Cheltenham Gold Cup
Horse Racing – 3.30 pm
ITV
This is the big race of the Cheltenham Festival 2019 and arguably it’s the most prestigious Chase of all. The Cheltenham Gold Cup sees last year’s winner Native River trying to defend his crown. He stormed the field twelve months ago not having had any kind of form behind him in his build up. So it was a bit of a bolt from the blue. This season seems to have gone the same way for him. Will he pull off another stunning run at Prestbury Park as 9/2 second favourite with top bookmakers?
This year’s renewal looks highly competitive with exciting 7-year-old Presenting Percy taking over at the head of the market. He is the 4/1 favourite with the leading bookmakers for the 2019 Cheltenham Gold Cup. This is a horse which has just gotten better and better and has produced some stunning results. He is looking for his third straight Cheltenham Festival win after taking the Pertemps and the RSA Chase in the last couple of years. Any punter that nails the winner of the Gold Cup always takes big bragging rights about their best bet of the day.
The leading English challenger is Clan Des Obeaux who took a double-figure win at the King George over Thistlecrack in December. That raised his stock and he continued that brilliant jumping form with a run at Ascot as part of his Gold Cup preps. He looks in tremendous shape to throw down a challenge. Last year’s runner up Might Bite has drifted to 14/1 odds after some poor form this season, but on his day could easily be a threat. The improving Kemboy could be the one to throw a curveball by challenging for a place finish.
Doncaster v Barnsley
League One – 7.45 pm
Sky Sports
In League One, the top five look pretty locked down for the season in terms of at least getting a playoff spot. That final playoff spot is still wide open though. Heading into the weekend it is Doncaster who are occupying the place but only by a point over their nearest challengers Peterborough. So there’s little margin for error for them at this point. Donny will be looking to snap a five-match winless streak of form in the league (D3 L2). While they have won only two of their last ten league games, they have tremendous home form.
Doncaster are unbeaten in nine at home, winning two of their last three at the Keepmoat. Rovers have won three of their last four at home against Barnsley (D1) too, but they won’t get an easy game here. Barnsley are sat in second place in the division. The Tykes are unbeaten in seventeen league games, and in each of their last seven on the road. It’s been highly impressive stuff from them and they are 29/20 favourites with leading bookies to win on Friday. Three points would see them move to within two points of leaders Luton.
Katie Taylor v Rose Volante
Boxing – 11.00 pm
Sky Sports
It is a big weekend for Irish fighter Kate Taylor in this St Patrick’s Day week. Taylor is going for a huge world title unification clash against Brazil’s Rose Volante. Taylor is looking to add the WBO crown that Volante holds, to the WBA and IBF belts that she already has. This is getting the top billing that the fight deserves and Taylor is 4/11 odds-on with leading bookmakers to get a decision win in the fight.
Taylor was supreme in her last fight, taking out Eva Wahlstrom in New York back at the end of last year. That leaves the Bray boxer with a W12 L0 career record, having landed five knockouts in that stretch. Volante is obviously going to be no pushover here though. In her last fight she decked Yolis Marrugo Franco in the third round of their dual back in October. That’s a perfect W14 L0 pro record from the Brazilian who has to defy 14/1 underdog odds on the night.
Moenchengladbach v Freiburg
Bundesliga – 7.30 pm
BT Sport
The German top flight delivers some action on Friday night with Borussia Monchengladbach playing host to Freiburg. Monchengladbach start the weekend in fourth place in the table and will jump above RB Leipzig into third with a point from this game. Last weekend they took a good way win at Schalke, snapping a run of just one point from four games that they were on. Still, they have lost their last three on home soil in the top flight. Can they turn that around?
They are the 7/11 odds on favourites with leading bookies for this match-up as they face up to a Freiburg side who are down in the bottom half of the table. However, Freiburg have been rallying a little bit lately with only the one loss in their last six. But it is their away form which creates the doubt on them, having won just twice on the road all season. They have no success in their last four away games. They have however scored at least two goals in five of their last seven played. Will, that edge them towards points on Friday night?
