RWC 2011 - England vs Scotland

England and Scotland meet for the first time in a RWC match since the 1991 semi-final at Murrayfield, which England triumphed in 9-6 in a closely fought contest. This time around the two sides meet for the last round of games in pool B, with England needing a single point to progress.

Scotland however will find it very difficult to reach the quarter-finals, especially seeing as Argentina face wipping-boys Georgia, with that game likely to outcome in a bonus point win for Argentina. Scotland will have to hope that Georgia put up a fight against Argentina as a bonus point win for Argentina will almost guarantee a spot on the plane home for Scoltand, as they would have to beat England and gain a bonus point themselves.

England 1.18
Scotland 7.2

England have been made clear favourites for the game that will decide the outcome of pool B. England have dropped Mark Cueto despite his hat-trick against Romania, with Delon Armitage coming in for him. Cortney Lawes and Matt Stevens are also selected. Scotland make 6 changes to the side that lost 13-12 to Argentina, with a recall for captain Alastair Kellock. In TacticalBet's opinion, England are right to be made favourites in what should be a closely fought encounter, and even if Scotland spring a suprise and win against England, it would almost certainly be a very small winning margin, and because of Argentina playing Georgia, probably not enough for the Scots to reach the quarter-finals. If they lose, they will almost certainly fly home before the knockout stages, for the first time at a RWC.

Premiership Predictions - Week 7

As on every Friday, we've got the usual predictions of all the clashes in the Barclays Premiership right here. This weekend's highlights would be two derby matches, with Everton taking on Liverpool and also Arsenal facing up to their great North London rivals Tottenham. The set-up is as always.

Everton 1-1 Liverpool @ 3.35

Liverpool look frail away from home, shown in two recent defeats to Stoke and Spurs, so they'll need to be alert defensively. Everton have began decently too, so this one looks an option for the draw. Much will depend on Everton's front line - do they have sufficient firepower?

Aston Villa 2-0 Wigan @ 1.69

This one should be straight-forward for Aston Villa, a side who have navigated the opening 6 weeks unbeaten. Wigan look poor, and will need their big players to perform, namely Al Habsi and Caldwell.

Blackburn 1-2 Manchester City @ 1.61

Blackburn are good at home, shown by their win over Arsenal two weeks ago, but City should have too much quality for them here. However, will the Tevez affair have affected them? It will be interesting to see...

Manchester United 4-0 Norwich @ 1.18

United look in top form this season, aside from their away draw last weekend, and newly promoted Norwich are more than up against it. Expect messers Young and Nani to have a huge say on this one.

Sunderland 0-0 West Brom @ 3.45

Two strugglers this season, so probably safest to opt for the draw. But, in reality it could go either way, and West Brom would be our slight favourites - Sunderland are in a mess at the moment.

Wolves 1-1 Newcastle @ 3.4

Another hard one to call, but with Newcastle flying after an un-beaten start it's hard to put them down to lose. Demba Ba's hat-rick means he's in good form, and definitely one to watch, but Wolves won't buckle easily.

Bolton 1-3 Chelsea @ 1.53

The lack of Torres due to suspension is a blow, but The Blues should have enough to see off a Bolton side on a dreadful run. Chelsea will need to start well though, the Reebok is a tough place to go in any situation.

Fulham 1-1 QPR @ 3.5

QPR look a really different team to the one which suffered that opening day humiliation at the hands of Bolton, with a few key signings. Fulham isn't an easy place to go, but they're struggling - and played on Thursday night - so this one could be a draw, and will certainly be a close contest.

Swansea 1-1 Stoke @ 3.35

Stoke are always a tricky opposition to face, but having played on Thursday night they could be vunerable. Swansea are ever improving in this competition, so they could earn a point here.

Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal @ 2.2

A huge game, for both sides. Arsenal look deciedly average of late, and Adebayor against his old club will be more than up for this one. The start will again be key, and whichever side can get the early momentum will be in a good position to inflict damage. Can the Arsenal back line finally stand up and be counted? They will have to in order to get anything out of this game.

That's all the games for this week, the 7th installement of the Barlcays Premier League this season, and hopefully more than a few of our predictions are correct! Keep an eye on the Twitter page for updates on all the action, as per usual.

Rugby Round Up

Just one more pool match to go in most cases of the Rugby World Cup now, so we felt it seemed a good time to round-up the action so far.

Pool A -

New Zealand's 37-17 demolition of France on Saturday in the 3rd pool game looks enough to place them comfortably top of this group. France will still secure 2nd, having beaten Japan and Canada and with only Tonga to play.

Pool B -

This is a little more exciting, after Argentina's last gasp win over Scotland on Sunday. England can make sure of their passage through with a win over Scotland, which would give them maximum points from the group. So can Argentina, if they claim a bonus point win over Georgia, who are pointless along with Romania. The Scots only hope lies in winning by 8 or more points against England, or scoring 4 tries. Unlikely, but possible.

Pool C -

Ireland's win over Australia means they're on course to come top here, with the Aussies faced with 2nd. However, this could change if the Irish slip up against Italy, who themselves have an outside chance of going through. USA and Russia are both out, with only pride to play for.

