and with a 2-0 H2H record over Lino that could be tough ask so each way seems more sensible. :hope

[Serie A - 11-13 February]

Re: Serie A - 11-13 February :wall Terrible day for me in Serie A today. Might have to put this league on the back burner for a while, too many bad picks lately!

[African Nations Cup 2012]

Re: Final - Zambia v Ivory Coast - Sun 12th Feb Zambia vs Ivory Coast Totally agree with pgyid that Ivory Coast are the superior team and should get the win here. They’ve been in excellent nick this tournament, impermeable in defence conceding no goals thus far and are good scorers by African Cup standards with an average of 2 goals a game. With the big game players they have in the likes of the Toure’s and Drogba and plenty others playing at top level European clubs they should have enough experience to not be overawed by the occasion. The same can not be said about Zambia, who whilst performing admirably to get this far have stuttered a little at times and needed late-ish goals to win games and have benefitted from a couple of sending offs of opposition players. Ivory Coast have scored in the first half of every game and if they can do that again then I fancy them to want to put on a show and may be able to push on and get a few more goals. Drogba will be keen for the golden boot and I think this so called golden generation may well finally put on the show that there country has been expecting of them for the last 6 or so years. Ivory Coast to win 1.57 at Victor Chandler (5 / 10 units) Ivory Coast over 1.5 team goals 1.95 at Stan James (1.5 / 10 units) Ivory Coast over 2.5 team goals 4.33 at Sporting Bet (0.5 / 10 units) :hope

[Tennis: 6th February to 12th February]

Re: Tennis: 6th February to 12th February

I’ve seen very little to interest me this week, but I’ll take one in the final at Pattaya today. Daniella Hantuchova vs Maria Kirilenko Over 21.5 games 2.0 at Ladbrokes (2 /10 units) The main thing that sways me towards this is the H2H record. These pair have faced each other on 6 occasions , with 4 of these games going well over this games line and the other two having 20 matches each, and all being relatively tight affairs. With the way these two are playing this week I think todays final will be similar to their previous matches. Kirlenko has stuttered towards the final, needing 3 sets in 3 of her matches so far and a first set tie break against Tanasurgarn before she was able to break her down in the second set. Hantuchova has had an easier ride, but was taken close by King the quarter final and took her time to get going against Hsieh. Both have impressed in parts and toiled in parts so lets hope for the same again and a long match in this final. :hope

:ok +2 units. I was thinking before the match that the best possible thing for this bet was Kirilenko winning a first set tiebreak so delighted that happened.

[Tennis: 6th February to 12th February]

Re: Tennis: 6th February to 12th February I’ve seen very little to interest me this week, but I’ll take one in the final at Pattaya today. Daniella Hantuchova vs Maria Kirilenko Over 21.5 games 2.0 at Ladbrokes (2 /10 units) The main thing that sways me towards this is the H2H record. These pair have faced each other on 6 occasions , with 4 of these games going well over this games line and the other two having 20 matches each, and all being relatively tight affairs. With the way these two are playing this week I think todays final will be similar to their previous matches. Kirlenko has stuttered towards the final, needing 3 sets in 3 of her matches so far and a first set tie break against Tanasurgarn before she was able to break her down in the second set. Hantuchova has had an easier ride, but was taken close by King the quarter final and took her time to get going against Hsieh. Both have impressed in parts and toiled in parts so lets hope for the same again and a long match in this final. :hope

[Serie A - 11-13 February]

