My game of may have been cruelly called off this morning as Barnet 2s were undoubtedly frightened by the front row I was going to be putting out against them but nevertheless this weekend has plenty of other sport to keep me going.
For many the highlight will be the Carling Cup final tomorrow when Arsenal go for their first piece of silverware in six years but for me the big event is the rugby at Twickenham where England host France in what should be the Six Nations Championship decider.
Before I start with this week's predictions however, we need to tidy up the results from last week where even though I made six correct forecasts the week resulted in a 50p loss (mainly due to my lack of success with the FA Cup predictions) and this means overall profit for the blog is down to £33.
This week's predictions will start with football and as I mentioned above the main event will be taking place at Wembley where Arsenal play Birmingham in the Carling Cup final. Though it pains me to say Arsenal under Arsene Wenger do play good football and even if they are missing a couple of their stars as seems likely due to injury I think they will have too much for Birmingham and should win relatively easily. Meanwhile the Barclays Premier League continues towards the final quarter of the season and my predictions for this week are the unpredictable Everton to win at home against Sunderland, Manchester United to win at Wigan and strengthen their grip at the top of the table and finally the rejuvenated Liverpool under Dalglish to draw at West Ham who have also had a bit of a renaissance since Christmas.
The action I'm most looking forward to this weekend is the third round of Six Nations rugby which kicks off with Wales visiting Italy who had contrasting fortunes a couple of weeks ago. Whilst the Italians were thoroughly trounced at Twickenham the Welsh beat a very uninspiring Scotland team in Edinburgh. However, I'm going to ignore those results and I'm predicting the Italians to bounce back from their thrashing and win narrowly against the Welsh. That game is just the appetiser and the match that really catches the imagination is England v France which could determine not just the Six Nations Championship but also a possible Grand Slam. The two protagonists are the only unbeaten teams after two rounds of matches and probably the only two teams from the Northern Hemisphere who can challenge for the World Cup later this year in New Zealand. With so much at stake I would normally predict a tight, feisty game but with the way both team play I think it will be an open high-scoring game with England triumphing based as much on home advantage as patriotism!
The final game of the weekend tomorrow will be at Murrayfield where Scotland who were so dire against Wales a fortnight ago host Ireland, a team I believe on the decline. Sticking with my home advantage philosophy I'm predicting a narrow win by the Scots in a game that will not be much to get excited about.
Of course there is more for the sporting enthusiast this weekend than Rugby Union and Football and my final predictions reflect this. In Rugby League the World Club Challenge between Wigan and the Illawara Dragons is the big event and whilst I may have predicted the town's football team to lose I think their rugby team will triumph.
The cricket World Cup continues in earnest in the sub-continent and a recently unimpressive England play hosts India tomorrow. Again, slightly based on patriotism and ignoring recent form I'm going for an England win as the players are good enough and I think they will get better as the tournament progresses so why not tomorrow!
My final prediction is in the world of motorsport. The undoubted big news of the week was the indefinite postponement of the F1 opening race in Bahrain due to the recent civil unrest in the Principality. For me this is a pity for two reasons, but nevertheless the right decision. Firstly, because I believe this season has the promise to be as good if not better than last year in F1 with all the new technical regulation changes but secondly because I have an affection for Bahrain having lived there and being the birthplace of my sister, and by hosting an F1 race it helped put the country on the map for the right reasons.
However, the F1 season will not now get underway for another month which should help the teams better develop and prepare their cars for Australia. In the meantime the same country, albeit a different circuit, hosts the opening races of the World Superbikes, a sport in which British riders have traditionally enjoyed much success in recent years with the likes of Fogarty and Toseland. Whilst admittedly I am more of a Moto GP follower, and therefore no expert on this series I do enjoy the racing and am looking forward to more British success this year and am therefore predicting a Leon Haslam win in the opening race.