Pool D -

Wales' 81-7 win over Namibia earlier today keeps them on course for the runners-up spot in the final pool, with South Africa sure to come top if they beat Samoa. Fiji are the other team in this group and they've been largely disappointing - but do have a history of beating Wales.

This all means potential quarter-finals are looking like England vs France, Ireland against Wales, South Africa up against their famous rivals Australia and hosts New Zealand playing Argentina. However, this all could change! England could reach the final without having to meet a non European team, which would be a huge bonus.

Keep a close eye on here to be up to date with all the goings on, as all the games begin to take more significance on as the tournament progresses into the knock-out phases.

Premiership Predictions - Week 6

Time for TacticalBet's 6th week of Premiership Predictions. After the carnage of last weekend's football, will this be a more predictable week or will it continue to live up to it's name of premier football entertainment. As always, odds are for correct result, not correct score.

Man City 3-1 Everton @ 1.46

Manchester City seemed in imperious form after there first 4 games, claiming 4 convincing wins and scoring for fun. Last weekend however they slipped up despite leading Fulham 2-0 just after half-time. A 2-2 draw may have dented there confidence, but with the likes of Aguero, who has 8 league goals already, in there team, they are still favourites against an Everton side who are incosistent away from home, although 2 wins in a row will give them confidence.

Arsenal 2-1 Bolton @ 1.46

Both sides have struggled in recent games. Arsenal have picked up only 4 points from there first 5 games which, despite Wenger's insistence that his team have so far just been very unlucky, is very below par for a team with aspirations of making the top 4. Bolton started well with a 4-0 win against QPR on the first day of the season but since then there form has dropped. Expect Arsenal to win on home soil.

Chelsea 4-0 Swansea @ 1.22

This should be a routine game for Chelsea, who despite losing against Manchester United last weekend can take positives from there performances so far this season and especially second half against Man Utd. Swansea had struggled for goals until last weekends 3-0 wiin against West Brom. However, they should get no change out of a strong Chelsea side playing at home.

Liverpool 1-1 Wolves @ 5

Liverpool suffered a torrid time against Spurs last weekend and with Skrtel and Adam suspended from that game, now is a better time then ever for Wolves to get a result at Anfield. Wolves are not without there own problems however, following a 3-0 loss to QPR last weekend.

Newcastle 1-0 Blackburn @ 1.92

Blackburn should take heart from a 4-3 victory over Arsenal last weekend, but they still look very short of quality in every area of the pitch, and fan protests won't help there cause. Newcastle are looking an okay side but they still lack goals.

West Brom 1-2 Fulham @ 3.4

West Brom are struggling at the moment and Fulham are buoyant after a 2-2 draw against Arsenal last weekend. Hodgson will have the Baggies organised at home but Fulham with the likes of Zamora and Dempsey, should take 3 points from this game.

Wigan 0-2 Tottenham @ 1.96

Spurs are back in business after a difficult start to the season. A 4-0 win against Liverpool last weekend showed that, and in Adebayor, maybe they have the striker Redknapp has been kraving for the last few seasons. Wigan have taken 5 points from there first 5 games so far and are lying in 15th. Don't expect them to get much from this game.

Stoke 0-3 Man Utd @ 1.56

Manchester United showed there class against Chelsea last weekend, racing to a 3-0 lead at half-time and an eventual 3-1 win, despite being outplayed for large proportions of the game. Stoke suffered a bad loss away at Sunderland last weekend, at despite home advantage they will find it hard the resist the steamroller that is Man Utd.

QPR 1-2 Aston Villa @ 3.6

QPR are improving all the time, but so are Villa under Alex McLeish. The Villans are expected to beat QPR here following 2 draws in there last 2 matches, but QPR will be raring to go following last weekend's 3-0 win over Wolves.

Norwich 0-0 Sunderland @ 3.4

Norwich beat Bolton 2-1 last weekend but after a bright start are struggling for form and consistency. Sunderland will fancy there chances follwing a 4-0 win against Stoke last weekend, but Steve Bruce will know his side must improve away from home if they are to start climbing up the table.

TB's Update

Just a quick update from the people at TB to keep you updated with what's going on in the world of sport at the moment, and also a preview of what to expect as the weekend draws nearer again!

The Rugby World Cup is now in full swing in New Zealand, however it is very much early days. England have began with two shaky wins, and will look for a third against Romania this weekend. Saturday also sees a huge clash between New Zealand and France. By way of other results, almost all have gone to play so far except Ireland's famous win over Australia, and a shock win for Canada over islanders Tonga. Check back to this site on Friday for an in-depth look into England's game.

Football wise, the Premiership was at its fluent best last weekend, with important wins for Tottenham, Man Utd and Sunderland, not to forget Blackburn's over Arsenal. We'll, as always, return this weekend with our predictions, so make sure to check them out!

The cricket season has drawn to a close domestically, but internationally there is still a small amount of action, Australia facing Sri Lanka, and the Champions League also in action. It's worth keeping an eye on that, with our very own Leicestershire and Somerset competing.

So, be sure to read our posts over the coming days, it'll be another big weekend of sport! We've got a selection of rugby clips in the 'Video Gallery' for you to take a look at if you've got time, to celebrate the RWC being played.