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The 94th Academy Awards will take place on 27 March.  Last year, the ceremony was held at Union Station in Los Angeles but this time round the event returns to its normal location at the Dolby Theatre and you can expect a high octane event with glamorous film stars dressed to the nines as they shimmy down the red carpet. 

There has been an active betting market for the Oscars for some time and the release of the  nominations earlier this week has stimulated further interest among punters.  The most important six categories are Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Director.   Jane Campion’s film The Power of the Dog is front runner across 12 categories including Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actor (Benedict Cumberbatch), Best Supporting Actor (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and Best Supporting Actress (Kirsten Dunst).  Dune is also a strong contender with 10 nominations.  Belfast and West Side Story have seven each.  British film fans will have plenty to cheer on the night with nominations for Sir Kenneth Branagh, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ciaran Hinds, Dame Judy Dench, Olivia Coleman and Andrew Garfield.

How To Bet On The Oscars

Everything that you need to bet on The Oscars is provided in this guide.

The first step is to create an account with one of the bookmakers listed below that take bets on the winners of each category. By doing so, you’ll also be able to claim any Free Bets and other promotions that they offer to new customers.  You may want to chose the bookie with the highest odds on a category so you maximise your payout.  Opening an account is straightforward – just visit the bookie’s site and register.

Once you have an account, simply decide what bets you’d like to place. The odds will change as the Awards Ceremony approaches so you may want to place your bets now as, if your top picks are shared by other punters, the odds will quickly shorten.

Best Oscars Betting Sites

Most of the well-known bookmakers take bets on the six main categories of the Oscars.  We list below the best bookies for you to consider. We’re showing you the bookmakers which enjoy a high reputation, offer good Sign Up Offers and promotions,  competitive odds and speedy withdrawals

Oscars Betting Sites
	Betfred	Visit
	Bet365	Visit
	Paddy Power	Visit
	Betfair	Visit
	William Hill	Visit
	Boylesports	Visit
	888Sport	Visit

Best Picture Category

Nominations: The Power of the Dog, West Side Story, Belfast, Dune, Licorice Pizza, King Richard, CODA, Don’t Look Up, Drive My Car, Nightmare Alley

Best Actor Award 

Nominations: Will Smith – King Richard, Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog, Andrew Garfield – Tick, Tick… Boom!, Denzel Washington – The Tragedy of Macbeth, Javier Bardem – Being the Ricardos

Although King Richard was not nominated for the Best Picture award, Will Smith’s portrayal of Richard Williams, father of legendary tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams, makes the American actor a shoo-in for the Best Actor category.  Will Smith is favourite to win with odds of 8/15 from Paddy Power. The Power of the Dog is the first film by legendary Director Jane Campion after a hiatus of 12 years.  The chilling story of a domineering rancher’s response to his brother bringing home a new wife and her son features Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role and it is no surprise that his compelling performance puts him in the mix for the Best Actor award, with odds of 4/1 from Bet365.  The odds for Andrew Garfield, whose portrayal of an aspiring composer in Tick, Tick…Boom! has attracted critical acclaim, have drifted in recent weeks.  Betfair offers odds of 6/1 that Garfield will win the Oscar.  Denzel Washington‘s performance in the lead role of The Tragedy of Macbeth has attracted critical acclaim and led to his 10th Oscar nomination, but the American star remains an outsider for the Oscar with odds of 33/1 from Paddy Power.   Javier Bardem is 40/1 from William Hill for his role in Being the Ricardos, but we don’t think he will mind too much – there is a lot of kudos in just being nominated and Bardem must be delighted that his wife, Penelope Cruz, is a nominee for Best Actress.  What a power couple!

Best Actress Oscar

Nominations: Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter, Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos, Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Kristen Stewart – Spencer, Penelope Cruz – Parallel Mothers

Olivia Colman has enjoyed the admiring recognition of the voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, winning the 2019 Best Actress award for her portrayal of Queen Anne in The Favourite and then winning Best Supporting Actress award last year for her role in The Father.  The British actress is now in the running for the Best Actress award for her role in The Lost Daughter, with odds of 5/1 from Coral that she will pick up a third Oscar.  She plays a professor whose unsettling past returns to the fore during her holiday in Italy. 

However, Olivia Colman faces two major film stars whose compelling performances place them above her in the betting. Nicole Kidman’s transformation into Hollywood icon, Lucille Ball, in the film Being the Ricardos will undoubtedly appeal to Academy voters and the Australian would love a further Best Actress award to join the one she won back in 2002 for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in The Hours.  Kidman is front runner to win the Oscar with odds of 11/8 from SkyBet.  Kristen Stewart has an empty shelf to fill and this year she is second favourite to take home the Best Actress statuette in February for her role as Princess Diana in Spencer with odds of 7/4 from Paddy Power.  Spencer only grossed $16 million and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards have shunned her passionate performance in their nominations but Stewart remains in strong contention.   Jessica Chastain‘s mesmerising performance in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, another biopic that underperformed at the box office, has earned her a nomination but she is considered unlikely to win.  Penelope Cruz, starring in Pedro Almodovar’s latest film Parallel Mothers (Madres Paralelas), is also an outside chance.  

