The F1 season has moved on to Australia this weekend and let's hope that the race will be worth getting up early for. After this morning's qualifying the Red Bulls are still looking the cars to beat and as such I am predicting a Vettel win and a Webber podium. My view is that there will be some action this weekend because of Hamilton starting from eleventh after a poor qualifying (no doubt he has been affected by his run in with the local police yesterday evening!)
In both football and rugby union the season's are drawing towards their conclusions but there is still plenty to play for and neither the top places nor relegation issues have been sorted out. In the Guinness Premiership my predictions are for Leeds to continue their good run and win at Gloucester, and home wins for London Irish over Sale and Northampton who host Wasps.
The Barclays Premiership is perhaps building towards the most exciting for years and my main predictions this week concern the relegation issues. My thoughts are Hull will draw with Fulham, West Ham will beat Stoke and Burnley will draw with Blackburn. The final prediction is for another draw and this time between title chasing Arsenal who visit Birmingham today.
My tenth and final prediction for the weekend is in Rugby League where I am going for St Helens to win at Huddersfield.
In summary the predictions are:
Australian Grand Prix
Vettel to win at 4/5
Webber to podium at 4/7
Guinness Premiership Rugby
Leeds to win at Gloucester at 5/1
Northampton to beat Wasps at 1/3
London Irish to beat Sale at 2/7
Barclays Premiership Football
Birmingham to draw with Arsenal at 31/10
Hull to draw with Fulham at 12/5
West Ham to beat Stoke at 15/13
Burnley to draw with Blackburn at 12/5
Superleague Rugby League
St Helens to win at Huddersfield
Saturday, 27 March 2010
Five out of ten but a loss on the week
An average week of predictions last week with five out of ten which meant a loss of £2 on the week and and a combined loss of £14.50 in total.
All three six nations predictions were wrong as France wrapped up the Grand Slam and Scotland gained the win they deserved for their performances over the course of the championship. I did predict Wales to beat Italy but not by such a large margin.
In the premier league football I had two correct and two wrong results when both Portsmouth and Sunderland won at home when I had predicted draws in their respective games with Hull and Birmingham.
Both my rugby league predictions were correct as Wigan won at Castleford and Wakefield beat Salford and finally I also correctly predicted Northampton's triumph in Rugby Union's LV Cup.
All three six nations predictions were wrong as France wrapped up the Grand Slam and Scotland gained the win they deserved for their performances over the course of the championship. I did predict Wales to beat Italy but not by such a large margin.
In the premier league football I had two correct and two wrong results when both Portsmouth and Sunderland won at home when I had predicted draws in their respective games with Hull and Birmingham.
Both my rugby league predictions were correct as Wigan won at Castleford and Wakefield beat Salford and finally I also correctly predicted Northampton's triumph in Rugby Union's LV Cup.
Saturday, 20 March 2010
Six Nations Super Saturday and Premier League Title Race Hotting Up
I can't believe that the six nations is coming to it's conclusion today with the "Super Saturday" matches. The title looks destined for the French but there will still no doubt be some intriguing games as an experimental Wales team host the Italians who have a win under their belt this season, Ireland host a Scotland team who were unlucky to only draw with England last week and finally the Grand Slam game for the French who host a very different England team with seven changes from last week.
In the games I am going for home wins for Wales by between 11 and 20 points, mainly based on their home advantage, and for Ireland by a similar margin for the same reasons. Paris though has the potential to produce the match of the tournament as the English (who have not lost to France since the warm-up games for the 2007 World Cup) will look to silence their detractors by turning over a French team who have looked invincible throughout this campaign. On just about every criteria the French have to be favourites but this is a one-off game and in the cauldron of the Stade de France I have a sneaky feeling England might produce a shock and that is my prediction - heart over head but good odds!
The Barclays Premier League is now in it's last quarter of the season and there are still three teams who can win the league and no less than four chasing that last coveted Champions' League spot. The big game this weekend sees Manchester United who are currently in pole position for the title and with the league's outstanding player in Wayne Rooney host Liverpool who are having their poorest season in years and struggling to in the chase to qualify for next year's champions' league.
My prediction is a home win to the Red Devils and in other games this weekend my thoughts are Portsmouth will draw with Hull at the other end of the table and this result will be replicated between Sunderland and Birmingham. The final prediction is for Tottenham who currently occupy fourth spot to win at Stoke, but again this could be heart over head.
