Hitting the bar

What a day of near misses! We collected place money in 4 of the 6 races previewed without ever getting our noses in front on the line. If my maths are right we were exactly even on the last day of the festival but on a day of some rollercoaster emotions it certainly didn't feel that way. Today it is back to the mundane Saturday soccer to keep us occupied.

Man Utd v Liverpool
You probably won't be surprised to realise that I'm going to tip up a first goalscorer bet. You might be surprised though that it is Torres and not Rooney I'll be tipping up. Torres has made 18 or 19 appearances this campaign and has netted 15 times. It is not unrealistic to think that with an uninterrupted campaign he would be challenging Rooney for the golden boot. Also anyone who has seen any of the previous installments of Torres v Vidic wouldn't be betting too heavily on the Serb coming out on top. 2 goals midweek and a rather generous 13/2 compared to Rooney 3/1 is enough to convince us on this one.

0.75pts e/w Torres to score first 13/2 (888sport, Coral)

1.5pts David Villa to score first @ 3/1 (Paddy Power) - his record in the Mestalla continues to amaze

1pt e/w Higuain to score first @ 3/1 (bet365) - only Messi has scored more in La Liga this season and there should be plenty of goals for Madrid at home to Gijon.

1pt e/w Messi to score first @ 3/1 (bet365) - top goalscorer this season and always a threat.

Premiership Outright;
I toyed with putting up Arsenal a few weeks back at 7s and then didn't but there is still time to right the wrong. Looking at the top 3s run ins Chelsea have 5 away games out of 9 with trips to Old Trafford, Anfield, and White Hart Lane. They also have to entertain Villa at Stamford Bridge. Man Utd have it easier playing Spurs Liverpool and Chelsea at home with only the away trip to City standing out - but still a lot of top teams capable of taking points off them. Arsenal have a nice run in with plenty of mid table teams with nothing to play for Man City visit the Emirates and they have a tricky trip down the road to Spurs but comfortably the easiest run in. I'm not sure how since they are by far the worst of the 3 teams but I think they should be joint favs with Utd and then Chelsea a bit further back.

1.5pts Arsenal to win Premiership @ 11/4 (VC, Boyles)