Best Supporting Actor Award

Nominations: Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power of the Dog, Ciarán Hinds – Belfast, Troy Kotsur – Coda, Jesse Plemons – The Power of the Dog, JK Simmons – Being the Ricardos

Best Supporting Actor is a fiercely competitive category, crammed with outstanding veterans and newcomers alike.  Kodi Smit-McFee is not yet well-known but the 25-year old Aussie actor almost stole the show from Benedict Cumberbatch in The Power of the Dog with his mesmeric performance.  Smit-McFee, who has said he is “”deeply honoured” to be nominated, is favourite to win the Best Supporting Actor award with odds of 1/2 from SkyBet.   Troy Kotsur is the first deaf actor to be nominated for an Oscar and his ground-breaking performance in CODA – a coming-of-age film about a child of deaf adults – is thought to be strongly favoured by the Academy voters with odds of 10/3 from Betfair making him second favourite.  Ciaran Hinds, who stars in Belfast, is also a leading contender with odds of 5/1 from Paddy Power and many British fans will be hoping that he, together with Judi Dench who played Hind’s wife in the film, can deliver a perfect double on 27 March.  Jesse Plemons is considered an outside chance for his performance in The Power of the Dog.  Plemons is dating Kirsen Dunst,  who is co-starred with him in the western and who is nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category.  The fifth nominee is veteran JK Simmons, for his role in Being the Ricardos, whom the bookies consider an outside chance for the award.

Best Supporting Actress 

Nominations: Ariana DeBose – West Side Story, Kirsten Dunst – The Power of the Dog, Aunjanue Ellis – King Richard, Dame Judi Dench – Belfast, Jessie Buckley – The Lost Daughter

The Best Supporting Actress category is similarly bursting with talent and Ariana DeBose is the favourite to win with odds of 1/3 from Betfair.  The 31-year old American plays Anita in West Side Story and her incredible performance deserves the recognition of her peers at the Academy.  Kirsten Dunst, too, is a possible winner with a self-assured quiet performance as mother of Kodi Smit-McFee’s character in The Power of the Dog. Paddy Power offers odds of 5/2 that Dunst will leave the Academy Awards with a gold statuette in her hand.  Aunjanue Ellis matched Wil Smith in the high quality of her performance in King Richard but her chances of winning are thought to be pretty slim at this stage, with odds of 7/1 from Betfair.  Jessie Buckley is also an outsider for her role in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s film The Lost Daughter.  British hopes are pinned on Dame Judi Dench who tapped her Irish roots to deliver a stunning performance in Belfast.  Dame Judi has been nominated eight times and won Best Supporting Actress back in 1998 for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love.  At 87 years of age, Dame Judi is the oldest ever actress to be nominated in the category.  But the odds are against her in an extremely competitive category and she languishes at the bottom of the betting, with odds of 40/1.  

Best Director Oscar

Nominations: Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog, Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza, Steven Spielberg – West Side Story, Sir Kenneth Branagh – Belfast, Ryusuke Hamaguchi – Drive My Car

The Best Director category is dominated by veteran directors showcasing impressive new films.  Dame Jane Campion is hot favourite to win the award with The Power of the Dog with bookie Bet365 offering odds of 1/7.  The New Zealand director, producer and screenwriter won an Oscar way back in the early 1990’s for The Piano but failed to win the Best Director award at that time.  Is 2022 going to be her year?   Fans of Sir Kenneth Branagh will be delighted to see best odds of 7/1 from bookie William Hill; his new film “Belfast” is deservedly a lead contender for the Best Picture award and may be considered far more innovative than West Side Story for example.  The semi-autobiographical film is based on a young boy’s life in the tumultuous and sectarian environment of Belfast in the 1960s.  Sir Kenneth is the first person to be nominated in seven different Oscar categories during his career – director, actor, supporting actor, adapted screenplay and live action short nominations, and now best original screenplay and best picture for Belfast. He is yet to win, however.  Steven Spielberg provides fierce competition for his direction of West Side Story, and odds of 10/1, also from William Hill, place him a close third in the running.  Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza) and Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car) are outside chances at this stage.

 

 

After a grim week of further damaging revelations for Boris Johnson, including the Prime Minister’s direct confirmation that he attended a party in the gardens of 10 Downing Street during lockdown in May 2020, the clamour for his shaggy head on a plate will not be silenced.

