Potty about Welsh dragon

Sports betting:

SNOOKER’S first major championship of the season, the UK, gets underway in York on Saturday.

John Higgins will be defending his title and is clearly the man to beat once again.

But the Wizard of Wishaw is in the toughest section of the draw and can be backed at 8-1.

Higgins is among an eight which includes Stephen Maguire, Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan, who collected the Premier League title at the weekend. O’Sullivan, clearly in form, has been cut to 13-2 favourite on the back of that triumph, but his temperament is so fragile that he is hard to recommend as a viable betting proposition these days.

One man whose focus and bottle can never be questioned is Mark Williams, who has a much kinder draw and can be backed at 8-1. With only Shaun Murphy a major threat in his section, I fully expect the Welsh potting machine to reach the semi-finals and, once there, anything can happen.

Mark Selby, the Jester from Leicester, will be having a good laugh about his draw, too. Selby looks a shoe-in to reach the closing stages and it is no surprise to see him installed the 7-1 second favourite.

However, Williams has been back to his form of old in the last couple of seasons and it is only a matter of time before he lands another major title. Hopefully, this could be the one for followers of this column.



MANCHESTER City are 7-4 favourites to win the Carling Cup after their 1-0 win at Arsenal last night.

Manchester United, who take on Crystal Palace at Old Trafford tonight, are 2-1, with Liverpool 5-2,

surprise semi-finalists Cardiff 20-1 and Palace 80s.



ATHLETIC are 9-4 to win at Southend in the FA Cup on Saturday. The hosts are 5-4, with the draw 14-5.

I make this a 50-50 game given Southend’s home advantage and Latics’ excellent form so the odds about an away win have to be generous.



RECOMMENDATIONS: Mark Williams to win UK Snooker, 8-1 (general); Athletic to win at Southend, 9-4 (Bet 365).