Sri Lanka v India
Cricket World Cup – 10.30 am
Sky Sports
This is the final weekend of group stage action at the World Cup but there is still the final positioning of the top two to settle. If India win this game then they will jump to the top of the pile ahead of current leaders Australia who play their final game on Sunday. India have been majestic throughout the tournament, having won six of their seven completed games. The one defeat which they suffered was against a desperate England who needed to beat them to keep their own qualification hopes alive.
But other than that, the power that Virat Kohli’s men have delivered has been joyous to watch. They are heavy odds-on favourites to win this one. That’s to the point that it’s not even worth looking at them in the outright. India will want to flex their muscles and get some pressure on Australia for top spot, as well as carrying momentum through to the knockout stages. A Century for any India player is at 23/20 odds with top bookmakers. That would make for a reasonable best bet of the day for a lot of punters, especially if the Indians bat first. Sri Lanka pulled off a big upset against England in their sixth match, but haven’t found consistency or threat otherwise at the tournament. They are 4/1 underdogs with top bookies.
Egypt v South Africa
Africa Cup of Nations 8.00 pm
Eurosport
Egypt are the hosts of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and they have so far, produced the goods for the home fans. Egypt produced three wins from three in the group stage, not conceding in any of them. Those were successes over Zimbabwe, DR Congo and Uganda. Liverpool star Mo Salah has scored one in each of their last two group stage games, as has Aston Villa’s Ahmed El Mohamady. That’s the thing about Egypt, they have plenty of quality running through their ranks. The leading bookmakers have them as clear favourites to win this game, to the point of them being at 6/5 to win to nil.
They are facing a South Africa side who aren’t in terrific form. While Egypt can boast a current five-match winning streak, South Africa haven’t won that many games in the last twelve months. They came through their group stage with a W1 L2 record. Their win was against Namibia giving them the points to qualify as one of the best third-placed teams. South Africa’s victory over Namibia was their second in the last nine games. They have scored in just one of their last four fixtures. South Africa are 6/1 underdogs to pull off what would be a huge, huge shock.
England Women v Sweden Women
Women’s World Cup – 4.00 pm
BBC
This is the game that no-one wants to play in. It is the third-place playoff at the World Cup. For the third straight major tournament running, England fell at the semi-final hurdle. They suffered a 2-1 defeat against the reigning champions the USA. It was a fantastically spirited performance by the Lionesses though. But captain Steph Houghton missed a spot kick to pull them level deep into the second half. Then who knows what would have happened? But instead, England were hit with a 2-1 defeat.
England are 4/6 favourites with top bookmakers to win this game. They have had a day’s extra rest and Sweden had to go through extra time in their semi-final. The Swedes were up against the Netherlands in their final four match. It was a long war of attrition, a really cagey affair. That was to be expected really in a game of such high importance. The Swedes had their chances, as did the Dutch, but it was the Netherlands who came through with a goal in the first half of extra time to settle the tie. Sweden are 4/1 underdogs after their exhausting effort, to win on Saturday. As a positive, Sweden have lost just one of 9 previous games against England (W4 D4).
Argentina v Chile
Copa America – 4.00 pm
Premier Sports
And so they meet again. These two have contested the previous two Copa America finals, Chile winning both on a penalty shootout. Now they come together again but in the third place play off of the 2019 edition. Argentina fell short in their semi-final tussle against host nation Brazil. It was a stuttering campaign from the Albiceleste right from the off. They lost their opening group stage game against Colombia. Something never looked quite right with them and never at any point did they get up a head of steam to suggest that they were going to win the title. So once again, Lionel Messi will go back home without an international title.
Chile could only manage a second place finish in the group stage to Uruguay. There were question marks over their ability to defend their title for a second tournament running. But then they knocked out the dangerous threat of Colombia in the quarterfinals (via a penalty shootout). Suddenly it looked as if a third straight Copa America title may be on. It wasn’t. It all fell horribly apart for them in the semifinals as they were crushed 3-0 by Peru, who had only qualified as one of the best third-placed teams. Argentina are 4/6 favourites to sign off with a win, leaving Chile as 10/3 underdogs with leading bookmakers.
