WEEKEND BETFAIR BETTING HIGHLIGHTS

There is a weekend of captivating sport upon us, and as ever Betfair provide us with some intriguing betting prospects...
 
Darts – PDC World Championships
The showpiece event of the year is now underway and although there can be no rhyme or reason to bet against Phil Taylor in the outright market there will be some fascinating battles amongst the rest.
Saturday’s play will be split into two sessions and it is the final game of the afternoon session which interests me here. Co Stompe marked his arrival at the PDC with a run to the quarter-finals of last year’s tournament beating established players Andy Jenkins, Alan Tabern and Wayne Mardle en route.
His opponent today will be the journeyman Steve Maish who has only made it past the first round proper of this tournament once in five attempts. The 1.68 available on Co Stompe with Betfair could turn out to be one of the best short price backs of the day.
Football – La Liga
If Real Madrid are to mount a serious challenge for the title this season then they must use this weekend’s game against Real Zaragoza to at least psychologically keep the pressure on Barcelona. With the European Champions playing in the World Club Cup Real can close the gap at the top to just two points with a victory here.
The nature of Real Madrid’s attacking play is conducive to goals at both ends and that is why games at the Santiago Bernabeau have produced more goals than at any other stadium in the league. Over 3.5 goals is available at 2.16 and that looks a very good back especially if you are looking to trade in-play.
Rugby Union – Heineken Cup
Toulouse were comprehensively beaten in Cardiff last week as the Cardiff Blues recorded a 15-9 victory over the French. This Saturday the teams lock horns on French soil for the return fixture between the two sides.
Toulouse will need to improve dramatically if they are to justify their favouritism at the short price of 1.4. And although manager Guy Noves will undoubtedly have had a stern word or two with his side in the intermitting days, if you’re looking for a speculative short priced lay then you could do a lot worse than taking on the French side here.
Cricket – India v Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI
These two teams were evenly matched in the two match Twenty20 series when a duo of exciting contests resulted in each side winning one match each. Now the ODI series has begun in a similar fashion with India edging one of the all time classics in a three run victory in the first match.
Neither side can be disappointed with their batting performances in the limited overs games but both have a lot of room for improvement in the bowling and fielding departments. These two are very evenly matched teams in my book and for that reason I have to take the bigger price of 2.2 which is available on the Sri Lankans here.