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It was honours even between England and Ireland after day one of the Cheltenham Festival, though the Irish would have been despondent after Dunguib’s defeat in the opener and they would also have hoped for a better showing from their leading hopes in the Champion Hurdle. In the end Binocular, who wasn’t even going to run up to a few weeks ago, strode to a convincing success under Tony McCoy and is a general 4-1 to repeat his success in 2011. The feature on the second day is the Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase in which Master Minded, bidding for a hat-trick in the race, is a hot favourite. Paul Nicholls‘ chaser, 10-11 with bet365, totesport and Victor Chandler, hasn’t impressed everyone this season, however, suffering a surprise defeat by Well Chief over C&D in November and not jumping with any degree of fluency despite reversing that form with Mahogany Blaze at Newbury last month. There are far stronger odds-on chances running at the meeting this week and I’d be comfortable taking on Master Minded. Stablemate Twist Magic, 15-2 with Paddy Power and Stan James, has won two Grade One events this winter and is in much better form then when falling in this 12 months ago, while I wouldn’t rule out Forpadyplasterer (a general 10-1) or Kalahari King (widely available at 9-2). The pair were first and second in the Arkle Chase last season and both seem to have been trained with this race in mind. Diamond Harry (7-1 with Ladbrokes) is still a work in progress but more than capable of making a race with it with strongly-fancied Nicky Henderson pair Long Run and Punchestowns (a general 2-1 and 11-4 respectively) in the RSA Chase. Mobaasher (a general 12-1) is an interesting runner in the National Hunt Challenge Cup Chase but the day’s value bet could be in the Coral Cup. Wishfull Thinking has only had three runs over hurdles but has won them all and, though this is his biggest test to date, his latest win at Exeter has already been franked and promising conditional rider Giles Hawkins takes a valuable 5lbs off his back here. I like the look of Ladbrokes‘ 16-1, though a big danger will be Deutschland who has been well backed and is now as short as 8-1 in most places.

Youngster Ross Turnbull will have the biggest match of his life, and could influence the Champions League betting for Chelsea v Inter Milan. Goalkeeper Turnbull starts in the Chelsea v Inter Milan Champions League match on Tuesday night. The Blues have been boosted by the return of centre half Ricardo Carvalho, who will likely step back into the line up, taking the place of Brazilian Alex. Stamford Bridge will be expectant of receiving another great Champions League display by their team, and Carlo Ancelotti has to mastermind the downfall of opposite number Jose Mourinho. Inter Milan, who are favourites to clinch Serie A, will be defending a 2-1 lead at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night. The teams had contrasting fortunes in their last domestic matches, with Chelsea winning 4-1 at West Ham on Saturday, and Inter crashing to a shock 3-1. Mourinho did make changes for that game, holding back some players for Tuesday. Maybe though, those results will just be the amount of momentum which can turn big games like this.

Chelsea will look to join Manchester United in the last 8 of the champions league, after they saw their Premier League rivals thump David Beckham’s AC Milan 4-0 at Old Trafford. With Drogba amongst the goals on the weekend, and taking some heart from certain elements of the performance in Rome in the first leg, Chelsea have every right to be confident of getting one over on their old boss. Much of the players at Chelsea are there because of Jose Mourinho, and they put on a decent, if not clinical enough performance in their first leg. In many ways it was a managerial and tactical victory for Mourinho, not allowing Chelsea’ three-pronged attack to really threaten. Although they conceded a lot of room in the middle of the park to Chelsea, the Blues were stifled up front, their only reward coming from a long shot from Salomon Kalou. That could be the vital away goal on Tuesday night, and it was important to come away from Rome with something, even if the win evaded them.

Inter very much played a counter attacking game in the first leg, with Chelsea having plenty of possession, but unable to make an impact in the final third. The Inter defence looked tight and organised, and that will be the biggest problem which Chelsea will have to deal with again. They will need to protect the rookie Turnbull at the back, and find the right balance in going forward, as an away goal for Inter would be somewhat devastating. Having won their Group, Chelsea have good home advantage in the second leg of this fixture, and the atmosphere of this special night, should see them through. The goalkeeping issue, Ashley Cole and Michael Essien aside, Chelsea should have a full compliment of players to choose from, and it will be a side brimming with experience, especially in midfield.

