Skybet

There are some good football betting selections to look ahead to in another action packed weekend of Premier League fixtures. The highlight of the weekend is going to be Manchester United’s trip to the Emirates to face Arsenal. The Red Devils gunned down a woeful Gunners 8-2 at Old Trafford earlier in the season, but with Thierry Henry back in an Arsenal shirt, will Arsenal be able to get some revenge? The Red Devils title rivals Manchester City are at home on Sunday in their big fixture against the high flying Tottenham Hotspur, so it is going to superb Sunday of top quality action in the Premier League. City hold a three point ascendancy at the top of the league at the moment going into the weekend’s action, so there are massive games to come. Online bookmaker SkyBet have raised one of their great What If? Betting questions about the two matches.

What If Both Manchester Clubs Win By Two Goals Or More?
If you think that they will, then there is a wonderful price of 14/1 to be snapped up. Need to put some stock in this bet happening? Well, Manchester City trounced Tottenham 5-1 at White Hart Lane earlier in the season, while Man Utd of course ran rampant in a 8-2 victory over Arsenal at the start of the season.

There is plenty of other Premier League betting options to get your betting teeth into as well this weekend, and popular bookie SkyBet are looking at some of the home teams and wondering…

What If…Home Is Where The Heart Is?
What this means is that home sides Everton, QPR, Stoke and Sunderland all notch up wins on Saturday in the Premier League, then there is a nice price of 10/1 to be taken with the bookie. Struggling QPR could sure use a win at home over bottom side Wigan, while Everton will fancy their chances at Goodison Park against Blackburn Rovers. The improving Sunderland need a bounce back victory over Swansea after suffering defeat at Stamford Bridge last weekend. Then the high flying Stoke City, up in eighth place and challenging for the top six, will have strong home backing as they face the sliding West Brom. So can all four home sides win? There is a good enhanced price at SkyBet if you think that they will.

The SkyBet What If? Market is a great little option to look at with SkyBet, because there are fun little selections popping up extra week. In there you can get enhanced prices on the market selection that SkyBet present and is worth dipping in to in order to try and pick up a little extra bonus profit. The highly popular online bookmaker SkyBet offer a free £10 bet for new customers registering an account. This is a great welcome bonus offer from the bookie, as they offer the £10 bet completely free. All that you need to do is to register an account as a new customer with online bookmaker SkyBet, and the bookie will automatically credit your new account with a free £10 bet. It is that easy and straightforward to get your free bet!

The Lakeside in Frimley Green may have been eclipsed by Alexandra Palace in recent years but will always be the spiritual home of darts and stages its 27th world championships in 2012, albeit being the less high-profile BDO version of the crown. It’s traditionally a lot more open than the PDC World Championship but Martin ‘Wolfie’ Adams has dominated recently and is bidding for a hat-trick of titles this year. Adams is a general 4/1 to retain his crown and looks to have been handed a favourable draw as most of his likely challengers have been placed in the bottom section of the line-up. ‘Wolfie’ begins a record 18th appearance in the BDO World Darts Championships against Scott Mitchell (100/1 with Boylesports and sportingbet) on the first afternoon afternoon as he bids for a fourth world title of his career and looks sure to give supporters a run for their money again this year but last year’s losing finalist Dean ‘Over The Top’ Winstanley will hope to go one better than last term.

‘Young’ pretender Winstanley was also beaten in the World Masters Final and the fact that he went so close in two major tournaments so early in his professional career suggests there will be a plenty of success in the coming years. The recent Czech Open winner can’t meet Adams until the final and Coral and Skybet have the 30-year-old from Doncaster at 6/1.

Winstanley‘s conqueror in the World Masters Final in September, Scott ‘Scotty 2 Hotty’ Waites, must also go on the short-list however. The Yorkshireman is only ranked seven in the BDO rankings but beat Adams in the semis of the Masters and has since gone on to win the British Open and WDF World Cup Singles, where he beat Adams 6-2 in the final. The one thing that goes against Waites, however, is a dismal record at the Lakeside. He went out at the quarter-final stage three times from 2008 to 2010 and was beaten in the second round last year.

