Nick Wright previews this weekend's clash between York City Knights and Hull FC
Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
James Tompkinson reviews an excellent pre-season victory for the York City Knights against Yorkshire rivals Leeds Rhinos
Chelsea look a sure thing to beat Liverpool on Sunday. The Blues have won five of their last six premiership games, and only narrowly missed out on victory over Portsmouth last week. Liverpool on the other hand have won just one of their last six premiership games. They have failed to beat many sides they would be expected to such as Middlesbrough, Wigan and West Ham. So it seems very improbable that they will end Chelsea's excellent home record, just on the back of a win against Sunderland.
The Reds' cause will not be helped by the absence of top scorer Fernando Torres. Torres has been in great form of late, scoring four of Liverpool's last nine goals in the Premier League. Chelsea's squad will be strengthened this week by the possible return of Frank Lampard, Carvalho and Essien. Carvalho has only played the full ninety minutes nine times this season and in those games Chelsea have kept eight clean sheets.
I think that Liverpool are still being priced as one of the 'Big Four' without the form to match. Manchester United are 1/3 to beat Manchester City on Sunday. Yet a Chelsea side slightly behind United are better than evens to beat the Merseysiders (who are 2 points ahead of Manchester City). Liverpool know they are out of the title race, and may have one eye on the upcoming Champions League fixtures. Despite all this, I do not expect Chelsea to win easily, as these matches have a habit of being tight, and if you want to bolster your bank balance then back Chelsea to win 1-0. Carvalho's return and Torres' absence make this a good bet.
Further afield, there are fixtures of greater significance this Sunday. No, it's not the extra Premiership match in Hong Kong, it's the final of the African Nations Cup. This will be a very tight affair, but not likely to be a goalless draw. These two teams have scored 28 between them in their 5 games in the competition, so I would stay away from correct score bets.
Many will look to the group game between these two sides (Egypt won 4-2 and were 3 goals ahead by half-time). But Cameroon can be excused of underestimating the Pharoahs in the first encounter. Cameroon will have learnt from this game that Egypt like to counter attack, and should be better equipped to deal with this threat. Centre-back Andre Bikey is suspended for the game after a bizarre incident where he pushed a medic to the ground. Cameroon have one of the best squads in the tournament and should have adequate cover available.
Egypt ought to have greater confidence after beating Ivory Coast 4-1 in their most recent match, yet two of those goals can be attributed to the inexperienced reserve keeper that Ivory Coast were forced to bring on. This cup has been full of strange scores and results and I think it is worth backing the slight underdogs, who have kept on improving in this tournament. Unfortunately for Egypt, I do not think they will be able to retain their title.
With 24 horses Newbury's 3.20 is no walk in the park. In this race I think the best idea is to look for horses at a decent price likely to finish in the front five. A long price in the betting is no bad thing, because four of the last nine winners have been priced above 10/1. Paddypower.com is paying out if your horse finishes in the front five, although the horses' odds are not the best around, it's a great advantage if you are looking for horses to be placed.
Nicky Henderson has had four winners in the last nine runnings of this race, but I find it hard to fancy any of his three runners today. Caracciola is two years older than anything else in the race, Punjabi has had an unexplained poor run this year and Fleet Street hasn't had a good run over hurdles for almost a year.
Palomar is the most interesting horse in the front three in the betting. He has been raised 22lbs for three straight wins and this looks a tough task to overcome, yet The Tother One was able to do this last week against stiffer opposition.
County Zen looks a really good price today. He beat Blue Bajan in November by 3/4 length and is now only 2lbs worse off despite a gutsy win in heavy ground. Strangely though, Blue Bajan is trading at around 6/1 and County Zen is 14/1 to take this one. Although I am not writing off Five Dream's credentials I do feel that large fields can often throw up surprises.
