TB's 'Stat of the Day'

Did you know.. ?

Jo Wilifred Tsonga's second cousin is Charles N'Zogbia. The Frenchmen, both highly regarded within their respective sports, football and tennis, turn out to be related. Now you mention it, they do look slightly similar! Tsonga sealed his place in Wimbledon's semi-finals after a shock win over Roger Federer on Wednesday, and N'Zogbia played a huge part in Wigan Athletic's 'great escape' to survival in the Barclays Premier League.

30th June's Tips

Sport may appear to be on a downer at the moment, aside from Wimbledon of course, but we'll do our best to keep you in the betting loop with an array of tips and stats. The tennis is still going strong, with the excitement growing greater as Federer falls, Murray marches on and Djokovic dances into the final. Rafa Nadal, the world number 1, is almost about to secure his spot in the semi-finals, 2-1 up against Mardy Fish of the USA. Cricket is underway aswell, the T20 cup in full flow, and the Women's World Cup is also currently in action, England suffering a blow - 1-1 draw with relative minnows Mexico on Tuesday.

Surrey to beat Somerset at The Oval, 2.55.

Kent to beat Hampshire at The Rose Bowl, 2.74.

France W to draw with Canada W, 3.65.

Hosts Germany to beat Nigeria 2-0, 6/1.

Sabine Lisicki to beat Maria Sharapova, 3.55.

Have a look at those, all decent shouts! Taking into account the form, odds, and conditions, as we at TB always do. Thanks for reading!

(W=Women's Football)

4th Round Shocks

Both the Williams' sisters crashed out at the last 16 stage of this years competition, meaning there is a frenzy of betting on who will claim the title. Serena lost to Marion Bartoli of France, 6-3 and 7-6, before Venus was also beaten - this time by Pironkova in straight sets.

This means smart money would be on Maria Sharapova, favourite at around 3/1. Other tips could include Bartoli herself, who has looking in sparkling form, and she's priced at 11.5. In the mens side of the tournament, Andy Murray breezed through 3-0 over Richard Gasquet, meaning his odds to lift the prestigious trophy remain floating in-between 6's and 7's. Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal are both currently in action, keep an eye out for their results, which will have a huge effect on the betting on the competition.

27th and 28th June's Tips

Several different varieties of sport for punters around to get stuck into with the week commencing 27th of June, with the Women's World Cup underway in Germany, Wimbledon heading into a second week, and of course your normal fix of T20 cricket.

Tips :

Brazil to win the Women's World Cup, at 5.8. Germany are huge favourites to make it a hat-rick of wins, at 1.84, but don't underestimate the Brazilians.

Murray to advance to the Quarters is almost a certainty, at 2/1.

Novak Djokovic to reach the final at 2.72. He edged out Marcos Bagdahtis in 4 sets to show his real class, and remains a huge threat for the competition.

Sri Lanka at 2.33 to clinch the first one-day match on Tuesday. They looked imperious in Saturday's T20 encounter, and with legend Sanath Jayasuria making his final appear

ance, they'll be pumped up.

Keep on reading for more of the same, these are just a few tips for Monday and Tuesday's action. Coming soon is an in-depth look into Formula 1 at the moment, as well as your normal selection of tips and stats.

Spain are U21 Champions

The Spanish youngsters lifted the trophy after securing a comfortable 2-0 win over the Swiss in the final, played in Denmark. Spain were the favourites throughout, and our tip, so this victory doesn't come as a surprise at all. Ander Herrera and Thiago Alcantara hit the goals.

TB's Wimbledon Update

As the first few days fly past, just a quick update on who we feel will triumph in both sides of the tournament.

Mens : Surely between Rafa Nadal or Roger Federer. The Swiss is at 3.2, the favourite. However, we feel that it's Nadal who is the best bet, at 3.8. Smart money would be on the Majorcan star, due to his history at Wimbledon and also his exceptional form.

Womens : Maria Sharapova is the favourite here. Yet again we encourage the second favourite, Serena Williams at 5.8. She's a high class performer, and surely has the edge. Our earlier tip Na Li crashed out today, shortening the options in the field...

