Monaco Grand Prix
F1 – 2.05 pm
Sky Sports
It has pretty much been a procession for Mercedes this season. They have dominated F1 in 2019, completing a 1-2 finish in all races so far. It has been three wins for Britain’s Lewis Hamilton and two for his teammate Valtteri Bottas in a one-sided contest between Mercedes and everyone else. Now it’s off to Monaco this weekend, which is the scene of where the most procession-like of all Formula One races occur.
The overtaking opportunities in Monaco are few and far between. Whoever gets out in front can set the pace and can easily defend their position. It’s the same all the way down the field and therefore this is all about the battle for pole position. Who is the king of that? That’s Hamilton who is 11/10 to get himself to the front of the grid, with Bottas at 11/4.
Hamilton is a two-time winner at Monaco. Last year it was Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo who surprised the field with a victory though. But with everyone trailing in Mercedes’ wake at the moment, a Mercedes 1-2 finish at Monaco is at 4/5 odds with top bookmakers. When it comes to the starting grid, whoever is at the front, assuming it is one of the two Mercedes drivers, that will likely be the time to jump on back the grid-leader in one of the best bets of the day.
South Africa v West Indies
ODI Cricket – 10.30 am
Sky Sports
The build-up to the 2019 Cricket World Cup continues with this warm-up match on Sunday. South Africa are heading to the tournament and they are pretty much flying under the radar a bit. The Proteas though have a very strong lineup, particularly in the batting department and they will be looking to build some momentum in the English conditions with this fixture. South Africa are 4/5 odds on favourites to win this battle against West Indies.
South Africa have won six of their last nine ODI international matches against the West Indies. This will be their first meeting since a 2016 series in the Caribbean. The West Indies have gone through some unsettled times recently, so they are looking for a bit of revival. Their path to success is throwing as many heavy hitters like Andre Russell out into action for them. The West Indies have won four of their nine matches played this year, two against Ireland and two against England. They are even money to win this warm up.
League One play-off final
Charlton v Sunderland – 3. 00 pm
Sky Sports
The battle for a spot in next season’s Championship goes down on Sunday. This may well be a highly intense clash as well because these are two sides who are very evenly matched. Things are tight between the two combatants with leading bookmakers. Sunderland just shade the favouritism at 17/10 with the Addicks at 2/1.
During the course of the regular season, Sunderland drew 19 of their 46 league fixtures. They have drawn three of their last six, picking up the one win in that sequence. The Mackems needed all of their defensive strength to edge past the stern challenge of Portsmouth in the playoff semi-final, the Black Cats winning 1-0 on aggregate custody of a home goal in the first leg .
Charlton meanwhile have won four of their last five games, so they are the ones who are carrying better form. They had a real ding-dong battle with Doncaster in their semifinal, the Addicks winning a penalty shootout on home soil. They lost the second leg at The Valley, which is just one of two defeats in their last nineteen games in all competition. Like Sunderland, Charlton are a good defensive side with a clean sheet in seven of their last eleven games. This Wembley clash may well need more than the regulation 90 minutes. This is going to be a puzzler for punters to figure out.
Sampdoria v Juventus
Serie A – 5.00 pm
Premier Sports
Juventus will draw another successful domestic Serie A campaign to a close on the weekend. They have been on the wind-down since winning the league title early once again. Juve have clearly let their intensity slip away as they have failed to win any of their last four league outings (D3 L1). That’s totally understandable of course as they have nothing to play for whatsoever.
Even with this dip in form they are still eleven points clear at the top with one to play. It will be Masimilliano Allergri’s last game in charge as the club no longer want to work with the man who has brought them five straight Serie A titles. The fact that Juve are so disinterested in this, may lead to punters taking a look at the value on Sampdoria.
Sampdoria are 16/5 underdogs for the game and they are much in the same boat as Juve. Just without the title. They are just inside the top ten and they have managed to pick up just the two points from their last five league games. So they aren’t in form either. Both of those points came in their last two away games and they are W3 L3 in their last six on home soil. This may well be a non-event at the end of the day, but that would probably pique interest in this being more of an even match than it should be.
