Roman Abramovic's lot left it late to get one over Sheikh Mansour's gang last Sunday so although there was only two goals in the Chelsea / City game, at 118, the Goal Minutes make-up was still rather like the two owners' wallets... large. Mr LO was one of two to get within one minute of the correct total and wins a £200 Total Goals bet.
We have Euro qualifiers to look forward to (or, er... not) this weekend so for another chance to win a £200 Total Goals bet, we are asking how many goals (in total) will there be in the 13 scheduled matches tomorrow? Email me your answers via themole@sportingindex.com before the first games get underway at 3pm, closest picked wins.
avg goals scored per game by Scotland against Brazil
avg goals scored per game by Brazil against Scotland
matches for Wales without a win
avg points conceded per game by Wigan – the best defence
avg points scored per game Warrington – the best offence
avg booking m/u in Wales last 5 internationals
avg time of 1st goal In Northern Ireland's last 6 matches
England's avg first 15 over's score
Stuck in deepest, darkest Kennington, the first signs of summer on Wednesday had the Mole dreaming of jumping on the first flight to the Caribbean and chilling with a rum and cola while reading the new Sebastian Faulks novel. It was a massive coincidence then to find that, around the same time, during their CWC quarter-final against Pakistan, Chris Gayle and co were thinking exactly the same thing. The Windies' talisman lasted all of 2.5 overs before joining his teammates in the field after putting on a meagre total of 112. It took just two Pakistan players 20 overs to trump that total to the joy of one punter who bought Pakistan/West Indies Supremacy for £50 at 21. A 10-wicket Pakistan victory meant a make-up of 100. I hope he's spending his £3,950 wisely - on a trip to the Caribbean perhaps?
This week's bad trade must have hurt more than a head butt from Neil Lennon and - just perhaps - even more than a handful of choice words from Ally McCoist. The event was the Scottish League Cup Final and, knowing that most of us expected more flying kicks and roundhouses than shots and goals, Sporting Index set their Bookings quote at 72-76 points. Desperate to make up for the fact that this was the third most important trophy in Scottish football, the punter responsible gave himself an interest with a £40 buy. Based on just 90 minutes, the official make-up of 30 cost him £1,840. However, the real twist of the knife came when Emilio Izaguirre was sent off and three others were booked in extra time for an additional 55 points that would have put our man in profit… if only they counted.
Formula One Drivers Championship Index Sunday sees the anticipated return of the Formula One season and this week's market move is brought to you from our F1 Drivers Championship Index. Since we went down with our prices at Sporting Index just over a month ago we've seen a lot of interest in this market. Last year's winner Sebastian Vettel has attracted early support from our punters with his price being backed into at 35-38 three points higher than his opening price of 32-35.
Another driver who has come in for support is Vettel's Red Bull team mate Mark Webber who opened at 17-20 but is now trading at 19-22. England's Lewis Hamilton however has been deserted in the market opening at 23-25 but now trades five ticks lower at 18-21. This clearly shows that the punters believe it will be another dominating year for the Red Bull team.
Above: The cynic in me says that this must have been leaked on purpose. Still, pretty embarrassing for all concerned. Think of it as a little Mole bonus for the all the Irish, Scottish, Welsh, French and Italians among you. You're welcome.
If there's one thing the Beeb does well, it's a sports montage. The F1 season starts this weekend, so set your alarm for 6am on Sunday morning and recap an excellent 2010 season with the closing credits from Auntie's coverage from last year. And, for the techies, a summary of the new rule changes.