In summary the predictions are as follows:
Carling Cup Final
Arsenal to beat Birmingham at 4/7
Barclays Premier League
Everton to defeat Sunderland at 3/4
Manchester United to win at Wigan at 7/12
West Ham to draw with Liverpool at 23/10
Six Nations Rugby
Italy to beat Wales at 31/5
England to defeat France at 1/2
Scotland to win against Ireland at 2/1
Rugby League World Club Challenge
Wigan to beat Illawara Dragons at 13/11
Cricket World Cup
England to beat India at 2/1
World Superbikes
Leon Haslam to win Race 1 at Phillip Island at 13/1
Saturday, 26 February 2011
Saturday, 19 February 2011
FA Cup and Both Rugby Codes
Not a great set of predictions last week with only a 40% success rate leading to a loss of £2 and reducing overall profits to £33.50.
This weeks predictions include FA Cup football featuring both the fifth round and some fourth round replays, Aviva Premiership Rugby and the second round of rugby league's Superleague.
In the football my predictions are predominantly biased towards the home team as I'm predicting wins for Chelsea against Everton, Birmingham over Sheffield Wednesday and West Ham who host Burnley. The two contradictions to this policy are I'm forecasting a draw between premier league sides Fulham and Bolton at Craven Cottage and for Arsenal, buoyant after their mid-week success against Barcelona to prevail over League One Leyton Orient.
The Aviva Premiership Rugby teams are mainly stripped of their international players which makes my predictions more of a lottery than usual so I'm using form as my main guide by predicting Northampton to win in Bath, Harlequins to defeat Sale at The Stoop and Leicester to triumph in what could be a feisty encounter with Wasps.
My final set of predictions this week relate to rugby's other code and as I got neither prediction correct last week I'm hoping my luck improves this time. I've selected Harlequins to beat the Crusaders and Wigan to win at Bradford.
I did consider some cricket predictions but as the World Cup will still be running when the next football season starts (or at least that's what it will feel like) I thought I'd save those predictions for the future!
In summary this week's forecast is:
FA Cup Football
Chelsea to defeat Everton at 4/7
Birmingham to beat Sheffield Wednesday at 4/6
Fulham and Bolton to draw at 12/5
Arsenal to win at Leyton Orient at 3/10
West Ham to beat Burnley at Evens
Aviva Premiership Rugby
Northampton to win at Bath at 18/11
Harlequins to defeat Sale at 2/9
Leicester to beat Wasps at 2/9
Superleague Rugby League
Harlequins to beat the Crusaders at 11/10
Wigan to win at Bradford Bulls at 1/2
This weeks predictions include FA Cup football featuring both the fifth round and some fourth round replays, Aviva Premiership Rugby and the second round of rugby league's Superleague.
In the football my predictions are predominantly biased towards the home team as I'm predicting wins for Chelsea against Everton, Birmingham over Sheffield Wednesday and West Ham who host Burnley. The two contradictions to this policy are I'm forecasting a draw between premier league sides Fulham and Bolton at Craven Cottage and for Arsenal, buoyant after their mid-week success against Barcelona to prevail over League One Leyton Orient.
The Aviva Premiership Rugby teams are mainly stripped of their international players which makes my predictions more of a lottery than usual so I'm using form as my main guide by predicting Northampton to win in Bath, Harlequins to defeat Sale at The Stoop and Leicester to triumph in what could be a feisty encounter with Wasps.
My final set of predictions this week relate to rugby's other code and as I got neither prediction correct last week I'm hoping my luck improves this time. I've selected Harlequins to beat the Crusaders and Wigan to win at Bradford.
I did consider some cricket predictions but as the World Cup will still be running when the next football season starts (or at least that's what it will feel like) I thought I'd save those predictions for the future!
In summary this week's forecast is:
FA Cup Football
Chelsea to defeat Everton at 4/7
Birmingham to beat Sheffield Wednesday at 4/6
Fulham and Bolton to draw at 12/5
Arsenal to win at Leyton Orient at 3/10
West Ham to beat Burnley at Evens
Aviva Premiership Rugby
Northampton to win at Bath at 18/11
Harlequins to defeat Sale at 2/9
Leicester to beat Wasps at 2/9
Superleague Rugby League
Harlequins to beat the Crusaders at 11/10
Wigan to win at Bradford Bulls at 1/2
Friday, 11 February 2011
Superleague Magic Weekend, More Six Nations & A Manchester Derby
It was a profitable week again on this blog following my last set of predictions resulting in a gain of £1.50 on the week and up to £35.50 over the course of the blog.
