The Big Wednesday Multiple: All around the world

15May 2013

Betfair

It's that time of the week where 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: Corinthians (HOME) @ 1.5 (1/2)

We begin with a Copa Libertadores last 16 tie as Boca Juniors take a 1-0 lead to Brazil for their clash with Corinthians. The Brazilians are odds-on but given Boca's form this season, I can't see how they are going to avoid defeat in this one.

Corinthians lost the first leg in Argentina and that was somewhat of a surprise as, quite frankly, they rarely lose matches in any competition. They excel at keeping clean sheets and just doing enough to win - something which Chelsea found out to their cost in the Club World Cup back in December. Tite's men have won 10 of their last 13 in Sao Paulo, including their last four - conceding just a single goal.

Boca Juniors have had a dreadful campaign and how the fans must be wishing that they had Julio César Falcioni back at the helm. Club legend, Carlos Bianchi just hasn't been able to get the right balance between attack and defence and the players seem badly out of sorts.

They are second from bottom in the Primera Division and while they at least avoided defeat to River Plate recently, they were thrashed 3-0 by San Lorenzo on Saturday. Even their Libertadores form is pretty uninspiring despite getting this far as they fell to three defeats in the group phase - two of which came at home.

Corinthians beat Boca over two legs in the final of this competition last season and I expect more of the same tonight in a clash that can be seen on ESPN and Betfair Live Video at 02:00

Bet 2: Hibernian (AWAY) @ 2.87 (15/8)

Hibernian travel to Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premier Division tonight and they are a huge value to keep up their fantastic recent record at Rugby Park.

These two are locked together on 45 points with just two games left in the season. Kilmarnock ended a run of four without a win last time out by beating the rock bottom Dundee but that was only their second victory since the 23rd of February. Kenny Shiels' side have lost their last two on the bounce at home and in the wider picture they've picked up just two points from a possible 12 in front of their own fans.

Hibernian are in much better form than their opponents and perhaps spurred on by their Scottish Cup exploits, they're undefeated in three - including a win on Sunday at Hearts. There has been talk of Pat Fenlon leaving out top scorer Leigh Griffiths for this match to keep him fresh for the Cup final with Celtic, but I'd argue that it's much more likely that he'd be rested for their next game against Dundee on Saturday.

Hibs' last three visits to Kilmarnock have resulted in two wins and a draw and they make a great addition to the multiple at such a big price.

Bet 3: Philadelphia v Los Angeles (Over 2.5 goals) @ 2.1 (11/10)

Our quest for overs takes us to the USA as I think we could be in for a bunch of goalshots between the franchises of Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

The Union are fifth in the Eastern Conference after picking up 15 points from their opening 10 fixtures of the season. Their form has been relatively inconsistent but they did win last time out at Chicago Fire. They won 1-0 but that was only their second shutout of the campaign and they are averaging 1.4 goals conceded per 90 minutes.

John Hackworth's team have played four times at PPL Park so far and they've recorded just a single victory. They've scored in every game but conceded three against Sporting KC, one against Toronto and two against the Seattle Sounders in a match that saw three players get ejected by the referee.

LA Galaxy are fifth in the Western Conference but they have games in hand over the sides above them. After a bright start to their year they are zero for two in May and they shipped three goals at the Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday.

Bruce Arena's team have played four times away from LA this season and while they lost two, they won at Real Salt Lake and got a tie at Toronto. They have failed to net just once and had only one shutout themselves.

Bet 4: Atromitos v PAOK (Under 2.5 goals) @ 1.4 (2/5)

Our final selection is actually the earliest kick off of the day as Atromitos take on PAOK in Greece at 17:15. If ever a match had under 2.5 goals written all over it then this one surely does.

In the Greek Super League the teams that finish second to fifth in the regular campaign enter into a round-robin tournament with the winners gaining entry to the Champions League and the three runners-up going into the Europa League. This is the first of six fixtures for PAOK but they start the group on four points because of their performance during the league phase.

Atromitos come into this match in relatively poor form as despite a win last time at home to AEK Athens, they had gone five without a victory beforehand, drawing twice and losing three times.

It's goals that we're interested in though and nine of their last 10 have gone under 2.5 and their last five at Peristeri Stadium have all had two or less.

PAOK suffered heartbreak in the semi-finals of the Cup at the hands of Asteras Tripolis recently but their league form has been excellent. They went undefeated in their last 11 matches - winning eight and drawing three. Goal-wise, their last five all went under 2.5 as did three of their last four away from Toumba Stadium.

Recommended Multiple

Back Corinthians @ 1.5 (1/2); Back Hibernian @ 2.87 (15/8); Back Over 2.5 Goals in Philadelphia v Los Angeles @ 2.1 (11/10); Back Under 2.5 Goals in Atromitos v PAOK @ 1.4 (2/5); The Multiple pays approximately 12.68 (12/1)

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