Sports Betting Preview for 2010

2010 SPORTS BETTING PREVIEW

The turn of the new year is here, and top of the headlines will of course be the 2010 World Cup, being held in South Africa. After all the qualification dust has settled, the thirty two teams involved, know their opponents, and begin their final preparations ahead of the June 11 kick off. But there is much more to look forward to on the sporting front in 2010, and here we take a look at some of the highlights of the forthcoming year of sport, and provide you the opportunity to get some early ante-post betting action on some of the major sporting events to come in 2010.

FOOTBALL:

• World Cup 2010 will dominate the headlines for much of the year, and the opening game between South Africa and Mexico on June 11, will herald in another exciting tournament of thrills and spills. For once, England go into the competition on the back of more than just the optimism of a nation, they  actually look as if they have a good chance of winning the tournament for the second time in their history. They will of course have to overcome favourites Spain (9/2 at William Hill) and Brazil (11/2 at Ladbrokes), but England (11/2 at Boylesports) are looking to be in better shape than they have done in previous tournaments. They have a manager with tactical nous, and a good blend of experience and youth. They should go deep, but how far, is the question.
• The African Cup of Nations, which takes place in January, always attracts a lot of interest, simply because of the rise in popularity of the African based players across Europe. With the likes of Chelsea’s Didier Drogba and Michael Essien among the top African names playing in the Premier League, the tournament itself courts controversy over its timing. Clubs across Europe lose their best players for the beginning of the new year, which is always a tough time, and therefore there have been calls to get the tournament moved. Still, it will showcase the best Africa have to offer, and with the World Cup being held on the African continent for the first time in history, there will be keen eyes upon Ghana (13/5 at 888Sport), Cameroon (6/1 at Stan James), Ivory Coast (13/5 at Stan James), Egypt (9/1 at Paddy Power) and Algeria (12/1 at Blue Square), who are England’s group opponents at the World Cup.
• The English Premier League will continue to take heavy betting, especially because of how open things are this year. It looks as if there will be a real scrap for the top between Chelsea (10/11 at 888Sport) and Manchester United (5/2 at Boylesports), but Arsenal (4/1 at Paddy Power) cannot be discounted either. Everyone is losing unexpected points, and the standards seem to have dropped. With defending champions Manchester United having lost 5 games already, there looks to be more twists and turns to come. A lot will depend on how Chelsea cope during January with the loss of Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, two of their three first choice strikers.

CRICKET:

• The Ashes will again be the highlight of the year, which take place in November. The coming together of Australia and England, is always a fixture which will whet the whistle of cricketing fans, not only from those two nations, but from across the World. England regained the Ashes in the summer of 2009, much to the delight of the home crowds across the UK. It was a battling series, maybe not as much glamour and hype as previous encounters, but one that makes the return date in Australia a tantalising one. England lost heavily there last time out, started out by Steve Harmison’s wayward first ball of the first test, and captain Andrew Strauss will want to ensure that they at least go there and put up a staunch defence. England are 6/4 at SkyBet to Retain the Ashes. But, if you want Series Wins, then Australia are 4/7 at Stan James, and England are 9/2 at Victor Chandler. A drawn series will fetch you 5/1 at Totesport. England have another very busy fixture list for 2010, with test series to come against Bangladesh and Pakistan and a one day series against Australia. All of that takes place before the Ashes of course, and will prove to be another very long and tiring season for the players on an England contract.
• The IPL will have all the glitz and glamour that cricket is not particularly used to. The Indian Premier League attracts some of the greatest talent from across the world, to take part in its exciting Twenty20 league format. There is a wealth of money at stake, with players being paid high contracts to take part, but from a cricket fans point of view, it provides some exhilarating excitement nonetheless.
• The Twenty20 World Cup takes place in April, with Pakistan (6/1 at 888Sport) looking to retain the title which they surprisingly won at the 2009 tournament. This not a format of the game at which England (12/1 at Stan James) have a good track record, and are easily out powered by the likes of Sri Lanka (5/1 at Sporting Bet), India (9/2 at Sporting Bet), South Africa (4/1 at 888Sport) and Australia (11/2 at 888Sport), who will all be heading a tight field to the win the tournament being held in the West Indies.

TENNIS:

• The only question on the lips of UK tennis fans, is whether or not great British hope Andy Murray will be able to win his first Grand Slam tournament. Murray’s chances at the Australian Open (11/2 at Boylesports), Wimbledon (5/1 at Sporting Bet), the French Open (16/1 at William Hill) and the US Open (9/2 at SkyBet) are the biggest dates in the Tennis calendar, and the ones the Scot will be targeting the hardest. He will have his hands full though, and winning next year, will, in all essence, be a bigger achievement than if would have pulled out a victory in 2009. Why? Because the players at the top of the men’s tennis tour is simply getting stronger. Not only is there Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to cope with, there is the likes of Del Potro, who Murray encountered several times in 2009, to contend with. He will remain one of the top favourites going into the tournaments, and his first chance will come in the Australian Open. Murray is 7/4 at BetFred to win 1 Grand Slam in 2010.
• After the incredible coming out of retirement for Kim Clijsters who won the US Open, Justin Henin has been inspired to make a comeback on the women’s tour and is 5/1 at Stan James to repeat Clijsters’ feat at the US Open. Her main aim though will be to win the Wimbledon crown (7/1 at Totesport), as that remains the only Grand Slam which she could never lay her hands upon.

