Jermain Defoe’s expected return to Spurs has seen bookie Paddy Power offer a number of bets on the England striker’s second coming.
And with a record of having scored at every club on his debut Defoe is 2/1 to net in his second ‘debut’ for Spurs. The second coming might even come on January 18th when Spurs meet Portsmouth and Defoe is 11/10 to score against his former club at anytime this season in league or cup.
Of the many past and present strikers to have been at White Hart Lane in the last two seasons Defoe is the 5/2 second favourite to score most Prem goals between now and the end of the season with Dimitar Berbatov at Man Utd the 2/1 favourite.
Defoe’s move has also seen Portsmouth cut to 3/1 to be relegated this season behind West Brom, Stoke and Blackburn.
Darren Haines, spokesman for Paddy Power, said: “Portsmouth’s all too brief resurrection could well be over already as their stars start to desert the shinking ship. However their fans might take small respite in the fact that the bookies believe Defoe’s second coming at Spurs is unlikely to reap as many goals this season as he has for Pompey.”
Derby County v Man United
Carling Cup Semi-Final, 1st Leg - Wednesday 7th January 7.45pm, SS1
If Man United win this match by 3 or more goals Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st/last goalscorer, correct score & scorecast singles on the match.
As the housemates settle down to enjoy their first full week in the Celebrity Big Brother House punters continue to plunge on pint-size Hollywood actor, Verne Troyer, to be this year’s winner.
The Austin Powers star was installed as Paddy Power’s 3/1 favourite when the housemates entered the house last Friday evening. Since then over €10,000 has been gambled on the 2ft 8inch celebrity and Paddy Power have been forced to slash his odds for success from 3/1 to a tiny 11/8.
Paddy Power are also offering betting on which housemate will be first to walk off the show. In previous years a host of celebrities including 70’s pop icon Leo Sayer and comedian Jack Dee found the going too tough and made an unscheduled departure from the show. This year the bookies are keeping a close eye on La Toya Jackson who they make their 9/4 favourite to be the first housemate to walk out.
Paddy Power said “La Toya seems to be having a hard time integrating with the other housemates and I’m struggling to see her lasting the distance. That said, this is the world of Celebrity Big Brother so God only knows what could happen”
Following football ace, Stevie Gerrard’s, admission that his favourite musical artists are London rockers, Coldplay, and singer-songwriter, Phil Collins, cheeky bookies Paddy Power are offering betting on which song sparked the fracas that led to the Liverpool skipper’s arrest in the early hours of Monday morning.
Coldplay’s “A Rush of Blood to the Head” is Paddy Power’s 5/1 favourite with Phil Collins’ classic rock ballad “In the Air Tonight” the 6/1 second favourite. Other Phil Collins hits include “Both Sides of the Story” at 12/1 and “Something Happened on the Way to Heaven” at 20/1.
Less fancied but possibly more appropriate songs include the Kaiser Chiefs hit “I Predict A Riot” at 7/1 and Liverpool F.C. Anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” at 16/1
Paddy Power said “Lets face it listening to too much Phil Collins would drive even the most placid person to distraction so I wasn’t entirely surprised with the news”
Chris Hutchings is the 5/2 favourite with bookie Paddy Power to once again succeed Paul Jewell following the Derby County manager’s resignation today.
Having been placed in temporary charge at Pride Park, Hutchings is the bookie’s favourite to follow in Paul Jewell’s footsteps and land the job on a permanent basis just as he did in previous, if unspectacular, spells at Bradford and Wigan.
However with plenty of managers looking for gainful employment Hutchings could face competition from the likes of Aidy Boothroyd (4/1), Paul Ince (7/1) and Alan Curbishley (12/1). Former manager Billy Davies is 6/1 for a return to the club he guided into the Premier League
Paddy Power said: “Following his disastrous spells at other clubs when taking over from Paul Jewell Derby fans are likely to be more sick as parrots than over the moon to see Hutchings top the list. But as interim manager it could be Hutchings’ job to lose if he could cobble together a few wins – just as Ricky Spragia did at Sunderland.”
BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2009
9/4 Andy Murray
5/2 Lewis Hamilton
6/1 Kevin Pietersen
8/1 Andrew Flintoff
10/1 Ricky Hatton
10/1 David Haye
16/1 Lee Westwood
16/1 Monty Panesar
16/1 Paula Radcliffe
20/1 Ian Poulter
22/1 Jessica Ennis
22/1 Christine Ohuruogu
25/1 Mark Cavendish
25/1 Steven Gerrard
25/1 Wayne Rooney
25/1 John Terry
28/1 Paul Casey
28/1 Luke Donald
33/1 Amir Khan
50/1 Rebecca Adlington
50/1 Ronnie O’Sullivan
100/1 Danny Cipriani
100/1 Laura Robson
200/1 Zara Phillips
200/1 Phil Taylor
200/1 Frankie Dettori
1000/1 Joey Barton
Others available
2009 Showbiz Stakes
Celebrities will once again be dominating the headlines in the year ahead and no doubt the likes of the Beckhams, Russell Brand, Girls Aloud and Winehouses of the world will be unable to keep their faces out of the papers for too long. But who will be doing what and to whom first is what we want to know…
Paddy Power’s hatches, matches and dispatches betting sees Wayne Rooney and Colleen McLoughlin the favourite celebrity couple to have a baby first at 3/1, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel the first to get married at 9/4 and, perhaps unsurprisingly, Peaches Geldof and Max Drummey the odds-on favourite at 1/2 to be the first couple to split up.
