Monte's Multiple / Jaymes Monte / 09 December 2008 /

Yet another 2 out of 3 last week. Arsenal were beaten by a Burnley side which didn't allow the youngsters any time on the ball, Wolfsburg were the victors in a 5 goal thriller against Portsmouth, but Man City let us down and showed that without Robinho and Wright-Phillips they lack the cutting edge needed to win games. This week's multiple combines Cricket, Football and Pool.

Bet 1: Cricket - India v England

Following a turbulent and uncertain two weeks for the England cricket team, they arrived in Chennai on Monday for the first of the 2 match series against India. The team arrived amid a sea of unprecedented security and were marched straight through the airport and onto the team coaches by armed guards.

Focussing on the cricket, the England team have had far from ideal preparation for this test series having spent the past 10 days in Abu Dhabi . Monty Panesar, Tim Ambrose, Amjad Kahn and Adil Rashid have not played any form of competitive cricket since the end of the County Championships in late September whilst Andrew Strauss has not played since the Twenty-20 games in Stanford.

India have an outstanding home test record of late which reads; Played 14, Won 9, Drawn 4, Lost 1 since February 2000. Their most recent victory coming last month against number 1 ranked side Australia, beating them 2-0 in the 4 match series. Star man of the 5-0, ODI white wash of England, Yuvraj Singh has been recalled to the test squad and should fill the void left by the recently retired Sourav Ganguly in the middle order. Added to a line-up which includes the likes of Gambhir, Dravid, Sehwag and Tendulkar there is strength and depth their beyond anything England could even dream of at this stage.

Whilst neither team have been helped by the situation in Mumbai, the Indians have spent this turbulent time on home soil surrounded by home comforts and will have suffered less than their opponents. Add this to the obvious gulf in recent fortunes and home advantage and the [2.3] on offer looks to be stand out value.

Selection: Back India @ 2.3

Bet 2: Football - Champions League

Celtic have a notoriously good home record in European football, and a twice as notoriously bad Away record. This was exemplified in the last round of games, a defeat away to Aalborg which sealed their fate and means that this week's home game against Villarreal will be their final game in Europe this season.

The main justification attributed to their formidable home record is the atmosphere created in the stadium by the passionate and boisterous home fans. However, in a game which means nothing to Celtic's fortunes this season, that atmosphere will be subdued and lack the edge that gives the Hoops that distinct advantage at Parkhead. This season they have failed to win either of their other 2 home games, drawing both and are the joint lowest scorers in the competition with just 2 goals. At the weekend their 12 league game winning streak came to an abrupt end as they were humbled by Hibs, beaten 2-0, the first goal the result of an absolute howler from 'keeper Artur Boruc.

Villarreal on the other hand go into this game on the back of a 3-3 draw against Getafe after being 3-0 down at half-time. They sit 2nd in La Liga, are comfortably through to the knock-out stages of Champions League and have not lost an Away game in the League or Champions League all season. If they can better Man Utd's result in the other Group E match or in winning, outscore them by 2 goals they will top the group and avoid playing the other group winners in the next round. So there is incentive for them to take this game seriously.

In a game that means nothing to the home team against an away team with an unbeaten away record, the home team should not be clear favourites and for that reason I will look to take Celtic on here with a [2.42] lay.

Selection: Lay Celtic @ 2.42

Bet 3: Pool- Mosconi cup

In a year which has seen USA reclaim the greatest team prize in world golf, the Ryder Cup, the American pool team will be looking to replicate that in the Mosconi Cup. Following the 2006 12-12 tie which saw USA retain the trophy, Europe won a heated exchange 11-8 in 2007 to lift the trophy for only the 3rd time in its 14 year history.

Last year's event in Las Vegas was surrounded by controversy, with passionate exchanges between Earl Strickland and Daryl Peachy leading to Peachy being called 'a cheat' and Strickland the 'scum of the earth'. Before the tournament even started Strickland was trying to play mind games, claiming Tony Drago was the 'weakest player' - a game which Strickland lost when Drago came out with the Most Valuable Player accolade and a 4-0 singles record. However, Strickland does have the best record of any player in Mosconi Cup history.

This year the event will be played on Drago's home patch, St Julians, Malta. The Europeans have begun to dominate world pool in the past year, with Europe strongly represented in the final stages of all the major pool tournaments in the past 12 months. Drago is joined by Mika Immomen who recently became only the second European ever to win the US Open, Niels Feijen the World Straight Pool Champion, Mark Gray beaten World Cup of Pool finalist and the team's experience comes from Ralf Souquet who plays in his 13th Mosconi Cup this year. However the USA team does consist of Shane van Boeing and Rodney Morris who beat Gray and his partner in that World Cup of Pool final.

For my third selection I will be going for a repeat of 2007's result and a reflection of Europe's recent dominance of World Pool, Europe to lift the Mosconi Cup at a generous [1.8].

Selection: Back Europe @ [1.8]

Back India @ [2.3]
Lay Celtic @ [2.42]
Back Europe @[1.8]

£10 Treble @ [7.1]

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