We were successful with two of our four picks in last week’s Lucky 15, so we begin a new week with a small spring in our step as we look for some bets from the football and tennis that is going on at the moment.
This week we have men’s tennis in Atlanta, Gstaad (Switzerland), and Hamburg as players gear up for the US Open by switching from grass to hard or clay courts, and plenty of football being played as well, including pre-season friendlies, European qualifiers, and league matches elsewhere.
Remember, for a Lucky 15, you make four selections and they are combined into 15 bets (one four-fold, four trebles, six doubles and four singles) which gives you more chances to win than if you just went with an accumulator. Here is our first Lucky 15 of the week – all of these matches take place later today.
- Tennis: Bjorn Fratalengo to beat Vasek Pospisil at around 6/4
- Tennis: Peter Gojowczyk v Guido Pella – more than 2.5 sets at around 5/4
- Football: FK Qarabag to beat Sheriff Tiraspol at around 8/15
- Football: Steaua Bucharest to beat Viktoria Plzen at around 11/10
Bjorn Fratalengo to beat Vasek Pospisil
This first-round match in Atlanta pits one of America’s bright young talents against the experience of Canadian Vasek Pospisil, who is the favourite. However, we are opposing the bookmakers on this one because this is Pospisil’s first match since Wimbledon and Fratangelo is coming off a run to the semi-finals in Newport last week. He’s in good form and if he makes a good start, cheered on by his home fans, he could be too much for Pospisil.
Peter Gojowczyk v Guido Pella – more than 2.5 (set betting)
The bookmakers can’t split these two, offering both at 5/6 to win this match in Atlanta. That looks about right to us, as both are close to each other in the rankings and although Pella has had more success during his career, his German opponent reached the semi-finals in Newport last week. Although Pella hasn’t played for a couple of weeks, we expect this to be a tight affair, and think there is some value on offer in taking the 5/4 bet365 are offering for the match to go to a deciding set. Pella is making a return from injury so is managing his schedule carefully, but we feel he has the game to make life difficult for Gojowczyk.
FK Qarabag to beat Sheriff Tiraspol
Two of Europe’s most delightfully named teams meet in the Champions League third qualifying round. Joking aside, Azerbaijan’s champions Qarabag have proved a difficult nut to crack for much better teams than Tiraspol, who have never made it to the group stages. Although they dominate Moldovan football, they were less than convincing when beating Albanian side Kukesi 3-1 on aggregate; Qarabag eased past Georgia’s Samtredia 6-0 and should be favoured at home to build a tie-winning advantage tonight.
FCSB to beat Viktoria Plzen
Those of us old enough can remember when FCSB (then known as Steaua Bucharest) won the European Cup when they beat Barcelona in 1986. These days, however, they are a shadow of that great side – but ought to see off their Czech opponents tonight. While FCSB have already started their league season with a couple of wins, Plzen have prepared with friendly defeats to Watford and Wolves. If that doesn’t inspire confidence in betting on the Romanians, consider also that Plzen have five – yes, five – key players unavailable due to injury.