Soccer – Russian Premier League – Spartak Moscow  vs FC Sochi

History will be made this weekend as FC Sochi play their first game in the Russian top flight. The club are barely 12 months old, but they’ve managed to work their way into the Premier League, and they will kick off their campaign against Spartak Moscow. It is the first of our big betting events for this weekend.

Their story is not without controversy. They are essentially the ‘MK Dons of Russian football’ as they were formed following the relocation of Dinamo St.Petersburg, and this hasn’t sat well with the football purists. However, despite their lack of popularity in some areas, they thoroughly deserve their chance to shine in the top flight. They were promoted without kicking a ball, and the celebrations continued throughout the week.

The side, who will play their games at the Fisht Stadium, will begin their campaign with a tough game against Spartak Moscow, and they will be heavy outsiders to pick up the points. However, there is often a momentum that comes with newly-promoted sides, and the hosts cannot afford to take them lightly.

Spartak were a little disappointing last season, finishing fifth, and although they ended the campaign with three wins in four games, their lack of consistency proved to be an issue. They couldn’t keep pace with Zenit, Lokomotiv and Krasnodar, and they’ll be desperate to get off to a speedy start.

Ezequiel Ponce is the only new signing over the course of the summer, although a number of players have returned from loan spells elsewhere, and will be keen to impress.

There are several new faces in the FC Sochi side, many of whom will be looking to impress on debut. Pavel Shakuro, Ibraghim Tsallagov, Dmitri Poloz and Vladimir Obhukov have all joined, and they will help bulk out the squad ahead of a tough-looking campaign.

Naturally, there is no previous head-to-head record for these two sides, and we don’t know what to expect from this game. With Spartak odds-on for the victory, it is expected to be an easy ride for the hosts, but the visitors should give them plenty of think about.

I’ll be following the progress of FC Sochi carefully this season, they face Krasnodar and Zenit in the first three weeks, and they couldn’t have asked for a tougher start to life in the RPL. However, they come with a huge amount of momentum, and shouldn’t be underestimated.

Several online bookmakers will be streaming all of the Russian Premier League games live throughout the season. 

Boxing – Heavyweight Division – Daniel Dubois vs Nathan Gorman

Fans of British boxing will be watching this bout with a keen eye on the future. Both of these two fighters are being touted as the future of the sport, and this could be a fascinating insight into the contrasting styles of the pair. It is the second of our big betting events this weekend, and it should be a cracker!

Both fighters have flawless records so far, and look extremely progressive, but one of those records look set to be ended in the capital this weekend.

We last saw Dubois in April, stopping Richard Lartey in the fourth round, and with 10 KOs from 11 fights, he will be full of confidence coming into this bout. Gorman, who is two years his senior has taken a similar path, and he comes off the back of a unanimous decision win. Both have beaten Kevin Johnson and Razvan Cojanu in the last twelve months.

The betting makes Dubois clear favourite, but there isn’t much between them on paper, and this could go either way. Both are taking similar routes to Anthony Joshua, and although they are still some way off reaching his level, they look extremely bright prospects for the future.

They will hope for a title shot in the future, and a bout against Joe Joyce is likely going forward. Although there is plenty on the line here, I’ve got very little doubt that we’ll be hearing plenty more about these two extremely talented boxers in the future.

Dubois vs Gorman may not be a high-profile, glitzy affair, and it may not even get too much attention outside of Northern Europe, but it could tell us a lot about the future of Boxing in the UK.

I can’t wait to see these two fighters in action, and it should be a fascinating match-up, which could potentially go all the way.

BT Sport 1 will be showing this fascinating fight at the weekend for UK viewers

Aussie Rules – AFL – Hawthorn Hawks vs Fremantle Dockers

This is a fairly mid-table affair, but the fact that both teams CAN still reach the top eight means that there is plenty riding on this fixture. Time is running out, and neither of these sides can afford to slip up here. It is the third of our big betting events this weekend.

It is being billed as a potentially season-defining encounter, and the Dockers must find a way of turning around their form. Captain Nathan Fyfe has urged has side to bounce back in style after an embarrassing 91-point loss to West Coast Eagles. It was a crushing loss, and their third in a row. They’ve hit the buffers at just the wrong time, and another defeat here would all but extinguish their top eight hopes.

They also suffered a four-point defeat to Carlton just seven days earlier, and were edged out by the Demons prior to that.

The Hawks have been one of the most inconsistent sides in the division, but they did pick up a very impressive victory last weekend. Heading into this clash, held in Launceston, they will be full of confidence, and will be aiming to pour more misery on their opponents.

They beat Collingwood 67-63, and will be pleased with that result. They edged out a side in the top four, and if they can put in a similarly diligent performance here, they should have no problems getting their top eight hopes back on track. It was a thrilling match, one of the games of the season, and they mustn’t let those level drop here.

Prior to that victory, they’d lost four in a row, with defeats to the Bombers and Swans sending them spiralling down the ladder.

The Hawks have a great record in this fixture, and have won each of the last five meetings. The 112-58 victory of twelve months ago will be fresh in the minds of the Dockers players, and they must make a faster start in order to avoid a similar embarrasment.

BT Sport are showing highlights of each AFL match throughout the course of the season in the UK. 

Soccer – Norwegian Eliteserien – Rosenborg BK vs Viking

Our final big betting event comes from Norway, and this should be a cracker in Trondheim.

Rosenborg made an uncharacteristically slow start to the campaign, and there was plenty of value to be found backing against them. However, they appear to have turned it around, and their midweek victory over Ranheim typified their season. They were in-front twice, but still found a way to almost blow it!

However, they’ve now won four of the last five, and they’ll be feeling confident ahead of this clash with Viking.

Viking are just two points below RBK, but they’re not in the best of form. They have only won one of the last five, and they failed to beat Haugesund at home on Friday night. They lost heavily to Molde, and conceded four times to Bodo/Glimt, and they are suceptible at the back. Their clean sheet on Friday was a step in the right direction, but they still could be caught out by this very handy Rosenborg outfit.

They haven’t previously enjoyed their visits to this ground, losing 2-0, 4-0 and 2-0 during their last three visits, and they’ll be keen to find the back of the net on this occasion.

Alexander Soderlund’s last-minute goal put Rosenborg back on track, and they will be looking up the table going into this fixture. They will fancy their chances of collecting three points, but Viking offer a clear threat going forward, and cannot be ruled out.

Many online bookmakers in the UK will be showing the action from the Eliteserien this season. 

See the LATEST ODDS now for the above FEATURED BETS at BOBBY’S WEEKEND BETS!