Re: Serie A - 11-13 February Excellent turn around for Milan. Didn’t see the game but unless Isla and Di Natalie were injured Guidolin has had a shocker in taking both of those two off. Getting a win over your title rivals is way more important than keeping them fresh for a Europa match vs POAK in 4 days time. Anyway for tomorrow I like the look of… Atalanta vs Leece Atalanta are still missing a number of players due to injuries or suspensions and that could allow Leece some success going forward in this match. Missing from defence will be first choice GK Consigli as well as defenders Ferri, Capelli and Bellini, which should mean that Raimondi and Stendardo start again as they did in Sicilly last week, and neither of these are first choice regulars. The home side will also miss Bonaventura and Cigarini from the midfield two players who have featured heavily for them this season. Due to Bonaventura’s injury, Atalanta will probably field Moralez and Marilungo, along with Schelleto and the returning Denis. To me this looks like a quite an attacking line up and they should have even more threat on the counter attack than they normally have. Leece whilst toning down their attacking intent in recent weeks will still push forward as that is Cosmi’s philosophy. I suspect over the 90 minutes this will play into Atalanta’s hands given their ability of the break, but with the players they have missing you wouldn’t put it past Lecce to get on the scorescheet. In Bojinov and Di Michele they certainly have players with good scoring pedigree in Serie A Over 2.5 goals 2.1 at bet365 (3 / 10 units) Leece over 1.5 team goals 4.0 at Sporting Bet (1/10 units) Inter vs Novara A difficult couple of weeks for Inter, getting knocked out of the Coppa Italia to Napoli, two embarrassing defeats to Lecce and Roma and squandering the lead twice at home in that 4-4 thriller with Palermo. I now however fully expect Inter to get back on track in this match and play themselves in to some sort of form ahead of the return of the Champions League. The probable lineups certainly look encouraging with a front three of Milito, Forlan and Sneijder looking likely. These three alone should have way too much quality for a poor Novara team, and if they get backed up by professional performances in midfield and defence then Inter should be ok tomorrow. Novara as mentioned are pretty poor especially on the road, where they have lost all of their last four games by two goals or more, and in general they have only managed 3 points (3 draws) since the end of Novara and are more or less guaranteed to be back in Serie B next season. They have a few injury doubts as well with Morganella, Jeda & Radanovic still doubtful I believe. I would be happy to back Inter against a full strength Novara, so if any players don’t make it that will only be a boost for me. Inter -1.5AH 1.85 at Victor Chandler (3.5 / 10 units) :hope

[Bolton v Wigan > Sat 11 Feb]

Re: Bolton v Wigan > Sat 11 Feb

Bolton vs Wigan For me both sides are much better going forward than they are in defence and so unlike many in here I do actually fancy goals in this one. I understand that people would suggest that this is more of a don't lose than must win game, but I feel with the positive tactics that both managers tend to employ both will be going for the win rather than the draw. Wigan are frequent scorers and of course concede a fair few on the road as well. They've scored one or more goals in 6 of the last 7 away games, whilst conceding 18 in those same games. Bolton have been a bit more hit and miss at home, but will be confident in this one having been on a decent run since the turn of the year and at home they are unbeaten in three. over 2.5 goals 1.95 at bet365 (5/10 units) Wigan over 1.5 team goals 3.25 at Sporting Bet (2/10 units)

:ok + 9.25 units on this match.

[Fulham v Stoke > Sat 11 Feb]

Re: Fulham v Stoke > Sat 11 Feb

Fulham vs Stoke Totally agree with Blackcrow here. Stoke have not always been as defensivly strong this season as in previous ones and will miss Huth who starts a 3 match ban today. This will be a concern against a Fulham team who have good home form in terms of results and goals scored in recent weeks. I don't think Pulis will change much but he may have a bit more of an attacking threat today with Pennant and Etherington likely to start and they certainly need a positive result given poor recent form and the big match vs Valencia in mid week. The may have some success with crosses and throw ins etc given that Hughes will have to come in for Senderos in defence and in general they dont have the tallest or most aerial dominant defence with the exception of Hangaland. over 2.5 goals 2.25 at bet365 (4/10 units) Stoke over 1.5 team goals 3.80 at SportingBet (1.5 / 10 units)

:ok +3.5 units for this match. Sounded like Stoke were pretty poor, so had very little hope of getting two goals in this match.

[Everton v Chelsea > Sat 11 Feb]

Re: Everton v Chelsea > Sat 11 Feb

Everton vs Chelsea Chelsea DNB 1.73 at Skybet (4/10 units)

Poor performance by me and by Chelsea! - 4 units in this match. Had better luck elsewhere though.

[Serie A - 11-13 February]

Re: Serie A - 11-13 February Udinese vs AC Milan I think Milan will really struggle today with the players they are missing. Ibra and Van Bommell are suspended for this match and will join the likes of Nesta, Boateng, Pato and Aquilani on the sidelines. The real concern for me is upfront, where other than Ibrahimovic and Boateng no-one has really impressed that much this season and it’s a big ask for el Shaarawy to come in and get goals in a match as big as this, especially as Udinese how have their first choice back three restored. I also don’t think that Urby Emanuelson is particularly impressive as a centre midfielder and given that Udinese can dominant the midfield with the formation they play, he could prove a weak link. If they can dominant the game, and home form and performances this season would suggest that they are more than capable of doing so then Udinese will be hopeful of seeing enough of the ball to create a few opportunities and we all now that Di Natalie doesn’t need much to get on the scoresheet . Whilst they will miss Pinzi and Asamoah still in the middle of the park, the losses that Milan have should counteract this. Therefore I will take Udinese +0AH 2.10 at bet365 (4/10 units)

