Leeds v Nottingham Forest
Championship – 12.30 pm
Sky Sports
Leeds are one of the front runners to earn promotion to the top flight from the Championship this season. They got their campaign off to a solid start last weekend with a 3-1 away win at Bristol City. The top bookmakers have Leeds as 1/2 odds-on favourites to collect a win in their first home game of the season. Given how rampant they were at Ashton Gate last weekend, they’ll be one of the best bets of the day for plenty of punters.
Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in their last three games against Leeds though (W1 D2) and have taken a point away from each to their last two visits to Elland Road. They are going as the 15/2 underdogs for the fixture, after suffering a loss in their opening game of the season last weekend. The Tricky Trees suffered a 1-2 reverse on home soil against West Brom. Will they be able to get something on the board once again against the Whites though?
Australia v New Zealand
Rugby Championship – 10.45 am
Sky Sports
This is the first of two Bledisloe Cup meetings between the two great rugby rivals. New Zealand generally romps away with the Rugby Championship title, but that hasn’t been the case this season. They had to fight off a huge challenge from Argentina in their opening match, and then they were denied a win late on by South Africa in their second game. The Boks secured a last-minute converted try to tie the game 16-16. That likely means that this year’s title is going to the Springboks and not New Zealand.
New Zealand are 10/11 odds at leading bookmakers for a -11 handicap against Australia, and the All Blacks are on a three-match winning streak over them. The Wallabies have just one win in their last eleven against the All Blacks. With such a turgid 2018, Australia are badly in need of a lift. They have actually looked much brighter in this summer’s Rugby Championship. Australia did open though with a heavy defeat against South Africa and then only closed out a six-point win over Argentina. They are on the right track but with plenty of work still to do. Neither are at their best, and the Wallabies are 15/4 underdogs.
West Ham v Manchester City
Premier league – 12.30 pm
BT Sport
It’s an action-packed Saturday with the first weekend of the new Premier League season here. Manchester City, who are the two-time reigning champions will be kicking off their campaign with a trip to London. The bookmakers are fully expecting nothing less than an away win here with the Citizens at 2/9 odds-on. Last season they did win 14 of their 19 away games (D2 L3) and they powered their way to a seven-match away winning streak at the end of the season. City conceded just 11 away goals all season.
So a tricky opener for West Ham who are 11/1 in the match outright with top bookmakers. however, they have something to build upon. They were steady under the experienced and watchful eye of Manuel Pellegrini last season. They have broken their club record to get striker Sebastian Haller and they actually look to be in decent shape. The Irons only lost one of their last nine home games last season, winning four of their last five (D1). Can they spring a surprise on the Citizens?
Tottenham v Aston Villa
Premier League – 5.30 pm
Sky Sports
It feels like a long time since we saw Aston Villa in Premier League action. It was only back in 2016 that they got relegated though. With their strong resources and a brilliant manager in Dean Smith at the helm, the Villains are back among England’s elite. The big question is, can they survive there? They have been spending a lot of money over the summer bolstering their squad. Money doesn’t always solve all the problems though.
Villa took their place back in the top flight after beating Derby in the Championship play-off final back in May. At one point near the end of the season, the Villains strung together a tremendous ten-match winning streak in the league. Will they be able to quickly adjust to life in the Premier League? Getting an away game against one of the top four sides in the country isn’t the easiest of beginnings and the Villains are 9/1 underdogs.
Spurs had another solid season under Mauricio Pochettino, but it’s been a little bit of a strange summer with the boss complaining that he doesn’t have control over transfers. Discontent? They have broken the club transfer record to get midfielder Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon. It’s that midfield area in which Spurs look so good. The Lilywhites did have a poor end to the season, winning just three of their last nine league games, their efforts in reaching the Champions League final getting in their way. They only lost on their last nine at home though and the leading bookies have them as short as 21/20 to win to nil.
