*matches in all competitions

Barcelona last 5 matches: 

Barcelona last 3 home matches: 

Real Betis last 5 matches: 

Real Betis last 3 away matches: 

Primera Division table positions: Barcelona - 2, Real Betis - 10

Sunday in the Primera Division as round no. 18 unfolds with raining champions Barcelona trying to close the gap from Real Madrid as they welcome Betis on Camp Nou.

Barcelona with a current total of 38 points in all 17 matches played, is 5 points below rivals Real Madrid after their rather disappointing one all draw against Espanyol last week, a match that showed real vulnerabilities and a modest performance throughout.

A different story all together on home pitch for Barcelona both in terms of results and play as they managed to win their last seven games played here without conceding any goals, in fact their last goal conceded on Camp Nou dates back from September.

Real Betis managed a great reentry in the Primera Division as they currently stand on a honorable 10th spot of the table with a total of 22 points, no less than 6 above the relegation zone.

Although their mission of remaining in the top league is far from over, with four victories in their last 5 matches played, Real Betis is on the right track.

My pick: Barcelona to win ( over 2.5 goals )

*matches in all competitions

Germany last 5 matches:  

Germany last 3 home matches:    

Austria last 5 matches:

Austria last 3 away matches:   

Germany Group A spot: 1

Austria Group A spot: 4

Interesting to see how would Germany approach this match against neighbors Austria as they have already qualified to the Euro 2012 final tournament after a superb campaign.

Germany is top of Group A as they total no less than 21 points in all 7 played, a perfect run for them with none of the opposing teams living up to their standards.

They have managed to score no less than 22 goals, over 3 per match in the statistic and conceded 3, making their goal balance an unbelievable +19.

Austria is on the 4th spot of the Group A table with a total of 7 points, they sit 4 bellow second spot holders Belgium with a game less played so there are still chances to qualify even if Turkey is the next big contender.

They have managed to win only one game in the past 8 played, a truly negative record for Austria and their morale is no doubt low.

My tip:  Germany to win  ( under 2.5 goals )

*matches in all competitions

Valencia last 5 matches:

Valencia last 3 home matches:

Santander last 5 matches:

Santander last 3 away matches: 

The player’s strike is over and Primera Division is set to kick off on Saturday directly in the second round, one of the most interesting matches of the day being the fixture in which Valencia welcomes Racing Santander.

Valencia, one of the top contenders of the competition below international giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, finished last season on a honorable 3rd spot of the table.

They have managed a decent campaign in the summer break with clear morale boosting victories in friendlies against very strong adversaries such as Sporting Lisbon, Hamburg and AS Roma.

Racing Santander with a very though match ahead of them so early on in the Primera Division as they stand little chances to grab any points from this difficult trip.

They have finished last season on a modest 12th spot of the table with only 3 points above the relegation line, coped with their poor display of results in their friendly matches this summer it’s clear that their morale is low and will prefer to play an all defensive game.

My pick:  Valencia to win ( over 2.5 goals )

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Messi and Ronaldo have won the Ballon d’Or between them for the last three seasons so it is expected that they are the two favourites. Barcelona’s Lionel Messi who has won the Ballon d’Or for the last two seasons is the hot favourite to make it three in a row as he is rated at just 1/10 currently which is an amazingly short price. Ronaldo won the award back in 2008 and the only explicable reason for his current price of 8/1 appears to be the fact that he wasn’t even in the top three last year but he had been in the top three in each of the previous four years and the fact that he broke the goalscoring record in La Liga last season suggests he should at least be looking at second place presuming he doesn’t have an awful start to next season.

Last year’s second and third in the Ballon d’Or, Andres Iniesta and Xavi, as well as their Barcelona team mate David Villa, are all tied on 20/1 and at least one of the Barcelona trio should make it into the top three this year. David Villa didn’t have an amazing season last year and the award has been dominated by midfielders (or forwards) rather than strikers in recent years so Iniesta and Xavi look the better bets.

Samir Nasri is the best of the Premiership based players at 22/1 currently but he has been linked with a move away from Arsenal and might not be a Premiership player by the time this award is handed out in December, the same goes for his Gunners team mate Cesc Fabregas who is 28/1 to win the Ballon d’Or.

The best of the British players appear to be Wayne Rooney and Gareth Bale who are both available at 33/1 in the Ballon d’Or 2011 Betting, also available on 33/1 are Carlos Tevez, Rafael Van Der Vaart and probably the best of the outsiders, Wesley Sneijder. The least likely of the players quoted in the betting is Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez, the German is rated at 100/1.

The latest odds and betting news on all things football can be found at OLBG’s football pages.

Thanks to the amazing capabilities of the internet and the access to unlimited information that it provides, there has never been a better time for punters to be able to get themselves the best possible value for their wagers – this information could translate into some potentially lucrative bets.

When trying to get the best possible value for a wager, a punter should always be seeking to obtain the best odds that they possibly can; this gives a punter greater value for money, making the bet a smarter investment.