Although the next major hurdles for the Conservatives are the May local elections, when the impact of the latest revelations of parties at Downing Street is expected to be highly damaging, some Conservative MPs are now going public to call for his resignation right now. Under party rules, a vote of no confidence takes place if 15% or more of the 360 Tory MPs make a formal written request to Sir Graham Brady, Chair of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers. So 54 disaffected MPs are needed to prompt the vote, with Johnson then needing support from at least 180 of his colleagues to stay in his job.

Of course, it is also possible that Boris Johnson may tender his resignation, perhaps disappearing to the backbenches whilst writing his memoirs. So far, there is little sign that Johnson will choose this path voluntarily. However, the influence of Sir Graham Brady and other senior Tories could push him towards resignation, as was the case with Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May.

But actually, Johnson at the moment appears to be trying to weather the storm. His partial apology in Parliament earlier this week may mollify some of his critics, and he may be hopeful (but far from certain) that the official report into government parties during lockdown – expected to be completed shortly by senior civil servant Sue Gray – will not trigger further adverse publicity or even a police investigation.

Boris Johnson is a true one-off and his mistakes and duplicity have been forgotten or forgiven by his fellow Tory MPs many times, particularly after leading his party to spectacular effect during the General Election in 2019 when the Conservatives made a net gain of 48 seats. But patience is running exceedingly thin now.

The recent sleaze debacle with Tory MP Owen Paterson, continuing concern about the slow easing of restrictions and the damaging revelations that parties were being hosted at Downing Street (including two on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral) are all conspiring to turn public opinion against the Conservatives and Tory MPs, together with their grassroots supporters, are all too aware that the next General Election is only two years away.

A YouGov poll, carried out for The Times prior to Johnson’s apology in Parliament this week, gave the Labour party a 10 point lead over the Tories, the biggest lead that Sir Keir Starmer’s party has enjoyed for almost ten years. How much of this swing in public opinion is due to Starmer’s improving performance as leader of the opposition, or to the continuing bungles of the Conservative government is not known but the poll must certainly be providing ammunition to Johnson’s detractors within the Conservative party.

That said, online bookmakers remain pretty positive about Johnson’s prospects with Sporting Index offering odds of 1/2 that Johnson will exit the top job this year. With only five Tory MPs currently publicly calling for his resignation, the public support of his Cabinet and, most importantly, no organised effort to unite disaffected MPs against him, Johnson may limp along as Prime Minister for the remainder of this year but it is increasingly difficult to see him in post leading his party into the next General Election in 2024.

Despite only being two and a half months into the new season, we’re down to the last eight in the Carabao Cup following the round of the last 16 fixtures concluding earlier this week.

Heading into this week, Manchester City were the bookies’ favourites and understandably given that the Citizens have lifted the trophy in four consecutive years. Since 2018, City have beaten the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Aston Villa and most recently, Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley to add the silverware to their cabinet and were hotly tipped to do it for the fifth year running.

However, fellow Premier League side West Ham ended City’s four-year run as Carabao Cup winners when they knocked the current champions out of the competition on penalties on Wednesday evening. The Hammers have earned their place in the last eight given that they also knocked out Manchester United in the previous round and will now go into the draw for the quarter-finals to see who they’re up against next.

Now that Manchester City have been eliminated, Chelsea have emerged as the new favourites to go all the way in the competition and lift the trophy for the first time since they beat Tottenham 2-0 back in 2015.

Chelsea as a team have been transformed since the arrival of manager Thomas Tuchel less than a year ago and not only are they favourites to win the EFL Cup, but they’re also in the running for the FA Cup, the Premier League and possibly to defend their Champions League title.

However, it hasn’t been plain sailing for the Blues in the competition as they have been held to 1-1 draws at Stamford Bridge in both of their matches to reach this stage. Aston Villa first took them all the way to penalties towards the end of September in the third round of the competition and despite Ben Chilwell missing the second of their spot-kicks, they emerged as 4-3 winners.

That narrow victory meant that they were to face Southampton, again with the home advantage, and were strong favourites to progress through to the last eight. However, despite controlling the game with over 60% possession and double the number of shots on target (14), they could only find the net once which was swiftly cancelled out by a Che Adams strike just minutes after half-time. Like Villa, Southampton saw the game to penalties but yet again it was the home side who came out on top following misses from both Will Smallbone and Theo Walcott for Southampton.

It’s important to take into account that during the early stages of the competition, sides tend to field weakend teams but as we reach the quarter-finals, we should see more of the star players featuring in the starting eleven’s which is one reason why Chelsea are currently the bookies’ favourites.

Here are the current odds prior to the draw for the semi-finals:

Team	Odds	Bookie
Chelsea	11/4
Liverpool	16/5
Arsenal	6/1
West Ham	6/1
Leicester	13/2
Tottenham	9/1
Brentford	20/1
Sunderland	80/1

Although the Carabao Cup isn’t usually the main priority for any competing side, Tuchel will want to add to the clubs’ impressive silverware since he took over which includes trophies from both the Champions League and the Super Cup.

