Last weekend saw Rugby's European Cup Final and it was the ultimate game of two halves with Northampton dominating the first half and then being completely outclassed by Leinster in the second half. That was therefore one of five predictions I got wrong resulting in a loss of £2 on the week and taking the profits and loss of the blog predictions to £0!!
There are numerous highlights of this sporting weekend, for some it will be the Champions League final at Wembley, for others it will be a motorsport event whether in the glamorous surroundings of Monaco or the Indianapolis 500 at the Brickyard, then there is the final of the Aviva Premierships and Magners Leagues whilst not forgetting the football league playoffs! Meanwhile the French Open tennis is at it's midpoint and the Giro d'Italia reaches it's climax in Milan with Alberto Contador looking almost certain to be crowned champion as he potentially seeks to become the first rider to win all three Grand tours in one year, subject to not receiving the drug ban that his been hanging over him since last year's Tour de France.
I'll start the predictions with football and the Champions League final which has all the ingredients to be a superb match as the undoubted best footballing team Barcelona take on the Managerial nous of Sir Alex Ferguson in a repeat of the 2009 final. Whilst my head says Barcelona I'm going to predict a Manchester United win mainly because the match is taking place in England. My second football prediction is the Championship play-off final on Monday between Reading and Swansea, perhaps the richest game of football in the world because of the payments a team will gain from being in the Premier League. My prediction here is for a tight game but for the Welsh team to become the first from the Principality to play in the Premier League.
The British club rugby season reaches it's climax with the Aviva Premiership final at Twickenham where Leicester there for the seventh consecutive season take on Saracens in a repeat of last year's final. My prediction is for Saracens to reverse last year's result in what should be a close match. Meanwhile the Irish teams of Leinster and Munster meet in the Magners league final and if Leinster can motivate themselves after their Heineken Cup success last year I can't see them being beaten.
Two of the highlights of any motorsport season are the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy 500 and both take place on Sunday. Whilst Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel in particular has dominated the season so far the nature of the Monaco circuit will help the other teams to close the gap and as such I'm predicting a Hamilton win and an Alonso podium. On the other side of the Atlantic the Indy 500 takes place at the famous Brickyard over the memorial weekend and my prediction is for a Scott Dixon win and last year's winner Dario Franchitti to make the podium.
Finally, Rugby League's Superleague continues and my predictions are for two home wins, Bradford to beat Salford and Wigan who host Hull KR.
In summary the predictions are as follows:
Champions League Football Final
Manchester United to beat Barcelona at 3/1
Championship Play-Off Final
Swansea to beat Reading at 17/10
Aviva Premiership Final
Saracens to beat Leicester at 13/8
Magners League Final
Leinster to beat Munster at 8/11
Monaco Grand Prix
Hamilton to win at 9/2
Alonso to podium at 4/6
Indy 500
Dixon to win at 4/1
Franchitti to Podium at 29/100
Rugby League Superleague
Bradford to beat Salford at 4/11
Wigan to beat Hull KR at 1/7
Saturday, 28 May 2011
Saturday, 21 May 2011
European Cup Final 1
This weekend sees the climax of the Premier League football season and the Heineken Cup final in Rugby Union as well as golf's World Matchplay, a continuation of Rugby League's Challenge Cup not forgetting that the F1 Grand Prix circus is now firmly encamped in Europe at Barcelona.
Last weekend saw a better number of predictions with six correct but still resulted in a £1 loss for the weekend taking profits on the blog down to just £2. Yet again it was the unpredictability of the Premier League which was my downfall and if honest I don't hold out much hope for this weekend as five teams battle to avoid the remaining two relegation places with those teams points, goal difference and goals scored being evenly matched!
My first prediction of the week is for my own sport of Rugby Union as the Heineken Cup Final takes place this afternoon between Leinster and Northampton. The Irish team are justifiably favourites when you look at both their form and the world class international backs that they have in the team including perhaps the best player of the Millennium so far in Brian O'Driscoll. However, Northampton who were perhaps unlucky to lose their Aviva Premiership semi-final last weekend at Leicester, particularly as they should have only been playing 14 men for the majority of the game, have come together as a team this season and have some classy match winners of their own, not least the England pairing of Ashton and Foden. Therefore my prediction is for the East Midlanders to win a tight game.