[Fulham v Stoke > Sat 11 Feb]

Re: Fulham v Stoke > Sat 11 Feb Fulham vs Stoke Totally agree with Blackcrow here. Stoke have not always been as defensivly strong this season as in previous ones and will miss Huth who starts a 3 match ban today. This will be a concern against a Fulham team who have good home form in terms of results and goals scored in recent weeks. I don't think Pulis will change much but he may have a bit more of an attacking threat today with Pennant and Etherington likely to start and they certainly need a positive result given poor recent form and the big match vs Valencia in mid week. The may have some success with crosses and throw ins etc given that Hughes will have to come in for Senderos in defence and in general they dont have the tallest or most aerial dominant defence with the exception of Hangaland. over 2.5 goals 2.25 at bet365 (4/10 units) Stoke over 1.5 team goals 3.80 at SportingBet (1.5 / 10 units)

[Everton v Chelsea > Sat 11 Feb]

Re: Everton v Chelsea > Sat 11 Feb Everton vs Chelsea I think that Everton have maybe just a few too many injuries with Jagielka, Osman, Rodwell and Coleman all out, and with Cahill a slight doubt to be able to get the win here. Therefore i'm looking at Chelsea as the favourities here and believe they may be able to force the win, but given their inconsistant away form recently with draws against Norwich and Swansea i'll want to take some draw cover. These two teams have played twice so far this season, with Chelsea comfortable winners in the reverse league fixture, with a 3-1 victory and winning in extra time in the League Cup. Therefore i've taken Chelsea DNB 1.73 at Skybet (4/10 units)

[Bolton v Wigan > Sat 11 Feb]

Re: Bolton v Wigan > Sat 11 Feb Bolton vs Wigan For me both sides are much better going forward than they are in defence and so unlike many in here I do actually fancy goals in this one. I understand that people would suggest that this is more of a don't lose than must win game, but I feel with the positive tactics that both managers tend to employ both will be going for the win rather than the draw. Wigan are frequent scorers and of course concede a fair few on the road as well. They've scored one or more goals in 6 of the last 7 away games, whilst conceding 18 in those same games. Bolton have been a bit more hit and miss at home, but will be confident in this one having been on a decent run since the turn of the year and at home they are unbeaten in three. over 2.5 goals 1.95 at bet365 (5/10 units) Wigan over 1.5 team goals 3.25 at Sporting Bet (2/10 units)

[Serie A - 4-5 February]

Re: Serie A - 4-5 February Looking at tomorrow's matches, I totally agree that Cesena seem a decent price at home vs Catania. Catania are not offering much at the moment and whilst Cesena are a limited team in terms of quality I don't expect them to lose here, so the Cesena 0AH would be interesting option. However the authorities in Cesena have already asked for a postponement and are awaiting a response from the Italian FA so seemingly it looks unlikely the match will go ahead. If they do end up playing then the poor conditions shouldn't really affect Cesena game that much, so it would probably still be worth taking the 0AH option.

[Tennis: 30th January to 5th February]

