Cork have seen both teams find the net in nine of their last 10 matches, while BTTS has landed in 17 of their 20 games this term. Cork City have lost six of their last seven matches, with their only point in that run coming against a spiralling Shelbourne side. Drogheda beat Sligo Rovers last time out, while they can improve their mixed record on the road by claiming a win at the league’s bottom side.

Shamrock Rovers have lost only three times this season, but they’ve been beaten in both encounters with Bohemians. The Bohs have won four of the last five meetings between the pair, including the previous three at Dalymount Park. The hosts have won five of their last six at home, while they won the xG battle 3.29 to 0.29 in that one slip-up.

Botafogo earned a stunning 1-0 win over PSG last time out and know that a point would seal top spot in Group B. They have only lost one of their last ten games, while Atletico Madrid lost 4-0 to PSG in their opener.

St Pat’s were the stronger side in Friday’s loss at Galway United, while they’ve won five and drawn five of their 11 home matches this season. Derry City have failed to win away to a top-half side this term, while they’ve lost three of their previous four visits to St Pat’s.

Justin Thomas has struggled in his last two Masters starts – no surprise given the downturn in his form generally – but he ended 2024 by finishing second and third in his last two events. He’s well suited to Augusta, where his approach play and scrambling ability are huge assets.

Rory McIlroy’s first PGA Tour title came at the Charlotte venue in 2010 and he’s gone on to win the Wells Fargo Championship at the course on a further three occasions. He is comfortable at Quail Hollow and looks an obvious title threat if he can hold it together mentally.

A runner-up in 2022 and third in 2023, the exacting test which the US Open usually provides should prove to be ideal for such a marvellous ball-striker as Scottie Scheffler.

Tommy Fleetwood is one of the best exponents of links golf in the world, finishing in the top 12 in four of the last six Opens. Expect him to make another bold run at the Claret Jug come July.

Aryna Sabalenka dominated the hard courts on the WTA tour last year, winning 40 of her 49 matches on the surface, and she claimed both the Australian Open and US Open titles. She can be devastating in Melbourne, winning 27 of her last 28 matches at the Grand Slam in the last three seasons.

Iga Swiatek remains the undisputed queen of clay on the WTA tour. The Pole has won the title at Roland Garros three seasons running as well as in 2020 and she has lost just twice in 37 matches at the clay-court Grand Slam.

Last season’s ATP Tour was pretty much dominated by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who each won two of the four Grand Slam titles, and between them it should be another stellar year. Alcaraz reigned supreme at Wimbledon, making it back-to-back titles at the All England Club, and Novak Djokovic’s obvious decline at 37 years of age makes the Spaniard a worthy favourite to rack up the hat-trick.

At the back end of a gruelling season, the US Open can sometimes throw up strange results and there are often surprises before the September silverware is eventually secured. It could, therefore, be worth going against the head of the market and hard-court specialist Daniil Medvedev ticks plenty of boxes at a nice price.

Botafogo earned a stunning 1-0 win over PSG last time out and know that a point would seal top spot in Group B. They have only lost one of their last ten games, while Atletico Madrid lost 4-0 to PSG in their opener.

Cork have seen both teams find the net in nine of their last 10 matches, while BTTS has landed in 17 of their 20 games this term. Visitors Drogheda conceded 2.16 xG in their 1-0 victory at home to second-bottom Sligo Rovers last time out, while the visitors have conceded in all of their visits to the bottom four.

St Pat’s were the stronger side in Friday’s loss at Galway United, while they’ve won five and drawn five of their 11 home matches this season. Derry City have failed to win away to a top-half side this term, while they’ve lost three of their previous four visits to St Pat’s.

Seattle Sounders have lost their last four matches and have conceded three or more goals in three of them. PSG failed to find the net last time out, but before that they had scored three or more goals in their last five games.

Cork have seen both teams find the net in nine of their last 10 matches, while BTTS has landed in 17 of their 20 games this term. Cork City have lost six of their last seven matches, with their only point in that run coming against a spiralling Shelbourne side. Drogheda beat Sligo Rovers last time out, while they can improve their mixed record on the road by claiming a win at the league’s bottom side.

Waterford United have only kept two clean sheets all season, but have improved in attack in recent weeks, scoring in eight of their last nine matches. Shelbourne have conceded in 11 of their last 13 matches, but have also scored in four of their last five.

