22 sport Friday, January 22, 2010 D THE TIPSTERMetros betting expert looks ahead to whats worth a flutter in the sporting world over the next few days BET OF THE WEEK Stoke are a general 5/2 to draw with Arsenal in Sundays FA Cup clash. m ANCHESTER Uniteds FA Cup humiliation against Leeds at the start of the month has a silver lining as they can swipe top spot in the Premier League from Arsenal tomorrow. Sir Alex Fergusons men will still be smarting from their Carling Cup semi-final first-leg reverse to manchester City on Tuesday and they wont be happy they are third in the table either. Someone has to pay and Hull will be the patsies as United seek to exert pressure on both the Gunners and Chelsea by proving that suggestions they are not the force of old are wide of the mark. Expect a big home win with Wayne Rooney the nap of the weekend at 3/4 with Victor Chandler to score at anytime. There will be plenty of goals in this as Tigers keeper Boaz myhill cant be expected to reproduce the heroics which kept Tottenham at bay in last weekends 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane. So back more than 3.5 goals in this game and at slightly above evens with most outlets it looks a safe bet. oooo SPURS will have a flea in their ears after that draw with Hull and the defeat at Liverpool, so back them to lead at half- time and full-time in their tea-time FA Cup tie with Leeds, which is 5/6 with Paddy Power. Jermain Defoe is due a goal and is 10/11 to score at any time with William Hill, Victor Chandler and Boylesports. oooo mUNSTER host Northampton Saints in the Heineken Cup at Thomond Park tonight knowing that victory will assure them of a place in the knockout stages. However, Saints are in great form and can still gain one of the two runners-up berths if they gain a bonus point in defeat. They look a strong bet at 10/11 to win with the ten-point advantage given to them by Boylesports and Paddy Power. Transfer talk TALK of a Manchester City move for Giorgio Chiellini has been played down, despite the presence of the Juventus defenders agent at Tuesdays Carling Cup semi-final. It was a courtesy visit, claimed Davide Lippi, whose client (pictured) has also been linked with United and Spurs. I was invited by the two clubs. The market is open all year, talking with everyone and everything, not just Chiellini. Agent cagey over Chiellini City link TURKISH giants Galatasaray claim to have signed striker Jo on loan from Manchester City until the summer. The Brazilian recently returned from a spell at Everton. o WEST HAm will compete with rivals Tottenham for the signature of Ruud van Nistelrooy from Real madrid as they step up their search for a new striker. o Deschamps ends Ben Arfas bid for the exit MARSEILLE boss Didier Deschamps says Hatem Ben Arfa is staying put, despite rumours of a move to Blackburn, Manchester United or Everton. Ben Arfa and team-mate Mathieu Valbuena have struggled to get in the Marseille team but Deschamps said: They like me. They will stay. TODAY HORSE RACING Catterick Bridge, Wolverhampton, Chepstow, Lingfield RUGBY UNION Heineken Cup Pool 1: Munster v Northampton (8pm), Perpignan v Treviso (8pm) SATURDAY SOCCER (3pm unless stated) The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON fourth round Accrington v Fulham ................................................. Aston Villa v Brighton ................................................ Cardiff v Leicester ..................................................... Notts County v Wigan ............................................... Preston v Chelsea .....(12.45pm) TV UTV/Setanta Ire Southampton v Ipswich............................................. Tottenham v Leeds......(5.15pm) TV UTV/Setanta Ire Wolverhampton v Crystal Palace .............................. Everton v Birmingham........................TV Setanta Ire Derby v Doncaster..................................................... Portsmouth v Sunderland.......................................... Bolton v Sheff Utd..................................................... West Brom v Newcastle ............................................ Reading v Burnley ...............(12.45pm) TV Setanta 1 Barclays Premier League Man Utd v Hull........................................................... Coca-Cola Championship Blackpool v Watford.................................................. Middlesbrough v Swansea........................................ Sheff Wed v Peterborough ........................................ Coca-Cola League One Bristol Rovers v Hartlepool........................................ Carlisle v Stockport................................................... Gillingham v Colchester ............................................ Milton Keynes Dons v Tranmere................................ Norwich v Brentford .................................................. Oldham v Millwall ...................................................... Southend v Wycombe............................................... Yeovil v Exeter ........................................................... Coca-Cola League Two Aldershot v Bournemouth ......................................... Bury v Hereford ......................................................... Cheltenham v Rochdale ............................................ Crewe v Darlington.................................................... Lincoln City v Bradford.............................................. Morecambe v Barnet................................................. Northampton v Accrington Stanley........................... Notts County v Chesterfield ...................................... Port Vale v Macclesfield ............................................ Rotherham v Grimsby ............................................... Shrewsbury v Dag & Red .......................................... Torquay v Burton Albion............................................ Clydesdale Bank Premier League Aberdeen v Kilmarnock ............................................. Hibernian v Hamilton................................................. Motherwell v St Mirren ..............(12.30pm) TV ESPN Rangers v Hearts....................................................... HORSE RACING Haydock Park, Ascot, Lingfield, Wincanton, Navan RUGBY UNION Heineken Cup Pool 3: Ospreys v Leicester (1.35pm), Viadana v Clermont Auvergne (1.35pm). Pool 4: Bath v Ulster (3.45pm), Edinburgh v Stade Francais (3.45pm). Pool 6: Brive v Scarlets (6pm), London Irish v Leinster (6pm) Amlin Challenge Cup Pool 2: Olympus Madrid v Connacht (3pm). A I B League Division One (2.30): Section A: Blackrock v Clontarf, Dolphin v St Marys, Garryowen v Cork Con, UL Bohemians v Shannon Section B: Ballymena v Old Belvedere, Dungannon v UCC, Galwegians v Buccaneers, Young Munster v Ballynahinch SUNDAY Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final Angola v Ghana..........................(4pm) TV Eurosport Ivory Coast v Algeria .............(7.30pm) TV Eurosport The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON fourth round Stoke v Arsenal ................(1.30pm) TV UTV/Setanta Scunthorpe v Man City .........(4pm) TV UTV/Setanta Clydesdale Bank Premier League Falkirk v Dundee Utd........(1.15pm) TV Sky Sports 3 St Johnstone v Celtic .......(3.30pm) TV Sky Sports 3 HORSE RACING Market Rasen, Kempton, Towcester, Leopardstown, Limerick RUGBY UNION Heineken Cup Pool 2: Biarritz v Glasgow (12.45pm), Newport-Gwent Dragons v Gloucester (12.45pm) Pool 5: Harlequins v Cardiff Blues (3pm) Sale v Toulouse (3pm) WEEKEND FIXTURES SOCCER SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE PHILIPP DEGEN insists he has finally found his feet at Liverpool 19 months after signing for the Reds. Swiss Degen (pictured) has filled in as a midfielder recently as injuries to the likes of Steven Gerrard and Yossi Benayoun have hit manager Rafael Benitez. However, the 26-year-old who took his fair share of criticism after a disappointing first season at Anfield claims he now feels at home on Merseyside. Degen helped Liverpool up to sixth in the Premier League with Wednesdays 2-0 win over Tottenham and said: It was a sad year last year because I was injured but I kept my focus. I have only played at around 60 per cent of my potential and hope I can show much, much more. We have not played well this season but you saw yesterday a team that fought for Liverpool. Midfielder lucas has called on his liverpool team-mates to prove they can survive without their two biggest players. injuries to striker fernando Torres and captain Steven Gerrard have deprived the side of their best two players for six and two weeks respectively. in truth the pair have been struggling all season and liverpools poor campaign has been largely attributed to their unavailability. But after Wednesday nights 2-0 victory against fellow top- four contenders Tottenham, also achieved without Yossi Benayoun and Glen Johnson, lucas said: Now it is time for other players to show we have quality. We have heard a lot liverpool are a two-player team and of course we will miss Stevie, fernando, Yossi and Glen because they are brilliant players. But we cannot have them so we have to play with our squad and against Tottenham we worked really hard. Bullish: Lucas Lucas dismisses two-man team tag Ive arrived, says Degen Metro Heralds betting expert picks out a few worthy wagers ahead of this weekends sport PREMIER LEAGUE Preston turn down Celtics improved bid for St Ledger By Eddie Cleary CelTiC have had a second bid to sign republic of ireland international defender Sean St ledger rebuffed by Preston North end. it is believed Bhoys boss Tony Mowbray has upped his bid to 2.5million plus add-ons totalling a further 500,000, but the Champion- ship side have again turned it down. A previous offer of 1.5m plus add- ons had been rejected out-of-hand by Preston chairman derek Shaw earlier this month. Nine-times capped St ledger had looked set to join Middlesbrough, but the proposed 4.5m move collapsed just before Christmas amid specula- tion of a fall-out with new Boro boss Gordon Strachan. The 25-year-old had been on loan at the riverside for three months and was due to sign a permanent deal when the transfer window opened this month, but had a change of heart. Meanwhile, Mowbray believes lan- dry NGuemos involvement in the Af- rican Nations Cup has had as big an effect in the last two games as the clubs injury problems. Midfielder NGuemo is currently in Angola with the Cameroon squad and, as a result, missed Saturdays Clydes- dale Bank Premier league game with falkirk and Tuesday nights Active Nation Scottish Cup tie at Morton. Mowbray said: We are fully stretched at the moment. There are in- juries to some very, very key players. i think the loss of landry particu- larly while Scott Brown is injured unbalances the side a little bit regard- ing winning the ball back. The squad has coped okay. i dont think itll be long before the likes of Scott Brown, Shaun Maloney, Scott Mcdonald will be back out there competing, back in the team and hopefully driving us on to victories. New offer: St Ledger index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html