Feb 19-21st : Leverkusen and Bayern Munich held to draws

A round-up of the top results in Germany's Bundesliga over the weekend.

Werder Bremen 2-2 Bayer Leverkusen

Leverkusen returned to the top of the table with a point in a 2-2 draw with Werder Bremen.

Eren Derdiyok put Leverkusen ahead in the 29th minute but Claudio Pizarro equalised five minutes later. Toni Kroos put Leverkusen back in front in the 57th minute but Per Mertesacker earned Bremen a draw in stoppage time.

The point still extended Leverkusen's unbeaten record to 23 games, equalling the record set by their own coach, Jupp Heynckes, in the 1988/89 season with Bayern.

Nurnberg 1-1 Bayern Munich

Bayern went temporarily top of the table despite their winning run came to an end with a 1-1 draw at Nurnberg.

Bayern looked set for a 14th consecutive victory in all competitions when Thomas Muller gave them the lead after 38 minutes, but Ilkay Gundogan levelled nine minutes into the second period to hand Nurnberg an impressive point.

Wolfsburg 2-1 Schalke

Wolfsburg dealt a blow to Schalke title hopes with a 2-1 win on Sunday.

Wolfsburg took the lead through Kevin Kuranyi on the half-hour mark.

It stayed that way until 19 minutes from time when Grafite headed the equaliser. And Wolfsburg wrapped up the win six minutes later as the striker grabbed his second.

Hamburg 0-0 Entract Frankfurt

Hamburg failed to follow up their Europa League victory over PSV Eindhoven with another win in the Bundesliga as they maintained their unwanted record as Germany's draw specialists, being held 0-0 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt.

The swift return to action following Thursday's win against the Dutch giants was clearly not to Hamburg's suiting as they failed to find a goal and had to settle for a 10th draw in 23 German league outings this season.

Borussia Dortmund 4-1 Hannover

Borussia Dortmund ended a three-match losing streak with a comfortable 4-1 win at home to Hannover.

Neven Subotic scored a late first-half opener before an own goal and Nelson Haedo Valdez's strike made it 3-0. Arouna Kone pulled one back late on before Kevin Grosskreutz completed the rout.

German Bundesliga Top Six Standings

Team              Pl  W  D L Fr Ag Pts 
Bayer Leverkusen  23 13 10 0 50:20  49 
Bayern Munich     23 14  7 2 49:20  49 
Schalke 04        23 13  6 4 34:17  45 
Hamburg           23 10 10 3 43:25  40 
Borussia Dortmund 23 11  6 6 35:30  39 
Werder Bremen     23  9  8 6 46:28  35 

Stumble It!

Feb 12th-14th : Leverkusen lead Munich by +1 goal difference

A round-up of the weekend's football in Germany.

Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Wolfsburg

Leaders Bayer Leverkusen were made to sweat against Wolfsburg before securing a 2-1 win at the BayArena.

Stefan Reinartz put the home team ahead in the 48th minute before an own goal from the luckless Andre Lenz doubled their advantage in the 68th minute.

A goal from Edin Dzeko 10 minutes from time had Leverkusen panicking, but they managed to hold on.

Bayern Munich 3-1 Borussia Dortmund

Bayern Munich moved back level with Leverkusen at the top of the Bundesliga and improved their goal difference in the process with a solid 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund.

Mohamed Zidan put the visitors ahead in the fifth minute but Mark van Bommel equalised midway through the opening period.

Arjen Robben put Bayern ahead five minutes into the second half before Mario Gomez's goal ensured there is now only one goal between the leaders Leverkusen and Bayern at the top of the table.

Schalke 2-0 Cologne

Schalke moved to within three points of the top of the Bundesliga with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Cologne at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen.

Goals from Joel Matip and Jefferson Farfan secured the win as the Royal Blues prepare for a run of winnable fixtures that could decide their fate in the title chase with games against Wolfsburg, Borussia Dortmund, Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich on the horizon.

Stuttgart 1-3 Hamburg

Ruud van Nistelrooy scored his first goals for Hamburg to inspire his new club to a 3-1 win at in-form Stuttgart.

The veteran Holland striker joined the club from Real Madrid last month and, in only his second appearance, proved his quality as he stepped off the bench to score a match-winning double.

Marcus Berg had opened the scoring for the visitors after 23 minutes before Christian Trasch equalised 10 minutes after half-time.

