All articles by: Ieuan Ivett

Scotland vs Costa Rica – Match Preview

by ·Comments Off on Scotland vs Costa Rica – Match Preview

Scotland vs Costa Rica
Friday 23rd March 2018
International Friendly, Hampden Park

Live on Sky Sports Football, Kick-Off: 19:45 GMT

Scotland vs Costa Rica – Scotland will still be feeling the heartache of not reaching the 2018 World Cup in Russia as they narrowly missed out on qualification on goal difference. Their late impressive surge was not enough as they conceded 5 more goals than World Cup qualifiers, Slovakia. Meanwhile, Costa Rica are on a high and preparing for Russia as they qualified in second place in the North and Central American group.

The two nations have only met once before back in 1990 where Costa Rica won 1-0. Both sides were also unsuccessful in their previous outings by the same score line. Scotland lost to the Netherlands and Costa Rica lost to Hungary.

The match will also mark Alex McLeish’s second reign as Scotland manager following Gordon Strachan’s departure. Another big change in the Scotland camp will come in midfield after Scott Brown announced his retirement from international football.

The hosts are favourites for this encounter despite being to team who did not qualify for the World Cup. They have also welcomed a flurry of fresh faces to their camp, with Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay carrying the most expectation on his young shoulders. He is joined by Barnsley striker, Oli McBurnie, who has been firing off on all cylinders since his loan spell began. Alex McLeish’s side will want to make a statement and build on their impressive end to last year in the qualifying campaign.

The visitors will be preparing for the World Cup and this fixture provides a final chance to try out new things. The most successful central American nation in history have some real talents amongst their ranks for Fridays fixture. Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas will provide a very tough opponent for the Scots between the sticks. Meanwhile Bryan Ruiz and Marco Urena will be hoping to light up the Costa Rican attack with their combined 167 caps.

A big loss for Costa Rica is the absence of Real Betis loanee Joel Campbell. The experienced international is still nursing an ankle injury and will be a big miss for the central American outfit.

Scotland vs Costa Rica will be televised on Sky Sports Football in the UK and will kick off at 19:45 GMT.

Prediction: 1-0 Scotland.

Suggested tips – Scotland vs Costa Rica – (SKYBET):

  • Correct score, 1-0 Scotland – 5/1.
  • Scorecast Boost: Matt Richie to score first and Scotland win 2-1 – 80/1.
  • RequestABet Specials Up to 10/1 – Scotland to Score 2+ Goals and 5+ Scotland Corners – 5/2.
  • RequestABet Specials Up to 10/1 – BTTS and over 2.5 goals – 7/2.

Odds and markets last updated on 23 March 2018 @17:25 GMT.

Keep visiting the tips and preview area for further updates and betting previews for more previews from the International break.

 

Liverpool vs Watford – Match Preview

by ·Comments Off on Liverpool vs Watford – Match Preview

Liverpool vs Watford
Saturday 17th March 2018
FA Premier League, Anfield

Live on BT Sport 1 – Kick-Off: 17:30

Liverpool vs Watford:- Liverpool host Watford in the Premier League this weekend as their bid for a top four spot continues.

The visitors have managed to break away from the hectic bottom half of the table however aren’t quite safe just yet. Both clubs were unsuccessful in their previous outings so three points will be crucial to both their causes.

Liverpool are currently fourth in the Premier League, with a place in the top four still anything but secure. Jurgen Klopp’s men most recently lost to bitter rivals Manchester United 2-1 that saw them lose ground on the top three. Their potent front three of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino was rendered ineffective despite their very impressive goal scoring tallies. They have led an attack that has scored two or more goals in 63% of their matches. Salah has stolen headlines however, with 24 goals and 8 assists.

Defensively, Liverpool have been suspect however the introduction of Virgil Van Dijk has been positive. They have conceded the most goals in the top five, with 34 going past them in 30 matches. However, they have managed to keep a clean sheet in 40% of their league matches this season. They are favourites and will be hard seeing them not get a result.

Watford are currently 10th in the Premier League and 9 points from the relegation zone. Their recent result was not a highlight of their season as they were taken apart by Arsenal in a 3-0 defeat. Troy Deeney missed a penalty that proved vital to the result. Deeney is part of a Hornets attack that has scored two or more goals in 46% of their matches. Their top scorer is Abdoulaye Doucoure.

Watford’s defence has painful to watch at times. They have conceded 50 goals in 30 games and have managed a clean sheet in 26% of those matches. Watford have managed to shock to bookmakers a couple times this season against the top six, however Liverpool’s attacking power should be too much to deal with.

