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World Cup Predictions And Special Bets: Round Three

By David Jester

The World Cup is nearing the end of the first round of Group games and the predictions are moving along nicely, although they did hit a recent bump. The first round of tips went very well with 4 out of 4 correct predictions (including a scorecast) but so far (excluding the tips for the 16th which have yet to come in as I write this on the 15th) the second lot have been doing okay. Here is a rundown of the predictions and the results:

Algeria vs Slovenia
Prediction: Slovenia win to nil and scorecast of 2-0
Result: 1-0 Slovenia win.
Bet: 1 out of 2

Germany vs Australia and Netherlands vs Denmark
Prediction: Germany and Netherlands both to win (Double)
Result: Wins for Germany and Netherlands.
Bet: Win

Japan vs Cameroon

Prediction: Cameroon win (close game separated by a single goal)
Result: Japan 1-0 win.
Bet: Lose

Italy vs Paraguay

Prediction: Italy 1-0.
Result: 1-1
Bet: Lose

Ivory Coast vs Portugal

Prediction: Draw + 1-1 scorecast
Result: 0-0
Bet: 1 out of 2

That's only 3 out of 7, but with a decent double in there and a nice price on the Ivory Coast/Portugal game, it should be enough to have kept you in profit.

Next Round

Now that all the teams have played we have a better understanding of what we are up against in these World Cup Finals so these predictions should prove as fruitful as the first lot did. If you want some Free Bets to get you started check out the links at the bottom of the article, I would also recommend getting onto an Exchange such as Betfair (who also have some great Free Bets and promotions) as a lot of these tips are based on their odds and their system:

Uruguay were stuck in a 0-0 draw with France in their first game and find themselves up against the hosts on Wednesday night. The atmosphere will be intense (get your earplugs ready for those annoying Vuvuzela's) and both sides will need to go for the win. Uruguay should be the ones to nick it and they are nicely priced to do that, so get your money on a Uruguay win .

I picked France to be one of my under-performers in one of my initial World Cup Preview articles and they proved that with the above mentioned draw. I also predicted the Mexico 1-1 draw with the hosts, but I will leave France v Mexico alone, it will be ideal for In-Play betting (check out Bet365 for the best options there) but it is a difficult one to prejudge.

I also predicted that Greece would get just one point in this competition, and it was Nigeria I had in mind when I envisaged that Draw (after correctly tipping South Korea to beat them them) but after watching Greece play I think that even a point is beyond them and I would go for a Nigeria win on Thursday. Add an Argentina win (against South Korea) to that bet to make it a Double and increase your earnings for that day. There is a chance for another good Double the following day when the USA will have no problem beating Slovenia and England will easily beat Algeria, so get on an England and USA Double as well.

Serbia v Germany is a weekend game I will avoid. Serbia can be a good side and had a hard time against Ghana, whilst Germany cruised in their first game. Germany are better but Serbia need a win to stay in - a tricky one to pick. Ghana v Australia is less tricky though and is a game that Ghana should win well, they have pacey players and the Aussies have an old and slow defense.

Paraguay should have no issues beating Slovakia and they will fit into a nice Treble along with Netherlands (against Japan) and Italy (against New Zealand) to maximize your profits. Whilst I think Ivory Coast will hold Brazil to a Draw and a Handicap bet on North Korea (found on Betfair) at +1.5 should be a good one against Portugal . They proved that they can hold their own defensively against Brazil and they should put Portugal through the same trouble.

As I said above, this is written before the start of Group H so I have yet to see what the likes of Chile and Spain can do, so I will leave them alone and provide some tips in one of the many daily result article that you can find here on Newsblaze.

More Tips

For those of you that like to bet on the amount of Goals scored in a game you may have been having a hard time with the first round of matches. That is typically because no one wants to lose their first game so everyone is cautious, only when they are in a clear lead do they push for more goals (as we saw with Germany) and that hasn't happened too often. I would advise against betting on low scoring games for the second round of matches though, the teams will be going all-out now and the goals should start coming in. So for the clinch matches (South Africa/Uruguay, Germany/Serbia, Italy/New Zealand etc.) you should be safe with the +2.5 Goals bet which is always available over on Betfair. The general rule is: If the game is a must win for both and there are strong offensive or weak defensive teams playing, go for the bet. For example, avoid Italy and Greece games (defensive minded and weak attack), but go for the likes of Holland (great attack) and Cameroon (top attack and dodgy defensive). The bet almost always has odds better than Evens and is a great alternative to betting on the winner.

Keep your eyes open for the results as they come in here on Newsblaze and if you want some Free Bets check out the links below. All the following bookies are offering promotions at the minute:

Betfair - £25 Free Bet.
Victor Chandler - £125 Free Bet
Bet365 - £200 Free Bets.
Sky Bet £10 Free Bet + Free Super 6 (possible £100k win) entry.
Ladbrokes £25 Free Bet from £5 Stake

David Jester is the Newsblaze Soccer expert. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/DavidJester