The man of the moment, David Healy takes centre stage this Friday as he tries to help Leeds United begin their fight against relegation when they take on Preston North End at home.

The 27-year-old took his Northern Ireland tally to nine in six games in the stunning 2-1 victory against Sweden on Wednesday that took the province to top spot in Group F.

However, at club level Healy has managed just eight goals in 25 games and United find themselves rooted to the foot of the table.

Fourth-placed Preston are the visitors to Elland Road and that spells trouble for the home side.

David Nugent, who scored on his England debut against Andorra in midweek, will be brimming with confidence watched by a posse of scouts ready to make their bid ahead of the inevitable summer sale.

But we think there could be something of an upset in Yorkshire.

Leeds boss Dennis Wise must surely come to his senses before it's too late and take Healy away from the right wing and plonk him at centre forward.

The Ulsterman is 13/2 with Betterbet.com to score the first goal and we will go with that.

We return to Euro 2008 qualifiers this Wednesday and Steve McClaren must be dreading the very thought of failing to win against Andorra.

The goalless draw in Israel on Saturday hammered another nail into the former Middlesbrough boss's coffin and only a comprehensive win will earn him some respite - but one suspects only some.

Make no mistake, this is a 'can't draw' game far less a 'can't lose' game but although talk of rifts in the England camp continues, even under the less than inspirational guidance of McClaren, victory is assured.

No real value in the England win at 1/40 in some places so we will take Betterbet.com's 5/2 for the every-angry Wayne Rooney to score the first goal and double it up with a bet in the Scotland versus Italy game in Bari.

Alex McLeish's side sit atop Group B along with France with 12 points out of 15 but they will have to make history if they are to beat the World Cup holders.

The Scots have never won on Italian soil and indeed have only scored once in five attempts.

We think that even a draw is beyond the visitors and again, given that there is no value on an Italy win, we will take Betterbet.com's Luca Toni at 10/3 to get the first goal.

We thought we were rather unlucky with Saturday's tips, England drawing and Ireland winning as we said, only for Georgia to trip us up with a defeat against Scotland at Hampden.

Klaus Toppmoller's side were the better outfit but paid for a lack of conviction by losing a last-gasp goal to Craig Beattie.

Monday night's fare is a little less rich but the Nationwide Conference game between Oxford United and Dagenham and Redbridge sees the top two teams in the league go head-to-head live on television.

The Daggers are leading the way, 11 points ahead of Jim Smith's side who really need all three points if they are to have a realistic hope of catching the Essex club.

We think the visitors will be good enough to get the point that will keep on track for the title and will take Betterbet.com's 11/5 for the draw.

Dun Doire continues to be well backed for the Grand National with Betterbet.com and is now clear 10/1 favourite for next month's big race. Paul Carberry has been handed the ride.

The jockey, who has been sidelined with a foot injury since February 25, has twice partnered the Tony Martin-trained runner to success but has not taken the reins since the duo combined to winning effect over a year ago.

Explaining the booking, Martin told the Racing Post: "I've asked Paul to ride Dun Doire in the National once he is fully fit, and he has accepted the mount.

"He knows the horse well and won the Thyestes Chase on him last season."

Carberry hopes to be back in action in the near future and is already looking forward to the Aintree feature on April 14.

Of Dun Doire, who bounced back to winning ways under Bobby McNally at Down Royal this month, Carberry said: "I've won a couple of races on him and he's a good ride to pick up for the National.

The Euro 2008 qualifiers take over the weekend and the most interesting ties involve England at Israel and Scotland at home to Georgia as well as the historic match at Croke Park between the Republic of Ireland and Wales.

England cannot travel to Tel Aviv with any real confidence after four games without a win and just one goal.

Israel are no world-beaters but you have to remember that Steve McClaren's side have drawn 0-0 at home against Macedonia and lost 2-0 in Croatia, shocking results for the former Middlesbrough boss who is a hairsbreadth away from totally losing the support of the public.

Israel are a formidable side at home, they have lost just one game in their last six which leads us to think that England may have to settle for a draw which Betterbet.com offers at 2/1.

We will go for glory at Hampden Park and add that draw to high-priced Georgia to stump Alex McLeish in his first match as Scotland boss.

The Scots are top of Group B after four games but many think that Walter Smith got out at the right time when he departed to take over at Ibrox for the second time.

McLeish's appointment was arguably one of convenience and he is under pressure to get all three points against Georgia before they travel to Bari to play Italy.