Van Nistelrooy, who was given a brief debut in Hamburg's 3-3 draw with Cologne last week, was introduced in the 65th minute and 10 minutes later he was on target to open his account before firing in a second two minutes after that to ensure the win.

German Bundesliga Top Six Standings

Team              Pl  W D L Fr Ag Pts 
Bayer Leverkusen  22 13-9-0 48:18  48 
Bayern Munich     22 14-6-2 48:19  48 
Schalke 04        22 13-6-3 33:15  45 
Hamburg SV        22 10-9-3 43:25  39 
Borussia Dortmund 22 10-6-6 31:29  36 
Werder Bremen     22  9-7-6 44:26  34 

Stumble It!

Feb 6-7th : Bayern Munich grab share of lead in Bundesliga

Bayern Munich moved level on points with leaders Bayer Leverkusen thanks to an impressive 3-1 victory at Wolfsburg.

Wolfsburg 1-3 Bayern Munich

Arjen Robben put Bayern ahead in the second minute and Daniel van Buyten added a second before the break.

The visitors were three up just before the hour when the ball ended up in the home net after Andrea Barzagli attempted to clear under pressure from substitute Franck Ribery.

Grafite missed a penalty but grabbed a late consolation for the struggling champions in the last minute.

Bochum 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen

Leverkusen saw their two-point advantage at the summit evaporate as their four-game winning streak ended with a 1-1 draw at Bochum.

Leverkusen went ahead in the 45th minute through Eren Derdiyok, who collected a pass from Stefan Kiessling on the left, turned and struck into the bottom-left corner.

But Bochum equalised in the 68th minute when Lewis Holtby found Zlatko Dedic, who poked the ball past the out-charging goalkeeper.

Freiburg 0-0 Schalke

Schalke twice hit the woodwork and had a goal cruelly disallowed in a 0-0 draw at Freiburg as they missed a chance to gain meaningful ground on leaders Leverkusen.

Kevin Kuranyi hit the post with a header from from eight yards out, although Freiburg hit the goal frame themselves 10 minutes later with Mohamadou Idrissou's header striking the crossbar after a free-kick.

Schalke were robbed of a goal three minutes after the restart as Marcelo Bordon headed off the underside of the crossbar and the ball clearly crossed the goalline, television replays showed.

German Bundesliga Top Eight Teams

Team                Pl  W D L Fr Ag Pts 
Bayer Leverkusen    21 12-9-0 46:17  45 
Bayern Munich       21 13-6-2 45:18  45 
Schalke 04          21 12-6-3 31:15  42 
Hamburg             21  9-9-3 40:24  36 
Borussia Dortmund   21 10-6-5 30:26  36 
Werder Bremen       21  8-7-6 39:25  31 
Eintracht Frankfurt 21  8-7-6 28:29  31 
Mainz               21  8-6-7 25:29  30 

Stumble It!

30-31st Jan : Round-up of Bundesliga Results

Leverkusen are the league's only undefeated team and registered their fourth straight victory to improve to 44 points, giving them a two-point lead over second-placed Bayern Munich.

Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 Freiburg

Bayer Leverkusen scored three goals in four minutes late in the first half as they surged back to the top of the Bundesliga with a 3-1 victory at home over Freiburg.

Stefan Kiessling opened the scoring in the 36th minute and was followed just a minute later by Eren Derdiyok, before Sami Hyypia made it 3-0 after 39 minutes. Felix Bastians cut the deficit to 3-1 in the 66th minute.

Bayern Munich 3-0 Mainz

Bayern Munich claimed a comfortable 3-0 win over Mainz at a wintry Allianz Arena.

After a frustrating first half, Bayern finally went ahead in the 58th minute through Daniel van Buyten. Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben completed the scoring to seal the Bavarians' seventh straight victory.

Schalke 2-0 Hoffenheim

Schalke's fifth home win in a row kept them in the chase for the Bundesliga title and condemned Hoffenheim to their seventh game without a win.

Kevin Kuranyi put Schalke ahead in the 19th minute and Lukas Schmitz sealed the 2-0 win for the Royal Blues early in the second half.

Stuttgart 4-1 Borussia Dortmund

Stuttgart scored three goals in the final 15 minutes to sink Borussia Dortmund 4-1 and continue their climb up the table.