You can never dismiss 2009 champion Ted ‘The Count’ Hankey at the Lakeside but he’s very difficult to predict nowadays and his general 14/1 quote is probably about right. I’d much rather have a punt on Tony O’Shea at similar odds. Adrian Lewis has already done this column’s darts fans a favour this year and O’Shea is fancied to make a mockery of his quote of 18/1 from Skybet for the BDO World Darts Championships.

‘Silverback’ O’Shea beat Gary Anderson in the semi-finals in 2009 before losing narrowly in the final to Hankey but was a shock first-round loser last year when heading the seedings. He has the unenviable record of having reached all four finals of the BDO‘s grand slam of darts but yet to win any of them. A switch to the PDC is rumoured to be imminent so this may well be his final BDO tournament and it would be fitting if he ended with a well-deserved success. On paper, only the champion appears to stand between O’Shea and his hopes of reaching the final so those current odds look inflated.

Incidentally, if you have a match bet with Victor Chandler in the BDO World Darts Championships and your selection records a 170 checkout and loses, you will still be paid as if he had won.

Plenty of usual suspects face the starter in the latest of what is fast becoming a pre-requisite handicap chase over 2m5f at every Cheltenham meeting. This one is sponsored by Victor Chandler and champion trainer Paul Nicholls once again provides the top weight in The Nightingale (a general 14/1) and a fancied runner further down the weights in the shape of Ghizao.

Ruby Walsh rides the latter so it’s fair to presume he is the stable selection. Bookmakers and punters certainly think so and the eight-year-old, who beat subsequent Arkle Chase winner Captain Chris twice as a novice, is only a general 6/1. He hasn’t run badly in either start this season but never really jumped with any fluency behind Quantitiveeasing over C&D last time and has ground to make up on Calgary Bay on that run.

Henrietta Knight‘s gelding usually runs well at Cheltenham but hasn’t won for a while. But that could all change in this New Year feature if he can lie up with the pace as he’ll be reeling in the front-runners up the hill. At 8/1 with most layers, Calgary Bay looks a cast-iron each-way bet and Duke Of Lucca should also be in the firing-line. Novices don’t have a great recent record in this contest but Philip Hobbs’ charge could be the exception that proves the rule. A very decent hurdler over this sort of distance, he spread-eagled an ordinary field at Wincanton after a couple of sighters and, though his jumping will be put under pressure by these experienced handicappers, it would be no surprise to see him go close at Boylesports and Stan James‘ 6/1.

Crescent Island (14/1 with Boylesports) and Hector’s Choice (20/1 with Victor Chandler) look closely matched on Newbury running behind Chance Du Roy and are capable of making their presence felt but it would need a giant leap of faith to support Cape Tribulation (21/1 on betfair) after he was pulled up early on at Haydock two weeks ago and the bottom six on the racecard are all carrying more than their allotted weight. The best of those may be Havingotascoobydo, who has been placed twice over shorter trips at Cheltenham recently. He can be backed at 7/1 with Skybet and William Hill, though his jumping can still be a little novicey at times. Hell’s Bay won a big prize last season but was pulled up when favourite on his reappearance at Ascot, hence his 14/1 quote from Betfred, Boylesports and totesport. Calgary Bay is taken to land the spoils with Duke Of Lucca to chase him home.

• Calgary Bay to win the Bet With Your Mobile at Victor Chandler Chase at a general 8/1
• Duke Of Lucca to win the Bet With Your Mobile at Victor Chandler Chase at 6/1 with Boylesports and Stan James

It’s no surprise that number one seeds the Czech Republic are hot favourites to win the season-opening Hopman Cup 2012 at the Burswood Dome in Perth. The Czechs have a very powerful line-up on paper for the mixed doubles tournament with Wimbledon women’s singles champion Petra Kvitova teamed up with big-serving Tomas Berdych. Berdych won the China Open in 2011 and is ranked seven in the world. The Czech Republic are no bigger than Evens with Skybet and Stan James to come out on top in Perth but neither Kvitova nor Berdych have a doubles pedigree, which may just be their Achilles Heel, and at the odds I’d rather have a punt on France.

