BARCELONA v RACING SANTANDER
Football : Spain : Primera
Saturday 22nd January 2011

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After a hopefully satisfying Saturday afternoon of English football punting we will be off to the Camp Nou for the sublime skills of the best team in the world.

The defeat at Betis in the Copa Del Rey may well have brought an unfortunate end to Barcelonas incredible run of matches without defeat, but it is unlikely that Pep Guardiola will be losing any sleep over it.

The Copa Del Rey is not a competition Barcelona in which Barca have excelled in recent years, and we can overlook this blip in favour of the Catalans imperious league form: 13 league wins in a row, averaging 2.8 goals a game.

So whose turn is it for a football lesson this week? Ah, Racing Santander. Away record: W0 D3 L7. 1 win in 8 matches. Oh dear.

Lets not beat around the bush, Barca are going to win this easily. Racing may have got a draw at the Nou Camp a few years ago but it isnt going to happen again this weekend.

The perennial problem of course is how we get a decent price about a Barcelona win. The handicap line is set at -3, which is ridiculous even for a team of Barcas effortless superiority. The goals markets are sewn up too, with an astonishing 1.25 on offer for over 2.5 goals.

So once again we move our attention to the goalscorer markets. We had a nice little run going on Messi to score first at 3/1, but the prices and frequency of that bet have both contracted and it is no longer an attractive option.

Messi is 1/2 on to score anytime, as is David Villa. One and probably both will come in, but neither are a price for the working man.

Then we come to Pedro. Ah, little Pedro. No one talks about him, no one really rates him, yet hes won more medals in this short career than some big names have managed in their whole careers. He plays for the best club and international sides in the world.

But more importantly, he has scored 10 goals in 19 games this season, and has scored in 10 of his last 12 matches. And Victor Chandler have thought fit to price him up at odds against to score anytime against Santander.

Santander, who conceded 6 against Madrid, 4 against Malaga, and even 3 against Levante for heavens sake.

Strikers are a streaky bunch who like playing at home. Pedro is in form, was rested in midweek, and scored last time out. With Racing concentrating on not being humiliated by Messi and Villa, expect them to take their chances with Pedro.

This will give him every chance to extend his impressive scoring streak at a tasty price.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Barcelona 3 Racing 0

PERCENTAGE ESTIMATE :

Barcelona 80% - Draw 15% - Santander 5%

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Pedro to score anytime at 2.15 (victorchandler)