The Big Wednesday Multiple: United to bash the Hammers

17Apr 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: Lommel United (HOME) @ 1.33 (1/3)

We kick off in the Belgian Second Division as Lommel United take on the woefully out of form White Star Woluwe. White Star have lost their last five in a row and Lommel are usually good at home, so it looks like a banker home win.

Lommel United are eighth in the league, three points behind this evening's opponents. That's largely down to their poor results on the road though as they've only picked up 15 points from a possible 48. It's a different story at Soevereinstadion as they have lost just three times all season and won six of their last eight.

Philip Haagdoren's side have had three victories on the spin in front of their own fans, scoring 10 goals in the process and last time out they hammered second placed Mouscron-Péruwelz by four goals to one.

White Star Woluwe went unbeaten until the start of November but their form has tailed off since then and they've now lost all of their last five matches. Three of those defeats were 5-0 scorelines and that must be a cause for concern for all involved with the club.

They have lost seven of their last 10 away from home and mustered just a single goal in 644 minutes of away football. I simply can't see how they're going to turn things around tonight and that's why Lommel United have to be backed.

Bet 2: Man United (AWAY) @ 1.65 (13/20)

Man United travel to West Ham this evening in the like Sky Sports Two game at 19:45. United bounced back from a couple of defeats by winning at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday and I'm confident that they will continues their march to the title in this one.

Even though it was just a win over Stoke at the weekend, there were plenty of positives to take from the match for Sir Alex Ferguson. His side kept another clean sheet - their fourth in a row away from home in the league - and Robin Van Persie broke his scoring duck by converting a second half penalty.

The Red Devils have a plethora of attacking options to choose from and they also have their main defenders back to fitness. Phil Jones has been excellent of late and he will likely get the nod somewhere in the starting line up as he will relish the aerial battle that West Ham will likely provide.

The Hammers are pretty much safe now thanks to one defeat in five so this is far from a must win game for them. In fact, with Wigan coming to the Boleyn Ground on Saturday, there has to be a question over whether Sam Allardyce might rotate his squad slightly to save legs for the visit of The Latics.

West Ham have largely been solid at home this term but when they have lost, it's been against the better teams of the division - Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton and Spurs - and as United are the cream of the crop, I don't envisage anything other than an away win.

Bet 3: Bradford PA v Altrincham (Over 2.5 goals) @ 1.6 (6/10)

We drop down a few divisions now for a Conference North match that should produce plenty of goals. It's a must win game for Bradford Park if they want to keep their play-off hopes alive, so I expect them to go for it from the off.

Bradford PA are sixth in the Conference North, six points behind tonight's opponents in fifth. As the teams who finish second to fifth will contest the play-offs, Bradford simply have to beat Altrincham here to half the deficit as games are running out.

John Deacey's side have been in excellent form at the Horsfall Stadium of late, winning six of their last seven, with the only blemish being a 1-2 defeat to Oxford City. They have to go out and attack as a draw is no good and they will be boosted by the fact that they scored five times in their last home game.

Altrincham will of course settle for a point but it's not really in their nature to sit back and defend. They are very strong at home, but on the road they are prone to conceding a fair few goals. Their last five away results have been - 0-5, 1-3, 2-0, 3-4 and 1-1, and of their 38 fixtures played this term, 26 have gone over 2.5 goals, with 16 of those going over 3.5.

The match result is a tough one to call, but what seems obvious to me is that there will be plenty of goals, or at least plenty of goal scoring intent, especially from Bradford PA.

Bet 4: Lens v Bordeaux (Under 2.5 goals) @ 1.5 (1/2)

Our final selection this week is actually the first to kick off as Lens take on Bordeaux in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France. I can see this one being quite low scoring, so hopefully we'll get two goals or less to start our multiple in style.

Lens are mid-table in Ligue Two after winning just three of their last 16. They have drawn a fair number of those though which is why they're not in a relegation battle, but they have been managing to record victories in the cup, including a 2-1 win over Rennes.

As far as the goals go, four of their last five have gone under 2.5, in fact all four went under 1.5 and they had a couple of 0-0's in there for good measure. At Stade Félix-Bollaert, Eric Sikora's side have seen six of their last nine all have two goals or less, and given the nature of today's opposition, I can't see the manager sending his players out with too much initial attacking intent.

Bordeaux are ninth in Ligue One which is a bit of a disappointment for last season's fifth placed finishers. They did have a good run in the Europa League though and they are favourites to qualify from this tie for the semi-finals of the Coup de France.

Looking at their results away from Stade Chaban-Delmas, seven of their last eight have all gone under 2.5 goals and their last three have all gone under 1.5. They have kept three clean sheets in a row and they actually have the third best defensive record in the league, with only PSG and Saint-Etienne conceding fewer.

Recommended Multiple

Back Lommel United @ 1.33 (1/3); Back Man United @ 1.65 (13/20); Back Over 2.5 Goals in Bradford PA v Altrincham @ 1.6 (6/10); Back Under 2.5 Goals in Lens v Bordeaux @ 1.5 (1/2); The Multiple pays approximately 5.28 (17/4)

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