Tony Kelshaw
Defending Olympic champions Brazil made smooth progress through the group stage and should prove too hot for Egypt in the quarter-finals. The underdogs have looked organised and efficient so far but lacked a cutting edge up front versus Spain and Argentina in their pool.
Japan were the only team to win all three group-stage games at the Tokyo Olympics and look worthy favourites to see off New Zealand. The Kiwis did look defensively sound in two of their matches, though, so we’re not expecting this to be a blow-out now the pressure is on.
Ivory Coast battled their way through a tough group at the Tokyo Olympics and are fancied to give Spain a stiff test in the quarter-finals. La Rojita look equally determined to make up for a moderate recent record in this event but have had trouble scoring goals so far.
It takes a rare combination of talent and effort to win a major sporting title, but it requires a particularly unusual quantity of both to defeat all challengers year after year. We’ve looked at some of the champions who maintained the highest level of dominance over a period of 10 years.
We’ve got four selections from Thursday’s second-leg games for our latest Europa Conference League predictions and are chasing a 7/1-plus accumulator. Don’t forget to check out bwin’s Enhanced Accas page for daily price boosts on multiple bets from all over the world.
We’re posting Glorious Goodwood tips for every race at this year’s Sussex festival, continuing with seven expert picks for day three. The Nassau Stakes is Thursday’s feature event, backed up by a couple of other Group-class contests, and Ashley Iveson is hoping to bash the bookies.
Great Britain almost paid the price for resting players versus Canada but should be back at full focus for the women’s quarter-finals. Australia represent spirited opponents but are rated just a level below, judged on what we have seen so far at the Tokyo Olympics.
Mexico have been crowned CONCACAF Gold Cup champions four times in the last six renewals and look on course to reach the final again. Canada head into this semi in good spirits but are 59 spots lower down the FIFA rankings and that gulf in class is expected to tell in Houston.
Qatar have been entertaining guests at the CONCACAF Gold Cup but face a tough test when taking on USA in the semi-finals in Texas. The hosts have reached the final 11 times in 15 renewals of this tournament, including when narrowly beaten by Mexico in the 2019 decider.
Lewis Hamilton claimed a controversial win on home turf in Britain but Max Verstappen is expected to bounce straight back in our Hungarian Grand Prix predictions. The Red Bull driver was left seething after being shunted off the track by his title rival at Silverstone.
The British and Irish Lions finished strongly when beating South Africa 22-17 last weekend and can pick up where they left off in the second Test. A couple of marginal TMO calls did go their way but that shouldn’t detract from a commanding second-half performance in Cape Town.
PSV were totally dominant when thrashing Galatasaray 5-1 in Eindhoven and can confirm that superiority in the second leg in Istanbul. A date with Celtic or Midtjylland looks assured for the Dutch outfit, who appear to be back on an upward curve under Roger Schmidt.
We’ve got Champions League predictions from Wednesday’s second-leg qualifiers and are hoping to land a 19/3 pay-out. Don’t forget to watch out for bwin’s Enhanced Accas, with price boosts provided on a number of popular combinations throughout all competitions.
We’ve got four selections from Wednesday’s matches at the Olympics for our football accumulator tips and are eyeing a near-8/1 pay-out. Don’t forget to check out bwin’s Enhanced Accas page for daily price boosts on multiple bets featuring teams from all over the world.