Re: Tennis: 30th January to 5th February Well day off work today so have had a bit of time to look at things and I’ve found a fair few bets that I like the look off. All on a minimal one unit stake. In Montpellier Nicolas Mahut vs Tomas Berdych – Over 19.5 games 1.73 at bet365 Given the two previous H2H and Mahut’s decent ability on this surface (and home advantage of course) I think this line is set a little bit too low. In the previous to matches between the two both have gone over, with Mahut keeping things very close, particularly in the first set. If he can do that again here then this bet should be a winner. Mahut has won or gone over this game line in matches on indoor hard surface against the likes of Ferrer, Ferrero, Tomic, Tsonga, Soderling and Murray within the last year and so is pretty useful on these courts and has already shown his ability in this tournament with a couple of impressive wins. Whilst Berdych may have the overall quality to get the win, I don’t see it being easy for him. Jarko Nieminem vs Gael Monfils – over 21.5 games 1.78 at Bwin Nieminem is a pretty solid player, decent on this surface and should be able to keep things tight against the erratic Monfils. Indeed he has done in both H2H, both of which were on this surface and in the last year. Those matches had 29 and 25 games in them and I see no reason why this one can’t go over this games line either. Richard Gasquet vs Phillip Kohlscrieber – Gasquet to win 2-0 2.0 at Ladbrokes Well for me Gasquet is the superior player in this match up and that’s a fact back up by a 2-0 H2H record in the Frenchman’s favour. I can see nothing but a Gasquet win here so the question is how straightforward it will be and the odds are decent enough for me to back the 2-0 win. He played well against Davydenko and if he can carry that momentum plus the fans backing in this match then it will be a tough task for Kohlscrieber to break him down. I don’t think it will be a thrashing but Gasquet should be able to take his opportunities when presented to him. Also like the look of a couple in Zagreb Mikael Youzhny vs Ivo Karlovic – Youzhy to win 2.0 at bet365 I remember seeing Youzhny priced at about 8 or 9 at the beginning of the tournament to win this event and almost took that bet and in hindsight I wish I had. He was on the easier side of the draw and with top seed Ljubicic now gone, it’s opened up well for him and I think he has the tools to reach the final for sure as long as he can keep his head. Today he’s up against the big serving Karlovic and whilst he has been using that weapon well this event with 70% first serves in his match up, in the 2 previous H2H’s Youzhny has been able to cope with the serve and won on both occasions, so I fancy him to grind out the win here as well. The concern always over Youzhny is that he can lose concentration but he’s been reasonably professional in his first couple of matches at this event and is still relatively fresh at the start of this new season so I’m hopeful that not too many problems should arise. Lukas Lacko vs Robin Haase – Lacko to win 1.91 at Ladbrokes Total agree with IAmGooner that Lacko is playing some great tennis right now and will be buoyed by a good performance at the Aussie Open and 2 impressive wins against higher ranked opponents here. I see these pair as overall pretty even in quality but momentum can be important in tennis and as Lacko has the edge in that regard then I think he can get the win here. Lacko also leads the H2H 1-0. :hope

[Tennis: 30th January to 5th February]

Re: Tennis: 30th January to 5th February Jurgen Melzer vs Phillip Petzchner – Petzchner to win 2.0 at Bet365 (1 unit) So the German has a 3-0 H2H lead vs Melzer, including a very recent match a couple of weeks ago which Petzchner was able to win with relative ease 7-5 6-1. It was a similar story when these two met in Miami last year as well, and having played doubles together a number of times Petzchner clearly has a better understanding of his opponent’s game and can use this to his advantage. Both of those last two wins were on hard courts and whilst this is a little different being indoors, I can see no evidence from either man that there performances recently on this surface have been substantially better / worse than normal. Melzer’s fitness is still a worry for me and having had to come through 3 qualifying rounds here, would expect this to also have had an effect. :hope

[Serie A 31.1. - 2.2]

Re: Serie A 31.1. - 2.2 Was thinking about having a punt on Juve tomorrow night, but having been caught out by backing Inter and Napoli on the road recently, I'll probably steer clear. I do think that both Napoli and Udinese are looking a little bit vulnerable at the moment and whilst backing the away sides to win may be too much to ask, it think it could be worth backing them to at least to score. I'm off to investigate prices on this.

[Serie A - 28/29 January]

Re: Serie A - 28/29 January

Lecce vs Inter – Inter to win 1.75 at Victor Chandler (2.5 units) :$ Genoa vs Napoli – Napoli over 1.5 team goals 2.25 at Ladbrokes (1 unit):ok

...and just when I thought it was safe to back Inter again they go and do that!!! Thankfully a couple of late goals for Napoli in Genoa helped with a bit of damage limitation. -1.25 units for the day.