Manchester may have had a successful weekend for both it's football clubs last weekend as United won the Premier League and their City neighbours won the FA Cup, but this weekend all eyes are on the relegation battle which is closer than I can ever remember. West Ham will be playing Championship football next season after throwing away a winning position at fellow strugglers Wigan last week and this week there are five clubs who battling to avoid being the two clubs to join them.
Blackpool undoubtedly have the toughest task as they travel to League champions Manchester United and I'm predicting the home side to win almost certainly condemning the Tangerines to relegation after just one entertaining season in the top flight. Wigan travel to Stoke in a game that I think may be a draw which may be just enough to stay up as I think Birmingham who have been in freefall for the last couple of months travel to Tottenham who will want to seal fifth place and European football next season. Finally, Wolves and Blackburn meet at Molineux and with both teams having beaten the 40 point mark would have hoped to have been safe before this weekend but depending on other results one of them can go down. My prediction is for Wolves to win but I think Blackburn may just survive though I wouldn't be disappointed if they did get relegated following what appears to have been an unwarranted sacking of their manager Sam Allardyce halve way through the season.
All I do know is that it will be an extraordinary couple of hours of football tomorrow afternoon and there will be many very nervous supporters in Lancashire and the West Midlands!
Golf's World Matchplay has been underway for a couple of days and is also looking difficult to predict but my forecast for this is for Englishman Luke Donald to triumph.
The Challenge Cup in Rugby League continues this weekend and the top teams are now meeting each other. My two predictions are for away wins with Castleford at Wakefield and Wigan at Bradford.
Finally, the qulaifying for the Spanish Grand Prix is about to get underway in Barcelona it is difficult to see past a Red Bull win. Whilst Vettel has been imperious through the season so far, his teammate Webber has been improving and I think it may be Vettel's turn for some bad luck this weekend so I'm predicting the Australian to win with Hamilton to get his McLaren into the top three.
My summary of predictions is therefore as follows:
Heineken Cup Rugby
Northampton to beat Leinster at 14/5
Barclays Premier League
Manchester United to beat Blackpool at 4/7
Stoke to draw with Wigan at 13/5
Spurs to beat Birmingham at 4/7
Wolves to beat Blackburn at 6/5
World Matchplay Golf
Luke Donald to win at 9/2
Rugby League Challenge Cup
Castleford to beat Wakefield at 11/17
Wigan to beat Bradford at 1/10
Spanish F1 Grand Prix
Webber to win at 7/2
Hamilton to podium at 18/19
Last weekend saw a better number of predictions with six correct but still resulted in a £1 loss for the weekend taking profits on the blog down to just £2. Yet again it was the unpredictability of the Premier League which was my downfall and if honest I don't hold out much hope for this weekend as five teams battle to avoid the remaining two relegation places with those teams points, goal difference and goals scored being evenly matched!
My first prediction of the week is for my own sport of Rugby Union as the Heineken Cup Final takes place this afternoon between Leinster and Northampton. The Irish team are justifiably favourites when you look at both their form and the world class international backs that they have in the team including perhaps the best player of the Millennium so far in Brian O'Driscoll. However, Northampton who were perhaps unlucky to lose their Aviva Premiership semi-final last weekend at Leicester, particularly as they should have only been playing 14 men for the majority of the game, have come together as a team this season and have some classy match winners of their own, not least the England pairing of Ashton and Foden. Therefore my prediction is for the East Midlanders to win a tight game.
Manchester may have had a successful weekend for both it's football clubs last weekend as United won the Premier League and their City neighbours won the FA Cup, but this weekend all eyes are on the relegation battle which is closer than I can ever remember. West Ham will be playing Championship football next season after throwing away a winning position at fellow strugglers Wigan last week and this week there are five clubs who battling to avoid being the two clubs to join them.
Blackpool undoubtedly have the toughest task as they travel to League champions Manchester United and I'm predicting the home side to win almost certainly condemning the Tangerines to relegation after just one entertaining season in the top flight. Wigan travel to Stoke in a game that I think may be a draw which may be just enough to stay up as I think Birmingham who have been in freefall for the last couple of months travel to Tottenham who will want to seal fifth place and European football next season. Finally, Wolves and Blackburn meet at Molineux and with both teams having beaten the 40 point mark would have hoped to have been safe before this weekend but depending on other results one of them can go down. My prediction is for Wolves to win but I think Blackburn may just survive though I wouldn't be disappointed if they did get relegated following what appears to have been an unwarranted sacking of their manager Sam Allardyce halve way through the season.
