New Zealand World Cup Betting Preview

New Zealand odds and free bets for 2010 World Cup

This is New Zealand’s first appearance at the World Cup since Spain 1982. The team are nicknamed the All Whites as a contrast from the famous All Black Rugby team. New Zealand qualified for the 2009 Confederations Cup; however they failed to win a game and finished the tournament with only one point after a hard fought draw against Iraq. The playoff game against Bahrain to qualify for South Africa finally managed to get the Rugby mad nation to get behind their football team. The match in capital Wellington was a record capacity for the All Whites. New Zealand are predicted not to be a threat the World Cup finals at all with Coral offering odds of 2500/1 for a New Zealand triumph, Paddy Power offer far shorted odds at 750/1. One thing is for sure, all bookmakers predict that New Zealand have no chance of lifting the World Cup trophy.

New Zealand’s qualifying campaign was fairly straightforward. They topped their Oceanic qualifying group with only one loss. This earned them the right to play a play off eleven months later against Bahrain, the first leg ended 0-0 and the return leg in Wellington ended 1-0 to the All whites and sealed qualification to South Africa and only their second world Cup finals.

New Zealand have been drawn to play Italy, Paraguay and Slovakia in Group F. This is a strong group which New Zealand are highly unlikely to qualify from. The Bookmakers reflect this with William Hill offering odds of 12/1 for them to qualify to the next stage and SkyBet offering odds of 1/25 for them not to qualify.

New Zealand are clearly regarded as one of the tournaments weakest teams, however there are several players who will hope to aid the All Whites’ World Cup cause. Captain and Blackburn Rovers defender Ryan Nielsen is the most well known player in the team and the only player to feature in the national team. Middlesbrough striker Chris Killen is a player tipped to cause defences some problems as is Shane Smeltz who is the Australian A league top scorer, Smeltz is priced at 500/1 to be the tournament’s top scorer.

Reccomended bets: New Zealand are unlikely to be a threat in South Africa; the best bets are bets on single matches against the other group sides as like all teams they are capable of causing an upset. Firstly Victor Chandler offer odds of 7/1 for a victory against Slovakia and Sportingbet offer odds of 16/5 for a draw.

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Mexico World Cup Betting Preview

Mexico odds and free bets for 2010 World Cup

Mexico have very much been World Cup underachievers. Their best World Cup results have been two quarter finals, in 1970 and 1986 and arguably the nation’s best ever player, Hugo Sanchez, was denied the chance to play at a World Cup during his prime years when Mexico were banned from the 1990 competition.

The CONCACAF qualification process consists of 4 stages. As one of the top seeds, Mexico were awarded a bye to the 2nd round, where they drew Belize and beat them, convincingly, 9-0 over two legs. In the 3rd round they finished second in a group of 4, behind Honduras, to qualify for the final round. In the final round they finished 2nd once more (W6, D1, L3) behind the U.S.A. which meant they qualified for South Africa. Mexico didn’t really finish with any standout goalscorers, with their goals being spread throughout the team.

Mexico’s talisman is their 37 year old forward, Cuauhtémoc Blanco who has played 107 times for his country, scoring a total of 37 goals. He could be supported in attack by young, energetic, Arsenal striker, Carlos Vela. Mexico have a solid base in defence as well, with a very goalkeeper, Guillermo Ochoa and Barcelona centre-back Rafael Marquez both very dependable. The most exciting player for Mexico is likely to be Deportivo La Coruña left winger, Andres Guardado, who could be a real one to watch for Mexico. Moments of magic from players like Guardado could make the difference in a tough group for Mexico.

