2008/09 UK Soccer Season Preview

The new season is upon us and once again with Euro 2008 only finishing a few weeks ago it seems that the soccer season never ends these days! That isn't enough to halt our enthusiasm however, pre-season means one thing in my book, endless oppurtunities for punting and gaining value over those weary yet hard nosed Bookies. Hopefully the selections listed here will pay great dividends come May next year. So on with the show, here are my picks to hopefully give you a winning start, middle and end to the new footy season.

We will begin our plays in the EPL. This time around I have concentrated most of our efforts on season long matchbets. These have been particularly fruitful in the past and are a market that I believe offer regular value. The first of these matchbets is between Portsmouth and Newcastle. VC Bet offer 1.8 on Pompey and for me that is too big. Newcastle remain a club in crisis. No big signings have arrived and a lack of defensive ability still lingers. Owen and Viduka are top strikers yet both are likely to miss numerous games through injury as their careers have shown. Portsmouth look solid and the addition of Peter Crouch to partner Jermaine Defoe could prove a masterstroke. This is definite bet material and I am suggesting a 3pt bet.

Next up we are taking Man City as 2.10 outsiders vs Portsmouth!! After just talking up Portsmouth I'm not now going to try and tell you that are a poor side!!! This bet is a close one to call but the prices involved offer the value. I believe Man City and Portsmouth will both have good seasons. However I calculate that Man City are in for 3 more points over the course of the campaign and thus cannot be the outsiders here. For me City shade this match and therefore at 2.1 i'm getting involved. This is a 2pt bet.

Still in the EPL we have yet another matchbet to get our teeth into.
This time we are siding with Sunderland at 2.25 against Middlesboro with Corals. These two teams are closely matched in my opinion and should both improve on last year's efforts. Roy Keane has been active during the summer and appears to have strengthened Sunderland nicely. They now appear strong enough for the demands of EPL football and have experience to boot. I have no axe to grind against Boro, to me they appear a useful outfit and I admire the skills of Gareth Southgate as a young manager. Once more its simply an attractive price that I cant ignore, stake 1pt.

Our final EPL Matchbet is between two of the big 4. This time we are siding with Liverpool over Aresenal at 2.25 with SkyBet. This should be a close contest all the way bit I simply feel that the Liverpool trio of Torres, Gerrard and Keane should have just enough in them to get Liverpool over the line. Arsenal have lost Hleb and Gilberto this summer whilst Liverpool have added to their ranks. I dont see either team making the top 2 but their fight for 3rd should go to the wire. For me the price is just a smidge of value so risk 1 pt.

We are also going to make a couple of plays on the spreads in the EPL on long term points markets. The first of these is a sell of Newcastle at 49 and the second is a sell of Blackburn at 47.5 both with Sporting Index. Newcastle are a lop sided, disjointed team who I firmly believe will be lower mid-table this season at best. If Viduka and Owen miss their usual 15 games a season each they could even be part of the relegation shake up. Blackburn have had a turbulent summer. Mark Hughes has been replaced by Paul Ince who is a novice at this level. They have also lost two of their class acts in David Bentley and Brad Friedal. For my money they have overachieved in the past 2 seasons, they dont have big finances and only use a small pool of players. I am suggesting a sell of both to a 2pt risk.

We move down to the Championship now where we have what I believe to be the best bet of the pre-season. Birmingham can be backed at 1.91 to outdo QPR over the course of the season. Everyone knows QPR are Moneybags FC right now. In the Championship however it is easier said than done to win this comp. They are yet to sign any household names and have a squad which without all the talk would not be considered 2nd favs for the title. Birmingham in my opinion are the class outfit of the division. They have added proven marksman Kevin Phillips and midfield tough guy Leigh Carsley to their ranks. These two added to an already strong squad at Championship level should be challenging for honours here. At 1.91 on Birmingham I am suggesting a 4.5 pt bet, this really is a corker for me!!

Also in the Championship we are taking Blackpool to be relegated at 2.88 with SkyBet. The Blackpool ranks have been decimated by sales all summer and manager Simon Grayson has been scratching around for players to fill the gaps in his squad. The shortage of quality could well be too much this year after they scraped by last time around. They are a short price fav for the drop but in my mind arent quite short enough, no matter how well they play this crop of players wont be far away from trouble no matter what. I suggest a 1.5 pt bet.

Finally we have a couple of bets from League 1. First up we are backing Huddersfield to win the title at 21.0 with Lasseters. Huddersfield have strengthened well this summer. The new manager Stan Ternent has added experience and quality and now has a team in place that can challenge the likely top two of Leicester and Leeds. The price is stand out and must be taken quickly as it is sure to shorten. For me this is a 1.5 pt bet. If you miss that take 1pt at 19.0 with Centrebet.

Finally still in League 1 we are speculating on a MK Dons disaster season. MK came up in a blaze of glory last year but have since lost inspirational boss Paul Ince. Roberto Di Matteo is the rookie replacement and I feel this is a huge gamble. Lower league football is a hard starting point for an inexperienced Italian who has been out of the game for 5 years. It may prove to be a great decision but I am certainly sceptical. At 21.0 with BetFred you can take MK Dons to be relegated, for me thats generous and represents a 1pt stake.

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