Stuttgart went ahead after 15 minutes after Dortmund defender Felipe Santana's own goal before Lucas Barrios equalised in the 55th minute.

But Zdravko Kuzmanovic made it 2-1 for the hosts with his free-kick in the 77th minute, Ciprian Marica added an 86th-minute third and Christian Trasch netted two minutes later as Stuttgart extended their winning streak to four games.

Hamburg 1-1 Wolfsburg

On Friday, a last-gasp strike by substitute Piotr Trochowski earned Hamburg a 1-1 draw against Wolfsburg to keep them within touching distance of the top four.

The hosts looked to be heading for only their third defeat of the season at their AOL Arena as they trailed to a first-half goal from Edin Dzeko.

But Trochowski struck in the second minute of stoppage time to snatch a draw for Hamburg and move them a point behind fourth-placed Borussia Dortmund.

German Bundesliga Top Six Standings

Team               P W D L  Fr Ag Pts  
Bayer Leverkusen  20 12-8-0 45:16  44 
Bayern Munich     20 12-6-2 42:17  42
Schalke 04        20 12-5-3 31:15  41 
Borussia Dortmund 20 10-6-4 28:23  36 
Hamburg           20  9-8-3 37:21  35 
Werder Bremen     20  7-7-6 37:24  28 

Stumble It!

German Bundesliga Round-up : Leverkusen still on top

Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 Hoffenheim

Bayer Leverkusen stormed back to the top of the Bundesliga with a 3-1 win at Hoffenheim on Sunday.

Leverkusen were ahead after 11 minutes through Sami Hyypia. Toni Kroos (51) and Tranquillo Barnetta (72) added a cushion in the second half.

Werder Bremen 2-3 Bayern Munich

Bayern moved temporarily back to the top of the table by edging a five-goal thriller at Werder to secure their sixth successive win.

Aaron Hunt put Bremen ahead in the 10th minute, but Bayern responded with goals from Thomas Muller and Ivica Olic to deservedly lead at the break.

The Bavarians missed chance after chance and were punished when Hugo Almeida levelled in the 75th minute, but Arjen Robben sealed three points for the visitors three minutes later.

Schalke 2-2 Bochum

Schalke passed up the chance to move top as they conceded two goals in the final eight minutes, including a stoppage-time equaliser, to draw 2-2 at local rivals Bochum.

Vicente Sanchez gave Schalke the lead after just five minutes and Kevin Kuranyi made it 2-0 in the 42nd minute.

But Vahid Hashemian pulled a goal back for Bochum in the 82nd minute - the first goal Felix Magath's side had leaked in five games - and Stanislav Sestak shocked the visitors with the leveller two minutes into added time.

Dortmund 1-0 Hamburg

Borussia Dortmund beat Hamburg 1-0 to climb above their opponents into fourth place. Nelson Valdez scored the only goal of the match in the 36th minute.

German Bundeliga Top Six Standings

Team              Pl  W D L  Fr A  Pts 
Bayer Leverkusen  19 11-8-0  42:15  41 
Bayern Munich     19 11-6-2  39:17  39 
Schalke 04        19 11-5-3  29:15  38 
Borussia Dortmund 19 10-6-3  27:19  36 
Hamburg           19  9-7-3  36:20  34 
Werder Bremen     19  7-7-5  34:20  28

Stumble It!

Leverkusen, Schalke, Bayern Munich and Hamburg all win to maintain status quo

Bayern Leverkusen 4-2 Mainz
Leverkusen recovered from going a goal down to lead 3-1 by the half-hour mark on their way to another home win and retaining their one ponit lead at the top of the Bundesliga.

Tim Hoogland put Mainz into a surprise lead after eight minutes, but Leverkusen hit back with goals from Michal Kadlec (15), Tranquillo Barnetta (19) and Toni Kroos (30).

Niko Bungert pulled one back for Mainz after 67 minutes but Eren Derdiyok settled home nerves with a fourth two minutes from time.

Bayern Munich 2-0 Hoffenheim
Bayern Munich moved to top of the Bundesliga table for a short while after winnig on Friday, notable becasue it was the first time Munich have led since May 2008.

Martin Demichelis slid home the first against Hoffenheim in the 35th minute before Miroslav Klose wrapped up victory four minutes from time to give Bayern Munich their fifth straight league win.

