As ever these days, there is almost too much live sporting action to even list over this weekend. That is by no means a bad thing.
The weather isn’t improving a whole lot so we reckon it’s best to get prepared, get the box on and make sure you’re ahead of the game before all the live betting events. We have you covered on that front with various selections across numerous sports.
Brighton to Beat Chelsea, Friday, 20:00, Sky Sports Premier League
The home side are into around 15/8 at the time of writing and that’s still terrific value in a three-horse race with home advantage. Many will be piling into them at that price. Brighton are certainly no mugs.
For their part, Chelsea have a very soft underbelly while the Seagulls won the very same fixture only last week in the FA Cup. They can most certainly do it again and are value to do so.
Burnley to Beat Preston, Saturday, 12:30, Sky Sports Football
Now we all know that Burnley are entirely boring, but they do tend to get the job done more often than not. They stand as the top team in the Championship in terms of away points and they may continue that form in this derby.
Preston are less impressive, even at home, while Burnley have conceded only five away goals in the league this season. It won’t be pretty, but Burnley have a solid foundation and they can use that to win again at a general 21/20.
Jingko Blue to Win the Reynoldstown Novices’ Chase, Saturday, 13:50, Ascot, ITV1
Nicky Henderson runs Jingko Blue in this classy Grade 2 novice, one that is likely to produce a Cheltenham Festival candidate or two.
He and Lowry’s Bar are the two solid contenders in this race, though our horse is a level above even at the weights. He is an easy 2-2 now over fences and is capable of plenty more. As it stands, he’s around 5/4 for this which could look generous come Saturday afternoon.
Beauport to Win the Rendlesham Hurdle, Saturday, 1440, Haydock, ITV1
Though a Grade 2 and a fine race in its own right, this race should serve as a decent trial for the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival next month. Likely favourite here, Beauport, is the most obvious contender.
An improving nine-year-old, he has won once and finished third this season, the latter in a Grade 1, and now he’s had 56 days between races to rest and improve. He gets a handy 6lbs from the others here and looks rock-solid at around 7/4.
Corbetts Cross to win the Ascot Chase, Saturday, 15:37, Ascot, ITV1
Market leader Pic D’orhy, last year’s winner, is 10 from 20 over fences but for us he’s not the horse he was. This is also not certain to be the right race for Cheltenham Gold Cup contender L’Homme Presse. Both of those horses are ten years old now, while Corbetts Cross is the younger contender who is potentially still improving.
Regardless, our horse is rated 163 which is the same as L’Homme Presse and 2lbs higher than the favourite. He is more than capable of winning this, is around 2/1 now and looks the type to be backed into clear favouritism on Saturday.
St Helens to Beat Salford Red Devils (Handicap), Saturday, 17:30, BBC2 & iPlayer
It goes without saying that St Helens are strong favourites to win this match, but it’s also become clear that they are fancied to win by a good margin. Backing them on the handicap looks the way to go.
At the time of writing, St Helens are around 10/11 at -16 points, depending on which bookmaker you bet with. No matter the numbers, they are already being well backed to beat the handicap.
Inter to Beat Juventus, Sunday, 19:45, TNT Sports 1 & Discovery +
There was a terrific 4-4 draw between these two in the reverse fixture in Milan earlier in the season. This one could be a belter, too.
Though beaten 3-0 at Fiorentina recently, Inter are generally very good away from home. They are also fully motivated for their title charge, being as they are just a point behind Napoli at the top. Juventus aren’t the team they one were and could falter here to an Inter side who are around 6/5 generally over 90 minutes.