Football Friday Night Matches 25th Jan

When I was young and learning to ride a bike I fell off and hurt myself (everybody say aww). The point of this anyway is that the last thing I felt like doing the next day is picking myself up and getting on my bike but my parents insisted. Aston Villa fans and players must feel like this after seeing their Wembley dreams end at the hand of League Two side Bradford. This Friday they must pick themselves and go again another a journey to Wembley. This time around in the FA Cup as they take on Millwall, can the Lions roar to another shock?

Bookmakers seem to think so and have Milwall as short as 6/4 (Blue Sq/Stan James/888 Sport) to come through on Friday night when they play Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round. The Championship side sit ninth in the table and they have a good record at home losing just two of their last 11. That being said I think the price on them to win here is a little short we do not know how the result will affect Villa. It could be the turning point of their season though at this point it is a little difficult to say in which way. I think we will avoid the match markets as 6/4 Millwall does not appeal but then nor does 37/19 (pinnacle) a Villa win or 28/11 (pinnacle) the draw. Instead I would recommend a look at some of the other markets.

The first goalscorer market is headed by Christian Benteke at 5/1 (Coral) though I think it is unlikely that he starts. Darren Bent and Andreas Weimann are likely to get the nods up front and is that later at 8/1 (bet365) who gets my vote.Weimann came off the bench to score for Villa in midweek to make it seven goals in the last nine games for the Austrian and with Lambert having to reshape the side to avoid tiredness I think he should expect to start here after not staring against Bradford. He looks a value 8/1 (bet365) to get the first goal and 12/5 (bet365) in the anytime scorer market.

One other bet I like the look of is the 6/5 (BWin) that the second half is the highest scoring. Having played on Tuesday night it is clear that tiredness will hit at some point for Villa both physically and mentally and this could see the game opening. In addition I don’t think it does any side any favours for this to go to a replay and Paul Lambert is the kind of manager who is not afraid to go three at the back and take the risk on a game as time goes on.

This is not the only game scheduled to take place on Friday night and this presents a great betting opportunity as Cheltenham take on Rochdale in a League Two game. I think the appointment of Keith Hill will be a huge visit for the visitors and the man who lead them to League One before leaving for Barnsley can ride the wave of enthusiasm that has greeted his return with a positive result. It is 3/1 (boylesports/paddy Power/ladbrokes) a Rochdale victory which looks good value against a Cheltenham side with just one win in their last six league games and who have dropped points in two of their last three home games. With this in mind it makes sense to cover the draw. You can get the draw and Rochdale win in the double chance market at 11/13 (BWin) and this looks the best bet on Friday night.

BEST OF THE BETS

GOLD: Draw/Rochdale in double chance market v Cheltenham, 11/13 (BWin)
SILVER: Andreas Weimann to score v Millwall, first 8/1 (bet365), anytime 12/5 (Bet365)
BRONZE: Second half highest scoring in Millwall v Villa, 6/5 (BWin)

Any odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of publishing (25/01/2013) but are subject to change.

25/01/2013     © Frixo 2024