The Betfair Football £10 Bet of the Day
Day 190: We're backing Heracles to beat Groningen at [1.95]
Whereas several Premier League teams do their utmost to avoid participating in the Europa League, the golden ticket of a place in the competition is so valued in Holland that the clubs ranked fifth to eighth in the Eredivisie compete in play-offs for the honour of participating in next year's edition.
Both semi-final first legs take place this evening and it's the one between Heracles and Groningen that has caught our eye as we chase a third straight Bet of the Day success, with the hosts looking hugely appealing at [1.95] despite finishing three positions and eight points shy of their opponents.
The reason is that the overachievers, who prior to the last two seasons were frequently battling relegation, have comfortably the most momentum of all four Europa League hopefuls after ending the regular campaign with a spectacular run of eight wins in ten.
To put that form into context, they collected eight points more over that period than Dutch giants PSV and the strongest performers of their play-off rivals in the final weeks, Roda JC.
Their home record was the fifth strongest in the entire division and it has been better than ever in recent months, with six victories achieved in their last seven matches as hosts, while Ajax and PSV were the only sides to conquer them in front of their fans. Groningen were 3-0 failures on their visit.
Tonight's game is available for Betfair customers to view live from 7.45pm courtesy of Betfair Live Video, hopefully presenting punters that follow our advice to watch as they win.
Our bet: We're backing Heracles to defeat Groningen at [1.95], meaning that - before factoring in commission - we stand to win £9.50. The same punt pays only £8 with Boylesports. Sign up for a new account now and have your first bet of up to £25 refunded if it loses.
Published: 19 May 2011
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