Bolton v Newcastle – Demba Ba Anytime Goalscorer @ 13/10

Demba Ba has scored 13 Premier League goals this season and is fast developing into a top striker.

He has been instrumental to Newcastle’s fast start of the season and despite their recent slum in form, he remains his side’s biggest threat. During the week, he scored two goals in their 3-2 defeat to West Brom.

Ba looks set to continue his goalscoring form when he faces a Bolton side that has conceded 39 goals in 17 games so far.

Gary Cahill’s expected departure to Chelsea will mean the Trotters will struggle even further to keep Ba scoreless over 90 minutes.

At 13/10, Ba represents a great bet to score anytime in Monday’s encounter.

Category: Soccer

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This weekend banker technically doesn’t fall on either Saturday or Sunday but we are so confident of it winning we are going to go with it anyway.

Kansas City Chiefs @ New England Patriots – New England (-14.5) 10/11

The handicap in this might look a little big but don’t let that put you off – the Patriots are going to hammer the Chiefs.

There were questions raised over the Patriots after their defeat to the Giants two weeks ago but they came roaring back last Sunday night with a big 39-16 win over their division rivals the New York Jets.
Tom Brady and the offense looked great once again and there seems to be no stopping tight-end Rob Gronkowski who is a night mare for teams to defend against. He plays like a wide receiver and has become Brady’s favourite target on the field. He has over 100-yards and three touchdowns in his last two games alone.

The New England offence is ranked number one in the league in the passing game and they should be able to torch a Chiefs defence which has given up 20 or more points in eight of their nine games this season. Matt Moore and the Miami Dolphins posted 31 points against them two weeks ago so Brady and the Patriots should have no trouble winning very comfortably.

New England (-14.5) 10/11

Category: NFL

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After our Weekend Banker won last weekend, we’re sticking to Premier League Sunday action once again.

Wolves v Wigan: Wolves @ Evens

Two teams who have been in poor form this season meet on Sunday when Wigan travel to Wolves. Wigan have lost their last seven Premier League matches and Wolves are without a league win in over two months.

Both teams are set to miss key men for this encounter which is likely to influence the outcome. Mick McCarthy’s side have been finding it tough to score this season and will have to do without Steven Fletcher so he will look to deploy Jamie O’Hara behind Kevin Doyle. O’Hara has found the net in two of Wolves last three games so he can get on the scoresheet again.

Wigan will be missing captain Gary Caldwell who serves a one-match ban for collecting five bookings this season and his absence is a big concern for the visitors on Sunday.

Wolves at home will be tough to beat and Wigan are likely to struggle again without their captain.

Selection: Wolves to beat Wigan @ Evens

Category: Soccer

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Tottenham v QPR, Sunday 4pm

QPR will be on a high after their 1-0 win over Chelsea last Sunday but they should be brought back to reality when they visit Tottenham this weekend. The fact of that game is that Chelsea had to play that game for 50 minutes with only nine men and QPR yet again lacked any significant cutting edge.

Harry Redknapp’s side has been in fine form lately and will be determined to make a return to Champions League football next season. New arrival Emmanuel Adebayor has settled into the side well and Redknapp finally has a striker who can convert the numerous chances created by his attacking midfielders like van der Vaart, Modric and Bale.

Fulham took QPR apart earlier this month with a 6-0 demolition, their only win of the season so far. Tottenham are 4/11 in the match odds betting on Sunday but take them to win in the handicap market where they are giving a one goal start to QPR.

Selection: Tottenham – 1 @ Evens, bet365

Category: Soccer

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Two mouth watering Rugby World Cup semi-finals take place over the weekend with hosts New Zealand set to progress to the final in a tough battle with rivals Australia.

New Zealand v Australia:

Before the competition started, many expected that these two teams would be meeting in the final as the world’s best two teams.

New Zealand have cruised through the tournament but have picked up injuries to key players whilst Australia suffered a shock defeat to Ireland in the pool stages before narrowly beating South Africa in a tough quarter-final.

The loss of Dan Carter and Mils Muliana are big obstacles for the All Blacks to overcome and they have also lost Carter’s replacement Colin Slade to injury. However the reason the All Blacks have been the best team in the world is not just about their starting XV. They have class throughout the squad and have quality replacements ready to step up.

Even if they did beat them last time out in the Tri-Nations, Australia have only beaten New Zealand twice in their last 13 encounters.

On Sunday, the All Blacks will feel immense pressure in front of a fanatical home support but expect the loss of Carter to make them even more resilient and out-battle Australia to secure a place in the final.

