Monte's Multiple / Jaymes Monte / 30 December 2008 /

2008 has been unkind to Monte's Multiple, and I think it owes us one this week. Just as a send off, something to say "no hard feelings" that it was never personal. In fact, it could even give us the usual '2 out of 3' and we'll take the other selection over to 2009. How about that? Is it a deal 2008?

Wolves were the selection to let us down last week after failing to hold onto a lead against Sheff United and drawing the game 1-1. For the other 2 selections we were on the right side of 4-1 score lines, Stompe comfortably beat Tabern 4-1 and West Ham recovered from going 1-0 down to beat Pompey 4-1.

Bet 1: Darts - PDC World Championships

The beauty of the Darts world is that it adheres to its own set of rules, completely detached from the real world. For the space of an hour or more, a man can become untouchable up on that stage. Anywhere else in the world a man jumping around wearing a Hawaiian shirt with inflatable palm trees would struggle to get out alive, yet alone be embraced by thousands. And in what other sport would you see a 2nd round, World Championship match where the combined age of the two contestants is 125?

However, among the camaraderie and showmen there are some serious professionals, and these are the ones who should be followed for betting purposes. Jelle Klaasen, the young Dutchman, is such a player and in the 3rd round he comes up against number 7 seed Andy Hamilton. Klaasen, who became the youngest ever World Champion when he beat van Barneveld in the 2006 BDO World Championships final has yet to lose a set in this tournament. He looks to have rediscovered the form that won him that world title, and his blistering pace and high scoring bursts endear him to the crowd.

Hamilton came into this tournament in great form having made the semi-finals of the German Open and the last 16 of the Grand slam of Darts. However, he started very sluggish in his 2nd round match against qualifier Tony Ayres, eventually coming through 4-2. A similarly slow start in the 3rd round and he will struggle to peg back the Dutchman.

This year's championship has a strong Dutch feel to it with four Dutchmen in the last 16, and Klaasen to continue the onslaught is my first selection this week .

Selection: Jelle Klaasen (to beat Andy Hamilton) @[2.17]

Bet2: Football - English Premier League

The final Premier League game of a busy Christmas schedule and 2008 sees Aston Villa travel to Hull - the surprise package of the season. However, the fact of the matter is that there is no longer a 'surprise' element to Hull and there hasn't been for a number of weeks now. Teams have figured out how to play against them, spotted their weaknesses and punished them. They have now conceded nine goals in their previous two games and have won just one game in their last ten

The two teams will go into this fixture with completely contrasting mental states. Aston Villa came from 2-0 down to snatch a deserved last minute draw against Arsenal, sending Martin O'Neill on his now trademark leap up and down the touchline. Whereas Phil Brown did something even more unorthodox when he conducted the majority of his half-time team talk out on the pitch in-front of the Away fans.

O'Neill will play it down at every opportunity, but Villa must now be considered as serious contenders to break 'the big 4' stronghold on the Champions League places. One major factor that can be attributed to that is that they have learned how to win games ugly. O'Neill and his team also know the importance of winning games like this one against Hull, as Arsenal have shown this season - it is all well and good getting results against the big teams but seasons are made and broken on your results against the not-so-glamorous teams.

Selection: Aston Villa (to beat Hull) @ [1.95]

Bet3: Tennis - Capitala World Tennis Championships

Six of the World's top 10 tennis players converge on Abu Dhabi on New Year's day for an exhibition tournament, looking to work off their Christmas excesses and prepare themselves for the upcoming Australian Open.

The first round of matches sees Nikolay Davydenko come up against Andy Roddick. Davydenko finished last season in great form, reaching the Paris Masters semi-final and the Tennis Masters Cup final with a ranking of number 5 in the world. A-Rod finished the season ranked number 8 in the world and captured his 26th ATP title in Beijing at the China Open in September.

In head-to-heads between the two Roddick leads 5-1, four of those victories coming on the hard court surface being used in Abu Dhabi. Roddick is also a notoriously fast starter to the season, having won the Kooyong Classic tournament which immediately precedes the Australian Open, for the last 3 years in a row. He has also now had enough time to work on the weaker aspects of his game with his new coach Larry Stefanki who he has been with since the beginning of December, in preparation for the upcoming 2009 season.

My final selection is for Roddick to continue his usual fast start to the season and build on his impressive head-to-head record against Davydenko.

Selection: Andy Roddick (to beat Nikolay Davydenko) @[ 2.0]

Bet1: Jelle Klaasen @ [2.17]
Bet2: Aston Villa @ [1.95]
Bet3: Andy Roddick @ [2.0]
£10 Treble @ [8.4]

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