Cross-Sport Multiple: Back the draw at Villa Park

11May 2013

Betfair

Andrew Hughes thinks Aston Villa can earn a point against Chelsea and help land a Saturday cross-sport multiple in the process.

Bet 1: Back Aston Villa to draw with Chelsea at 3.4

Aston Villa's defence is still a little shaky but the attacking trio of Christian Benteke, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann are looking irresistible at the moment. They blasted their way to the brink of safety by thrashing Sunderland, then winning at Carrow Road. In good form, and with some of the pressure off, they are dangerous.

Tottenham's late equaliser at Stamford Bridge in midweek means that Champions League qualification is still up for grabs, and with a tough fixture against Everton to finish their campaign, Chelsea can't afford to leave Villa Park empty handed. But having played two games in the last six days, with the Europa League final to come on Wednesday, Rafa Benitez may have to rest some of his key players.

We could be in for an end to end affair, as Chelsea scrap desperately for the points against a confident Villa side with plenty of firepower. Back the home side to do Arsenal and Tottenham a favour by claiming a point.

Bet 2: Back Mumbai Indias to beat Pune Warriors at 1.5

The games are running out fast in the IPL but at the time of writing, only Chennai have assured themselves of a play-off place, having passed the generally accepted benchmark of nine wins. Realistically, four other teams are fighting over the remaining three spots, although Kings XI Punjab are not definitely out of it.

Mumbai are third but already have eight wins on the board. Their fortunes have picked up since they abandoned the Ricky Ponting/Sachin Tendulkar opening partnership and barring a catastrophic collapse in form, they should be in the last four.

Finishing in the top two, however, will be the goal, as that gives them two games to qualify for the final, and they should have no difficulty extracting the points from Pune. The Warriors showed some initial signs of promise, but seven defeats in a row has sent them plummeting to the foot of the table, and I'd expect Mumbai to brush them aside fairly easily.

Bet 3: Back Leeds Rhinos to beat Huddersfield Giants at 1.44

Huddersfield have made a solid start to the season under Paul Anderson and have been in the top two of Super League for most of the campaign so far. But their run of consecutive victories ended at four when they were beaten by Warrington on Sunday and this weekend they have a stiffer test in the Challenge Cup.

The Giants got as far as the semi-finals of last year's event but Saturday's opponents reached the final, where they lost out to Warrington, before also going on to win their Super League title.

Leeds had a slow start to this year's campaign, but they have found form in recent weeks, putting together an eight match undefeated run, including seven wins, and are now just a point behind Huddersfield, with two games in hand. The Rhinos have the edge on form and have a wealth of knockout rugby experience to draw on. Back Leeds to reach the quarter-finals.

Total Odds for this multiple: 7.34 Remember, multiple prices are based on our Sportsbook product, so any winnings are exempt from commission.