Successes came from five sources with Green Bay winning the Superbowl, England's triumph over Wales and Ireland's narrow win over Italy in the Six Nations as well as correct predictions for both of North London's premier league football teams.
This week features the beginning of Rugby League's Superleague for 2011 with all seven matches taking place at Cardiff's Millennium stadium and a number of local derbies. My forecasts for the first weekend of the season are Wigan to triumph over St. Helens and Hull FC to defeat Hull KR.
The Six Nations Rugby Union continues this weekend and after a thrilling round of matches last week I'm hoping for more of the same this time round. First off England host Italy and even with the loss of Andrew Sheridan from the side today I'm predicting a win by England by more than 12 points. The other two games are more difficult to call, but in both cases I'm going for the teams that have performed the best over the last twelve months, therefore I'm predicting Scotland to beat Wales at Murrayfield and the French to triumph in Ireland.
After some strange results in the premier league last week it demonstrates just how tough it can be to predict. This week the stand out game is the Manchester derby when United host City and I'm going for a home win. Liverpool are the current form team, revitalised by King Kenny and I'm predicting another win for them this weekend over Wigan. Former Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has taken the reins at West Brom today who have been sucked into the relegation battle in recent weeks and in a "six pointer" they host West Ham who I'm forecasting to win.
My final two predictions are both for draws between Blackburn and Newcastle and Bolton who host Everton. I know that last prediction won't please all my readers but I've found Everton notoriously difficult to predict this season!
In summary the predictions are:
Superleague
Wigan to defeat St. Helens at 11/17
Hull FC to beat Hull KR at 22/23
Six Nations Rugby
England to beat Italy by more than 12 points at 7/25
Scotland to defeat Wales at 4/6
France to win in Ireland at 4/6
Barclays Premier League Football
Manchester United to beat Manchester City at 4/5
Liverpool to defeat Wigan at 2/5
West Ham to win at West Brom at 3/1
Blackburn and Newcastle to draw at 12/5
Bolton to draw with Everton at 23/10
Successes came from five sources with Green Bay winning the Superbowl, England's triumph over Wales and Ireland's narrow win over Italy in the Six Nations as well as correct predictions for both of North London's premier league football teams.
This week features the beginning of Rugby League's Superleague for 2011 with all seven matches taking place at Cardiff's Millennium stadium and a number of local derbies. My forecasts for the first weekend of the season are Wigan to triumph over St. Helens and Hull FC to defeat Hull KR.
The Six Nations Rugby Union continues this weekend and after a thrilling round of matches last week I'm hoping for more of the same this time round. First off England host Italy and even with the loss of Andrew Sheridan from the side today I'm predicting a win by England by more than 12 points. The other two games are more difficult to call, but in both cases I'm going for the teams that have performed the best over the last twelve months, therefore I'm predicting Scotland to beat Wales at Murrayfield and the French to triumph in Ireland.
After some strange results in the premier league last week it demonstrates just how tough it can be to predict. This week the stand out game is the Manchester derby when United host City and I'm going for a home win. Liverpool are the current form team, revitalised by King Kenny and I'm predicting another win for them this weekend over Wigan. Former Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has taken the reins at West Brom today who have been sucked into the relegation battle in recent weeks and in a "six pointer" they host West Ham who I'm forecasting to win.
My final two predictions are both for draws between Blackburn and Newcastle and Bolton who host Everton. I know that last prediction won't please all my readers but I've found Everton notoriously difficult to predict this season!
In summary the predictions are:
Superleague
Wigan to defeat St. Helens at 11/17
Hull FC to beat Hull KR at 22/23
Six Nations Rugby
England to beat Italy by more than 12 points at 7/25
Scotland to defeat Wales at 4/6
France to win in Ireland at 4/6
Barclays Premier League Football
Manchester United to beat Manchester City at 4/5
Liverpool to defeat Wigan at 2/5
West Ham to win at West Brom at 3/1
Blackburn and Newcastle to draw at 12/5
Bolton to draw with Everton at 23/10
A Need for Speed
Robert Kubica's serious accident in a rally on Sunday has brought to the forefront some thoughts on why certain sportsmen and especially those involved in motorsport are such adrenaline junkies.