The visitors have lost three of their four qualification games but have beaten Uruguay and Turkey in their last two friendlies.

We have a hunch that the 6/1 that Betterbet.com offers for the Georgia win will turn out to be the best bet of the weekend.

A triple is perhaps pushing it, given the risk we are taking with Georgia, but if you are feeling lucky then the Republic at 8/13 should nudge their way past Wales in the first ever soccer match played at Croke Park.

Dreams that the United Kingdom would become the standard bearer for the online-gambling industry were dashed yesterday when UK Finance Minister (James) Gordon Brown announced a new 'Remote Gaming Duty' (tax) of 15%, a move ensuring that online firms will not move from friendlier tax havens to the UK in the near future. In addition, Brown's new budget increases the levies assessed on land-based casino operations, throwing a major wrench into the Vegas-style casino expansion popping up across that nation. The 15% remote duty called for by the new budget is miles apart from the 2-3% range online companies cited as being low enough to make relocating to the UK worth the bother; virtually no online

casino could give up an extra 12% of taxable revenues and remain competitive against firms not subject to similar fees. The announced budget leaves in serious doubt the accords championed by UK Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, who led the push to legalize and regulate online gaming and chaired last October's Ascot racetrack summit conference of nearly three dozen interested nations. While the 15% tax is, on its face, a fee equal to the domestic levy charged to bookmakers and bingo halls, it may be part of a larger strike against gambling in general by Brown's Labor Party faction. Brown also stripped away the bottom tier of tax levels for the smallest land-cased casino operations, and replaced it with a new 50% rate — far over the previous top tier, which was 40%. The jump, affecting casinos such as the new Manchester casino (which are expected to post annual gross house wins of over £10 million), could impact these casinos' ability to become first-class tourist destinations. Efforts to explain Brown's surprise tax hit have moved in several directions. Some reports have focused on Brown's strict Presbyterian upbringing, said to be staunchly anti-gambling at its core, while others see this as a planned boost to Labor Party efforts to force the scrapping of government plans to allow the building of 17 new "supercasinos," the first license of which was awarded to the Manchester facility. An all-or-nothing vote on that topic is scheduled for the UK's Parliament in the very near future. As with all perceived 'sin' topics, gambling remains a hot-button concern. No country offers uniformity or agreement on gambling's regulation and governing. Even as the European Union has moved forward on the topic of gambling as a whole, the UK has stepped back from its chance to assume a leadership role.

One bit of news from last week's World Series of Poker media teleconference emerged with a bit of a twist: The WSOP will be doubling the starting chip stacks for all 55 events listed on the current schedule. In response to a question posed during the conference, WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel announced that the starting chip stacks would be doubled in all events, and in the days after the conference, the new structures were added in to the content on the official worldseriesofpoker.com site. Interested parties can review the structures for any of the events by first clicking into the '07 WSOP schedule, and then by clicking on the title of any event, which is a hyperlink to a page containing

the blind structure and other event specifics. Effel explained that the doubling of chips was necessary to add a couple of extra levels of play to the intermediate levels of early, low buy-in events; these events have been cited in earlier years as not offering much real poker play. In turn, the WSOP seems to have decided that doubling chip stacks across the board was the best way to provide uniformity, even if in some events such as the Main Event, the higher chip stacks do not necessarily mean more play. The Main Event's move to $20,000 in starting chips brought notice in several discussion forums. Early conjecture that the reason for doubling the chip stacks across the board centered on the need to prevent the surreptitious theft and reintroduction of chips from smaller events into the Main Event. However, those thoughts are not born out by the facts; as reported by Pokernews.com's own Tim Lavalli a few weeks ago, the WSOP will introduce many distinct chip sets for this year's WSOP. Three of the sets will be used for actual event play, while the other three are reserved for varying satellite formats. In addition, one of the three 'live event' patterns will be used only in the Main Event and nowhere else. It should not be possible for a rogue player to introduce chips into the ME that have been extracted from earlier events. Opinions vary as to how much of the changes in starting stacks and blind structures will add to play, and how much is cosmetic. Lower buy-in events clearly make a marginal gain in terms of added play, while examinations of the Main Event structures show that the new structure mirrors the old quite closely, bouncing up and down in comparative measure with many of the minor differences accounted for by rounding and chip-denomination needs. One emerging tournament force, Joe Sebok, sees them as "cosmetic, albeit good cosmetic changes." "The added levels are nice," said Sebok, "but really don't drastically change much in terms of play. The bottom line is that it will make players feel better regardless of much change in play, and that is a good thing." Sebok continued by noting, "The WSOP is really stuck in a tough spot with this issue, though, as they have to compete with so many different events in an extremely finite amount of time. It's simply the nature of the beast at such a massive event as the WSOP." On whole, of course, Sebok's thoughts echo the general player sentiment that the adjustments are a good and necessary thing. Or, as Sebok put it, "I applaud [WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey] Pollack and the boys for those changes."