Five Dream beat Mohayer by one length a fortnight ago and is owed 4lbs by the handicapper. If Five Dream were unable to get a clear run then Mohayer has every chance to reverse this form. With blinkers on for the first time, Mohayer may just be able to achieve that win he has been unable to get in his last seven races. This statistic may sound disheartening, but he has been in the front three in eleven of his fifteen races and only needs to come in the front five to win you money if playing each way.
There are certainly plenty more interesting horses out of the two dozen runners; two in particular are Dancer's Serenade, whose form has really improved since dropping back to two miles and King's Revenge who has been in the front four in his last five outings. Take advantage of PaddyPower paying 5 places by backing Mohayer and County Zen each way, so that you still cash in if either are fifth.
After our first attempt at opposing Newcastle got off to a solid start last week, we have every reason to remain confident in our campaign. This weekend they face an away trip to the revitalised Aston Villa. There is also some decent value to be had at Newbury, and elsewhere in the Premiership.
Martin O'Neill has got things going at Villa Park, and although sixth place looks flattering, they shouldn't find things too tough this afternoon. Ashley Young's return should compensate for the loss of Petrov and Agbonlahor, so take the 1.9 currently available as it might not be around for long. Villa should be around the 1.7 mark to beat a team struggling for form, and 13 points below them in the league, so loosen the belt straps and take advantage of this stunning price.
Villa were unfortunate to lose last time, but Fulham themselves are now finding a decent bit of form after some tough fixtures. This is no coincidence when you consider that Jimmy Bullard is now back in the middle pulling the strings. However, 4.7 looks prohibitive, especially after the signing of Brazillian star Alvez. Alvez is a very good player, but it is unrealistic to expect him to hit the ground running so soon after signing.
So ignore the hype and back Bullard to score first at the 16/1 currently available on Betfair. Backing Bullard to score at any time also looks tempting, and anything larger than 7/1 would be a cracking bet. Unfortunately that market has zero liquidity in it at the moment, so you may have to settle for nibbling the 14/1 against him scoring the last goal of the game with Ladbrokes.
The 1.35 at Newbury is a fascinating little race, with all contenders holding an entry for the Royal & SunAlliance next month. Here's Johnny looks most likely to start favourite, given his form with Joe Lively. However, his last two runs have to be treated with utmost caution, as he looked set to beat Joe Lively until being badly hampered - only to be beaten fair and square by the same horse next time out.
Ornais is another that could be anything, picking up a seemingly fortuitous victory when outstaying rivals at Wincanton. They probably won't go so fast today however, and although Nicholls thinks a lot of the gelding, it may pay to look past him on this occasion.
Unfortunately at the time of publishing no prices were on offer in this market, but the Racing Post predicts that Mr Strachan might start around the 11/4 level. If he does, wade in. The drying ground is sure to be in his favour, and will help the mount stay the full 24 furlongs. Stamina is the only slight concern, but he runs and jumps like he will stay. With the fancied Here's Johnny, and a Nicholls horse in the race Mr Strachan will surely be best price on Betfair, where you should take any price higher than 3.2.
As it gets closer and closer to the Cheltenham festival the big guns start to find their form, and this is what Voy Por Ustedes is aiming to achieve in the 2.10. His chief rival comes in the form of Master Minded, something of an unknown quantity. Brought over from France, and since heavily schooled, he is a serious danger receiving 6lbs. However, if we take this season's form lines literally, Voy Por Ustedes is 10lbs better than Master Minded. If we take Voy Por Ustedes' entire career into account then we could argue that he is 14lbs clear (so still 8lbs better, even after the weight allowances).
Conditions will bring out the best in each of these mounts (which cannot be said for L'Antartique), but to me it is astonishing that Master Minded is even vying for favouritism. In my book Voy Por Ustedes is value at evens, so to see him on offer at 11/8 with Ladbrokes represents a very sound investment.
If you're desperate to oppose Denman in the following race, then 12/1 (paddypower) about Celestial Gold isn't a horrible price. However, I have every confidence that Denman will be at the top of his game.
If you are having any bets today, good luck, and feel free to post them below!
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