Tennis Betting

Whilst this year may be the first ATP World Tour Finals, the tournament has actually been existence in various guises since Stan Smith won the Masters Grand Prix event back in 1970. The event became the Tennis Masters Cup in 2000 where it first appeared in its current format and from 2009 it moves to the O2 Arena London and will combine both the ATP singles and doubles events.

Qualification for the event this year went down to the final tournament in Paris with the Spaniard Fernando Verdasco claiming the final spot at the expense of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He joins Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro, Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko at the showpiece event. A late addition to the tournament was Swede Robin Soderling who was called up after world number six Andy Roddick was forced to withdraw with a knee injury. (more…)

Posted in Tennis

Football Betting

North West derbies abound in the Premier League this weekend as sides from either end of the East Lancs Road face up in two mouthwatering televised fixtures.

Manchester City travel west to a horribly out of form Liverpool side looking to arrest their unexpected decline. One win in the last nine games, an exit from the Champions League beckoning and a squad that suddenly looks paper thin have left Rafa Benitez looking vulnerable although the Liverpool boss believes victory on Saturday will kick-start the Reds season. (more…)

Posted in Cricket, Football, Golf, Horse Racing, Premier League, Rugby, Tennis, Weekly Previews

Football Betting

Whilst France might start as favourites against the Republic of Ireland, the Irish are unbeaten in qualifying so far and are terrific value at 11/5 to see off Raymond Domenech’s struggling side and qualify for South Africa.

Elsewhere, I expect Bosnia and Slovenia to make life more difficult for Portugal and Russia than many imagine, and Greece should see off Ukraine. (more…)

Posted in Cricket, Football, Golf, Horse Racing, Rugby, Tennis, Weekly Previews, World Cup

Football Betting

Ah, the magic of the Cup. Countless clichés involving giant-killing, Ronnie Radford and David and Goliath will be trundled out on Saturday as the FA Cup reaches the first round proper. Of course, whilst there might be some mildly entertaining events along the way, the ‘magic of the Cup’ was lost sometime in the 1980s as, with the exception of isolated wins for Spurs, Everton and Portsmouth one of the ‘big Four’ has won every FA cup since 1989.

Southern League Division One South and West side Paulton Rovers, a team no doubt full of butchers and postmen (although they should be particularly fit with not much work over the last couple of weeks) host the mighty Norwich City in Round One’s big David v Goliath encounter. Considering they were beating Bayern Munich in Germany in 1993 this is more a sign of how far Norwich have fallen than how far Paulton have risen. Paulton will be looking for their own Ronnie Radford to complete a historic giant-killing. (more…)

Posted in FA Cup, Football, Golf, Grade One Events, Horse Racing, Premier League, Rugby, Tennis, Weekly Previews

Football Betting

It is Arsenal’s second London derby in a week as they face local rivals Spurs in Saturday’s early kick-off. Arsene Wenger’s side were utterly dominant against West Ham before dozing off in the final fifteen minutes to leave with just a point, although at home they have scored consistently. Spurs succumbed to a late Stoke winner at White Hart Lane and Arsenal can condemn them to a second consecutive defeat on Saturday.

In a rare display of modesty, Sir Alex Ferguson admitted his Manchester United side “weren’t good enough” at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. That would be something of an understatement as what looks like the weakest United squad in seasons continues to grind out results despite looking nowhere near their best. Saying that, they host Blackburn Rovers on Saturday teatime and if there was ever an opponent you’d pick when form and confidence aren’t sky high, Rovers are they. (more…)

Posted in Football, Golf, Horse Racing, Premier League, Rugby, Tennis, Weekly Previews