Beating the Bookmakers – #2

After a blistering opening to the Ball Winner’s new feature, it’s time to examine more up and coming betting opportunities and the two sides featured in this article actually play on Sunday the 7th of October. In the previous installment, Juventus and Wolverhampton Wanderers comfortably prevailed in their respective matches at a decent price of 2.48/1- a slightly better price to the bet tipped here, but with Tottenham facing the out of form Aston Villa and Fiorentina hosting Bologna in the Serie A, I really can’t see past this one!

There could however, be a slight concern but it’s not enough to avoid the bet in my opinion- Spurs travel to Greece on Thursday to try and claim victory in the Europa League against Panathinaikos and as many have learnt, Andre Villa-Boas is looking to take a strong squad and impress on the night. Confidence is clearly high at White Hart Lane, after the stunning victory against former champions Manchester United propelled them to 5th in the Premier League, whilst Aston Villa struggled to draw at home to West Brom in their last outing, meaning they had to remain in the bottom half, tied on points with Liverpool for 15th place. I can see Spurs wanting to win this one comfortably and with players like Clint Dempsey and Jan Vertonghen really settling in well, the -1 handicap even tempted me at first, with that price being a tidy 11/10. But, the more conservative amongst us will want to take the 4/9 single that’s on offer at BetFred.com.

Just like last week, the second bet comes from Italy and more specifically, Serie A. Fiorentina are the ones identified after having a fairly up and down start to the season, managing to grab 8 points from a possible 18 in their opening 6 games. They have however, faced the likes of Napoli and Inter Milan away from home, whilst welcoming Champions Juventus to their own ground just last week. They go into this one against Bologna at 4/7 on the already mentioned bookmakers, but I’m positive 4/6 or even 4/5 could be found at different agencies. The key man to watch for Fiorentina and somebody who could very well be a decent anytime goalscorer punt is Stevan Jovetic, the forward had scored 4 goals in his sides opening 6 league fixtures, grabbing 3 in 3 at home.

Tottenham Hotspur – 4/9 – Available @ BetFred
Fiorentina – 4/7 – Available @ BetFred

As touched on earlier, the 11/10 on offer for Tottenham to win by more than 1 goal could be worth looking out for, especially if the midweek Europa League teamsheet isn’t as strong as first anticipated- but remember, only bet within your means and let’s hope this one comes in!

Related Articles -

• Beating the Bookies – #1
• Andre Villa-Boas; In Scope