[Tennis: Australian Open 2012]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012

A small loss in the two womens semi finals leaves me with +4 units profit for the tournament. Happy to have turned such a profit after an awful first round here. I might look to get a bit more involved in the tennis again going forward. Congrats to all those on Azarenka this morning, did fancy her to get the win but lack of big game experience put me off. Thought I’d been proved right after the opening two games when she was all over the place but a great performance from then onwards. Good calls on the Stepanek / Paes doubles win too. Just one more for the tournament, lets hope I can finish it off with a win :hope Novak Djokovic vs Rafa Nadal – over 38.5 games 1.83 at Stan James (1 unit) Both guys had strong starts to this competition but have looked a little bit more vulnerable in the closing stages and because of that I can’t see either winning this with a whitewash 3-0. If we do get 4 or more sets then this bet has a great chance of coming in. Djokovic inexplicably dropped a set vs Hewitt in the 4^th round and then conceded two sets to Murray in the semi final. Ultimately his class shone through in that match but from the reports I’ve read suggest that he looked a little vulnerable at times, and this is something that Nadal may be able exploit as Murray did. That match would have taken a lot out Djokovic and having an extra days rest is a huge positive for Nadal. I do still favour the Serb to win this as he has done in the last 6 encounters vs Nadal but can definitely see Nadal being able to trouble Djokovic maybe more than he has done in the recent past. Indeed in all the last 4 hard court matches between these two none have been won in straight sets which again bodes well for this bet.

:ok Looks like most peoples overs are also sorted as well.

[Serie A - 28/29 January]

Re: Serie A - 28/29 January Lecce vs Inter – Inter to win 1.75 at Victor Chandler (2.5 units) I was looking at this yesterday and the price was 1.62. I was deliberating whether to take the risk but seeing as the price seems to have risen overnight its help make my mind up for me. Inter are on a great run of form now, and all the issues that continued to show in the early days of Ranieri’s reign seemed to have been ironed out. The defence seems to have managed to restore its confidence, with 5 clean sheets in the past 7 games and only conceding once in the other two games. Maicon, Lucio, Samuel seem to be getting back to their tenacious best and Nagatomo certainly looks a lot more comfortable now. Upfront they are also getting a few more goals having struggled for them in the early matches in Ranieiri. Whilst I’m not convinced that Pazzini and Millito is a great partnership, individualy they are getting goals, Alvarez is starting to impress a bit more and with Sneijder back they now have more attacking options. Lecce whilst continuing to excite in their games are starting to look a bit of a mess in my opinion. They’ve lost Mesbah and Strasser in this transfer window, two relatively important defensive players for them, and I’m not sure the back 3 that Cosmi has been trying lately has particularly worked. For this match they will miss Espostio which means that it’s likely that Oddo will have to fill in as one of the back 3 alongside the debutant Miglionico which would be a concern for me. In the middle of the park they do miss the defensive capabilities of Strasser and also Obodo who seems to be out of favour at the moment. Grossmuller may also miss this game as he has a slight knock and is apparently unlikely to start. This in my opinion leaves the midfield looking very weak as this is an area where Inter have always been strong this season, they should be able to get a hold of this game. One last thing to note is that Inter beat Lecce 4-1 at the end of December. Genoa vs Napoli – Napoli over 1.5 team goals 2.25 at Ladbrokes (1 unit) Well given the sporadic form of both of these teams anything could happen here but one thing I do fancy is goals especially from the away side. Genoa have huge defensive problems at the moment, due to injury more than anything else. They have conceded 16 goals in the last 4 league games including 5 against Palermo last time out and 6 vs Napoli in the reverse fixture at the end of December. Danielli and Antonelli are both still out, as is back up option Bovo. Rossi and Constant who have deputised in defence in recent matches are also out. These means Genoa will go to a back 3, but even then they have concerns over Kaladze and wing back Sculli both of whom have been nursing knocks recently. Whilst Napoli have hardly been vintage of late, seeing as they won 6-1 against Genoa only a month ago, they will be confident in getting the win and hopefully this will equate to a confident attacking performance. They have scored in all of their last 9 league games, and their last 6 away games so with the injuries and new tactic Genoa will have I’m confident that Napoli shouldn’t have too many problems getting on the score sheet. I did consider the Napoli over 2.5 goals which is available at 5.0, but have played it cautiously instead. :hope

[England > FA Cup > Weekend > 27/28/29 Jan]

Re: England > FA Cup > Weekend > 27/28/29 Jan

Derby vs Stoke – Stoke DNB 1.62 at Ladbrokes ( 2 units):ok Brighton vs Newcastle – Newcastle to win 2.05 at Ladbrokes (1.5 units):\ Leicester vs Swindon – over 2.5 goals 1.85 at bet365 (1 unit):\

Not the best day for me -1.26 units. Excellent call on Crawley Alexc

[Tennis: Australian Open 2012]

