Monte's Multiple / Jaymes Monte / 02 December 2008 /

A slightly overweight man once sang "...two out of three aint bad..." Whilst I'd agree with him - it isn't bad - he obviously wasn't looking at his betting slip after placing a treble when singing this song.

For the third week in a row we have recorded two wins out of three, England failed to turn around their abysmal form in India, but Anorthosis hung on for a Champions League stalemate and Stephen Hendry got the draw he needed to progress to the semi-finals of the Premier League snooker.

This week there is a severe lack of sporting action away from football, so I have combined three football selections for my multiple.

Bet One: Football - Carling Cup

A couple of weeks ago, following Arsenal's impressive 2-1 victory over Man Utd their youngsters played Wigan in a midweek League cup tie. This week, following another impressive 2-1 victory over Chelsea, they go to Burnley for a midweek League cup tie.

Wigan were duly demolished in the last round but a trip to Burnley's Turf Moor provides a completely different proposition for the Arsenal youngsters. Burnley saw off a relatively strong Chelsea side which included Didier Drogba and Deco in the last round, even after going a goal behind. They will not allow Arsenal to have the room and space to pass the ball around as Wigan sometimes did.

And with sleet and rain forecast for the region, conditions will be less than ideal for the smooth passing game of the youngsters, at a Turf Moor which may not be up to the high standards the players will be used to.

Burnley have not lost a home game since their first of the season and go into this fixture on the back of a 3-0 win against Derby on Saturday. They were 3-0 up inside 23 minutes in that game and could afford to take their foot off the gas in the second half, allowing them to conserve energy for Tuesday night. A point which Burnley manager, Owen Coyle alluded to in his post match press conference.

The price on Arsenal to win this fixture looks way too short to me and for that reason my first selection is to take them on.

Selection: Lay Arsenal (to beat Burnley) @ [1.98].

Bet Two: Football - UEFA Cup

Mark Hughes went into the Manchester derby hoping to show his billionaire bosses how far his team had come; in fact all it did was show how far they still have to go. Where they are right now is a team that, when they hit their note, are capable of playing some mouth-watering football, usually revolving around Robinho. Conversely, when they don't get time in possession of the ball, as was the case against Man Utd, they struggle to impose anything on the game.

However, they are a team going in the right direction. As they showed in Schalke last week City are capable of going to some of the toughest grounds in Europe and getting a positive result. That 2-0 victory without Robinho put them top of their group with six points and means that if they can get a victory against PSG this week they will be virtually guaranteed top spot with a game to spare.

PSG travel to Eastlands with only one point on the board from their two games so far in the UEFA cup. It means that anything less than a victory against Man City will see them all but out of the competition. For that reason they will have to come and attack. This will play into the hands of City who can be lethal on the counter attack particularly with Robinho and Shaun Wright-Phillips running at defences. City's home form is what has kept them afloat in the league this season, winning all but one of their home games against teams outside the top three in the Premier League, whereas PSG have won three of their nine Ligue 1 away games this season.

With Robinho and home advantage added to a team that comfortably beat Schalke last week and the incentive of finishing top of the group which will see them avoid the teams knocked out of the Champions League in the next round, the [1.75] on offer looks great value.

Selection: Back Man City (to beat PSG) @ [1.75].

Bet Three: Football - UEFA Cup
It was three years ago this week that Harry Redknapp walked out on a beleaguered Southampton to return to Portsmouth and it is now five weeks since he walked out on Portsmouth to head north and take charge of Spurs. In those five weeks Spurs have had a well-documented change in fortunes, what has received less attention is the good job Tony Adams has done in picking up the pieces at Pompey.

Following an initial shaky start at the helm, Portsmouth are now unbeaten in five games, including a draw against AC Milan in a game where they outplayed the seven-time European champions for 75 minutes until Ronaldinho's introduction. However, they have been shipping way too many goals - six in their last three games - something Thursday's opponents will be unforgiving for. Wolfsburg have scored 21 goals and conceded just five in their seven home Bundesliga games this season, winning six and drawing just 1. They have also won both their UEFA cup games thus far, beating Heerenveen 5-1 at home in their opening group match.

For all Adams is starting to show that he is no mug on the sidelines, his managerial inexperience was highlighted in the game against AC Milan in failing to hold on to that 2-0 lead. After pitting his wits against one of Italy's most decorated coaches, he comes up against one of Germany's most respected in the former Bayern Munich coach Felix Magath.

Magath's European managerial experience and Wolfsburg's near perfect home record this season suggests only one outcome. I expect there to be a goals in this game and anything around the [1.92] on offer for Wolfsburg looks like great value for them to win and consequently put Portsmouth out of the tournament.

Selection: Back Wolfsburg (to beat Portsmouth) @ [1.92].

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