BetUK Blog

It’s hard to see a depleted England not winning in the friendly against Trinidad & Tobago on Sunday night but given the 1/3 match odds there is simply no value in that particular market.

Those who ignore the golden rule of not investing in friendlies may be tempted to have a stab at the under 2.5 goal market. England have only scored eight goals in their last eight friendlies and shipped conceded just seven in that time. In fact, they haven’t scored more than two goals in a non-competitive match since August 2006. Moreover, since the 2006 World Cup their away scoring record against sides outside the top ten is poor: just nine goals in seven games, with three conceded.

T&T are sure to be up for the game but with no recent form against sides of any substance, it is impossible to judge how they could perform. It’s safe to assume, though, that Ferdinand and his fellow defenders shouldn’t have too much to worry about against the home attack. It could therefore be a low-scoring encounter.

A decision about the Epsom Derby participation of Irish-trained favourite Casual Conquest is expected to be made in the next 24 hours.

There has been speculation that the colt, who was due to undergo a workout at Leopardstown on Wednesday evening, could miss the 7 June Classic. Trainer Dermot Weld might aim the Derrinstown Derby Trial winner at the French and/or Irish versions instead.

Though not entered for Epsom, Casual Conquest can be added if his owner stumps up £75,000. If he is entered we can expect a bold show from the horse, who is guaranteed to get every yard of the one-and-a-half mile trip. He has already been backed in to 4/1 so will go off a hot favourite if the owner gives him the green light to run.

Roger Federer’s quest for the French Open crown has been unfairly likened to that of Pete Sampras, another all-time great who could never master the terrain at Roland Garros. But whereas Sampras clearly didn’t have the game to be a force in the clay-court Grand Slam, Federer could easily have had three French Open titles in the bag already.

He has simply been unlucky to be around in the same era as Nadal, the greatest of all time on the red dirt, who has beaten him in each of the last three years at Roland Garros – twice in the final, once in the semis – and eight times out of nine on the surface in all, most recently in a rollercoaster Hamburg final last week.

Against the rest of the world Federer is almost as invincible on clay as he is on grass, having won 57 of his last 59 matches with just two defeats to Filippo Volandri and Radek Stepanek. There isn’t much wrong with this form and we wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Swiss genius goes all the way this year.

It’s only a couple of days since Avram Grant’s superb season as Chelsea manager was rewarded with the sack and already British newspapers are awash with gossip about who his successor might be.

Many newspapers this morning say former Blues midfielder and ex-Juventus manager Didier Deschamps, who is currently without a club, is on a four-man short-list to replace Grant.

And even Sunderland’s Roy Keane has emerged as a shock contender for the Chelsea job, says the Daily Express.

However, The Times reckons Zenit St Petersburg manager Dick Advocaat is also a name to be linked with the vacant job after leading the Russian side to Uefa Cup glory.

Whoever it is he will have to win next season’s Premiership or he will suffer the same ignominious fate as Avram Grant.

This year’s Epsom Derby, to be run over the famous undulations of the Surrey racecourse on June 7, has been a real head-scratcher for punters. There was a lot of interest in Henry Cecil’s Twice Over, who was backed in to 4/1 for the famous race, but then flopped in the best Derby trial of them all - the Dante at York. Twice Over was exposed as a non-stayer as the York race is run over 1m4f, the same distance as the Epsom showpiece. He won’t even be contesting the race and those bettors who piled in at 4s must be feeling a bit foolish.

It’s highly likely we will be saying the same thing soon about all those who are currently wading into Henrythenavigator following his win today in the Irish 2000 Guineas. Just because trainer Aidan O’Brien, who won the Epsom Derby in 2001 and 2002, says the horse might run at Epsom has caused the horse to be backed into 5/1 already. This is ridiculous as Henrythenavigator probably couldn’t get 1m4f in a horsebox. His sire is Kingmambo, who was a miler, although his dam is out of the legendary Sadler’s Wells (see post of May 13). It is also worth pointing out that the Irish 2000 Guineas, being run over just a mile, rarely throws up the winner of the Epsom Derby. You have to go all the way back to Grundy in 1975 to find a horse who won both races.

Saturday’s Championship Play-Off Final between Hull and Bristol City is reputed to be a £60 million game of football as this is the estimated return for playing in the promised land of the Premiership. Neither has ever been in the top flight before so it would be a fair assumption that each team will really be feeling the pressure in the hours before kick-off.

Pressure is usually a dish that needs to be tasted a few times before you master it and the fact that Hull have ex-England and Liverpool hero Nicky Barmby and Premiership veteran Dean Windass must work in their favour.

Bristol can’t claim to have players with that level of experience but one thing is for sure: the game should rival, if not surpass, the Champions League Final for sheer excitement. You have got to get involved!

Play has started today in the Second Test between England and New Zealand at Old Trafford. Although you can’t always rely on the Manchester weather to behave, thereby boosting the chances for an actual result, hopes are high this time that England can take the lead in the three-match series.

The Old Trafford pitch has suited them in the past and could expose New Zealand’s inexperience. England have lost only two of their last 12 matches there largely because the fast and bouncy nature of the surface which our fast bowlers know how to exploit better than the opposition.

Last summer West Indies could not cope and the previous year Pakistan lived up to their tag as a team which ran for cover at the sight and sound of the ball fizzing around their ears.

New Zealand have a similar reputation and it’s my guess the first four in their batting line-up will struggle today.

Tonight’s Champions League Final in Moscow between Manchester United and Chelsea is the biggest in footballing history. Prizes don’t come any greater and it will smash all betting records for a football match. If you’re going to watch you have to join in this biggest of national punts.

Bookies are estimating an industry turnover of £20m when the two best teams in England go head-to-head in the Luzhniki Stadium tonight.

Industry experts say the match is potentially such a big betting deal that only a World Cup or European Championship Final involving England would be expected to beat it.

Chelsea are looking for their first European Cup success, while odds-on favourites United are going for a third triumph in their history, and their second under Sir Alex Ferguson, 50 years after the Munich air tragedy.

The second Test against New Zealand starts at Old Trafford on Friday, and let’s hope England’s hopes of taking a lead in the three-Test series won’t be scuppered again due to the notoriously wet Manchester weather.

We’ve just had a look at the five-day forecast and the good news is that after some rain on Friday things are expected to brighten up over the weekend, which is likely to be relatively dry, suggesting we might just get a result this time after the boring draw at Lord’s in the first Test.

Chelsea goalie Petr Cech reckons watching Manchester United lift the Premier League trophy has given his team the psychological edge needed to succeed in Moscow in the Champions League Final on Wednesday night.

Chelsea pushed Sir Alex Ferguson’s side all the way in the title race, eventually finished two points adrift after drawing 1-1 at home to Bolton on the final day of the season.

Having witnessed scenes of jubilation in Manchester, Cech says that his team is determined not to be second-best again.

He believes losing the Premiership title will provide the “extra motivation” needed to win in Moscow because no-one at Chelsea wants to see United celebrating again.

It sounds as if Chelsea are brimming with confidence one day before the big match - good news for Chelsea backers.