Fulham v Man City
Premier League – 12.30 pm
Sky Sports
Manchester City will step back out into action with a great incentive in front of them on Saturday lunchtime. This is the first game of the weekend in the English top flight. Therefore it means that City will go back top over Liverpool with three points earned. Liverpool face Tottenham on Sunday in a huge showdown at Anfield. So there is a big chance for City to put some pressure on their title rivals in this one. They are such overwhelming favourites for this match that they are odds on at 4/5 with leading bookmakers to win to nil.
The Citizens are on a six-match winning streak in the league at the moment. They have won all three games played away from home against sides currently in the bottom five, scoring at least three goals in each of those. After the international break, this is a great game for Manchester City to be swinging back into action with. Some much tougher tests will be coming up in April against Spurs and Man Utd, so they have to keep their eye on the ball. Will they have too much for Fulham?
The Cottagers looked doomed to the Championship and they are on a seven-match losing streak in the league. This is their fourth home game in a row against one of the Big Six. They have lost their last three against Man Utd, Chelsea and then Liverpool. To their credit, they did at least get on the scoresheet against Chelsea and Liverpool, but their defence just hasn’t shown the improvement needed to get themselves out of their hole. But if they want any hope going into this from the position of 16/1 underdogs, three of Man City’s four league defeats this season have been away from home.
Saracens v Glasgow
European Champions Cup Rugby – 3.15 pm
BT Sport
This is one to look forward to in the European Champions Cup. Saracens romped to six wins from six in the pool stage of the competition. In their pool, they were alongside the Glasgow Warriors too, so these two have already seen plenty of each other. Saracens collected a win north of the border in their first meeting, a 13-3 success . Then they cut loose a bit more back on home soil with a 38-19 victory over Glasgow.
Glasgow are up against it here and the top bookmakers have a big +15 handicap at 10/11 on them. But they are a side in form. In their Pro 14 league they have won their last five on the bounce. So they have some wind in their sails. Even though they did lose at Saracens in the group stage, they did win their other two away fixtures, picking up a bonus point in each of them as well. The Scottish outfit are big underdogs in this one. However, how close can they push Saracens on the scoreboard?
Middlesbrough v Norwich
Championship – 5.30 pm
Sky Sports
Championship action from the Riverside it is to continue our best bets of the day preview for Saturday. Middlesbrough are in some choppy waters at the moment with a three match losings streak going. They have lost their last two on home soil as well, both 2-1 reverses. So that has left their position in the top six just a little bit vulnerable. They are only in there by one point heading into the weekend. If they were to lose this, there are a bunch of teams breathing down their neck, waiting to pounce.
Norwich are singing a fine tune at the moment in contrast. They are just cruising along on a six-match winning streak in the division. They have scored at least two goals in 9 of their last 11 games played in the Championship now. They have averaged 1.9 goals per away game as well, so maybe this is a good time for them to be heading to the Riverside with Boro out of form. The leading bookies think so. They have the Canaries as 6/4 favourites for the fixture with the hosts at 9/5.
Liam Smith v Sam Eggington
Boxing – 10.00 pm
Sky Sports
There’s a good bit of boxing action coming up on Saturday night in this Liverpool bout. This is an all British scrap at the welterweight level. Usually, when fights come around it’s for big honours. This is one is simply about a bit of pride and the chance to climb back up the rankings towards title shots.
Smith is the 1/10 odds on favourite but goes into the fight on the back of a heavy loss against Mexico’s Jaime Munguia in July. That was a WBO light middleweight title fight. It was a belt that Smith had lost to Canelo Alvarez in 2016 and it had taken him that long to get another shot at it.
Eggington was beaten in his last fight as well against Hassan Mwakinyo, getting sent to the canvas as early as the second round. That left Eggington’s record at 23-5. Prior to that, he had won the vacant IBF Continental super welterweight title. There’s a lot at stake for both to recover or even save their careers. It should be a great spectacle. Top bookmakers have 1/2 odds on Smith beating Eggington by a knockout on the weekend.