The last three predictions this weekend are all rugby related. Firstly, at Twickenham the LV Cup is up for grabs between Gloucester and Northampton and even though the flair players from Northampton are starting for England this week I am going for the East Midlanders to triumph. In Rugby League's Superleague Wigan have recaptured past glories after the first few games and therefore my forecast is for them to win at Castleford with my final prediction being Wakefield beating Salford.
This week let's hope the action lives up to the hype and in summary my predictions are:
Six Nations Rugby
Wales to beat Italy by 11 - 20 points at 15/8
Ireland to beat Scotland by 11 - 20 points at 2/1
England to beat France at 11/2
Rugby Union LV Cup
Northampton to beat Gloucester at 4/9
Barclays Premier League
Portsmouth to draw with Hull at 12/5
Tottenham to win at Stoke at 13/10
Sunderland to drsaw with Birmingham at 12/5
Manchester United to beat Liverpool at 8/11
Rugby League Superleague
Wigan to win at Castleford at 4/11
Wakefield to beat Salford at 2/7
In the games I am going for home wins for Wales by between 11 and 20 points, mainly based on their home advantage, and for Ireland by a similar margin for the same reasons. Paris though has the potential to produce the match of the tournament as the English (who have not lost to France since the warm-up games for the 2007 World Cup) will look to silence their detractors by turning over a French team who have looked invincible throughout this campaign. On just about every criteria the French have to be favourites but this is a one-off game and in the cauldron of the Stade de France I have a sneaky feeling England might produce a shock and that is my prediction - heart over head but good odds!
The Barclays Premier League is now in it's last quarter of the season and there are still three teams who can win the league and no less than four chasing that last coveted Champions' League spot. The big game this weekend sees Manchester United who are currently in pole position for the title and with the league's outstanding player in Wayne Rooney host Liverpool who are having their poorest season in years and struggling to in the chase to qualify for next year's champions' league.
My prediction is a home win to the Red Devils and in other games this weekend my thoughts are Portsmouth will draw with Hull at the other end of the table and this result will be replicated between Sunderland and Birmingham. The final prediction is for Tottenham who currently occupy fourth spot to win at Stoke, but again this could be heart over head.
The last three predictions this weekend are all rugby related. Firstly, at Twickenham the LV Cup is up for grabs between Gloucester and Northampton and even though the flair players from Northampton are starting for England this week I am going for the East Midlanders to triumph. In Rugby League's Superleague Wigan have recaptured past glories after the first few games and therefore my forecast is for them to win at Castleford with my final prediction being Wakefield beating Salford.
This week let's hope the action lives up to the hype and in summary my predictions are:
Six Nations Rugby
Wales to beat Italy by 11 - 20 points at 15/8
Ireland to beat Scotland by 11 - 20 points at 2/1
England to beat France at 11/2
Rugby Union LV Cup
Northampton to beat Gloucester at 4/9
Barclays Premier League
Portsmouth to draw with Hull at 12/5
Tottenham to win at Stoke at 13/10
Sunderland to drsaw with Birmingham at 12/5
Manchester United to beat Liverpool at 8/11
Rugby League Superleague
Wigan to win at Castleford at 4/11
Wakefield to beat Salford at 2/7
Dull Action but a Profit
Having spent many weeks looking forward to last weekend's sporting action it all turned out to be a bit of a damp squib with a frustratingly poor England rugby performance at Murrayfield and followed by one of the dullest Grand Prix for a long time in Bahrain.
Having said that whilst for us armchair (or pub) viewers we look to sport to entertain us for those on the field it is all about winning and I doubt either Scotland or Ferrari are too disappointed by the results. Personally it was not too bad a week with five out of ten correct predictions and a profit of £3.50 taking overall losses to £12.50 in a year of the blog.
The sports providing successes were the six nations rugby with Ireland triumphing over Wales and the French win over Italy by between 21 and 30 points, and also the premier league football with Bolton beating Wigan and the draws between Birmingham and Everton as well as Sunderland and Manchester City.
There was no joy in the Grand Prix though Massa was probably just pleased to finish and coming second was easily his best start to a campaign or in the rugby league where Harlequins' poor start to the season continued.
Of course there was plenty of other sporting news last week probably highlighted with Tiger Woods announcing his return to competition golf at next months Masters. Chelsea were dumped out of the Champions League, this time by their former manager Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan, not forgetting Fulham defeating Italian giants Juventus and of course Beckham's dream of a fourth world cup finals has been destroyed with his achilles injury. Some of the action may have been dull but there was still plenty to keep the back pages going!