As much press fuss and furore there was over David Beckham’s return to Old Trafford, much has been made about Joe Mourinho’s first visit to Stamford Bridge since parting company with the London club. Mourinho brought the Premier League title to Stamford Bridge, but the Champions League has always just evaded them. Carlo Ancelotti, who has tasted victory in the Champions League with AC Milan, was brought in to try and turn all of that around. There are rumours of dislike between the two managers, and it will be interesting to see how the Stamford Bridge crowd welcome the Special One back. Of course, Mourinho is taking it all in his stride, But the question simply is, are Chelsea two goals better than the Italian outfit? While a 1-0 win would suffice for the Blues, the two goal cushion will give them the safe and comfortable passage through.

BETTING STATS

Head to Head
Inter Milan 1, Chelsea 0

Last 5 Match Goals
Chelsea – 11 For, 7 Against
Inter Milan – 6 For, 6 Against

Last 10 Match Form
Chelsea: W6, D1, L3
Inter Milan: W5, D4, L1

Win Percentage:
Chelsea have an 87.0 win percentage at home
Inter Milan have a 47.1 win percentage away from home

Match Prices
Chelsea to win: 8/13 at Bet365
Draw: 3/1 at Victor Chandler
Inter Milan to win: 5/1 at SkyBet

Asian Handicap Betting Advice: The Bookies don’t seem to fancy an Inter Milan win much, but the Italians are a stubborn side and are not top of Serie A for no reason. They are an organised side, and a Mourinho side, which means they are happy going out and winning every game 1-0. Chelsea’s home record is something they can be proud of, but so equally is Mourinho’s Stamford Bridge record. Mourinho never lost in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge in his three and a half years there, and only suffered one defeat in the Champions League against Barcelona. They will be a hard side to break down, but Chelsea do have enough goals in them to break through.
Chelsea -0.75 Asian Handicap: 4/5 at Bet365

1.30pm
Spinal Research Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
2m 1/2f
This has been all about Irish star Dunguib ever since it was announced he was running. The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle favourite romped home again on Sunday, proving that he has a style and swagger that pretty much makes him untouchable. It is no wonder he is at such short odds, while the rest of the field already, jading by some of the prices around, are chasing lost causes. Dubguib will have Brian O’Connell on his back, and his nearest challengers. If there are any flaws that may trip him up, is that  his jumping can get a little wayward at times, but his performances over the jumps seriously has competition fearing the worst, that being a race for second place. The strongest challenge is likely to come from Jonjo O’Neill’s Get Me Out of Here, while Oscar Whisky, trained by Nicky Henderson could push on for top three finishes. The race for the finishing spots could actually play out quite close, with good outside bets lying in Blackstairmountain and Menorah.
Dunguib – Evens at SportingBet
Get Me Out of Here – 5/1 at Bet365
Oscar Whisky – 10/1 at BetFred
Blackstairmountain – 12/1 at SportingBet
Menorah – 12/1 at Totesport

3.20pm
Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy
2m 1/2f
Not too much to choose from in the big feature race of the day. This is the showcase of the first day of the Cheltenham Festival, and it should be a great race, as it is fairly difficult to pick an out and out favourite, unlike the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. The one horse that will attract a lot of interest, especially nearer starting time, is Go Native. The earlier the price you can get on, the better you will be, especially with most online bookmakers offering guaranteed prices. Whether Go Native is head and shoulders above the rest of the field, there is a doubt, but it is the one horse out of a close pack that probably has the edge of things going right. Go native won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at last year’s Cheltenham festival and has gone on to complete a couple of impressive victories. He has been rested well, and with Paul Carberry on his back, they duo should be in with a great shout, especially with the finishing speed.
Go Native – 9/2 at Ladbrokes
Sol whit – 13/2 at Blue Square
Punjabi – 7/1 at Boylesports
Khyber Kim – 8/1 at BetFred
Binocular – 8/1 at 888Sport
Celestial Halo – 9/1 at Bet365
Medermit – 9/1 at Coral

