Weekly betting column

And what an action packed weekend to start.

Jose Mourinho seemed destined to bring trophies one way or another to Old Trafford and we think he will lift the League Cup this weekend.

As short as 2/5 with ourselves to lift the trophy, punters may look elsewhere to make money on the final.

In Zlatan Ibrahimovic he has signed a matchwinner of genuine class and at 4/1 to score the first goal, I would be having a nibble at that myself.

Don’t forget its BOGOF (back one get one free) first goalscorers to a matched stake maximum of £10 at ValueBet, so be sure to choose your insurance wisely and Italian new boy Manolo Gabbiadini has been amongst the goals for Southampton.

At 7/1 he looks a decent price should the Saints start well.

The SixNations starts again this weekend with the big game coming from Dublin where the boys in green welcome France.

This is a tough game for Ireland and the Evens on France +7 looks worthy of sliding into your weekend accumulators if you want to mix it up a bit.

Look out for Ulster winger Craig Gilroy should he start for Ireland.

It is also BOGOF first tryscorers with ourselves and pairing him up with France centre Gael Fickou could return profit!

Over at HQ, England will be looking for the all important bonus point win against a poor Italy side. For first tryscorers look no further than the powerful outside centre Jonathan Joseph or attacking scrum half Ben Youngs.

For a quirky bet a red card in the match at 9/1 could be worth a small wager this year. The new rules brought in regarding head high tackles could see the ref sending off once the hits start flying in.

The pick of the racing comes from Kempton with the BetBright Chase over 3 miles. I like the chances of THEATRE GUIDE, currently a 9/1 shot.

The winner of the race last year by a decent 10 lengths, he found the Welsh National too far at 3m5f just after Christmas. Colin Tizzard should have him bang on for this and an eachway punt could make your sporting weekend a good one.

Enjoy the action and keep reading weekly for new ValueBet offers in the run up to Cheltenham 2017.

All the best,

Joe