Mexico will probably be fairly confident ahead of the World Cup. Although not being amongst the favourites to win the tournament, they will definitely expect to qualify from their group. Mexico are certainly good enough to finish at least 2nd in the group and may well even trouble France. Odds of 4/1 are available for anyone who fancies Mexico to win the group, which is without doubt a possibility. France are unpredictable and a slightly off form French team would struggle against Mexico. The safest money is definitely on Mexico to qualify at 10/11, which represents fairly decent value. The alternative is to try and predict their exact finishing position, which in this group, could be anywhere from 1st to 4th, but should be 2nd. There is some great value in Mexico to finish 2nd, with them available at 40/17.  On paper, Mexico are undoubtedly the second best team in the group and should finish there if everything goes to form.

Reccomended bets: As Japan are one of the lowest ranked teams in the tournament, the best bets to make on them are bets on single matches. William Hill prices Japan at 13/5 to beat Cameroon whereas Bet365 offer odds of 23/10 in the event of a draw. SkyBet prices a Japan victory against the Netherlands at 13/2 and Victor Chandler offers odds of 11/4 for a draw in this match. Finally SkyBet offer odds of 3/1 for Japan to beat Denmark and also offer odds of 9/4 for a draw in this tie.

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Premier League betting – Liverpool vs Everton 06/02/2010

Liverpool vs Everton betting preview

Saturday lunchtime sees the 182nd top flight Merseyside derby contested between Liverpool and neighbours Everton at Anfield. Rafa Benitez’s men will be aiming to complete a 12th league double over the Toffees live in front of the Sky cameras, as they look to leapfrog Spurs into that fourth Champions League spot. The home side are 4/5 favourites with Sky Bet to extend their unbeaten run in the league to seven games; the visitors are best priced at 4s and the draw pays out at 12/5.

Only Stanley Park separates the two teams in geographical proximity but a 9 point gap exists between the two clubs in the Premier League. However, both teams have been in good form of late, the reds are now just one point behind Spurs in 5th, a feat which seemed unlikely after their poor start to the campaign. Couple their sluggish start to the season with their early Champions League exit and some disgruntled fans were calling for Benitez’s head.

Everton manager David Moyes meanwhile, will have been buoyed by his sides battling 1-0 victory away at Wigan last weekend. Tim Cahill’s headed winner continued Everton’s great winning streak which stretched to nine unbeaten and lifted the Toffees into 9th place. Quite a turnaround considering the Goodison Park club were only 2 points clear of the relegation zone in early December. The return of influential midfielder Mikel Arteta will provide added impetus and creativity they have sorely missed thus far.

A tense affair might be expected on Saturday if recent results are anything to go by. Both sides are bidding to keep fourth successive clean sheets in the league and the goalless draw at 9s with Paddy Power may see some cash. However, Merseyside Derbies are often fiery affairs and with local pride at stake I think both sides will be playing for all three points. Moyes’ men will want to avenge the reverse fixture defeat which saw Liverpool come away from Goodison with a 2-0 win. With Fernando Torres out injured, Local boy Steven Gerrard will be rallying his troops to topple the Toffees and is a good bet at 11/2 to open the scoring and add to his 5 goals already this term. Everton’s main goal threat well lies with Tim Cahill and he has a habit of scoring important goals so lump on the Aussie star at 9s to breach the Liverpool rearguard.

Personally I think this one will be a tight affair but I think Liverpool will make home advantage count and claim victory by the odd goal in this hotly contested local derby. Liverpool are 6/1 to win by a solitary goal but are good value at 13/2 to win  2-0 considering they have amassed this score line no fewer than five times already this term, four of those at Anfield. The referee will be in for long 90 minutes as recent encounters have been marred by sendings off with 17 red cards in the Premier League. This is the highest tally for any fixture and Betfair are offering a plausible 19/10 that someone receives their marching orders.