Just a brief update, keep an eye here for out tips which will come thick and fast over the future days.

Barclays Premier League 2011/2012

The fixtures were announced late last week, promting a rush of excitement and interest as to who will be crowed winners in it's lastest edition. That's in turn tempted TacticalBet to run an early rule over the main contenders, and answer the question of who we think will be the real deal. We will, of course, be going into much more detail nearer the time, but worth getting a bet in early doors!

Man Utd - 3
Chelsea 3.85
Man City 4.9
Arsenal 9
Liverpool 12
Tottenham 65

Manchester United are naturally favourites due to firstly their impressive form last campaign, and also the increasing transfer activity - having snapped up Phil Jones from Blackburn and rumoured to be in the market for Ashley Young, Wesley Sneijder, David de Gea and Luka Modric. Sir Alex Ferguson has theexperience along with this, meaning TacticalBet feels they are the strongest tip for the title. It's hard to look past such a strong history. TB's predo : 1st.

Chelsea have a new manager (see below) and also seem to be seeking to add a few more players to their squad. Falcao and Neymar being suggested, to name only two. However the squad is ageing, and Roman 'trigger happy' Abramovich is known for the odd rash choice, it is almost impossible to predict their season. We'll try however, TB's predo : 2nd.

Arsenal looked in superb form early last season, only to fall apart in the back end of the campaing, as we've seen all too often now from Arsene Wenger's men. Late goals, defensive mishaps, and downright stupidity all were contributing factors. When will Arsene learn? Possibly never. Hard to see them getting any joy in the league, and will do well to maintain a mere top 4 spot. TB's predo :4th.

Liverpool under Kenny Dalglish were a revolution late last season, but were often over estimated. The slipped up against sides like West Ham, hinting at weakness when the going gets tough. Will have to do much more than the purchase of Jordan Henderson to be competitive, he in particular had a very poor U21 Championships. However, Andy Carroll along with Suarez is a threat, and if they can get Gerrard fit and raring to go, they could have a good season. TB's predo : 5th.

Manchester City were brilliant last year, 3rd place and an FA Cup to boot, stunning. Vincent Kompany was exceptional, along with others, and we really think they'll be a force to be reckoned with. If they strengthen, which surely they will, could be a suprise package. Will need to try and keep hold of Tevez though. TB's predo : 3rd.

Tottenham did well to finish 5th last year, but will struggle to ever hit the top 4 again without heavy investment. If Modric goes, they'll need a replacement quickly, Parker maybe? Lacking a top class forward, Defoe only finding the net 3 times last season and Crouch similarly, they'll have to splash the cash to perform. Their best bet it to make a sustained run in the Europa League, and make sure of a top 6 finish next year. Anything higher would be optimistic, and a title challenge at 65/1 almost a sure-fire waste of money. TB's predo : 6th.

Next up we'll adress who we think it ripe for the drop, which teams are likely to go down and why. Keep an eye out for it, along with all the tranfer news. Thanks for reading!

Andre Villas Boas to Chelsea

Andre Villas Boas is expected to be confirmed as the new Chelsea manager after securing his release from Porto late on Tuesday, who in turn replaced him with their previous assistant - Victor Pereira. He is anticipated to sign a 3 year contract, with star striker Falcao being touted to move along with him. This therefore closes the market on who would be Chelsea's manager...

Villas Boas is 3.85 to lead his new charges to Premier League glory in his first season at Stamford Brigde. He's 8/1 to secure the Champions League, but to do that Chelsea will have to oust Barcelona from Europe's top perch, and they are once again favourites at 3.05.

TB's 'Stat of the Day'

Novak Djokovic and Jeremy Chardy play today at Wimbledon, in the men's first round. The pair have met five times previously, and the stat is... Djokovic has triumphed in every single meeting against the Frenchman. This makes him heavy favourite to progress, naturally.

