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Today’s Sports Betting Preview – By Rick Elliott

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Derby Day In London And Glasgow

There are two football derbies today that feature coincidences that a few years ago you would not have envisaged. The London derby brings together two teams who have won their first three matches in the Premier League but Chelsea or Arsenal are not one of them. The Glasgow derby involves managers who were on the same side in the past. Watford and Tottenham have picked up maximum points and Celtic and Rangers are managed by Brendon Rodgers and Steven Gerrard who were manager and captain together at Liverpool. Celtic and Tottenham are the favourites and the DOUBLE on them pays 6/4 with Ladbrokes.

It is rare that two teams from capital cities play against each other in a domestic fixture. Cardiff are the only team to win the FA Cup from outside England while Arsenal are located in north London. The clubs are located in the capitals of Wales and England and today’s match in Cardiff could be a stalemate. Cardiff are the favourites for relegation and Arsenal are adjusting to a new manager. You can back the DRAW at 7/2 with bet365. MANCHESTER UNITED can give Jose Mourinho some respite by winning at Burnley and that outcome is 4/6 with William Hill.

The racing is poor today which defeats one of the objects of Sunday racing which was to provide quality action on the second day of the weekend. There are no fixtures in Ireland so it’s just Brighton on the Flat and Worcester over jumps. FANFAIR is the outsider of five in the 4.00 race at Brighton but warrants a small bet at 10/1 with Coral. The horse is the only runner who has run at the track before and it takes some knowing and experience of Brighton is a major positive with this tip.

This Weeks Sports Betting Preview – By Rick Elliott

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Not Good Enough Manchester United – Mourinho Favourite To Go First

Manchester United are 25/1 to win the Premier League and Jose Mourihno is now the favourite to be the first man to lose his current job. There is a full schedule this weekend but United are playing in the Monday night fixture. Mourinho has seven days to put many things right before the must win match against Tottenham at Old Trafford this time next week. His boys were a joke at the back and garbage in midfield against Brighton. Paul Pogba in appearance looks like that brilliant midfield player who won the World Cup with France but in performance he is a different man. MANCHESTER UNITED are now 10/11 with bet365 NOT to finish in the top 4.

To make matters worse Manchester City looked as good as last season in the 6-1 home win against Huddersfield. The match brought together the club with the biggest spending power and opponents with one of the smallest budgets but the job still had to be done. Liverpool can rub it in for United fans by winning at Crystal Palace tonight. However, since the start of last October Palace have lost just two of 32 league games by more than one goal. They will provide a tough test for Liverpool and a DRAW would be a good result and that outcome is 15/4 with Ladbrokes.

It’s the four day Ebor meeting at York from Wednesday to Saturday this week and the highlight is the lucrative handicap that gives the meeting its name on the fourth day. The favourite is STRATUM who is owned by Tony Bloom, the owner and chairman of Brighton FC. If his horse wins the Ebor he will have had a good six days and the best price for that result is 4/1 with Paddy Power. If Stradivarius wins the Lonsdale Cup on Friday connections get a £1,000,000 bonus for winning the three biggest staying races of the season. STRADIVARIUS is 4/9 with William Hill to complete the treble.

In the few days before a huge meeting the racing is usually ordinary. For some racing fans the York August meeting is better than Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood. The racing is just as good and the champagne and beer is relatively inexpensive. Windsor’s regular Monday evening meeting offers £117,000 tonight and that’s not bad for the first day of the week. The most lucrative race by far is the sprint handicap series final over six furlongs for horses aged three and older at 7pm. QUENCH DOLLY is the each-way standout bet at 16/1.

There are the usual tournaments in tennis and golf and Test cricket between England and India but the main action will be at York racecourse and behind the scenes in Manchester at Old Trafford.

oday’s Sports Betting Preview – By Rick Elliott

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How Many Goals Will City Score today?

Manchester City are the favourites to win the Premier League and some pundits are tipping Huddersfield for relegation. The champions from last season have a home match today with the team that kept their top flight status by the skin of their teeth. We are still in the midst of the cricket season and the odds suggest City could rack up a cricket score in the meeting today. The home team will be without Kevin de Bruyne but the squad can absorb that loss. Huddersfield are 25/1 to win this fixture but MANCHESTER CITY -3 goals on the handicap at 7/4 with Ladbrokes is the bet.

Brighton were promoted to the Premier League with Huddersfield the season before last and they play Manchester United at home today. The bookmakers predict a tighter contest and United’s trip to the south coast might not be a fun day at the seaside. Brighton avoided defeat in five of their last six home Premier League matches last season and United were not convincing in beating Leicester at home on the opening night. If they return to Manchester with three points Jose Mourinho will be their only manager to win the opening two matches in his first three seasons as boss. However, he may have to settle for a DRAW and that outcome is 23/10 with William Hill.

The best racing action is at Deauville today. Pontefract stages a decent Flat meeting and they race over jumps at Southwell and Tramore. The best race is the Group 1 Prix Morny in France, a race over six furlongs for colts and fillies aged two (2.45 GMT). The female runners get a four pounds allowance and that advantage will make PRETTY POLYANNA hard to beat and the filly can be backed at 7/4 with bet365 to win this race.

Three Against The Field In Ascot’s Heritage Handicap 

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Today’s Sports Betting Preview – By Rick Elliott

CRYSTAL OCEAN (5/2 with William Hill) is the tip to win the King George V1 and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot but the feature handicap on the card is not as easy to work out. The International Stakes (3pm) is a heritage handicap over seven furlongs. There are 29 horses declared to run and some bookmakers are paying out on the first six places but you only get one fifth the odds. The standard terms for a handicap with 16 runners or more are four places at one quarter the odds so its swings and roundabouts in terms of at which bookmaker you place your bets. One bookmaker is going a step further by settling each way bets on seven places at one fifth the odds.

As a punter I prefer to have two win bets on different horses rather than an each way bet on one horse. The place terms mean that the true odds of a horse backed at 20/1 to be placed at one quarter the odds are 2/1 and not 5/1. The total win and place stake is 2 units and the return is 6 units. The win part of the bet is lost if a horse does not win a race but finishes in the frame. In a competitive handicap with so many runners you could burn the midnight oil and still be well off the mark. Today we can simplify things by backing the three joint top-rated horses. Our three against the field are Flaming Spear (9/1 with Ladbrokes), Shady McCoy (12/1 with Betfair) and Cardsharp (16/1 with bet365).

You may wish to ‘Dutch’ these three horses which means adjusting the stake so the profit is the same regardless of which one wins. Obviously there are 26 other runners in the race so picking the winner is not guaranteed. Let’s assume the total investment is £50 the dutched stakes are as follows:

£21.21 on Flaming Spear

£16.31.63 on Shady McCoy

£12.48 on Cardsharp

The profit is £162.09…as long as you have found the winner!

This Weeks Sports Betting Preview – By Rick Elliott

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England Could Be World Cup Winners This Time Next Week

There are more members of FIFA than the United Nations and over 200 countries entered the World Cup. We are now down to the last four and one of those is England. The betting money has all been for England to beat Croatia in 90 minutes and qualify for the final. England have got better as the tournament has progressed and Croatia have not reproduced the level of performance that saw them beat Argentina 3-0 in the group stages. England have never played in a World Cup final outside England and they won’t get a better chance for many years to win the World Cup for the second time. ENGLAND are 5/2 with Ladbrokes to become the champions of the world.

If England progress on Wednesday they will meet France or Belgium in the final. Whoever wins that semi-final there will be many Premier League players representing their country in the biggest match in football in four years. In fact half the players in the starting 11s could play domestic football in the north-west of England, for the two Manchester clubs and Everton and Liverpool. There will be players from United and City in both line-ups at the start of the match. Friends and colleagues will be in opposition in a life-changing fixture. Two of the semi-finalists have won the World Cup before and the other two would be first time winners. Football is coming home.

It’s the second week of Wimbledon and Rafael Nadal is in great shape to win the championships for the third time. He has had an extra week to adjust from the clay courts at the French Open to the grass. Nadal is the current world number one and is playing like the champion. Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are still in the mix but NADAL is the player to back at 5/1 with William Hill.

The three-day July meeting is at Newmarket at the end of the week. The racing is superb without the jamboree that is Royal Ascot and provides Group race opportunities between the royal meeting and Glorious Goodwood at the end of the month. The feature race is the July Cup on Saturday which identifies the best sprinter in Europe. HARRY ANGEL is the ante post bet at 6/1 with Boylesports.

This Weeks Sports Betting Preview – By Rick Elliott

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Uruguay Have Been The Best All Round Team In The World Cup

At the start of the World Cup no team left in England’s side of the draw was less than 16/1 in the outright winner betting. Germany, Spain and Argentina, all former winners, are out and there is now a lopsided draw. England have a great opportunity to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time since Italia 90. This time next week England could be facing a last four match against Brazil or be back home in the UK. The shock results have opened up the tournament and ENGLAND can benefit and win the World Cup for the second time and that outcome is 6/1 with Betfair.

There are four more ties in the round of the last 16 today and tomorrow and then there are two days with no World Cup action. The top goalscorer market has been turned upsides down with the elimination of Spain and Portugal. Diego Costa and Cristiano Ronaldo have gone which means it has become a market dominated by Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku. Uruguay have been one of the best teams and can go all the way so their striker, EDINSON CAVANI, looks a big price at 20/1 with Ladbrokes to be the leading scorer in the World Cup.

Andy Murray has withdrawn from Wimbledon which starts today and will be all over the BBC for the next two weeks. In a World Cup year when England are involved the tennis takes a back seat. Roger Federer is the defending champion and the player from Switzerland could win the title again. His country are still in the World Cup but Spain are out so RAFAEL NADAL can win something for his country. He is 7/1 with Paddy Power to be the Wimbledon champion for the second time.

The main race of the week is the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown on Saturday. This is an all-aged Group 1 contest over one mile and two furlongs. It is the first major race of the season that brings together the Classic generation and older horses. Three-year-olds receive a 10 pound weight-for-age allowance which means Masar has a huge advantage. However, the Derby winner has to be supplemented so the horse in second place at Epson, ROARING LION, is the bet at 5/2 with William Hill.

Today’s Sports Betting Preview – By Rick Elliott

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Brazil And Germany Will Not Be Going Home Just Yet

Brazil and Germany have won the World Cup nine times in total so it would be the sporting shock of the century if both failed to qualify for the knockout stages this time. A freakish set of results in today’s final fixtures in Group E and F could see the superpowers of South American and European football be on their way home after the group stage. It would be a bigger shock than Leicester winning the Premier League.

Germany are up against South Korea and Brazil face Serbia in the group deciders today and its unthinkable that both don’t win these matches and qualify for the elimination rounds. There have been 40 matches in the World Cup so far and the favourites have won 24 times. The DOUBLE on Germany and Brazil pays 4/5 with William Hill and these two favourites cannot be opposed.

It is the 14th day of matches in the World Cup and all the favourites have won on just two of those days. There has been one goalless draw so far and the stalemate between France and Denmark yesterday was a relief for one bookmaker who offered 40/1 that there would be at least one goal in every match. Exactly half the fixtures have been won to nil and the average number of goals is 2.63 per match.

Mexico are the favourites in the meeting with Sweden and Switzerland are the favourites against Costa Rica. Statistically one of these matches will be a draw but the DOUBLE on two tied matches pays over 9/1 with William Hill.  Today the accumulator on the four favourites looks vulnerable even though the two big guns should win. Meanwhile ENGLAND are now fifth in the betting to win the World Cup and that outcome can be backed at 9/1 with Betfair.

In the week after Royal Ascot the racing trundles on but with some decent fare especially at Carlisle. It’s the Northumberland Plate and Irish Derby on Saturday and the respective favourites are Withhold and Saxon Warrior who both look good things. The Carlisle Bell Handicap (3.30pm) is a mile race that has attracted 17 runners so each way bets are settled for four places. VIVE LA DIFFERENCE makes plenty of appeal at 7/1 with William Hill.

Today’s Sports Betting Preview – By Rick Elliott

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Salah Is A Decent Price To Score The First Goal

There is a lull in proceedings in the world of football betting with no major fixtures in Europe today. The countdown continues for the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool in Kiev on Saturday. If you are going to the match and don’t have a place one of the locals has set up a Facebook page offering an informal service that is akin to Airbnb. The alternative is paying massively over the odds for a hotel room. Meanwhile in a small town in northern Egypt the residents are drooling over one of their own making an impact in the biggest domestic match in the world. MOHAMED SALAH is 9/2 with William Hill to score the first goal.

