Weekend betting: Liverpool face Tottenham in the Champions League, Anthony Joshua in New York and the Epsom Derby

It’s quite a weekend in store for the sports fans amongst us, with the Epsom Derby looking very competitive, Anthony Joshua making his US debut and a small game of football in Madrid at 8 o’clock tonight! Starting with the classic at Epsom Downs, the very best three-year-old colts go head to head over a mile and half at the famous Surrey course. It’s not the easiest classic to find the winner, with course form absent and being young horses, improvers can come from the pack at bigger prices. The favourite is the Chester Vase winner Sir Dragonet, who was supplemented for the race late on at a cost, which tends to signal the trainer’s optimism. I was at Chester myself to see Sir Dragonet triumph and it was very impressive. The form is questionable however, as it went past some beaten horses at Chester who had run their race and there is also a question mark about the firm ground this weekend, having won on soft on his only two runs. It was pouring down that day in Cheshire and he did seem to appreciate a bit of cut in the topsoil. At the odds of around 3/1 I do feel its worth taking on from a value perspective. The Aidan O’Brien-trained runner I prefer is Broome, who has won the Ballysax and Derrinstown trials in Ireland this spring. It is solid form and whilst he did need a bit of encouragement to get into top gear last time, I do think it’s a nice horse with the scope to carry on improving into the summer and it looks a touch more of a working man’s price at 5/1. Whilst we will know the winner of the Derby come teatime, we will have to wait a little longer to see which English side is crowned champions of Europe at the Wanda Metropolitano, home of Atletico Madrid. I just think Liverpool have that extra gear in the final third and you do wonder how Tottenham will cope when Alexander-Arnold and Robertson start to stretch the game down the flanks. The 3/1 for the Reds to win with both teams scoring should give punters a run for their money, as should the 9/1 for Sadio Mane to score two or more whilst Virgil Van Dijk to score anytime can be backed at an attractive 8/1. At Madison Square Garden, Anthony Joshua makes his debut on American soil. It looks to be a fight more about where it is than who it is against and he should get Ruiz Jr out of there pretty quickly in New York. I actually think the 5/2 for him to win in rounds 1-3 looks like a worthwhile bet, such is the difference in conditioning between the two fighters. It would be rude not to give the cricket World Cup a mention, with England going into the tournament as worthy favourites. You can back us just to get to the final at Evens (double your money), and 6/1 for an England-Australia final.