Right Said Fred: Talking Betting With Betfred Boss Fred Done

I’M sticking to my guns – and think it will be City to win one nil after 90 in the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool at Wembley on Saturday.

That’s 9/1 at Betfred with the Blues 5/4 favourites to win the tie outright while Liverpool are priced at 2/1.

City edged it in part one of the double header between the nation’s top two at the Etihad on Sunday – although the 2-2 scoreline in the Premier League encounter didn’t reflect their supremacy particularly in the first half.

In form Kevin de Bruyne, man of the match at the Etihad and the club’s top scorer,  is a solid looking 5-1 shot to open the scoring at Wembley while Riyad Mahrez and Mo Salah are both available at 9/2.

If you are thinking there will again be plenty of goals between these well matched teams Betfred are 10/1 for a repeat of the 2-2 score after 90 minutes.

City with that point ahead of Liverpool  with seven games to go and an easier run in are 4/11 with us to retain the title while Liverpool are 2/1. I’m certainly hope that’s the case having paid out before Christmas to the tune of £750,000 on City being champs.

As for my club Manchester United well we’ve drifted out to 20/1 for a top four finish after that woeful display at Goodison with Everton’s 1-0 win dramatically lifting their chances of avoiding the relegation trap door.

The Toffees are now 9/4 for the drop with the current bottom three Norwich, Watford and Burnley all odds on with us.

ELITE rugby league is such an unforgiving game as Warrington's embattled coach Daryl Powell is finding out. When you are down you are down and you can expect no mercy from rivals.

The Wire are going through an horrendous run in Betfred Super League - and are out of the Challenge Cup too.

Powell with two weeks without interruption to work with his under fire squad will be looking for a dramatic change in fortunes over Easter against my home town club  Salford at home on Thursday while on Monday the Wolves are at Hull FC.

Meanwhile it's certainly not helping the mood of Wire fans that huge rivals Saints and Wigan are going great guns and are indeed joint top of Betfred Super League...and to rub salt into the wounds of the Warrington faithful they take on each other in what is sure to be a humdinger of a Cup semi-final on May 7 in Leeds. .

We have Saints 8/13 favourites to lift the Betfred Challenge Cup with Wigan 7/2, Huddersfield 11/2 while Hull KR are the 7/1 outsiders.

Oldham born Paul Sculthorpe, a Betfred TV columnist,  ahead of a fantastic Easter period in Betfred Super League has described the traditional Good Friday tussle with arch rivals Wigan at the Totally Wicked Stadium as his favourite game of the year..

RL legend Sculthorpe writes: “I obviously tipped the Saints for success against Catalans in the South of France, but probably didn’t think it would be as dominant as it was on the scoreboard in the end. Albeit, the 36-20 score didn’t fully satisfy coach Kristian Woolf, who said we played tough and clearly did enough to win but were not at our best.

“Clearly meant as a positive on how good this team can be on their day, Woolfy commented on a slow start, maybe down to nerves of knockout football, with Catalan crossing the whitewash first via Foud Yaha.

“However, business was soon resumed and a Jack Welsby inspired first half saw Saints go in at the break 20-10 up. Further tries from forwards Morgan Knowles, Dan Norman and the impressive Joe Bachelor finished off the home sides cup dreams.

“Personally I just think we are so far ahead of any team in the Betfred Super League, in every department. We look fitter and more athletic than the rest. This shows with their defence and the speed of line and aggression what we pride ourselves on. Add to that the backfield carries of Tommy Makinson, the intent of our forwards led by Alex Walmsley giving time and space for Lomax, Dodd and Welsby to do their thing. Complement that with the likes of Mark Percival’s devastating attacking lines and  I honestly can’t see anyone stopping title number 4.

“However, there will always those out to prove otherwise…and nobody more so that the Wigan Warriors. Not only do we face them on Good Friday, but have also been drawn together in the semi-final of the Betfred Challenge Cup to be played at Elland Road in a couple of weeks.

“It will be Matty Peet’s first Betfred Super League derby in charge of Wigan. There has been a significant improvement in their attack this year, and a big part of that has been the performances of Jai Field.

“The current leader in the Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel Award points table, has been in exceptional form this year and is certainly someone the Champions need to keep a close eye on. However, he hasn’t faced a defensive line like St Helens so far this season, and no doubt he will be a key target in nullifying the Warriors’ attacking threat.

“So, both teams go into this game full of confidence, and in front of a sell-out crowd at the Totally Wicked Stadium. Having said all that, I still believe Saints are still far superior on their day and will take the spoils by 10 points our more  which is(evens at Betfred. “

FINALLY a retired miner from Yorkshire saw his winnings from a 50p Lucky 31 on the horses doubled at Betfred.

 The 78-year-old widower was set to win £54,529.50 from his incredible wager – but because of the special promotions at Betfred he actually picked up an astonishing £110,204.30.

He plans to use his newfound wealth to buy a replacement second-hand car, a new caravan… and he’s even contemplating getting himself a horse!

The grandfather-of-ten followed his usual daily routine – and spent just five minutes making his five winning selections at four different racecourses last Wednesday.

He picked out Night Battle and Francesi to win at Lingfield, Golden Gal to triumph at Catterick, Seasett to be first past the post at Nottingham and Noya to oblige at Kempton.

The Betfred regular, who was a miner for 46 years before his pit closed and he ended up, as he put it, on the scrapheap, said: “I just did what I always do – wake up and put my clothes on over my pyjamas. Then I went to the newsagents which is just across the road, picked up my newspaper and went back to bed to study the form.

“It took me five minutes or so to pick out the horses. I don’t have any particular secret, except that I never, ever pick the favourites. I do study form, but not to a great extent.

“It’s my biggest win ever, and I’ve been putting bets on most of my life.

“I’m going to get myself another second-hand car, a replacement caravan – and I might go to Scarborough or Filey more this year.”

What a tremendous win for this hard-working customer.

All of his selections came in within 45 minutes – and it proves you can win big from small stakes at Betfred.