Aston Villa Manager Martin O’Neil resigned from his post today, after amid rumours of a rift with American owner Randy Lerner. Not a total surprise to Bonus Riders, who tipped him to be the first manager to go just 3 days ago, and we hope you managed to get a piece of action on Martin O’Neil at odds 10.

But who will replace him? We have looked at the options and found the best betting opportunities and tips on his successor.

Bob Bradley; traded at odds 4.5-5.5 at Betfair
Bob Bradley is the stand out favourite for the job. He was closely linked with the Fulham job and has done a good job at the international level with the USA. With his contract nearly up, he would also be cheap, while his nationality should also be considered a tremendous benefit considering the owner.

Sven Goran Eriksson; traded at odds 8-9 at Betfair
Sven has already announced his interest for the job, and he will do a reasonable job, if he gets it. He would surely be competent successor, but his huge wage demands could be a possible deal breaker. At the same it will be interesting to see, how he will fare without big budget to spend. Currently he is bookies second favourite, although he has not impressed since leaving the English job.

Gareth Southgate; traded at odds 12-13 at Betfair
Well, likely not the fans choice with his managerial record, which include relegation from the Premier League with Middlesbrough and then a sacking after a pathetic promotion attempt. Although we are confident this will not happen again, it is interesting to note, that his odds has been moving up and down all day due to people speculating.

Jurgen Klinsmann; traded at odds 14-15 at Betfair
He does have quality to his name, but his managerial experience only include a successful two year reign with the German national team and a dreadful spell at Bayern Munich. It would likely be a long shoot and properly not Aston Villa’s first choice.

Other candidates;
Slaven Bilic – traded at odds 15-16 at Betfair
Kevin Macdonald – traded at odds 16-17 at Betfair
Alan Curbishley – traded at odds 16-17 at Betfair

Our prediction for the Aston Villa successor
We Predict Bob Bradley at around odds 4.5-5.5 at Betfair.

The American nationality will be a deciding for Bob Bradley, as he will likely be owner Randy Lerner’s top candidate for the job.

Place your bet on Betfair now and get the best long term odds. Click on the link below and open up a new account now. All new players get a free bet of £25, and alternatively if you already have an Betfair account, check out the Sports Betting Bonus section for the best betting options.

The Toronto ATP starts today with its first round games, the Rogers cup is played on hard surface and is considered a Masters 1000 with a $3 million prize pool. As usual all the major stars will be there. But who will win this prestigious event? Have a look below at our preview, and a rundown of the best odds on the future ATP Winner.

Rafael Nadal is top seeded and predictably the favorite by bookies worldwide. His price at the moment is 3.6 with Betfair, but the price has dropped a little, as quite a lot of bets are going on Nadal. Nadal claims that he is in perfect condition for the Rogers Cup, however the price may not be perfect for us to bet on. However there is no denying, he is the best player in the world right now.

Novak Djokovic is seeded second and is 9.8 to win the tournament at Betfair. He was the 2007 champion and is on a high after overtaking Roger Federer’s position as second ranking in world. Probably the best value bet at the Rogers Cup, and he is our choice as an outsider for you. Hurry on this one though, as we are confident his price will start dropping.

Roger Federer is seeded third and will be feeling the pressure. Tennis betters have not been backing Roger and his price is 5 at Betfair. He has only one title this season and hasn’t played since the disappointing Wimbledon this year.

Any Murray is seeded fourth and can be backed at 9.4 on Betfair. Despite being defending champion, he has not had a great year and faces a difficult draw.

We Recommend Novak Djokovic to win the 2010 Rogers Cup- ATP Toronto at 9.8 with Betfair.

Click on the link below and open up a new account now. All new players get a free bet of £25, and alternatively if you already have Betfair account, check out the Sports Betting Bonus section for the best promotions.

Ivory Coast will play Portugal today at 15:00 BST at Port Elizabeth in their first match at the 2010 World Cup. Named the “Group of Death” with Ivory Coast, Portugal and Brazil drawn together, many football fans have been looking forward to this first clash in group F and especially the clash between superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba.

Match Preview 

It was a big shock for the Ivory Coast, when their captain Didier Drogba was injured during warm-up, which must have caused new coach Sven-Goran Eriksson a lot of headaches in the last weeks. Of cause the Elephants’ does not lack other star players, but none are of the same caliber as their target man. On top their play has been far from great during preparation, which has lead to accusations against the players of putting their clubs before their country. With only one victory against Japan in four warm-up matches, it will be a hard task for Eriksson to get things together in a short time space and leaves a big question mark before their match today.      

On the other hand Portugal have been during well lately and not lost in 20 months. This said they only finished second in their qualifying group and the statistic really does not tell the whole story. Especially their attack has been lacking quality and has received a lot of criticism. The main focus has been on Cristiano Ronaldo, who has failed, when playing for his home country and not scored since early 2009. Their last two preparation games did give some hope though with a 3-0 victory against Mozambique and 3-1 against Cameroon.   

