Tony Kelshaw 
Joleon Lescott earned 26 England caps as a defender and served Wolves, Everton and Manchester City with great distinction. We ask him about how his former clubs are faring this season.
Stoke have struggled to adapt to life in the Championship but are fancied to prove a cut above Rotherham, judged on our Trueform ratings. These teams were in the Premier League and League One respectively last season, so the hope is that the Potters are still a class apart at this stage.
George Groves is fancied to prove a level above fellow Englishman Callum Smith in Friday’s World Boxing Super Series final in Saudi Arabia. The Londoner suffered a shoulder injury when beating Chris Eubank Jr in his super-middleweight semi but has had plenty of time to recover.
Anthony Joshua is expected to maintain his unbeaten record against Alexander Povetkin at Wembley on Saturday and can become the first fighter to stop his Russian opponent. AJ was taken the distance by Joseph Parker in Cardiff at the end of March but can get back on the knockout trail in London.
Bristol City are regularly tracking above Wigan on our Trueform chart and even impressed in Tuesday night’s 4-2 Championship loss at West Brom. However, the likeable Latics are unbeaten in four home matches this term, picking up 10 points out of a possible 12 at DW Stadium.
QPR have recovered well from a poor start to the Championship campaign and are fancied to maintain the momentum by beating Millwall. Steve McClaren’s side have picked up seven points from their last three games and achieved a high Trueform rating for Saturday’s triumph at Bolton.
Real Madrid begin their quest for a fourth straight Champions League triumph by taking on last season’s beaten semi-finalists Roma at the Bernabeu. The Whites will this time have to do it without key figures Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane to rely on for inspiration but can still shine.
Stoke were slow to adapt to life in the Championship but are now enjoying more good days than bad and are fancied to see off Swansea. The Welsh outfit have produced several poor Trueform ratings of late due to struggling up front and lost twice to the Potters in the Premier League last term.
Gennady Golovkin will face Saul Alvarez in an eagerly-awaited rematch this weekend and we’re backing the Kazakhstan fighter to come out on top in our Canelo vs GGG 2 predictions. Most pundits had Golovkin in front on their scorecards when the first encounter ended in a controversial draw 12 months ago.
Blackburn and Aston Villa are very closely matched on our Trueform ratings over the last four rounds of Championship fixtures. Both teams are in mid-table with nine points and looking to bounce back from suffering heavy defeats prior to the international break.
We’ve got T20 finals day betting tips for both semis and also an outright winner selection ahead of all the action at Edgbaston on Saturday. This event always produces plenty of thrills and spills, with an abundance of boundaries and some spectacular sixes almost assured.
Martin O’Neill will take a depleted Republic of Ireland squad to Poland for Tuesday’s international friendly and we fear more misery for the men in green. Robert Lewandowski is poised to celebrate his 100th international cap for the hosts, who will be keen to make the occasion even more memorable with a win.
Michael O’Neill called Northern Ireland’s Nations League defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina “a sore one” and Israel may feel the backlash at Windsor Park. The hosts are 66 places above their opponents in the FIFA rankings and are traditionally strong when playing in front of their own fans.
Leeds and Middlesbrough are joint-top of the Championship table after five rounds of fixtures but United have been more impressive so far. New manager Marcelo Bielsa has brought high-tempo tactics to Elland Road and that can give them the edge over the more pragmatic game-plan of Tony Pulis.