The French are in the second group alongside hosts Australia (a general 10/1), Spain (a general 9/1) and China (35/1 with Stan James). The latter include French Open champion Li Na but she’s teamed up with Wu Di, who struggles to maintain a place among the top 500 in the men’s game and is unlikely to contribute many points to the Chinese cause. France, on the other hand, have women’s world number nine Marion Bartoli and the experienced Richard Gasquet. Both are very capable singles players but, just as importantly, have won several doubles titles between them so should thrive in the Hopman Cup format. Victor Chandler are out on a limb in offering 5/1 about the French winning the tournament overall and Skybet‘s 5/4 about them coming out on top in Group B can cover potential level stake losses should they come up short in the final stages.

Considering their short price overall, Betfred‘s 8/13 about the Czech Republic winning Group A will be popular though this is probably the most competitive section of the two. World number one Caroline Wozniacki should give Denmark an edge in the women’s singles and the Danes are a general 20/1 to succeed overall, while the USA team features the fast-improving Mardy Fish who reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the last 16 at Flushing Meadow in 2011. Unfortunately, partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands may struggle to hold her end up and the Americans make little appeal at bet365 and totesport‘s 7/1.

What If the favourites run riot? That is the question online bookmaker SkyBet are asking their customers? This is Premier League football betting, which offers some enhanced odds. If Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea ALL win their next matches by more than one goal, then you can will be paid out at odds of 8/1 by the bookie. These are for the matches on December 26th and 27th, where on Boxing Day we have the London derby of Chelsea v Fulham, Manchester United at home against Wigan and the Luis Suarez-less Liverpool hosting Blackburn and under fire boss Steve Kean. On December 27th, we have the Arsenal v Wolves match which was put back a day. So, if the favourites in all of these matches pick up wins by more than one goal, and we are looking at strong teams v weak ones in these fixtures, then SkyBet are offering the bet at 8/1 in their great What If betting market. The highly popular bookie SkyBet will credit new accounts registered with a free £10 bet. That is a totally free £10 bet, and there is nothing other to do to get it, than register your new account with the bookie. So that great welcome bonus is easy to get and a great way to get started on your new SkyBet account.

There looks a to be a cracking four-match Test series in prospect when Australia take on India, the action getting under way at the MCG on Boxing Day.

It’s a fascinating clash with Australia a team in transition but showing commendable resilience to win in Sri Lanka and draw a two-match series in South Africa after losing the Ashes earlier this year. They were, however, unable to beat New Zealand at home recently, showing their inconsistency. The Aussies do have some new talent coming through like Ed Cowan, who gets his chance at the top of the batting order alongside David Warner with the Australian selectors finally losing patience with Phil Hughes. Daniel Christian and Mitchell Starc are also in the home squad but Shane Watson and Ryan Harris still aren’t fit and Mitchell Johnson‘s contribution with bat and ball will be badly missed. Question marks, too, about how much longer Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey will be around. Both look increasingly vulnerable against pace and, while their influence in the dressing room remains invaluable, there will come a time when one or the other will be blocking the progress of a promising youngster.

Given the possible susceptibility of the Australian middle-order to fast bowlers, therefore, India will be expecting much of Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan – but therein lies the problem of predicting how this series will develop. Both have been troubled by ankle problems in recent times, indeed Sharma has already been struggling in the Indians’ warm-up games. Without their quickies, it’s very difficult to see how India will take 20 wickets in a match despite the Aussies predilection to self-destruct on occasion. Let’s face it, there is unlikely to be much help for the spinners (though Graeme Swann enjoyed himself Down Under last winter). Likewise, however, how is Australia’s inexperienced attack to bowl out India‘s formidable batting line-up twice? MS Dhoni and his team have bounced back well from their humiliation in England, beating Bangladesh and the West Indies in subsequent series. Their ageing squad isn’t quite ready for the scrapheap just yet on that evidence and I fancy they may just know too much for their hosts, though don’t expect too many close finishes.

India can be backed at 107/50 to win the Test series in Australia with betfair and the 33/1 available at Ladbrokes and sportingbet for a 0-1 correct score could be interesting. I wouldn’t look beyond the 9/2 available at bet365, Skybet and Stan James about David Warner being Australia’s top batsman.

