Don’t worry punters, this is one betting heat that will not take a lot of solving.

Wayne Rooney is 1/16 (bet £160 to win £10 profit) with Skybet to be named as the 2009/2010 PFA Players’ Player of the Year, and it is almost impossible to bet against him. Carlos Tevez is the next in the betting at 10/1, whilst Didier Drogba and Cesc Fabregas are also nominated for the prestigious end of season award.

Drogba is 22/1 with Skybet, and he is only one goal behind Rooney in the EPL goalscoring charts. The ‘Drog’ has had an erratic season by his standards, but is the token nomination from a Chelsea side who now look nailed-on for the title. Meanwhile Fabregas is the 41/1 outsider of the nominees, but is currently on the sidelines. Fernando Torres is a bit unlucky to miss out on a nomination, but his team-mate Steven Gerrard can have no complaints. 

Nemanja Vidic was a warm order for the award this time last year, so perhaps punters should throw caution to the wind. The Vidic gamble was foiled by Ryan Giggs, who went on to complete a double with the 2009 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. 

The last three awards have all gone to Manchester United players, which seems like an extremely good omen for Rooney backers. Gerrard was the last English winner of the award in 2006, and Rooney has twice won the PFA Young Player of the Year award before in his career.

Rooney is the 11/10 favourite to also be Top Goalscorer, but he may be rested for a handful of games before the World Cup. In which case the 6/5 about Drogba may be tempting.

Grand National winning jockey Tony McCoy is currently disputing favouritism with Wayne Rooney at 4/1 at the head of the BBC SPOTY betting.

bookies.com is your best bet for comparing odds on a wide range of betting markets.

PFA Player of the Year 2010 Betting

Top Goalscorer Betting

BBC SPOTY 2010 Betting

Manchester United have an astonishing 5 out of the 6 players nominated for the PFA Player of the Year - hardly surprising in the season where they could win a famous quintuple (8/1).

That said, Steven Gerrard is Paddy Power’s 11/8 co-favourite and the Liverpool skipper is currently shading favouritism on Betfair.

David Ginola was the last player from outside the Big Four to last win the PFA Trophy in 1999, whilst 8/1 Cristiano Ronaldo has won Player of the Year for the last two seasons.

Ronaldo was the first Portuguese player to ever win the trophy, but no player has won it three times.

We don’t know how bad Gerrard’s injury is, but 13 Premiership goals is a remarkable achievement at this stage of the year. Liverpool’s comeback in the title race can be largely put down to Stevie, who deserves to be favourite.

Gerrard commands enormous respect from his fellow players, so much so that he won the award in 2006.

Nemanja Vidic has been key part of Manchester United’s defense this season. The Serbian been well supported with Paddy Power, but at 11/8, surely his value has gone.

Man U’s record 14 straight clean sheets could also be put down to Van Der Sar and Rio Ferdinand, both 28/1 chances. Their presence in the shortlist could split up the Vidic vote.

Vidic’s disciplinary record shouldn’t count against him, and on the plus side he has scored 12 goals in 142 appearances.

GERRARD is the pick, but offers no value at the price. 7/1 is a tempting price in the Top Goalscorer market, but we don’t know the extent of his injury.

**Update 23/4/09**

Ryan Giggs has been backed into 1/3 on Betfair, having traded at a high of 159/1 earlier this season.

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PFA Player of the Year 2009 Betting

Premier League Winner 2009 Betting

Premier League Top Goalscorer Betting

Liverpool v Chelsea. Champions League. Again. 

Should be an easy one betting-wise; they met in the semis last year and both play in the Premier League.

A handful of bookies are undecided as to who’ll progress through this tie, offering 5/6 about both teams.

Corals report that they’ve seen equal amounts of money for both sides, although Chelsea are odds-against to qualify on Betfair.

Backing a team at 5/6 isn’t going to make you rich, and Wednesday’s match betting doesn’t look particularly rewarding. Liverpool are best priced at 11/8 with Paddy Power to beat Chelsea at Anfield, the draw is available at 11/5 and an away victory at 11/4.

Liverpool are 11/4 with Skybet to make the final and 11/5 to get knocked out in the semis like last year.

The sides last met at the same venue in February, with Liverpool winning in the last few minutes thanks to a Torres double. Florent Malouda thinks Chelsea are better, but the same correct score can be backed at 9/1. 

Torres is 10/1 with Paddy Power to score 2 goals or more.

In such a tight encounter, my preference is with the 0-0 scoreline, which usually offers cracking value. Boylesports are the only firm going 7/1 about No Goalscorer, which gives you room for the own goal nightmare.

Remember that Riise scored one in the 94th minute last year. He is no longer with the Reds.

I fancy under 2.5 goals, but 8/15 is a shocking price. Liverpool have scored in each of their last 18 CL matches, so preference would be for the 1-0 home win at 6/1 with Blue Square.

Another juicy price is 4/1 for the draw/draw outcome in the half-time/full-time market.

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Liverpool v Chelsea Match Betting 

Liverpool v Chelsea Asian Handicap Betting

Liverpool v Chelsea Correct Score Betting

Liverpool v Chelsea First Goalscorer Betting

Liverpool v Chelsea Half-time/Full-time Betting

Nicholas Anelka is out injured for 3 weeks, yet is still the 7/4 market leader in the Top Goalscorer market for the English Premier League. He is currently at the top with 15 goals to his name, but hasn’t been finding the target lately now that Hiddink plays him on the wing.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Gerrard are both on 13 goals, but I prefer Skybet’s 5/1 about Gerrard to 11/4 Ronaldo.

Gerrard scored a hat-trick yesterday and is the set-piece taker for the form team in the Premier League – Liverpool, who are now into 11/4 to win.

Liverpool have some tough fixtures, but Gerrard is always a goal threat. Get on him each way at 5/1 before the price shortens!

Recommendation:

3pts each way @ 5/1 S. Gerrard Top Goalscorer (1,2 – 1/3 odds Skybet)

bookies.com is your best bet for comparing Premier League odds:

Top Goalscorer Betting

Outright Winner Betting

Winner w/o Man U Betting

Relegation Betting

Coral go 8/11 that Ronaldo is still a Manchester United player next year, despite the reports that he has reached a verbal agreement to join Real Madrid this summer. Skybet clearly aren’t worried that he’s taking Spanish lessons, as they quote 4/7 that he plays for United next year. They are best-priced that he leaves this summer at 5/4, a price that may appeal to some.

I don’t have enough information on my side for any of those prices to be worthwhile, but I would think differently perhaps if I was Ronaldo’s Spanish teacher.

The Spanish paper, As, believe that President Ramon Calderon has signed a secret agreement with the player and his agent, Jorge Mendes. The transfer fee has been estimated at £90m, which would break the previous record set by Zidane.

The Portuguese winger was recently named the FIFA Player of the Year to add to his Ballon d’Or. SkyBet go 3/1 about him picking up the FIFA award next year, although I’d rather have my money with the 13/8 favourite, Leo Messi.

For a player to shine throughout the year, you ideally want his club to be performing well at the highest level. There aren’t any major international tournaments this year, so the Champions League will be crucial. 6/1 Torres or 16/1 Gerrard would be cut if Liverpool perform beyond expectations, but I have a feeling that this could be Barcelona’s year.

Fans may be ambitious in expecting their side to deliver a treble, but La Liga (1/20) looks sealed up. They are 7/2 favourites to win the Champions League – the best chance of the non-English clubs. If things get better for Thierry Henry, 50/1 for World Player of the Year could look like a huge price. His problem is the competition up front, such as 33/1 Eto’o.

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