A selection of odds for Saturday's fixtures
Mr Red here, reporting for duty. Did you have a lovely Christmas? I had merry time with some of my best silhouette friends: Michael Jordan, Jane Austen, and this cat.
If you followed some of my betting tips for Boxing Day, I’m sure you’ll have had a very happy Christmas indeed. Brentford winning away at Colchester came in, as did Birmingham’s win at Oakwell. As I speculated, Gillingham to beat Barnet ended up being the coupon-buster!
But there’s no time to waste – another round of fixtures awaits! And with it, another chance to enjoy incredible odds through Exeter City’s very own betting website, in partnership with Bet Butler: exetercity.betbutler.co.uk.
I fancy Exeter to finally end this year with a bang. 2012 has been a long, hard slog – but I fancy the boys to see off the calendar with one last hurrah. Barnet are the visitors, and with a pretty phenomenal result against Gillingham on Boxing Day, they’re sure to have confidence when they arrive at the Park. But City will have fire in their bellies and be looking to end the poor run of home form – so at 17/20 , you can back them to do just that.
In the Premier League, few things jump off the page, I admit. It’s one of those weekends where you can make a case for any team to win any match – so maybe it’s worth avoiding the top flight this weekend. But if I was to go for a little outside bet, I might fancy Newcastle to triumph at the Emirates at the price of 7/1. Arsenal and the Magpies have thrown up some pretty incredible encounters over the years (Tiote’s volley is still etched on my retinas, or whatever a silhouette like me has) and at odds as long as those, a brave soul might back the Geordies for victory. I wouldn’t put my life savings on it, mind…
Sean O’Driscoll got a P45 as a late Christmas present from the Nottingham Forest board. Not much of a ‘thanks’ for guiding them to success against Leeds United on Boxing Day, is it? Meanwhile, when Cardiff played Crystal Palace, it was the Bluebirds that beat the Eagles in a table-topping avian battle. However with Forest’s off-field uncertainty, and Ollie’s boys doing so well this season to date, you can back palace to win at the County Ground at the generous offer of 9/4.
The run of form that AFC Bournemouth have been on since Eddie Howe returned to the club has been, frankly, bonkers. Ten wins, three draws, no losses since he returned to Dean Court in October – not a bad little stint, that. The ‘curse of the Manager of the Month’ didn’t strike either, since he picked up the gong for November. So at 10/11, backing the Cherries to beat Crawley at on their own turf looks a decent shout indeed – especially if Matt Tubbs can put his old club to the sword.
Rotherham United packed the New York Stadium for their Boxing Day game against Port Vale – only to see old boy Tom Pope doing the business for the Valiants against his old side (as he always seems to) to send the Millers fans home feeling a little miserable and to go crying into their Yorkshire puddings. They have more festive visitors at the table though on Saturday, this time in the shape of Accrington Stanley. Without a win in their last six, it’s hard to see Stanley getting anything more than a comprehensive thrashing as Steve Evans’ lads look to right a few wrongs. 8/13 is the price you can get on that.
So best of luck, whoever you end up backing.
All odds correct at the time of writing. Exeter City and Mr Red encourage supporters to bet sensibly and within their means.