With the arrival of the Cheltenham Festival, one of the biggest horse racing betting occasions of the year, comes the chance for Bookmakers to step up their competition for custom. This will pay off for the punter, as there are some great betting promotions to take advantage of, including the big race of the week itself, the Gold Cup. The Gold Cup will see the next big showdown between Kauto Star and Denman, and jockey’s Ruby Walsh and Tony McCoy respectively. However, before all that, there are plenty of competitive races on the cards at Cheltenham, and that means plenty of betting action, even if you can’t make it the Gloucestershire track. The first race to get underway on Tuesday, as ever, is the Supreme Novice Hurdle. This one is dominated by the unbeaten Irish star Dunguib, who becomes the centre of attention for Cheltenham Festival betting promotions, as well as the race itself. Being the curtain raiser for the festival, the race obviously draws a lot of attention, as punters want to get off to a winning start. The Supreme Novice Hurdle, the Champion Hurdle and the Gold Cup are the feature races of the week, with some of the most famous names in horse racing showing their colours.

Kauto Star won the Gold Cup last year, equalling the tally of success against each other at 1-1 with stable mate Denman. Kauto Star goes into the race as favourite, simply because of his outstanding form, notably winning the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day. The Gold Cup is not just about the horses themselves, there is also jockey and trainer pride at stake, with trainer Paul Nicholls teaming up with premier jockey’s Ruby Walsh, who is going on Kauto Star, and Tony McCoy going on Denman. Even the Queen is getting in on the action, as her horse, Barbers Shop goes in the Ryanair Chase on Wednesday.

Online Bookmaker Bet365 is leading the way again, with the outstanding offer of giving the best price on all horses all week. Better still, as the horse racing fever grips the nation, this promotion is not just extended to the Cheltenham Festival, it covers every race across the UK during this week. All UK race meetings during the Cheltenham Festival week are covered by this Bet365 promotion, which means that they will guarantee to match, or better any odds on any horse, at any meeting. This promotion runs the whole week, from March 15th to March 21st, and along with their generous welcome bonus of up to £200 in free bets, horse racing fans will be well advised to make the most of this. Bet365 will give the Best Price over many other online bookmakers, and the usual service of Best Odds Guaranteed (which means that if your horse price shortens from an early board price to a smaller starting price, then Bet365 will still give you the longer price). On top  of that again, is Bet365’s great 4/1 promotion. With this promotion, if you back a winner at a price of 2/1 or greater which is shown live on Channel 4 Racing, then you will earn yourself a free bet, matching the original stake of the first one. If your free bet backs another winner at 4/1 or greater, then you can get yet another free bet!

SportingBet may well be worth stopping by as well, for they are offering refunds on stakes for any faller during the Cheltenham Festival. The online bookmaker have launched their impressive Cheltenham Micro Site, which is packed full of features, a blog, race previews, video and of course promotions. Along with their Faller Refund promotion, SportingBet are offering punters a treat with their Five a Day offer. Their Cheltenham Micro Site will offer punters five special bonuses each and every day of the Cheltenham festival, and these will be things like enhanced odds, enhanced doubles and single race offers. There could be some real goodies to pick up in here, and the new promotions will appear each day after 10 am. The race cards are already up, so it’s a good time to go and scour the site to see the early market prices for the Supreme Novices Hurdle which opens the festival at

For the Supreme Novices Hurdle, Paddy Power are going all out for the race, offering their “This Banker Won’t Swindle You” promotion for the festival opener. This money back special will refund all losing outright bets, if unbeaten favourite Dunguib romps home first, as expected. This Paddy Power promotion covers both “Win” and “Each Way” bets on the race, as when taken as singles only (not part of accumulators or anything.) The offer only extends to the “Win part of an each way bet”. There is a maximum on this which is £200 per customer, so you will be covered, and even if the favourite doesn’t run, the next favourite at the starting line will simply replace him for the promotion