Weekend Banker: New Zealand to beat Australia by 1-12 points @ 7/4 (bet365)

Category: Rugby

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With the Euro 2012 qualifier with Andorra finishing late on Friday night, there are going to be a lot of bleary eyed Irish sports fans getting up after just a few hours’ sleep for the Rugby World Cup quarter-final on Saturday morning. Let’s hope we will be celebrating two victories long into Saturday night and hopefully we can land our Weekend Banker.

Ireland v Wales: Ireland to beat Wales by 1-12 points @ 6/4

After our woeful preparation for the World Cup by losing our four warm-up matches, not many predicted we would be in this position a month later in New Zealand.

A tame effort by Ireland against USA in their opening game had a lot expecting a similar outcome as to the last tournament in France in 2007, but a brilliant performance against Australia has really turned everything around. In a heroic display, Ireland came out 15-6 winners after an epic battle and set themselves on course to top the group and a date with a Northern Hemisphere side in the quarters.

That side turned out to be Wales and they will be quietly confident that they can upset the Irish on Saturday and make it to the semi-finals. They haven’t been bad themselves so far and were defeated by South Africa by just one point in their opening pool game.

Wales won the last Six Nations encounter between the sides 19-13 at the Millennium Stadium, but Ireland have had the upper-hand over this team in recent years and have won three out of the five last meetings.

Considering form also, Ireland have already put in two terrific performances by beating the Aussies and routing the Italians, while Wales didn’t have a similar test in their pool.

It should a close contest but this Irish team have proved time and time again what an outstanding bunch of players they are and they will get the win.

Category: Rugby

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Sunderland v West Brom: Sunderland @ 5/4

Both teams have had average starts to their campaigns but the Black Cats should make home advantage count when they welcome West Brom to the Stadium of Light on Saturday. Steve Bruce’s side have had mixed results so far this season with their latest result a 2-1 loss to new boys Norwich. That came after a 4-0 home win against Stoke where the side looked to be set to enjoy a run of decent results. New signings Brown, O’Shea, Larsson and Bendtner will be keen to get their second home win of the season in front of their fans.

Opponents West Brom have also struggled to find consistency after impressive performance in their opening two games of the season against Man United and Chelsea. They have struggled to find the net in recent weeks and were largely outplayed in their last game against West Brom.

Sunderland’s new signings are still getting to know each other and are capable of beating most teams in the league. They will bounce back from their loss to Norwich with a win on Saturday.

Tip: Back Sunderland to beat West Brom, 5/4

Category: Soccer

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After such a bruising test against Australia last week, this Irish side will be delighted to have an easy run out against Russia on Sunday morning.

Coach Declan Kidney has rung the changes for his team’s third Pool C encounter and Ireland will secure a comfortable victory, but it won’t be by an enormous margin.

The last time Ireland played Russia in the World Cup was in 2003 when they beat them 35-3.

The Weekend Banker – Ireland v Russia: Russia (+45) at 10/11

Category: Rugby

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All Ireland Finals are big occasions for amateur players and experience counts for a lot – teams who have played and won finals over teams who have yet to appear in one is a huge factor.

This is very much the case on Sunday when Dublin face Kerry in the All-Ireland Football Final at Croke Park. This Dublin team has yet to experience playing in an All-Ireland Final whilst the majority of the Kerry side have played in and won All-Ireland finals.

Players like Colm Cooper, Tom O’Sullivan, Marc & Tomas Ó Sé, Kieran Donaghy and Paul Galvin have all won multiple All-Ireland titles. No current Dublin player has made it to a final and the occasion is sure to affect some players.

Cooper, who will be playing in his eighth final, looked to be back to his best form in their semi-final win over Mayo and will be the main attacking threat to Dublin. Bernard Brogan will carry much of Dublin’s hopes but he needs a good supply line and is likely to be marked tightly by the Kerry full back line.

This game will all come down to experience and Kerry have the clear edge over the Dubs on that front. The bookmakers make Kerry the 1 point favourites on the handicap which is a cracking bet. We think the bookies are giving Dublin too much credit and under-estimating their lack of experience.

Kerry could well blow Dublin away in the second half and win by five or more points. We’re going to take an alternative handicap with Paddy Power and back Kerry to prevail by three points.

The Weekend Banker – Dublin v Kerry: Kerry -2 @ 11/8

* Paddy Power (prices subject to change) – €10 will return €23.75

Category: GAA

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