MONDAY MAY 25TH - MIDDLEBROUGH V NORWICH, LAZIO V ROMA - PREVIEWS, PREDICTIONS, BEST BETS!25/5/2015
After Saturday's glory came Sunday's inevitable disappointments but it was still a marvellous weekend at boobookies with Saturday's 29 points of profit my finest day since the blog returned in March to send us soaring over 50 points of profit for the month. Sunday was one of my poorer days (a rarity thankfully) but it was a tough day to make profit with some surprise results including Stoke's shellacking of Liverpool although I did back the potters at 5/2 to get the win. I did consider them for a sexy single and of course I regret not following my instinct on that one. Still, I can't complain after Saturday and we have 2 big games to enjoy today as I look to get back to winning ways. It's the big play-off final in England as Middlesbrough and Norwich go head to head with a place in next year's Premier League up for grabs and the £150 million jackpot that comes with it with the action kicking off at 1600 CET with it being a UK bank holiday. I'm only working a half day here in Barcelona so I will be back in time to enjoy what is usually a dramatic affair and with these teams so evenly matched, I expect another exciting spectacle from Wembley. There a Rome derby as well to follow the action from London and we could be set for some pretty close match up's today. Let's take a brief look at both games. 16.00 CET - Middlesrbough v Norwich - Prediction 1.1 - Best Bets - Draw @9/4, BTTS @1/1, Middlesbrough or Norwich to win on Penalties @5/1, 'Boro to lift the trophy @1/1
The richest match in world football takes place today with a Premier League place on the line as Middlesbrough and Norwich go head to head in what promises to be a desperately close match, and as ever we should expect to see a fair amount of drama and excitement as is usually the case for these finals at Wembley. The last couple of finals have been decided by just goal with 1.0 wins for Palace and QPR although the final has in years gone by produced some tremendous, high scoring games such as Swansea in 2011 (4.2 winners), Blackpool 2010 (3.2 winners) or going back as far as Ipswich in 2003 (4.2 winners) or Charlton in the legendary final of 1998 when they beat Sunderland on penalties after a crazy 4.4 draw. I see something in between today with these 2 sides very evenly matched even if their respective styles are markedly different. Norwich were the Championships 3rd highest scorers and usually look to attack under their young Scottish manager Alex Neil while Middlesbrough hold the divisions best defensive record under their pragmatic boss, Aitor Karanka. The Spaniard was Mourihno's assistant at Real and there are definite comparisons between those two with Karanka promoting a brand of football that relies first on keeping the opponents out. Both sides were excellent in their semi-final victories over Ipswich and Brentford respectively but 'boro are a bit shaky when playing away from home with 4 of their last 6 away games in the Championship resulting in defeat and they will need to impose themselves on this game if they are to make it into the big league next season. This season's 2 previous meetings finished in favour of 'Boro who won 1.0 at Norwich in April and they also crushed the Canaries 4.0 last November at the Riverside and that record bears a striking resemblance to the one the 'boro had over Brentford who they dispatched with ease in the semi-finals. BTTS is priced at a tasty 1/1 here but with just 5 of the last 15 finals seeing BTTS, perhaps we can understand why and given what's at stake, it wouldn't be a surprise to see a low scoring game here. Still, Norwich love to attack and I think we might see a fine clash of styles here and the potential is always there on days like these for excitement and adrenalin to over-rule any pre-game tactical plans but such an event usually relies on an early goal. I really can't pick a winner here in what looks like a desperately close match-up and I'm going to go for a draw @12/5 with BTTS @1/1 and I have a sneaky feeling this one will go the distance. Who fancies penalties boys? I'm hoping for a good game (it bloody better be considering I took a half day to see it!) and I expect both sides to really play at their maximum in what could be a really great final although perhaps an early good will be needed. This one is just it's too close to call although if I had to, I may side with Middlesbrough, based purely on their head to head record this season but I'm not banking on it and I have a feeling we might just see the dreaded shoot-out to decide which of these two sides will be the one to take their place in next season's Premier League It should be a cracker and you can see all the action live on Sky from 1500 CET with kick-off at 1600. 1800 CET - Lazio v Roma - Prediction 1.1- Best Bets - Draw @13/8, BTTS @4/6 It's one of the biggest games of the season in Italy as Lazio and Roma face-off in the Rome derby and with both sides chasing automatic Champions League qualification it should be a keenly fought contest. As if it couldn't be anything else. A Roma win will secure 2nd position and a Champions’ League group spot while a draw takes the issue to the final game but also guarantees Lazio at least third and a Champions League qualifier ahead of Napoli who sit 4th and who they face at the weekend in Naples. A win for Lazio could see them unsurp their rivals and steal into 2nd postion but a draw certainly suits both teams as it would guarantee a top 3 finish for Lazio, and it would not surprise me at all to see the draw outcome with 3 of the last 5 meetings between the two sides also finishing level. The bookies have priced the draw accordingly at a short 13/8 but for me it looks pretty likely with BTTS also possible with 7 of the last 12 meetings between the 2 sides resulting in this outcome and this is priced @4/6 odds. A draw seems very possible here, given the respective needs of the teams although the form is with Lazio and should there be a winner, I would expect it to be them but form is rarely the most important factor coming into a derby like this and both sides will be supremely energised for this the biggest fixture of their respective seasons so even if a draw makes sense for both sides, don't be surprised if the energy of the match pushes both teams into looking for a winner. Here are today's best bets for an exciting Monday (not often we can say that) Bo's Deadly Double Total Staked - 2.5 Points Potential Returns - 8.3 Points Middlesbrough v Norwich - BTTS @1/1 Lazio v Roma - BTTS @4/6 Bo's Sexy Single Total Staked - 2.5 Points Potential Returns - 8.1 Points Norwich v 'boro - draw @9/4 Bo's Deadly Double Total Staked - 1 Point Potential Returns - 8.5 Points Norwich v 'boro - draw @9/4 Lazio v Roma - Draw @13/8 Bo's Sexy Single Total Staked - 1.5 Points Potential Returns - 9 Points Boro or Norwich to win on penalties @5/1 Bo's Dodgy Double Total Staked - 1 Point Potential Returns - 10 Points Boro to lift the trophy @1/1 Lazio to win and BTTS @4/1 Comments are closed.
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