JOE v Paddy Betting Challenge, Week 8: GAA, Wimbledon and a potential Euro 2012 final cracker

Well we finally put a bit of daylight between ourselves and the lads at Paddy Power last week. So now we can brag that while we're still losers, we're nowhere near as big a loser as Paddy. Onwards and, er, upwards then.

After a couple of poor weeks - and by poor we mean absolutely crap - it was left to Shane Breslin to pick up the pieces for JOE last week. He nailed two tasty bets - Richie Power to score a goal and Kilkenny to win, and England and Italy to draw after 90 minutes - which realised a total return of €77 on our €35 investment for a rare but welcome profit.

Paddy, on the other hand, continued to be a model of consistency, getting one out of three right for another net loss. So while we're both still in the red, things could be a lot worse considering the overall outlay of €245. Okay, it could be a bit worse. Here's the running total:

Outlay: €245 Return: €164.75 Profit/Loss: -€80.25	Outlay: €245 Return: €101.25 Profit/Loss: -€143.75

Shane Breslin is doing the picking for JOE again this week, so here's hoping we can land another couple of winners to push us somewhere close to getting back in the black. After that, the sky is our oyster. Or something.

JOE's picks:

Andy Roddick to defeat David Ferrer (7/4)

Forgive me while I admit to a bromance of sorts: I love Andy Roddick. He’s just been unfortunate that he’s been around in one of the great ages of tennis – when he climbed to World No 1 in 2003 (as the fourth top-ranked player in that calendar year, after Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi and Juan Carlos Ferrero) many tennis pundits reckoned he would go on to dominate. Then came Roger Federer. And Rafa Nadal. And Novak Djokovic. He’s just not as good as those three, and you could forgive him for allowing his performance levels to drop a bit as he faced up to that fact, so much that he is seeded no higher than 30^th at this Wimbledon. But still, on Saturday he plays a Spaniard who’s (a) not at home on grass and (b) a year older than him. And Roddick also has Brooklyn Decker for a girlfriend, so the longer he lasts in this tournament the better it is for all of us. U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

Westmeath (-3 points) to beat Louth (6/5)

Surely Westmeath won’t manage to screw this one up. They were the better team against Louth when the sides met in the Leinster championship a month ago only to be undone by a last-minute goal. Louth went on to show their, er, quality with a pitiful display against Dublin and have since struggled even to entice their players to training sessions. Several of them have headed off to the US for the summer and talisman and captain Paddy Keenan is struggling through injury. Westmeath goalkeeper Gary Connaughton has also gone Stateside but he’s the only change from the XV that should have beaten Louth last month. With home advantage also at their backs, expect Westmeath to enjoy a comfortable success and Paddy Power’s 3-point alternative handicap, at a shade over odds-on, looks good to us.

Andres Iniesta to be named Euro 2012 Player of the Tournament (3/1)

I’m fancying Spain to see things out and win their third tournament in a row on Sunday. With Xavi starting to show his years and fatigue from passing the ball 200 times in every match, Iniesta has been a star performer throughout the last three weeks, prodding and coaxing at the apex of Spain’s fluid five- or six-man midfield. The Player of the Tournament is between him and Andrea Pirlo, but a good performance from Iniesta – who gives a good performance every single time – and a Spain win should see this award go to the little Barcelona playmaker.

Paddy's picks:

Derry to beat Longford by 1-3 pts (3/1)

While scouring through the site looking for selections for our weekly battle with the JOEs one thing stuck out like a sore thumb – Derry are the underdogs against Longford. There’s no denying that Longford have made huge strides this year under Glen Ryan and Pearse Park has become something of a fortress for them in recent years. Derry were woeful against Donegal but with the two Bradleys, Ger O’Kane and Mark Lynch within their ranks we can see them sneaking a well earned victory away from home.

Donegal (-1 point) to beat Tyrone (11/10)

Up until their league final loss against Kildare Mickey Harte’s Tyrone side were everyone’s dark horses for this year’s championship. Since then many punters have gone cold on the O’Neill county and turned to their Ulster rivals Donegal. The Tír Conaill men have looked good thus far racking up serious scores while maintaining their frightening levels of physicality and intensity. It takes a brave man to write off a Tyrone side but we think Donegal will shade it by a couple of points.

Spain to win in 90 minutes (11/10)

When these two sides met in the group stages they put on a cracker of a show which bodes well for the final. Spain have a tendency of peaking at the right time in these tournaments and we think they’ll do the same here. An Italian win would be a fantastic result for us but it might be a bit to much to ask Balotelli and Co to put in two massive performances in succession.

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