Chelsea and United face stern tests

SPORTS BETTING:

A PIVOTAL night of Premier League football awaits us and, looking at tonight’s fixtures, it would be no surprise to see one, or maybe both, of the big players slip up.

Chelsea, holding a two-point advantage over Manchester United, will hardly be relishing a trip to Everton, where the Scouse fans will no doubt have one of two interesting observations on the activities of a certain Mr Terry.

Everton have been in decent form during the last few weeks so a 9-2 quote for a home victory is pretty insulting.

I don’t see Chelsea as 8-11 shots and, if pushed, the draw at 11-4 would be my idea of the outcome.

Similar remarks apply to the Aston Villa-United showdown.

Villa won 1-0 at Old Trafford earlier in the season and were value for their success, too.

They go into this game on the back of a solid 0-0 draw at Tottenham and those who want to wade into the Reds at 8-11 should think again.

United repeatedly hit Arsenal on the break when winning their last Premier League away match, but Villa – under the astute Martin O’Neill – are likely to defend a lot deeper and rely on their own pacy attack which features the direct and in-form Gabriel Agbonlahor.

Villa are 100-30 to win tonight, with the draw at 11-4.

A draw double for these two matches would pay over 14-1 and such an outcome is not beyond the realms of possibility.

Tonight’s other major clash sees stuttering Arsenal entertain resurgent Liverpool.

The Gunners passed Chelsea off the park on Sunday, but lack of penetration and the absence of a target man held them back once again and it could well be the same old story tonight.

Liverpool will get men behind the ball and hit Arsenal on the break, so the 29-10 on offer about a win for the visitors is worth a second look.

Arsenal are the 11-10 favourites - I would be quite happy to lay that price on Betfair - with the draw a 12-5 chance.

Looking ahead to the weekend, it will be quite strange to witness an FA Cup fifth-round schedule which will not feature Manchester United, Arsenal or Liverpool.

Manchester City, 4-1 second favourites behind Chelsea (7-4), should see off Stoke at Eastlands on Saturday (5.15pm), but 1-2 about them doing so in 90 minutes hardly sets the pulse racing.


SIX Nations rugby union continues this weekend when the highlight is a potential title-decider between France and Ireland in Paris.

The French swept aside Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday and are 1-2 favourites to repeat the act against Ireland (15-8).

Wales (2-9) and England (1-7) will surely prove too strong for Scotland and Italy in their matches, while the championship betting sees France as 5-4 favourites, followed by Ireland (5-2) and England (3-1).


PREMIER League darts returns to our screens on Sky tomorrow when the highlight at London’s O2 Arena is a clash between Raymond van Barneveld and reigning champion James Wade, the two players most likely to give Phil Taylor a run for his money in this event.

Barney is a tempting 6-4 to beat Wade (11-10), while the draw – always a distinct possibility over this 14-leg format – is priced at 4-1.

Taylor continues to dominate the sport and he opens his campaign with a match against the man he beat in the recent PDC world final, Australia’s Simon Whitlock.

The Power won 7-3 on that occasion and is 1-3 to triumph again tonight. Whitlock and the draw are 11-2 shots.

Taylor is 2-5 to win the whole shebang – a shortish price given his 10-6 defeat at the hands of Mervyn King in last year’s semi-final – with Wade 9-1, Barneveld 14-1, Whitlock and Adrian Lewis 16-1, King 18-1, Terry Jenkins 25-1 and Ronnie Baxter 80s.

At those prices, I will be having a small bet on Barney.



RECOMMENDATION: Raymond van Barneveld to win Premier League darts title, 14-1 (totesport, Sporting Bet).