James Eastham explains why the absence of a certain Manchester United striker is arguably a bigger factor than the involvement of 22 other players in the game. Best bet: Under 2.5 goals @ 2.16 . Recommended bets: Manchester Utd v Bayern Munich under 2.5 goals @ 2.16 ; Manchester United to win 1-0 and 2-0 @ 9.2 and 10.0 respectively.
The Punter takes a close look at this year’s South African challenge at Augusta… “In such strong current form Ernie’s a short-priced priced jolly but considering he’s missed the cut here the last three years, I think he’s worth opposing.” South African golf is in an extremely healthy state at present with Ernie Els, Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen all notching wins in 2010. South Africans also have a great recent record at Augusta, last year was the first time in six years that nobody from the Republic finished in the front three…. Of the seven that line up this time around, the only one to have experienced success at Augusta National is 2008 winner Trevor Immelman , but he’s spent a long time out of the game through injury and he hasn’t yet got close to rekindling his form of two years ago and has to be overlooked .
David Cleary has spied two bets today – one at Ludlow and the other at Folkestone Testing ground will be the order of the day, with Ludlow over jumps likely to be as testing as it gets on that track. The best betting race may well be the handicap hurdle at 16:30. Just Rob and Mon Michel , who finished third and fourth at Stratford last time, look the pair to concentrate on and although Mon Michel finished seven lengths behind his rival then he may well reverse placings. Mon Michel was sympathetically handled while Just Rob had every chance, and with a return to soft ground, cheekpieces first time and Jamie Moore taking over in the saddle, all looks primed for a much bolder show from Mon Michel. Folkestone ’s card largely revolves around what can act on the ground but a chance is taken on Love You Louis in the five-furlong handicap at 14:0. He ran better than the placings suggest last time, ran well the time before under Richard Hughes who is back on today and he may get the run of things. He’s not raced much on turf but his best run came on his only start on soft.
With no European Tour event to preview this week, we set “Mystical” Mike Norman the task of highlighting which of that Tour’s players can shine at next week’s first Major of the season – the US Masters.
It’s been a terrible weekend for our man as Oosty and Ernie land a South African double… “The Big Easy was in freefall when the hooter went yesterday, having just made double bogey-bogey. With still four holes to play his lead had shrunk to just two and it took a gutsy, if not convincing, performance to put it to bed today.” After a weather delay at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in the States, resulting in Ernie Els having to return today to hold on for his second win in as many starts, at last the week’s action has finally finished… His win wasn’t just creating a personal double but it also meant a double for South Africa this week following Louis Oosthuizen’ s maiden win yesterday in Spain.
Dave Farrar just can’t see how Bayern can get past United, in fact things could get messy at the Allianz Arena “Unless Ribery can produce a vintage performance out of nowhere, then I just don’t see an area of the pitch in which Bayern have an advantage. Mario Gomez is out, and so Miroslav Klose will play alongside Ivica Olic up front, and that looks a little bit lightweight to me against a sometimes shaky, but generally powerful, United backline. “ The Champions League draw threw up two glorious looking ties which are both dripping with glamour and resonance, but whereas Arsenal against Barcelona looks a relatively even match, and at least a competitive pair of games, I can really see only one winner between Bayern and Manchester United . It’s been a strange few weeks in the Bundesliga, with none of the big teams taking advantage of chance after chance, slip-up after slip-up, by their rivals, and Bayern have been as guilty as anyone. Louis Van Gaal ’s team did well to beat the League leaders Schalke in the Cup, but they have lost their last two Bundesliga games, and the news that Arjen Robben could well miss out against United is a real hammer blow. Franck Ribery came on as a half-time substitute against Stuttgart at the weekend, but his injury ravaged season means that he doesn’t look as match sharp as he might, and without their two wingers fully fit and firing, Bayern are half the team that they might be. Unless Ribery can produce a vintage performance out of nowhere, then I just don’t see an area of the pitch in which Bayern have an advantage. Mario Gomez is out, and so Miroslav Klose will play alongside Ivica Olic up front, and that looks a little bit lightweight to me against a sometimes shaky, but generally powerful, United backline
