Andrew McDermott 
Cameroon are the Africa Cup of Nations hosts so will be determined to get off to a confident start in front of their own fans in the tournament opener. The Indomitable Lions are one of the leading fancies at 9.50 to win the tournament for the sixth time, having triumphed most recently in 2017.
Rafael Benitez is under pressure to quickly improve Everton’s fortunes and that should ensure they treat their FA Cup third-round tie at Hull seriously. The Toffees are languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table with just one win since late September so confidence must be low.
With the next MLB season due to start in the spring, we have taken a look at the prospects of every team using two different measures. Firstly we have analysed how well each team might start the new campaign using bwin’s MLB outright odds to assess the strength of their first 10 opponents, starting with the American League.
With the NFL post-season beginning in mid-January, we have analysed every previous one since the current format was established back in 2002 to understand what might happen this time around on the road to Super Bowl LVI.
Barcelona have gone from footballing superpower to international laughing stock in an alarmingly short space of time, but the seeds of their demise were sown by many years of poor management. The salary restriction imposed on them by La Liga has forced them to cut costs drastically, but they were a response to the enormous debts racked up by the club, which left them vulnerable when Covid-19 hit European football hard.
NASCAR stands for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. It was founded in 1948 in Daytona Beach, Florida, to capitalise on the growing popularity of racing ordinary, factory-produced (or “stock”) cars.
The NASCAR Cup Series – which began a year later – is the highest level of competition within the sport.
It has been a memorable year for both fighters and one of them will end it as lightweight champion as Charles Oliveira puts his gold belt on the line against Dustin Poirier. This is UFC’s 13th pay-per-view event of 2021 and a fascinating contest is in store in the main event.
The golfing year is almost over but there is one elite event left and we have studied the odds to choose our Hero World Challenge picks. There are only 20 players competing at the invitational event at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas, which offers $1million for the winner.
United have produced plenty of drama in the Champions League but now have the chance to qualify for the last 16 with a match to spare as they head to Spain. Victory over Villarreal would see them reach the knockout stage and a draw will be enough if the other match in the group is also a stalemate.
Chelsea only need a point to reach the last 16 of the Champions League but will hope for more when they host Juventus. The Italian side are already guaranteed a place in the knockout stage and that can play into the hands of the Londoners.
There have already been five managerial changes in the Premier League this season but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer survived the international break and now takes his Manchester United team to struggling Watford. United have only won one of their last six games but are still firm favourites to get the better of Watford.
Burnley picked up an unexpected point at Chelsea before the international break and will look to build on that at home to Crystal Palace. We’re not reading too much into that result, though, given how dominant Chelsea were and 10th-placed Palace have been much more impressive this season.
Chelsea dropped points at home prior to the international break and the Premier League leaders have had a frustrating wait to make amends. Burnley became the first team other than title contenders Liverpool and Manchester City to take points off Chelsea this season with a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Newcastle cannot just wait until January signings arrive to step up their relegation fight and new manager Eddie Howe will be desperate to make a winning start at St James’ Park. His first three home matches in charge are against fellow strugglers Brentford, Norwich and Burnley so Howe has an early chance to get the Toon Army onside.