Schalke 1-0 Nurnberg
Kevin Kuranyi's grabbed the match winner early in the second half as Schalke beat Nurnberg 1-0 at home and continue their strong run.

Hamburg 2-0 Freiburg
Hamburg kept pace with the leaders with a solid 2-0 victory at home over Freiburg. Marcell Jansen opened the scoring in the seventh minute and Mladen Petric made it 2-0 after 55 minutes.

German Bundesliga Top Six Standings

Team              P   W D L  Fr Ag Pts 
Bayer Leverkusen  18 10-8-0  39 15  38 
Schalke           18 11-4-3  27 13  37 
Bayern Munich     18 10-6-2  36 15  36 
Hamburg           18  9-7-2  36 19  34 
Borussia Dortmund 18  9-6-3  26 19  33 
Werder Bremen     18  7-7-4  32 17  28

Stumble It!

Round 14 : Village side Hoffenheim stand top of the Bundesliga

Hoffenheim went three points clear at the top of the German Bundesliga with a 3-1 win at Cologne in the Bundesliga on Saturday afternoon.

Hoffenheim, the village team with multi-millionaire backing, went ahead through Demba Ba and clinched victory as Vedad Ibisevic struck his 15th and 16th goals of the season.

It was enough to take them back to the top ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, who suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat away to Arminia Bielefeld.

Bayern Munich beat Energie Cottbus 4-1 helped by another goal from Franck Ribery who scored with a terrific 20 yard free kick making it his sixth league game in a row that he's scored.

Stumble It!

Leverkusen on top of the Bundesliga - but watch out for Bayern !

Bayern Munich moved to within a point of leaders Bayer Leverkusen when Luca Toni and Franck Ribery gave them a 2-1 win at Schalke 04 on Sunday, while Hoffenheim lost 1-0 away to Hertha Berlin.


Toni, back after a rib injury, supplied a cool finish to give Bayern an early lead at one of their least favourite grounds.

Schalke were level almost immediately through Jefferson Farfan but Ribery, a different class to everyone else, scored his fourth goal in four league games to earn the champions a fifth successive league win.

Hoffenheim have surprised everyone this season but the wealthy village team slipped up on Sunday as their five-match winning run came to an end at the Olympiastadion losing 0-1 to Hertha Berlin.

The much-vaunted trio of forwards Vedad Ibisevic, Demba Ba and Chinedu Obasi had a collective off-day and Hertha nicked a win when Andriy Voronin beat the offside trap and scored with 20 minutes to go.

Leverkusen moved top the top of the table on goal difference following their 3-3 draw away to Karlsruhe on Saturday.

Leverkusen and Hoffenheim each have 25 points from 12 matches, with Bayern third on 24.

Stumble It!

Video highlights of the weekend games

Just in case you missed some of the goals over the weekend, we've complied a set of links to some of the most interesting games and results.

There are quick text summaries and also 3-4 minutes of video highlights for each of the following games.

Chelsea 1-1 Manchester Utd : Video of goals

Hull City 2-2 Everton : Video Coverage

Manchester City 6-0 Portsmouth : Video Coverage

Liverpool 0-0 Stoke City : Video coverage

Bayern Munich 2-5 Werder Bremen : Video highlights

Sunderland 2-0 Middlesbrough : Video coverage

Bolton 1-3 Arsenal : Video highlights

Stumble It!

Euro 2008 : Spain beat Germany 1-0 in final

Spain have been crowned European champions for the second time as Fernando Torres's first-half goal in Vienna proved enough to defeat Germany in the final of UEFA EURO 2008.

After a strong start from Germany, Spain were the more dangerous side throughout an somewhat uninspiring final at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion and it took just one goal - in the 33rd minute, courtesy of Torres's pace, perseverance and an unerring finish - to end their long wait.

Xavi was the architect, playing a pass in behind the Germany defence towards Torres, who outmuscled a hesitant Philipp Lahm and clipped the ball over the diving Jens Lehmann and just inside the far post.

Spain had more openings in the early stages of the second half, Lehmann getting a touch to Xavi's low shot before Ramos nearly flicked in Silva's drive from the resulting corner.

Yet Germany still posed a threat, and at the hour mark substitute Marcell Jansen and Bastian Schweinsteiger combining for Ballack to shoot centimetres wide.