The referee for this match is Anthony Taylor. He shouldn’t have too much to worry about as both sides have shown discipline throughout the campaign. Liverpool have averaged just 12.8 booking points and Watford have averaged 20.

Watford vs Liverpool will be televised on BT Sport 1 and kicks off at 17:30.

Prediction: Liverpool 3-0.

Suggested tips – Liverpool vs Watford – (BET365):

  • Correct Score – 3-0 Liverpool – (link no longer available).
  • First Goalscorer – Sadio Mane – (link no longer available).

Suggested tips – Liverpool vs Watford – (SKYBET):

  • Price Boost – Mohamed Salah and Troy Deeney  – 9/1.
  • RequestABet Specials 80/1 and above – Liverpool vs Watford – Salah to score, Liverpool 2-1 and Lovren & Capoue to be carded – 300/1.
  • Pundits RequestABets – Le Tissier’s RAB: Salah, Firmino & Mane to score and Liverpool to win to nil – 12/1.
  • Price Boost – Emre Can and Abdoulaye Doucoure both to be carded – 25/1.
  • RequestABet Specials 33/1 to 66/1 – Liverpool vs Watford – Watford to win and under 2.5 goals – 33/1.

Odds and markets last updated on 17 March 2018 @11:45 GMT.

Keep visiting the tips and preview area for further updates and betting previews for more previews from this weekends FA Cup and SkyBet Championship action.

Fulham vs QPR – Match Preview

by ·Comments Off on Fulham vs QPR – Match Preview

Fulham vs QPR
Saturday 17th March 2018
SkyBet Championship, Craven Cottage

Live on Sky Sports Football – Kick-Off: 12:30

Fulham vs QPR – Fulham will host Queens Park Rangers in SkyBet Championship action this weekend.

The hosts are still looking to solidify a top six spot and to put pressure on the automatic promotion places. Meanwhile, their visitors are on a high after their victory against promotion hopefuls Aston Villa.

Fulham are currently 4th in the SkyBet Championship and are the ones to watch with their impressive surge up the table. They have become one of the most entertaining footballing teams in the league and are now the second highest scorers in the Championship behind Wolves and have scored 64 goals in 37 games. They have managed two or more goals in 48% of their league matches. Leading the line is young talent Ryan Sessegnon who has bagged 14 goals with 4 assists.

Defensively Fulham are one of the stronger sides in the race for a play off place. They have conceded 39 goals all season and have managed a clean sheet in 27% of their matches. The attacking prowess of Fulham has managed to get them out of trouble however, as they aren’t unfamiliar with a late stoppage time winner. Fulham should be too strong for QPR.

QPR are currently 15th in the SkyBet Championship and comfortable for a safe midtable finish. Ian Holloway hasn’t pulled out anything spectacular however a host of injury problems during the campaign has allowed excuses for some sub-par form at times. Their attack has managed to score 43 goals this season in the league, with two or more being scored in 33% of their matches. Matt Smith has been the most prolific in a blue and white shirt this season with 8 goals and 6 assists.

QPR’s defence has been injury plagued throughout the season and at times has struggled against the Championships more potent attacks. They have conceded 53 goals, one of the worst tallies in the league. In their 37 outings, they have kept a clean sheet in 19% of them. For a side around their position in the table, statistics such as these are expected.

The referee for this match will be Chris Kavanagh. The official has not been too lenient in his six Championship matches, awarding an average of 33.3 booking points. However, Fulham have averaged only 18 booking points and QPR have averaged 18.9, so don’t expect loads of cards.

Fulham vs QPR will be televised live on Sky Sports Football in the UK with kick off at 12:30 GMT.

Prediction 3-0 Fulham

Suggested tips – Fulham vs QPR  – (BET365):

  • Correct score, Fulham to win 3-0 – (link no longer available).
  • Anytime Goalscorer – Ryan Sessegnon – (link no longer available).

Suggested tips – Fulham vs QPR  – (SKYBET):

  • Price Boost – Aleksandar Mitrovic to score a brace – 6/1.
  • RequestABet Specials 80/1 and above – BTTS, 4+ corners each team and Ream & Manning to be carded – 80/1.

Odds and markets last updated on 17 March 2018 @ 01:00 GMT.

Keep visiting the tips and preview area for further updates and betting previews for more previews from this weekends FA Cup and SkyBet Championship action.