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Monte's Multiple: Here's hoping Villa make it lucky number 14 for our man

Monte's Multiple RSS / Jaymes Monte / 17 February 2009 /

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Last week got off to a flyer with India winning their Twenty20 match against Sri Lanka. But it came to ground with a bump as I got the Exeter v Macclesfield game completely wrong, the home side won 4-0 and then Wayne Mardle's final leg 160 checkout denied Terry Jenkins a victory.

I've decided to take the Linford Christie approach to Monte's Multiple from here on in. Yep, it's all about Positive Mental Attitude from now on. So here are your three 'winners' for this week.


Bet One: Football - UEFA Cup
Aston Villa were humbled by a very impressive Everton side in the FA Cup on Sunday and at the same time lost their first away game in eight. They play CSKA Moscow in the first leg of their UEFA cup tie on Wednesday. The Russian side have been training in Israel throughout January but due to their domestic season finishing in late November they have only played one competitive game in the last two months.

Although CSKA won all of their group games qualifying with 12 points, I think they will find an in-form Villa side too much for them, due to their lack of match practice. A training camp in warmer climates can only prepare a team to a certain level, and Villa's match fitness should see them take control as the game progresses.

A true test of how good this Villa side are will come from seeing how they respond to set backs and their next game coming so soon gives them the perfect chance to show what they're made of. Martin O'Neill will have them ready for this and they look good value to take a lead into the second leg.
Selection: Back Aston Villa @ [2.0].


Bet Two: Darts - Premier League
Both suggested bets for the Premier League this year have been beaten by the draw and for that reason I hereby vow not to back another player in the league stage of the tournament. I'm sure Barry Hearn and the powers that be have good reasoning for including the draw in this format, but I personally don't see the advantage. The crowd can't get overly enthused by a tie, it often means the underperforming player can snatch an undeserved point and it loses me money - although I'm not sure how concerned they will be about my Betfair balance.

Wayne Mardle saw last week how it is to be Peter Manley or Paul Nicholson as he was booed onto the stage amid a very hostile atmosphere. He claimed in his post-match interview that he was intimidated by the crowd's reaction to him and it clearly affected his performance.

This week he faces Klaasen who suffered from Tayloritis last week. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Tayloritis, this is medically defined as a player who completely bottles it when coming up against Phil 'The Power' Taylor. Had Klaasen been anywhere near the form he has shown in previous months he could have comfortably taken the first few legs of the match and put himself in a great position.

Mardle didn't deserve the point he got last week and I don't fancy him to be so fortunate this week, but to avoid the dreaded draw spoiling us again this week we'll take him on with a Lay.
Selection: Lay Mardle @ [2.9].


Bet Three: Snooker - Welsh Open
We go to the green baize and the Welsh Open to complete the treble this week. It's the penultimate event before the season showpiece, the World Championships and the players will be looking to get a bit of momentum going leading up to it.

There hasn't been a Welsh winner of this tournament since 1999 when Mark Williams lifted the trophy for the second time and for my selection I am looking to take on another native. Matthew Stevens, who was extremely unimpressive in his qualifying match, coming through in a final frame decider against Andy Hicks.

His reward for winning that match is a first round tie against Ding Junhui. I have been impressed with Ding this season, his safety play has improved dramatically and as a result he has started winning some of the more scrappy frames he has been involved in.

In the battle of the dragons I'm going for the man from the Far East to prevail and at [1.6] he looks extremely good value to do so.
Selection: Back Ding Junhui @ [1.6].