Football
After their excellent comeback on Sunday against Chelsea, Manchester United face another title rival this weekend as they welcome Liverpool on Saturday lunchtime. United are 5/6 to win while their old enemy can be backed at 10/3.
Had the league started when Martin O’Neill took over at Sunderland, the Black Cats would be top of the table now and they look superb value at 5/2 to beat Arsenal at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. QPR are 11/5 to win at struggling Blackburn Rovers while I fancy Chelsea to win at Everton at 5/4.
Manchester City feature in Sunday’s live match and should be backed at 8/11 to win at indifferent Aston Villa.
Nottingham Forest’s form has been awful of late but after the death of club owner Nigel Doughty last week I fancy Steve Cotterill’s side to rise to an emotional occasion at the City Ground and beat Watford at 5/4.
Golf
It’s been a solid start to 2012 for former world number one Lee Westwood and the Englishman looks like great value at 10/1 to win this weekend’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic. Westwood has twice been a runner-up at Emirates Golf Club, most recently in 2010 when he lost a play-off to Miguel Angel Jiménez.
World number two Rory McIlroy is the 4/1 favourite while Martin Kaymer showed signs last weekend that his form is returning and the German is available at 8/1.
The PGA Tour is at Pebble Beach this week with Tiger Woods appearing at the Pro-Am event for the first time in a decade. Defending champion DA Points is a 33/1 chance while Hunter Mahan is 20/1 after finishing second in 2011.
Cricket
Ahead of England’s seven match limited overs series against Pakistan which begins next Monday, there is some other international one day and Twenty20 action to look forward to this weekend.
New Zealand play Zimbabwe in a Twenty20 match in Auckland on Saturday before Australia play India in their triangular one day series in Adelaide on Sunday.
Tennis
The first round of the Davis Cup starts on Saturday with eight matches scheduled for this weekend.
Even without Rafael Nadal, reigning champions and 6/1 shots Spain should ease into the next round with a win over Kazakhstan this weekend. With three players in the world top 50, the Spanish should seal their place in the next round by winning in Oviedo.
Serbia are the 11/4 favourites to win the Cup and face a straightforward looking tie against Sweden who are missing their best player, Robin Soderling. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils can lead France to a win in Canada and the French are good value at 3/1 to win the trophy this year.
The match of the weekend is arguably in Fribourg where Roger Federer leads his Switzerland team against the USA.
There’s a strong field at the WTA Open GDF Suez in Paris where beaten Australian Open finalist Maria Sharapova leads the betting. Marion Bartoli and Julia Goerges are Sharapova’s biggest threats.
Tennis Betting
Rugby League
There were one or two surprise results in the opening round of Superleague fixtures last weekend, and there is another mouthwatering tie between two old rivals on Saturday.
Wigan welcome reigning champions Leeds to the DW Stadium on Saturday teatime but will have to do without back-row forward Liam Farrell who has been banned for one match after pleading guilty to committing a dangerous tackle on Huddersfield centre Leroy Cudjoe in last week’s 20-16 defeat.
Warrington can get their season up and running with a home win over London Broncos while St Helens can follow up their excellent win last weekend with a victory over Salford.
It promises to be a long, hard season for Widnes and they face a tough away match at Huddersfield. Castleford should beat Bradford and the Catalans Dragons can beat Hull.
Rugby Union
The Six Nations continues off this weekend with three interesting fixtures.
Ireland managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in their opening clash with Wales last weekend and it gets no easier for Declan Kidney’s side on Saturday as they travel to France. Phillippe Saint-Andre’s side got off to a solid start with a 30-12 win over Italy last weekend and with Ireland having won only one of their last 12 meetings with Les Bleus, I fancy a home win.
England were solid if uninspired against Scotland although Stuart Lancaster’s side should make it two wins out of two with a victory in Italy on Saturday. Italy can keep it tight though and I like the look of the home side at 10/11 with an 8 point start.
Sunday’s match sees Wales take on Scotland at the Millennium Stadium. Even with several players missing, Wales should be too strong for the visitors who have now gone four matches without scoring a try.
Racing Betting
The big race on Saturday is the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury. Ruby Walsh is set to ride Zarkandar who is the clear 3/1 favourite from Darlan and Raya Star.
Sunday’s big event is the Hennessy Gold Cup over 21 fences, also at Newbury. Quito de la Roque and Quel Esprit are the joint 5/2 favourites for a race that has been won by the likes of Denman and Madison du Berlais in recent years.
Elsewhere, there is racing on Saturday from Uttoxeter, Lingfield Park, Warwick and Wolverhampton.
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Championship Playoff Semi-Final
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