Joe Whitaker’s weekend betting guide

Local betting expert Joe Whitaker casts his eye on Preston North End, the Premier League, FA Cup and horseracing
Alex NeilAlex Neil
Alex Neil

Preston North End are now almost on their summer holidays and most likely will be, come 5pm as the results come in. Its been a strange season for the obvious reasons and probably one of them where there has always been a desire just to get it done, once they came out of the lockdown.

They showed some resolve when they went behind early at Brentford though and they are by no means a spent force. I can see the manager maybe juggling it up a bit again for the visit of Birmingham, where the visitors will be looking for a massive three points to ensure their survival.

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I fancy North End to play their part though and beat them, with the pressure off Alex Neil’s side and players looking to go into the summer on a high. A clean sheet would be nice and a 2-0 home win can be backed at 9/1 whilst Jaydon Stockley looks value at 7/1 to score first, should he start.

This is one of those weekends where the league tables really start to get wrapped up and its not uncommon for the odd upset, given that many clubs have little to play for. Norwich are now one of those and they welcome a Burnley side aiming to go seven unbeaten in the league and consolidate their top half finish.

I was a little surprised to see them on the bigger side of Evens at around 6/5. In the past its been the Clarets away form which has cost them in the top flight though not this season. I fancy them to go and get another three points on the road this weekend and they go straight into the treble.

Another side I fancy strongly is Man City in their FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday evening against Arsenal.

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The Gunners beat the league winners Liverpool in mid-week but were gifted both goals by howlers at the back. Whilst Liverpool have clearly finished their season, City are a different proposition and they won’t make life as comfortable for the Gunners as they found it midweek. That Arsenal defence still looks a shadow of Arsenal defences of yesteryear and I can see City putting them to the sword. They are around the 2/5 mark and should be the banker to shore up the treble.

The other FA Cup semi sees Man United aiming to book their slot in a possible all Manchester final, when they face Chelsea on Sunday evening.

This has the potential to be a classic, with both sides in good form and both as desperate for some silverware.

It won’t be easy and of course you always have the prospect of the match not being concluded in 90 minutes. The prices make me lean towards United though, where you can get 6/4 on Ole’s men winning in normal time. I just think they’re scoring enough goals to back them with confidence and that would top the treble up to a tempting 6/1!

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The Irish Oaks at the Curragh (7:15) is the race of the weekend and as usual these days, Aidan O Brien trains four out of the eight runners. I fancy Jessica Harrington’s CAYENNE PEPPER however who has been aimed at this after finishing second to Magical in the Pretty Polly Stakes here last month.

She came up against a bit of a superstar that day and will find this much more winnable at a price of around 2/1.

Have a great weekend folks.

Joe