Skybet have a special offer going on every race of the Cheltenham Festival. This all starts with Tuesday’s Supreme Novice Hurdle as well, and they are going with an extra place race for this one, meaning that they will pay out on the first four finishers, as opposed to the usual three. Other races on day one will also have this offer, and some of them will have extra value applied to them instead with enhanced odds. There is also a Gold Cup challenge, where punters can win their share of £5,000 in free bets. All you need to do for this Skybet promotion is to predict the 1-2-3 finish for the big race of the week. The spotlight is firmly on the perennial showdown between Kauto Star and Denman, but who will be the third factor in Friday’s big race? Check out SkyBet for daily promotions on all the horse racing betting from the Cheltenham Festival.

The new and improved Totesport are rewarding their punters for picking winners. You can win yourself a free daily bet when you back a winner at odds of 5/1 or greater. This applies to any race from the Festival which is shown live on Channel 4. With the new look of Totesport, which has made navigation of their site easier and has integrated stats and from The Racing Post, the online bookmaker is backing the stats from last year’s Cheltenham Festival, which saw 19 winners from the 26 festival races come in at odds of 5/1 or greater. Simply pick one out again this year, and you’ll bank yourself a free bet to use on the next day of the festival.

Ladbrokes, who have also undergone a face lift recently are offering a Free £10 bet for all internet customers. This is also linked to the festival opener, the Supreme Novice Hurdle, for when customers, existing and new ones place a single bet to the value of £20 or more on Tuesday’s big race, then you will be entitled to a free £10 bet on Tuesday’s 4.40 race. This is great value if you are already going to be placing a wager, which will probably be going on Irish favourite Dunguib for the Supreme Novice Hurdle. What better way to open your Cheltenham Festival betting than with a winner and a free bet to boot? These are just some of the Cheltenham Festival offers going at the moment, check out your online bookmaker to see what free bets and promotions you can make the most of.

Pin badges, tea-towels, car stickers or t-shirts. Take your pick of the merchandise and choose your corner for the big fight between Kauto Star and Denman! To my mind, the Cheltenham Festival is just too big to narrow it down to one race between two stablemates but the Gold Cup bandwagon has been on the roll for a while now and evryone seems to have an opinion about who will come out on top. For me, that has to be Kauto Star (7-10 with sportingbet). He trounced Denman (a general 4-1) here last year and has won both races since, edging out Imperial Commander (9-1 with Paddy Power and William Hill) when not fully wound up on his reapperarance this season at Haydock before routing the opposition in a fourth King George at Kempton in December. What would worry me about Denman is that he’s failed to complete in two of his last three starts and may be lacking a little confidence whereas Kauto Star appears to have improved in that department as he’s matured. The Gold Cup, of course, is just one of several championship races this week. Tuesday’s Champion Hurdle is a fascinating contest – what will current favourite Go Native (4-1 with sportingbet) find when pressed, for example, and how fit is the other great Irish hope Solwhit (13-2 with the same firm)? I wouldn’t desert Punjabi (8-1 with Coral), who will relish the quicker ground and showed his class when winning this 12 months ago. The Queen Mother Champion Chase will determine whether Master Minded (10-11 with totesport) retains his title as Europe’s top two-mile chaser. Paul Nicholls‘ seven-year-old probably has the lightly-raced Kalahari King (a general 5-1) and last year’s Arkle winner Forpadydeplasterer (a general 9-1) to beat, though the Ditcheat handler is also expecting a big run from Master Minded’s stable companion Twist Magic (widely available at 7-1). The Irish hold a strong hand in the Arkle Challenge Trophy Chase with Captain Cee Bee (a general 11-4), winner of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival in 2008, a leading fancy. He would have gone very close to beating Sizing Europe (5-1 in most places) at Leopardstown on Boxing Day had he not fallen at the last and has won since. Somersby (4-1 with most layers), unbeaten over fences so far, looks the pick of the home defence in this. Big Bucks is hard to oppose again the World Hurdle (a general 8-13) but what’s my value banker of the meeting? For that, I’m waiting for Friday and the Triumph Hurdle. Alaivan may have been well beaten by Carlito Brigante (5-1 in most places) at Leopardstown in December but he pulled much too hard that day. He was really impressive when ridden with more restraint at Fairyhouse last month and, Group standard on the Flat, can outclass his rivals in the final-day opener. Edward O’Grady’s charge can be backed at a general 4-1.

