Waratahs v Hurricanes
Super Rugby – 8.45 am
Sky Sports
Action from the first weekend of the new Super Rugby season leads the best bets of the day. While it needs a bit of an early start on Saturday morning, it is likely going to be well worth it. This is a big highlight feature of the weekend with Australian side Waratahs at home in Sydney. They are playing host to New Zealand challengers the Hurricanes. For this new season, teams have been reduced down to 15 from 18 across three geographical conferences; the Australian conference, the New Zealand conference and the South African conference.
The top teams from each of the conferences, along with the five best runners-up, go through to a quarter-final knockout stage later in the season. Both the Waratahs and the Hurricanes made it through to the semifinals last season. That was the stage at which both of them fell as well. The Waratahs did top the Australian conference. The Hurricanes finished in second in the New Zealand conference.
This has the makings of being a tremendous clash. It is the New Zealanders who are the 1/3 odds-on favourites to win the duel in the match outright. The Waratahs are at 23/10 with leading bookmakers. It is just one of those great occasions where teams are coming out cold, so they have no form either way. So both will be eyeing up a positive start. While it is the visitors who are the favourites, the bookmakers have a narrow +/-7 handicap line at 10/11 odds in favour of the Hurricanes.
Brighton v Derby
FA Cup – 12.30 pm
BT Sport
Do we have a whiff of an FA Cup upset happening at the Amex Stadium? Premier League side Brighton will be looking to defend home soil in this. But with their current drop in form, they are going to face a stiff challenge against Championship side Derby. Brighton are almost at the point where they have forgotten what a winning feeling is like. The Seagulls haven’t claimed one in any of their last seven fixtures (D3 L4).
So undoubtedly there is going to be pressure on them. In the last round, they faced Championship opposition in the form of West Brom. It was substitute Glenn Murray who came to the Premier League side’s rescue with two goals in extra time of their replay. Brighton have only taken one victory in their last seven home fixtures. Worryingly for them too, the Seagulls have failed to score in three of their last four there. While Brighton are 5/6 odds favourites to win this tie at the first attempt, Derby will be rolling onto the South coast looking to defy 10/3 underdog odds on their backs.
The Rams have started come into much better form recently. They have won three of their last five fixtures (D2). They have only seen the one defeat in their last ten played and so this may end up being an evenly matched contest. The Rams have three clean sheets in four games, so it may also be a low scoring contest too. The over/under 2.5 goals market could offer punters some appeal as an alternative. Derby have already had a taste of giant-killing this season in the FA Cup. The Rams knocked out Southampton in the third round. Can they do it again?
Newport v Manchester City
FA Cup – 5.30 pm
BT Sport
This is the kind of FA Cup tie that is a bit of a double-edged sword for Newport. The League Two side have a tremendous occasion in front of them at Rodney Parade. They get to host the reigning champions of England. However, there has to be some concern within the ranks of the Welsh club having seen recently what Manchester City can do to teams. How do the Exiles approach such a fixture? Do they simply park the bus from the kick-off to try and not get beaten heavily?
Any team in the country would fear playing Manchester City at the moment, the mood that Pep Guardiola’s men are in. The Citizens have scored 12 goals in their two FA Cup games so far. They beat fellow Premier League side Burnley five-nil and then put seven unanswered goals past Championship side Rotherham. With a big 9-0 victory over Burton in the EFL cup and a 6-0 drubbing of Chelsea handed out too, the Citizens are going to be expected to be filling their boots in South Wales.
The Premier league side are a value-less 1/20 odds-on price to win the game. So it may be a perfect occasion for punters to go shopping around in the likes of the Asian handicap and winning margin markets.