Re: Tennis: Australian Open 2012 A small loss in the two womens semi finals leaves me with +4 units profit for the tournament. Happy to have turned such a profit after an awful first round here. I might look to get a bit more involved in the tennis again going forward. Congrats to all those on Azarenka this morning, did fancy her to get the win but lack of big game experience put me off. Thought I’d been proved right after the opening two games when she was all over the place but a great performance from then onwards. Good calls on the Stepanek / Paes doubles win too. Just one more for the tournament, lets hope I can finish it off with a win :hope Novak Djokovic vs Rafa Nadal – over 38.5 games 1.83 at Stan James (1 unit) Both guys had strong starts to this competition but have looked a little bit more vulnerable in the closing stages and because of that I can’t see either winning this with a whitewash 3-0. If we do get 4 or more sets then this bet has a great chance of coming in. Djokovic inexplicably dropped a set vs Hewitt in the 4^th round and then conceded two sets to Murray in the semi final. Ultimately his class shone through in that match but from the reports I’ve read suggest that he looked a little vulnerable at times, and this is something that Nadal may be able exploit as Murray did. That match would have taken a lot out Djokovic and having an extra days rest is a huge positive for Nadal. I do still favour the Serb to win this as he has done in the last 6 encounters vs Nadal but can definitely see Nadal being able to trouble Djokovic maybe more than he has done in the recent past. Indeed in all the last 4 hard court matches between these two none have been won in straight sets which again bodes well for this bet.

[England > FA Cup > Weekend > 27/28/29 Jan]

Re: England > FA Cup > Weekend > 27/28/29 Jan Going very unadventurous in the cup again today, and backing Premier League sides against lower league opposition; Derby vs Stoke – Stoke DNB 1.62 at Ladbrokes ( 2 units) Whilst Derby will be no pushovers here and are admittedly on a good run of form (hence the DNB) we all know that Stoke take things very seriously in the cup competitions and if they field a strong line up with the likes of Jones, Pennent, Etherington and co then surely they should have enough to overcome a currently mid table Championship side. Brighton vs Newcastle – Newcastle to win 2.05 at Ladbrokes (1.5 units) I think Pardew is almost certain to play a strong team today on the back of that 5-2 collapse to Fulham last weekend, and as with Stoke if they do then they should have enough quality to see of another mid table Championship table who needed two attempts to overcome Wrexham in the previous round. I think that a strong cup run will be high priority at Newcastle this year now that ideas of a 4^th place finish have rescinded and they will see this as a good opportunity to progress further. Also will take one more; Leicester vs Swindon – over 2.5 goals 1.85 at bet365 (1 unit) Both of these two teams have decent scoring records in their leagues and I fancy that to continue here. I was on the overs in the Wigan vs Swindon game and it paid off as expected. Swindon play some really nice football, and if it wasn’t for a slow and slighty tempestuous start to the season under Di Canio then they may have been sitting top of the league. They’ve only lost once in the league since the start of October, so confidence will be high and with a decent away scoring record of 11 goals in last 8 away games they would have some hope of scoring here. The only time I’ve seen Leicester play is in the first half of the cup replay with Forest. They really impressed me that night, showed a lot of good attacking qualities, but I also noted they did offer Forest a few opportunities to score as well. Prior to that Forest game they had scored in all their last six home games whilst also conceding in 4 of these , so I think all this points to the fact that their should be goals in this one. :hope

[Italy - Coppa Italia - 24-26 January]

Re: Italy - Coppa Italia - 24-26 January Lineups are; MILAN: Amelia, Abate, Mexes, Bonera, Mesbah, Merkel, Van Bommel, Nocerino, Seedorf, Robinho, El Shaarawy. LAZIO: Marchetti, Diakité, Stankevicius, Dias, Konko, Gonzalez, Matuzalem, Lulic, Hernanes, Cissé, Rocchi. Well i'll be watching this match, so fancied putting a bet on to increase the excitement, so will go for; Milan vs Lazio - Lazio over 1.5 goals 4.0 at Bet365 (0.5 units) Quite an attacking Lazio side by the looks of things with Matuzelm, Hernanes, Cisse and Rocchi all capable of creating and scoring goals. They will be up against a unfamiliar back line which includes a debutant in Mesbah and Bonera who can be a liability. Playing Merkel and Seedorf in midfield also limits their dfensive ability in the midfield of the park in my opinion and all this could maybe leave them a little bit open. Lazio scored two here in the league match between the two. :hope