Froch wants to fight WBO champion Joe Calzaghe this yearBriton Carl Froch aims to become the first man to stop rugged Russian Sergey Tatevosyan on Friday and further enhance his world title credentials.
Froch, the British and Commonwealth super middleweight champion, faces Tatevosyan at the Nottingham Arena.
The unbeaten 29-year-old said: "There is nobody left on the domestic scene who wants to know me now so it is all about moving on a world title shot.
"We have a plan and this opponent has been selected with the future in mind."
Froch may have been denied the chance to challenge for the European title by politics, but he is looking to make the most of this valuable non-title test.
Tatevosyan scored a career-best knockout of Dane Rudy Markussen in October, then went the distance with prospective future Froch opponent Lucien Bute in Montreal.
I've always been a late developer and I am just coming into my peak now
Carl Froch
Froch added: "Tatevosyan is a difficult, well-schooled fighter who can punch a bit.
"This is the type of fight where I can really cement my status with the various sanctioning bodies for a world title eliminator."
Now ranked at number three by both the WBC and the WBO, and fifth by the IBF, Froch believes he is close to reaching his potential.
"I've always been a late developer and I am just coming into my peak now," he said.
"I feel physically stronger and tactically and technically I am still working on stuff and learning."
Froch saw off Tony Dodson in November to retain his British and Commonwealth titles but insists Wales' WBO champion Joe Calzaghe is the man he really wants to meet.
"I'm high up in the rankings but Calzaghe is the one I'm interested in," he added.
Calzaghe, defends his WBO belt against America's Peter Manfredo in Cardiff on 7 April.

VETERAN trainer John McNamara believes Rising Seas only has to jump cleanly "for once" to win next week's Mackay Young Guns final (456m).Mackay Young Guns Final (box draw):1 Regency Boy2 Rising Seas3 Bamboo Bangle4 Ella's Express5 Farmor Torque6 Quirky Kurt7 Morton Bird8 DarkwinReserves9 Lady Alexis10 Tear It UpRising Seas (Typhoon Tide-Zazzy Princess) scored by an ever-widening three and a quarter lengths in her Young Guns heat at Mackay on Thursday night.She ran 26.67 which was easily the best of the two heats, the other going to Albion Park winner Darkwin from the Mick Boody kennel in 27.18.Rising Seas, the 4-9 favourite, took her record to five wins from 13 starts with defeat of Boody's other finalist Regency Boy with almost 12 lengths to Bamboo Bangle in third.Rising Seas was a huge performance giving early leader Regency Boy at least eight lengths start into the back straight.McNamara got the bitch from Victorian trainer Robert Britton on the advice of astute Brisbane trainer Alec Stevens."I'd had a couple of pups that did no good," said NcNamara. "I happened to be talking to Alec and he suggested I give Robert a ring."Robert was great and sent me this bitch."Rising Seas took a while to settle in at NcNamara's Proserpine kennels but has improved out of sight in recent runs."She's going so well, there is no doubt she would win at Albion Park," he said. "But she can be a slow beginner."If she gets out with them in the final, they won't beat her."Darkwin (Go Wild Teddy-Queen Of Tigers) ran 27.18 to win the other Young Guns heat by two and a quarter lengths over Quirky Kurt with a half length to Farmor Torque in third.The winner started 4-9 favourite and took her record to nine wins from 27 starts.

