Friday Football Tips: All quiet on the cards front

Going low on cards is the angle for Friday night's game in La Liga - one you can watch via the Betfair Live Video service.

The reason is we've got the Spanish top flight's most lenient referee, at least in terms of cards, in charge.

Javier Alberola Rojas has shown just 3.18 yellows per game so far this season which is more than half a card less than any of the 19 other officials. The league average is 4.82.

And anyone concerned about a small data sample shouldn't be - Alberola Rojas averaged 3.15 yellows per game across the whole of last season.

Six of his 11 league games in the current campaign have produced under 40 booking points, something which can be backed at 5/4 here.

That's worth considering but there another's angle I like which produces a much bigger price and that's to back under 10 booking points (basically no cards) in the first half at 11/4.

That's occurred in five of this referee's 11 matches this season, including Betis' game at Atletico Madrid, a contest which saw no cards shown at all. He has yet to take charge of Espanyol this term.

Of course, the teams also have plenty to do with the number of cards dished out but in terms of this bet things look pretty good.

Look at the table for yellow cards received and you'll find both sides in the bottom half.

Admittedly the pair have seven red cards between them but those are always much more likely to come after the break.

With this referee in charge, 11/4 about a quiet first period looks too big and worth a try.

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