Recommended bets: Tim Cahill first goalscorer at 9/1 with Sportingbet – click for free bet

Any player to be sent off 19/10 with Betfair – click for £25 free bet

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Japan World Cup Betting Preview

Japan odds and free bets for 2010 World Cup

This will be Japan’s fourth appearance at the World Cup finals. Boasting the strongest squad in Asia Japan have won three of the last five AFC Asia Cup finals. The Japanese hope to perform much better than the finals in 2006 when they failed to qualify from the group stage. Their most successful World Cup campaign came at the finals held in Japan and Korea in 2002, it was here that Japan managed to progress form the group stage and were unlucky to lose to Portugal at the Last Sixteen stage. The Japanese are not fancied to be a major threat at South Africa and the shortest odds for a Japanese winning campaign are offered by Ladbrokes at 125/1, William Hill offer the most attractive odds at 250/1.

Japan are placed in Group E along with Cameroon, Denmark and the Netherlands. This is a strong group and if Japan were to qualify they will have to perform above the expectations of all football fans. Odds for a Japanese qualification reflect the near impossible task ahead of them, SkyBet offer the best odds for this at 11/4. Also offered by Sky Bet are odds of 1/4 for the likely event of Japan not qualifying from the group. However Japan managed to qualify from the group in 2002 so the task isn’t beyond them. Another Last Sixteen elimination for Japan is priced at 15/4 by expert.com also offered by this agency is odds of 14/1 for a Japanese elimination at the Quarter Final stage.

Japan qualified for South Africa with relative ease, only losing one match, drawing three and winning four. The Japanese finished he group second to Australia and five points above closest rivals Bahrain.

Although star player Hidetoshi Nakata retired from international football after the last finals in Germany at the age of 29 Japan still hold a host of good players looking to make an impact in South Africa. Former Celtic and current Espanyol playmaker Shunsuke Nakamora is Japan’s most important player, Boylesports prices him at 300/1 to finish the tournament as top goal scorer.  Left footed midfielder Keisuke Honda could also cause teams problems. Finally 31 year old captain Yuji Nakazawa will lead the side from the back. He is Japan’s third highest capped player of all time.

Reccomended bets: As Japan are one of the lowest ranked teams in the tournament, the best bets to make on them are bets on single matches. William Hill prices Japan at 13/5 to beat Cameroon whereas Bet365 offer odds of 23/10 in the event of a draw. SkyBet prices a Japan victory against the Netherlands at 13/2 and Victor Chandler offers odds of 11/4 for a draw in this match. Finally SkyBet offer odds of 3/1 for Japan to beat Denmark and also offer odds of 9/4 for a draw in this tie.

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Ivory Coast World Cup Betting Preview

Ivory Coast odds and free bets for 2010 World Cup

Ivory Coast are generally considered to be the strongest African team in this year’s competition and have a slight advantage over most teams considering the World Cup is being playing on ‘home soil’. They are best priced 28/1 to win the trophy with William Hill in what would be considered a major upset. 

 It is probably inconceivable to see Ivory Coast in a World Cup final so I’m going to focus in particular on their group – Group G. They have been drawn alongside Brazil, Portugal and North Korea in what promises to be a hotly contested group. Portugal are probably their biggest rivals for second place and the bookies are finding it difficult to split these two teams. Ivory Coast are best priced 4/1 to win the group with Sporting Bet, but more relevantly are 10/11 with Betfred to qualify for the knockout stages.      

Ivory Coast were given a bye through to the second round of qualification in the African zone. They then topped the group table in both round 2 and round 3, without losing a game in the process.

When considering Ivory Coast’s chances in the tournament you immediately think of one player – Didier Drogba. He is his countries all time leading goalscorer, with 43 goals in 65 appearances and is one of the best strikers in the world. If Ivory Coast are to have any chance of progressing from their group, he will need to be on form scoring goals. Powerful, strong in the air and clinical when faced by the goalkeeper, Drogba looks a steal at 33/1 with William Hill for the golden boot, especially when you consider he could score a hatful against North Korea.

It looks unlikely that Ivory Coast will go all the way to the final as should they progress from their group as runners up, Spain would be the likely second round opponents. Getting to the last 16 would be an achievement and Betfred provides odds of 15/8 that they will be eliminated in the second round. One market Ivory Coast do have a great chance of winning is the ‘top African team’. They are best priced Evs with Blue Square to progress the furthest of all the African team and this looks realistic.         

