Monte's Multiple / Jaymes Monte / 01 December 2009 /

Jaymes Monte takes in action from the Carling Cup and England's tour of South Africa for his midweek treble...

Bet 1 & 2: Football - Carling Cup

As ever, betting propositions for the Carling Cup are hugely dependent on what sort of team each side puts out. Second guessing what a particular manager is going to do can be a tricky business but if you get it correct it can also be a profitable one.

One thing that is certain is that Arsenal will put out a team consisting mainly of players who are barely old enough to buy a lottery ticket. A splattering of more senior players were used in the last round including Samir Nasri and Eduardo, but Nasri's inclusion was an effort to regain his match fitness and Eduardo wasn't a first team regular whilst Robin van Persie was fit. I can't see either being used against Man City this week.

City on the other hand are taking this tournament very seriously and Mark Hughes will see it as a happy distraction from a league campaign which is producing more draws than an Ikea workshop. They have fielded a strong team throughout the tournament with few changes from their first choice 11, and I don't see that trend changing this week.

Alex Ferguson has taken the Arsene Wenger route with his team selection this year and fielded a predominantly youthful side throughout. Although they have progressed this far against lesser oppositions without much cause for concern, their inadequacies were exposed when a similar side was fielded against an organised Besiktas in the Champions League.

Harry Redknapp's Tottenham should provide a similar task when they go to Old Trafford on Tuesday night. They are in a comparable situation to Man City in that they are free of any European commitments so can afford to fully commit to the League Cup this year. A slight adjustment in team selection has seen the estranged Roman Pavlyuchenko get a rare run out but there are few if any opportunities given to unfamiliar youngsters.

Selections:
Back Man City to beat Arsenal @ [2.0]
Lay Man United to beat Tottenham @ [2.2]

Bet 3: Cricket - South Africa v England, 5th ODI

I seem to be consistently missing the boat when offering up England for success in this column, tipping them up for the defeat either side of two convincing victories over The Proteas. Either that or I am a jinx on Andrew Strauss and his men and they have already sent out a team of undercover agents to track me down. Probably not though.

Anyway, I am going to persist with backing them when they are available at prices as big as [2.5] which they are for Friday's game. They have shown here and at the recent ICC Champions Trophy that if they get it right England are a match for any side on their day. The problem is their predictable inconsistency.

I say problem but it is more a hindrance and as a punter it is in fact beneficial as it means we will continue to get these bigger odds on offer. Backing England at these sort of prices to level stakes can only prove profitable whilst they continue to sporadically produce the big performances that they have done in the past two weeks.

Selection: Back England to beat South Africa @ [2.5]

:

:

:

?

: