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United favourites ahead of weekend Mancunian derby

Manchester United are bookies’ favourites ahead of Sunday’s derby at Old Trafford against local rivals Manchester City, but manager Louis van Gaal is taking nothing for granted.

Van Gaal has very much proved himself to be the catalyst for United’s renewed quest for football glory, but the Dutchman admitted that the midweek Champions League jaunt to Moscow to face CSKA would have put his side at a disadvantage, especially as City were at home for their European encounter.

He told Sporting Life: “Every club at the top of the league has the same problems. But now Manchester City has a benefit because they are playing at home and that is a difference.

“You have the benefit of the recuperation. Manchester City don’t have the travel but we have so they have had more rest. There is nothing you can do. They have the benefit.”

Whether those comments by the Old Trafford boss were just a pre-game bluff, or demonstrated real concern, is open to conjecture, but as far as the football betting is concerned his men remain favourites to claim the three points. 

Paddy Power and Ladbrokes are offering odds of 6/4 and William Hill 8/5 for a Manchester United victory. The odds for Manchester City claiming local bragging rights in this fixture are 7/4, 17/10 and 13/8 respectively.

There are also decent odds for both these Manchester giants sharing the honours on the day with Paddy Power, William Hill, Betfred, Bet 365 and Sky Bet all offering 12/5.

For those wanting to a place a bet on the game’s first scorer it should come as no surprise that Wayne Rooney is up there among the favourites with odds of 5/1 being offered by Paddy Power.

Meanwhile City manager Manuel Pellegrini is insisting club skipper Vincent Kompany  will not be in the starting line-up for Sunday’s encounter despite featuring in the dying minutes of the Champions League victory over Sevilla, the BBC is reporting.

 

golf ball

Stellar Field Lines Up for Hong Kong Open

The UBS Hong Kong Open starts today at the par 70, 6,999-yard course at Fanling. Up for grabs is a share of the $2 million purse as well as the final opportunity to finish in golf’s top 110 for the start of the 2016 season.

As Tom Clarke writes in Golf Monthly: “There are plenty of things up for grabs this week, without even thinking about the tournament itself, with players trying to get into the Top 110 to save their card, Top 60 to make the DP World Tour Championship and the Top 10 on the Race to Dubai Rankings to have a chance to win the bonus pool.”

There is plenty for fans of the game who enjoy their Golf betting to consider. Ladbrokes are making Justin Rose favourite to win the Hong Kong Open with odds of 6/1. Also, according to Oddschecker.com Rose is 12/1 to lead the first round, 8/13 for a top 10 finish and 8/13 for a top 5.

Dustin Johnson is also featuring strongly in the pre-tournament betting. Betfred are offering odds of 7/1 for Johnson to emerge as the Hong Kong Open victor. He is also being tipped at 16/1 to lead the field at the end of the first round, 5/6 to finish in the top 10 and 9/4 the top 5.

Matthew Fitzpatrick is expected to be up there among the challengers. The likes of Bet365 and Sky Bet are offering odds of 14/1 for victory. He is also 16/1 to lead the first round, 11/8 to end the tournament in the top 10 and 3/1 for a top 5 finish.

Scott Hend, who won the 2014 tournament at Fanling and recently came 4th in the Porsche European Open, is much longer odds, with Bet365 offering 35/1 for outright victory.

Highland Reel tipped for Cox Plate success

Highland Reel is the bookies’ favourite for the William Hill Cox Plate at Moonee Valley in Victoria, Australia, being run this Saturday. In a field of 14 the horse has been drawn in the favoured stall four, which saw its odds slashed to 7/2 for the A$3.5 million (£1.5million) race.

The Tipsters confidence in Highlighted Reel is being given a huge boost with the fact that Ryan Moore will be the jockey, as confirmed by trainer Aiden O’Brien’s assistant TJ Comerford. “Ryan is coming to ride him which is a massive plus,” Comerford told the Racing Post. “He’s just had two Grade 1 winners in Canada and he knows the track as well. Ryan has a great attitude and knows the horses, which is a great plus.”

“Highland Reel is in good form and has settled in well. He’s had pretty much the same preparation as he’s had for all his races and has most of his work done before he gets here,” Comerford added.

The three-year-old has already enjoyed recent success on the international stage, winning the Secretariat Stakes in the United States in August.

Arod, second last time out in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood and making a first start outside England, will be racing from stall five and is being given odds of 8/1 to be the first past the post. Also mounting a challenge from Europe is Gailo Chop, trained by Antoine de Watrigant and being given odds of 16/1 for victory.

Other runners well worth putting money on include Criteria who won the Caulfied Stakes two weeks ago and goes into the Cox Plate at odds of 5/1. Also being offered at 5/1 is Winx, which will be starting the race from stall one.

Expected to set the pace is Tasmanian horse The Cleaner. The Cleaner is starting in from stall two and may be worth a punt at 20/1.

Top tips for English midweek Champions League Hopes

Arsenal go into their Group F Champions League encounter against in-form Bayern Munich at the Emirates tonight as underdogs. The Gunners have lost their opening two group games while Bayern have, so far, a 100% record.

Bet365 are offering a free £50 bet on the game, which is well worth taking advantage of.

The disparity in form is reflected in the Football betting where, despite home advantage, odds for an Arsenal victory are 7/2 with Bayern at 5/6. The odds for a draw are 9/2 which would at least see the London side gain their first point.

The Germans are taking nothing for granted, however, according to Bayern midfielder Xabi Alonso. “For us it is not as crucial a match as it is for them, he told the Daily Mail. “Arsenal will have great motivation and are a great team. We will have to be on top of our game to get a result.”

We predict an open game with Arsenal going all out for the win and it seems the odds on both teams to score at 4/6 with Bet365 offers value.

Chelsea visit Dynamo Kiev for their Group G clash as bookies favourites despite the Ukrainians topping the group. However, Jose Mourinho’s men, in third place, are just a point behind Dynamo. The Blues, with a victory and defeat from their opening two group games are 7/4 while the hosts are 13/8 – 23/10 the draw.

On Wednesday night both Manchester clubs are in European action with City hosting Sevilla in Group D and United travelling to Moscow to face CSKA in Group B.

Both City and Sevilla are locked on three points with the Mancunians held back in third spot on goal difference.

Home advantage makes Manchester City the bookies favourites at 4/6, but for those fancying a bet on the Spaniards the odds of 4/1 make it an attractive prospect, while a draw is 10/3.

With City perhaps turning the corner in the Champions League with victory last time out and being strong at home, we fancy backing them to win at 4/6.

Manchester United are in the tightest of groups with all four sides on three points. United are favourites to claim the points at 31/20 with the Russians 7/4 for victory and odds for the two teams finishing all square are 12/5.

Our Tips:

Back Both teams to score in Arsenal v Bayern Munich at 4/6 with Bet365

Back Man City to beat Sevilla at 4/6 with William Hill.

You can get a free £50 from Bet365 for the Arsenal v Bayern Munich game. To take advantage of a whole range of bookies’ offers, check out our review of Bonus Bagging

golfer swinging club

Tipster Lands 60/1 Winner as Grillo Makes History

One of the golf tipsters we are trialing landed a massive 60/1 winner in the early hours of Monday morning when Emilliano Grillo triumphed at the Frys.com Open after overcoming Kevin Na in a playoff. 

The Golf Profiteer had tipped up the young Argentine in their weekly post on Wednesday at odds of 60.0 for the win and 5.3 for the top ten finish.

His victory made Grillo only the fourth player in 15 years to win on their first start as a PGA Tour member, joining Russell Henley, Henrik Stenson and Garrett Willis in that roll of honour.

The win came in dramatic circumstances as Grillo holed a 25 foot putt on the final green to get into the playoff.

Then on the first playoff hole, the 23-year old Argentine looked devastated after missing a four-foot putt for the win, handing his opponent a huge boost in the process.

However, the Argentine remained unphased, making birdie on the next playoff hole after hitting his tee-shot in the bunker.

Na looked to be in control having hit his drive up the middle of the fairway, but could not repeat the shot he had hit on the same hole in regulation play, when he had hit a driver off the deck to almost pin-high just right of the green.

Instead he mishit the shot, hitting a low hook to behind a tree and leaving himself a very difficult third shot.

In the end Na could only manage a bogey, meaning Grillo had two putts to win from 9 feet after hitting a fine approach for his third. He only needed one of the putts however and looked mighty relieved that missing the short putt on the previous playoff hole had not ended up costing him.

It was a second win in two weeks for Grillo after his win at the Web.com Tour Championship, where he also holed a 25 foot putt on the final green.

The victory gains the Argentine entry into the 2016 Masters and the young man sounded delighted, “You say Masters, I can’t believe it. 

“This is awesome. There is no words to put in to explain this. This is the greatest moment of my life golf-wise.”

Perhaps his worst moment had come just seven months earlier when Grillo missed a short putt to win the Puerto Rico Open. “I couldn’t sleep for a week,” he said. “It was one of the most painful times of my life, that’s for sure.”

For Kevin Na it took his playoff record to 0 for 3, but hopefully  he will reflect on the high standard of golf he played during the week. 

For the Golf Profiteer, it marked a fine week as they also tipped up Chris Wood on the other side of the Atlantic for the Portugal Masters at odds of 20/1 for the win and 3.55 for the Top Ten finish, with the Englishman finishing second. 

 

All Blacks odds-on favourites to win Rugby World Cup

The weekend’s quarterfinal ties saw the challenge from the northern hemisphere nations obliterated. With this coming weekend’s last four ties being played by teams from south of the equator, New Zealand are being tipped to retain the Rugby Union World Cup.

The All Blacks, who made it through to the semi-finals with a 62-13 mauling of France on Saturday, are already being quoted at odds of 8/13 to win the 2015 title. Australia, who needed a last-minute penalty to see off Scotland’s challenge and end European involvement in the competition, are second favourites at 3/1.

The South Africans, who had a narrow 23-19 victory over Wales, are third favourites at 7/1, while Argentina, who shocked the Irish with a 43-20 thumping yesterday, are rank outsiders at 16/1.

As far as betting tips for the semi-final games are concerned, Australia appear to have the easier tie, at least on paper. Nevertheless, nothing should be taken for granted. The Aussies came very close to being knocked out by the unfancied Scots, while opponents Argentina swept away Ireland, racking up 17 points as early as the first 13 minutes.

The Australians were lucky to progress, and coach Michael Cheika admitted: “All credit to Scotland, it was a great game and we just had to get through it somehow.

”We got the job done, we got five tries and we’ll enjoy moving on.”

Australia go into the game against the Pumas as 4/9 favourites, with Argentina at 2/1 and 28/1 for the draw.

New Zealand face a testing encounter against 1995 and 2007 World Champions South Africa. The All Blacks are being tipped at odds of 2/7 to reach the final, while the Springboks are 2/1, with 28/1 for the draw.

Following the shocks and surprises of the quarterfinal games, it remains to be seen what the semi-finals have in store at the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup.

Focus on new bosses as Premier League football returns

Premier League football returns tomorrow following the international break. All eyes will be on two particular managers as their new clubs play their first encounters under their stewardship.

Liverpool play their first game under the charge of Jurgen Klopp with a visit to Tottenham. Sunderland, with veteran Sam Allardyce at the helm, will be seeking to escape the relegation zone with a trip to a West Brom side that is desperate to avoid slipping into the bottom three.

Klopp was brought to Anfield following a lacklustre start to the campaign, which saw Brendan Rodgers given the push. The German is refusing to assign blame for his squad’s past failings; instead, he wants his men to start proving themselves at White Hart Lane.

“It is not so interesting what happened a week ago or two weeks, only what the players can do now,” Klopp told the pre-match conference.

The football betting odds see Liverpool being given 7/4 against Tottenham’s 6/4, with 12/5 for the draw.

The bookies are being less kind to Big Sam’s Sunderland as odds are being offered of 14/5 against 21/20 for West Brom, 11/5 for a share of the points.

Despite their below-par start, Chelsea are odds-on favourite to beat visitors Aston Villa at 1/3. Table-topping Manchester City are favourites to see off the challenge of AFC Bournemouth also at 1/3.

Southampton are 3/4 favourites to gain the points when they meet Leicester, while Arsenal are being offered at 4/7 to gain victory at Watford. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace are odds-on favourites to win against visitors West Ham at 19/20.

Manchester United are given odds of 11/8 as their bid to reclaim former glories continues with a trip to Everton.

For the Sunday fixture, Newcastle are being given odds of 6/4 to gain the better of Norwich at St James Park, while Swansea are 21/20 to beat visitors Stoke in the Monday night game.

Bookies make McIroy favourite for Frys.com Open

Rory McIlroy will not only be the headline act when the Frys.com Open starts at Napa, California, later today but he is the bookies favourite with odds of 4/1. Those odds could well have been shorter but the Ulsterman suffered an ankle ligament injury ahead of this summer’s British Open and it remains to be seen if he is back on top form.

Second favourite to claim the $1 million dollar winner’s cheque is Justin Rose at 8/1.

For fans of the sport interested in wagering cash on Golf betting, there is no shortage of advice from the tipsters. Boylesports.com are pushing the merits of Hideki Matsuyama.

Matsuyama enjoyed a strong finish to the season winning two of four matches in last week’s Presidents Cup and before that he made it into the top 10 of the BMW Championship and into the leading 15 of the Barclays and The Tour Championship. He has also finished T13, T25, T7 and T12 in his last four stroke play events and is expected to do well at Napa.

Hailing the Japanese star’s talents, Boylesports are claiming: “He should be able to carry that form into a tournament where he finished third at his first attempt last year, and is worth backing at 16/1 this week.”

For those wanting to chance their money on longer odds the event throws up several interesting choices. Charl Schwartzel and Chris Kirk, both at 40/1, are worthy of consideration. Schwartzel plays well under pressure and proved that at the Wyndham Championship. Kirk is also expected to do well as this year’s tournament, which is missing some big names from across the Atlantic.

For an outside bet, choose Johnson Wagner at 125/1. Recently he has enjoyed high finishes, but was beaten in a Shell Houston Open play off six months ago.

Could a change of manager boost Arsenal’s title hopes?

It has been 12 seasons of hurt as far as Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes are concerned. Under manager Arsene Wenger, the Gunners have won the title three times, but the last time is now more than ten years in the past.

Arsenal might be perennial Champions League entrants, but even that pales into insignificance when compared with winning the world’s richest league. The football betting fraternity does not appear to have total confidence in the Gunners winning this season’s title.

Ladbrokes are currently offering odds of 12/5 to fans willing to bet on Arsenal ending the 2015-16 campaign as champions. That is the second best in the league; Manchester City are being offered at 4/5.

Following their below par start, current champions Chelsea are being given odds of 18/1 to retain their title, and their manager, Jose Mourinho, is undoubtedly already under pressure.

There are occasional rumblings about Wenger’s continued presence at the Emirates Stadium, but that is nothing compared to the pressure endured by Mourinho or that which led to Brendan Rodgers’ departure from Liverpool.

However, the Frenchman does have his detractors, especially among his peers, the latest being new Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce. Nevertheless, Wenger’s players remain loyal to him. Striker Danny Welbeck told The National: “Obviously, Arsene’s done a great job at Arsenal, and you can’t really fault what he’s done. When I’ve been there he’s been great with me and great with the other lads as well from what I’ve seen.”

If Wenger finally departs, who is his successor likely to be? The bookies were left wrong-footed when their favourite, Jurgen Klopp, moved to Liverpool instead. Another likely new Gunners manager being mooted is former two-time Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti.

Could Arsenal’s hopes of ending their Premier League title drought be boosted if the likes of Ancelotti take over? That remains to be seen. In the meantime, however, Wenger remains in charge.

Irish Rugby Union World Championship odds slashed

The bookies are smiling kindly on Ireland as they slashed the odds for them winning the Rugby Union World Cup to 9/1. The men from the Emerald Isle topped their qualifying pool with a 24-9 mauling of France on Sunday.

The result saw the Irish come through the group with a 100% record, picking up two bonus points on the way.

The only thing separating Ireland from a place in the last 4 is Argentina and the two sides go head-to-head in a semi-final clash at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium this coming Sunday. The Puma’s own odds to win the World Cup have also been slashed, to 20/1 from 40/1. New Zealand remain the favourites at 5/4.

Irish coach Joe Schmidt is already facing selection headaches; Peter O’Mahony is ruled out of the rest of the tournament after picking up a knee injury and Sean O’Brien could be banned after being cited for throwing a punch during the encounter with France.

Skipper O’Connell could also be set to miss the rest of the tournament after sustaining a hamstring injury and full back Rob Kearney admitted his absence would be a blow. Speaking on the IRFU website on Monday, Kearney said: “You never like to lose players through injury, especially ones of the calibre that we have lost. And the captain as well. But when you are in tournaments like this and the physicality is so great, you can see other teams suffering from it too.”

“You don’t have a huge amount of time to sit around and think about it. We have got another massive Test match (against Argentina) in six days’ time. We’ve got to keep looking forward and get on with it, as cruel as it might sound.”

Rhys Ruddock has been drafted into the squad and is already being tipped as replacement for O’Mahony in the last 8 encounter.

Fancy some tips for the rugby world cup?  You can check out The Sports Guru here, who specialises in a range of sports in addition to rugby, including football, tennis and American football.