Football’s greatest showcase, the World Cup 2010, comes to a conclusion today when Spain meet the Netherlands in South Africa. For the Netherlands, this will be their third appearance in a final, their previous two appearances resulting in losses. For Spain, this is their first ever appearance in a final, and that comes with its own hurdles.

Teams playing in the finals for the first time have poor records. This fact has not been lost on punters with Spain easing overnight to 11/10. The Netherlands have firmed slightly to 3/1 while the ninety minute draw has also firmed to 5/2. In outright betting, the money has flowed to Spain following Paul the Octopus’s pick. He still has a 100% record having picked Germany to defeat Uruguay yesterday.

Spain are 4/7 to win in World Cup 2010 outright betting while the Dutch have remained safe at 17/10. This will be an interesting game to watch. Both sides are quite clinical in their play with Spain having a little more of the flair. To counter that, the Dutch seem to have a real killer attitude, an aspect of the game that even their coaching staff admits is missing.

History counts for nothing. Paul the Octopus’s selections count for nothing. On the day – it’s 22 men on the field who will determine today’s result (not counting the referee, who we hope doesn’t affect the result). We have to stay faithful to our tips from day one. We suggested that the Netherlands would be the dark horse and one of the teams to beat. We will stick to our guns and predict a Dutch victory on penalties. Back the ninety minute draw and the Netherlands to win in outright betting.

Yesterday’s game was a spectacle with five goals, all coming from great football. Uruguay played one of their best games and on stage, leading 2-1, looked to be heading for a surprise win. Football can turn around quickly, and yesterday was a good example of this with the Germans suddenly responding with two more goals.

It’s been a great World Cup 2010 tournament with plenty of excitement, plenty of controversy, shock results, and equally appalling referee decisions. But then, it’s not going to be a World Cup without them – is it? We will be back tomorrow to see if Spain can break the rookie drought – one thing we do know, tonight we will be celebrating a first time World Cup victory for either Spain or Netherlands – good luck to them both.

We are in for an intriguing couple of days in the Australian Open with both Roger Federer and Serena Williams facing home town heroes. I would normally expect both of these players to dominate against their opponents, however, this year may just be a little different. Online bookmakers have made them both short priced favourites – that could be to our advantage.

Federer will come up against former number one Lleyton Hewitt, a player Federer has beaten in each of their previous 12 matches. Prior to that, Hewitt had a 100% strike rate against Federer. What’s different this year? There are a number of factors. Federer is getting a little older and can be vulnerable – especially over five sets. Hewitt is the fittest he has been for several years – he also has that hunger to win.

Testimony to the difference between Hewitt’s last appearance in this event and this year was in the match against Baghdatis – his nemesis over the last few years. Hewitt cruised through the first set in a faultless 6-0 performance that was reminiscent of his early days. If Hewitt takes that form into his game against Federer, anything could happen. Hewitt is 8/1 to win, Federer is 1/10. At those odds, it’s either sit back and watch, or have a little on Hewitt. I sense a Hewitt victory.

Serena Williams is in a similar situation. She is facing local favourite Samantha Stosur and if their last match is any indication their current odds are rather strange. Stosur is one player that Williams has trouble getting past. At their last meeting, Stosur took the game away from Williams, eventually winning with ease – and that was on Williams’ home turf in LA. Stosur is determined to make it to a home slam final and with the crowd behind her she will be hard to beat. Stosur is 6/1 to win with Williams at 1/7. Again, at those odds it’s either watch or back Stosur.

I fancy the home town double. The odds should be terrific, around 70/1, plus yet the chance of winning is much lower. That is what a value betting is all about.

The big chill is certainly leaving its mark with only two games of Premier League football yesterday and today’s two games looking doubtful starters. Those looking for betting tips may want to head inside out of the weather and check out today’s darts and snooker action.

David Chisnall is the favourite to win the BDO Darts World Championships. He plays against English captain Martin Adams in today’s final of the event. Bookmakers are having a hard time splitting the pair with Chisnall the narrowest of favourites at 9/10 – Adams is at 1/1 to take out the World Championship title.