Having said that whilst for us armchair (or pub) viewers we look to sport to entertain us for those on the field it is all about winning and I doubt either Scotland or Ferrari are too disappointed by the results. Personally it was not too bad a week with five out of ten correct predictions and a profit of £3.50 taking overall losses to £12.50 in a year of the blog.
The sports providing successes were the six nations rugby with Ireland triumphing over Wales and the French win over Italy by between 21 and 30 points, and also the premier league football with Bolton beating Wigan and the draws between Birmingham and Everton as well as Sunderland and Manchester City.
There was no joy in the Grand Prix though Massa was probably just pleased to finish and coming second was easily his best start to a campaign or in the rugby league where Harlequins' poor start to the season continued.
Of course there was plenty of other sporting news last week probably highlighted with Tiger Woods announcing his return to competition golf at next months Masters. Chelsea were dumped out of the Champions League, this time by their former manager Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan, not forgetting Fulham defeating Italian giants Juventus and of course Beckham's dream of a fourth world cup finals has been destroyed with his achilles injury. Some of the action may have been dull but there was still plenty to keep the back pages going!
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Famous Names Are Back
I can't believe that after the winter break the Formula 1 season is back, not that it seems to have been away with all of the coverage the sport has has over the winter break. Of course the big news has been the return to the sport of statistically the best driver ever, Michael Schumacher.
Schumacher's return means that there will be four world champions on the grid this season and all of them in cars that can not only win races but also the championship. This does not tell the whole story though as in addition to Button, Hamilton, Alonso and Schumacher there are four other drivers who will also be in the hunt for the world championship including Felipe Massa who in 2008 was the champion for about 20 seconds. The other challengers will be both Red Bull drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber who won many races last season and perhaps have the best designer in Adrian Newey. The final of the eight is Schumacher's teammate Nico Rosberg who has always been quick in practice and qualifying but is yet to win a race.
If I was to make a prediction for the champion in the middle of November when the season ends then it is Alonso or Massa in the Ferraris with my outside bet being Mark Webber - there have been two other Australians to win Grand Prix, Jack Brabham and Alan Jones and after winning their first races they soon went on to become World Champions!
Of course Schumacher's return is just one famous name coming back to the sport, but also returning is Lotus for the first time in 15 years. It is unlikely they will be at the sharp end of many races this season but have two race winners driving their cars and a heritage to be proud of so I think we will see a steady improvement over the course of the season and maybe even the odd points finish. Cosworth engines also return and are powering the new teams (Virgin and Hispania join Lotus on the grid) but the car offering them the best chance of success is the Williams.
The last famous name returning to the sport in 2010 is that of Senna as the late, great Ayrton Senna's nephew makes his debut in F1 in Bahrain. Like Lotus, expectations shouldn't be too high but Bruno Senna is certainly a name to watch for the future.
Changes to the season see a ban on refuelling during the race and a new points system. The former will mean that the car's characteristics will change significantly over the course of the race meaning those drivers fast at the beginning may not be so fast at the end of the race and certainly offers the potential for spicing up the racing. The new points system is a bit of a nightmare for a self-confessed statto such as me as it makes historic comparisons more difficult but the benefit is that it makes winning a Grand Prix better because of the percentage difference over second place. Also, with four teams looking very equal it means that the mid-place teams can pick up points when maybe they wouldn't in previous seasons.
Finally, the change that I have liked the most is the ownership structure of the teams. The manufacturers have nearly all gone with just Ferrari and the return of Mercedes as a team owner, meaning that all the remaining teams are essentially privately owned much like the halcyon days of the sixties and seventies and hopefully leading to the types of innovation that were seen in those days.
Just a few minutes to go now and I just can't wait - I hope the racing is as good as the anticipation has been.
Schumacher's return means that there will be four world champions on the grid this season and all of them in cars that can not only win races but also the championship. This does not tell the whole story though as in addition to Button, Hamilton, Alonso and Schumacher there are four other drivers who will also be in the hunt for the world championship including Felipe Massa who in 2008 was the champion for about 20 seconds. The other challengers will be both Red Bull drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber who won many races last season and perhaps have the best designer in Adrian Newey. The final of the eight is Schumacher's teammate Nico Rosberg who has always been quick in practice and qualifying but is yet to win a race.
If I was to make a prediction for the champion in the middle of November when the season ends then it is Alonso or Massa in the Ferraris with my outside bet being Mark Webber - there have been two other Australians to win Grand Prix, Jack Brabham and Alan Jones and after winning their first races they soon went on to become World Champions!
