THE BERNIE THE BOOK COLUMN WHITE HOT SPURS
TO TRAVEL DEEPEST
THE JURY IS STILL OUT, and in truth will be for some time, on whether the Special One will be a good fit for Spurs. He certainly doesn’t have the holistic honesty of Mauricio Pochettino but what he does have is a CV that many would envy and in truth he is a winner. With that in mind and Spurs only effectively competing in two competitions this year, read on to where my rationale takes us. Last year’s finalists have now tasted European competi- tion at the highest level and Spurs are destined for the last 16. The next round of matches takes place in Febru- ary and who knows how any top side in Europe will be performing in a couple of months’ time, but what is ap- parent is this… Bet365 is offering a top price 33/1 for European glory in what is essentially now a cup competition between Europe’s elite. This I think is a reasonable price, not one to go to war with but one which should be taken for small money. However, my money is on a special bet from Bet365 which revolves around the FOUR ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE TEAMS AND WHO WILL TRAVEL THE DEEPEST IN THE COMPETITION. Man City are 8/13 and are certainly no 8/13 shots, sim- ilarly Liverpool are 2/1 and can easily trip up, as could Chelsea, in the last 16. By virtue of the fact that any last 16 team finishing second in their group (as Spurs have) cannot play in the next round: one, a team from their own federation, and two, the team that headed their group. In broad terms Spurs will play in the last 16 one of PSG, Juve, Barcelona, Valencia or RB Leipzig and my contention is they would be favourites to progress in possibly three of those five eventualities. And here’s the rub: SPURS’ cur- rent price in being the furthest progressing Premier League team is a whop- ping 10/1. Even not- withstanding dead-heat rules (which is a strong possibility) it might mean a 5/1 payout. Staying with football, January sees the start of the world’s oldest and most prestigious cup competition, the FA Cup,
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with the third round ties happening in the first weekend of January. Two prices currently stand out, LEICESTER CITY at 16/1 and WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS at 25/1. Brendan Rodgers has certainly brought a winning mentality back to the KingPower and they are still a side who are largely underrated. The point that cannot be overstretched is that (like their Championship winning year) they are not sidelined by having to play European football - unlike the big six - and this can only help with squad rotation (of which they have a good bench) and frequency of games. At 16/1 get on now! Wolves are still in Europe but this is reflected in the slightly higher price and they certainly have a rich tradi- tion of success in the FA Cup. At 25/1, that’s just over 12/1 to reach the final and I think they deserve a sport- ing wager. Finally this month, have an interest on the resurgent DING JUNHUI in the Masters from Wembley, also the ev- ergreen JOHN HIGGINS. They are both priced at 12/1 and remember, there is no Ronnie O’Sullivan as he has withdrawn with a gammy leg. Also look out for a Greek bearing gifts in the shape of STEFANOS TSITSIPAS in the Australian Men’s Open Tennis at around 12/1. Since the publication of the last Bernie the Book, I hope you backed my headline nap of South Africa in the Rugby World Cup at 5/1, similarly, the New Orleans Saints (currently 6/1, advised at 20/1) and the Chiefs at 8/1 for the Superbowl in February. Until next time with anteposts for Cheltenham, good punting.
Bernie the Book JANUARY 2020
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