Klose then deflected a Schweinsteiger effort past the post and in response to Germany's renewed menace Spain coach Luis Aragones promptly introduced Xabi Alonso and Santi Cazorla in place of Fabregas and Silva.

The switches reinvigorated Spain instantly, Lehmann making sharp stops from Ramos and Iniesta while Torsten Frings blocked another Iniesta effort on the line.

Spain continued to carve out chances as the match reached its conclusion, Marcos Senna narrowly failing to apply the finishing touch to an unselfish header from substitute Daniel Guiza – but the celebrations really started for Spain at the final whistle.

---

SPAIN (1) 1
Torres 33

beat

GERMANY (0) 0

Stumble It!

Ballack to miss Euro 2008 final? Don't bet on it!

According to UEFA.com Michael Ballack is a doubt for Sunday's Euro 2008 final against Spain.

"Germany could go into Sunday's final against Spain without their captain and inspiration Michael Ballack as the midfielder is receiving treatment for a calf injury" the website says.

"Ballack sat out the team's final training session in Tenero on Friday and was also a notable absentee tonight as the team were put through their paces at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion on the eve of the UEFA EURO 2008™ showpiece." it continues.

"The muscles has tightened and we'll have to wait and see how things develop," explained coach Joachim Low. "Our medical people are working around the clock to give him a chance to play."

But do you believe it?

I need to go no further than Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger who has said .. "It's an old Bayern Munich trick!" said the Arsenal manager. "I'm convinced if it's a minor injury he will play - they have very good doctors in Germany!"

Stumble It!

Mad Jens Lehmann on Focus at Bet365

Jens Lehmann has looked far from his best during Euro 2008 and bet365 are betting on the former Arsenal keeper's performance in the final on Sunday.

bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth commented "Wednesday's semi final seemed to be about which ageing keeper could make the most ricks and somehow Lehmann finds himself in the final.

It may not be long before he follows Rustu in hanging up his international gloves."

Jens Lehmann Specials - Euro 2008 Final
-------------------------------------------
7/4 .. Keep a clean sheet
13/2 .. Concede goal from penalty
15/2 .. Get Booked
10/1 .. Give away a penalty
16/1 .. Man of the Match
25/1 .. Save a penalty
33/1 .. Get Sent Off

Stumble It!

Lahm Beats Bookies With Late Winner

bet365 were left rueing Philipp Lahm's late winner for heavily supported Germany on Wednesday night.

bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth said "The quarter finals belonged to the bookies, but the punters are well on top after the first semi ...

They could only see one outcome with all the injuries and suspensions that Turkey had to deal with and in the end they got it spot on – but only just!"

Stumble It!

GBL and ISA Betting Spreadsheet

With the FA Cup on in England this weekend it means that there are only two leagues covered by the "Gooners Numb3rs" (tm) betting spreadsheet.

(League stats are not used to predict cup games - sorry)

Gooners ISA Numb3rs - Italian Serie A
Has 3 likely home winners and one likely away winner. There is also one "value draw" pick - after they returned back to profit last weekend.

Gooners GBL Numb3ers - German Bundesliga
The Bundesliga is proving hard to make a profit on this season - it lost money again last weekend - but the sheet reckons that there are three likely home winners to check out this weekend.

Good luck with your bets.

Stumble It!

Betting Spreadsheet - online for weekend

It's pretty quiet this week so I've taken advantage of the time to get the "Gooners Numb3rs" (tm) betting spreadsheet done.

Gooners EPL Numb3rs - English Premier League
Has 4 likely home wins, and one likely away win (Spurs?!)

It also suggests a "value" draw on Saturday - and some value on taking Chelsea to win at Stamford Bridge against Liverpool on Sunday.

Gooners ISA Numb3rs - Italian Serie A
Has 3 likely home winners and one likely away winner.

There are two more value draw picks - although these are on a 0-4 run - so be a little careful with your stake size,

Gooners GBL Numb3ers - German Bundesliga
The Bundesliga is proving hard to make a profit on this season - but the sheet reckons that there are five likely home winners (at reasonable prices too) and a couple of discover value plays too.

Check it out.

Stumble It!

Germany Banning Internet Gambling ?!

Online gambling will be banned in Germany as of Jan 1st 2008 after German states ratified an accord that preserves the country's state monopoly for lotteries and most forms of betting.