Despite being favourites, it won’t be an easy route to the final for the London side given that seven of the eight remaining clubs currently feature in the Premier League including the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Leicester and West Ham who are all capable of causing an upset.

Liverpool are very close in the odds to Chelsea and will be their main competition along the way. Klopp’s side are firing on all cylinders currently which was emphasised at the weekend when they thrashed Manchester United 5-0 at Old Trafford.

Sunderland are the only non-Premier League side remaining in the competition and are considered as outsiders being priced at 80/1 with bookmaker BetVictor. The Black Cats overcame QPR on penalties in their last 16 match and Lee Johnson’s side have also beaten Wigan, Blackpool and Port Vale to reach this stage of the competition that they have never won before. They have reached the final twice previously with the most recent being in 2014 when they were beaten 3-1 by Manchester City at Wembley.

When Is the Carabao Cup Quarter-Final Draw?

The Carabao Cup quarter-final draw will take place on Saturday 30th October and will be televised live on Soccer AM.

The draw will be conducted by ex-West Ham player Jimmy Bullard and presenter John Fendley and although a time for the draw is yet to be released, it is expected to be between 10:30am – 12pm BST.

How To Watch The Carabao Cup Draw

You can watch the quarter-final draw of the 2022 Carabao Cup live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event. Alternatively, you can watch the draw for free via the SkySports YouTube Channel which is a great option if you don’t currently have a Sky Sports subscription package.

Of course, if you aren’t able to tune in, you can always follow the latest updates from the draw via the official Carabao Cup account on Twitter.

It was announced on Wednesday morning that Steve Bruce would be stepping down as manager of Newcastle United by mutual consent.

The news has come as no surprise to Newcastle fans with the former Manchester United player who was born in Corbridge, Northumberland, a sure bet to leave his post following the £305 million takeover of the club earlier in the month.

Bruce has spent two years in charge of the Magpies after being appointed by the club following the departure of Rafa Benitez in July 2019. He kept the club in the top flight during his time in charge but has been given a hard time by fans despite not having the resources at his disposal to build the team he would have wanted.

Bruce marked his 1,000th game in club management at the weekend when his side hosted Tottenham Hotspur at St James’ Park; a game that, unfortunately, didn’t go their way and they ended up leaving the pitch still without a win this season.

The clubs official website posted the following message from Bruce:

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“I would like to thank my coaching team, the players and the support staff in particular for all their hard work. There have been highs and lows, but they have given everything even in difficult moments and should be proud of their efforts.

“This is a club with incredible support, and I hope the new owners can take it forward to where we all want it to be. I wish everyone the very best of luck for the rest of this season and beyond.”

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Who Will Succeed Bruce At Newcastle United?

Several names have been circulating in the media since the takeover but now that Bruce has officially left his post, we can get a better idea of the likely contenders.

As of yesterday, former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe was the bookies favourite being priced at 3/1. However, rumours have been circulating since Tuesday evening that former Shakhtar Donetsk and Roma coach, Paulo Fonseca, will be appointed as the new Newcastle United manager at some point today or in the very near future.

The bookies seem to agree with these rumours as the odds on Fonseca have been slashed from 7/1 on Betfair Sportsbook on Tuesday evening to just 4/9 on Wednesday morning.

As of 13:30 on Wednesday 20th October, the odds on the Next Permanent Newcastle United Manager are as follows:

Manager	Odds	Bookie
Paulo Fonseca	1/2
Lucien Favre	5/1
Eddie Howe	10/1
Frank Lampard	14/1
Steven Gerrard	20/1
Graeme Jones	22/1
Unai Emery	25/1
Jose Mourinho	33/1
Roberto Martinez	33/1
Brendan Rodgers	33/1

Who Is Paulo Fonseca?

Paulo Fonseca is a 48-year-old Portuguese manager who played as a central defender for his hometown club of F.C. Barreirense as well as other Portuguese clubs such as Vitória Guimarães and Estrela Amadora.

Fonseca retired from football in 2005 aged 32 and shortly after moved into management. He’s taken charge of several clubs over the years including Paços Ferreira, Porto, Braga, Shakhtar Donetsk and most recently, Roma.

After guiding Roma to a fifth-place finish in Serie A along with getting them to the semi-finals of the Europa League the following season, he left the club in May of this year and was hotly tipped to succeed José Mourinho as manager of Tottenham Hotspur following his sacking in April. Strangely, it was Mourinho who replaced him as manager of Roma.

Fonseca is currently out of work and so one appeal to the new Newcastle United owners is that they wouldn’t have to pay a fee to obtain his services.

Is Fonseca The Right Man For The Job?

Paulo Fonseca is a strong favourite to be arriving at St James’ Park in the coming days but what will he bring to the club?

As well as having a reasonably successful stint at Roma, Fonseca won three domestic doubles during his three seasons as manager of Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukrainian Premier League.

