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Goal.com Betting Blog: Barcelona And Real Madrid Are Safe Bets While Inter Won't Be As Hungry Under 'Cold Fish' Rafael Benitez
JD sounds off on Serie A and La Liga, plus lobs in some tips for the week ahead...
Aug 30, 2010 9:30:00 AM
By JD
Unless you have been living on Mars for the past few days you'll have noted that Serie A and La Liga got underway at the weekend. Both leagues provide us bettors with plenty of opportunities to make a profit during the season.
The Primera Liga title will of course be fought between the two superpowers Barcelona and Real Madrid in what is sure to be an epic battle throughout the season. Both teams broke numerous records last time out with their points tallies, but it was Barcelona that came out on top in the end. They were the favourites last season and once again are a short price with the bookies at 4/5 to win three in a row.
Former coach Manuel Pellegrini did very little wrong domestically last season and even amassed a record number of points for Real Madrid, but he eventually finished second and was given his marching orders.
I'll be putting my money on Barca at 4/5 as they have added David Villa to their star studded line-up and could well be even stronger than last season. The Special One will have to wait for his La Liga title.
One of my strategies this season will be to back Barcelona and Real Madrid in a double each weekend to win. Both teams are by far the dominant forces in Spain and will be expecting to win every game. Between them they won 62 of their 76 league games last season.
Backing Barca and Real Madrid in a double each weekend is sure to pay over the season and could be a nice little earner if things pan out as they have done in the recent past.
In Italy things are less clear and I suspect there will be a greater challenge to Inter's dominance. The Nerazzurri have replaced Mourinho with Rafael Benitez and his players are in for a shock as Rafa's "cold fish" approach will be in marked contrast to the inspirational leadership of his predecessor.
Although the Spaniard is in tune with the tactical nuances of the game, his man management of players is poor and some of his selection choices border on the bizarre.
I remember vividly last season when Liverpool were chasing a goal at Fulham. In the space of 25 minutes he substituted three of Liverpool's best goal getters, taking off Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun and Dirk Kuyt when the Reds desperately needed a goal. They lost 3-1.
Few Liverpool fans shed any tears when he left. They found his approach and selection choices puzzling and at times infuriating. Getting the Inter job must have felt like winning the lottery for him considering the mess he left Liverpool in.
Roma and Juventus are around 4/1 each to win Serie A with Milan at about 9/2. They are good prices and I feel they all have an equal chance of winning the Scudetto so I'll be having a small single bet on each of them to be celebrating next May. If one of the three win the title then I will make a profit.
Last weekend went reasonably well as I tipped Cardiff to beat Doncaster at very generous odds of 5/6. The bookmakers were not factoring the arrival of Craig Bellamy into the price so I made them pay with a nice return on that as the Welsh side won 4-0.
Southampton let me down badly. Nine times out of 10 they would beaten Leyton Orient at home. I had seen Orient the previous week and Charlton beat them 3-1 with 10 men so I was sure Southampton would clean up. When I saw it was 1-1 with only 15 minutes to go I was still confident the Saints would engineer a winner but it never came.
In the evening I had a few quid on Toulouse to beat Arles in France. Odds of 4/6 were reasonable and they overcame the newly promoted side 2-1 so I was in profit for the day. During the week I got three out of four winners when I backed Orebro to beat AIK on Monday night. The winner came in the 92nd minute so it was a great relief and I was delighted to get off to a good start for the week.
On Tuesday night I backed a favourite of mine, Anderlecht, to beat Partizan Belgrade at home in the Champions League play-off. The Belgians are usually very reliable for me so I was horrified when they went 2-0 down. Anderlecht battled back to 2-2 but they couldn't force a winner and eventually lost on penalties.
Tuesday was one of those strange nights when nothing seemed to go to form. Fortunately Wednesday was much different as everything went so smoothly. It was a great day for punters as a whole host of favourites won, including Ajax, who I backed at 8/11. For Thursday I went for a double on Man City -1 and Levski Sofia. They worked out at around evens as both came through their ties and won me a nice return in the process.
I took Friday night off from betting and went out for a few drinks with my work colleagues and enjoyed some of my winnings.
Soon you will be able to avail of all my tips and advice for next month when I release my website. Stay tuned for further details.
JD's Monday Tips
* Sporting Fingal to beat Limerick - 11/10 (2.10) - August 30th
* Inter to beat Bologna - 8/13 (1.62) - August 30th
* Over 2.5 goals in Atletico Madrid - Sporting Gijon - 8/11 (1.73) - August 30th
JD is Goal.com's betting blogger who lives in one of Europe's top cities and works in the stock market. He can be reached at betting@goal.com.
