Quick Links
Football Betting
The battle for fourth spot in the Premier League continues this weekend and several clubs will be looking to take advantage of Liverpool’s slip-up in their 1-0 defeat to Wigan. Spurs can continue their push with a home win over Blackburn Rovers whilst Manchester City are a good value 11/10 to overcome Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Elsewhere, Manchester United and Arsenal should continue their title challenges with victories over Fulham and Hull City respectively.
In the Championship, there’s a fierce North East derby as Middlesbrough take on Newcastle at the Riverside Stadium. Boro are 7/4 to record a win to continue their push for the play-offs.
In the Scottish Cup, Celtic should win at Kilmarnock whilst Rangers host Dundee United. Dundee play Raith and Hibernian welcome Ross County in the other matches.
Real Madrid and Barcelona now sit level on points at the top of La Liga although the momentum is with Manuel Pelligrini’s side. Real should win in Valladolid whilst Barca have a tricky home fixture against Valencia.
Golf Betting
The Europeans continued their terrific start to 2010 at the Honda Classic last weekend. Whilst Camillo Villegas may have taken the trophy, top ten finishes for Justin Rose, Paul Casey, Fredrik Jacobsen and Lee Westwood once again demonstrated the rude health of European golf.
48 of the world’s top 50 will be at the Doral Golf Resport and Spa this weekend for the WGC – CA Championship with Phil Mickelson looking to defend the title he won in 2009. The English pair of Paul Casey and Ian Poulter, finalists at the last WGC event – the World Matchplay, are two to watch alongside a strong American contingent including Steve Stricker and Mickelson, the world number 3.
Cricket Betting
After their recent one day and Twenty20 series, England return to the five day format this weekend with the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong. Alistair Cook’s side are 8/15 to record a 2-0 series victory and with many of the team in good form the visitors should win comfortably. Jonathan Trott hit an unbeaten 101 in this week’s warm-up match and is good value at 4/1 to be England’s top run scorer in the series.
The Indian Premier League season also kicks off this weekend, with an extravagant opening ceremony followed by the first match between the Deccan Chargers and the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Rugby Union Betting
After a break for a round of domestic fixtures, the Six Nations resumes again this weekend.
After their narrow but deserved victory over England a fortnight ago, Ireland can record another win over an underperforming Wales side. Much was expected of Wales this time, but other than a late, dramatic win over Scotland it has been a disappointing campaign for Warren Gatland’s side. Wales have conceded more points this season than any of their rivals and they will have to tighten up their defence in order to get anything from this match. Ireland are 10/11 to win by more than eight points.
England have improved since the Autumn internationals, although I remain unconvinced that they are a team capable of challenging the world’s best nations. Martin Johnson’s side face a tricky trip to Murrayfield on Saturday with Scotland looking to record their first win of the campaign.
The performances of Andy Robinson’s side has been better than their results suggest, but a fourth consecutive defeat would continue a depressing campaign for the Scots.
France can continue their pursuit of a Grand Slam with a comfortable victory over Italy on Sunday. However, Italy were tenacious against Scotland and can be backed at 10/11 to overcome a 24 point deficit.
Rugby League Betting
Quite how Wigan failed to maintain their 100% start to the season I’m not sure. 20-0 at half time against the Bradford Bulls, the Warriors were cruising before a stunning second half comeback by the home side consigned Michael Maguire’s side to their first defeat of the season. They host Hull on Friday night in the Superleague match of the weekend.
Second place Warrington welcome Bradford whilst the Leeds Rhinos face a tricky away fixture at the Huddersfield Giants.
Tennis Betting
After a break for the Davis Cup which saw British tennis sink to a new low, this week’s tournament is one of the biggest outside the four Grand Slam events.
The BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells routinely attracts the world’s top players and this week is no exception. Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Nojak Djokovic will all be in attendance alongside the likes of Robin Soderling, Nikolay Davydenko and Andy Roddick. Nadal is looking to win the title for the third time in four years.
In the women’s event, Svetlana Kuznetsova is the highest rank seed although I like the chances of her compatriot Elena Dementieva. Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka and Jelena Jankovic also chase the lions’ share of the £4.5million prize fund
Horse Racing Betting
Eighty odd years ago (before the Champion Hurdle) the Imperial Cup was the biggest two mile race of the season. This year’s Paddy Power Imperial Cup will see a large field of hurdlers head to Sandown with Hunterview the 11/2 ante post favourite.
Wolverhampton hosts arguably its best meeting of the year with a series of great quality races. The highlights are the Lady Wulfrana Stakes and the Lincoln Trial Handicap.
Apparently there will also be some racing going on at Cheltenham, starting next Tuesday. The 2010 Festival is almost upon us….
