Football Bet of the Day: Expect Russian defences to be Torpedoed

Kurban Berdyev ran a tight ship at Rubin before he was sacked

Kevin Hatchard's back with his atlas in hand, and he's taking us to Russia for our first outing of the week.

Rubin Kazan v Torpedo Moscow
Monday September 29, 17:00

The betting gods can be cruel, and there are giant quilts that have been stitched up less often than my fellow globetrotter Tobias Gourlay was last week. To adapt a phrase from the nuanced and cerebral acting giant that is Arnold Schwarzenegger - he'll be back.

Now then, let's start our week's jaunt in Russia, and a Premier League clash between Rubin Kazan and Torpedo Moscow.

As you may or not know, I've covered a lot of Europa League action for this site over the past few seasons, and Rubin Kazan used to do pretty well in the tournament. Under their long-serving coach Kurban Berdyev, Rubin were achingly dull, but relentlessly effective. They would control games with long spells of possession, slowly sucking the life out of their opponents like some kind of footballing vampire. I must admit, watching some of their matches did drive me to open a second grab-bag of Doritos before the end of the 90 minutes (other corn snacks are available).

However, Berdyev was dismissed by Rubin in December 2013. Current coach Rinat Bilyaletdinov (fun fact - father of former Everton winger Diniyar) hasn't been quite so conservative, and it's shown in the team's games this season. In eight Premier League outings this term, Rubin have kept just one clean sheet, and both teams have netted in six of those matches.

Newly-promoted capital club Torpedo Moscow have made a poor start, and have lost their last four league games. Despite their struggles, they do seem to find the net fairly regularly, and they have only drawn a blank twice in eight matches. It's also worth noting they have kept just one clean sheet in the campaign.

With both teams scoring goals and failing to keep clean sheets, I'm pleasantly surprised to find that Yes in the Both Teams To Score market is trading at above evens at 2.1211/10. You know what to do.

Recommended Bet

Back Yes in the Both Teams To Score market at 2.1211/10

2014 P/L (1pt per bet)

Points Staked: 28

Points Returned: 26.94

P/L: -1.06 points