Sport
Tackling the £2,000,000 Millionaire
Tackling the £2,000,000 Millionaire. This week’s Millionaire has a decent selection from the Premier League, Championship and Champions League.
As always here at Colossus Bets, we want you to win big but we’re not going to make it easy for you! If you want to be in with a chance of the lottery-sized £2m jackpot, remember to stake a minimum of £2. Good luck!
Burnley vs. Brighton
What an absolute cracker in store at Turf Moor between the teams that occupy second and third in the Championship table to kick off the millionaire.
Two of the highest scoring teams to boot with only two points separating the sides.
The carrot for the hosts is knowing they can go top of the league with a win as long as Bristol City have held leaders Hull City in the early kick off.
To that end, Sean Dyche will have his players right up for this one.
It’s a big ask against a team that are the only unbeaten side in the division and who are playing some sparkling football under Chris Hughton.
Having said that, Burnley have lost just once at home all season and in Sam Vokes and Andre Gray, have a strike force that can trouble any defence.
If the visitors can win the midfield battle, it could swing the balance. Beram Kyal and Dale Stephens have provided a fearsome barrier in the centre of the park and won’t take any prisoners here either.
Pound for pound, these two are equal in every way with home advantage the only thing to split them on the day to get the millionaire underway.
1-0 is my first selection this week.
Tottenham vs. West Ham
Fifth plays six in a hotly anticipated London derby in this leg of the millionaire. White hot at White Hart Lane you might say.
It’s a fixture where the Hammers have done relatively well over the last couple of seasons, however Spurs are just coming into their own now after a sluggish start to the campaign.
Importantly for the hosts, Harry Kane has found his shooting boots as has England debutant Dele Alli. Eric Dier also continues to impress in the midfield.
Slaven Bilic’s West Ham side have one of the best away records in the division this season with Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City all succumbing to the the Hammers’ powerful and energetic style of play under the Croatian.
Key to their run has been the form of Dimitri Payet, a superb summer signing from Marseille. That he is out until the New Year with injury weakens the visitors considerably.
It’s not all about one man of course but Payet certainly oiled the Claret and Blue wheels.
This will almost certainly be a game for the purist with entertainment guaranteed and goals aplenty.
The league table doesn’t lie and I can’t split them either.
1-1 or AOD are my selections for this match.
Real Betis vs. Atletico Madrid
Diego Simeone takes his Atletico Madrid side to Andalusia in the hope that the El Clasico scoreling from the night before has fallen in his sides favour, and knowing that a positive outcome in this one will put the Rojiblancos right back in La Liga contention.
Aside from Barcelona, Atleti are one of the form teams in the division with Antoine Griezmann leading the charge.
Betis sit comfortably in 11th position at the moment right beside neighbours Sevilla and will have 55,000 screaming Betista’s cheering them on in one of their more glamourous home games.
Despite being often referred to as Sevilla’s “second team,” the green and whites did manage to shift 40,000 season tickets before the start of the campaign. Not bad for a side that were in the second tier last season.
Their team continue to do them proud even if their ageing front line is the oldest in the division.
Joaquin is no spring chicken at 34 either, but he like the rest of his team mates have a strong belief in their work and an incessant drive to make things happen.
Man for man there is no question that Atleti are the better side. Koke, Diego Godin, Fernando Torres and Jackson Martinez are just four high-quality players that Simeone can call upon to take care of business. Which they’ll manage with ease.
0-2 or 0-3 for your coupon.
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Crystal Palace vs. Sunderland
Poor old Sam Allardyce.
After a thumping north-east derby victory Big Sam probably thought he had lift off at the Stadium of Light. He can think again.
A 6-2 loss at Everton really hit home the amount of work that needs to be done to drag the Black Cats away from the relegation zone.
A 1-0 home loss against Southampton merely compounded the situation.
There aren’t too many more difficult places to go than Selhurst Park when you need three points and Alan Pardew certainly won’t be in the mood to be accommodating.
Martin Atkinson takes charge which is something else that won’t please Allardyce. He was also the ref in the first game of the manager’s reign – a 1-0 loss at West Brom that Allardyce blamed squarely on the referee!
As Dick Advocaat found out before him, there aren’t enough soldiers at Sunderland that are willing to go into battle and the January transfer window can’t come soon enough.
Palace have bounced back from a difficult period to draw with Manchester United and beat Liverpool at Anfield.
This part of south London will be buzzing and I expect the Eagles to be flying high at the end of proceedings.
2-0 or 2-1 are my selections in this leg of the millionaire pool.
Zenit vs. Valencia
Valencia should be buoyed by their last away performance where they took a high-quality Celta Vigo side to the cleaners by five goals to one.
It was, by some distance, their best performance of the season and that will have please Nuno Santo and his assistant Phil Neville.
However, Los Che just can’t seem to find any consistency this season and that’s troubling for a side that should be challenging for the Champions League spots in La Liga.
Seventh isn’t a disaster at this stage but if they carry on their run of a loss every two to three games then this will be a long hard campaign.
A win is imperative at Zenit to keep them second in the table and in the box seat for qualification behind their opponents.
It’s not an easy ask however.
Hulk was on fire in the first leg at Mestalla as Zenit took the honours by the odd goal in a five-goal thriller. Andre Villas-Boas’ five-man defence also caused the Spaniards problems for long periods.
Furthermore, the hosts have lost just twice at home in official competition since the beginning of the year, albeit their other two losses in friendlies included one against Valencia.
A cold and frosty night in prospect, and a frosty reception expected back home when Valencia return with their tails between their legs.
2-1 or 3-1 for your coupon.
Juventus vs Manchester City
The “Old Lady” is looking as frail as at any point over the last few years and it’s sad to see. It’s something we must consider though in the millionaire pool.
A team that took Barcelona all the way in the Champions League final and have ruled Serie A for the last four seasons now look a shadow of their former selves.
Should Paul Pogba eventually leave as expected, one has to genuinely fear for a team that were genuinely feared just a few short months ago.
A win at the Etihad Stadium in the first match week of the 2015/16 Champions League seems a lifetime ago now.
A loss to Sassuolo, with respect not one of Italy’s big names, tells you how far the Bianconeri have fallen.
Manchester City on the other hand go from strength to strength, Manuel Pellegrini expertly gelling his expensive summer signings together.
A win here and City are guaranteed top spot in the group, something they could only have dreamed of when going down 2-1 to his opposition earlier in the competition.
Unless any late injury concerns derail Pellegrini’s preparations, I can’t see further than an away win in my final pick of the week.
1-2 for your millionaire coupon.
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