Rafael Nadal v Novak Djokovic
Australian Open Final – 8.30 am
Eurosport
Looking at the best bets for Sunday, we see a pretty tight market for the Australian Open men’s final. It is Novak Djokovic taking on Rafael Nada. These are the top two players in the world with Djokovic the current number one. There is some big history between these two players with Djokovic holding a 27-25 match head-to-head lead over Nadal. Really ever since the draw for this year’s Australian Open was announced, this really was the projected final. Nadal and Djokovic have both really looked head and shoulders above the rest.
Djokovic has won eight of the last 10 meetings between the two. Their only previous Australian Open meeting was back in 2012 when Djokovic beat Nadal in the final over five sets. This final is a quote of 2/1 odds with leading bookmakers to go the distance and play out to five sets. I hope we see that kind of epic encounter. The last three wins than Nadal has taken over Djokovic have all been on clay, and because of that the Spaniard is the 11/10 underdog in this one. Despite that, he has looked imperious and ruthless throughout this campaign.
They were both up against surprise semifinalists in their respective matches. First of all, we saw Nadal absolutely crush Stefanos Tsitsipas, the player who had already caused shockwaves at the tournament in knocking out the reigning champion Roger Federer. Nadal handled him with ease, dropping only six games in the match. It means that the Spaniard has not dropped a set throughout his entire Australian open 2019 campaign.
Djokovic has dropped two sets on his way to the final, one each in the third and fourth rounds. But each time that he did he responded by producing levels of tennis that just shut the door in the face of his opponents. Djokovic completed a very quick win over Frenchman Lucas Pouille in his semi final match, dropping just eight points on his serve throughout the match and only conceding four games in a straight sets victory. Djokovic starts as a 10/13 odds favourite to win the match on Sunday with leading bookmakers.
Chelsea v Sheffield Wednesday
FA Cup – 6.00 pm
BBC
Chelsea beat Tottenham on Thursday night. That put the Blues through to a Wembley Final where they will be meeting Manchester City in the EFL Cup Final. With that date booked, the Blues will be trying to get themselves another Wembley trip in the FA Cup final. Chelsea are the strong favourites to win this fourth round FA Cup tie on home soil against Championship opposition. That may be a fair assumption with the Blues having only lost two home games this season across all competitions.
Sheffield Wednesday are down in the bottom half of the Championship table, and they may not be relishing this trip to Stamford Bridge. The Owls have failed to win any of their last eight games there. This will be a big 11/1 odds upset if the Owls were to take the victory in this one. They have lost five of their last nine away games, winning just two in that sequence. Wednesday’s defence has also been put through the wringer this season. However, Wednesday have scored in all but one of their last six away games. Regardless of the final score, the leading bookmakers have Chelsea at 10/11 odds to win the game to nil.
Crystal Palace v Spurs
FA Cup – 4.00 pm
BT Sport
This will be a really interesting London Derby in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Crystal Palace have had their concerns about relegation this season in the Premier League, as their home form has certainly not been the greatest. But the thing about Palace, who are the 13/8 odds underdogs for this game, is that on their day they are capable of competing with the best. They proved that with their big victory at Manchester City in the league last month and in posing leaders Liverpool huge problems recently.
Tottenham also had an extra shift with a Thursday night fixture, losing 2-1 at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea in the EFL cup semi-final. The injury list is growing for Tottenham and they are stretched a bit thin at the moment. So this FA Cup may not even be a huge priority for them right now. Spurs have won each of their last three visits to Selhurst Park by a 1-0 scoreline. They are the favourites to pull off the victory in this clash but the leading bookmakers have not put them odds-on, instead Spurs are at 8/5 to claim the away and win. Can they do it without Kane and Co?
Toulouse v Grenoble
Pro 14 Rugby – 11.30 pm
Sky Sports
Let me take a look over at the French top 14 rugby action for Sunday to round off the best bets of the day preview. Second-placed Toulouse will be looking for more important points. At the same time they will be trying to exploit the opportunity to put some heavy scoring on the board. They welcome Grenoble who are third from bottom in the division. Despite their lowly position in the table Grenoble actually produced a great performance at home when they hosted Toulouse back in September, picking up a bonus point in a 20-23 defeat.
It could get a lot tougher for them of course away from home against such a strong side. Toulouse have the top spot in their sights and will want to keep up the pressure on league leaders Clermont. Grenoble have only scored 18 tries in comparison to the 46 that Toulouse have recorded this season in the division. The leading bookmakers have a quote of 4/5 on Toulouse overcoming a -14 handicap, because of their far superior scoring power. But will Grenoble be able to get under their skin once again and push them close?