Apart from the physical injuries that Kubica has received, there will be a big impact felt across Formula One for the upcoming season. Firstly, Kubica is widely regarded as one of the best drivers of the current generation and potentially had the opportunity to be challenging or at least influencing the outcome of this year's championship. This is based on his performances last year in an uncompetitive car and along with Kobyashi of Sauber he was the best of the rest after those drivers challenging for the championship. His potential was first demonstrated in 2008 when he finished third in the driver's championship and could have seriously challenged had his team (BMW) decided to continue focusing on that years car as opposed to their development for the following season.
Secondly, after the first test session of the season last week Kubica in his new Renault had topped the time sheets. Whilst it is far to early to be making predictions for the season after one test it is much better to head the timesheets than be at the bottom. This leads me to the conclusion that Kubica could have been a serious challenger this year. It also has a serious impact on the Renault team as their remaining contracted drivers are fairly inexperienced with none having more than a season in F1. This will mean that the team will be at a disadvantage when it comes to the development of the car which as I have already mentioned looks as it could be competitive this season, and as importantly will in all possibility lead to them not performing as well in the constructor's championship and thereby lose out on prize money that will be vital as the team goes forward.
I therefore wouldn't be surprised if Renault do hire an experienced driver to cover for Kubica's absence and it looks as if his former BMW teammate Nick Heidfeld could be the driver to benefit.
However, what has happened to Kubica is not a new phenomenon and goes back to the very beginning of the sport. In the early fifties Ascari and Fangio were the two dominant drivers in the sport but most people are far more familiar with the Argentinean than the Italian as Fangio went on to win five world championships. This is because Ascari (a double world champion) who at one stage won 13 from 16 F1 races he entered, was killed in a sports car on what was supposed to be a weekend off. He wasn't even racing but had gone along to watch his friend test a new Ferrari but his competitive instincts got the better of him, he asked if he could have a go and within a few laps, crashed and was killed.
Another double world champion was also killed a decade later, Jim Clark. Widely regarded as the best driver of his era he was killed in a minor Formula 2 event in Germany robbing the world the chance to see which of two Scotsmen was the greatest driver as by that time Jackie Stewart's star was on the rise. Clark wasn't the first British F1 world champion to be killed outside of the sport as Mike Hawthorn died on the A3 in Surrey when having what appeared to be a race with Rob Walker.
There are plenty of other similar instances when F1 drivers have been killed or seriously injured away from the sport when for many you'd think that the dangers associated with F1 itself should satisfy the adrenaline requirements for any normal person. The sport itself has suffered from many tragedies where drivers have been killed in their prime Peter Collins, Jochen Rindt, Ronnie Peterson, Gilles Villeneuve and Ayrton Senna to name but a few.
Of course Kubica is not the only current crop of drivers to have this adrenaline requirement as Mark Webber has seriously compromised his ability to win World Championships in the last two seasons with mountain bike accidents he has suffered (compound leg fracture before the 2009 season and breaking his shoulder whilst leading the championship last year!) Michael Schumacher was unable to return to the sport in 2009 after Massa was injured because of a motorbike accident earlier that year and in MotoGP Valentino Rossi seriously injured his shoulder in a Moto Cross accident before the beginning of last season and one wonders if that contributed to his serious accident when he broke his leg last year.
In conclusion, it becomes clear that in order to become an F1 driver talent is not just enough but there is something deeper - A Need for Speed - and unless that exists, we the public would not get to see such an exciting sport, but this gene, if that is what it is, has also robbed us of some fascinating racing as well.