It’s another one of those betting quirks where different bet types have each player at different odds. Whilst Chisnall is the outright favourite to win the title, online bookmakers have the pair at joint 1/1 to win the final match. If you like Chisnall to take the title then take the 1/1 for him to win the final match.

Snooker on the other hand starts today with the Masters. Ronnie OSullivan is the favourite to win the title at 11/4 with John Higgins at 11/2. They are the only two in serious consideration with Stephen Maguire, Shaun Murphy and Mark Selby next best at 10/1.

There are three good matches to be played today and once again bookmakers are having problems splitting the players. In the opening game Junhui (10/11) takes on Selby (1) – For Selby to figure in the finals he will need to win these early matches.

Today’s second game sees Marco Fu (1) take on Peter Ebdon (1). This will be a great match with both players rated fairly equally. The odds aren’t fancy by we like Fu to win here.

The final match today is between Mark King (8/15) and Jimmy White (7/4). It’s the only game all day where the bookies have made a clear favourite – and I am taking them on betting on Jimmy White to win through. Hopefully the skies will clear and we will be back to football action mid week – until then, keep on winning.

Liverpool came within a whisker of being third round losers in this season’s FA Cup, a season that seems to be riding a roller coaster. Playing lowly-rated Championship side Reading, the Reds had to come from behind to score an equalizer that at least sent the game to Anfield for a replay. With home ground advantage, the Reds should at least survive to the fourth round. With their season riding this roller coaster, they will probably win 5-0 at home and once again raise the hopes of their fans. Interestingly, bookmakers still have the Reds as third favourites at 7/1 to lift the Cup.

The third round of the FA Cup continues today with Manchester United and Chelsea both playing home games against weaker opposition. I don’t expect any surprises from those home games.

Today’s two late games, West Ham (5/1) at home to Arsenal (4/6) and Tranmere (4/1) at home to Wolves (10/11) could produce interesting results. The Hammers have had a poor season compared to last season. Relegation is still on the cards so it is hard to know what direction the team will take today. Arsenal have been fielding young sides but they have certainly been doing the job. It provides a lot of promise for the Gunners over the next two seasons.

Arsenal have to back up and play again on Wednesday in a Premier League game that they need to win. This game could well end in another draw and, at 3/1, is good value. A draw will send the replay to Arsenal’s home ground – I don’t think they will mind that at all.

Wolves don’t play all that well away from home and although Tranmere are nowhere near Premier League standard, a home win against a top flight team is always worth fighting for. At 4/1, Tranmere also look to be good odds – I suggest a surprise win here today.

This weekend the FA Cup takes over the normal weekend football role and whilst most of the Premier League sides look to have easy passages, there are one or two good betting to follow up on. It’s been a tough week for most clubs so it will be interesting to see how they fare and what strength sides they send out onto the pitch.

The big winner this week is probably Arsenal. They youngsters are really starting to fire and while the table says they are four points behind the leader, they do still have a game in hand. Manchester United are in the box seat only two points off the lead – this time last season they were a good seven points off the lead and sailed home to Premiership victory. The race for number one will certainly be interesting over the next five months.

The big loser for the week was probably Villa. They were poised to take over third spot on the table but instead find themselves back in sixth place six points behind Arsenal and two points behind Spurs in fourth place. They are still a chance to make the top four but they will certainly have a fight on their hands.

To the FA Cup this weekend. Manchester City wont have it all their own way traveling to former Premier league Middlesbrough. The home side is good value at 5/1 and worth a second look. Nottingham Forest at home against former Championship side Birmingham could be an interesting game as well. Forest are 2/1 with online bookmakers – good value for a home side.

Newcastle look to be sailing back to the Premier League but they have hit a few speed bumps in recent weeks. They may struggle away to Plymouth who are good value at 7/2.

For a real long shot, Reading at 7/1 at home against Liverpool looks to be great value. Reading aren’t world beaters, but with Liverpool struggling to put two or three consecutive games together, it may be their best chance of taking on and beating a top flight site side.

