Leicester v Exeter
Premiership Rugby – 4.30 pm
BT Sport
Exeter head into action this weekend sitting top of the Premiership table by nine points over Saracens. It is the response to their setback suffered against Gloucester in round 13 of action that has really been the telling factor in the title race. Since that loss they have powered their way to a four-match winning streak in the league.
Exeter are going up against the second-worst defence in the Premiership on the weekend. So even though they are away from home, the Chiefs are strong favourites to the point where leading bookmakers have a -6 handicap on them at 10/11 odds. Considering that they have won three of their last four away games in all competitions, they are shaping up well. Leicester have only won one of their last eight games, so have to defy some big odds in this one. The positive is that that one win did crop up on home soil, a recent league win over Wasps.
Manchester City v Brighton
FA Cup Semi Final – 5.30 pm
BBC One
The Citizens will be looking to make it to their second Wembley Cup final for the season. Back at the end of February, they beat Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out to claim the EFL Cup title. Given their dominance in the English game, they are, with little surprise, the 1/7 odds on favourites with leading bookmakers to win this semi-final clash against Brighton. They are even odds-on at 4/7 to win to nil.
City beat Brighton 2-0 in the Premier League at the Etihad earlier this season and are on a three-match winning streak against them. So far the Citizens have scored 19 goals in their four FA Cup games this term. Brighton have battled and scrapped their way to the semi-finals. Along the way they landed an extra time win out at Championship side West Brom and a penalty shootout success over Millwall in the last round. They have bent, but they haven’t broken. Can they defy massive 16/1 odds to reach the FA Cup final?
Grand National 2019
Horse Racing
ITV
Once again forty runners will be out trying to conquer the biggest test of endurance that there is the world of horse racing. We can’t have a best bets of the day preview for Saturday without dipping our toes into the Grand National. Is this the greatest National Hunt race there is? Maybe not from a betting perspective in trying to crack the code of such a big field. It is the most highly unpredictable race that there is out there.
This is a challenge over four-miles which will test the runners beyond their limits around the Aintree track in having to get over 30 fences. Last year it was Tiger Roll who won a thrilling climax by a head over Pleasant Company. It is the Gordon Elliott trained Tiger Roll who is the favourite for this year’s renewal. There are indications that he could end up being the shortest-priced ever favourite in a Grand National race.
With top bookmakers getting an early price of 7/2 on him, it’s the kind of price in an unpredictable race though that may detract punters, despite his clear credentials. Last year’s runner up Pleasant Company is a 20/1 shot to gone one step better. There are good challengers in the mix like Rathvinden who impressed with massive stamina in a win at Fairyhouse in the Bobbyjo Chase recently.
Vintage Cloud and Lake View Land both had good runs in the Ultima Chase at the Cheltenham Festival 2019 which could leave them in good stead for the National. There is Anibale Fly who was fourth in last year’s National and who dug out a big effort in the Cheltenham Gold Cup with a second place finish. Scottish National winner Joe Farrell has shown his credentials as well. With the big prices, there are some wonderful each way options to approach the Grand National 2019 with.
Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund
Bundesliga – 5.30 pm
BT Sport
Here it is then, the big showdown at the top of the Bundesliga. Could this define where the title is heading? Dortmund hold a two point advantage over Bayern heading into this one. So a win would give them a huge leg-up in the title race. They have won their last three games in a row after a sticky patch of form. They have only managed to take the one win in their last four league away games though (D2 L1). When they hosted Bayern earlier this season, Dortmund posted a 3-2 home success over them. They are 17/4 with leading bookmakers to double up with another victory.
This is Bayern’s shot then at taking over at the top. They have been in cracking form with six wins in their last seven league outings (D1). They are on fire in front of goal too. Bayern have scored 18 goals in their last four league games alone. At the Allianz Arena, they are on a seven-match league winning streak where they have averaged 2.7 goals per game. Bayern landed a 6-0 win over Dortmund last season in this corresponding fixture. Can they dig out a huge three points for themselves? Bayern go as 8/15 favourites with top bookmakers.
Juventus v Milan
Serie A – 3.00 pm
Premier Sports
There are some huge games from continental Europe on the weekend, including this one. Juventus are still storming away to the league title once again in Italy. They are 18 points clear at the top with eight games to go, which is just ridiculous. They are 25 points clear of third-placed Milan who they host in Turin on Saturday. If Juve win this and Napoli fail to win on the weekend, that would leave Juventus needing just one more point to clinch the league title.
Juve are 3/4 to win on the weekend and improve their already tremendous W13 D2 L0 home record this season in the top flight. They have conceded just 9 goals in their fifteen home games, averaging over two per game themselves. Milan are striving for a top-four finish, but they have just fallen out of form with one point from their last three games played. With just a W5 D6 L3 record behind them this season away from home and having lost big away games against the other top-three sides, leading bookies have put 9/2 odds on them to stun their hosts.
