Football betting tips: Wednesday best bets
1.5pts Hoffenheim 3+ corners vs Bayern Munich (19:30) at 23/20 (General)
1pt Everton to beat Aston Villa (19:30) at 23/10 (Betfair)
1pt Crystal Palace to win and Dean Henderson to be carded (19:30) at 11/1 (bet365, Sky Bet)
1pt Matheus Cunha to score anytime in Newcastle vs Wolves (19:30) at 7/2 (Betway)
1pt Patrick Mainka to score anytime in Werder Bremen vs Heidenheim (19:30) at 18/1 (Sky Bet)
Further tips may follow...
Everton vs Aston Villa
- Kick-off time: 19:30 GMT, Wednesday
- TV: TNT Sports 2
- Home 21/10 | Draw 11/5 | Away 13/10
Tom Carnduff
It's good news for the Blues.
Everton are hot on the trail of survival again and the appointment of David Moyes will surely give everyone associated with the club a much-needed lift.
They're just a point above the drop zone in the Premier League table heading into the latest round of fixtures and a meeting with a Champions League outfit would usually leave you expecting defeat.
However, EVERTON TO WIN is an appealing bet at 23/10.
This is an Aston Villa side who have been struggling massively on the road. Each of their last five in the league have ended in defeat.
In all competitions, it's six defeats from seven with the only win coming at Leipzig in European competition. In terms of the away standings, Villa are down in 14th.
And then there's the Moyes impact for hosts and the fact you should never underestimate Goodison Park's ability to influence a contest.
Sure, it may be best ridiculed for its quite remarkable acoustics on the booing but on the other end of the scale, it can be a tricky venue when the crowd are on it.
So not only does Moyes have previous association with the club but he's a very good coach. From the realistic options available, he's certainly the best they could have gone for.
With Villa, Leicester and Tottenham visiting across their four, it's certainly a good time to make the change.
Leicester vs Crystal Palace
- Kick-off time: 19:30 GMT, Wednesday
- TV: TNT Sports 4
- Home 11/4 | Draw 13/5 | Away 10/11
Jimmy 'The Punt' Cantrill
Keeper card checklist: good referee (check), naughty keeper (check) and said side playing away from home (check).
Andy Madley is the man in the middle. He has dished out 39 cards in eight Premier League appearances this term, three of which going the way of goalkeepers.
DEAN HENDERSON is certainly an obliging goalkeeper when it comes to the dark arts.
He has picked up 11 Premier League cards in 105 appearances, eight of which for running down the clock.
His CRYSTAL PALACE side are the favourites TO WIN at Leicester and a win would move them 10 points clear of the Foxes and potentially eight clear of the drop.
With real daylight between the Eagles and the dotted line the incentive, Henderson may be double keen to cling onto the points should his side get their noses in front.
It is worth noting Henderson is a doubt due to illness at the King Power but knowing the type of character he is, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him declare himself fit.
Odds correct at 1630 GMT (13/01/25)
Newcastle vs Wolves
- Kick-off time: 19:30 GMT, Wednesday
- TV: TNT Sports 3
- Home 1/3 | Draw 17/4 | Away 13/2
Jimmy 'The Punt' Cantrill
MATHEUS CUNHA returns from a two-game suspension and his price TO SCORE ANYTIME at St James’ Park looks large.
Wolves creator-in-chief has 10 goals in 19 Premier League appearances this term (0.58 goals per 90) and has netted in half of his starts.
Newcastle are heavy favourites to win this match-up and with good reason having won eight on the spin, they aren’t invincible though conceding in five of nine league games at St James’ Park.
Wolves start the round of fixtures outside the relegation zone on goal difference but finding the net has not been an issue, their tally of 31 goals scored is the seventh-most in the division.
Both teams to score is odds-on and should the visitors strike as the market suspects, Cunha has to be the most likely candidate.
Odds correct at 1220 GMT (14/01/25)
Bayern Munich vs Hoffenheim
- Kick-off time: 19:30 GMT, Wednesday
- TV: Sky Sports+
- Home 1/10 | Draw 17/2 | Away 16/1
Tom Carnduff
It should be a routine home win here with Bayern Munich priced at 1/10 and their star forward Harry Kane at 4/11 to net anytime.
Bayer Leverkusen are the only side to leave the Allianz Arena with anything this season. They drew 1-1 in their league encounter at the end of September and won in the cup meeting at the beginning of December.
Hoffenheim are yet to win away in the league but have gained points in four of their seven. They won't be travelling to Bavaria with high expectations though.
Due to the fact they are such big outsiders, you're getting some good prices on 'positive' markets involving them. The one that jumps out is HOFFENHEIM 3+ CORNERS at 23/20.
There's a nice mix of playing style and likely game state which comes into this one. No side in the Bundesliga has attempted more crosses than Hoffenheim this season.
That inevitably leads to some being blocked and deflected behind. It could be why they sit sixth in terms of corners taken in the German top-flight.
The nine corners they took in Dortmund just before the winter break provided a 10/1 winner and it's been a theme throughout a lot of their away games.
They took five in the cup defeat to Wolfsburg, with nine coming in their Europa League loss at Braga at the end of November. They've taken at least five corners in four of their last five on the road.
Just how much of a glove they can lay on Bayern remains to be seen but it's a low enough line to draw some interest.
Odds correct at 1735 GMT (13/01/25)
Werder Bremen vs Heidenheim
- Kick-off time: 19:30 GMT, Wednesday
- TV: Sky Sports+
- Home 3/5 | Draw 16/5 | Away 19/5
Tom Carnduff
A European campaign sitting alongside a domestic one in which a team is battling for survival. It's becoming a weirdly familiar story in the Bundesliga.
Heidenheim sit 16th in the Bundesliga table, five points clear of the bottom two and managed to progress to the next stage of the Europa Conference League.
They've outsiders as they take on a Werder Bremen side sat mid-table but only five points adrift of the top four after the weekend fixtures.
An issue for Bremen all season has been defending set-pieces and this is a Heidenheim outfit with the capability of exploiting it.
At 18s, PATRICK MAINKA TO SCORE ANYTIME is an appealing bet.
The defender is yet to score in the league this season but has found the net in Europe. What is interesting is how many of his efforts have come against teams who struggle at defensive corners and free-kicks.
Bremen sit second in terms of expected goals (xG) allowed from set-pieces. Mainka has posted two shots on three occasions in the Bundesliga this season.
Those games have been against Wolfsburg (first for xG allowed here), RB Leipzig (third) and Hoffenheim (fourth). A shot came in their contest against Holstein Kiel (seventh).
It's a surprise that he only found the net twice last season considering how strong he is in the air.
While Heidenheim may not be as prolific at set-pieces as they were last season - 28% of their Bundesliga goals were scored this way - they still sit fourth for xG created in this area.
Odds correct at 1715 GMT (13/01/25)
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.