UEFA European U21 Championship

Group Stage Round-Up

Group A :

Switzerland - 9 Points
Belarus - 3 Points
Iceland - 3 Points
Denmark - 3 Points

Group B :

Spain - 7 Points
Czech Republic - 6 Points
England - 2 Points
Ukraine - 1 Point

This years group stages have been closer than ever, with the runners-up in group A decided on head-to-head games, and the runners-up in group B decided by 3 goals in 15 mins in the tie between England and the Czech Republic, with the Czech's eventually prevailing, and they will now join Spain from group B in the semi-finals. In group A, runaway leaders Switzerland sealed there place in the semi's as group winners, and after the 3 remaining teams all finished on 3 points, Belarus where confirmed as runners-up.

The Semi-Finals :

Switzerland vs Czech Republic

Switzerland were the only team in the group stages with a perfect record. 3 wins in 3 games, scoring 6 goals and conceding none. They will find it more difficult against the Czech's though who scored twice late on against England to seal there place in the semi-finals, finishing with 6 points, having scored 4 goals and conceded 4. A tough game to call, but we're backing the Swiss at 2.4 (Czech win = 3.25, Draw = 3.35).

Spain vs Belarus :

On paper Spain have already sealed there place in the final. But as we know, football is not played on paper. Spain picked up 7 points in the group stages and scored 6 goals, conceding only once. With an average of 63% ball possesion in the tournament so far, Belarus will find it very tough to stop Spain creating chances. Belarus only picked up 3 points in there group and scored 3 goals whilst conceding 5. They reached the semi's on head-to-head and should expect to be brushed aside easily by the Spanish, priced at 1.24 (Belarus win = 18, Draw = 6.8).

Top Scorer :

Adrian (Spain) - 3 Goals - 1.54
Juan Mata (Spain) - 2 Goals - 5
Bořek Dočkal - (Czech Republic) - 2 Goals - 21
Admir Mehmedi - (Switzerland) - 2 Goals - 6.8

Wimbledon 2011

The prestigious Wimbledon Tournament begins tomorrow, although heavy rain forecast may affect any play on Monday. Despite this, some action will be guaranteed due to the roof on Centre Court. This is he 125th occurrence of this famous event, and is sure to be a classic yet again!

Mens Tips :

Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal are the clear favourites, 3.25 for the Swiss and 3.85 for his Spanish counterpart. In our view at TacticalBet, Nadal is the best bet, not Federer. Smart money would be on the man from Majorca, ranked number 1 in the world, has the edge over the rest.

Andy Murray at 7.6 could be a decent option, having recently won Queens he appears in good form.

Novak Djokovic at 5, potential winner due to his record breaking run early in the year, and well rested as he didn't appear at Queens.

Juan Martin Del Potro and Jo Wilfried-Tsonga are 65 and 75 respectively, maybe an outsider will claim glory! It's been done before...

Womens Tips :

Na Li at 11's, could be a success after winning the French Open, possibly by following it up with a win here.

Venus Williams at 10.5, can she put her personal issues in the past and return with a victory?

Specials Tips :

Nadal and Sharapova to both win, 17.5.

Andy Roddick to reach another Wimbledon final, 25's.

Despite Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal certain to dominate the mens section of the competition, there is always the potential for a surprise. The womens is more open, although the big names such as the Williams sisters are again up there to perform well.

Stat of the Day

England and Lancashire's James Anderson's highest Test score is 34. He was dismissed this morning just short of surpassing it, on 27. The 57 cap man has an average of just a shade under 12.

Saturday Tips

As Rory McIlory continued his charge in the golf to register a stunning 11 under par at the half way stage his odds have shortened to 2/7. The weather ruined the T20 cricket but England managed to firmly establish the upper hand in the final Test match against Sri Lanka and if you backed them when we suggested then you will be hoping for the weather to stay fair enough to allow a result.. Our tip Nathaniel also managed to triumph at Ascot.

Saturday's tips for the final day of racing at Ascot are Await the Dawn in the 3.05 at 8/11 and Bewitched in the 3.45 at 4/1.