Team updates

For the Ivory Coast all focus has been on Didier Drogba and his broken bone. Currently it is said, he is allowed to play with a cast, which mean he might be playing alongside Salomon Kalou today. If not he will likely be replaced with Seydou Doumbia and although he is a competent player, it will be a major loss.  

Portugal will likely be without important midfielder Pepe, who was injured against Mozambique and must settle with the bench today. After Nani’s injury and departure from Portugal’s squad, it is expected Simao will be ready for today’s match, but he is still troubled by a minor knee injury.  

Ivory Coast vs Portugal betting tips
 
Our betting tip will be to back Portugal in this match at odds 2.28 at Betfair.

The two sides have never played each other before, which leaves only their current form to decide. Based on their latest results and the fact that Didier Drogba will not be fully fit for the match, we have picked Portugal to win. Although it does look to be close match, they have not lost in 20 months and seem to have less internal problems within the squad. This said it will likely be a small victory within a one goal difference.

Japan plays Cameroon today in both teams first match in group E at the World Cup. The match will be played at 15:00 BST at Bloemfontein and is considered to be a key match for both teams at the group stage. With strong teams like the Netherland and Denmark also in the group, it could be a very important win for both teams in their campaign to progress to the 1/8 finals of the World Cup.

Match Preview

The Lions from Cameroon is normally a good acquaintance at the World Cup and most people remember their great run in Italy in 1990, where they reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup. Back then their star striker Roger Milla lit up, and today they are hoping for Samuel Eto’o to do the same. Ironically he threatened to leave before the World Cup even started following criticism from Milla, which might have ruined his concentration and preparation for the World Cup somewhat, but no one can question his qualities. Since their quarter-final they have not managed to go through from the group stage, but hope to turn this around once again at the 2010 World Cup. However their defense has been looking shaky in their qualification and during their disappointing campaign in Africa Cup of Nations in January.       

The Japanese team could hardly have had a worse preparation for the World Cup. They have lost their four warm-up matches and only managed to draw against a poor playing Zimbabwe team this week. At the same time they have only managed to score one goal in all these matches, which must leave Coach Takeshi Okada’s worried before their first game today. From an outside perspective they are considered the worst team in the group E by most experts, and it is hard to see how they should overcome their poor performances in their preparations.    

Team news

Cameroon has a full and fit squad for the match today with only Arsenal midfielder Alexandre Song is doubtful for the starting line-up.

After the return of midfielder Makoto Hasebe Japan looks to have a full squad for the match and will play at full strength.   

Japan vs Cameroon betting pick

Outright win for Cameroon at odds 2.26.

Our betting pick will be Cameroon to win, which is primarily based on the two teams preparation for the World Cup. Japan seems to be one of the weakest teams at the World Cup, and while Cameroon has not shown great play either, they are the favorites and are stronger on paper. Even though Japan has not lost in their previous three encounters with Cameroon, we predict this will be changed today.   

You can place your bet on the match at Betfair the world’s biggest sports exchange.

The Netherlands will play Denmark today at 12:30 BST in their first match in group E at the World Cup. From a spectators view, we could be in for an exciting match in Johannesburg today between two teams, who both won their qualification groups going into World Cup.

Match Preview

Coach Bert van Marwijk’s men are the overwhelming favorites in group E and come into the World Cup filled with confidence. Netherland cruised through qualification with a perfect record and was the first European team to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Looking back they finished second in the 1974 and 1978 World Cup, but many experts believe they might take the last step this year. The Dutch have one of the most feared attacks with star players from allover Europe and an unbeaten run of 19 games shows their great potential. The question is whether the Dutch will be able to continue their unbeaten record since September 2008 and finally take the last step. Their latest match showed no signs of weakness with a 6-1 win over Hungary and they will likely go through group E with maximum points, which means three points today.

Denmark had a great qualification for the World Cup and won their group ahead of Portugal, which surely command some respect for the Danish team. This said they have been playing poorly going into the World Cup, loosing both their warm-up games to Australia and South Africa 1-0 in recent weeks. Looking at their squad it contains few star players, but still has a good mix of young and experienced players from clubs across Europe. The team depends on a few key players including Liverpool’s Daniel Agger, Juventus Christian Poulsen, Ajax’s Dennis Rommedahl and Feyenoord’s Jon Dahl Tomasson. Unfortunately for Denmark their only star striker Nicklas Bendtner from Arsenal is questionable for today’s match and their experienced goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen has been injured lately and might not be at full impact.

Team News

The Dutch squad is almost at full strength with only winger Arjen Robben questionable for their game against Denmark.

