Smith is worth a punt

MATT SMITH: good chance of a goal from him

SPORTS BETTING:


AS a boy my abiding feeling, watching football, was to support the underdog against the big boy.

But as the gap between non-league clubs and the Premier League outfits grows wider, so too does the chance of a shock result.

The same cannot be said of matches involving non-league sides and teams from npower Leagues One and Two. It is no real surprise when a league club goes out to a non-league side, so get ready for a few such results when the first round gets under way. Many of this weekend’s matches represent banana skins for league teams.

Athletic will have to watch their step against Kidderminster Harriers from the Blue Square Bet Premier. The trip to Worcestershire will be no cakewalk for Latics, who are set to be without on-loan striker Matt Derbyshire.

He is unlikely to feature, so Matt Smith is likely to get a rare starting place - in which case the 13-2 offered by Bet365 for him to score the first goal looks worth taking.

As for the match itself, Athletic are 10-11 to win, hosts are at 16-5 and a draw will get you 5-2.



IT’S round two in the Chelsea v Manchester United saga tonight, with a place in the last eight of the Capital One Cup at stake.

Both managers will field completely different line-ups to those of Sunday’s fiasco. I reckon the hosts, fuelled by a sense of injustice, will inflict revenge at 11-8. United are 21-10, with the draw 13-5.



RECOMMENDATIONS: Matt Smith to score first goal for Athletic v Kidderminster, 13-2 (Bet 365); Chelsea to beat Manchester United tonight, 11-8 (Paddy Power).