2010 WORLD CUP PREDICTIONS AND TIPS FOR THE GROUP STAGES

With World Cup 2010 just a few days away, we’re going to be delving into some of my exclusive predictions and money-making tips for the big tournament. I’m going to be looking for the early value and won’t be making too many long-range betting options here so we will be focusing primarily on the group stages. Be sure to check out the second part of the article by clicking through from the box on your left.

If you’re looking to back group stage winners, William Hill is probably your best destination. They’ve got a first-rate group stage betting coupon that offers up a 10% bonus if you back all eight groups on an accumulator. While I’ve never been a massive advocate of backing favourites, I don’t see too many groups where the favoured teams look genuinely beatable- the exception being group A.
France, though blessed with a talented squad, don’t really deserve to be here and I am aghast at folks who have France getting deep into the tournament. While I think the francophones will likely be able to handle South Africa and possibly Mexico, I genuinely don’t see them coping with Uruguay’s first-rate strike force. I am quite confident that Uruguay could be one of the tournament upstarts and they boast a front-pairing that ranks among the best in the competition. An in-form striker can work wonders in the World Cup and I fancy Uruguay to be the story from Group A.
Uruguay are 16/5 to win Group A and if you’re really looking to bet against France, try backing the group forecast market with Uruguay/Mexico at 14/1. That’s great value on a very plausible result. If you want some even crazier value, try Uruguay/South Africa at 18/1. I think Uruguay/Mexico could be the way to go. Even Uruguay/France is well-priced at 8/1, but I am betting against France here. And I’m not even Irish.
Group B is quite light and I really expect Argentina to run away with this one. They simply have so much firepower that they should be able to comfortably overwhelm any of the other sides in the competition. Greece aren’t dynamic enough while Nigeria aren’t the force they used to be. Personally, I’m going to be backing South Korea to defy expectations and finish second in the group.
You can back Argentina/South Korea at a tasty 4/1 and I’ll be backing Greece to finish bottom with a 15/8 price.
The Germans boast some rather long-odds to win their group, they are still odds-on, but lengthier than they should be against this group. I don’t think Ghana are much of a threat without Michael Essien, but I do think that Serbia could be a serious force to be reckoned with. They have excellent defensive solidity and some versatile players going forward. I think teams could struggle against their physical and organized style of play. The question is whether they can score enough goals.
If you’re looking to bet against Germany, try a whopper of a bet on Serbia/Australia in Group D- you’ll find that at a very enticing 22/1. If you’re looking to play it safe, try Germany/Serbia at 3/1.
We’ll be delving into more group stage betting in the second part of this article, but I also wanted to highlight the Top Team By Continent market at William Hill. If you are on-board with my assertion that Uruguay are the upstart team to beat (you know there’s always one or two every tournament) then why not take a huge gamble and back them to outperform all other South American sides? This is a great bet if you think Brazil and Argentina will get found out earlier on and it’s also a great bet if you fancy Spain to take the 2010 World Cup. You’ll find Uruguay at 16/1 to get deeper into the competition than their neighbouring nations.
The Ivory Coast are favoured to outperform the other African sides at a 5/2 price and I’m on board with that. Australia are favoured for top Asia/Oceania team and you’ll find them at 6/4. Personally, prefer South Korea in that market at a 5/2 price tag. Stay tuned for the second part of my exclusive 2010 World Cup predictions!
RECOMMENDED BETS
Uruguay to top Group A at 16/5
Uruguay/Mexico forecast for Group A at 14/1.   
Argentina/South Korea forecast for Group B at 4/1
Greece to low-roll Group B at 15/8
Serbia/Australia forecast in Group D at 22/1
Uruguay to progress further than other South American sides at 16/1
Ivory Coast to top other African sides at 5/2
South Korea to be the best Asian/Oceanic team at 5/2
My group betting eight-fold on William Hill is Uruguay x Argentina x England x Serbia x Holland x Italy x Brazil x Spain pays out a whopping £1364.69 from a mere £10 stake.