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ALASTAIR BROWNLEE'S BORO v LIVERPOOL MATCH PREVIEW 11-1-08
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After the terrific FA Cup result at Bristol City and the prospect of a place in the last sixteen after the encouraging fourth round draw paired Boro with lowly Mansfield Town, the focus switches back to the need for Premier League survival points as Liverpool are next up at the Riverside.
This could be a good time to face the Reds as Liverpool are going through a mid-season dip in form.
They were booed off Anfield after beginning 2008 with a 1-1 draw at Wigan and had to settle for an FA Cup replay following a hard fought 1-1 draw at Luton.
Rafael Benitez must certainly feel the weight of expectation from the club's American owners and with the ongoing demand for Champions League football, year in year out, the current fifth place is a cause for Merseyside concern.
To pick up three points, however, Boro must improve their own home form and that was underlined in the New Years Day fixture when the team from the other side of Stanley Park, Everton, became the fifth side this season to leave the Riverside with all three points.
As Gareth has often underlined, the key to success is in getting it right at home and the manager knows that he needs to find the answer to a problem that has hit his team all season, with the exception of victories over Birmingham and Arsenal.
Midfield selection for Saturday's clash could be a problem as Julio Arca and Lee Cattermole are suspended whilst Mohamed Shawky has joined up with Egypt ahead of the African Cup of Nations.
Gary O'Neil is available again after serving his suspension last weekend and also up for a place is George Boateng.
George had his big fall out with the manager over the festive period after expressing his frustration at not getting an instant return to first team action following the win at Fratton Park.
Gareth has proved that he has a tough side in the way he reacted to the situation - by leaving him out of the squad for the trip to Ashton Gate. He also showed that he is willing to give Boateng another chance by welcoming him back into full training this week.
As I mentioned in the Bristol City preview, I still think that at thirty-two and with a wealth of top flight experience, Boateng has a big role to play in Boro's battle to stay in the Premier League. This must be on the managers terms, however, and so it has proved to be.
The interesting point will be who wears the captain's armband if George is selected to play?
Apart from the build up to what is always a big game against Liverpool, the transfer speculation has increased in intensity this week as Boro have been strongly linked with moves for Brazilian strikers Fred from Lyon and Afonso Alves, who plays for Heerenveen.
At six feet two and the scorer of forty-nine goals in forty-nine appearances for Heerenveen, Alves seems to have the right credentials to do a job in the Premier League.
Any move to England would be subject to a work permit application but bearing in mind the potential fee of around £12m that would be needed to grab his signature, and the fact that he was part of the Brazilian squad that lifted the Copa America 2007 in Venezuela, a work permit appeal should be successful.
The manager remained tight-lipped about any move for Alves at this week's press conference but all the fans I have spoken to are excited at the prospect of the club again being linked with spending in the transfer window after the fear was that the month might only bring in a short term loan player.
Meanwhile Stewart Downing has been the subject of transfer speculation from clubs who may be alerted to the fact that, although the winger has two years left on his contract, talks on an extension have not yet been finalised.
Downing had to put up with some criticism from a section of the Boro fans earlier this season but he is our top scorer with five goals and at twenty-three, he has yet to hit his peak.
The local winger is surely a vital part of the future of the club and it was good to hear Keith Lamb rubbish claims that Downing was about to be part of a transfer deal with Spurs.
One of the areas of the squad that has the greatest competition for the Liverpool match is in defence, as Jonathan Woodgate, Robert Huth and David Wheater battle it out for the two central defensive positions.
It is good to see Huth back after a season again disrupted by injury but I would love to see Wheater retain his place after another solid display and scoring the winning goal at Ashton Gate.
Wheater has been one of the Premier League finds of the season and it would be a great clash with the twenty year old from Teesside taking on twenty three year old Fernando Torres who cost £26.6 million pounds in the summer from Atletico Madrid. So far, he has scored ten goals in fifteen Premier League starts.
Who would come out on top? My money is on Wheater. Let's hope we have the chance to find out!
Whenever Liverpool arrive on Teesside I always think back to the League Cup semi-final second leg in February 1998.
Liverpool had a 2-1 advantage from the first leg but Boro made a whirlwind start as a Paul Merson penalty levelled the tie and Marco Branca, with his first touch in English football, sent Boro to Wembley.
The crowd that night were the noisiest heard at the Riverside and a repeat of both result and noise level would be terrific.
Bernie and I will be back with Simply Red on Sunday on Century Radio, hopefully talking about a three-point display against Liverpool.
Special guests will include Terry Cochrane, Curtis Fleming and Craig Hignett so why not give us a call on our usual number 08450021100 or text 85102.
The fun starts at 11am and there is also chance to win Sunday lunch for two at the Bluebell Hotel in Acklam.