All I do know is that it will be an extraordinary couple of hours of football tomorrow afternoon and there will be many very nervous supporters in Lancashire and the West Midlands!
Golf's World Matchplay has been underway for a couple of days and is also looking difficult to predict but my forecast for this is for Englishman Luke Donald to triumph.
The Challenge Cup in Rugby League continues this weekend and the top teams are now meeting each other. My two predictions are for away wins with Castleford at Wakefield and Wigan at Bradford.
Finally, the qulaifying for the Spanish Grand Prix is about to get underway in Barcelona it is difficult to see past a Red Bull win. Whilst Vettel has been imperious through the season so far, his teammate Webber has been improving and I think it may be Vettel's turn for some bad luck this weekend so I'm predicting the Australian to win with Hamilton to get his McLaren into the top three.
My summary of predictions is therefore as follows:
Heineken Cup Rugby
Northampton to beat Leinster at 14/5
Barclays Premier League
Manchester United to beat Blackpool at 4/7
Stoke to draw with Wigan at 13/5
Spurs to beat Birmingham at 4/7
Wolves to beat Blackburn at 6/5
World Matchplay Golf
Luke Donald to win at 9/2
Rugby League Challenge Cup
Castleford to beat Wakefield at 11/17
Wigan to beat Bradford at 1/10
Spanish F1 Grand Prix
Webber to win at 7/2
Hamilton to podium at 18/19
Saturday, 14 May 2011
FA Cup Final & Premier League Champions?
In what has been another tragic week for sport with the death of Wouter Weylandt on Monday's stage of the Giro d'Italia, today could be a big day for Manchester's football clubs with the red half only requiring a draw at Blackburn to become Premier League Champions and the blue half having sealed Champions League football for next season looking to win the FA Cup for the first time in more than 40 years at Wembley.
Last week's predictions were probably the worst ever with only two from ten correct showing just how difficult it is to predict results in the world of sport! This meant a loss of £6.50 on the week and takes overall profits down to just £3 having been more than 10 times that amount a few weeks ago.
I will start with football today and the FA Cup which due to the Champions League final in a couple of weeks is taking place at Wembley before the end of the Premier League season and as such has lost some of it's charm once again. The final is between the moneybags of Manchester City and Stoke with the former being clear favourites. Even though I'd like to see Stoke win my prediction is for the Manchester team to triumph.
Following their defeat of Chelsea last weekend, Manchester United only need a point from their last two games of the season to wrap up a record breaking 19th League title and I think they will do that today by winning their lunchtime kick-off at Blackburn. Wolves who are one of six clubs in the relegation battle travel to Sunderland who have found some form again of late and I'm predicting a home win as I am for Liverpool who take on Tottenham tomorrow and by winning will seal fifth place and the Europa Cup spot for next season and leaving Spurs with a "what might have been" season!
In the Aviva Premiership the season has reached the play-off stage and I'm going for home wins for Leicester who play Northampton and Saracens who host Gloucester which will create a repeat of last year's final in two weeks.
Rugby League's Superleague continues in earnest and again I'm going for home wins for Huddersfield who entertain St Helens and Hull KR hosting Bradford.
Probably the undoubted sportsman of the year so far has been Novak Djokovic who has not lost a game of tennis in 2011 and last week ended Rafa Nadal's unbeaten run on clay. Djokovic faces Britain's Andy Murray in the semi-final of the Rome Masters and I'm not predicting the Scotsman to break the run.
My final prediction also takes place in Italy and is for today's eighth stage of the Giro d'Italia which should feature the sprinters. As such I'm predicting Mark Cavendish to win his first stage of this year's tour.
In summary the predictions are:
FA Cup Final
Manchester City to beat Stoke at Evens
Barclays Premier League
Manchester United to win at Blackburn at 13/16
Sunderland to beat Wolves at 17/9
Liverpool to beat Spurs at 4/5
Aviva Premiership Play-Offs
Leicester to beat Northampton at 6/13
Saracens to beat Gloucester at 10/29
Rugby League Superleague
Huddersfield to beat St. Helens at 7/12
Hull KR to beat Bradford at 6/17
Rome Masters Tennis
Djokovic to beat Murray at 1/6
Giro d'Italia (Stage 8)
Cavendish to win at 4/1
Last week's predictions were probably the worst ever with only two from ten correct showing just how difficult it is to predict results in the world of sport! This meant a loss of £6.50 on the week and takes overall profits down to just £3 having been more than 10 times that amount a few weeks ago.