In the modern era of online bookmakers and sportsbooks, punters are in a fortunate position; they are able to have access to bookmakers odds throughout the world at the touch of a button, and with so many online bookmakers and sportsbooks out there, it really is a punter’s market. For those who don’t want to spend their time checking the odds with individual bookmakers, there are also online comparison websites that have done much of the legwork already. A brief glance at these websites can inform a punter of the average odds that are provided across the board by the majority of bookmakers, enabling them to make an informed decision as to which will provide the best odds.

Bookmakers can also provide certain stipulations on bets that can make their odds more appealing. For example, some online bookmakers will offer an each-way bet that allows a horse to place in fifth, instead of the usual top-four.

Betting exchanges can also be a great way of getting the best odds possible, as punters have the option to ‘lay’ bets; this can means obtaining better odds by betting against something, as opposed to ‘fixed odds’ betting.

Now then, in case you fancy testing your luck on football betting, bwin football has everything your need to know for placing your bets as the site is dedicated for punters on football betting and obviously it’s an absolute joy for having a one stop entertainment site where football news and tips, as well as placing a bet meet in one place.

The next time that you make a bet you should question your motives for making the selection you did. Did you come to the decision through an analytic approach and if so how did you go about it? Perhaps you made your selection using pure intuition, but if you did what were your gut feelings based on? Be absolutely honest in coming up with the answer.

The fact is that whatever your reasons were, you had made a decision based on limited knowledge. Unless you have special psychic powers (and some people claim to have them) you could never be certain of the final outcome. However many numbers you crunch, however closely you follow form, however analytic your approach, in the end you will need to make a decision based on instinct. It is like crossing a river on stepping stones when the final stepping stone is just out of reach of the far bank. You will need to make a final leap that might take you to the bank or you might end up with wet feet, but your chance of avoiding a ducking is maximised by the closer that final stepping stone is to the bank; and of course your leaping abilities.

Applying science to sports betting will take you closer to the far bank and will increase your chances of success. Professional sports betters apply as much science as possible and minimise the role luck plays in their approach. Of course they are always subject to the variance of luck, but by minimising the role that luck plays in their decision they also minimise the variance and increase their winning ratio which is necessary if they are going to make a comfortable living out of it.

Another way to minimise variance is to use free bets. Many bookmakers offer these and if you use them correctly then you will be able to get a winning edge.

The hosts of both the 2018 World Cup and 2022 World Cup will be announced by FIFA on Thursday 2nd December after the FIFA representatives all make their votes and it looks as though England are now set to miss out despite having been the favourites in the World Cup 2018 Host Betting Odds for around two years. Recent developments have seen England drift out to around 6/4 which means they have been replaced by Russia as the favourites, they are now just evens at the time of writing to win the vote.

Russia seem to have picked up the leadership by default, with England looking less likely to win the vote it would be between Russia, a joint bid from Spain and Portugal and then a joint bid from Belgium and Netherlands. The latter seems almost certain to miss out, they are 66/1 at the moment with one bookie, whilst Spain and Portugal are third best at around 5/1 currently.

The odds for this sort of thing are rarely wrong and they suggest that even though England are being overlooked as hosts for the first time in over 50 years, USA are set to be given the 2022 World Cup less than 30 years after they hosted World Cup 94. Football has become much more popular in that time as a result of hosting the World Cup and they are odds on to land the vote for 2022, Australia and Qatar are the other countries still in with a strong chance according to the bookies, hosts of both tournaments will be announced on Thursday.
Click here to get more football betting tips

All the focus this week has been on the injury to David Beckham which has ruled him out of the World Cup but doesn’t it seem a huge fuss has been made about nothing? He may be a hugely popular player but he was probably never going to play more than an hour in the entire tournament and it could actually be a blessing in disguise.

The Achilles tendon injury clearly isn’t expected to hamper England’s chances at the World Cup as the England World Cup Odds remain unchanged and England are still one of the favourites to win the World Cup. What is much more worrying than the Beckham injury is Aaron Lennon’s groin injury that has kept him out all year. He has looked the complete right winger this season, skinning opponents, setting up goals with great crosses and also chipping in with goals now.

The bookies make Aaron Lennon the odds on favourite to start for England on the right wing against USA and if he returns and proves his fitness then that looks about right. But what if Lennon’s niggling problem continues and he doesn’t make the place to South Africa?

The next players on the list appear to be Capello favourite James Milner, the inconsistent Theo Walcott and also Shaun Wright Phillips, who appears to have booked a spot on Capello’s plans from a decent twenty minutes off the bench against Egypt.

The Beckham injury could be good news for Joe Cole, who is still struggling for form since his injury problems but he remains a great talent and his World Cup 2010 hopes might not be dashed yet, he could still be the twenty third man that makes the squad, which will be announced on June 1st.

Whatever happens it seems England are not short of options on the right wing but they could end up short of top quality options and that can sometimes make the difference between winning and losing.