The Danish coach Morten Olsen was ill during their preparation for the World Cup, but none of the players seemed to be affected. As mentioned they still have key players who are questionable with Nicklas Bendtner struggling to overcome a groin injury and Palermo defender Simon Kjaer questionable from a knee injury.

Netherland vs Denmark betting pick

Outright win for Netherland at odds 1.57

We predict the Dutch will win this match and get off to a good start at the World Cup. Denmark is struggling with injured key players who will not be totally fit, if they play today, while the Netherland is almost at full strength. It is hard to predict by how much they will win, as Denmark is known to have a great defense and concede few goals. This could be changed though, if the Dutch scores fast, but we consider a likely result will be 1-0 or 2-0 for the Netherlands.

Sport Betters can bet on the match at Betfair the world’s biggest sports exchange.

Manchester United will play against Stoke today in Premier League at 16:00 GMT at Old Trafford. In the match today Manchester United is looking to secure their fourth consecutive Premier League title, but they need help from Wigan in their away match at Stamford Bridge versus Chelsea. Wigan did win the first encounter versus Chelsea 3-1 and United will cross all fingers that Wigan can replicate some kind of that result, which would give Manchester United the title with a win over Stoke.

Stoke has been playing well lately and the match is not a lock for Manchester United at all despite United having the best defense in the Premier League and Stoke being one of the teams scoring fewest goals away.
Betting on Manchester United today is not something we recommend from the very beginning of the match. The longer Stoke can keep Manchester from a leading goal the more interesting betting on this game could turn out to be. As long as Stoke maintain the draw they will benefit, if Chelsea manage to take a commanding lead in their game versus Wigan. Chelsea could very well lead with two or three by half time in which case Manchester United will understand the title race is over.

We recommend punters to wait betting on this game and closely follow the Chelsea result. Opening a Betfair account and preparing to lay Manchester is a great game plan today. Manchester will remain at below 1.17 as long as there is no scoring in the game and even a 1-0 lead to the Manchester team could turn out to be extremely profitable, if Chelsea secure their win early on in their match. United is a great team, but the disappointment of seeing the trophy slipping away could be enormous and have some effect in the game today.

A United draw is a lot more likely than a Chelsea draw and especially if the title is no longer a possibility.

We recommend to lay Manchester United in any instance, where the score in Manchester United Stoke is 0-0 or 1-0 and at the same time Chelsea are leading by 2. Punters who like to back favorites should be fairly careful with this game and the current odds that can be found around 1.1 should not be played as singles nor should it be used in any parlay betting. Chelsea surely is the better pick in parlays today.

Open a Betfair account now and receive £25 in bonus for today’s Premier League betting by clicking on the Betfair icon below.

Roma did what they had to do yesterday when winning their away match versus Parma and thus maintained the pressure on Inter Milan in the title race and Inters attack on a fifth consecutive title. Today at 20:45 BST Lazio will be the ones Inter Milan need to overcome to once again overtake the leading position in Serie A. Currently Inter Milan backers can find the odds 1.40 on an Inter Milan victory but this odds will drift towards 1.35 the closer we get to the first whistle.

Inter Milan have all the incentives in the world to come out blasting in this game including securing a fifth consecutive title. First of all they are one point behind Roma right now and really need the win to ensure maximum pressure on Roma in the last two games of the season. Secondly Lazio is without a ton of players to this match and Inter could not have picked a better time to face last seasons cup winners.

However Lazio also have something on the line since they are not 100% clear in respect of securing another season in Serie A even it is close after Atlanta lost 2 points in the match versus Bologna today (1-1). Another things is that these players are professionals who wants to play the best every match and which team would not want to be the team tonight making headlines in tomorrows papers being the team who made the title race even more exiting than it is by now.

Inter Milan did only win 7 of their 17 away matches so far this season and it the light of those stats then the current odds on the team is way to low and favor playing against Inter despite the importance of the game since both team are very expirenced when it comes to play important games. Back in January we believed that Bari was one of the season best and most playable odds when they met Inter Milan (Serie A Winner) but Lazio today trading at double digit odds is simply to good to pass on.

We certainly recommend new players to use the free bet option of up to £50 on Victor Chandler backing Lazio at odds 10.00. Should Lazio win the match, then players keep the winnings and if they do not win the match then the bet is returned to the account as a free bet. This is a great chance to hit a fairly big win for small money and even if things do not play out as expected then the money is returned to the player account.

Inter Milan is of course the favorites to win the match but betting is not always about picking the best team. In the match Lazio-Inter the very low odds on Inter Milan is the deciding factor to chose the underdog as the winning party.

Betfair also offer odds on this match and it is possible to lay Inter currently at odds 1.35 in which case the bet is won if Inter Milan do not win. Betfair offer new players £25 in bonus.