Sports betting week 15 - 21 March

Date	Sport	Org.	Venue	Event
16-17 Mar		UEFA	Europe	CL - first knockout round - 2nd leg
18 Mar		UEFA	Europe	EL - first knockout round - 2nd leg
19-21 Mar		DFB	Germany	Bundesliga
20-21 Mar		FA	England	Premier League
20-21 Mar		FIGC	Italy	Serie A
20-21 Mar		RFEF	Spain	Primera Division
20-21 Mar		FFF	France	Ligue 1
11-17 Mar		ATP	Indian Wells, CA.	Indian Wells

With the plethora of online bookmakers available, finding the best service to suit your own needs is something which can help with your overall betting experience. Just as with making bets themselves, there is no need just to settle for one option. Utilising more than one online bookmaker may just be the thing which gives you the options to expand and experience everything that you both need and want from your bookmaker. Remember, these are websites with which you will be expecting the utmost security and trust from, as the making of payments and the storing of your account details will happen. Finding names you trust will be a great starting place, but if you are new to the world of online bookmaking, then here is a list of 10 features which you should look out for in an online bookmaker. This should help with everything from opening a new account, planning betting strategies and also watching live sport online.

Live In-Play Betting
This is one of the great advantages of online betting. Live In-Play betting allows you to get right to the heart of the action, and place wagers while you are actually watching the game. Most online bookies will give coverage of most sports from snooker, tennis, cricket and of course football. As the football markets are some of the biggest incomes for bookmakers, they naturally promote Live In-Play betting heavily. Coverage will not just come from top events such as games from the Premier League and Champions League matches, you should be able to find Live In-Play betting markets on matches from all across the world. Bwin for example, provides a wonderful Live-In Play betting service, and this form of betting does not just focus on the outright result (which prices will change during the course of the action), as there should be plenty of sub markets to explore as the live action progresses.

Live Streaming
This is one of the most powerful and prominent features to look for. Live sporting action gets streamed by some online bookmakers, allowing you to watch and enjoy Live In-Play betting all in one place. While you are not going to get to watch live Premier League matches on a Saturday afternoon, certain football cup matches from the UK, as well as European domestic action can be found via live streams. Sometimes you can also get exclusive access to international matches. Tennis is another popular sport which crops up a lot on live streaming services, and with the WTA and ATP going strong all season, this is a good way to catch the action. These streaming services, such as with Bet365 are usually free for people with funds in their accounts, and it a great thing to have on your side.

Welcome Bonus
Everybody likes to get a little something for nothing, and online bookmakers provide just that. Most, if not all, will welcome some kind of welcome sing up bonus. These usually manifest themselves in the form of either a matched first bet, or a matched first deposit. Naturally there are limits to these kind of things, but some of the highest ones out there are £200 from Bet365, and Victor Chandler’s £100. There are there to take advantage of, some get awarded immediately, some get awarded in a tier system after you place X-amount of bets of a certain value. Judge for yourself the level of your own betting to see what bonus would suit you best, as there may not be much point aiming for a big one if you don’t bet heavily enough to make the tiers. Most sign up processes should be instant, so you can start betting immediately.