Place a bet now with Goal.com's official betting partner Titan Bet who are offering an exclusive bet £25 get £25 offer for Goal.com readers
. Goal.com encourages all readers who bet to do so sensibly.
The Primera Liga title will of course be fought between the two superpowers Barcelona and Real Madrid in what is sure to be an epic battle throughout the season. Both teams broke numerous records last time out with their points tallies, but it was Barcelona that came out on top in the end. They were the favourites last season and once again are a short price with the bookies at 4/5 to win three in a row.
Former coach Manuel Pellegrini did very little wrong domestically last season and even amassed a record number of points for Real Madrid, but he eventually finished second and was given his marching orders.
I'll be putting my money on Barca at 4/5 as they have added David Villa to their star studded line-up and could well be even stronger than last season. The Special One will have to wait for his La Liga title.
One of my strategies this season will be to back Barcelona and Real Madrid in a double each weekend to win. Both teams are by far the dominant forces in Spain and will be expecting to win every game. Between them they won 62 of their 76 league games last season.
Backing Barca and Real Madrid in a double each weekend is sure to pay over the season and could be a nice little earner if things pan out as they have done in the recent past.
In Italy things are less clear and I suspect there will be a greater challenge to Inter's dominance. The Nerazzurri have replaced Mourinho with Rafael Benitez and his players are in for a shock as Rafa's "cold fish" approach will be in marked contrast to the inspirational leadership of his predecessor.
Although the Spaniard is in tune with the tactical nuances of the game, his man management of players is poor and some of his selection choices border on the bizarre.
I remember vividly last season when Liverpool were chasing a goal at Fulham. In the space of 25 minutes he substituted three of Liverpool's best goal getters, taking off Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun and Dirk Kuyt when the Reds desperately needed a goal. They lost 3-1.
Few Liverpool fans shed any tears when he left. They found his approach and selection choices puzzling and at times infuriating. Getting the Inter job must have felt like winning the lottery for him considering the mess he left Liverpool in.
Roma and Juventus are around 4/1 each to win Serie A with Milan at about 9/2. They are good prices and I feel they all have an equal chance of winning the Scudetto so I'll be having a small single bet on each of them to be celebrating next May. If one of the three win the title then I will make a profit.
Last weekend went reasonably well as I tipped Cardiff to beat Doncaster at very generous odds of 5/6. The bookmakers were not factoring the arrival of Craig Bellamy into the price so I made them pay with a nice return on that as the Welsh side won 4-0.
Southampton let me down badly. Nine times out of 10 they would beaten Leyton Orient at home. I had seen Orient the previous week and Charlton beat them 3-1 with 10 men so I was sure Southampton would clean up. When I saw it was 1-1 with only 15 minutes to go I was still confident the Saints would engineer a winner but it never came.
In the evening I had a few quid on Toulouse to beat Arles in France. Odds of 4/6 were reasonable and they overcame the newly promoted side 2-1 so I was in profit for the day. During the week I got three out of four winners when I backed Orebro to beat AIK on Monday night. The winner came in the 92nd minute so it was a great relief and I was delighted to get off to a good start for the week.
On Tuesday night I backed a favourite of mine, Anderlecht, to beat Partizan Belgrade at home in the Champions League play-off. The Belgians are usually very reliable for me so I was horrified when they went 2-0 down. Anderlecht battled back to 2-2 but they couldn't force a winner and eventually lost on penalties.
Tuesday was one of those strange nights when nothing seemed to go to form. Fortunately Wednesday was much different as everything went so smoothly. It was a great day for punters as a whole host of favourites won, including Ajax, who I backed at 8/11. For Thursday I went for a double on Man City -1 and Levski Sofia. They worked out at around evens as both came through their ties and won me a nice return in the process.
I took Friday night off from betting and went out for a few drinks with my work colleagues and enjoyed some of my winnings.
Soon you will be able to avail of all my tips and advice for next month when I release my website. Stay tuned for further details.
JD's Monday Tips
* Sporting Fingal to beat Limerick - 11/10 (2.10) - August 30th
* Inter to beat Bologna - 8/13 (1.62) - August 30th
* Over 2.5 goals in Atletico Madrid - Sporting Gijon - 8/11 (1.73) - August 30th
JD is Goal.com's betting blogger who lives in one of Europe's top cities and works in the stock market. He can be reached at betting@goal.com.
Place a bet now with Goal.com's official betting partner Titan Bet who are offering an exclusive bet £25 get £25 offer for Goal.com readers
. Goal.com encourages all readers who bet to do so sensibly.Follow Goal.com on 
. Get the latest football news direct... Check out Goal.com's 
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