BetUK Blog

The draw has been well backed for Thursday’s first Test Match between England and South Africa, but bookmakers are also reporting solid support for the tourists.

Bookies say the betting market has been all one-way traffic with the majority of punters expecting South Africa to win with ease, according to sources.

The 3-0 and 4-0 correct scorelines have also been popular with punters, and South Africa’s fearsome pace attack could be a major factor during the four-match series.

Remember you can bet on Thursday’s match or the series as a whole on BetUK.

Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has been installed 7/2 third-favourite by bookies to be Real Madrid’s top scorer in La Liga next season. The Manchester United star will have surgery on his injured ankle next week, but reports in the Spanish press suggest that Ronaldo’s long-awaited move to Madrid is nearing completion.

His former Manchester United team-mate Ruud van Nistelrooy is the 5/2 favourite, with Real captain Raul next in the betting at 10/3.

Ronaldo is also 5/6 to score 14 or more league goals in his first season at the Bernabeu.And with Ronaldo seemingly on his way, bookmakers have also cut the odds of Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov to replace him at Old Trafford from 5/2 to 11/8.

Venus and Serena Williams meet in the Ladies’ final at Wimbledon for the third time on Saturday. It’s so close to call you almost have to flip a coin, but Serena is serving incredibly well and she could have the edge.

The biggest strength for both of them at Wimbledon is their serve. What they like about the grass is that they can get that first strike in and the points aren’t going to go on and on for 11, 12 or 13 shots like they do at the French Open. Venus in particular doesn’t want to be in long rallies. She knows that at Wimbledon she is going to stand there for maybe four, five, six shots at the max.

Venus is a little bit better at the net - she just knows where to stand and covers the court. In regards of movement they both move so well so it’s tough to give either of them an edge. It might just be Venus who moves slightly better on this surface but it’s tough as both their games work perfectly on grass.

It could just come down to the serve and Serena’s serve is better. It’s a serve you can count on - it doesn’t break down where as in the past Venus’s second serve sometimes does break down.

You can bet on the match at BetUK.

Roger Federer faces his old rival Marat Safin in the semi-finals at Wimbledon today aiming to keep up his remarkable record of never having dropped a set at this stage of the tournament during his five previous wins.

Federer has also triumphed in straight sets in each of his five matches this year at Wimbledon and a repeat scoreline is just 4/9 today with BetUK today, with the world No. 1’s backers further buoyed by his bullish words yesterday.

Offering a further riposte to those who thought he may be past his best after his mauling by Rafael Nadal in the French Open final, Federer said: “I’ll have a chance to win this for the next five or ten years. I think my game’s made for grass.”

However, in the rejuvenated Safin he faces an opponent who beat him in a five-set epic the last time they met in a Grand Slam semi-final in Melbourne three years ago. Can Safin take a set off the Swiss maestro?

Sunday’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone promises to be a decent betting event with plenty of patriotic support for Lewis Hamilton. There will be plenty of interest in the 5/2 on Hamilton to win although there could be better value elsewhere.

One bet I might be tempted to have now rather than later is for the number of finishers to be under 15.5 on BetUK. Last year in the dry there were only six retirements out of 22, but a quick glance at the weather forecast tells us that there is a 60% chance of rain on race day which if it comes during the race will cause plenty of problems. Standing water and no traction control well lead to spins and crashes, which in the circumstances could make the even money price pretty attractive.

Phil Scolari started work today as Chelsea manager to set up what will surely be a tremendous season for the west London team. He will have a familiar face in his squad this season after the club confirmed the signing of Deco from Barcelona a few days ago.

The Blues are 2/1 with BetUK to win the Premier League title following the capture of the Portuguese playmaker, who returned to his best form under Scolari at Euro 2008 this summer.

Fernando Torres was Spain’s hero in the final of Euro 2008 and bookmakers expect the Liverpool striker’s golden touch to continue into the 2008-09 season.

The Spanish striker has been cut to 4/1 from 5/1 for the Premier League Golden Boot, and is 8/11 to score 20 or more league goals next season. He enjoyed a terrific first campaign at Anfield, finishing joint-second in the scoring charts with 24 league goals - and barring injury must surely eclipse that tally in 2008/09.

Spain are the favourites to win Euro 2008 after beating Russia 3-0 in Thursday’s semi-final in Vienna. Second-half goals from Xavi, second-half sub Daniel Guiza and David Silva saw off the Russians for whom the heavily hyped Andrei Arshavin was a huge disappointment.

Spain’s excellent display combined with Germany’s unimpressive performance when beating Turkey in Wednesday’s first semi-final means the bookies fancy Luis Aragones’ men to lift the trophy on Sunday evening. Wow! Spain might finally win a major football trophy. You can bet on the game at BetUK here.

When Spain smashed Russia 4-1 in their first Group D game on 10 June they became one of the tournament favourites - and rightly so because with Villa/Torres up front the Spanish looked as if they had the attacking force of Euro 2008. But while they were impressive in the Group games things haven’t exactly gone according to plan since then and Spain had to beat Italy on penalties last Sunday in order to progress.

So, can Russia overcome the psychological barrier of being thrashed in a group game by the same team they meet in the semi-finals? There is one precedent in a European Championship for a team to have lost a group game and then turned the tables later on in the tournament, and that is Holland back in 1988, when they lost to the USSR and then beat them in the final.

On the other two occasions that this situation has arisen, Greece and Germany (albeit in extra time) franked the form against Portugal and the Czech Republic. It’s a 3/5 chance on BetUK that Spain will qualify for the final against Germany on Sunday. History actually tells us that Spain should be able to do it.

No favourite was able to win in regulation time in the four quarter-finals of Euro 2008 and three of those odds-on shots were eliminated, but that has not dampened punters’ enthusiasm for a supposed good thing when perceived bankers Germany tackle depleted Turkey in tonight’s semi-final in Basel.

Turkey will be missing four players due to suspension and another five are ruled out through injury. However, Turkey striker Semih, had a warning for all those who consider Germany shoo-ins for a place in Sunday’s final in Vienna.

“When our opponents are favourites it motivates us,” said the quarter-final hero.

You can bet on the game at BetUK here.

What an unbelievable Euro 2008 competition we have had - and it could get better if the Russians have anything to do with it.

Here’s the scoop – one of my pals who’s out in Switzerland tells me Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has promised the Russian players and coach ‘vast’ bonuses for further progression in the Euros. There is also a ‘goal bonus’ so expect to see some speculative long shots against Spain in the Semi-Final this Thursday evening.

On top of this, a Spanish amigo tells me there are some unhappy Spanish players after reading reports in their national papers that the country is ‘nervous’ rather than ‘expectant’ ahead of the game. It’s hardly surprising after their dismal record in major football tournaments in the last couple of decades.