Soccer – Premier League – Arsenal vs Manchester United
There’s only one place to start for this weekend’s Big Betting Events and it’s at the Emirates for a cracking top flight clash between two European hopefuls.
There are a number of angles which make this game a very intriguing propsect indeed. First of all, just a point separates the pair at the top of the Premier League with the Gunners trailing their opponents by the narrowest of margins. They’ve both won 59% of their matches this season, and Unai Emery’s side will be hoping to leap above the Red Devils with three points in this highly watchable clash.
Secondly, both sides are playing in Europe in midweek with United faced with the daunting prospect of turning around a two goal deficit at the Park Des Princes, whilst the Gunners are also in France to face Petr Cech’s former employers, Rennes.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men have 24 hours extra rest ahead of this clash. Will that swing it in their favour?
The Norwegian has been exceptional since taking over, and his side picked up another three points last weekend when beating Southampton 3-2 at Old Trafford. He’s won ten of twelve Premier League games in charge, and the club are unbeaten since December 16th. It’s a tremendous record which has helped them ease back into the European spots and become genuine contenders for the top four.
They’ve been far more advanturous and entertaining under his tutelage, scoring three goals in three of their last four games and this match does have the propensity to be highly entertaining. There have been 17 goals in the last five meetings and viewers will be hoping for more of the same here.
The bookies have Arsenal as clear favourites for this game, but the Red Devils have won their last two visits to this ground, and Ole’s men are playing with real purpose at the moment. It could be closer than the pre-match odds suggest.
I can’t wait to sit down and watch this heavyweight clash and which side can take a step closer to European football next season.
UK viewers can enjoy this game on Sky Sports this weekend. It is one of three Premier League games taking place on Sunday afternoon.
Soccer – League One – Wycombe vs Sunderland
You may be wondering why I’ve dipped down to League One for the second of my Big Betting Events this weekend. Well, I’ve been following the fortunes of Sunderland after watching the recent Netflix documentary and I’ve been charting their progress throughout the campaign.
The Black Cats are still in contention for automatic promotion, although with Luton looking unstoppable, there is realistically just a single place to play for. Jack Ross’ side may have to settle for a play-off place, and they will be keen to avoid dropping any more points in this fixture.
Sunderland were on a five-match winning run when they came up against Gareth Ainsworth’s unfashionable side back on November 17th, and were unable to break the Chairboys down. The Wearsiders looked destined for a defeat before a late equaliser spared their blushes. It was the archetypal coupon-buster, and I had many friends cursing the words “Sunderland” and “Wycombe” for the remainder of the weekend.
Wycombe haven’t changed their style or approach and they will be suitably competitive once more. Sunderland must find a way of breaking them down, as well as nulifying the potential threat of Adebayo Akinfenwa.
Sunderland have won three games in a row, and they sit just two points behind second place Barnsley. They desperately need to take all three points from this potentially trappy match.
Wycombe have lost four in a row coming into this game, but shouldn’t be written off. Last time, they were on such a poor run of form, they bounced back with a 3-2 victory over play-off chasing Doncaster Rovers, despite being 2-0 down with 15 minutes left on the clock.
It’s difficult to write off Wycombe, and that’s why this is such an intiguing clash.
EFL Fans can check out the highlights of this game on Quest TV’s Saturday night highlights show at 9pm.
Boxing – Welterweight Title – Shawn Porter vs Yordenis Ugas
Carson’s Dignity Health Sports Park plays host to some Saturday night Boxing action with Shawn Porter taking on Yordenis Ugas in California this weekend and it’s the third of my Big Betting Events.
Shawn Porter was responsible for one of my favourite bouts of 2018 when he captured the vacant WBC title by unanimous decision and I can’t wait to see him back in the ring this weekend.
He is 29-2-1 and has 17 KOs to his name and he is understandably an odds-on favourite to defeat his opponent this weekend. It feels like Porter has been around for decades as he’s quickly become a household name in the sport, but it was as recently as 2014 that he held the previous welterweight title.
Porter suggested that his opponent has quite a similar profile to himself and the pair have admitted that there is plenty of mutual respect for one another. However, that will go out of the window on Saturday night.
Ugas is beginning to make a name for himself and he can put himself firmly in the spotlight by overthrowing the favourite in this bout. He believes that this will allow him to further enhance his career and give him the platform to explore future opportunities.
A change of trainer and backroom staff has helped give him more focus and his determination to succeed is admirable, but this will be his toughest task yet.
Porter’s title reign ended at this venue, and his backers will be hoping that it doesn’t evoke bad memories of that sole-destroying defeat, which ended an eight-month tenure.
I love a Saturday night/Sunday morning bout, and I can’t wait to see Shawn Porter back in action in California. He is expected to beat the Cuban, but it won’t be straightforward and could potentially go all the way.
Shawn Porter vs Yordenis Ugas can be enjoyed on DAZN. Their coverage will take viewers through the entire card.
Soccer – Ligue 1 – St.Etienne vs Lille
I’m heading to France for the last of my Big Betting Events for this weekend as two European hopefuls go head-to-head in the South of France.
I’ve been really impressed with Lille this season. After a topsy-turvy 2017-18 campaign which included various management changes, I’ve come to admire their consistency this time around. They are unbeaten in 2019, and although they sometimes struggle to break down fellow well-organised outfits, they are always worth a look in the betting markets.
PSG are the only side to have better form on the road this season, and the Parisians are one of just four sides to beat them on their travels so far. The goals of Nicolas Pepe have played a huge part in their success this season, and he’s heading towards 20 for the campaign.
St.Etienne have been predictably solid this campaign, and they’re always difficult to beat on their own patch. However, they’ve suffered recent defeats to PSG and arch-rivals Lyon in recent months, and were dumped out of the cup at the hands of Dijon. They have netted just four goals in six games (home and away) and don’t look at their imperious best at the moment. This could be a good time to play them.
This fixture tends to favour the home side, and Lille will be keen to banish memories of their 5-0 defeat here last season. They had lost 3-1 on their previous visit to this ground, although they’ve managed to gain partial revenge with successive 3-1 wins in front of their own fans.
This is one of the longest trips in Ligue 1, and many will be expecting the home dominance to continue here. However, it won’t be quite so easy for ASSE this time around.
UK viewers can enjoy this game live on BT Sport 3 on Sunday afternoon.
