Diary of a Punter: Manchester United to get the better of Liverpool on Sunday

A mixed week returned a small loss, but with a mouthwatering domestic calendar in store this weekend there is plenty of punting to be done.

Do not forget to enter this week’s £20 free bet competiton. Email your best weekend tip (games taking place between 22nd and 24th September) and the price to betting@goal.com and include “WinPower” in the subject title.


We had plenty of entries this week and the winner picked out a great treble consisting of wins for Fiorentina, Inter and Sampdoria at 10/1. Entry is open until midday on Saturday, so get your entry in to be in with a chance of winning.

Manchester United (Draw no Bet) v Liverpool at 10/11

I did think Liverpool were a little unlucky against Sunderland on Saturday, but their problems in the final third remain. The Reds are yet to register a win in the Premier League and the longer that run continues the more pressure will build.

After a midweek Europa League game it will be interesting to see how the side adjust against top class opposition, albeit Rodgers did take the opportunity to rotate a lot of his first team in the 5-3 win over Young Boys.

The visitors recorded a hard-fought win against Galatasaray in midweek and have recovered well after their opening defeat to Everton.

Shinji Kagawa looks a real gem and his ability to create chances for the forwards will serve United well in their attempt to wrestle the Premier League title from Manchester City.

Liverpool still seem to have significant problems at both ends of the pitch on the evidence of the season so far, Fabio Borini and Luis Suarez have not been firing as some expected and coupled their inability to stop teams scoring at the other end, Rodgers looks to have a serious challenge on his hands.

Despite Liverpool often raising their game against the better teams in the Premier League, I have still not seen anything from them to suggest they will be able to beat Manchester United and so taking the Draw no Bet option allows a safety net and still offers a decent price about an away win. £20 on that one for me at 10/11 (1.91).

Don’t forget Paddy Power’s superb money back offer: If the game ends in a draw, they’ll refund losing bets on first and last goalscorer, correct score and scorecast markets.

Fleetwood to beat Bristol Rovers at 13/10

I fully expected to see Fleetwood at around even money for this fixture, but they took a bit of a hammering against Port Vale in midweek and I think that has pushed the price out to a more backable one when you look at how the two teams have fared this season so far.

Bristol Rovers have been really poor since the new campaign begun, Mark McGhee’s arrival part way through last season did see them improve their results, but three points from six games says it all.

Their home form in all competitions reads, lost three, drawn one, won none, so Fleetwood will know there is little to fear from a trip to the Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

Mickey Mellon’s side were expected to be up around the promotion places after winning the Conference last season and on the whole they’ve acquitted themselves pretty well.

Mellon has built a squad which is a very good one at this level, with the likes of Jon Parkin dropping down from the Championship to play for Fleetwood. Two away wins at Morecambe and Burton – both to nil – showed what they are capable of and I will take them to inflict more pain on Rovers at 13/10 (2.30) .

Diary of a Punter: Jim’s Selections this week

Balance at the start of the week: £501.80
Profit for the season: £1.80


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Jim Knight is Betting Editor at Goal.com and has been tipping football games since he was old enough to place a bet. He is a Leicester City fan, writer and member of the We Are Going Up Podcast

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