Mark O'Haire's football betting tips, best bets and nap: Country hopping
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Football betting tips: Weekend
2.5pts Palace to win and Over 1.5 goals vs Aston Villa at 5/4 (Sky Bet)
- Enhanced price with a £25 max stake
Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa
- Kick-off time: 16:00 BST, Sunday
- Home 5/6 | Draw 3/1 | Away 11/4
Aston Villa players were enjoying their end-of-season dinner on Tuesday night when the news came through of Tottenham’s defeat against Manchester City – that result guaranteed Champions League football for Unai Emery’s outfit next season and sparked jubilant celebrations from the Villans squad. An exceptional achievement.
With players and staff indulging themselves in midweek, might Villa struggle to hit their seasonal heights on Sunday? Probably. Emery’s outfit had already appeared gassed in recent weeks as the heavy toll of a season fighting on two fronts catches up on the squad, and a trip to in-form Crystal Palace on the final day could prove a tall order.
Oliver Glasner’s group have annihilated West Ham and Manchester United, beaten up Newcastle and produced an excellent effort at Wolves last weekend. The Eagles have now posted W5-D1-L0 in their last six games, scoring 16 goals, as the combination of Michael Olise, Ebere Eze and Jean-Phillipe Mateta excel in their new-look attacking approach.
Backing PALACE TO WIN AND OVER 1.5 GOALS stands-out at the prices.
Already advised
3pts Over 0.5 goals and 50+ booking points in Central Coast Mariners vs Sydney FC at evs (Sky Bet)
2.5pts Luis Suarez to score anytime in Inter Miami vs DC United at 5/4 (Sky Bet)
Inter Miami vs DC United
- Kick-off time: 00:30 BST, Sunday
- Home 4/7 | Draw 10/3 | Away 15/4
Lionel Messi missed Wednesday night’s goalless Inter Miami draw with Floridian rivals Orlando City but the Argentina ace is due back for this weekend’s encounter with DC United, where MLS table-toppers Inter look to get straight back to winning ways.
Gerardo Martino’s men have plundered 35 goals in their opening 14 fixtures and are averaging 3.00 goals per-game in front of their own supporters at Chase Stadium. Messi has played an enormous part in that goal production, but fellow veteran LUIS SUAREZ currently tops the goalscoring charts, netting 11 times in his 13 appearances for Miami.
The 37-year-old is averaging a goal every 81 minutes in 2024, with the Uruguayan bagging a hat-trick in his most recent home outing. With Suarez in fine form and Messi returning to the fold, I’m happy to back the former to SCORE ANYTIME against a DC United defence that’s kept only two clean sheets in 13, shipping multiple goals in 5/6 MLS matches.
Central Coast Mariners vs Sydney FC
- Kick-off time: 10:45 BST, Saturday
- Home 6/5 | Draw 5/2 | Away 19/10
Central Coast hold a 2-1 aggregate lead following last weekend’s contentious first leg semi-final showdown with regional rivals Sydney FC. Two Sydney FC players were dismissed in a bad-tempered affair at the Allianz Stadium and I’m anticipating another feisty fixture when the pair cross swords at Gosford on Saturday with a place in the Grand Final up for grabs.
Experienced official Alireza Faghani is taking charge of the contest. The referee is averaging 46.00 Booking Points through his 15 A-League encounters this season, hitting the 50+ Booking Points mark in half of his overall A-League showdowns and I’m happy to support a repeat considering the circumstances, as well as the eye-catching head-to-head records.
Five of the past seven meetings between the Mariners and Sydney have produced 50+ BOOKING POINTS, and with the duo each delivering a cards per-game average of at least 2.14, a repeat should be well within range.
We can bolster the odds on offer by including OVER 0.5 GOALS – only one of the two teams’ combined contests has ended goalless this season.
Odds correct at 1330 (16/05/24)
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