Monte's Multiple / Jaymes Monte / 18 January 2010 /

Jaymes Monte believes that things could get a lot worse before they get any better for Liverpool fans and is taking them on as part of his weekly midweek treble....

Bet 1: Football - English Premier League

There are rumours circulating Anfield claiming that Liverpool are set to drop their epic anthem 'You'll Never Walk Alone' and replace it with the D:Ream classic 'Things Can Only Get Better'. That might be a little naive though because the truth is that things can still get a lot worse.

Although it is looking increasingly unlikely that they can still salvage something from this season by finishing in fourth place in the Premier League, it is clear that anything less could turn out to be quite catastrophic for the future of the club. I'm losing count of how many times this has been said but this next game is a must win for Rafael Benitez and if they lose they should start preparing for life without a Champions League windfall.

The harsh reality is that a lot of their players just aren't good enough and whilst other clubs have built squads Benitez continued to buy average players to play around Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, now without these two in the side their frailties are exposed. I couldn't be backing Liverpool to win anything at present and certainly not against Tottenham when priced at [2.5], and with Spurs now going six games without conceding, a single goal might be enough for them to clinch victory.

Selection: Back Tottenham to beat Liverpool @ [3.2]

Bet 2: Tennis - Australian Open

There's no rest for the wicked in the world of tennis as just two weeks into the new year and six weeks after the 2009 ATP World Tour Finals, the players are faced with the first Grand Slam of the year. The world's elite have descended upon Melbourne Park as Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams look to defend their respective titles.

As usual for the first week of a Grand Slam we need to dig a little deeper to find some worthwhile punts. And one that immediately caught my eye is the matchup between Frenchman Richard Gasquet and the Russian Mikhail Youzhny. A glance at the head-to-head records shows Youzhny to have the advantage with two victories to Gasquet's one but they haven't played against one another since 2007 and it is the recent form which I am more interested in.

Gasquet comes into this tournament with some good results behind him having made it all the way to the final of the recent Medibank International in Sydney where he was edged out by Marcos Baghdatis. It is that run which has convinced me to side with him at the [1.65] available in this match.

Selection: Back Gasquet to beat Youzhny @ [1.6]

Bet 3: Cricket - Australia v Pakistan, 1st ODI

Whilst South Africa were demolishing England in Johannesburg Australia were completing and equally impressive test mach win over Pakistan which meant that they would win the three match series 3-0. Unlike England's tour of South Africa - where the limited overs matches were played prior to the test match - attentions will now turn to a five match ODI series between the nations.

Having recently won the ICC Champions Trophy I think it is fair to say that the Australian 50 over side is looking rather healthy. And having made it to the semi-final stage of that tournament and won the recent Twenty20 World Cup I think it is also safe to say that Pakistan are not struggling with their limited overs cricket, all in all this promises to be a cracking series.

The opening game takes place on Friday in Brisbane at a ground which doesn't hold great recent memories for the hosts. Of the last five games which have had a winner Australia have lost three and won two, and I think that vulnerability offers an opportunity to take them on again here especially at the lucrative odds of [2.7] on Pakistan.

Selection: Back Pakistan to beat Australia @ [2.7], 1st ODI

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