Alright then boys and girls, the summer’s over and we have a brand spanking, shiny new football season ahead of us. Of course, that means the return of the Coupon Busters team, with their bookie bashing accumulator bets!
This weekend sees the return of the Premier League big boys, which signals the start of the new campaign to the world’s armchair supporters, but those more clued up members of football fan-dom (like us) know that the season began in earnest last Friday, when Hull played Blackpool in the Championship.
With so little form to go on, so many new signings still bedding in and a whole host of other unknown variables, it makes sense to stick to what we know for certain, so for this weekend at least, the Premier League will simply be something to sit back and watch for the Coupon Busters team, while we focus our betting activity on the lower football leagues. We won’t be recommending that you splash out on an expensive accumulator bet this weekend either. Good things come to those who wait.
One last thing before we get stuck into this weekend’s “Classic” accumulator recommendation. Since we launched the Coupon Busters football accumulator betting blog last season, the team has made a total of 37 recommendations. If you’d followed us to the letter, you’d have made a profit of £111.87. Hopefully, now that we’ve ironed out a few creases, we can take our accumulator tipping to the next level for the new football season and with any luck, you’ll be cashing in too. All part of the Coupon Busters service.
So, to this weekend’s “Classic” football accumulator bet:
1 – Doncaster Rovers vs West Ham United
West Ham were well and truly robbed on Saturday against Cardiff, as they were good for at least a point, only to be denied by a late Kenny Miller strike. Admittedly, Worzel Gummidge lookalike Rob Green should definitely have saved it, but then Nolan should definitely have scored that glanced header from all of two yards out.
Doncaster, for all their neat and tidy football, have always lacked a goalscorer. Billy Sharp joined last season and Doncaster looked like a different outfit, but both he and James Hayter were stretchered off against Brighton on Saturday, in a match that saw Brighton nick a 98th minute winner. Ryan Mason also picked up a knock that day and Rovers look seriously short up front.
West Ham will not be so tame in front of goal this weekend and with Rovers looking bare up front, one goal will almost certainly suffice for the Hammers. West Ham look like absolute certainties for your weekend accumulator bets, so fill your boots at a best price of 1.91 (widely available).
2 – Portsmouth vs Brighton
Pundits are writing Portsmouth off left, right and centre but the Coupon Busters team don’t buy into this theory. Sure, money is still tight but the club are definitely moving forward after a wretched few seasons under a host of dodgy owners. And when you look at the core of what is admittedly a small squad, there’s some real talent there, at Championship level at least.
Luke Varney is an excellent addition, while Kitson, Norris, Lawrence, Halford and Mullins are all top quality players for this level of football. Brighton aren’t a bad side, don’t get us wrong, but we’re not convinced yet that they’re the next team to ride a wave of confidence to successive promotions, despite Gus Poyet’s “play the game the right way” tag.
Neat and tidy football doesn’t always cut it in this division and when you look through the squad, you wonder if the Seagulls have both the extra class and the experience at this level required to even stay up, let alone finish mid table. A new stadium is not enough, you need ability on the pitch and Brighton were very lucky indeed to get off to a winning start in the new Amex Stadium against Doncaster (who we think could go down) last weekend, courtesy of a seemingly infinite amount of stoppage time, due to the injuries that ripped Doncaster apart.
Portsmouth just look too big at a best price of 2.50 (with Victor Chandler ) and they’re definitely going into our “Classic” accumulator.
3 – Sheffield United vs Brentford
The Blades had a woeful relegation season last time out and the negativity felt at Bramall Lane spilled over into car park protests this summer, as the United board appointed a Sheffield Wednesday legend as the new boss. The feelgood factor is returning to the Lane though, helped along by a comfortable 2-0 win away at Oldham on the opening day and a battling display away to Hartlepool in the League Cup, on a night that saw sides like Hull, Derby and Portsmouth humbled by lower league opposition.
Stephen Quinn has carried a good pre-season into the new campaign, with two assists and a goal to his name already. He is a key component in a side that really lacked creativity last season and is likely to be the difference if he can maintain that kind of performance level.
Brentford (11th last term) just don’t have anyone of Quinn’s class. New manager Uwe Rösler got off to a winning start by beating Yeovil (14th last season) at home, but they were humbled in midweek by League Two strugglers Hereford and we simply cannot believe that United are odds against for what will be their first home game of the campaign. The Blades will be keen to show their fans that they are serious about a promotion push and we are serious about including them in this weekend’s accumulator bet (best price 2.10, Victor Chandler & Totesport).
As we said in the introduction to this weekend’s recommended accumulator bet, it’s still very early in the season so we’re not going to be doing anything crazy and because of that, we’re keeping it to a treble this week. £10 with Victor Chandler still returns three figures though - £100.28 to be exact – which would be a healthy start to the Coupon Busters season.
Whatever you bet on this weekend, good luck!
Classic Accumulator – Saturday 13th August 2011
Donaster Rovers vs West Ham United – WEST HAM UNITED @ 1.91
Portsmouth vs Brighton – PORTSMOUTH @ 2.50
Sheffield United vs Brentford – SHEFFIELD UNITED @ 2.10
BET ON THIS ACCUMULATOR NOW WITH VICTOR CHANDLER
ACCUMULATOR PRICE: 10.03
£10 RETURNS: £100.28