Cork have seen both teams find the net in nine of their last 10 matches, while BTTS has landed in 17 of their 20 games this term. Visitors Drogheda conceded 2.16 xG in their 1-0 victory at home to second-bottom Sligo Rovers last time out, while the visitors have conceded in all of their visits to the bottom four.

Shamrock Rovers have lost only three times this season, but they’ve been beaten in both encounters with Bohemians. The Bohs have won four of the last five meetings between the pair, including the previous three at Dalymount Park. The hosts have won five of their last six at home, while they won the xG battle 3.29 to 0.29 in that one slip-up.

Seattle Sounders have lost their last four matches and have conceded three or more goals in three of them. PSG failed to find the net last time out, but before that they had scored three or more goals in their last five games.

Jesus has scored in five of his last seven appearances, including both matches at the Club World Cup.

Botafogo limited PSG to just two shots on target last time out, and a total of 0.82 expected goals were generated from both teams combined. With a point enough to seal top spot in Group B, expect another defensively resilient performance from the Brazilians.

PSG have scored four or more goals in three of their last six games and have kept a clean sheet in three of those. They beat Atletico Madrid 4-0 in their Club World Cup opener, while Seattle Sounders have conceded 11 goals in their last four games.

Only champions Liverpool are a shorter price than Tottenham to win their opening Premier League fixture and I think I would look to oppose Spurs.Of course, a home tie against Burnley appears a fairly kind fixture, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Clarets, who conceded only 16 goals in 46 Championship matches last term, were difficult to break down.The decision to replace Ange Postecoglou with Thomas Frank wasn’t met with unanimous euphoria in north London and it could take a while for Spurs to find their stride.

Brentford have a busy summer ahead as they plan for a future after Thomas Frank but they should be ready for the opening weekend of the season and can start with a win against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.The Bees might be without Bryan Mbeumo, who has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United, but they are usually a step ahead when it comes to player recruitment and are likely to assemble a strong squad over the next few weeks.Forest will be in for a tough game and they might struggle to shrug off the disappointment of missing out on Champions League qualification.The Tricky Trees have taken one point from their last four home games and they could be stung by the Bees.

Despite little expectation, there was plenty of promise in Fabian Hurzeler’s first season at the Amex and it would be no surprise to see a young Brighton side take another forward step next term.The Seagulls saw out the campaign by drawing with Newcastle and beating West Ham, Wolves, Liverpool and Tottenham in their final five matches and they have already added Sunderland’s playoff hero Tommy Watson and Italy Under-21 centre-back Diego Coppola to a strong squad.Fulham, meanwhile, lost five of their last seven matches of the season, only beating Southampton and Brentford, and are yet to bring in any new faces, suggesting an opening-day defeat may be on the cards for the Cottagers.

Pep Guardiola must adapt his usual pre-season plans due to Manchester City’s involvement in the Club World Cup and the Citizens could drop points in a tricky opening assignment at Wolves.City made hard work of May’s 1-0 home victory over Wolves, who hit the woodwork twice at the Etihad Stadium, and they needed a 95th-minute John Stones winner at Molineux in October.Wolves sold forward Matheus Cunha to Manchester United and left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri to City but their recruitment has been good in recent years and they won ten of their 22 league matches after Vitor Pereira’s arrival in December.

Leeds were the highest-scoring side in last season’s Championship, but they may find the going tougher in the top flight, and they could kick off their season with a low-scoring affair at Elland Road.Ten of Everton’s final 12 games of 2024/25 featured fewer than three goals, and their away games throughout last season averaged a Premier League low of 1.95 goals per game. A mere 26 per cent of them went over 2.5 goals, and no team outside the top four conceded fewer goals than the Toffees.

Liverpool won by at least two goals in nine of their 14 home victories last season, while they comfortably saw off Bournemouth home and away. The Cherries lost 3-0 at Anfield and 2-0 at home to the Reds, despite enjoying a successful campaign.Bournemouth have already sold Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid, while Liverpool are pursuing their left-back Milos Kerkez. The Reds will have plenty of time to bed in their new signings, while Andoni Iraola’s side will likely start this campaign weakened at the back. Back the champions to lay down a marker in their opener.