Apart from the physical injuries that Kubica has received, there will be a big impact felt across Formula One for the upcoming season. Firstly, Kubica is widely regarded as one of the best drivers of the current generation and potentially had the opportunity to be challenging or at least influencing the outcome of this year's championship. This is based on his performances last year in an uncompetitive car and along with Kobyashi of Sauber he was the best of the rest after those drivers challenging for the championship. His potential was first demonstrated in 2008 when he finished third in the driver's championship and could have seriously challenged had his team (BMW) decided to continue focusing on that years car as opposed to their development for the following season.
Secondly, after the first test session of the season last week Kubica in his new Renault had topped the time sheets. Whilst it is far to early to be making predictions for the season after one test it is much better to head the timesheets than be at the bottom. This leads me to the conclusion that Kubica could have been a serious challenger this year. It also has a serious impact on the Renault team as their remaining contracted drivers are fairly inexperienced with none having more than a season in F1. This will mean that the team will be at a disadvantage when it comes to the development of the car which as I have already mentioned looks as it could be competitive this season, and as importantly will in all possibility lead to them not performing as well in the constructor's championship and thereby lose out on prize money that will be vital as the team goes forward.
I therefore wouldn't be surprised if Renault do hire an experienced driver to cover for Kubica's absence and it looks as if his former BMW teammate Nick Heidfeld could be the driver to benefit.
However, what has happened to Kubica is not a new phenomenon and goes back to the very beginning of the sport. In the early fifties Ascari and Fangio were the two dominant drivers in the sport but most people are far more familiar with the Argentinean than the Italian as Fangio went on to win five world championships. This is because Ascari (a double world champion) who at one stage won 13 from 16 F1 races he entered, was killed in a sports car on what was supposed to be a weekend off. He wasn't even racing but had gone along to watch his friend test a new Ferrari but his competitive instincts got the better of him, he asked if he could have a go and within a few laps, crashed and was killed.
Another double world champion was also killed a decade later, Jim Clark. Widely regarded as the best driver of his era he was killed in a minor Formula 2 event in Germany robbing the world the chance to see which of two Scotsmen was the greatest driver as by that time Jackie Stewart's star was on the rise. Clark wasn't the first British F1 world champion to be killed outside of the sport as Mike Hawthorn died on the A3 in Surrey when having what appeared to be a race with Rob Walker.
There are plenty of other similar instances when F1 drivers have been killed or seriously injured away from the sport when for many you'd think that the dangers associated with F1 itself should satisfy the adrenaline requirements for any normal person. The sport itself has suffered from many tragedies where drivers have been killed in their prime Peter Collins, Jochen Rindt, Ronnie Peterson, Gilles Villeneuve and Ayrton Senna to name but a few.
Of course Kubica is not the only current crop of drivers to have this adrenaline requirement as Mark Webber has seriously compromised his ability to win World Championships in the last two seasons with mountain bike accidents he has suffered (compound leg fracture before the 2009 season and breaking his shoulder whilst leading the championship last year!) Michael Schumacher was unable to return to the sport in 2009 after Massa was injured because of a motorbike accident earlier that year and in MotoGP Valentino Rossi seriously injured his shoulder in a Moto Cross accident before the beginning of last season and one wonders if that contributed to his serious accident when he broke his leg last year.
In conclusion, it becomes clear that in order to become an F1 driver talent is not just enough but there is something deeper - A Need for Speed - and unless that exists, we the public would not get to see such an exciting sport, but this gene, if that is what it is, has also robbed us of some fascinating racing as well.
Friday, 4 February 2011
Superbowl, Six Nations Predictions & More...
Coming up to my favourite time of the year as the first hints of Spring are in the air and of course the beginning of the Six Nations rugby tournament.
Last week was fairly poor in terms of predictions with only four correct resulting in a £3 loss and taking overall profits for the blog down to £34. This was mainly due to the complete unpredictability of the FA Cup which I guess has always been it's charm and attraction. It is superb for Non-League Crawley town to have moved through to the fifth round of this prestigious competition and to have gained the ultimate prize of taking on Manchester United at Old Trafford.
This week in addition to the beginning of the RBS Six Nations there is the Superbowl taking place in Dallas. The two teams competing for the top prize in the NFL are two of the best supported across the US - the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. I am predicting a narrow win for the Packers which will be a truly remarkable result as they were only the sixth seed from the NFC.