Free Bets and Promotions
Aside from the main welcome bonuses, online bookmakers very often have promotions running across their website. Some you may need to explore to, and some will be immediately obvious. Some may be time sensitive for a certain event or tournament, and some will be on-going promotions to take advantage of. SportingBet for example, offer promotions on football which run all season. There are refunds on accumulator bets, refunded stakes on 0-0 draws, and when there is a big match coming up, that is when you can make the most of online bookmaker’s promotions. Let’s take a Tennis Grand Slam event for example, a bookmaker such as Paddy Power may decide to refund stakes on losing outright bets if Andy Murray wins that Grand Slam. These kind of promotions don’t always give away in a direct manner, they are there as great coverage on bets which you may not regularly make, like a first Goalscorer, for example. Studying form and guide will help you decide the risk, as with any betting.

The Sports Book
Well, the online bookmaker isn’t going to be very successful if it has not got a Sports Book, while all of them will have one, the qualities and operation of them may vary. The sports book at Blue Square may vary from that of BetFred for example. The deeper the sports book, the more you will get out of it. Some bookmakers have a fantastic array of minor sports to bet on, from everything from trotting to chess. Looking at the popular market of horse racing for example, some bookmakers may only cover UK racing, while others will offer betting on far flung furlongs from the likes of Australia, Canada and the US. If you are a big fan of a smaller sports, then you may need to shop around a little, and this is where having more than one online bookmaker will help out for your betting strategies. Naturally, a deeper, more extensive sports book will lead to more online betting opportunities.

Sub Markets
Punters nowadays want more options than just being able to bet on fixed odds outright betting events. This is where submarkets on sporting events come into play. The more options that there are available, the more exciting your betting will probably be. Online bookmakers like Coral offer deep submarkets on football markets for example, and this extends to things like goalscorer bets, time of events happening in an event, score casting and Asian Handicap betting. The list of submarkets really is extensive on individual events, and they are well worth investigating. The amount of submarkets, as well as specific submarkets, will vary from one bookmaker to another, as well as prices. Again having more than one online bookmaker will help with this. Do not discard the value of exploring submarkets on events because they can turn up little gems of profit.

Stats Service
One thing that may get overlooked a little bit on an online bookmaker service, is the level of statistics provided. When you have an online bookmaker such as Ladbrokes and Totesport, which deliver incredibly detailed stats on their horse racing, it makes betting so much easier. If you see a horse at a decent price, then with the simple click of a button, you want to be able to bring up form and information about the jockey, horse and course itself. Having everything in one place is fantastic when sports betting online, and stats can help you with your planning of betting strategies. Often lost amongst the glitz and glamour of flashy promotions, this is often the backbone of a good online bookmaking service, covering not just horse racing, but football, rugby, cricket and more.

Betting Slip
Again, something every online bookmaker will have, but they do vary from bookie to bookie. Victor Chandler, for example, may vary slightly from William Hill, although they will essentially do the same thing. It is small things like the ease of use and clarity of the betting slip, which makes for a better online betting experience. Some betting slips are tabbed so that you can explore different options when you have made your selections, and some will have everything in one place. Some may be hidden out of sight while browsing, while most will occupy the right hand menu so that you can keep track of your bets. Once you add selections, a helping hand can be garnered by multiple bet options appearing for your selections. This way you can quickly build up bets like Doubles, Trixies and Accumulators, which is extremely convenient.

Home Page Betting Convenience
Speed and ease of use is everything with an online bookmaker. You want to be able to jump quickly to betting options, or to quickly add selections from the home page to your betting slip. The home pages of online bookmakers can have a big impact on the usage of the entire site, as everything from the sports book navigation menu to promotional blocks with quick link betting on the home page, can make a huge difference. Headline links to current sporting events like at Stan James, are a great way to keep up to date, and having a list of current and forthcoming bets on the home page is a great advantage. Top coupons and promotions can all add to improved convenience. The lowest amount of clicks can get your bet on to the betting slip is what to aim for.

Casino and Games
Along with the sports book, online bookmakers also draw a lot of custom to other areas of their website. You can pretty much enjoy Las Vegas from the comfort of your own home, with casino games and poker galore. Some of these require separate accounts to the sports book account, some will all roll into one, and the likes of SkyBet will offer plenty of alternatives to sports betting, with promotions for these individual sections are there to be taken advantage of as well. This will be up to the punter’s taste whether things like Bingo, Roulette, Black Jack, Lotteries and Poker are as important to them as the sports book. These sort of things offer big rewards, and will be down to the level of betting you are comfortable with.

