Today’s football and tennis action includes the League Cup in England and Scotland, and the Rogers Cup sees second round tennis action in Canada. As the top seeds make their entry, we will observe to see which of them are in the best form.
We made a good start yesterday when FC Botosani rolled over ACS Poli Timisoara, although Julia Georges and Karen Khavhanov were disappointing misses and the Manchester United gamble did not land.
Remember, a Lucky 15 combines four separate bets into one four-fold accumulator, four trebles, six doubles, and four singles to maximise returns if one or more bets wins.
Here are today’s bets:
- Tennis: Dominika Cibulkova v Lucie Safarova – over 2.5 sets at around 5/4
- Tennis: Anastasija Sevastova to beat Naomi Osaka 2-1 at around 3/1
- Football: Colchester to beat or draw with Aston Villa at around 7/5
- Football: Dundee & Dundee United to draw at around 9/4
Dominika Cibulkova v Lucie Safarova – over 2.5 sets
Although Cibulkova’s ranking is a lot better than Safarova’s, the Czech is making her way back after a long spell out of the game due to illness. She is having a solid year, and we expect this to be a tight match. In fact, Safarova has beaten Cibulkova twice this year already, although she trails the head to head 5-4. Rather than pick the winner, we think this one will need a deciding set so will back over 2.5 sets.
Anastasija Sevastova to beat Naomi Osaka 2-1
Sevastova ought to be too strong for 19-year-old Japanese qualifier Osaka, but she may not find this match-up easy. Despite her age and inexperience, Osaka has recent wins over Barbara Strycova and Lauren Davis – Sevastova’s first round opponent – under her belt. Sevastova needed three sets to progress in her first match, and I think she will be pushed all the way to a decider before prevailing.
Colchester United to beat or draw with Aston Villa
In ordinary circumstances, Championship heavyweights Aston Villa should beat League Two upstarts Colchester United, but the League Cup can often throw up some upsets. Colchester lost just five times in 23 home league games last season, and as Villa will likely make a number of changes to their starting line-up, we think there’s a possibility of an upset here. Take the double chance, or if you are feeling brave, back Colchester to win at 6/1.
Dundee and Dundee United to draw
North of the border, the Scottish League Cup pits the two Tayside clubs together, and after a draw ten days ago, we expect more of the same. The home side is favoured to win through, so we are going to gamble a little by going for a draw. Both teams have scored in the last five Tayside derbies, so we think there’s a good chance they will both do so once again and cancel each other out.