Mourinho can cast his spell at the Bridge again August 14, 2014 BEN CLEMINSON PREVIEWS THE PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON AND THE OPENING WEEKEND WHILE many of the major European leagues are uncompetitive from a betting perspective, this year’s Premier League looks to be one of the most open in recent years. As the reigning champions, Manchester City are the obvious place to start and they have held [...]
Stoke best bet on tricky opening weekend August 14, 2014 ONLY the top five sides in the Premier League last season lost fewer home games than Stoke and Mark Hughes’s men look a great price to beat Aston Villa tomorrow at the 10/11 generally available. Bojan Krkic has played for glamour teams Barcelona, Roma, AC Milan and Ajax in recent seasons, so it was surprising [...]
Season points trading on Manchester United August 14, 2014 IT IS possible bookmakers have over-reacted to the appointment of Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford and his new club’s pre-season form. Sporting Index traders have made Manchester United joint-third favourites with Arsenal on the Championship 60 Index and have pitched their season points at 75.5-77 – despite the team picking up just 64 last [...]
Tottenham Hotspur pushed to top of House Price Premier League by spunky property market August 13, 2014 For those of you chomping at the bit for the Premier League to start this weekend, Nationwide has got a present for you. It’s an especially good gift if you’re also obsessed with house prices (come on, most of us are). Yes, it’s the House Price Premier League! The league is based on percentage [...]
39th game sure to happen, says Premier League chief Richard Scudamore August 13, 2014 Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has breathed fresh life into plans for top flight fixtures to be played overseas, insisting it is a matter of when, not if, the so-called 39th game is introduced. The Football Association on Sunday lent fresh momentum to an idea pilloried when first floated, hinting that the Community Shield [...]
England have to be ruthless now, demands Root August 13, 2014 RUN-MACHINE Joe Root insists England must show a ruthless streak and ram home their advantage during the fifth and final Test against India, which starts at the Oval on Friday. The Yorkshireman top-scored with 77 as England flexed their muscle at Old Trafford last week to brush aside the tourists by an innings and 54 [...]
Selection headache for Van Gaal as Shaw faces spell on sidelines August 13, 2014 MANCHESTER United boss Louis van Gaal has been dealt a defensive headache after defender Luke Shaw was sidelined for four weeks with a hamstring injury. The 19-year-old, who played England’s final World Cup group match against Costa Rica, joined the Old Trafford ranks from Southampton in June for £27m, replacing Juventus-bound Patrice Evra as United’s [...]
Farah regains European title as Dasaolu and Porter shine August 13, 2014 DOUBLE Olympic champion Mo Farah salvaged a crisis-ridden season by regaining his European 10,000m crown in Zurich last night as team-mates James Dasaolu and Tiffany Porter claimed their first major titles. Farah clocked a winning time of 28 minutes and 8.12 seconds to take gold in his first track race of the season as fellow [...]
Murray canters home with US Open on horizon August 13, 2014 FORMER Wimbledon champion Andy Murray continued his preparations for a tilt at a second US Open title later this month with a commanding victory over Portugal’s Joao Sousa in the last 32 of the Cincinnati Masters yesterday. The 27-year-old reached the tournament’s third round after breaking his opposite number in the opening service game before [...]
England reach final in Paris August 13, 2014 CLASSY England out-gunned Ireland in Paris yesterday to reach the final of the Women’s Rugby World Cup for the fourth time in succession. The Red Roses have lost the previous three finals to New Zealand but will line up against Canada on Sunday after Gary Street’s side recovered from an early 7-0 deficit to maul [...]