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Sunderland manager Steve Bruce bemoaned the tough Christmas and New Year schedule when a string of his top players picked up injuries over the festive period - and chief among his concerns must be the back injury that has ruled out skipper Lee Cattermole for at least a month.

How Sunderland cope without the combative Cattermole will be crucial to their prospects of continuing their good form in the second half of the season. There are signs that he will be sorely missed, which could enable punters to cash in both during his absence and when he returns.

A strong defence has been central to Sunderland's improvement this season, with Bruce's men joint-leaders for Premier League clean sheets with 10, level pegging with Manchester City. That is all the more admirable because Bruce has been forced to chop and change at the back, with only the on-loan Nedum Onuoha anywhere close to being an ever-present.

Before his injury, Cattermole had started most of Sunderland's Premier League games and the stats show his holding role in midfield has been a key factor in their impressive defensive record. Bruce's side kept only one clean sheet in the 11 league games Cattermole missed in 2010, but had close to a 50% clean sheet record when he played.
Having picked up his injury in the 2-0 home defeat by Blackpool on December 28, Cattermole was ruled out of Sunderland's opening game of 2011, at home to Blackburn, and stand-in David Meyler did a good job as Bruce's team kept another clean sheet in the 3-0 win.

Blackburn are poor on the road, however, and it may pay to focus more on Sunderland's record when Cattermole was absent in 2010. Of the 11 league games he missed, Sunderland lost six and won just three (two of them against relegated teams last season).

That makes Sunderland a team to oppose without Cattermole, especially on the road, where they have lost 10 out of 12 and won just once since the start of last season.

Their next road trip in January is to Blackpool on the 22nd, - and in the circumstances, Bruce may be relieved that they were drawn at home to League One side Notts County in the FA Cup third round.

One of the standout stats during Manchester City's development into genuine title contenders has been their remarkable win-win record in the Half Time/Full Time market.

Since the start of last season, virtually all of City's wins have come that way - 15 of their 18 wins last season and nine of their 12 wins this season. In that period they have never come back to win after trailing at half-time - one of just five teams without a loss-win to their credit.

Since Roberto Mancini took charge, only five of City's 23 league wins have been by any other method apart from win-win, which clearly points the way for backers to go for the better odds on win-win than back them for the straight win.

That stat breaks down into 10 of their 13 home wins under Mancini being win-win and eight of their 10 away wins being win-win.

And for in-play punters, there is a remarkable correlation between the half-time and full-time results in City's matches. Under Mancini, the two outcomes have matched 31 times out of 42.

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