If you are stuck for something to do this afternoon you could watch and bet on the Indian Premier League playoff match between the home team in Hyderabad and Chennai. Its wham bam cricket in India and each team has 20 overs to amass a total of about 200 runs. Scoring at a run a ball just doesn’t hack it in this form of cricket and you have to be scoring at 10 runs an over to be competitive. The two teams had an identical win/loss record during the regular season but Hyderabad topped the table thanks to a marginally better run rate. CHENNAI have more playoff experience so look a good bet at 4/5 with bet365 to win this match.

The racing in Britain and Ireland is a little bit like the calm before the storm. In the next four weeks there is the Derby and Oaks and Royal Ascot which is the Flat’s equivalent of the Cheltenham Festival. There is plenty of action today but it’s more about quantity than quality. The principle meeting is on the Flat at Nottingham but the seven races only offer £60,000 in total prize money. The fillies’ handicap at 3.25 has the biggest prize for the winner but that is less than 10 grand. VERANDAH is more about potential than form on the track but it could all come right today and a win for the John Gosden trained horse is 11/4 with Coral.

Today’s Sports Betting Preview – By Rick Elliott

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It’s A Nice Day For A White Wedding And Cup Final 

It’s a celebration and national and global event. You are either red or blue, bride or groom. North or south stand at Wembley, left or right aisle at Windsor Castle. Everybody will drink too much and there could be a big fight at the end. Meghan Markle is 10/1 with Ladbrokes to wear WHITE. MANCHESTER UNITED are 7/4 with William Hill to win the FA Cup.

Prince William has been invited to both occasions but he’ll be giving his little brother Harry the ring rather than giving the FA Cup trophy to the United captain. But who really is the Special One? Jose Mourinho or Her Majesty the Queen. It could be EDEN HAZARD who is 6/1 with bet365 to be the man of the match in today’s FA Cup Final. PAUL POGBA is 5/1 with William Hill.

Manchester United and Chelsea are not in the best form. United have done very little since beating Tottenham in the semi-final. They have conceded at least one goal in the last nine fixtures against top six opposition. Chelsea’s season ended little a damp squib with a draw at home to Huddersfield and defeat at Newcastle in the last league match of the season. Mourinho can motivate his players in the matches that matter most and Chelsea could be playing for the last time with Antonio Conte in charge. The standout bet is BTTS at Evens with Betfair.

The Group 1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury (3.40) is the biggest race of the day and the winner picks up almost 200 grand. It’s a close contest on ratings and form with the added element of improving horses who have excelled in handicaps. LIMATO has the ground to suit and the distance of one mile is not an issue so the horse is the one to back at 9/2 with Ladbrokes.

Today’s Sports Betting Preview – By Rick Elliott

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Liverpool Should Have No Problems Against Brighton

If Liverpool beat Brighton at Anfield they will finish fourth and deny Chelsea a place in the Champions League. The home team have got a much superior goal difference which is worth an extra point so a draw would suffice. Brighton have nothing on the line so its hard to see them avoiding defeat away at the Champions League finalists. Liverpool have found the net before the break in all but one of their last nine fixtures at home. The odds on a Liverpool win are short but the LIVERPOOL/LIVERPOOL double result pays 4/6 with Ladbrokes.

Chelsea must beat Newcastle away from home to take advantage of any Liverpool slip up. Despite that fact that Liverpool have the safety net of winning the Champions League and qualifying by that route they will beat Brighton. That means Chelsea’s efforts will count for nothing as they strive for three points in the north-east. Newcastle’s last seven league matches have seen the winners prevail by one goal and something similar is expected today. Chelsea could sneak a tight match so ONE-NIL to the visitors is 15/2 with William Hill.

Ireland’s main trial for the Derby takes place at Leopardstown and the leading contenders are trained by a familiar name. The betting for the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial (3.40) is dominated by horses from the Aidan O’Brien stable owned by Coolmore. The team are responsible for Saxon Warrior who is the current ante post favourite for the Derby. The three shortest priced runners in today’s prep race have these connections and its 8/1 the next best horse. On ratings NELSON is the pick of the O’Brien entries and the horse is on offer at 15/8 with Betfair.