Lays of the Weekend: Cardiff to bounce back from Posh shocker

22Dec 2012

Premier League

Christian Crowther addresses the final pre-Christmas fixtures to find three tempting lays...

Lay Leicester to beat Cardiff @ 2.02

Not even Nostradamus could have predicted Championship leaders Cardiff would drop their first home points of the season against bottom side Peterborough, let alone all three. The end of the world would have seemed like a far more plausible scenario to Bluebirds fans before the Posh turned up in Wales without a win to their name in eight games. If punters needed reminding this is the league where anything is possible, then this coupon-crumbling result was it. After their humiliation Cardiff will be desperate to recover some kudos at promotion-chasing Leicester who have themselves been wobbling recently - losing two of their last four league games - while drawing their last match at home to struggling Barnsley.

Lay Under 2.5 goals in Leeds v Middlesbrough @ 2.1

After a promising start to their Capital One Cup quarter-final Leeds were eventually put emphatically to the sword by a far superior Chelsea outfit. With only a few days to recover from their hiding Neil Warnock's charges face a tough assignment against one of the divisions most adept travellers in the guise of third placed Middlesbrough. One of the facets of Tony Mowbray's exciting Boro side is their ability to notch goals home and away - scoring at least twice in each of their last four fixtures - with three of those games returning over 2.5 goals. There should be more goals here too, as three out of the home side's last four games have gone over the 3.5 mark.

Lay Over 2.5 goals between Exeter and Torquay @ 1.92

Paul Tisdale's Exeter side will play their second Devon derby in seven days as they make the short trip down the A38 to Torquay. These West Country rivalries, like many derbies, often produce tight affairs. Exeter's match with Plymouth last weekend typified this trend as the will to avoid defeat rather outmuscled the desire to go for the jugular, ensuring their second consecutive 1-1 draw in that fixture. Similarly, when the Gulls hosted Plymouth earlier in the season the teams returned a tense but goal-less spectacle. The hosts have not been lighting up the scoring charts in recent times either, with three out of their last four games staying below the 2.5 goal line.