Thursday Football Tips: Spanish bad boys to deal cards

• Segunda Division's dirtiest sides go H2H

• Campana & Adot have good card history

• 17/1 card double worth a punt

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Levante v Ponferradina
Thursday 8 December, 17:30

With World Cup quarter-finals looming, Thursday is the calm before the football world's storm but that's not to say we won't be seeing some feisty action.

In Spain's Segunda Division, the two most-carded teams of the season so far go head to head with Levante hosting Ponferradina.

Throw in a referee - Jon Ander Gonzalez Esteban - who has shown 55 cards in his 10 domestic games and a delve into the player-card market for a big-priced double takes the fancy.

For the hosts, Jose Campana looks a decent bet at 7/2 to receive a card.

During an injury-hit first half of the season, Campana has been carded three times in eight appearances.

I understand that data sample will be too small for many but a look back at last season shows the 29-year-old was carded seven times in 20 games.

Admittedly he didn't start last weekend's win over Malaga but that followed a run of five consecutive starts and manager Javier Calleja spoke on Wednesday about his rotation plan, adding Campana was very much fit to play in this one.

This is probably a good time to mention that if a player doesn't start, you can cash-out any bets in this market prior to kick-off and get your stake back.

As for the visitors, I like right-back Paris Adot, who looks in for a busy night - Levante, who like to attack down the left-hand side, sit fifth in the table and are very much in the promotion hunt.

Adot has been carded in five of his 15 league starts this season and odds of 13/5 make appeal.

Putting the pair together via the Bet Builder tool gives you a price of close to 17/1 which, given the circumstances, looks worth a punt.

The main worry is that the contest won't be competitive enough - Ponferradina are in a relegation battle, although they will have taken some heart from Monday's 2-1 defeat to leaders Burgos in which they dominated possession and out-shot their high-flying opponents.

Still, given the teams' propensity for cards - and the large price - I'm happy to get involved.

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