With the Rugby World Cup on the horizon later in the year this Six Nations championship is the last real chance for the top European teams to show they have what it takes to triumph in New Zealand and for players on the fringes of their national teams to prove they have what it takes to be involved later in the year. A number of the sides are having to contend with injuries to key players, not least Wales and England who meet tonight at the Millennium stadium. France are so mercurial that it is impossible to know which team will turn up on any given day, my belief is that Irish are probably 18 months past their best and are also plagued with injuries, the Scots have had some very good form in their last few matches (excluding the thrashing they received from the All Blacks) and the Italians just don't have the strength in depth needed to be successful.
As a patriotic Englishman I am keen to see them do well but have two concerns, firstly that with the injuries in the pack their lineout may suffer and the ability to win quick ball in broken play, and secondly I am still not convinced they have the right centre partnership to release an exciting back three. Having said that I think they will grind out wins over the course of the championship and therefore predict them to win the tournament but perhaps not with the elusive Grand Slam. I think the French will be their closest challengers and will probably play the most exciting rugby these next few weeks. After that it is hard to call but I'm going for the Scots in third place, the Irish fourth, the Welsh fifth and finally the Italians to pick up the Wooden Spoon.
As for this weekend's predictions my forecasts are England to triumph in Wales, Ireland to win but by less than 12 points in Italy and for France to similarly win by less than 12 against the Scots.
Injuries also seem to be the name of the game when it comes to England's cricket team with literally their whole bowling attack suffering from one niggle or another. It has been a long tour down under and I'm sure all of the team are looking forward to completing the ODI series in Perth on Sunday and getting back to the UK for a few days R&R. This series has dragged on a bit but I'm predicting England to finish on a high by triumphing on the ground where they were thoroughly outplayed in the Ashes, their only blip in that stage of the tour. What ever the outcome of the game the tour will be viewed as a huge success because of the performance in the Test matches and I'm not sure their failures in the One Day series will have too much of an effect on their capability to do well in the upcoming World Cup.
My final set of predictions relate to Barclays Premier League football. A few short weeks ago the title race was wide open with five clubs all with a shout of winning, but looking at the table it looks like that it is fast becoming a two horse race between the unbeaten Manchester United and Arsenal. It is well known that this is the time of the season when United make a surge and this season has been no different and to make it worse for the opposition their main striker, Wayne Rooney appears to be finding some form as well. Manchester City and Chelsea occupy the other two Champions League slots and unless Spurs start converting draws into wins they are going to struggle to match their fourth place finish of last season, especially as their injury woes are worsening by the day.
Before Christmas most pundits had West Ham written off as relegation certainties but over the last few weeks they have improved, made a couple of what look like being significant signings in the transfer window and therefore could get out of trouble between now and the end of the season.
Based on this information my predictions for this weekend are for Aston Villa to defeat Fulham in Birmingham, Newcastle to draw with Arsenal, Spurs to defeat Bolton at White Hart Lane, West Ham to beat Birmingham and finally in the big game of the weekend for Chelsea to draw with Liverpool, Chelsea either with or without their new record signing from Liverpool - Fernando Torres!
In summary my weekend predictions are as follows:
Superbowl
Packers to defeat the Steelers at 8/11
RBS Six Nations
England to win in Wales at 8/13
Ireland to beat Italy by 12 points or less at 7/4
France to defeat Scotland by 12 points or less at 2/1
ODI Cricket in Perth
England to beat Australia at 11/10
Barclays Premier League Football
Aston Villa to beat Fulham at Evens
Newcastle to draw with Arsenal at 3/1
Spurs to beat Bolton at 5/8
West Ham to beat Birmingham at 11/10
Chelsea to draw with Liverpool at 16/5
Last week was fairly poor in terms of predictions with only four correct resulting in a £3 loss and taking overall profits for the blog down to £34. This was mainly due to the complete unpredictability of the FA Cup which I guess has always been it's charm and attraction. It is superb for Non-League Crawley town to have moved through to the fifth round of this prestigious competition and to have gained the ultimate prize of taking on Manchester United at Old Trafford.