Reccomended bets: Ivory Coast to be the furthest progressing African team at Evens with Blue Square.

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Italy World Cup Betting Preview

Italy odds and free bets for 2010 World Cup

Defending champions Italy fall into the same category as a number of teams behind the two main favourites – Spain and Brazil. On their day, they have the quality to upset the ‘big two’ but aren’t expected to reach the final. Nevertheless, expekt.com are offering good value at odds of 13/1 for to Italy successfully defend the World Cup.

You would say that the Group F draw has been kind to Italy. Other than Paraguay who pose a slight threat, their other two opponents – Slovakia and New Zealand should be dismissed with ease. Italy are clear favourites to win the group at 1/2 with Ladbrokes and bwin.com are offering odds of 23/10 for Italy to take 9 points from the group. Assuming they top the group, Italy should face Denmark in the last 16, Spain in the quarter finals and probably Argentina in the last 4.       

Italy progressed comfortably from Group 8, managing to stay unbeaten throughout the qualifying campaign.

Normally, a key player in a team would be a striker or midfielder. In Italy’s case these two positions have been very much in transition since the last World Cup, with many inexperienced players now occupying these roles. One man, however, has been at the heart of the Italian defence for over 13 years. Fabio Cannavaro may be 36 but he has been one of the greatest defenders of his era. He is the most experienced Italian international ever with 136 caps and has been captain for 8 years. As with many Italian teams, their emphasis is mainly on defence. They only conceded 7 goals in the qualifying campaign and only 2 in the last World Cup. If Italy are to have such a watertight defence this time around, they will need Cannavaro to perform at the highest level.

Italy don’t have a prolific strike force and this could prove to be their downfall. In years gone by they have been able to call upon on the likes of Del Piero and Inzaghi but this time around they have nobody of the same ilk. I think they will progress to the quarter finals where they will find Spain too strong. Odds of 5/2 with Paddy Power for a last 8 elimination look well worth the money.

Reccomended bets: Italy to be eliminated in the Quarter Finals at 5/2 with Paddy Power.

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Holland World Cup Betting Preview

Holland odds and free bets for 2010 World Cup

Currently, Holland are ranked number 3 in the world and are being tipped as the proverbial ‘dark horses’ for this year’s competition. They are best priced at 14/1 with Bet365, which looks like great value as on their day they can be unstoppable.

Holland are clear favourites to qualify from Group E, a group which sees them joined by Denmark, Cameroon and Japan. Paddy Power offers odds of 4/5 to see them progress to the last 16 as group winners where they should face Paraguay. The last 8 will probably see them face 5 time winners Brazil, with England waiting at the semi final stage.      

Holland progressed from qualification with a 100% record, topping their group with 24 points.

Part of Holland’s recent success is their team effort, with no real ‘superstars’ in their team. If you had to identify one player who possessed that extra touch of class in their ranks, it would be the Arsenal front man Robin Van Persie. Weather he is playing as a lone front man or wide in a three man attack, Van Persie is a constant goal threat and also possesses the ability to create chances for his team mates. In addition, he is a frequent scorer of spectacular goals with his favoured left foot and is deadly from set pieces. Currently, the gunners forward is sidelined with an ankle injury, but will be back in time to aid his national teams’ hope of World Cup glory. Bwin.com are offering odds of 40/1 for him to be the top goalscorer at the championships and although it might be an outside bet, these odds look quite tempting.

You would have to say that Holland have been placed on the tougher side of the draw alongside France, England and their probable quarter final opponents, Brazil. Brazil should have enough class to beat the Dutch, whilst history suggests that a last 4 place is beyond them, having only got past the quarters once, since 1978. Sky Bet are offering odds of 5/2 for a quarter final elimination for Holland and I think this is well worth putting a few pounds on.      

