The Big Boxing Day Multiple: Foxes to continue promotion push
The Big Wednesday Multiple is The Big Boxing Day Multiple this week as Paul Robinson looks to make some cash to spend at the sales. Here are his selections:
Bet 1: Leicester (HOME) @ 1.7 (7/10)
Leicester City ended their recent run of poor results by winning at QPR last weekend and that should set them up to beat another side who are pushing for promotion today.
Nigel Pearson’s men had gone four without a victory before their trip to Loftus Road and while they did face some tough opposition during that period, they would have been disappointed by the defeats at Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton.
The Foxes are back at the King Power Stadium this afternoon and aside from a 2-0 loss to Nottingham Forest back in March, it’s been wins or draws there in the league this term. A total of seven victories and two draws at home has helped them get up to third in the table – just one point off top spot. They don’t keep many clean sheets there, but they generally do enough to secure the win.
Reading are just in the play-off places having collected 34 points from a possible 63 this year. It’s two defeats in their last three though – both at home to Bournemouth and Wigan.
Nigel Adkins will take heart from the fact that his team have won their last two on the road and while they do have a pretty decent record away from the Madejski, this is one of the hardest grounds to go to in the division, and they remain a somewhat inconsistent side.
Bet 2: Bolton (AWAY) @ 2.37 (11/8)
The search for our away win keeps us in the Championship as the underachieving Bolton travel to bottom of the table Barnsley.
The Tykes are rooted to the foot of the division having picked up just 16 points all season. Danny Wilson has been brought into the club to try and turn things around but he faces an uphill task with a team that only narrowly avoided relegation last year.
They did manage to get a decent result last time out at Leeds as they drew 0-0 with their Yorkshire rivals, however I wouldn’t put much faith in them building on that and they haven’t won at home now for over two months.
Bolton were my main fancy for promotion this season but they got off to a terrible start and haven’t really recovered. They are down in 18th place with 23 points and even though I can’t see them going down, it’s difficult to envisage a serious push for the play-offs.
Dougie Freedman’s men have won just one of their last five but it is worth noting that prior to that they had gone eight unbeaten – four of which were victories – including three away from the Reebok.
It’s hard to make a case for either side on current form, however I think Bolton’s superior class should tell and they look decent value to get what would be a vital win.
Bet 3: Man City v Liverpool (Over 2.5 goals) @ 1.5 (1/2) – Live on BT Sport 1 at 17:30
The match of the day undoubtedly comes from the Etihad as Man City entertain Liverpool, and what a cracker we have in store.
Manchester City have hit their stride like Usain Bolt after 60 metres of his races. It’s now eight wins from their last nine and no defeat since the 1-0 loss at Sunderland in early March.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side have been racking up the goals – especially at home – and their last 10 at the Etihad have all gone over 2.5, with nine going over 3.5, seven over 4.5, five over 5.5, three over 6.5 and the 6-3 against Arsenal last time actually going over 8.5 goals.
Liverpool put their disappointing defeat at Hull behind them by coming out to win their next four on the spin, racking up plenty of goals themselves. That has led to them being top of the tree at Christmas and Brendan Rodgers’ men are finally being considered as genuine title contenders.
This is a big test for The Reds though and a lot will depend on Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan has been in scintillating form and he could get plenty of joy against a City defence that has been uncharacteristically leaky this term.
Pretty much all the stats points towards this being a high-scoring affair, so despite overs being a short price, it still seems a value bet to me.
Bet 4: Cardiff v Southampton (Under 2.5 goals) @ 1.66 (2/3)
We finish in the Premier League for our under 2.5 selection as Southampton travel to Cardiff for a game that both will be desperate to avoid defeat in.
There has been plenty of turmoil off the pitch at Cardiff in recent weeks and things haven’t been going too well on it either. Aside from a 1-0 win over West Brom in their last home game, The Bluebirds haven’t won since the 1-0 victory over Swansea on the first weekend of March.
Malky Mackay’s team just aren’t scoring enough goals and with only 13 in the ‘For’ column, they have the second lowest total in the division. That has led to six of their last nine having two goals or less and their matches averaging a mere 2.24 goals this term.
Southampton’s bubble has burst a bit of late as although they’re still playing some decent football, they’ve started letting in more goals and they have never been that prolific themselves.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side have had a tough run of fixtures, and with this one being much easier, I expect his focus will be on getting back to basics and trying to grind out a narrow win with a clean sheet like they were doing earlier in the campaign.
Making changes to his back four haven’t helped so it will be interesting to see if Jose Fonte and Luke Shaw are back this afternoon. Either way, I can’t see too many goals and it has a great chance of finishing with two or less.
Recommended Multiple
Back Leicester @ 1.7 (7/10); Back Bolton @ 2.37 (11/8); Back Over 2.5 Goals in Man City v Liverpool @ 1.5 (1/2); Back Under 2.5 Goals in Cardiff v Southampton @ 1.66 (2/3); The Multiple pays approximately 10.03 (9/1)
Multiple prices are based on our Sportsbook product, so any winnings are exempt from commission.
2025/14 P/L (1pt each bet)
Wagered: 18 pts
Returned: 27.32 pts
P/L: + 9.32 pts
This article is provided courtesy of betfair
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