France’s dreams of winning the Six Nations this year, was made a little easier, after they watched England fail to beat Scotland at Murrayfield. In a tense game, which lacked any attacking quality, England stumbled again, failing to bounce back fully from the defeat that was handed to them by Ireland at Twickenham in the previous match. England were hopeful of going to the final day of the Six Nations with a chance of taking the title, but the draw has left them needing a miracle from Italy. A win for the French over Italy, which is more than probable, means that even if they fail to beat England in Paris next week, the French can still take the title. The only team that can catch them now mathematically will be Ireland, who demolished Wales 27-12 on the weekend. However the Irish don’t have such a good points difference, which means that Les Blues should pick up the title, but they will want the Grand Slam.

Italy are actually fourth in the league, having beaten the Scots, and find themselves ahead of Wales on points difference, and should avoid the wooden spoon. The upset of them beating the powerful French is not very likely at all, and it should be an easy afternoon for the French, in taking a major step towards securing the title. French coach Marc Lievremont will likely see his nation extend their unblemished record against Italy in the six nations, and having won all their games this season, they have looked head and shoulder above the quality of everyone else. They will be deserving of picking up the Grand Slam if it happens, and there will, no doubt, be one eye on next weekend’s big Paris clash with England. Even if some of the meaning has gone, with regards to a Six Nations title showdown, they will still want the Grand Slam. Defeating England will always be an enjoyable moment for the French too. France beat Italy 50-8 during last year’s Six Nations campaign, and they are a much stronger side this year.

France to win: 1/41 at Coral
Draw: 66/1 at Ladbrokes
Italy: 33/1 at SportingBet

Betting for the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix, will take a slightly unexpected turn, as the Ferrari’s failed to take pole position for the first race of the season. Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, arguably have the best cars for the new season, and they were expected to dominate right from the off. But a spanner was thrown in the works of the Italian team, as Germany’s Sebastian Vettel stormed to the front of the grid after qualifying. Vettel, in his Red Bull, a team which have been promising the media that they are ready to challenge for both Drivers and Constructors Championships, stepped to the fore with his final lap, edging out Massa and Alonso. Vettel’s team mate Mark Webber could only manage sixth on the grid.

The McLaren team of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, who looked good through winter testing, but were not expected to be quite as quick as the front runners, and they weren’t. Hamilton, who probably has the edge this season over current champion Jenson Button, will start fourth on the grid, while Button will get his season underway from a disappointing eighth. What of the return of Michael Schumacher in his Mercedes? His statement that he needs to up his game, will still be ringing in his ears, as he runs from seventh on the grid. His team mate Nico Rosberg goes from fifth. Whether Schumacher can make an impression this season, will not fully be understood by this race. The longer the season goes on, the more competitive he is likely to be, as he tweaks himself and his car. But, after returning from retirement, a seventh place on the starting grid is nothing to be sneezed at after 3 years away from the cockpit. 

Bahrain Grand Prix Outrights (Grid position in brackets)
(1) Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) – 2/1 at Bet365
(3) Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) – 13/5 at BetFred
(2) Felipe Massa (Ferrari) – 4/1 at Boylesports
(4) Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) – 12/1 at SportingBet
(7) Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) – 25/1 at SportingBet
(5) Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) – 28/1 at SportingBet
(6) Mark Webber (Red Bull) – 16/1 at SkyBet
(8) Jenson Button (McLaren) – 33/1 at Victor Chandler

Drivers Championship Outright
Fernando Alonso – 9/4 at BetFred
Sebastian Vettel – 4/1 at Bet365
Lewis Hamilton – 6/1 at Bwin
Felipe Massa – 7/1 at Totesport
Michael Schumacher – 8/1 at Blue Square
Mark Webber – 20/1 at Bet365
Nice Rosberg – 20/1 at William Hill

Manchester United need a win on Sunday to get back to the top of the Premier League, after seeing Chelsea and Arsenal leap-frog above them with wins on Saturday. Fulham are not the easiest of opponents that Manchester United could face right now, as Fulham have beaten them in the previous two encounters, which includes a 3-0 hammering of the Red Devils earlier in the season. Fulham, who went through a bad run of form, have picked up their game again, and have gone the last five league games unbeaten. They have also been making progress through the Europa League, beating favourites Shaktar Donetsk, but suffered a heavy 3-1 defeat against Juventus in midweek.