I will start with football today and the FA Cup which due to the Champions League final in a couple of weeks is taking place at Wembley before the end of the Premier League season and as such has lost some of it's charm once again. The final is between the moneybags of Manchester City and Stoke with the former being clear favourites. Even though I'd like to see Stoke win my prediction is for the Manchester team to triumph.
Following their defeat of Chelsea last weekend, Manchester United only need a point from their last two games of the season to wrap up a record breaking 19th League title and I think they will do that today by winning their lunchtime kick-off at Blackburn. Wolves who are one of six clubs in the relegation battle travel to Sunderland who have found some form again of late and I'm predicting a home win as I am for Liverpool who take on Tottenham tomorrow and by winning will seal fifth place and the Europa Cup spot for next season and leaving Spurs with a "what might have been" season!
In the Aviva Premiership the season has reached the play-off stage and I'm going for home wins for Leicester who play Northampton and Saracens who host Gloucester which will create a repeat of last year's final in two weeks.
Rugby League's Superleague continues in earnest and again I'm going for home wins for Huddersfield who entertain St Helens and Hull KR hosting Bradford.
Probably the undoubted sportsman of the year so far has been Novak Djokovic who has not lost a game of tennis in 2011 and last week ended Rafa Nadal's unbeaten run on clay. Djokovic faces Britain's Andy Murray in the semi-final of the Rome Masters and I'm not predicting the Scotsman to break the run.
My final prediction also takes place in Italy and is for today's eighth stage of the Giro d'Italia which should feature the sprinters. As such I'm predicting Mark Cavendish to win his first stage of this year's tour.
In summary the predictions are:
FA Cup Final
Manchester City to beat Stoke at Evens
Barclays Premier League
Manchester United to win at Blackburn at 13/16
Sunderland to beat Wolves at 17/9
Liverpool to beat Spurs at 4/5
Aviva Premiership Play-Offs
Leicester to beat Northampton at 6/13
Saracens to beat Gloucester at 10/29
Rugby League Superleague
Huddersfield to beat St. Helens at 7/12
Hull KR to beat Bradford at 6/17
Rome Masters Tennis
Djokovic to beat Murray at 1/6
Giro d'Italia (Stage 8)
Cavendish to win at 4/1
Saturday, 7 May 2011
Premier League Could be Decided!
I was saddened this morning to wake to the news of the death of Seve Ballesteros who was a great champion and the man who begun the renaissance of European golf. This follows the news of the passing of Sir Henry Cooper last weekend another who was a superb ambassador for his sport. Both men will be remembered for the courage and skill they showed both in and away from their respective sports.
A couple of weeks ago my predictions were short of the mark with only four correct forecasts resulting in a £3.50 loss and taking overall profits down to just £9.50 for the duration of the blog!
This week sees the Barclays Premier League reach if not it's climax but certainly what could be the defining weekend as the top 2 teams meet at Old Trafford. If Manchester United defeat Chelsea, as I'm predicting, they will almost certainly will the League for a record 19th time and they can concentrate on their Champions League final against Barcelona. Should they lose however, and the momentum and the race for the title will be with the West Londoners and the final couple of games will be eagerly watched by the neutral.
Of course there is still plenty to play for in the league for many teams with the relegation and European places yet to be sorted out. My second prediction features the blue half of Manchester who travel to Everton where a win could be enough to guarantee them a Champions League place for next season but I'm predicting a draw in this fixture. West Ham and Blackburn are both fighting relegation with the Lancashire side in a better position to avoid the drop but in their match today I'm predicting the Hammers to triumph. Blackpool who have entertained throughout the season travel to the team they last beat in the league, Spurs, who have only won once in their last eleven games in all competitions. This match is critical for both teams as Blackpool have a very real fear of being relegated and Spurs may not even make fifth this season and may therefore miss out on European football altogether next year. As both teams prefer attack to defence this should be an open game with a few goals and I'm predicting a narrow win for the North Londoners.
My final prediction features two of the teams who in the first half of the season looked like they would both end up in the top 10 of the league but have not performed so well since the turn of the year and with neither having much to play for than prize money based on final league position I'm predicting a draw at Bolton who host Sunderland.
