STEVE CLARIDGE'S AND JASON CUNDY’S FOOTBALL PICKS FOR 5-6 SEPT 2009

Former professional football players Steve Claridge and Jason Cundy used to play for Portsmouth FC - but now they are playing for BetRepublic.com

It wasn’t long ago that Steve Claridge and Jason Cundy were playing for Portsmouth but now they are putting their football skill to another use – helping members of the fast-growing sports betting community “BetRepublic” find a few winning bets this weekend.

The two former football pros love to pit their wits against the bookmakers and believe their considerable knowledge of the game helps to give them an edge when it comes to rooting out the betting value.

In every game of football bookmakers price up over 100 different betting markets which can prove a bit of a minefield for inexperienced punters.

“And that’s where we come in,” says Claridge. “We can look at the game from a professional footballer’s perspective and come up with a few betting recommendations that make real sense to us."

Claridge normally acts as a pundit on the Premier League Preview Show with sports betting expert James Eastham. But this week the former Portsmouth, Millwall and Cambridge United player is covering this weekend’s schedule of Internationals with fellow Pompey player Jason Cundy.

During his career, Cundy played for Chelsea (1988-92), Tottenham Hotspur (1992- 96) and Ipswich Town (1996-99) - as well as Portsmouth.

Cundy is famously remembered for the "freak" goal that he scored against Ipswich Town in a Premiership match for Tottenham, in 1992-93. In an attempt to clear the ball away on the half-way line, he managed a wind-assisted effort that ended up flying over goalkeeper Craig Forrest and into the back of the net. The goal was captured live on Sky Sports and put Spurs 1–0 up, in a match that would finish 1-1.

After retiring in 2000 he subsequently became a presenter on talkSPORT and it is real honour to have him presenting a show on Bet Republic TV.

This weekend Claridge and Cundy take football bettors through a busy schedule of Internationals. They tell you how they think each game will be played, what the score will be, where the goals will come from and, having looked at bookmakers' prices, where they think the betting value lies.

Why not log on to betrepublic now to see Steve Claridge and Jason Cundy in action. The latest show is now streaming on the website. Don't miss it!

These are the games Claridge and Cundy are talking about this weekend (5-6 Sept 2009), with a selection of their comments and picks for each game.

ENGLAND V SLOVENIA 

England are heavy favourites to see off Slovenia at Wembley in their last fine tuning session for the World Cup qualifier against Croatia.

Fabio Capello is unbeaten in his 4 home friendly matches to date and with almost all of the first choice 11fit and available, you won’t get better than 2/11 on a home win.

The Three Lions are fast becoming experts at seeing off lower ranked opposition – since World Cup qualifying started, only Spain (0-2) and Holland (2-2) have taken anything off Capello’s side.

The hosts also have a deluge of in-form players to call upon – Jermain Defoe and Wayne Rooney both have 4 Premiership goals in 4 games while Peter Crouch, Aaron Lennon, Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole all notched in the last round of league fixtures.

Rooney especially is on fire for England, having scored 9 goals in his last 8 International games, including 5 in his last 4 at Wembley. 

However, given that the domestic season is well underway, coupled with the Croatia game on Wednesday, it’s hard to imagine that the big names will stay on for 90 minutes.

Throw in Slovenia’s half-decent defence and a thrashing doesn’t look on the agenda.

BETS: 

2-0 (11/2) and 3-0 (13/2) correct scorelines (split stakes) 

Wayne Rooney to score first goal at 7/2

CROATIA v BELARUS 

Croatia second in group 6 on 14pts, seven points behind England. 

Belarus out of the running for qualifying automatically although a win can keep alive their hopes of a play-off spot.

Croatia have outstanding home record in international football 

Belarus have scored in two of three away games 

BETS: 

Croatia -1 Asian handicap (21/25) 

Both teams to score (evens) 

CYPRUS v REP IRELAND 

Rep Ireland are second in their group, one point behind Italy, but having played a game more 

Cyprus are fourth on five points – which means they’re out of the running to qualify 

Cyprus lost 2-1 at home to Italy in their opening qualifier but have scored in all three home matches 

Rep Ireland are unbeaten in four away games – three draws and a win 

BETS: 
 
Rep Ireland (11/10) 

Both teams to score (9/10)

FRANCE v ROMANIA 

France are second in Group 8, five points behind Serbia with a game in hand. They will want to win this match to close up on Serbia going into the head-to-head clash between the sides next week 

Thierry Henry and Frank Ribery France’s most important attacking players. France have a lot more quality going forward than in defence 

Benzema (Real Madrid) and French Player of the Year Gourcuff (Bordeaux) have started the season in sensational fashion 

France have won two out of two at home but had to come from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in the first meeting v Romania last year 

Romania need a win to keep alive slim hopes of nicking second place in the group 

BETS: 

France -1 Asian handicap (41/40) 

Over 2.5 goals (5/4) 

GEORGIA v ITALY 

Italy have won four and drawn two of six qualifiers so far 

They won in Cyprus and Montenegro – 2-1 and 2-0 respectively – but could only draw in Bulgaria (0-0) 

Georgia are bottom of the group with just three points from seven games 

They got all three points at home, however, where their record is three draws and a win 

BETS: 

Draw (4/1) 

Under 2.5 goals (17/20) 


POLAND v NORTHERN IRELAND 

Northern Ireland are two points behind group leaders Slovakia having played a game more and two points in front of Slovenia having played the same number of games 

Their away form is poor, however – they have lost twice and won once, and the win came in San Marino 

Poland have won two and drawn one of three away games, including a 10-0 victory over San Marino last time out 

BETS: 
 
Poland -1 Asian handicap (109/100) 

1-0 (11/2) and 2-0 (11/2) correct scorelines (split stakes) 

SCOTLAND v MACEDONIA 

This is a crucial game for second spot as both teams have seven points from six games 

They are both 14 points behind group leaders Holland, who have already qualified for the finals 

Scotland drew 0-0 at home to Norway and beat Macedonia 2-1 

Macedonia have lost both away games without scoring 

BETS: 
 
Scotland (5/6) 

1-0 (5/1) and 2-0 (7/1) correct scorelines (split stakes) 

SPAIN v BELGIUM 

Spain have a perfect record of six wins from six games. They have scored 13 goals and conceded just two 

Belgium need to get something out of the game to keep alive slim hopes of stealing second place. They lie five points behind second-placed Bosnia-Herzegovina having played the same number of games 

BETS: 
 
Spain -2 Asian handicap (evens) 

Over 3 goals (113/100) 


ARGENTINA V BRAZIL 

Lisandro started the season in outstanding fashion after 24m euro move for FC Porto to Lyon. Scored hat-trick in lyon's 3-1 away second leg Champions League win over Anderlecht. Also scored in 3-2 win in Russia last month. 

Maradona under pressure but very popular with players and excellent performance in Russia last month. First away team to win there in ages. 

BETS: 

Brazil +0 Asian handicap (36/25)

Lisandro Lopez to score anytime (13/8) 

Visit sports betting community to join others discussing their tips for the weekend action, plus to watch the BetRepublic.com TV programs.