He’s known for his attacking style of play which is something that will surely please many Newcastle supporters. It is this style of play that has put him on the radar of many major clubs throughout his managerial career and also helped him to beat Manchester City in the Champions League back in 2017 to progress through to the last 16.

His lack of Premier League experience is a risk for the new Newcastle United owners but it could be one that pays off in the long term.

Newcastle are set to make a number of signings when the transfer window opens in January which would give Fonseca, should he be appointed, the chance to build a team of his own and given his attacking mindset, a return of ‘The Entertainers’ could be on the cards at St James’ Park.

 

It’s been 23 years since Scotland last featured in a World Cup tournament and it’s safe to say that when they have qualified, they haven’t excelled given that they’ve never made it through to the knockout stages of the competition. However, they’ll want another crack at it in Qatar next year and Steve Clarke’s side may get that opportunity if they’re able to pick up a few more wins during qualifying.

Scotland’s World Cup Qualifying Group

Scotland were drawn into Group F along with Denmark, Israel, Austria, the Faroe Islands and Moldova. It’s by no means an easy group to qualify from but after eight matches, Scotland find themselves in a promising position.

Here’s how the table looks heading into the final two sets of fixtures.

Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Denmark	8	8	0	0	27	0	27	24
Scotland	8	5	2	1	13	7	6	17
Israel	8	4	1	3	18	15	3	13
Austria	8	3	1	4	11	14	-3	10
Faroe Islands	8	2	1	6	4	17	-13	4
Moldova	8	0	1	7	4	24	-20	1

Four of Scotland’s victories during the qualification stages have come by a one-goal margin, including their most recent wins against Moldova (1-0), Austria (1-0), Israel (3-2) and the Faroe Islands (1-0).

What Do Scotland Need To Qualify?

Only the top team will qualify automatically for the World Cup. As Denmark are seven points ahead of Scotland with two games to play, Scotland’s only chance of qualifying is through the playoffs. To reach the playoffs, they must finish second which means that they need to pick up three or more points from their final two qualifying fixtures in order for Israel to be unable to catch them.

The final two fixtures will see Scotland face Moldova on the 12th of November and Denmark three days later. Denmark are yet to drop a point in qualifying and impressively, yet to concede a goal. Therefore, picking up maximum points away to Moldova is vital for Clarke’s side. Thankfully, Moldova are one of the weaker sides in the group and despite only beating them 1-0 at Hampden Park last month, Scotland should have more than enough to come away with the three points that they need. Should they do that, a second-place finish in Group F would be guaranteed and Scotland would earn their place in the 2022 World Cup playoffs.

Group F - Top 2 Finish Betting Odds
Team	Odds	Bookie
Scotland	1/10
Israel	9/2

As you can see from the above, Scotland are strong favourites with UK betting sites to finish in the top two places in Group F compared to Israel.

World Cup Playoffs

The playoffs are scheduled to take place in March 2022 and will feature 12 teams. Ten of those teams will qualify by finishing second in their groups and the remaining two places are awarded to the highest-ranked teams that won their UEFA Nations League groups.

The twelve teams will be drawn into three groups with the top three top teams after the knockout rounds gaining their place in the World Cup along with 29 other nations from around the World.

Summary

Four successive victories have propelled Scotland into second place in their group and has fans biting their nails at the thought of inclusion in the World Cup for the first time since France ’98. Three points against Moldova next month would secure a place in the playoffs – a route that they were forced to take, and succeeded in, to qualify for Euro 2020.

Watford’s new manager, Claudio Ranieri, wants to defy the odds and ensure that the Hornets stay in the Premier League for next season.  Ranieri, who has previously managed Chelsea, Leicester and Fulham, faces an onerous start to his tenure at Vicarage Road with a home match against Liverpool this weekend closely followed by upcoming clashes against Arsenal and Manchester United.  

Ranieri will turn seventy next week and a win against Jurgen Klopp’s side, missing some key players due to international duties and injury, would be a magnificent start to his birthday celebrations.  However, the depth and talent of Liverpool’s squad are likely to be decisive and the Reds are hot favourites to win the match with odds of 7/18 from bookmaker SBK compared to the long odds for a Watford win of 17/2 from Unibet.

Both Watford and Norwich returned to the Premier League after only one season languishing in the Championship.  The Canaries look likely to ricochet back down to the Championship with no wins at all after seven matches played and only one point gained.  Burnley, also are faring badly too with three points on the board and remain in the relegation zone in this early stage of the season.  The bookies’ odds reflect this harsh reality with odds of 2/9 from Paddy Power that Norwich will be relegated and odds of 4/5 for Burnley from the same bookie.