Girls Aloud are the 2/1 favourites to be the first pop group to split although better news for Cheryl Cole is that she is the 15/8 second favourite to be crowned FHM’s Sexiest Woman in the World behind hot favourite Megan Fox. Bruce Forsyth leads the way at 11/4 to be the next big name departure at the BBC whilst the infamous ‘Satanic Slut’ Georgina Baillie is the 4/1 front-runner to be the first bad-mouthed by Lily Allen on her myspace page.
Royal Wagers
Among the royal wagers on offer are odds of just 5/4 that Prince William finally announces a formal engagement to Kate Middleton. Its 8/1 the couple get married.
Political Punting
In politics Gordon Brown is an unlikely 12/1 to get an approval rating of more than 50% whilst its 66/1 that President-elect Barack Obama names his new White House puppy Hillary
Sky Bet have lengthened the odds of current holders Manchester United to 6/1 (from 5/1) to be the first club to retain the Champions League title. Sir Alex Ferguson’s men are 4/7 to qualify over Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan (5/4) and it’s 9/4 for the Red Devils to go unbeaten in the competition. Title favourites Barcelona, who drew Lyon, are 2/7 to qualify (Lyon 5/2) and have been cut to 100/30 (from 4/1) to lift the trophy. Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has been trimmed to 7/2 (from 4/1) to be the competition’s top scorer and it’s 13/8 for a Spanish team to lift the trophy.
Last year’s losing finalists, Chelsea, are 4/9 to qualify over two-time winners Juventus (13/8) and eased to 6/1 to win the competition. Sky Bet offer 6/4 for John Terry to lift the Champions League trophy with Chelsea at some point in his career.
Group D winners Liverpool are 8/11 to progress to the quarter finals at the expense of nine-time winners Real Madrid (evens).
2006 finalists Arsenal play Roma and are 8/13 to qualify (Roma 6/5).
Sky Bet quote 11/2 (from 7/2) for all four English sides to progress to the quarter-finals and a second consecutive all-English Champions League final is now available at 9/2 (from 7/2).
Please see below for stage of elimination betting, match prices and a variety of specials, including English club to progress the furthest.
Bookies Paddy Power are offering 6/1 for the four English teams to reach the Quarter Finals of the Champions League following today’s draw.
Jose Mourinho will be relishing his trip to Manchester United with Inter Milan but the Champions are favourites to progress with United 4/7 to beat Inter and Mourinho 5/4 to repeat the upset he pulled off with Porto a few seasons ago.
Claudio Ranieri’s return to Chelsea with Juventus is tipped to end in tears for the Tinkerman with Chelsea 2/5 to reach the next round and Juventus 7/4.
Of the other English teams Liverpool might be perceived as having the trickiest tie against giants Real Madrid but with 14 European Cups between them Liverpool are seen as being the better current team and are 8/11 to see off the Evens money Spanish Champions. Finally, Arsenal are 8/11 favourites to see off Roma.
Outright betting
The kind draw for favourites Barcelona sees their odds trimmed to 10/3 from 4/1 however the shadow of Jose Mourinho over Manchester United has eased their odds to 6/1 from 5s with Chelsea now stand alone second favourites at an unchanged 5/1.
Liverpool are out to 10/1 from 9/1 with Arsenal unmoved at 14s.
Following news that both Rafa Benitez and Big Phil Scolari are suffering with kidney stones bookie Paddy Power is betting on which Premier League manager will next succumb to the painful
In the dugout at arguably the most stressful club in the country, Newcastle United’s Joe Kinnear is the 4/1 favourite ahead of bottom of the table and underfire Tony Mowbray of West Brom at 5/1. Some of the Premier League elders are also in the running with Roy Hodgson and Arsene Wenger at 6/1 and Sir Alex Ferguson at 8/1.
Portsmouth’s Tony Adams and Middlesbrough’s Gareth Southgate, two of the younger managers in the league, are the 33/1 outsiders.
Darren Haines, spokesman for Paddy Power, said: “Premier League management must be one of the most stressful jobs in the country such is the level of expectation placed upon each boss - Rafa and Big Phil may not be the last gaffers to suffer from the stones.”