• India to win Test series in Australia at 107/50 (betfair)
• India to win series 1-0 at 33/1 (Ladbrokes and sportingbet)
• David Warner to be top Australian batsman at 9/2 (bet365, Skybet, Stan James)

When I was a mere sapling and it was still safe for small children to walk through woods to the park unescorted, my friends and I would sit for hours on slides and swings (usually until one of our number fell off and broke some underdeveloped bone). Despite the absence of Playstations or an Xbox, we never got bored because if you sat high enough on the play apparatus or climbed above the nearby flowerbeds you could see across the hedge that enclosed the bowling green.

In the good old days, every British park had a bowling green and it was always dotted with old men in white caps and flannels and blue-rinsed ladies in long skirts and pumps. I must admit, we used to find it hilarious. Especially, the meticulous placing of the little rubber mat and the vigorous polishing of the woods which were all carefully placed back in their lacquered carry cases at game end.  I vowed then that I would never get to the stage where a game of bowls would be the highlight of my week. However, now enveloped by middle age, I may just be having a change of heart.

I must admit I never realised how much money is involved in the modern game. Gone are the days of the gentle amateur epitomised by pipe-smoking David Bryant. There are unlikely to be any fists flying but next month’s World Indoor Championships, for example, has £100,000 up for grabs. The Potter’s Leisure Resort at Hopton-on-sea in Norfolk is the centre of the universe as far as indoor bowls is concerned and the upcoming World Championships is expected to attract record spectator levels, who can combine a couple of nights of bowls with old-time dancing or a night in the theatre. Push aside those mobility scooters, I’m on my way!

The 32 qualifiers for the men’s singles include players from Australia and South Africa but the vast majority of the draw is made up by bowlers from the British Isles. Scots dominate the early betting with current world number one and defending champion Paul Foster favourite at 8/1 with Betfred and Skybet. Fellow countrymen Alex Marshall (10/1 with the same two firms) and David Gourlay (also 10/1 with Betfred) should also be to the fore and are the same odds as England’s Greg Harlow, poised to usurp Foster as world number one next season, and Mervyn King. It all gets underway on January 13th, don’t say you haven’t been forewarned.

Lee Westwood is a best-priced 4/1 with Victor Chandler to win his first Major in 2012 after ending this year with a victory in the Thailand Championship. No one would be more deserving of a Major next year than the Worksop-born 38-year-old, who has been at the very top of his profession for more years that anyone cares to remember, but that first success in one of the four big tournaments of the year continues to elude hime. If he could just put together four rounds of the quality he showed in the opening 36 holes in Thailand, there are few in world golf who could live with Westwood. Rounds of 60 and 64 had the prize in safe-keeping at the halfway stage and his final 22 under-par total was seven shots too good for US Masters champion Charl Schwartzel.

Another English golfer still seeking a maiden Major  is world number one Luke Donald. I suspect if asked, the world number one would have traded his five victories in the US and Europe in 2011 for one of the Majors but, at 34, he still has a few years ahead of him in which to gate-crash one of the big ones and can be backed at the same 4/1 as Westwood with Victor Chandler to end his wait next year with the US Masters (16/1) currently rated his best chance with William Hill. You can get 9/4 with Victor Chandler that an Englishman wins a Major in 2012, which on the face of it appears fair value as the likes of Justin Rose, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter have all shown enough to suggest they’ll be thereabouts in at least of the couple of the Majors.

It’s been a traumatic year for Tiger Woods but the former world number one has shown he is no back number over the last couple of months and can be expected to storm back up the rankings again in 2012. He is only 7/4 with Boylesports to win a Major next year and 9/2 with sportingbet and Victor Chandler to top the US PGA Tour money list. Donald can be backed at 12/1 with Skybet to repeat this season’s notable achievement while Rory McIlroy is 9/1 with the same firm. American sensation Webb Simpson is 18/1 with bet365 and Paddy Power. McIlroy is 9/2 with Skybet to top the European rankings and win the Race To Dubai.

Nicky Henderson‘s stable did this column a favour at Cheltenham last weekend and we’re going to nail our colours to the Upper Lambourn mast again this week in the Ladbroke Handicap Hurdle at Ascot.