This week in addition to the beginning of the RBS Six Nations there is the Superbowl taking place in Dallas. The two teams competing for the top prize in the NFL are two of the best supported across the US - the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. I am predicting a narrow win for the Packers which will be a truly remarkable result as they were only the sixth seed from the NFC.
With the Rugby World Cup on the horizon later in the year this Six Nations championship is the last real chance for the top European teams to show they have what it takes to triumph in New Zealand and for players on the fringes of their national teams to prove they have what it takes to be involved later in the year. A number of the sides are having to contend with injuries to key players, not least Wales and England who meet tonight at the Millennium stadium. France are so mercurial that it is impossible to know which team will turn up on any given day, my belief is that Irish are probably 18 months past their best and are also plagued with injuries, the Scots have had some very good form in their last few matches (excluding the thrashing they received from the All Blacks) and the Italians just don't have the strength in depth needed to be successful.
As a patriotic Englishman I am keen to see them do well but have two concerns, firstly that with the injuries in the pack their lineout may suffer and the ability to win quick ball in broken play, and secondly I am still not convinced they have the right centre partnership to release an exciting back three. Having said that I think they will grind out wins over the course of the championship and therefore predict them to win the tournament but perhaps not with the elusive Grand Slam. I think the French will be their closest challengers and will probably play the most exciting rugby these next few weeks. After that it is hard to call but I'm going for the Scots in third place, the Irish fourth, the Welsh fifth and finally the Italians to pick up the Wooden Spoon.
As for this weekend's predictions my forecasts are England to triumph in Wales, Ireland to win but by less than 12 points in Italy and for France to similarly win by less than 12 against the Scots.
Injuries also seem to be the name of the game when it comes to England's cricket team with literally their whole bowling attack suffering from one niggle or another. It has been a long tour down under and I'm sure all of the team are looking forward to completing the ODI series in Perth on Sunday and getting back to the UK for a few days R&R. This series has dragged on a bit but I'm predicting England to finish on a high by triumphing on the ground where they were thoroughly outplayed in the Ashes, their only blip in that stage of the tour. What ever the outcome of the game the tour will be viewed as a huge success because of the performance in the Test matches and I'm not sure their failures in the One Day series will have too much of an effect on their capability to do well in the upcoming World Cup.
My final set of predictions relate to Barclays Premier League football. A few short weeks ago the title race was wide open with five clubs all with a shout of winning, but looking at the table it looks like that it is fast becoming a two horse race between the unbeaten Manchester United and Arsenal. It is well known that this is the time of the season when United make a surge and this season has been no different and to make it worse for the opposition their main striker, Wayne Rooney appears to be finding some form as well. Manchester City and Chelsea occupy the other two Champions League slots and unless Spurs start converting draws into wins they are going to struggle to match their fourth place finish of last season, especially as their injury woes are worsening by the day.
Before Christmas most pundits had West Ham written off as relegation certainties but over the last few weeks they have improved, made a couple of what look like being significant signings in the transfer window and therefore could get out of trouble between now and the end of the season.
Based on this information my predictions for this weekend are for Aston Villa to defeat Fulham in Birmingham, Newcastle to draw with Arsenal, Spurs to defeat Bolton at White Hart Lane, West Ham to beat Birmingham and finally in the big game of the weekend for Chelsea to draw with Liverpool, Chelsea either with or without their new record signing from Liverpool - Fernando Torres!
In summary my weekend predictions are as follows:
Superbowl
Packers to defeat the Steelers at 8/11
RBS Six Nations
England to win in Wales at 8/13
Ireland to beat Italy by 12 points or less at 7/4
France to defeat Scotland by 12 points or less at 2/1
ODI Cricket in Perth
England to beat Australia at 11/10
Barclays Premier League Football
Aston Villa to beat Fulham at Evens
Newcastle to draw with Arsenal at 3/1
Spurs to beat Bolton at 5/8
West Ham to beat Birmingham at 11/10
Chelsea to draw with Liverpool at 16/5
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