There are some great betting odds on offer in that group – favourites don’t win all the time, in fact, I hope you grabbed a little of the 2/1 on offer before England defeated South Africa in the cricket. They were great odds considering the way the game was going. We find the good winners every now and then.

It’s not often that we can brag about picking the card – but we did yesterday with all our betting tips doing the right thing. Not only that, we tipped Pompey to defeat Liverpool – nice odds of 5/1. We tipped Fulham to beat Manchester United – even nicer odds of 6/1 and we tipped Spurs to defeat Blackburn with the odds okay at 5/4.

The other games of course were easy to predict with Arsenal, Spurs and Villa returning solid wins. We even predicted a tough victory for Manchester City against Sunderland and that’s how it turned out. Let’s see if we can take a 6-for-6 Saturday and turn it into a full book for the weekend. Bookmakers for once are not cheering my selections.

Today’s games are a little tricky, actually, and it all starts with the first game of the day between Wolves and Burnley. These two sides were both promoted at the start of the season and have had good debuts. Wolves have faltered a little of late whilst Burnley continue to surprise some of the top sides. Wolves are 15/13 at home to win with Burnley at good odds of 3/1. The draw at 5/2 looks attractive but I’m going to stick my neck out and select the visitors.

Another surprise result can be expected in the Everton (10/11) v Birmingham (7/2) game. Birmingham are currently 8th on the table level on points with Liverpool – a win today will see them promoted above Manchester City into 6th place an only a win behind Spurs in 5th spot. Everton have had a see-saw season and are fairly unpredictable. At home, they should win – ’should’ being the operative word. Birmingham to win a close game with a saver on the draw (13/5).

The last game for today has West Ham (15/2) hosting top of the table Chelsea (2/5) . The visitors performed poorly during the week although Portsmouth have now made that form look good. West Ham are languishing in the relegation zone and badly need a win to get their season back on track. Against the top of the table side and at home, they would probably welcome at least a point. A win can bounce the Hammers out of the bottom three to join Everton and Hull. The draw at 15/4 is really good value and my tip but put a little on West Ham as well – I predict another surprise result.

The weekends is completed tomorrow with Wigan (15/13) hosting Bolton (3/1). Wigan have also had a strange season defeating top sides then losing to sides below them. They play well at home and against an ailing Bolton, I predict a home win. This is another weekend where online betting cops a hiding and bookies give a quiet little cheer.

For most golfers, they enjoy playing 18 holes then landing at the club house (nicknamed the 19th) for a well earned drink. Ernie Els is developing a record for claiming drinks on the 18th, one hole too early. At least, his ball is. He is the hot betting tip to win the Alfred Dunhill Championships in South Africa this weekend – you have to hope he stays clear of the water.

He won this event in 2005 and had a healthy two shot lead coming into the 18th in 2007 but found the water twice to shoot an incredible 8 over for the hole and literally throw away the tournament. Since then he has developed a habit of finding water on the 18th.

In early 2008 he had a chance to draw level with Tiger Woods in Dubai only to find water on that last hole – all he needed was a birdie to go to a play off. Last month in Shanghai he finished with a course record-equalling 63, but again lost by one shot after finding water on the 18th and carding a bogey.

Ernie Els is favourite for this event at 6/1 with Charl Schwartzel next best at 12/1. The rest of the field are spread out at odds greater than 16/1. Els is by far the best player in this field and should win with ease. Of course, this is golf and it only takes one poor shot and the tournament is lost.

Schwartzel is good value at 12/1 with eachway odds for a top five finish quoted at 3/1. Online bookmakers obviously like Els but are also a little wary of his liking for water. If he can wait until the 19th, he should win – can he avoid the water is the big question.

I have one betting tip to offer today that may sound a little different. However, do you know when you should bet and when you should not bet? Most people don’t. Betting is really a game of percentages where the odds reflects the percentile chance of a certain event happening. Bookmakers frame markets to 110% – the extra 10% being their profit margin.

That information is all fine and most careful punters will sit down and look at the percentages. However, what do you do if one outcome has doubt over it right from the start? This is where you need to exert some real caution.