Of course Schumacher's return is just one famous name coming back to the sport, but also returning is Lotus for the first time in 15 years. It is unlikely they will be at the sharp end of many races this season but have two race winners driving their cars and a heritage to be proud of so I think we will see a steady improvement over the course of the season and maybe even the odd points finish. Cosworth engines also return and are powering the new teams (Virgin and Hispania join Lotus on the grid) but the car offering them the best chance of success is the Williams.
The last famous name returning to the sport in 2010 is that of Senna as the late, great Ayrton Senna's nephew makes his debut in F1 in Bahrain. Like Lotus, expectations shouldn't be too high but Bruno Senna is certainly a name to watch for the future.
Changes to the season see a ban on refuelling during the race and a new points system. The former will mean that the car's characteristics will change significantly over the course of the race meaning those drivers fast at the beginning may not be so fast at the end of the race and certainly offers the potential for spicing up the racing. The new points system is a bit of a nightmare for a self-confessed statto such as me as it makes historic comparisons more difficult but the benefit is that it makes winning a Grand Prix better because of the percentage difference over second place. Also, with four teams looking very equal it means that the mid-place teams can pick up points when maybe they wouldn't in previous seasons.
Finally, the change that I have liked the most is the ownership structure of the teams. The manufacturers have nearly all gone with just Ferrari and the return of Mercedes as a team owner, meaning that all the remaining teams are essentially privately owned much like the halcyon days of the sixties and seventies and hopefully leading to the types of innovation that were seen in those days.
Just a few minutes to go now and I just can't wait - I hope the racing is as good as the anticipation has been.
Saturday, 13 March 2010
Summer must be nearly hear as F1 is back
Short and sweet on the predictions this week due to time pressures. Sports included are six nations rugby, premier league football, rugby league and of course not forgetting the return of Formula 1 at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The predictions are as follows:
Barclays Premier League
Birmingham to draw with Everton at 12/5
Bolton to beat Wigan at 15/13
Burnley to draw with Wolves at 12/5
Sunderland to draw with Manchester City at 12/5
Six Nations Rugby
Ireland to beat Wales at 3/10
England to beat Scotland at 8/15
France to beat Italy by between 21 and 30 points at 9/4
Rugby League
Harlequins to beat Salford at 4/5
Bahrain Grand Prix
Massa to win at 19/20
Webber to podium at 39/10
The predictions are as follows:
Barclays Premier League
Birmingham to draw with Everton at 12/5
Bolton to beat Wigan at 15/13
Burnley to draw with Wolves at 12/5
Sunderland to draw with Manchester City at 12/5
Six Nations Rugby
Ireland to beat Wales at 3/10
England to beat Scotland at 8/15
France to beat Italy by between 21 and 30 points at 9/4
Rugby League
Harlequins to beat Salford at 4/5
Bahrain Grand Prix
Massa to win at 19/20
Webber to podium at 39/10
Predictions not great again
A 50p loss last week taking accummulated losses to £16 with only four from nine predictions being correctly predicted. The success was mainly down to predicting three of the four FA Cup quarter final matches with only Aston Villa beating Reading not having been forecast.
The only other success was Northampton's defeat of Sale in the Guinness Premiership but I had no joy with my other rugby predictions in either code of the game or with Bolton's win in the football premier league at West Ham.
The only other success was Northampton's defeat of Sale in the Guinness Premiership but I had no joy with my other rugby predictions in either code of the game or with Bolton's win in the football premier league at West Ham.
Saturday, 6 March 2010
Another go at the art of predicting sport!
The great thing about sport is it's unpredictability and as I approach the first anniversary of this blog I still keep going.
This week my attempts will be focused on football and the FA Cup quarter-finals, as well as both codes of rugby. In what has been an unpredictable FA Cup to date there is only one of the big four sides left, Chelsea, who host Stoke City tomorrow and I am going for a home win in this game. There is only one non-premier league side left in the competition and that is Reading who until recently were struggling in the championship but their upturn in form has coincided with their cup run and this weekend they host last weeks defeated Carling Cup finalists Aston Villa and my prediction is for a draw in this match.
The other two games take place today and my predictions are for struggling Portsmouth to beat Birmingham in what should be a tight game and the Fulham versus Tottenham game to end in stalemate. One final football prediction for the weekend is in the premier league as a win for either West Ham or Bolton can ease their relegation fears and as such I am going for a home win by the Hammers.