Our man’s got Finchy and Gonzo in with a shout in Spain, whilst in the States, with the Masters just two weeks away, he’s hoping Mickelson will shine… “Three weeks ago I’d have completely dismissed Els’ presence on the leaderboard without so much as a moments worry, but after his win at the WGC-CA Championship his presence is somewhat disconcerting and I envisage him contesting throughout the weekend, but I hope I’m wrong…” At the Open de Andalucía , other than a back of Steve Webster, which I subsequently layed back, I’ve not had any further involvement since the start. Of my original six selections, my leftfield long-shot, Jorge Campillo, has missed the cut by a mile, Jeppe Huldahl and Gregory Havret have made the weekend but are too far back to get involved, and so, in all probability, is Gregory Bourdy – despite a rallying second round 65. But it’s not all doom and gloom, as my other two picks are in with a squeak. Richard Finch , backed at 140.0 , is three shots off the lead and very much in with a chance. He finished up his second round at lunchtime yesterday with a -7 total, and with the wind swirling it looked as though he’d probably be within a shot of the lead and playing in today’s final group, but as the day wore on the wind eased and the scoring improved. Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, backed at 55.0 , was one of the afternoon starters and it looked as though he was going to take full advantage of the benign conditions but for the second day running he took the shine off a decent round by three-putting his final hole.
A new start time for the Australian Grand Prix means the drivers will be dogged by a setting sun on the streets of Melbourne, Ralph Ellis reports “ Mark Webber and Jarno Trulli have also expressed their fears that the decision to change the start time of the race from its traditional early afternoon slot to 5pm – inevitably with the motive of generating bigger European TV audiences – has compromised safety in the pursuit of cash.” Just to remind you, the clocks go forward on Sunday morning. That means the sun will be rising when you put the telly on to watch the Australian Grand Prix . It also means, on the other side of the world in Melbourne, that the sun will be setting – and that might not be the most clever thing for Formula One. If you’ve ever been behind the wheel of a car on a motorway when you turn a corner and find yourself heading directly into a setting sun, you’ll know just how dangerous that can be. It certainly sent shudders through me when I was working out the start times for Melbourne, where the weather has been showery and could thus create the worst combination of the lot – low sun on wet roads
Given the excitement of recent seasons, it almost feels that the Bundesliga this season is anti-climactic, what with only three teams going for the title. Even the Premier League can manage that occasionally, writes Jonathan Wilson. “Bayern need a win against Stuttgart on Saturday 1.6 to prove that last week’s defeat was a blip, and not a sign of wider decline. They remain 1.55 favourites to lift the title.” Bayern Munich , rejuvenated under Louis van Gaal after their worst ever start, had seemed likely to surge away with the Bundesliga title, as they put together a run of 19 games unbeaten including nine straight wins. Arjen Robben has been outstanding, having finally returned to fitness, cutting in from the flank to score 10 league goals this season. He is another of the inside-out wingers – Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo being only the two highest profile; even somebody like the right-footed Steed Malbranque at Sunderland has benefited since a switch to the left in recent weeks – who seem such a feature of modern football.
There are a clutch of high-class golfer without a European Tour win to their names. Paul Krishnamurty identifies four who are ready to take their chance soon “Gareth Maybin has become a consistent challenger – missing only one cut since July – and had previously shown an ability to finish the job on the Challenge Tour.” On Sunday, Rhys Davies duly rewarded those loyal backers who’ve followed this excellent Welsh prospect since he graduated from the Challenge Tour. Davies was simply superb in Morocco, but I doubt he’s markedly superior to numerous other up-and-coming players who are still looking for that elusive breakthrough win on the European Tour. This week’s Andalucia Open boasts pretty much the same limited line-up as we’ve just seen in Morocco, offering a golden opportunity for the following four first-time winners-in-waiting. Louis Oosthuizen Having won five times already in his native South Africa, Louis is seriously overdue in Europe.