Take today’s news that Tottenham Hotspur’s manager Harry Redknapp has been quoted as saying that winning the Carling Cup is not as important as claiming a top four spot in the English Premier League. As it happens, I agree with his sentiment. Gaining a place in next season’s Champions League is worth far more financially and emotionally than winning the Carling Cup. They won the cup in 2008 and then imploded in 2009.

So Redknapp has his priorities right. But where does that put you the punter in tonight’s game against Manchester United? Granted, United are playing at home, which means a win there is always going to be difficult. However, Spurs have been in good form so a win is not impossible. Compare tonight’s game with this coming Sunday’s game away to Everton. I know which game I would be targeting to win – and it’s not tonight’s.

With that in mind, betting on Spurs at any price will not be a value bet. If he is not going to send his top team onto the pitch and if he is going to manage his players with this Sunday’s game in mind – United should romp in.

Okay – so let’s back United then. At even money, they are a reasonable value. But then again, is Redknapp playing a game of brinkmanship? Is he trying to throw United off by making this sort of statement? No matter what sort of odds the bookmakers are offering – this is one game where I think the best bet is to not have a bet at all!

The southern hemisphere of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia have looked unbeatable this season – today may be the best chance the northern hemisphere has to score some glory. Australia take on Ireland in Ireland and it looks to be a top game.

Even the bookmakers are struggling to split these two sides with Ireland slight favourites at 8/11. Australia are 5/4 although that price is quite flattering considering their performance against England last weekend. We were in that game for a long time and the Aussies won’t want to give the Irish boys any second chances.

You can expect the forwards to dish it up to the Australians, some feel that is their weakness. I wouldn’t be so sure. It’s their backline that faltered last weekend along with their discipline. Wilkinson was really able to capitalize on any error the Aussies created and could almost have won the game for England last weekend if it wasn’t for a couple of lax moments.

Ireland deserve to be favourites and should win a thriller.

In tennis, the Paribas Masters has, as usual, caused more than a few headaches for most of the players. The end result is a final between Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils. Djokovic now has the scalps of both Nadal and Federer in recent weeks and looks to be in top form.

Online sportsbooks have Djokovic a firm 1/4 favourite with Monfils at 11/4. It is hard to go past Djokovic – he has the form and loves this surface. No fancy odds but Djokovic to win.

There is so much in the way of sport on this weekend, it is hard to know where to start when it comes to betting tips. We have England taking on the top ranked Brazilians in football; England against Australia in the final of the four nations ruby league; England against Argentina in the rugby union; and England taking on South Africa in Twenty20 cricket.

At the same time there is tennis in France with Paribas Masters and golf from down under with the Australian Masters and the grand master, Tiger Woods holding court. There is more golf on Hong Kong with Rory McIlroy along with all the local competitions in full swing. I am sure we can pick a winner or two from that little lot and really take the online bookmakers on.

In the World Cup 2010 warm ups, England and Brazil are playing a friendly on neutral ground in Doha. Brazil are 6/5 to win with England much longer at 13/5 – the draw is 5/2 and may prove to be a popular pick. However, Brazil have not been too flash to date and I am sticking my neck out and tipping an English victory – just what they need as they head towards next year’s World Cup finals.

In the rugby league, England have given Australia a rough time in years gone by and this is not going to be as easy as the odds suggest this year. Australia are 1/5 with England 9/2. Australia will probably win but they will give their backers a few heart palpitations along the way. At 1/5 you are better off either keeping your money or having a bet on the home side at good odds.

Australia gave England a good game last weekend in the rugby union before going on to win. England were in it for a long time and it has probably set up them well for this game against Argentina. The visitors are 4/1 while England hold favouritism at 1/4. Another home victory here and it will be deserved.

Expect South Africa to continue on it’s merry way in the cricket, Tiger Woods to romp home in Australia, Rory McIlroy to hang on in Hong Kong and Tsonga to repeat last year’s win in tennis. Like I said, it’s a big day of sporting action – I hope you can back a winner at good odds.