A majority of Germany's 16 states have submitted the ratification documents, Eric Braum, a spokesman for the Hesse government, which monitors the process, said in an interview today.

All 16 state legislatures voted by mid-December to approve the new online-betting laws, which the states negotiated after the Federal Constitutional Court ruled in 2006 that the former model was unconstitutional. The new rules, which expire at the end of 2011, have drawn criticism from Internet betting companies and lottery brokers like Bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, Fluxx AG and Tipp24 AG.

The new rules ban any form of Web-based gambling or brokering of games over the Internet. The states may order Internet service providers to block Web sites of illegal betting operations and banks to stop money transfers to them. The rules definition of illegal gaming includes placing a bet from German territory over the Web with a company based outside Germany.

The regulations also will outlaw advertising of gaming over the Internet and on television. Advertising in print and other media may no longer "directly invite, incite or prompt" customers to play instead it may only "inform" about the possibility to do so.

The European Commission, the European Union's Brussels- based regulator, called on Germany to reconsider the total ban on online betting, saying the step was disproportional.

In the meantime German citizens are going to have to put up with Federal interference in their gambling habits - as the local government seeks to increase their tax take by only allowing local monopolies.

Stumble It!

Weekend Euro Football Spreadsheets up

Just a quick note to check out the forum and find the latest spreadsheets for England, Germany and Italy.

The Sheet --> German Bundesliga 14/15/16 Sept Thread

The Sheet -> Italy Serie A - 15/16 Sep Thread
(with additional picks from BiancoNero)

The Sheet --> English Premier League 15/16/17 Sep Thread

Hope it helps you to think clearly about the games !
;-)

Stumble It!

European Football Sheets online 1/2 Sep

It's been a busy week - but I've finally got all three of my European football prediction spreadsheets up and posted onto the forum.

Direct Links :
The Sheet --> German Bundesliga 1/2 Sep
The Sheet --> Italian Serie A 1/2 Sep
The Sheet --> English Premier League 1/2 Sep

In each of the forum threads I've also tried to outline the "most likely" winners for the weekend - and also the "discovered value' picks that are indicated using a secondary checking method that I am using.

please remember that nothing is certain in football betting - and if you do decide to bet then you acknowledge the personal decisions and risks that you are taking.

(What I'm saying here is don't come whining to me on Monday if these don't happen to win - I've tried as hard as I can to input all the accurate data - but sometimes things just don't go our way!!)

Also remember that this wekend we are trying to raise money for the Greek Wildfire Tragedy and are asking for winning punters to simply donate 5% or 10% of any profits that they make from the spreadsheet picks this weekend to this worthwhile cause.

If there is any Karma then you can be positive in knowing that this decision will bring you good luck - and hopefully great returns.

Good luck everyone - catch you next week - or feel free to post any and all questions on the forum.

Stumble It!

Weekend Football Speadsheets Online

The latest prediction spreadsheets for England, Germany and Italy are online in the Best of the Bets Forum.

Check out the forum for the threads where the sheets are posted along with some pointers on the best betting options and a couple of betting systems.

Direct links :
- The Sheet -> Italy - 25/26 August
- The Sheet-> England 25/26 August
- The Sheet -> German Bundesliga 24/26 August

Stumble It!

Euro 2008 : Germany take a big step to Austria

CZECH REP 1-2 GERMANY

Germany held off a late rally by the Czech Republic to clinch a well-deserved 2-1 win in the battle of the Group D leaders in Prague.

Kevin Kuranyi gave Germany a comfortable 2-0 cushion with two headers in the 42nd and 62nd minutes before a goal from Milan Baros shifted the momentum in the 76th.

Germany scored just before the break after a Frings corner from the left found Kuranyi and he rose highest to acrobatically nod the ball past a puzzled Cech, who reacted too late to prevent the danger.

The Czechs improved after the break, with Jan Koller having an effort blocked and Baros dangerously heading over a right-wing cross from Tomas Ujfalusi. Then Jens Lehmann caught a promising long-distance effort from Arsenal team-mate Tomas Rosicky, and Baros put a header inches past the right post.

But Germany made the Czechs pay in the 62nd minute with a fantastic counter-attack when the rampaging Lahm's pinpoint centre from the left was nodded home by Kuranyi to double the lead.

