Monte's Multiple / Jaymes Monte / 14 April 2009 /

We've hit and twisted our way to 21 and now this week the dealer must pay-out......

Bet 1: Football - Champions League

Two legged football matches are beasts that should always be approached with caution in the betting world. There are often too many permutations which can allow a team to progress. However the message will be clear in the Manchester United players' heads, they will be going out onto the field with a must win mentality, that much is for certain.

A lot has been made of Man Utd's defensive frailties in recent weeks and rightly so. However, the expected return of Rio Ferdinand to the starting line-up alongside Nemanja Vidic and familiar full backs Gary Neville and Patrice Evra will bring more solidity across the back. Alex Ferguson could also afford the luxury of resting Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs at the weekend; both will be key players in the Estadio do Dragao. And with Dimitar Berbatov getting 75 minutes on his return from injury, United will be at full strength for their biggest game of the season so far.

Sir Alex will be allowed to field a much more solid looking line-up for Wednesday night's game and I fancy them to do the business as a result.

Selection: Back Man Utd @ [2.14] to beat FC Porto in 90 minutes.

Bet 2: Cricket - South Africa v Australia

The South Africans have well and truly cemented their place at the top of the ODI rankings with victory over Australia in this five match series.

Since losing the first match the Proteas have been almost faultless in going 3-1 up and establishing an unassailable lead in the series. Dale Steyn and Wayne Parnell have formed a formidable pace attack and they have a world class spinner emerging in the shape of Roelof van der Merwe.

Their batting line-up now looks the deepest and strongest in world cricket. Herschelle Gibbs scored a century in the 4th match, AB de Villiers scored 80 plus in the 3rd and 4th and Mark Boucher is proving very reliable to come in with a 100 plus strike rate further down the order. They will take some beating against any side in world cricket at present.

Friday's game will be a 'dead rubber' match as such but given the manner in which the South Africans have dominated the series, it surprises me to still see them available at around the [1.8] mark to make it a 4-1 series victory. On a ground where Australia have failed to beat South Africa in an ODI since 1997, I expect the home side to complete the rout.

Selection: Back South Africa @ [1.8] to beat Australia in the 5th ODI.

Bet 3: Darts - Premier League

Wayne Mardle was forced to withdraw from last Thursday's Premier League with a 'virus' and ruined our chance to capitalise on his poor run of form. With over a week away from the limelight he will have had chance to work on his new throwing technique and I would advise staying clear of his matches this week. It may well turn out that he returns in just as poor form as a couple of weeks ago, but at the odds on offer it's not worth the risk of a step into the unknown.

James Wade's victory last week put him in pole position to book a semi-final spot along with Phil Taylor, meaning realistically there are now only two places up for grabs.
With three points separating Mervyn King, John Part and Raymond van Barneveld it would appear that the final two positions will go to two of the above three. However, whisper it quietly when Terry Jenkins is around, he will still fancy himself to have half a chance.

This all leads to the biggest game of the night undoubtedly being the match between 'The King' and 'Barney'. Barney needs a win to move back in to fourth spot and keep his Premier League dream alive and I fancy him to do that. He comfortably beat King 8-3 last time out and although he lost 8-5 to James Wade last week, he did so with a 98.6 average and was far from disgraced. On the other hand King was completely out of sorts, posting an average of just 87.4 and checkout percentage of just 29%.

Selection: Back van Barneveld @ [1.8] to beat Mervyn King.

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