RUGBY UNION:

• The Six Nations will dominate proceedings on the international scene, and once again, England manager Martin Johnson will come under the very hot spotlight. After looking lack lustre and directionless through the Autumn Test, how much longer will Johnson survive if England do not start pulling together something in the Six Nations? Yes, he had injuries to contend with, but that does not excuse the often baffling tactics being put to practice, as was seen in the Autumn matches. England, on the basis of those games, have a long way to go if they are going to challenge for the title. England’s first match is against Wales at Twickenham and that could be the springboard to a little optimism and progress, or simply a jump into the shallow end for Johnson and his backroom staff. Current champions Ireland (11/4 at Stan James), along with France (7/4 at Stan James) will head to the tournament as the strongest teams, the Irish just edging it as favourites. England are 9/2 at Boylesports, Wales are 4/1 at 888Sport and Scotland are 22/1 at Boylesports.
• The Guinness Premier League has come under some criticism, with pundits concerned that is it not as strong as it has been in the past, and that quality is slipping? This sounds terribly similar to the case of football’s English Premier League. Still, the participants and managers in the league will beg to differ, certainly those battling for the top. Saracens (9/2 at Coral), Northampton (9/2 at Bet365), London Irish (3/1 at Ladbrokes) and Leicester (5/2 at Ladbrokes) will all fancy their chances of claiming the honours, while Leeds Carnegie look favourites to be relegated (2/5 at Totesport).
• Rugby Union’s equivalent of the Champions League, the Heineken Cup, continues on into 2010, with the cream of the domestic European teams battling it out. French side Biarritz (7/1 at Sporting Bet) and Welsh side Ospreys (18/1 at Ladbrokes) are looking strong in the competition so far, but the experience of Irish side Munster (7/2 at Sporting Bet) should see them go deep into the competition. From an English perspective, it will be London Irish (14/1 at Totesport) and Leicester (40/1 at BetFred) leading the charge.

FORMULA ONE:

• The big news is that the legend of Michael Schumacher is back behind the wheel of a F1 car. Schumacher takes a drive for Mercedes (which is the Brawn team with which Jenson Button won the title with in 2009), and that will, no doubt, inject a great deal of interest into the new season. There will be much speculation over how many races the great German one will be able to win (Over 2.5 at Bet365 is 5/1), and there will be some money going on him to win the Driver’s Championship (5/1 at William Hill). He will have a fight on his hand against his aging years, trying to battle against younger men, but his meticulous drive for perfection is one that will no doubt make the best constructor on the circuit, even better. Britain will have two World Champions running through the season, and the Jenson Button (15/2 at Stan James) v Lewis Hamilton (11/4 at Stan James) will be as great a battle to watch, as the one between Fernando Alonso (4/1 at Boylesports) and Michael Schumacher will be. Button and Hamilton will both be driving for Mclaren Mercedes. Richard Branson, after backing Brawn’s successful season last year, will be entering into unknown territory with their own team. After entering their Virgin Racing team into the fray, Branson made a bet with Lotus’s Tony Fernandes that his team will finish ahead of them, the loser having to take a tour as an airline stewardess on their rival’s airline.

ATHLETICS:

• A big year for Athletics, with the Winter Olympics kicking off in Vancouver, Canada in February. The Winter Olympics usually is not usually a great hunting ground for the stars of British Athletics, but lo and behold, there could genuinely be some gold medals coming back from the tournament. Shelley Rudman is one of the leading contenders to win the skeleton bobsleigh, where competitors throw themselves a twisting track of ice at one hundred miles an hour. Other hopes come in the form of Scottish skaters, John and Sinead Kerr who set their mark on the world with a top ten finish at the World Championships. Nicola Minichiello and Gillian Cooke are looking in good form to push for a medal in the Women’s Bobsleigh and Scotland are the current Curling World Champions, which should see them enter the Winter Olympics as one of the favourites. As for the Nations, Germany (6/5 at SkyBet) are expected to amass the most medals, followed by the USA (9/2 at SkyBet), Russia and Canada (both 5/1 at SkyBet).
• The Commonwealth games, held in India in October 2010, with Britain’s athletes being represented well at the Sports Personality of the Year 2009. Heptathlete Jessica Ennis would be Britain’s biggest hope over there, but she may not attend because of her training schedule. World Champion triple jumper Phillips Idowu should be in with a great shout in India, as well as Britain’s headline swimmers, Rebeca Adlington and Michael Rock. The young student recently beat US legend Michael Phelps in a meeting, by a second. In the pool, young Diving star Tom Daley, who may arguably be the best diver in Britain since Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Madrid, should be expected to make a splah.