Madchester prices

OK so after the first week back the results are as follows:
HR: - 0.79pts
Football: +31.99pts
Total: +31.2pts

This is just a football entry - any racing tips will be added tomorrow hopefully by lunchtime.

2pts Man Utd 5/6 (Will Hill): I would have this price closer to 4/6 than 5/6. Ok part of the drift is Rooney's absence but goals haven't exactly been the problem for Utd away from home this season, their problems have been due to the 7 sloppy goals they have conceded. On that front Rio should return to the back 4 to bring a bit of stability there and that will be a massive boost for Utd in this game. Given that I have no doubts about steaming in here and trusting in Utd to follow up their midweek clean sheet with another good defensive performance here.

3pts Man City 1.48 (Betfair): Again I find myself opposing Newcastle - for some reason they seem to be over-estimated by the bookies and every week there seems to be value in opposing them. This week its City's turn, I reckon 4/11 is about fair for City in this game, to see them as big as 4/9 is quite a shock. Its' hard to imagine any of the rest of the big 4 being this big at home to Newcastle.

1pts Tottenham @ evns (general): Spurs are the better of these 2 sides and should be odds-on for this game. Not entirely convinced that Houllier is going to make such an instant impact and although Villa are a team I quite like with some exciting talent I'm happy to oppose here against a team that is currently one or two places better a season.

1pt Everton draw no bet 1.91 (Stan James): The 17/10 for the Everton win is way too big here in terms of season long expectations however at the moment the big problem they have is scoring goals. Until they resolve that problem it's hard to get over-involved on them to win games so we are going to go with the draw no bet option here. They won't be easy to break down and if they do nick a goal it could be enough to put an end to Birminghams unbeaten home run.

0.75pts Bolton @ 14/5 (Will Hill): Seems an over-reaction to West Broms win at the Emirates last week. I have Bolton as a slightly better team than West Brom whereas according to these prices WB are very slightly better than Bolton. Enough of a difference for a small involvement.

1pt Schalke @ 2.35 (Unibet): Schalke had a horrible start to the season but have started to turn it around in the last few games including when landing the odds for us in midweek. There is still a slight over-reaction to their poor start in the odds so we'll trust in them to deliver again this weekend against relegation candidates Nurnberg.

1pt Sporting Gijon @ 4.0 (Betfair): Zaragoza are rated the better team here according to the match odds but in my opinion Gijon are the better team and have suffered from a tough start to the season playing Barca, Valencia and Atletico in their first 5 games. I think they should be at least 1/2pt shorter.

1pt Getafe @23/20 (VCbet, Will Hill): The big question here is whether Hercules are really better than everybody including me gave them credit for or is it a temporary blip due to players overperforming against the biggest names. I'm still tempted to think its the latter. Hercules beat Barca and Sevilla but got 1 point from their 2 games against minnows Bilbao and Zaragoza. I think with the focus elsewhere Hercules will revert to their normal level of performance and Getafe can capitalise.

0.5pts Levante @4/1 (general): 2 of the worst teams in the division but not as much of a difference between them as the odds suggest. Worth a small investment on underdogs here.