Newcastle are also languishing in the relegation zone with only three points won and those points were from draws, including a 1-1 result against Watford late last month.  However, the recent £305 million purchase of the club by the Saudi Public Investment Fund is likely to signal a renaissance at Newcastle, with manager Steve Bruce remaining in charge for the moment and the promise of investment in new players during the January transfer window.  The betting market has reassessed the relegation odds for the Magpies in light of the PIF purchase with SBK, for example, offering odds of 13/5.

The same bookmaker is giving punters odds of 14/19 that the Hornets will go down, despite the fact that Watford are in 15th place in the League table with seven points from two wins and a draw – ahead of Leeds, Southampton, Burnley, Newcastle and Norwich.  The odds can be seen as good value, given the season’s results to date and the positive flip which Ranieri’s appointment is expected to bring.

Watford’s owners, the Pozzo family, have known Ranieri for many years.  Gino Pozzo, son of Giampaulo who originally bought the club back in 2012, will be expecting results.  No manager has lasted longer than 20 months in the past nine years and there is no place for sentimentality at the club.  Ranieri, whose contract is for two years, acknowledges the precarious nature of his appointment saying “I can laugh as much as I want.  If I don’t get any points, the laughing is finished.”

Less than a week after the Saudi Arabian-backed £305m takeover of Newcastle United was completed, rumours around potential January transfer window signings for the North East club have surfaced with fans and media both sharing their opinions on who they would like to see in Newcastle and who the club could potentially sign.

In the background, several other Premier League clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, continue to voice their disapproval around Richard Masters’ decision to let the deal go through with a Premier League meeting arranged to discuss matters, without the attendance of Newcastle United representatives.

Whatever is discussed in that meeting, it will not change anything regarding the takeover which was completed on Thursday 7th October 2021. Therefore, it’s all go at St James’ Park as they begin their search for new players (and a manager) who can take the club to new highs.

Newcastle United Potential Signings

Despite the club becoming one of the richest on the planet overnight, we’re unlikely to see the likes of Lionel Messi or Kylian Mbappe arrive in the North East in January. Given Newcastle’s dreadful start to the season in which they have picked up just 3 points from a possible 21 and are without a win in their first 7 games, the players that they bring in will be aimed at keeping the club up with a bigger rebuild of the squad scheduled for the summer. However, that’s not to say that there won’t be recognisable names putting pen to paper in January as the new owners simply can’t afford to get it wrong and being relegated for the second time in six seasons won’t be seen as an option.

So, who are the potential candidates to walk through the door at St James’ Park in January?

Phillipe Coutinho (Barcelona)

Ex-Liverpool midfielder Coutinho could perhaps be Newcastle’s biggest signing of the season should it happen. Since his £105m move to Barcelona in January 2018, the Brazilian international has had a terrible time and was loaned out to Bundesliga club Bayern Munich for the 2019/20 season. He returned to Barca the following season to play under new coach Ronald Koeman but given the state of the La Liga clubs finances, it’s possible that they could be willing to part with him.

Coutinho scored 41 goals in 152 appearances during his time in the Premier League with Liverpool and the 29 year old could relish the chance to regain that form in a league he knows well.

Coutinho is one fo the bookies favourites to arrive at St James’ Park in the January transfer window at odds of 6/1 with online bookmaker Betfair.

Jesse Lingard (Manchester United)

Lingard has been on United’s books since 2011 but has been passed around multiple clubs on loan deals from not long after that. The 28 year old has struggled for regular first team football at United and has had spells at Leicester City, Birmingham, Brighton, Derby County and West Ham.

Since arriving at West Ham in January of this year, Lingard has regained his form, finding the net 9 times in 16 appearances for the Hammers. He’s also been recalled to the England squad and if he wants to be included in the Southgate’s group that travel to Qatar next year, he needs regular pitch time and as he is now back with United, a permanent move to Newcastle could provide him with just that.

Lingard has been on Newcastle United’s radar for some time now with the club trying to lure the England midfielder on a loan deal in January. With the new owners ready to open their wallets, that could turn into an offer to purchase which could be tempting for both Lingard and United.

Lingard is currently priced at 9/1 to sign for Newcastle before 3rd February 2022 with Paddy Power.

Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)

Gareth Bale is another player that has recently been out on loan and spent time with his former club Tottenham Hotspur having spent seven years playing for La Liga side Real Madrid. Shortly after returning to Madrid, Bale picked up a long-term hamstring injury which has seen him miss the majority of Madrid’s games this season along with several of Wales’ World Cup qualifying fixtures.

It has been reported that Newcastle have Bale on their list of potential signings but whether or not a deal will materialise before the summer is in doubt.

Bale would be a marquee signing for the new owners but it’s likely that they’ll have to dig deep to cover the Welsh star’s wages given that he currently earns £25m on Real Madrid’s books. However, his hefty wage bill may be the reason Madrid will let Bale go as it would free up significant funds to potentially sign their top transfer target, Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint Germain.

