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In the wake of Federico Macheda’s stunning equaliser for United against Villa, Ferguson said:

“The young boy came on and did an incredible job. It was just one of those incredible moments,” said Ferguson, adding: “I think he will be involved off the bench. We’ve got Wayne Rooney back, which is a big bonus, but it’s difficult to leave him (Macheda) out.”

He is effectively saying – well he is saying – that Macheda will be involved from the bench. Bearing this mind, the 4/7 available on him playing a part is worth a look.

Macheda to play at any point v Porto @ 4/7 (Ladbrokes) – 1 point

Cheltenham secured a 2-2 draw, making our lay of Huddersfield at 1.63 a winner – but it could have been so much better… Cheltenham were a 7.2 tip and only a 93rd minute equaliser denied our subscribers.

But Cheltenham’s draw, coupled with Millwall’s stirring comeback (coming back from 2-0 down to win 3-2) brought us level for the weekend after Crewe’s surprisingly abject performance against Leeds and Gillingham’s collapse against Grimsby.

There are more and more surprise results as we near the end of the season; Wakuba will be using all of our research and analysis tools to find the ‘value’, find the incorrect prices, and make money from our betting.

n.b.

Punters taking our free advice will be cursing Portsmouth this morning as they upset our double; if you subscribe, you get access to our subscription tips instead…

Everton are finally getting the credit they deserve for their excellent form this season; they have now lost only once in their last eighteen games, and that a narrow defeat at Old Trafford. They visit Portsmouth who have lost over half their home games and have only one win in their last nine matches. Portsmouth do have some quality so Everton to win outright is risky; but the Blue half of Merseyside should avoid defeat and you can back that (double chance Everton and Draw) at around 2/5.

Meanwhile a six point relegation clash sees Stoke host Boro. The only reason Stoke are not struggling more is their excellent home form; they are a different side at the Brittania with a record only bettered by the top sides. Boro are a young team and they are struggling from a lack of confidence – a frail side like that will not want to visit the Potteries. Stoke should avoid defeat, and you can back that (double chance Stoke and Draw) at around 4/11.

Double these two together and your price is 1.9 (Stan James, 888 Sport) – 2 points

EDIT – These can be combined through the Betfair multiples module to give 2.04 which, minus their commission, is very slightly better)

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Wakuba is ‘Just not cricket’ most of the time… but here we are making a foray into the world of flanneled whites (or more accurately multicoloured pyjamas). When a price looks big it transcends the sport it takes place in!

England take on the West Indies in the first game of the One Day Series this afternoon (due to start at 13.30) and will be anxious to make amends for the Test Series defeat and abject showing in the recent 20:20 game.

One of England’s main problems, ever since the retirement of Marcus Trescothick, has been finding someone to give the initial overs some momentum – someone with power who can go over the top. There are no signs they have a solution; Steven Davies and Ravi Bopara, who opened in the 20:20 game, were the 11th different partnership in 15 games.

It looks as though Andrew Strauss could be fit to lead England, and open the batting; although a tidy accumulator of runs, he is not someone who is going to blaze away. He is likely to be partnered by Ravi Bopara. Although picking the partnership is a guessing game, whoever it is will not be able to compete with Chris Gayle and AN Other; most likely Devon Smith or possibly Ramnaresh Sarwan.

The Windies should be strong favourites, considering their superior One Day openers, to top score in the first 15 overs – and are as low as 1.66 in places.

However, they are available at 5/6 with both BetFred and Stan James – and that price is attractive.

West Indies – Highest First 15 Overs @ 5/6 (Betfred/Stan James) – 1 point

It’s the second leg of the UEFA Cup games tonight, and aside from arguably Man City, all are finely poised; it’s difficult to pick a winner. Which is why we’ve flagged this up – it’s a long shot, sure, but could pay off handsomely. Bear with us…

With games tight – on a knife edge in some cases – there is a strong likelihood that extra time or penalties could be a factor. Paddy Power offer the bet, for each game, ‘No qualifier in Normal Time’. The odds for these are as follows:

Metalist v Kiev: 6/1

Zenit v Udinese: 6/1

Shakhtar v Udinese: 5/1

Galatasary v Hamburg: 9/2

Aalborg v Man City: 11/1

Braga v PSG: 6/1

You could go for the correct score and work out which bookmaker offers the best combined odds, but the above is an easy way to do a cheeky longshot. 6 selections gives you 15 doubles; 0.1 point on each makes a 1.5 point total stake, and you need two to come in to be repaid handsomely. Maybe even consider the singles to cover yourself… But that decision is firmly yours, we’re just pointing out there could be something interesting here!

Our subscribers will be happy this morning as we brought them a 4/1 winner (Chesterfield) and an 11/8 romp (Bournemouth). One goal in the Swansea game denied us a clean sweep but we returned a healthy profit (77% to be exact) from the evening.

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Because we all need brightening up in January here is another free bet for you to consider…

Burnley v Swansea

After their disappointing 4-1 defeat to Spurs, which will have knocked the stuffing out of them, and their forthcoming second leg – plus an FA Cup replay against QPR – there is a real danger that Burnley will take their eye off the league; or equally suffer from fatigue. Swansea, who are a good footballing side and capable of pushing for the playoffs, could take advantage, and are available at a decent 3.8 on Betfair.

Burnley have lost their last two league games, including one at home, and there are signs the wheels are wobbling. We all know Swansea’s remarkable run – 8 consecutive draws – but go with them to break that here.

Swansea @ 3.8 (Betfair) – 1 point