The Aviva Premiership play-off places are almost certainly sorted though Bath could sneak in. The one issue that hasn't been sorted is relegation which is between Leeds and Newcastle and with both teams likely to lose today it will probably be the Yorkshire team who take the drop. My predictions for this week are Wasps to end a disappointing season with a win at Exeter who have been the surprise package of the year, and Harlequins to win the London derby with Saracens at The Stoop.
In Rugby League it is Challenge Cup weekend with most of the big boys avoiding each other and so my only prediction is for the Leeds Rhinos to defeat the Crusaders.
My final set of predictions are concerning the Turkish Grand Prix which is moving into final qualifying as I write this. My first hope is that the race is as exciting as the last one in China three weeks ago and my predictions are for Hamilton to follow up with another win and for Nico Rosberg's Mercedes to make the podium. This sport is becoming almost impossible to predict with the new regulations and that just makes it even more fascinating - certainly no bad thing!
In summary the predictions are:
Barclays Premier League
Bolton to draw with Sunderland at 11/4
Everton to draw with Manchester City at 23/10
West Ham to beat Blackburn at 13/12
Spurs to beat Blackpool at 10/29
Manchester United to beat Chelsea at 7/5
Aviva Premiership
Harlequins to beat Saracens at 13/10
Wasps to win at Exeter at 15/8
Challenge Cup Rugby League
Rhinos to defeat the Crusaders at 1/7
Turkish Grand Prix
Hamilton to win at 21/5
Rosberg to podium at 7/2
A couple of weeks ago my predictions were short of the mark with only four correct forecasts resulting in a £3.50 loss and taking overall profits down to just £9.50 for the duration of the blog!
This week sees the Barclays Premier League reach if not it's climax but certainly what could be the defining weekend as the top 2 teams meet at Old Trafford. If Manchester United defeat Chelsea, as I'm predicting, they will almost certainly will the League for a record 19th time and they can concentrate on their Champions League final against Barcelona. Should they lose however, and the momentum and the race for the title will be with the West Londoners and the final couple of games will be eagerly watched by the neutral.
Of course there is still plenty to play for in the league for many teams with the relegation and European places yet to be sorted out. My second prediction features the blue half of Manchester who travel to Everton where a win could be enough to guarantee them a Champions League place for next season but I'm predicting a draw in this fixture. West Ham and Blackburn are both fighting relegation with the Lancashire side in a better position to avoid the drop but in their match today I'm predicting the Hammers to triumph. Blackpool who have entertained throughout the season travel to the team they last beat in the league, Spurs, who have only won once in their last eleven games in all competitions. This match is critical for both teams as Blackpool have a very real fear of being relegated and Spurs may not even make fifth this season and may therefore miss out on European football altogether next year. As both teams prefer attack to defence this should be an open game with a few goals and I'm predicting a narrow win for the North Londoners.
My final prediction features two of the teams who in the first half of the season looked like they would both end up in the top 10 of the league but have not performed so well since the turn of the year and with neither having much to play for than prize money based on final league position I'm predicting a draw at Bolton who host Sunderland.
The Aviva Premiership play-off places are almost certainly sorted though Bath could sneak in. The one issue that hasn't been sorted is relegation which is between Leeds and Newcastle and with both teams likely to lose today it will probably be the Yorkshire team who take the drop. My predictions for this week are Wasps to end a disappointing season with a win at Exeter who have been the surprise package of the year, and Harlequins to win the London derby with Saracens at The Stoop.
In Rugby League it is Challenge Cup weekend with most of the big boys avoiding each other and so my only prediction is for the Leeds Rhinos to defeat the Crusaders.
My final set of predictions are concerning the Turkish Grand Prix which is moving into final qualifying as I write this. My first hope is that the race is as exciting as the last one in China three weeks ago and my predictions are for Hamilton to follow up with another win and for Nico Rosberg's Mercedes to make the podium. This sport is becoming almost impossible to predict with the new regulations and that just makes it even more fascinating - certainly no bad thing!
In summary the predictions are:
Barclays Premier League
Bolton to draw with Sunderland at 11/4
Everton to draw with Manchester City at 23/10
West Ham to beat Blackburn at 13/12
Spurs to beat Blackpool at 10/29
Manchester United to beat Chelsea at 7/5
Aviva Premiership
Harlequins to beat Saracens at 13/10
Wasps to win at Exeter at 15/8
Challenge Cup Rugby League
Rhinos to defeat the Crusaders at 1/7
Turkish Grand Prix
Hamilton to win at 21/5
Rosberg to podium at 7/2
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