Bale has bagged 11 goals in 20 games for Spurs since rejoining the club he left in 2013, proving that he is still capable of performing in England’s top league.

Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal)

Alexandre Lacazette has spent four years at Arsenal during which time the French international has scored 50 goals for the club and so has proven his ability and gained experience in the league. His contract expires at the end of the season and given how Arsenal are underperforming this season, Lacazette could be tempted to move on sooner rather than later to a club that has a bright future ahead of it.

Donny van De Beek (Manchester United)

Since moving from Ajax to Manchester United over a year ago, Donny van De Beek has played just 20 games for his club with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær often opting to start matches with the Dutch international on the bench. The 35 year old midfielder cost United around £35m and given that he is not getting regular game time, a generous offer from Newcastle United’s new owners who have deep pockets could be tempting for the club.

For van De Beek, a move to Tyneside would allow him to play on a weekly basis. Something that initiated a potential loan move to Everton in August which failed to materialise.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s summer appointment at Spurs was not entirely expected or welcomed by many Spurs fans and now after only 6 Premier League games, the former Wolves manager is 4/1 joint favourite with Bet Victor to be the next Prem League manager to leave their post. 

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy conducted a protracted search during the summer to be the full-time replacement for Jose Mourinho but on a couple of occasions was unable to get the manager he wanted. Mauricio Pochettino was initially approached about an unlikely comeback as well as Antonio Conte, Paulo Fonseca and Genaro Gattuso before talks with Santo began. 

Admittedly the major problem with Spurs during the Summer and throughout August was the huge uncertainty caused by Harry Kane’s protracted transfer discussions with Man City which unsettled everyone at the club. It was a surprise to many that Kane eventually decided to stay at White Hart Lane and three opening 1-0 wins including against Manchester City masked over some of the internal problems. 

However, three consecutive heavy defeats have piled the pressure on Santos and the abject first-half performance against arch rival’s Arsenal is unforgivable to many hardened Tottenham supporters. However, the Premier League statistics are even more concerning as Spurs rank bottom for shots and chances created so far this season and their players have covered less distance than any other side.

Spurs face NS Mura in the Europa Conference League this Thursday and then entertain an in form Aston Villa side in the League this weekend with the pressure very much mounting on Santo to show that he can save his job and his team from further embarrassment. 

Many bookmakers offer odds throughout the season on which Premier League Manager will be next to leave his post and the latest showing bookmakers with the highest odds at the time of publishing are as follows: 

Manager	Club	Bookie	Odds
Nuno Espirito	Tottenham Hotspur		4/1
Steve Bruce	Newcastle		4/1
Xisco Munoz	Watford		7/1
Mikel Arteta	Arsenal		7/1
Daniel Farke	Norwich		8/1
Patrick Viera	Crystal Palace		14/1
Ralph Hussenhuttl	Southampton		16/1

The pre-eminent team event in golf is back this week with the belated return of the Ryder Cup 2020 edition where the USA team lead by captain Steve Stricker are strongly fancied to win back the Trophy. An awful lot has happened in the golfing world since Europe hammered America in the 42nd Ryder Cup played at the Le Golf National course in Paris in 2018.  The score then was an overwhelming 17.5 to 10.5 win for Europe with Italy’s Francesco Molinari the leading man for Europe with an amazing 5 points won from his five contests. 

Molinari is one of five players from the European 2018 team who have not made selection with the most recognised other player missing this time round being Justin Rose. So seven of the 2018 team remain but Rory McIlroy once ranked World No.1 is now ranked 15 but Spain’s Jon Rahm is now the undoubted top-ranked player in the world. 

The problem for Europe is that many of their players are going through a fairly average period of form with Fleetwood, Hatton, Fitzpatrick and others all struggling by their own high standards in recent weeks. 

With the USA having the advantage of home soil and a large partisan crowd as well as the vast majority of the in-form players it is no surprise that bookies make them general ½ favourites with the European team generally available at odds of around 2/1 with Betfred offering the standout odds of 9/4 of the mainstream bookmakers. 

The USA should win back the Ryder Cup comfortably but there is little value in supporting them at such cramped odds. Golf punters will be more interested in some of the other markets, particularly which player will win most points. Jon Rahm is the clear favourite in the Top Combined Points Scorer market and rightly so as he can expect to play in all of the 5 sessions and will have the opportunity to score 5 points. Many other players will not play in all 5 sessions and therefore will be handicapped somewhat by this. 

At best odds of 15/2 currently with BetVictor who offer each-way terms of ¼ odds for 4 places, Rahm is the standout bet. The Spaniard has been in superb form all year and is a great competitor in matchplay tournaments. Expect Rahm to lead the way for Europe although a USA team victory is surely on the cards.       

The 2021/22 Premier League season kicks off tonight with newly-promoted Brentford hosting Arsenal at the Brentford Community Stadium. It will be the first-ever Premier League match for the Bee’s and a great fixture to kick start the season with.

