Monte's Multiple: A trio of Premier League selections

Monte's Multiple / Jaymes Monte / 13 April 2010 / Leave a Comment

Bangalore can return to winning ways against Rajasthan this week.

Back Wigan to beat Portsmouth @ 1.6
Back Whitlock to beat van Barneveld @ 2.5
Back Bangalore to beat Rajasthan @ 1.85
Treble pays @ 7.4

Jaymes Monte combines Premier League darts, Premier League football and Indian Premier League cricket for this week's midweek multiple...

Bet 1: Football - Premier League

Portsmouth put their troubles to one side and secured a second FA Cup final appearance in the space of three years at the weekend. Now they must return to the harsh realities of league football with a trip to Wigan's DW Stadium this Wednesday.

One of the reasons for Pompey's impressive FA Cup run is the fact that they have been able to switch off completely in recent Premier League games. A combination of reasons has meant that they are unable to field a settled side and although they are certainly playing with pride they also lack direction and purpose.

Wigan on the other hand have an abundance of purpose. West Ham's victory over Sunderland at the weekend moved Wigan into the perilous position of fourth bottom which means that this is now a must win game for The Latics. At odds of [1.6] Wigan are this week's opening selection to comply with their needs.

Selection: Back Wigan to beat Portsmouth @ [1.6]

Bet 2: Darts - Premier League

Terry Jenkins and Raymond van Barneveld are now cast adrift at the bottom of the Premier League table and Phil Taylor has top spot secured, but the remaining five players are separated by just two points and three semi-final places remain very much up for grabs.

Simon Whitlock is hitting a streak of form at just the right time and will face van Barneveld this Thursday after winning his first PDC ranking title at the weekend. Barney couldn't raise his game enough to beat Adrian Lewis last week despite a partisan Glaswegian crowd doing their utmost to help him overcome his mental daemons. If that level of support wasn't enough to lift the Dutchman then I doubt that anything can at present.

Barney's decline may not be terminal but his chances of reaching the semi-finals of the Premier League this year are diminishing rapidly. The Aussie all but sealed Jenkins' fate last week and he can do the same against van Barneveld this week.

Selection: Back Whitlock to beat van Barneveld @ [2.5]

Bet 3: Cricket - Indian Premier League

Rajasthan Royals made a good old mess of a solid start to their last fixture against the Mumbai Indians. Fifty-nine runs off the last four overs allowed Mumbai to post a moderately high total of 174 for the Royals to chase down. But the calamities didn't end when their batsmen took to the crease as three run outs put paid to any chance of chasing down the total and moving onto 14 points in the league table.

Now they face Royal Challengers Bangalore who are locked on the same 12 points in the increasingly congested middle third of the league table. Bangalore also had a calamitous batting collapse in their last fixture against Deccan Chargers - eight of their batsmen failed to notch double figures as they fell from 74-1 to 110-6.

Bangalore have the luxury of being able to recall Kevin Pietersen to their side and combined with the good form that Robin Uthappa, Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn continue to show could be just enough to turn the tide for them here. Their abundance of match winners means that I am more forgiving of Bangalore than Rajasthan for their latest poor showing.

Selection: Back Bangalore to beat Rajasthan @ [1.85]