With 15 minutes left on the clock, Polak hit a 25-yarder which bounced over the line and past Lehmann after it had taken a deadly deflection off Baros' foot.

The Czechs upped the pressure in the last 10 minutes, but Germany prevailed to move three points clear at the top of the pool - but both sides are still well placed to qualify.

Germany 5 games 13 pts, Czech Rep 5-10, Rep. Ireland 6-10, Slovakia 5-9

Stumble It!

Mar 17/18 Weekend Spreadsheets out now

How's your week gone?

Hopefully you didn't blow your betting bank on the Cheltenham festival and you've got some cash left for the weekends football.

I've posted all three weekend sheets (England, Germny and Italy) on the forum in their respective threads now - and it's a bit of a mixed bag this week.

Here's a quick summary by country.

ENGLAND - LIKELY BETS
There are four probable home winners forecast by the spreadsheet in the English Premier League this weekend :
- Chelsea (85%) to beat Sheffield United @ 1.20
- Tottenham (77%) to beat Watford @ 1.50
- Manchester United (76%) to beat Bolton Wanderers @ 1.33
- Blackburn Rovers (66%) to beat West Ham @ 1.75

and there is also a "half" recommendation for :
- Reading (61%) to beat Portsmouth

ENGLAND - VALUE BETS
There are three home sides who look reasonable "value" with Reading, Tottenham, and Blackburn all seen as giving at least 115% value options.

The sheet also thinks that the price of 3.40 for draws in Aston Villa v Liverpool and Everton v Arsenal look bit over-priced.

GERMANY - LIKELY BETS
Nothing appears too liekly on Saturday - but the two Sunday games look to have their chances for the home sides :
- Leverkusen (66%) to beat Monchengladbach @ 1.73
- Werder Bremen (64%) to beat Mainz @ 1.45

GERMANY - VALUE BETS
One option for value seekers may be to oppose Bayern Munich on Saturday - they've lost a lot of road games and Eintracht Frankfurt are priced at a high 5.50 to score a home win.

Elsewhere you could consider taking either Hamburg or Bochum to score suprise away wins at nice prices.

ITALY - LIKELY BETS
Italy provides us with the only "likely" away win of the wekend - and no surprises that it's Inter Milan that is picked - along with two obvious home win choices :
- AC Milan (75%) to beat Atalanta @ 1.36
- Inter Milan (67%) to win at Ascoli @ 1.40
- Lazio (65%) to beat Empoli @ 1.67

Good luck with your punting - feel free to drop by the forum and offer any comments.

Stumble It!

The Sheets - England / Italy / Germany - 3rd/4th Mar

Hello - thanks for checking out the blog today.

Because I'm running a bit behind schedule this weekend we're going to do things a little differently today, as I'm going to discuss each sheet briefly and then point you to the Betting Forum where the sheets are posted and you can join in the discussion.

ENGLISH SHEET. (FORUM LINK - or go DIRECT TO POST )

LIKELY BETS
===========================
Arsenal to beat Reading.
Chelsea to win at Portsmouth.

Of course the sheet knows nothing about injuries to John Terry, or to Thierry Henry, or about upcoming European geames (etc) so you have to apply your own modifiers to those percentage numbers and decide whether it's still worth a play.

VALUE BETS
=================================
An interesting sheet for the weekend with 6 teams raising the GREEN FLAG for value :

Liverpool to beat Manchester Utd
Arsenal to beat Reading
Fulham to beat Aston Villa
Sheff Utd to beat Everton
Portsmouth to beat Chelsea
West Ham to beat Tottenham

Place six singles and if you get three or more winners then you'll be in profit.

ITALIAN SHEET. (FORUM LINK - or go DIRECT TO POST )

LIKELY BETS
=============================
There are three games that most people would pick and all of them appear to be at fair or better value too.

Milan AC to beat Chievo @ 1.40 (Saturday)
Fiorentina to beat Torino @ 1.40
Lazio to beat Sampdoria @ 1.80


GERMAN SHEET. (FORUM LINK - or go DIRECT TO POST )

LIKELY BETS
===================
Only one is recommended by both halves of the sheet with Werder Bremen the obvious choice to beat Bochum - but the price of 1.33 is very poor value.

