Football Bet of the Day: Miserly McLeish to strike again

Alex McLeish loves a clean sheet

After bagging three winners in four days, Kevin Hatchard's relying on the defensive tendencies of former Scotland boss Alex McLeish for his next wager.

Genk v Kortrijk
Saturday December 13, 17:00

I said our Italian chums from Trapani were an overs backer's dream, and that dream lives on. It finished 2-2 between Trapani and Perugia in Serie B, and it was mission accomplished when the third goal went in on 49 minutes.

Now that we've had an injection of excitement, it's time to calm things down. We're off to Belgium, and a clash between top-six sides Genk and Kortrijk.

I covered the West Midlands' Premier League clubs as a radio reporter for a few seasons, and part of that beat was reporting on Aston Villa's home games. Therefore, I had the dubious pleasure of describing some of the dross Villa produced during the ill-fated tenure of Alex McLeish. It was bad enough for Villa fans that Big Eck was a former Birmingham City manager, but the unpalatable football that was often dished up rubbed salt into the wounds.

McLeish took charge of Genk in the summer, and although he has made a decent start, the granite-jawed Scot's tentative tendencies have shone through. 6th-placed Genk have the worst goalscoring tally in the top ten, with just 22 goals netted in 18 matches. Conversely, KRC have the Belgian Pro League's best defence, with just 16 goals conceded. Results, yes. Entertainment, not necessarily.

Kortrijk are second in the table after a somewhat schizophrenic start to the campaign. Yves Vanderhaeghe's men have drawn just one of their first 18 games of the season, with ten wins and seven defeats. They have slammed on the defensive brakes of late, keeping clean sheets in four of their last five league matches.

This is a big game between two sides with ambitions to qualify for Europe, and I'm expecting a tight affair. Genk have kept clean sheets in five of their last seven league outings, and I don't expect McLeish to change the habit of a lifetime and start taking risks. You could back Under 2.5 Goals at 1.9720/21, but I'm recommending No in the Both Teams To Score market at 2.111/10, given the number of clean sheets both sides have kept in the last month or so.

Recommended Bet

Back No in the Both Teams To Score market at 2.111/10

2014 P/L (1 pt per bet)

Points Staked: 68

Points Returned: 63.41

P/L: -4.59 points