Up the Boro!
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A GUARANTEED PROFIT OF AT LEAST £41.20 ON PORTSMOUTH v FULHAM
Did you know that it is possible to win money on Sunday afternoon's Premiership clash between Portsmouth v Fulham, whatever the result?
The game kicks off at 3.00pm and we can guarantee you a profit of at least £41.20, whatever the result of the match. All you have to do is follow the simple instructions below and then sit back and enjoy the game. At full-time, you will be at least £41.20 better off, whatever the result of the match.
We must point out that if you want to take this bet, you should do it now because if the odds change, then the figures here will be invalidated. If they have changed, let us know and we will rework the bet for you.
You can still do this if you have a Betfair account but your overall profit will be reduced by £25.00 as you won't receive the £25.00 cashback as an existing account holder.
If you are unsure about this bet, you are most welcome to call us on 01642 223229 and we will help you as much as we can.
We're going to lay out a total of £71.00 on the Portsmouth v Fulham match and we will collect £115.00 if Portsmouth win, £112.20 if Fulham win and £114.13 if it's a draw. That's a minimum profit of 58%, a much higher interest rate than you will get in any high street bank.
Here's how it's done. Just follow these simple instructions.
1. Open an account with Coral. It is really important that you enter the bonus code of CORALTD when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Betfair. It is really important that you enter the promotional code of BFB425 when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Extrabet
 .
This shouldn't take you any longer than a few minutes.
2. Make the following deposits into your new accounts.
Deposit £20.00 into your new Coral account.
Deposit £26.00 into your new Betfair account.
Deposit £25.00 into your Extrabet
account.
3. Now make the following bets.
Place £20.00 on Portsmouth at 3.00 (2/1) with Coral.
Coral will now add a £10.00 bonus to your account. Place this on Portsmouth as well. You will now have £30.00 riding on Portsmouth.
Back the draw with £25.00 at 3.7 (11/4) (or higher if available) with Betfair.
Place £26.00 on Fulham at 2.2 (6/5) with Extrabet .
Extrabet match your first bet up to £25 so you will now have £51.00 riding on Fulham.
The £25.00 matched bet will not show in your account but you can read all about how it works on the Extrabet site. It's the purple box that says '£25 FREE BET FOR NEW CUSTOMERS' on the top right hand side. Click here to visit the Extrabet site.
If you are unsure about placing these bets, please feel free to mail us or call us on 01642 223229 and we will talk you through it, no problem at all. There is no such thing as a stupid question.
You have temporarily laid out a total of £71.00 on the Portsmouth v Fulham match. I stress, temporarily... Now sit back, crack a beer open and enjoy the match.
4. Here's what happens at the end of the game.
If Portsmouth win, you collect £115.00. That's £90.00 from Coral plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If it's a draw, you collect £114.13. That's £89.13 from Betfair plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If Fulham win you collect £112.20. That's £87.20 from Extrabet plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
5. This means that the worst case scenario on the Portsmouth v Fulham match is Fulham win and you make £41.20 profit. However, if it is a draw you make £43.13 and if Portsmouth win you make £44.00. That's a minimum profit of 58%, a much better rate of interest that you would get at any high street bank or building society.
6. It is absolutely vital that you click on the links on this page to open the accounts with the two bookies and enter the correct bonus codes or you may not qualify for the bonuses.
Also, before you place your bets, you should check that the odds haven't changed. If they have, let us know by mail or phone us on 01642 223229 and we will rework the bet for you.
Please feel free to contact us or phone us on 01642 223229 if you have any questions at all about this bet and we will help you as much as we can.
Please note that the bonuses are valid for new customers only so if you already have an account with one or more of the bookies we are using, you won't be able to do this. If that is the case, mail us or phone us on 01642 223229 and we'll create an alternative bet for you using different bookies.
This method of betting was used very successfully during the 2006 World Cup and you can read all about how it was done right here.
We guarantee this bet
It's understandable that some people will not believe that it is possible to do this. "What's the catch?" I hear you asking. My answer to that question is that we have been publishing arbitrage bets for four seasons now and literally hundreds of people have profited from following the advice on these pages.
Only twice has our refund guarantee been triggered and that was when we did all the figures wrong and sent refunds out to those who had followed our advice and made a small loss.
Our refund guarantee works like this. If this bet doesn't work like we say it will and you end up out of pocket, we will refund your losses. Simple as that.
That means that you simply cannot lose on this, whatever happens and even if we messed up the numbers.
The only stipulation here is that you must click on the links on this page to be eligible for the refund guarantee, not that you'll be needing to claim anyway. Just enjoy the profit and stay posted for many more of these throughout the season.
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