PSG to progress in the Coup de France

23Jan 2013

It's that time of the week for the big Wednesday multiple as Paul Robinson selects a home win, an away win, a match to go over 2.5 goals and a match to go under 2.5 goals. Here are his selections:

Bet 1: Paris St-G (HOME) @ 1.5 (1/2)

League leaders, PSG, take on Toulouse this evening in the Coup de France and I'm backing the home team to transfer their league form into the cup and win through to the next round.

Carlo Ancelotti's side are back on top after they won at Bordeaux on Sunday while Lyon could only draw. They haven't been the runaway success that most people predicted at the start of the season though and the Italian manager has come under pressure on a couple of occasions.

While not as important as some of their other targets this term, PSG, will want to win through to the next round of this competition to keep their momentum going. A couple of the star names will no doubt be rested but I'd imagine they will still field a pretty strong side to continue their form of seven wins from eight at Parc des Princes.

Toulouse are going along steadily themselves and seven points from a possible nine has lifted them into the top half of the table. They aren't so good away from home though as Alain Casanova's men have lost four of their last half dozen on the road and won just one of their last seven.

Scoring goals has been the issue as before the two they netted last time at Saint-Étienne, they'd managed just one goal in 570 minutes of football away from home.

Bet 2: Chelsea (AWAY) @ 1.8 (4/5)

Chelsea travel to Swansea trailing 2-0 after the first leg of their Capital One Cup semi at Stamford Bridge but with The Blues running rampant on their travels, I'm taking them to at least win the match that is to be shown live on Sky Sports One at 19:45.

Swansea have proved the doubters wrong once again as they sit comfortably in mid-table and are on the verge of a trip to Wembley. Michael Laudrup has taken them from a possession based side to slick counter attackers and they have scored some cracking goals this term, with the third against Stoke on Saturday being a prime example.

That victory over the Potters was only their first at the Liberty Stadium in four matches though and while they haven't lost since the 4-3 defeat by Norwich back in December, they required late goals against Aston Villa and Arsenal to secure draws.

Since losing 3-1 at West Ham on December 1st, Chelsea have been in sublime form away from home. They've beaten Sunderland 3-1, put five past Leeds and Southampton and overcame tricky games at Norwich, Everton and Stoke, who are all notoriously hard to beat at home.

The Chelsea crowd may stifle the players at home but they seem to play with much more freedom away and the likes of Juan Mata and Eden Hazard express themselves beautifully.

Demba Ba is also available as he didn't feature for Newcastle in this competition and he has already shown that he fits well into The Blues' style of play as he has looked dangerous whenever he's been on the pitch.

Bet 3: Arsenal v West Ham (Over 2.5 goals) @ 1.61 (8/13)

Our goal fest of the week comes from The Emirates as Arsenal take on West Ham in a Premier League clash rescheduled from Christmas.

The Gunners have dropped to sixth place after picking up just one point from a possible nine so a win tonight is essential if they want to challenge for the Champions League places. They are already seven points adrift of Tottenham in fourth and even a victory wouldn't see them move above Everton in fifth.

Arsene Wenger's side have been a bit hit or miss at home this season, thumping Southampton 6-1 and Newcastle 7-3, while falling to defeats by Swansea, Chelsea and Man City. Their matches usually produce goals though as five of their last nine in the league have gone over 2.5, with four going over 5.5, three going over 6.5 and one actually going over 9.5.

West Ham have seen a solid start slip a bit in recent months and they are down to 12th place with 27 points from 22 fixtures. The Hammers have won just one of their last seven and lost four of them.

Sam Allardyce has signed a couple of players during the transfer window but Marouane Chamakh is ineligible against to play against his parent club so Carlton Cole will be leading the line this evening. Away from Upton Park the Hammers have picked up just a single point from the last possible 15 and they conceded three at both Old Trafford and the Stadium of Light.

Bet 4: Sevilla v Zaragoza (Under 2.5 goals) @ 1.95 (19/20)

We end in Spain as Sevilla meet Zaragoza in the second leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final with the aggregate score at 0-0 after the first match produced a stalemate.

Sevilla have blown very hot and cold this season and they have seemed to save their best performances for the big teams of La Liga and local derbies. They are down in 12th place in the league so doing well in this competition is their best chance of qualifying for Europe next year.

The goals haven't really been flowing for Unai Emery's side in recent weeks as since the 5-0 hammering of Mallorca, they have netted just four times in their last seven. That has seen five of those seven go under 2.5 and two of their last three at Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán suffer the same fate.

Zaragoza are 13th in La Liga and like Sevilla, the Copa del Rey offers them their best chance of success this season. Goals have been few and far between for them as well lately though as they haven't found the back of the net in their last 300 minutes of football.

Away from home, Manolo Jiménez, has seen his side's last six games all have two goals or less, and I imagine his tactics tonight will be to park the bus and soak up as much pressure as they can, while looking to score on the counter.

This match will be live on Sky Sports Two from 18:30 but I have a feeling it will be one for the purists.

Recommended Multiple

Back Paris St-G @ 1.5 (1/2); Back Chelsea @ 1.8 (4/5); Back Over 2.5 Goals in Arsenal v West Ham @ 1.61 (8/13); Back Under 2.5 Goals in Sevilla v Zaragoza @ 1.95 (19/20); The Multiple pays approximately 8.51 (15/2)

Multiple prices are based on our Fixed Odds product, so any winnings are exempt from commission.