In the gold, despite McIlory's dominance there is still some value on each way bets for the other contenders. Y E Yang at 9/1 and Phil Mickelson at 40/1 both have the pedigree to get inside the top 3 and maybe even push McIlory.

T20 cricket tomorrow, not much value in the games so we are going for a Notts and Kent double at around 1.3/1 with bet365, if the weather allows.

Stat of the Day

Did you know... ?

The longest hole on a golf course is the sixth at the Koolan Island Course in Australia. The hole measures 860 yards.

Friday's Forecast

A very interesting day of sport on Thursday as Rory McIlroy set the pace at the US open and England took early wickets in a rain affected day at the cricket. At Ascot it was a good day for punters as heavy favourite Fame and Glory romped to victory in the Gold Cup.

In the golf, Y E Yang looks very good value at 18/1 after a first round of 3 under par. Graeme McDowell began his defence in very solid fashion with a round of 1 under par and is at 25/1. McIlory heads the field though at around 9/4.

Our two tips for the racing at Ascot for Friday are Theyskens' Theory at 6/1 in the Coronation and Nathaniel in the 3.05 at 11/4.

In the T20 cricket we are tipping Kent to beat Sussex, excellent value at 6/4

Thursday's Tips

Lots of sport for you to get your teeth into today and over the coming weekend punters. England have began the final match of the series against Sri Lanka down in Hampshire, Graeme McDowell will begin his defence of the US Open and the England Under 21s face a must win match against the Czech Republic on Sunday night.

Our tips:

England to win the match at 7/4 at the start (odds may change as morning session progresses).
Kevin Pietsersen to be England's top scorer in the 1st innings at 4/1.

In the golf we think Lee Westwood at 12/1 and Martin Kaymer at 28/1 look good value. Justin Rose might be worth an each way bet at around 66/1.

At Ascot today,our big tip comes in the Gold Cup at 3.45 where we think Duncan can back up his win the in the Yorkshire cup with another victory here... he's at 7/1.

England 0-0 Ukraine

England face a 'winner takes all' clash against the Czech Republic in the European U21 Championships, following their 0-0 draw against the Ukraine in Denmark. A poor game sets up plenty of excitement next time Stuart Pearce's men take tothe field! Check below for 'Stat of the Day', and Wednesday's Tips, see how they did!

Stat of the Day

Lee Bowyer has collected the most yellow cards in Premier League history. The 34 year old, currently a free agent following his release from Birmingham, has also played for Newcastle, Leeds, Charlton and West Ham, amassing 101 yellow cards in his 17 year career.

Wednesday's Wonders

2 out of 2 for the TacticalBet team on the T20 on Tuesday night as Durham beat Notts easily and then Sussex cruised to victory over Somerset, with Marcus Trescothick top scoring for Somerset.

Wednesday provides 3 more games with our tips being:

Essex to beat Somerset at 11/10.
Martin Guptill to be top scorer for Derbyshire in their game against Worcestershire.

In the Under 21 Euro Championship Spain take on the Czech Republic and England play the Ukraine. Here are some players we believe will be ones for the future:

Vaclav Kadlec, the young Czech Republican is certainly one for the future and he has scored 12 goals for Sparta Prague already having just turned 19. He is a striker with a great turn of pace and shot and whilsthe lacks a bit of strength at the moment he should develop this in the next few years. He has already been on Chelsea's radar and whilst he didn't get on in their opening game, expect him to make an impact if he does feature. 10/3 to score anytime.


Javi Martinez, the Spain captain was the dominate force in their midfield against England and
expect him to shine again against the Czech side in the second group game. Already a World Cup winner at the tender age of 22 last summer he will be a big name in the full Spanish side once the current cohort retire. An outsider at 12/1 to score first.

With the highly impressive David de Gea, target for Man United, in goal then Spain to keep a clean sheet at 2.18 on Betfair looks excellent value. They were rock solid at the back against England and very unlucky to concede in the last minute.

We also reckon the Draw/Spain in the HT/FT betting looks much better value than Spain outright at around 10/3.

