Weekend Sports Preview 19 October 2012

On Saturday (October 20), horse racing fans in the UK and beyond can look forward to the 2012 Ascot Champions Day, one of the most prestigious fixtures of the annual UK racing calendar. And with over 30,000 spectators expected to turn out tomorrow at Ascot, this should be one of the biggest events in recent years.

2012 Ascot Champions Stakes

One of the reasons for the massive interest is the day's feature race, the £1.3million Champion Stakes, which is widely acknowledged as one of the most lucrative and important mile and a quarter races in Europe.

And this year, all eyes will be on running sensation Frankel (who is trained by the highly regarded Sir Henry Cecil and owned by breeder Khalid Abdullah) who will be out for his 14th consecutive victory.

But regardless of the result, this is expected to be Frankel's final race of his long and illustrious career, and thus the last chance for fans to watch him strut his stuff.

Here are the latest QIPCO Champion Stakes odds at BlueSQ:
Bullet Train 200/1
Cirrus Des Aigles 4/1
Frankel 2/9
Master Of Hounds 100/1
Nathaniel 11/1
Pastorius 28/1

Key Heineken Cup 2012 Matches

For rugby union fans, this weekend offers up a smorgasbord of exhilarating action in the form of a slew of 2012 Heineken Cup games, where many of the UK and Europe's top clubs battle it out on the pitch.

One Heineken Cup game that is expected to be a humdinger is this evening's clash between French club and hosts Castres Olympique and English club Northampton Saints at Stade Pierre-Antoine.

This game should be interesting considering the number of changes the Saints have made. For instance, Ryan Lamb will start as fly-half, while Stephen Myler will start as full-back instead of James Wilson.

But team changes aside, Northampton will run onto the pitch tonight brimming with confidence after their overwhelming 24-15 victory over the Scottish club the Glasgow Warriors last time out.

Which is much more than can be said for the home side who suffered a cringeworthy 41-17 drubbing at the hands of Irish club Ulster last time out.

That said, Castres have two things going for them ahead of their Friday showdown. One, they have the home ground advantage and two, their confidence will no doubt be boosted by the knowledge that when they last played Northampton last season, they chalked up a convincing 41-22 victory.

Which is why from a betting perspective, top-rated UK internet sportsbook BlueSQ has laid Castres as the favourite in tonight's match. Here are those match odds as well as a host of other Heineken Cup betting lines:

2012 Heineken Cup Betting Odds

Castres vs Northampton - Friday, 8:00pm
Castres 4/6
Tie 20/1
Northampton 6/5

Glasgow vs Ulster - Friday, 8:00pm
Glasgow 7/4
Tie 18/1
Ulster 4/9

Scarlets vs Leinster - Saturday, 1:35pm
Scarlets 6/4
Tie 18/1
Leinster 8/15

Treviso vs Toulouse - Saturday, 1:35pm
Treviso 11/2
Tie 25/1
Toulouse 1/9

Saracens vs Racing Metro - Saturday, 4:40pm
Saracens 1/4
Tie 22/1
Racing Metro 11/4

Biarritz vs Zebre - Saturday, 6:00pm
Biarritz 1/150
Tie 40/1
Zebre 20/1

Barclays Premier League Highlights

This weekend a host of Barclays Premier League games are scheduled which will have football betting fans frothing at the mouth.

And the games that will no doubt attract the largest number of viewers and betting fans will include Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea, the latter being the current Premier League leaders with 19 points. While most sportsbooks - BlueSQ included - have the Blues as the favourites, it will be interesting to see if Spurs can battle their way to a victory and move up the rankings.

Here are all the Premier League match odds for the weekend ahead:

Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea odds - Saturday, 12:45pm
Spurs 8/5
Tie 9/4
Chelsea 17/10

Fulham vs Aston Villa odds - Saturday, 3:00pm
Fulham 5/6
Tie 5/2
Villa 10/3

Liverpool vs Reading odds - Saturday, 3:00pm
Liverpool 1/3
Tie 4/1
Reading 15/2

Manchester United vs Stoke City odds - Saturday, 3:00pm
Man U 2/7
Tie 4/1
Stoke 10/1

Swansea City vs Wigan Athletic odds - Saturday, 3:00pm
Swansea evens
Tie 23/10
Wigan 11/4

West Bromwich Albion vs Manchester City odds - Saturday, 3:00pm
West Brom 15/4
Tie 13/5
Man City 3/4

West Ham United vs Southampton odds - Saturday, 3:00pm
West Ham 5/6
Tie 5/2
Southampton 10/3

Norwich City vs Arsenal odds - Saturday, 5:30pm
Norwich 5/1
Tie 3/1
Arsenal 8/15

Sunderland vs Newcastle United odds - Sunday, 1:30pm
Sunderland 6/4
Tie 11/5
Newcastle 9/5

Queen's Park Rangers vs Everton odds - Sunday, 6:00pm
Queen's Park 11/5
Tie 9/4
Everton 5/4

 Posted by Anton Johan at 15:33 on 19 October 2012