Looking ahead to the weekend and there are some exciting clashes taking place including an intriguing clash between Tottenham and Manchester City on Sunday and a potentially thrilling bout between Manchester United and Leeds tomorrow.

Harry Kane and his squad will host City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the late kick-off on Sunday with the Citizens still keen to acquire his services this season. However, for now, he remains Spurs’ captain and it will be interesting to see how the England number 9 performs in front of his potential new teammates.

The stand-out fixture for many this weekend is at Old Trafford where the other Manchester club take on Leeds. This fixture last season resulted in an 8-goal thriller in which Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side came out on top as 6-2 winners. It was a match that produced 41 attempts on goal and 18 on target and both sets of fans would welcome stats like that in tomorrow’s match.

Despite United finishing second in the league last season, they were far from a club that were capable of challenging for the title. With the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal all somewhat underperforming in their 2021/22 campaign, this season could prove to be much tougher for the Red Devils and their opening fixture will be a good test of their abilities. United don’t meet one of the big top four until mid-October when they travel to the King Power stadium to play Leicester and so picking up maximum points in the early stages of their campaign will be their goal.

When Is Man Utd v Leeds?

Kick-off is scheduled for 12:30 on Saturday and will take place at Old Trafford. The match will be televised live on both BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate.

Manchester United Team News

All eyes will be on Jadon Sancho who signed for United this month. The 21 year old winger joined the club on a five-year deal for a reported fee of £72.9m from Borussia Dortmund. Sancho has been in training with United this week and fans will be hoping that Solskjær gives the exciting youngster a start but it’s likely that we’ll see him on the bench at kick-off. United’s other signing, Raphael Varane, is still yet to be confirmed and so it’s more than probable that fans will have to wait at least another week for his appearance on the pitch.

Man Utd picked up a morale-boosting 4-0 win in their pre-season friendly against Everton on Saturday with goals coming from Mason Greenwood, Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot. It’s likely that all those players with the exception of Dalot will find a place in Solskjær’s starting XI to make up a relatively unchanged side from last season. Anthony Martial is likely to make his first appearance in a competitive match for United in five months following playing a part in their victory against Everton at the weekend. Man Utd will be without Edinson Cavani after the striker was given time off following his involvement in the Copa America this summer which allows Martial to work his way back into the starting XI.

As well as Cavani, United will also be without h Marcus Rashford, Alex Telles, Dean Henderson, Jesse Lingard, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly and Amad Diallo which does leave the squad relatively thin on depth.

Manchester United expected starting XI:
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Matic, Fred; Pogba, Fernandes, Greenwood; Martial

Leeds United Team News

After being promoted from the Championship in 2020, Leeds achieved an impressive 9th-place in the table last season. They were a joy to watch for the most part with Marcelo Bielsa’s high-tempo style of play producing some thrilling matches. It was a season that they beat the likes of Tottenham (3-1), Manchester City (2-1), Leicester (3-1)  and Everton (1-0) as well as picking up points against Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea. They proved to be more than a match for the best in the league and will hope to produce some similar upsets heading into the new term.

Leed’s pre-season form hasn’t been the best with Bielsa’s side picking up just one win in their seven matches, losing four of them. However, they ended last season as one of the strongest teams having suffered just one defeat in their last 11 which left them just six points adrift of a Europa League spot.

New signing Firpo, who joined the club from Barcelona for a fee of £12.8m will be available for the Whites on Saturday and should gain a place as left-back. Diego Llorente is likely to miss his teams opening fixture due to a leg injury and could be replaced by Robin Koch in central defence alongside Liam Cooper.

Leeds United expected starting XI:
Meslier; Ayling, Koch, Cooper, Firpo; Raphinha, Dallas, Rodrigo, Phillips, Harrison; Bamford

Man Utd v Leeds Odds

Odds are available for the match at several of the top online bookies with our recommendations being Bet365, Betfred and Virgin Bet.

Man Utd v Leeds Match Odds
Man Utd	3/5
Draw	17/5
Leeds	5/1

Man Utd v Leeds Prediction

In terms of a result, it’s a very tough match to call. Leeds proved that they’re capable of beating the best in the Premier League multiple times last season and so it wouldn’t be surprising to see an upset on Saturday. However, it’s too early to say whether they’ll be able to repeat their success of last season, or better it, and their pre-season matches haven’t gone exactly to plan. Of course, you can’t take too much from warm up games but with United playing their first match in front of a full Old Trafford since their 2-0 win over Manchester City in March 2020, they may just have the edge.

Rather than backing United to win at odds of 3/5, you can get odds of 4/5 on Both Teams To Score. That seems a much more probable outcome and is what WhichBookie will be backing on this exciting Saturday afternoon clash.

Prediction: Man Utd 3 – 2 Leeds Utd