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Coventry v West Ham

They may be second, but West Ham are still proving a little bit hard to predict. They managed to sandwich a goalless draw at home to struggling Bristol City between a couple of good wins over Leicester and Hull, and for a team with clear outright promotion aspirations, they still haven't managed three victories in a row. However, they are proving very handy away from Upton Park. Five wins out of eight and only four goals conceded: their 2-0 win at Hull showing a clear ability to absorb pressure and then take their chances. They have played four away games so far against bottom-half teams, taking 10 points and scoring nine times while conceding just once.

The Hammers obviously know how to put away the poorer teams, and that makes them a tempting proposition against Coventry, who have not been any higher than 18th so far this season. They have lost three of their last four, including both their last two at the Ricoh Arena.

Back West Ham @ 1.82


Watford v Portsmouth

Despite seeing off Nottingham Forest (and former boss Steve Cotterill) last time out, that was at home: and Portsmouth are a very different team on the road. Their eight away games so far have delivered just two draws and six defeats, and they have failed to score in five of those matches. Pompey had a real problem when visiting struggling sides last season: they lost eight of the 11 games when away to bottom-half sides. Watford were beaten at Middlesbrough before the international break but had preceded that with back-to-back home wins, making it three wins in their last four at Vicarage Road.

Back Watford @ 2.42


Reading v Cardiff

There's still a long way to go this season, but Reading look like they will need another excellent run in the second half of the campaign if they are to be involved in the play-offs again. The Royals were 14th in mid-December last term but a burst of nine wins in 10 games from February to April helped carry them to fifth in May. They have struggled for consistency this season: just one win in their last five, but also only a single defeat. Draws have been the main outcome for Brian McDermott's side, with six in their opening 16 games and four in eight at home. Indeed they have hosted three top-10 sides at the Madejski and drawn the lot: throw in a stalemate at Palace, and all four of their games against top-10 sides have ended all square.

Cardiff have also drawn six league games so far, and four of them have been in away fixtures. They have won only one of their last seven on the road, and may well be happy with a point here.

Back The Draw @ 3.4

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