Reccomended bets: Holland to win their group at odds of 4/5 with VC Bet.

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Greece World Cup Betting Preview

Greece odds and free bets for 2010 World Cup

Greece are a nation with very limited World Cup history. It is hard to believe that, although being 2004 European Champions, Greece have only ever played in one World Cup, in USA back in 1994. By qualifying for South Africa, Greece will be playing in their 2nd World Cup and only their 5th major international tournament.

Greece were somewhat fortunate when it came to qualifying for the World Cup, as, thanks to their high FIFA ranking when the groups were drawn, Greece were one of the top seeds. They were drawn alongside Switzerland, Israel, Latvia, Luxembourg and Moldova in an easy group and went on to finish as runners up behind Switzerland. This awarded them with a playoff against Ukraine, which they won 1-0 on aggregate, with a 1-0 win away in Donetsk.

Greece’s famed Euro 2004 victory was very much based on a solid defence. However, this defensive record seemed to desert them during qualification, recording only 3 clean sheets during the group. Their defensive prowess seemingly returned during the playoff tie with Ukraine, as they kept clean sheets home and away. However, the defence should not be the ones praised for their qualification. That, instead, should fall to their striker, Theofanis Gekas, who led the scoring charts for all European groups, scoring 10 goals during the 10 qualification games. Gekas was involved in a controversial move to Portsmouth in the 2008-2009 season, when Tony Adams signed him just days before being sacked. Paul Hart took over, and Gekas was left out frequently. He went on to play only 1 minute of league football for Portsmouth and openly criticised Hart. Gekas has a tremendous goal scoring record for Greece, having scored 20 goals in 45 games. Greece were famously 150/1 outsiders to win Euro 2004, and the odds on Gekas to be the World Cup’s leading goalscorer are also 150/1. This shows how unlikely it is, but also that it is possible. If Greece are to produce something similar to their Euro 2004 form then they will be relying heavily on Gekas for goals.

Greece have been drawn in a fairly tough group, with Argentina, South Korea and Nigeria. Argentina are likely to win the group, so it comes down to looking at the other 3 teams. South Korea, who did very well as hosts back in 2002, are unlikely to produce similar sorts of results that saw them finish 4th at that World Cup. Greece are 8/1 to win the group, which is unlikely to happen. More likely is them to have a shot at qualification, and 13/10 is a decent price. However, to make the assumption that Argentina will win the group, means that ‘to qualify’ could almost be taken as ‘to finish 2nd’. Greece are available at 5/2 to finish 2nd in the group or 2/1 to finish third. The odds on Greece not to qualify are around 8/11. Greece, South Korea and Nigeria all have odds of worse than evens not to qualify, which reflects the bookmakers view that they are all fighting for one qualification spot.

Recommended bets: Greece not to qualify (8/11 with skybet)

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World Cup Golden Boot betting

Golden Boot odds for 2010 World Cup

The Golden boot is the award given to the top goalscorer at the World Cup, and attracts a lot of betting interest. It’s very hard to predict the winner of the Golden Boot because so many great strikers participate at the World Cup.

For the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the Golden Boot betting is extremely open, with four world class strikers taking centre stage. The odds of Wayne Rooney, David Villa, Fernando Torres and Luis Fabiano are almost exactly the same, with online bookmakers offering odds of between 8/1 and 12/1 on each being the Golden Boot of 2010.