That was in contrast to United’s European triumph on Wednesday, in which they demolished a slow and labouring AC Milan 4-0, to secure their passage through to the quarter finals of the Champions League. Alex Ferguson, who has pretty much not had a full strength squad all season, has got more injury problems on his hands. Wes Brown has broken his foot, Michael Owen is out of the picture for the season, and John O’Shea, Anderson and Owen Hargreaves are still missing from action. Ferguson does get England midfielder Michael Carrick back, after missing the Champions League game. All of the team changes has not stopped their progress towards the top of the league, and they have put immense pressure on title favourites Chelsea. With just about 8 games to go in the title race, the Premier League title can still go one of three ways.

United briefly occupied top spot, and a win would put them back on top by two points ahead of Chelsea, but with the London side still having a game in hand over them, and Arsenal. After winning the Carling Cup and beating AC Milan, sandwiched in between was a scrappy 1-0 win at relegation bound Wolves in their last Premier League outing. Fulham will present a much tougher proposition, as boss Roy Hodgson is winning plaudits with his style of management. Fulham like to play football the right way, and looked a strong side for most of the season, until suffering a dip in form. They are out of contention for a place in Europe, but will finish safely enough in mid-table, which will allow them to concentrate on trying to overcome Juventus in the Europa League. When they last met United, they put on one of the best performances of the season, outplaying the defending champions in all areas of the field. They now have the chance to do the unthinkable, as gain a double over United this season.

United have bigger ambitions of course, with the Premier League and Champions League still in their sights. They have Wayne Rooney, who just cannot stop scoring at the moment, and once again he will be the key figure in their title hopes. Rooney has hit 23 league goals this season, with no other player on double figures. That is the amount upon which they rely on the England striker, and his tally alone, nearly equates for all the total amount of away goals they have scored this season. A Rooney-less United would be a whole different level of opposition, and he is the one Fulham will have to successfully close out of the game again. The reverse side of that, is Bobby Zamora, who is enjoying his best season in the top flight. There have been calls to give him a chance for England, but his tally of 8 league goals pales into comparison alongside the likes of Rooney and Drogba, as the league’s top scorers. Fulham will have to overturn a run of five consecutive defeats at Old Trafford though, and with a poor away win record for the season, that could be a bridge too far.

BETTING STATS

Last 5 Head to Head
Fulham 3, man Utd 0
Fulham 2, Man Utd 0
Man Utd 3, Fulham 0
Fulham 0, Man Utd 3
Man Utd 2, Fulham 0

Last 5 Match Goals
Man Utd: 11 For, 4 Against
Fulham: 6 For, 1 Against

Last 10 Match Form
Man Utd: W7, D2, L1
Fulham: W3, D2, L5

Win Percentage
Man Utd have an 85.7 win percentage at home
Fulham have a 7/1 win percentage away from home

Match Prices
Man Utd to win: 1/4 at Coral
Draw: 5/1 at Bet365
Fulham: 15/1 at Paddy Power

Asian Handicap Betting Advice: Fulham have not had a great deal of success in terms of winning away from home, while Man Utd are pretty rampant at home. They will expect to this one, maybe not at so much of a canter, as Fulham are solid at the back, and with keeper Mark Schwartzer in fine form, it could be a game of patience for United. The Red Devils, well, Wayne Rooney is full of goals, and you could back them to overcome a deficit, but this is a pretty good price for added security:
Fulham +2 Asian Handicap: 4/6 at Paddy Power