Dundee v Inverness
Scottish League Cup – 3.00 pm
BT Sports
There is going to be a great climax in Group D of the Sottish League Cup on Sunday. Inverness are top of the group, but only by a goal difference of one over Dundee. So there is everything to play for and not even a draw will settle this in 90 minutes. That’s because in the group stage of the League Cup if there is a draw, both sides get a point. But a penalty shoot-out immediately follows and the winner of that gets a bonus point.
That adds a lot more drama to this. Dundee have the advantage of playing at home for this action. Only the top side automatically qualify for the second round. So the second-placed team will have to try and rely on getting through as one of the best runners up. The Dee are even money favourites on home soil with leading bookmakers for this one. But on paper, it looks as if it is going to be tight. Dundee are W1 D2 L1 in their last four home games against Caley.
Inverness then can’t just turn up at Den Park and play out for a draw as they could lose the top spot in a penalty shootout. That’s the fascinating component of this. They have scored seven goals in the group compared to the three that Dundee have managed. But they are facing an opponent who haven’t conceded in any of their matches, whereas Inverness have shipped three goals. It’s just an even balance wherever you look. Inverness are 11/5 to pick up the win in 90 minutes.
German Grand Prix
F1
Sky Sports
It looks as if the German Grand Prix is going to be quite competitive. It was the Ferraris of Charles LeClerc and Sebastian Vettel who were the quickest in Friday’s practice. That was just the fillip that the team needed after struggling so much to keep up with the Mercedes team this season. Will this be the big breakthrough for LeClerc in getting his maiden F1 win? He has knocked on the door often enough this season. LeClerc is 6/1 odds with top bookmakers to get the win and despite some quick stuff on Friday, teammate Vettel is at 13/2.
Leading the way for the German Grand Prix is Lewis Hamilton. He has won all but three of the ten races this season. He also has good form at the German Grand Prix. Hamilton is a four-time winner of the race and three of those four have been at Hockenheim. That’s the venue for this year’s edition. So the form books read well for him in this one and if he crosses the line first on Sunday it will be the third German Grand Prix success in a row for him. Hamilton is 4/5 odds-on favourite, enough to take on as one of the best bets of the day?
Lewis Hamilton is going in hot after a record sixth win at the British Grand Prix too. Will Red Bull’s Max Verstappen have a shot at the win in this one? The drives that both Max Verstappen and Charles LeClerc have put in, have probably been a big highlight of the season. They have between them, produced some stunning form. Considering that Verstappen is a slightly shorter price than that former German Grand Prix winner Sebastian Vettel says a lot. Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas is the second favourite.
The Ashes 2nd T20
Cricket – 1.30 pm
Sky Sports
It has been a terrible Ashes series for England on home soil. The Women’s Ashes is a multi-format contest with three ODI matches, one Test match and three T20 games. Different points are awarded for wins in each of the different formats. England were left chasing a massive deficit right out of the gate as they lost all three of the One Day Internationals. The first was by 2 wickets, the second by 4 and then they were just blown away by a 194 run defeat in the third and final fixture.
So that was a 6-0 point lead for the Tourists. England needed to win the one Test match. But Australia were just too good with the bat, superstar Elyse Perry knocking off 116. England did dig in there though with Australia not bothering to set England a target for the second innings and the match was drawn. Australia were well in control at 8-2 in the points. That was enough to ensure they retained the Ashes because it left England needing to win all three T20 matches to just tie the series.
As Australia are Ashes holders, a draw retained the title with games to spare. But the tourists continued their hot form with a thumping win in the first T20 match. Meg Lanning set a new record of 133 in a Women’s T20 match from just 63 balls. In total the Australians posted 226, their highest ever total in such a fixture. England only managed 133/9 in response. So now it’s on to the second of three T20 matches and Australia are 10/11 with top bookies to keep their winning streak going.
Arsenal v Lyon
Friendly – 3.15 pm
Premier Sports
Arsenal will be fairly pleased with their efforts from the International Champions Cup tournament. They opened there with a 2-1 win over Bayern Munich before a young side posted a 3-0 win over Fiorentina. The friendly competition gave boss Unai Emery the chance to have a good look at his squad options. In their final game, they played out a 2-2 draw with Real Madrid, having held a 2-0 lead within the first half an hour. Arsenal lost the deciding penalty shoot-out in the fixture.
But still, that was another good workout for the Gunners. They move their pre-season action forward with a game against French side Lyon on Sunday. The leading bookmakers have Arsenal at 8/13 to get the victory in the Emirates Cup. The Emirates Cup is an annual pre-season mini-tournament hosted by Arsenal and it is so small that this is the only game in it. Anyway, Arsenal will probably at least send out a fairly strong starting eleven.
Last season Lyon finished third in the French top flight and reached the semi-finals in the Coupe de France. So it was another decent domestic season from them and they reached the round of sixteen in the Champions League. They have a new manager in place, which is the former Barcelona player Sylninho in what is his first managerial position. It’s always hard to judge pre-season friendly action, but Lyon have this summer, lost 1-2 against Swiss side Sevette and 3-4 against Genoa in friendlies. The big bookmakers are expecting goals in this with over 2.5 goals at 1/2 odds-on.
