Friday 26th August 2022

In Across the Leagues today:

• Hundreds of markets – and stats at your fingertips…
• 100% Most Corners trends…
• Big-odds picks at 20/1 and 40/1…

Weekend Preview – a world of Corners…

I can remember a time when Corners and Cards bets were considered really niche. In fact, I’d say my Publisher and this service was one of the first to get into this area of football betting. With the birth of online sportsbooks at the turn of the century, more markets sprouted up than had ever been seen before…

These days on the bookmakers’ websites, it’s commonplace to see 100, 200, even 400+ markets available for any given football match.

Once upon a time, such a wide range of options was reserved only for the biggest games – the Premier League, Champions League, World Cup, and live TV matches. Nowadays, we can strike bets all over the globe, on dozens and dozens of potential outcomes.

As I write this Friday afternoon, the likes of Bet365 and William Hill have Most Corners (or ‘Corners Match Bet’) markets available for everything from Man City v Crystal Palace in the Premier League this weekend, down to Harrogate v Newport in League Two. And that’s just the English leagues…

Those firms also offer Corners markets across the European divisions too, including the high-profile German Bundesliga, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A… as well as less well-known leagues such as the Dutch Eredivisie, and the Turkish Super Liga.

Of course, variety is one thing. But how’s anyone supposed to get a handle on what’s a good Corners betin any of those dozens of matches, on any given fixture list, from week to week? Good question…

Well, dear reader, that’s where your members-only Across the Leagues website comes in…

All of the aforementioned leagues and more (17, in total) are covered by the bet-specific stats on our site. You’re just a few clicks away from accessing at-a-glance standout stats across dozens of markets and bet categories.

The 2022/23 form is startling to trickle in nicely at:

www.acrosstheleagues.co.uk

For example, in the Most Corners department:

• Arsenal and Chelsea both have early-season 100% records in the Premier League, winning the Most Corners in 3 out of 3 games so far

• While in the German Bundesliga, FC Koln (Cologne) are the only team to have landed the Corners Match Bet in all 3 games

In the English Football League, the trends have a little more weight to them, with most teams having played a handful of games already:

• In the Championship, Norwich have won the Most Corners in all 5 of their games so far – making them the no.1 team in the division for this bet right now

• In League One, Derby County and Ipswich each have 100% records for Corners Match Bet payouts (5 games out of 5)

• In League Two, two teams boast 100% record for the Most Corners, with Bradford and Mansfield both posting 5 out of 5 wins in this market

Of the eight teams I’ve mentioned there, all with new-season 100% league records for landing the Most Corners bet. The two available at the most appealing prices this weekend are Norwich City at around Evens (2.0) at Sunderland, and Mansfield at around 4/5 (1.8) at Sutton.

As for the opponents, on their return to the Championship, Sunderland have managed to win the Most Corners in both of their home games so far, but only by a solitary corner each time (with a corner tally of 4-3 both times). In League Two, Sutton Utd have been out-cornered in both of their home matches (4-5, and 4-7). Let’s follow Norwich & Mansfield’s corners form on the road this weekend.

Norwich are ranked no.1 in the Championship for Most Corners bets right now:

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Red Devils 100% on the Cards…

Southampton v Man Utd

As we noted earlier this week, Manchester United are carrying on from last season’s form in terms of landing a high number of Most Cards (or Most Booking Points) bets. So far this season, the Red Devils have banked that bet in 3 games out of 3 in the Premier League.

It’s still early days of course, but this trend does look one to follow right now, with Man Utd looking to continue the high-energy bounce-back they showed against Liverpool on Monday night, having gone into that game with two bad defeats.

The Saturday lunchtime trip to Southampton looks another opportunity to profit from United’s ill-discipline:

• Last season, Man Utd got the Most Cards in both games v Southampton (2-3 yellow cards at St Mary’s, and 4-0 yellows to United at Old Trafford)

Odds are available in the region of 6/4 (2.5) for this market – see below.

Big-odds opportunities…

For bigger prices than those standalone stats picks, I’ve got two exciting angles for this weekend…

As I mentioned on Monday, the three teams in our 2022/23 English Football League mega-acca – Norwich, Peterborough & Mansfield – have all hit winning form in the past couple of weeks. On the last two matchdays, a win-treble on those three teams has paid around 7/1. With all three on the road this Saturday, odds of 20/1 appeal for an attractively-priced away-day acca.

Championship: Sunderland v NORWICH
League One: Derby County v PETERBOROUGH
League Two: Sutton Utd v MANSFIELD

Over in Germany, Hertha Berlin v Borussia Dortmund catches my eye. Last season, both meetings between these sides produced big-odds Half Time/ Full Time turnarounds (HT/ FT)…

In the home fixture, Dortmund came from 0-1 down at the break to win the game, 2-1. And there was a reversal at Berlin, too, with Hertha coming from 0-1 down at half time to pull off a shock 3-2 victory. This Hertha v Dortmund match-up produced drama in 2020/21, too, with visitors Dortmund coming from 1-0 down after 45 minutes, to win 2-5.

Coincidence? Maybe. But Dortmund have long played in the end-to-end fashion that tends to characterise the high-scoring Bundesliga. So far this season there have been two such HT/ FT turnarounds in the German top-flight – and Dortmund have been involved in both of them…

12th August: Freiburg 1 Borussia Dortmund 3 (HT: 1-0)

20th August: Borussia Dortmund 2 Werder Bremen 3 (HT: 1-0)

Tasty odds of 19/1 and 40/1 are available for the two HT/ FT switcheroo options for Saturday’s game in Berlin.

Alternatively, if you’re happy and able to bet in-play, you could consider waiting until half time, and if anyone is ahead at the break, place a speculative bet on the other team to come back and win. Both sides have ‘previous’ for mounting second-half comebacks.

TODAY'S PICKS

Sunderland v Norwich
Championship, Saturday 12.30pm – Sky Sports

• Most Corners (or Corners Match Bet): Norwich @ 11/10 (2.1) BetVictor, Evens (2.0) Bet365, 19/20 (1.95) Betway, 888 Sport, 9/10 (1.9) Sporting Index Fixed Odds, 5/6 (1.83) Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook, 4/5 (1.8) Unibet, 8/11 (1.73) Skybet

Sutton Utd v Mansfield
League Two, Saturday 3pm

• Most Corners (or Corners Match Bet): Mansfield @ 17/20 (1.85) William Hill , 4/5 (1.8) Skybet, 8/11 (1.73) Bet365

Southampton v Man Utd
Premier League, Saturday 12.30pm – BT Sport

• Most Cards: Man Utd @ 17/10 (2.7) Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook, Betway, 31/20 (2.55) Unibet. 0 Card Handicap: Man Utd @ 13/8 (2.63) Bet365.  Most Booking Points: Man Utd @ 8/5 (2.6) William Hill, 6/4 (2.5) Skybet

English Football League
Saturday 12.30pm & 3pm kick-offs

• Match Result – TREBLE: Norwich, Peterborough & Mansfield to win @ 20/1 Bet365, Betfred, BetVictor

Hertha Berlin v Borussia Dortmund
German Bundesliga, Saturday 2.30pm

• Half Time/ Full Time: Hertha/ Dortmund – best price 19/1 BetVictor, Sporting Index Fixed Odds. AND Dortmund/ Hertha – best price 40/1 Betfred , Ladbrokes, Coral

P.S
Want to get in touch? My email is: oliver@acrosstheleagues.co.uk

Enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend – and enjoy the football…

Best wishes,

Oliver Upstone

Across the Leagues