Tony Kelshaw 
Power hitting will be the order of the day when Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka clash in this year’s Australian Open final. A new women’s champion will be crowned at Melbourne Park and neither of these players likes to shy away from going for the big shots.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has the daunting task of trying to stop Novak Djokovic from claiming a 10th Australian Open triumph in Melbourne. The Greek ace actually won two of their first three meetings, but has since suffered nine straight defeats against the Serbian superstar.
Antonio Conte doesn’t tend to take too many chances with the strength of his FA Cup selections, so Tottenham should be too good for Preston. The Italian lifted this trophy when in charge of Chelsea and is expected to target another decent run with Spurs this season.
Man Utd have all but booked one trip to Wembley this season in the EFL Cup and can march on in the FA Cup by easing past Reading. These teams have met twice in this competition since the Royals were last a Premier League club, with United prevailing 4-0 in 2017 and 2-0 four years ago.
Anthony Yarde looks to have bitten off more than he can chew by challenging WBC, IBF and WBO light-heavyweight champ Artur Beterbiev. Yard will have home advantage at Wembley in London, but veteran title holder Beterbiev is rated a class apart and should wear down his opponent.
We’ve reached the men’s semi-finals stage with our Australian Open predictions and are eyeing a 9/2 double at Melbourne Park. The pressure is always intense at the first grand slam event of the year and punters can expect plenty of thrills and spills Down Under.
Tottenham suffered a second-half collapse versus Man City but had shown enough to suggest they can prove too strong for Fulham again. Spurs have won seven of the last eight meetings between these teams and have prevailed on six straight trips to Craven Cottage.
Leeds enjoyed a welcome boost when beating Cardiff in the FA Cup on Wednesday but may find Brentford much more formidable foes at Elland Road. The Bees have picked up 13 points out of 15 from their last five Premier League matches and thrashed the Whites 5-2 at home earlier this season.
Crystal Palace snatched a late point against Man Utd on Wednesday and can also hold Newcastle to a draw at Selhurst Park. These teams have already met twice at St James’ Park this season in the Premier League and the EFL Cup, with both games ending in stalemate.
Andy Murray is 50/1 for grand slam glory in the 2023 Australian Open winner odds ahead of his third-round clash with Roberto Bautista Agut. The Scot, who has claimed Wimbledon and US Open triumphs in his stellar career, is a five-time finalist at Melbourne Park.
Bundesliga action returns this week after an absence of over two months when RB Leipzig entertain Bayern Munich on Friday night. These teams clashed at this venue in the German Super Cup at the start of the season, when FC Hollywood won a classic encounter 5-3.
With Valentine’s Day approaching, we’ve taken our annual look at which pairs of footballers form the best strike partnerships on the pitch. We’ve measured this across a range of leagues by calculating the combined goalscoring rate of every pairing per 90 minutes spent together.
Leeds showed they are up for the FA Cup when rallying late on at Cardiff and the fourth-round draw has provided them with more incentive. The winners of this replay will visit Accrington or Boreham Wood, so we reckon the Whites should be eyeing a good run this season.
Tottenham have struggled for consistency this season but are traditionally reliable when hosting Arsenal in the Premier League. Spurs have won the last three north London derbies played in front of their own fans and last lost to the Gunners on home turf in the top flight in 2014.