With no six nations this weekend the focus is back on the race for the Guinness Premiership and my predictions are both away wins. Sale have been poor of late and suddenly find themselves in a relegation scrap which won't be helped by the visit of in-form Northampton who I am predicting to win, and I am also going for high-flying Saracens to win at Leeds.
My final predictions this week are in the alternative code of rugby and here I am going for a home win for Wakefield over Huddersfield and an away win for St. Helens at Hull KR.
In summary the predictions are as follows:
FA Cup Quarter Finals
Portsmouth to beat Birmingham at 6/4
Fulham and Tottenham to draw at 23/10
Reading to draw with Aston Villa at 13/5
Chelsea to beat Stoke at 3/10
Barclays Premier League
West Ham to beat Bolton at 4/5
Guinness Premiership Rugby
Northampton to win at Sale at 8/13
Saracens to win at Leeds at 4/6
Rugby League's Superleague
Wakefield to beat Huddersfield at Evens
St. Helens to win at Hull KR at 1/2
This week my attempts will be focused on football and the FA Cup quarter-finals, as well as both codes of rugby. In what has been an unpredictable FA Cup to date there is only one of the big four sides left, Chelsea, who host Stoke City tomorrow and I am going for a home win in this game. There is only one non-premier league side left in the competition and that is Reading who until recently were struggling in the championship but their upturn in form has coincided with their cup run and this weekend they host last weeks defeated Carling Cup finalists Aston Villa and my prediction is for a draw in this match.
The other two games take place today and my predictions are for struggling Portsmouth to beat Birmingham in what should be a tight game and the Fulham versus Tottenham game to end in stalemate. One final football prediction for the weekend is in the premier league as a win for either West Ham or Bolton can ease their relegation fears and as such I am going for a home win by the Hammers.
With no six nations this weekend the focus is back on the race for the Guinness Premiership and my predictions are both away wins. Sale have been poor of late and suddenly find themselves in a relegation scrap which won't be helped by the visit of in-form Northampton who I am predicting to win, and I am also going for high-flying Saracens to win at Leeds.
My final predictions this week are in the alternative code of rugby and here I am going for a home win for Wakefield over Huddersfield and an away win for St. Helens at Hull KR.
In summary the predictions are as follows:
FA Cup Quarter Finals
Portsmouth to beat Birmingham at 6/4
Fulham and Tottenham to draw at 23/10
Reading to draw with Aston Villa at 13/5
Chelsea to beat Stoke at 3/10
Barclays Premier League
West Ham to beat Bolton at 4/5
Guinness Premiership Rugby
Northampton to win at Sale at 8/13
Saracens to win at Leeds at 4/6
Rugby League's Superleague
Wakefield to beat Huddersfield at Evens
St. Helens to win at Hull KR at 1/2
Only the football last week!
Not a great week on the prediction front last weekend with only three correct football predictions and nothing else leaving me with a loss of £3 on the week and an accumulated loss of £15.50.
In the six nations both England and Scotland lost which has seriously dented the formers hopes of winning the championship and could lead to the Scots being left with the wooden spoon which has surprised me after their good results in the autumn internationals.
My predictions in the other code of rugby were no better as both of the home side winners I predicted, Castleford and Huddersfield both slipped to defeat. I made a slight error of judgement in choosing Kostelic to win the men's slalom at the Winter Olympics when I should have predicted a podium place - probably greed as it was good odds for the win.
Thankfully three out of four of my football predictions were correct with Manchester United winning the Carling Cup and Bolton and Arsenal triumphing in their premier league games. What I didn't foresee, or did many pundits was Chelsea losing at home to Manchester City which opened up both the race for the title and fourth place again.
In the six nations both England and Scotland lost which has seriously dented the formers hopes of winning the championship and could lead to the Scots being left with the wooden spoon which has surprised me after their good results in the autumn internationals.
My predictions in the other code of rugby were no better as both of the home side winners I predicted, Castleford and Huddersfield both slipped to defeat. I made a slight error of judgement in choosing Kostelic to win the men's slalom at the Winter Olympics when I should have predicted a podium place - probably greed as it was good odds for the win.
Thankfully three out of four of my football predictions were correct with Manchester United winning the Carling Cup and Bolton and Arsenal triumphing in their premier league games. What I didn't foresee, or did many pundits was Chelsea losing at home to Manchester City which opened up both the race for the title and fourth place again.
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