There are two "half recommendations :
Wolfsburg to beat Mochengladbach at 1.95
Dortmund to beat Cottbus @ 1.65

The first bet is on Saturday and seems to have some value as well

VALUE BETS
=============================
Hertha Berlin to beat Bayern Munich at 3.30 !!
3.30 !! that's a good price.
:-)

Stumble It!

Sunday Cracker Bets

Lets take in a Bundesliga game first up where high flying Stuttgart travel to face Hannover.

VfB Stuttgart have good last 10 form at 6-3-1 and a good away record of 3-2-0 as well, and a win today would move them to the top of the table.

Hannover are bottom of the league, just 0-2-3 at home, but did surprise massively in midweek by winning at Bayern Munich.

So do you think that Hannover are likely to build on that result and win again??!

Bollocks! They are bottom of the table for a reason - and they are far more likely to throw up a shocking result in my opinion.

There is a risk of the draw though - so we will take Bet365's Draw no Bet option at 1.66.

Take Stuttgart for 25 units @ 1.67 (DNB) at SportingOdds

Stumble It!

Sunday's Cracker Selections

A little late today (sorry) but you still should have plenty of time to get these on.

RUGBY INTERNATIONAL.
We will start with the rugby where the bookies are going overboard and offering England with a huge start at nearly even money.

Sure the All Blacks are the best side in the world, but this is NOT the strongest All Black selection (that is being saved for the games against France) and on Saturday Wales showed us that the gap between the hemispheres closes markedly when playing games in Europe.

The All Blacks will probably win - but the Twickenham factor will mean that England keep it close and certinaly well within the 14.5 points we are being offered.

20 Units on England +14.5 pts @ 1.96 @ PinnacleSports

FOOTBALL
There are two very good games in prospect in Germany today - but although the Schalke v Bayern Munich game is undoubtedly the match of the round it too tough for me to comfortably take the home side.

Instead I'll go to Frankfurt where the home side take on Monchengladbach who have an awful 0-0-4 away record. It's a little bit complicated by the fact that Frankfurt played in the UEFA Cup on Thursday though so I'll take the Draw-No-Bet option at 1.57.

20 Units on Frankfurt Draw-No-Bet @ 1.57 @ SportingOdds

I'll also dip into the action in Holland and take Dutch powerhouse side Ajax to ease past Heracles Almelo. Ajax are 9-0-1 this season winning their last six in a row. A slight concern about Heracles artifical pitch. But I'll take that risk.

20 Units on Ajax to win @ 1.44 @ Ladbrokes

Finally to England where there are three possible options.

I'll sidestep the Spurs v Chelsea game - even though Chelsea are 6-2-0 in their last 8 visits to White Hart Lane - because I think that Spurs will have a surprise in store for the Blues this this time.

I'll also avoid Villa v Blackburn too. Blackburn have had a very tough fixture list with games on Sunday (League) , Thursday (UEFA Cup) and Sunday again. Too many injuries and fatigue as well to back the visitors and Aston Villa have gone cold after a good start to the season.

Instead I'll go to Upton Park where Arsenal will face a West Ham side who will have been relieved to finally get a win (over Blackburn) last time.

But for West Ham to get something here they're probably gonig to have to play negatively - and that's just something that West Ham do not do often at home in front of their own fans. The Hammers will try to play good football - and I think that Arsenal will take up the challenge.

20 Units on Arsenal to win @ 1.62 @ PremierBet

So that's it - 4 bets for 80 units in total - and we are going to need three winners to turn a profit today. I think we will get that - and let's hope for our first clean sweep eh?

Stumble It!

Football Betting Crackers (Sat 4 Nov )

Starting bank : 133.5 Units (+33.5)

Remember we have already placed the 40 unit double on
ManYoo and Liverpool - 1.82 @ Interwetten

Additional Saturday crackers :

Werder Bremen v Energie Cottbus
Take 20 units on OVER 2.5 GOALS - 1.50 @ SportingOdds

Auxerre v Le Mans
Take 20 units on Auxerre - 1.90 @ Eurobet

Bolton v Wigan
Take 20 units on Bolton - 1.99 @ Mansion Ex.

Fulham v Everton
Take 20 units on Fulham - 2.80 @ Bet365

I make that a total of 120 units placed - I did warn you that we'd have to be aggressive ... so that leaves us with just 13.5 units in the bank.

We'd better get some payoffs tonight - or it will be a short campaign.

Stumble It!