David Villa – Best odds 8/1 with Bet 365 – Click here for £200 in free bets

Lionel Messi – Best odds 10/1 With Stan James – Click here for a £25 free bet.
Wayne Rooney – Best odds 11/1 With Blue Square- Click here for a £66 in free bets.
Luis Fabiano – Best odds 12/1 with Bet 365 – Click here for £200 in free bets
Robin Van Persie – Best odds 14/1 With Totesport – Click here for a £25 free bet.
Fernando Torres – Best odds 14/1 With Totesport – Click here for a £25 free bet.
Christiano Ronaldo – Best odds 18/1 With Sky Bet- Click here for a £25 free bet.
Didier Drogba – Best odds 10/1 With Stan James – Click here for £200 in free bets.
It’s no surprise that these four strikers lead the way in the betting, given that they are all in outstanding form for their clubs, and all play for countries expected to do very well in this year’s World Cup.
Other factors to consider when it comes to Golden Boot betting are whether your chosen player takes penalties. This can be a crucial factor in determining the Golden Boot, like in 2002 when Michael Ballack came close just from taking penalties.
Previous winners of the World Cup Golden Boot award include Miroslav Klose for Germany in 2006 with just 5 goals, Ronaldo in 2002 with 8 goals, and Davor Suker in 1998 with 6 goals.
Given that last year’s Golden Boot winner scored just 5 goals, it may pay to look for a striker who is set to play one of the World Cup minnows such as North Korea or New Zealand. For example, a World class strike like Didier Drogba could easily score a hatrick against North Korea and be well on his way to Golden Boot victory. At odds of 33/1 with William Hill this looks generous.
Golden Boot betting odds

Golden Boot free bets – Check out William Hill for a free £25 bet on the World Cup Golden boot
All major online bookmakers are offering free bets on World Cup Golden Boot betting if you open a new account. Some of the best offers for Golden Boot betting are:

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Ghana World Cup Betting Preview

Ghana odds and free bets for 2010 World Cup

Fresh from the disappointment of losing the African Cup of Nations final at the hands of Egypt;  Ghana hope to have a successful World Cup campaign. The African Cup of Nations gave Ghana the chance to showcase some of their young stars due to injuries to the more senior players. However Coach Milovan Rajevac hopes players such as Chelsea’s midfield enforcer Michael Essien will be available for World Cup selection.

Ghana have been placed in Group D along with Germany, Australia and Serbia and the Black Stars have every chance of qualifying for the knockout stages. Although not considered serious contenders to win the competition the shortest odds for a Ghana triumph are offered by Ladbrokes at 66/1 with Coral offering a more attractive 80/1. Although the Germans are favourites to win the group the Black Stars are capable of an upset and are priced at 4/1 with Ladbrokes to win the group.

This will be Ghana’s second World Cup finals, in 2006 they were the only African team to progress from the group stage beating both USA and the Czech Republic on their way to an eventual 3-0 second round defeat to the Samba stars of Brazil. Ghana’s qualification campaign for South Africa was impressive and saw them be the first African nation to qualify for 2010. Unbeaten in their first four qualification matches and not conceding a goal until already qualified, with only one defeat Ghana qualified for South Africa with ease. To qualify from the group at this year’s World Cup Ghana are priced at 11/8 with Betfred.

Unlike most African teams Ghana do not rely on pace; instead the Black Stars use a strong midfield triplet capable of breaking up play and also starting attacks. This triplet of players would be considered Ghana’s key stars. The triplet includes the strong, fast and powerful Michael Essien who unfortunately was injured for the Cup of Nations but should be fit for the world cup, former Portsmouth and current Inter Milan star Sully Muntari and the Ghanaian captain Stephen Appiah. This world class midfield will be key in helping Ghana progress to the knock out stages and maybe even further. I believe that this strong Ghanaian team are capable of reaching the tournaments Quarter-Final stage, the climate will not be an issue for the players and the African crowd will not be an intimidating one for the players.

Recommended bets: Coach Rajevac in an interview stated "This team is very hungry to play in the finals again. My players are aware of what they can achieve, and we have the quality to go far. I am very confident about the future," and he has every right to be confidant, with a strong qualifying campaign and a world class midfield Ghana could be a threat at this World Cup finals. One bet worth taking would be with Betfred on Ghana being eliminated at the Quarter final stage, priced at 15/2 these are generous odds for a team very capable of reaching this stage.

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