BOBBY’S BEST WEEKEND BETTING EVENTS – 12TH-13TH APRIL

Soccer – Championship – Leeds vs Sheffield Wednesday

The Championship promotion race continues to intrigue and amaze us, and there’s another set of crucial fixtures taking place this weekend. The games are coming thick and fast, and these sides are fresh off the back of tough midweek outings, but this should be a fascinating tussle, and it’s the first of my big betting events for this weekend.

Leeds slipped up seven days ago when they were defeated by Birmingham, and they will be desperate to avoid another loss. This fixture is always played with a teriffic intensity, and that’s why I can’t wait to sit down and watch this game.

It’s an intriguing betting contest because Leeds look set to start at a very short price. Wednesday have been in excellent form recently, and their loss to Aston Villa-aside, Steve Bruce’s men will be hard to beat once again. Their play-off aspirations have probably fallen by the wayside, but there are Yorkshire bragging rights on offer here.

The Owls have a number of danger men, with the likes of Adam Reach, Barry Bannan and the enigma that is Fernando Forestieri all set to feature, and they will certainly give Leeds plenty of problems.

Leeds are still sweating on the fitness of Pablo Hernandez, and if he starts this game, that could change the dynamic of the tie.

The other narrative in this fixture is that a Sheffield Wednesday fixture would hand Sheffield United a significant advantage. Although Owls fans will be hoping to get three points on the board, would they really want to help send the Owls one step closer to the Premier League?

That makes this fixture a hugely enticing 90 minutes, and it should be played at a 100mph.

Wednesday won their last away trip to Elland Road, picking up a 2-1 victory here in March 2018, and they will be hoping to repeat that trick once more.

With runaway leaders facing struggling Wigan the following day, Leeds could potentially close the gap on the Canaries, but this will be far from straightforward for them.

Championship fans in the UK can enjoy watching this potentially pulsating tie on Sky Sports Main Event

Aussie Rules – AFL – Geelong Cats vs Greater Western Sydney

It’s still early days in the 2019 AFL season, but I love tuning in for my early-morning fix of Aussie Rules. Geelong are the early pacesetters, and they’ll be aiming to maintain that momentum when they take on Greater Western Sydney. It’s the second of my big betting events for this weekend.

Geelong were mightily impressive last weekend, and they look unstoppable on current form. They’re an absolute dream to watch at the moment, and Patrick Dangerfield is the man to watch. He completed 32 disposals against his former team-mates. Their 24-point victory at the Adelaide Oval kep their unbeaten streak alive, and they are the team to catch at the top of the AFL standings.

Gryan Miers was another player who impressed last week kicking three goals during their convincing victory, and he will be hoping to repeat that feat against the GWS.

This match is intriguing because Saturday’s opponents will surely provide the Cat’s stiffest test to date, and it’ll be a real test of their credentials.

Greater Western Sydney have won two of their first three AFL games, with decisive victories against the Tigers and the Bombers. They did slip against the West Coast Eagles, but they are the third highest points scorers in the division.

Last season, they lost heavily to Geelong during round seven, and were rarely competitive in that tie. Tom Hawkins and Tim Kelly ran riot during their last meeting, and the former has already put in a number of impressive performances in 2019.

GWS haven’t won any of their last four visits to face Geelong, and they are struggling for form on the road. Whilst they are able to pick up the occasional victory on their travels, they rarely fare well against contenders, and they could struggle to cope with the pace and power of the Cats.

This is a superbly exciting AFL match-up this weekend, and arguably the tie of the weekend. Many fans are waiting for Geelong to show some chinks in their armour, but they’ve looked incredibly tight so far, and this is unlikely to be a step too far for the Cats.

UK AFL fans can enjoy the highlights of all of this weekend’s games on BT Sport.

Soccer – Premier League – Southampton vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

The third of my big betting events comes from the Premier League, with Southampton hosting Wolves at St.Marys.

It’ll be interesting to see if Wolves can bounce back from their FA Cup disappointment, and Nuno must get his side focused on their quest for European football. Although they have a game in hand, Wolves are now level on points with Leicester City, and they can’t afford to lose any more ground to the resurgent Foxes.

Despite their relatively lofty position, Wolves have had a real problem against sides in the bottom half of the table, especially on the road. It’s a curious trend, and one which hasn’t been factored into the betting markets here. They have lost at Burnley and Huddersfield recently, and also slipped up against Cardiff and Brighton. The relegated Terriers have won just three times all season, with two of those victories coming against the men from Molineux – Extraordinary.

Southampton are still battling away and trying to stave off relegation, and they match the profile of the sort of side who could give Wolves problems. As the home side, they could be underestimated in this one.

Ralph Hassenhutl has done a superb job since taking over on the South Coast, and his side are likely to be up for this. They put in a superb performance against Liverpool, but began to tire in the late stages, and they’ve had two days extra rest here.

They are five points above the drop zone, and realistically should have enough to survive, but this the sort of game that they will view as extremely winnable. The fans will get behind the team, and the manner of Wolves’ defeat last weekend may help turn this tie in the Saints favour.

It’s going to be a fascinating match-up, and I can’t wait to sit down and follow all of the action from St.Marys.

Premier League supporters can tune into Match Choice on Sky Sports, and follow all of the action from this game.

Boxing – Vasyl Lomachenko vs Anthony Crolla

We head to Los Angeles for my fourth and final big betting event this weekend as Anthony Crolla looks to cause an upset against Vasyl Lomachenko.

Crolla isn’t expected to win this, but he seems confident of causing an upset. It would be one of the most unexpected results in the history of the sport, and although the odds are stacked against him, I can’t wait to see how he approaches this fight.

The Ukranian is a tour de force, and he is a consecutive Olympic Gold Medal winner. Lomachenko will be defending his WBA and WBO titles here, and he is expected to have a relatively trouble-free evening.

Crolla’s trainer Joe Gallagher has spoken of his ability to overcome adversity, and the camp seem quietly confident of a high quality performance from the Mancunian. This is one of his toughest tests yet, but he loves facing top level performers, and will relish the opportunity to take on an opponent who boasts a 12-1 record since turning professional.

Crolla will have the opportunity to get his hands on the WBA, WBO and the Ring lightweight belts, and he will surely be dreaming of a heros welcome if he can complete the unthinkable here.

Many believe he is out of his depth here, but he will compete with plenty of heart, and that could help him stretch this one out.

Realistically, a shock seems unlikely in this one, and the betting reflects that. However, there are several other markets which I will be studying closely ahead of this bout.

Sky Sports Action will be showing the full card on Saturday night from Los Angeles.