Check back tomorrow for tips on the final match between England and Sri Lanka and the weekends sporting action. Thanks for reading.

Tuesday's Tips

With RoyalAscot getting under way on Tuesday we think that Goldikova at 6/4 in the 2.30 is the perfect way to make an immediate profit.

The feature race of the day, The St. James's Palace Stakes at 3.45, sees Frankel (pictured) heading the field at 4/11 but we reckon Grand Prix Boss looks excellent value at around 18/1 and we think an each way bet should provide a handy profit.

There are also 3 games of cricket in the FL T20 competition to make some money on tonight.

Durham look the best value of the night at 11/10 to beat Notts on Bet365 or 2.2 on Betfair.

Marcus Trescothick to top score for Somerset against Sussex is also a decent bet at 11/4.

Meanwhile, Andy Murray has come down to around 5/1 to win Wimbledon after his Queens triumph and we think it could be a good idea to lay at that price.

Monday's Sporting Update

Jenson Button clinched his 10th Grand Prix victory in a thrilling Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday night as he surged passed Sebastain Vettel in thelast lap after the German made an error. Rain had caused chaos throughout the race but Button triumphed despite a clash with team mate Lewis Hamilton, a puncture after clipping Fernando Alonso's Ferrari and a drive through penalty for speeding behind the safety car. Vettel still leads the Championship by 60 points with Button in 2nd place.

In other news, Andy Murray clinched his second Queens title in the rearranged final on Monday, beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 to complete the perfect preparation for Wimbledon.

More managerial changes inthe football world as Steve McClaren was appointed Nottingham Forest manager just a day after Billy Davies was sacked. Alex McLeish has resigned as Birmingham City manager with speculation that he will take the vacant position at Aston Villa.

England Under 21s secured a 1-1 draw against their Spain counter parts thanks to a late Danny Welbeck goal and Phil Jones has finally secured his move from Blackburn to Man United for a fee believed to be worth 17 million.

Check back soon for Tuesday's Tips including T20 cricket, and racing at Ascot.

Sunday's Sporting Update

Football : The European U21 Championships have begun in Denmark (look below for an in-depth preview) with Belarus winning 2-0 over Iceland, and the hosts suffering a defeat to the Swiss, this time 1-0. England have their first game tonight at 7-45pm, against favourites Spain. Domestically Villa continue their search for a new manager after being turned down by Roberto Martinez, as do Chelsea. In transfer news, Newcastle have signed Yohan Cabaye from Lille, a highly rated midfielder who made his international debut in France's 1-0 win over Norway back in August. (4.3m transfer fee, 5 year contract). Michael Chopra has also moved, to Ipswich from Cardiff.

Cricket : India have secured an unassailable 3-0 lead in their One Day International series in the West Indies, and within England the FL T20 competition is well underway. Yorkshire won against Lancashire in the Roses Derby, and Sussex lost their unbeaten streak to Middlesex. Nottinghamshire lead the North group, with Hampshire in charge in the South group. James Anderson has recovered from injury to take his place in the England squad for the 3rd test against Sri Lanka, replacing Surrey's Jade Dernbach.

Tennis : Andy Murray defeated Andy Roddick in one semi-final at Queens, with fellow Briton James Ward losing to J0-Wilfried Tsonga in the other. The final is due to be played on Sunday, but heavily delayed because of rain. Murray looked in stunning form, therefore meaning he is the favourite to win the championship.

Stat of the Day

Did you know?

Sir Matt Busby coached the Great Britain Olympic Football team in 1948. The side were eventually knocked out by Yugoslavia in the semi-finals. The current side in 2012 hasn't had a coach announced, with Stuart Pearce mentioned as a possible candidate.

Saturday's Stunners

A couple of unlikely, unusual bets for you.. You never know, could be worth it!

Laurent Blanc to become Manchester United's next manager? 28/1

Redknapp to Chelsea? 8/1

James Ward to win Queens? 46/1

Warwickshire to win the Clydesdale Bank 40, 12.5/1

Christian Eriksen to score first for Denmark U21's against the Swiss, 10/1