Gibb River never managed a win on the Flat but has really found his niche over hurdles and the five-year-old looks the value bet at a general 8/1 in Saturday’s feature. The gelding’s only comparative failure so far under NH Rules came in last season’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, where he found the going too quick. His record on this week’s good to soft ground is examplary, however, and includes wins at Huntingdon, Plumpton and Wincanton. He made an eye-catching reappearance when third in a Listed event at Sandown, his first run in a handicap, earlier this month and there’s every reason to believe he’ll overturn that form here with runner-up Via Galilei with Barry Geraghty taking over the reins. Gary Moore‘s charge, a general 14/1, is talented but is a hard horse to catch right as he has to held up for a late run. I’d much rather be on the side of the more straightforward Gibb River.

Henderson also runs Rajdhani Express, fifth in that Sandown race but undoubtedly better on soft ground. He’s available at a general 16/1 but all of the money this week has been for Prospect Wells. A decent sort on the level, he’s done well since arriving at Paul Nicholls‘ yard this summer, winning novice hurdles at Chepstow and Newbury and finishing second in a Grade 2 at Cheltenham in between. There’s just a chance that the handicapper has let him in lightly here but it’s unusual for the trainer to go down the handicap route so soon with a novice that may have Cheltenham pretensions and, at the general 7/2, he’s too short in the market now though Nicholls has left last week’s International Hurdle third Brampour (11/1 with Betfred, Stan James and totesport) in the race to ensure the weights don’t rise.

The latter is a four-year-old, as is Haydock second Marsh Warbler (a general 16/1), Irish challenger Sailors Warn (a general 10/1) and the prolific Abergavenny, who can be backed at 11/1 with Coral and Skybet. But that age group has a terrible record in this race having failed to provide a winner since the turn of the century. More interesting are Desert Cry (14/1 in most places), who made giant strides last season and defied a big weight on his reappearance at Haydock, and Act Of Kalanisi.

Richard Newland‘s representative can sometimes be left down by his jumping but he’s a decent performer when everything falls into place and ran a lot better than the final result suggests when third in the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton. He has a decent chance at the weights in this and, at the general 16/1, makes plenty of each-way appeal behind likely winner Gibb River.

Silent film homage The Artist has proved a surprise hit at the box office in America and leads the nominations for the 2012 Golden Globes. The French production, which was filmed in black and white, isn’t out in the UK until the 30th December but has already been tipped for best musical and comedy and its stars, Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, are the early front-runners for best actor and actress.

The annual gala, which takes place on the 15th January, is the first major event of the Hollywood awards season and it’s often a good indicator of opinion ahead of the Oscars. Bearing that in mind, it’s no surprise that The Artist is currently heading the betting for Best Film at the Academy Awards at 7/4 with William Hill and bodog. Stephen Spielberg‘s evocative War Horse, 7/2 with Paddy Power, Skybet and Stan James, is also proving popular with punters in the category and Martin Scorcese‘s Hugo (8/1 with bodog, Skybet and Stan James) could make a late run. The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo (25/1 with Paddy Power and Skybet) has had mixed reviews, however, and looks as though it will continue to divide opinion as much as Stieg Larsson‘s orginal novel.

The good news about the Golden Globes is that Ricky Gervais will again host the event. Having torn Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie to shreds last year, which Hollywood superstar will get the full treatment from the British comic this time? Kenneth Branagh leads the British nominations in the Golden Globes, having been put forward as best supporting actor for playing Laurence Olivier opposite Michelle Williams‘ Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn. Williams is sure to be a front-runner for Best Actress at the Oscars for her role as the tragic blonde bombshell (currently a general 9/4) but Meryl Streep is receiving much acclaim for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. Having seen many Thatcher impersonators over the years, I’m not certain that Streep‘s version of the former PM is any better than Steve Nallon or Angela Thorne‘s depiction and the storyline is a little vague at times but it’s the kind of thing Hollywood loves so it’s no surprise that the multi-accented veteran is only a best 11/10 with Paddy Power, Stan James and William Hill to win Best Actress at the Oscars.