Vancsik is chasing his first European Tour victory
SECOND ROUND LEADERBOARD:-10 D Vancsik (Arg)-9 C Cevaer (Fra)-8 L Santiago (Spa)-7 D Frost (SA)-6 N Begay (US), A Noren (Swe), M Vibe-Hastrup (Den)
Daniel Vancsik leads Christian Cevaer by one shot at the halfway stage of the Madeira Island Open.
The Argentine, who did not manage one top-10 finish in his first full season on the circuit last year, reached 10 under par by hitting a 66.
France's Cevaer was heading for a 64 until closing with a bogey five.
First-round leader Ricardo Santos fell back into the pack, while ex-Ryder Cup star Peter Baker could add only a 72 to his first-day 67.
In third place on eight under after a 67 is 44-year-old Spaniard Santiago Luna, playing the 520th event of his Tour career and his first of this year.
Experienced South African David Frost, like Baker playing on a sponsor's invitation, shot 65 and is just three back.
One further adrift is American Notah Begay, who came through Europe's qualifying school in November after losing his card in the States.
Former Open champion Paul Lawrie missed the cut on four over, but defending champion Jean Van de Velde improved eight shots on his opening 75 to make it through.

Bob Woolmer had coached Pakistan since 2004
The family of murdered Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer says it was unaware of any threats to his life.
In a statement, the family also said it had no knowledge of Woolmer's involvement in match-fixing, the source of some speculation in the media.
Jamaican police probing Woolmer's death say they could be searching for more than one attacker.
Woolmer, who was 58, was strangled in his room hours after Pakistan lost to Ireland in the cricket World Cup.
The defeat dumped Pakistan - a talented but erratic team ranked fourth in the world - out of the competition.
Police say Woolmer may have known his killer or killers, and are studying video footage from the Pegasus Hotel in the Jamaican capital, Kingston, where he was killed.
Family 'devastated'
Flanked by Woolmer's widow, Gill, and their sons, Dale and Russell, Woolmer's agent, Michael Cohen, read a statement to reporters outside the family home in Cape Town, South Africa.
BOB WOOLMER TIMELINE

1. 17 Mar: Ireland beat Pakistan2. 18 Mar, 10.45am: Woolmer found unconscious in hotel room3. 18 Mar, 12.14pm: Pronounced dead at hospitalPhoto: Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center.
"To the best of the family's knowledge, there is absolutely nothing to suggest Bob was involved in match-fixing," Mr Cohen said.
"Contrary to reports, we can confirm there is nothing in any book Bob has written that would explain this situation and there were no threats received."
Reports in the media have suggested Woolmer might have been working on a book exposing illegal gambling in cricket matches.
The statement said the family were devastated by Woolmer's death and were struggling to come to terms with it.
A post-mortem examination established that the former England player died as a result of "manual strangulation".
Members of the Pakistan team and staff have already been interviewed, and plan to return home at the weekend.
Lines of inquiry
Suspicions that the coach may have known anyone who attacked him have been raised after it emerged there were no signs of forced entry at his hotel room in Kingston and none of his possessions was taken.
Bob was a large man - it would have taken some significant force to subdue him
Mark ShieldsDeputy police commissioner
Woolmer was found unconscious by staff at the Pegasus Hotel on Sunday morning.
The deputy commissioner of the Jamaican police, Mark Shields, said this might now be a hunt for more than one killer, and urged the perpetrators to hand themselves in.
"Bob was a large man. It would have taken some significant force to subdue him," he said, adding that police were ruling nothing out and had "lots of lines of inquiry".
"I have to say at this stage that it looks as if it may be somebody who's somehow linked to him, because clearly he let somebody into his hotel room and it may be that he knew who that person was," Mr Shields told the BBC.
Mr Shields also "unequivocally dismissed" Indian television reports that arrests had been made.
"That's nonsense, as far as I'm concerned. There's actually no truth in that," he said.
The BBC's Andy Gallacher in Kingston says that Bob Woolmer's murder has stunned the cricketing world and left the World Cup in disarray.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has told the French clubs to stop interfering in their negotiations with Premier Rugby over the future of the Heineken Cup.
Premier Rugby, representing England's top clubs, wants a direct stake in the competition, a move opposed by the RFU.
RFU chairman Martyn Thomas said the two sides were close to securing a long term agreement for the English game.
"It is wholly inappropriate for (French clubs' body) LNR to be seeking a voice in these negotiations," he said.
"Our agreement with PRL (Premier Rugby Ltd) still has two years to run, and under that agreement they have committed to participation in ERC competitions."
Thomas added the two sides had reached "heads of agreement stage".
France's 14 top-flight clubs have pulled out of next season's tournament, blaming the RFU over their refusal to hand over shares and voting rights in European Rugby Cup Ltd to England's leading clubs.
However, domestic fixture congestion in France caused by the World Cup is seen by many as the major reason for the planned withdrawal.
"We wait to hear from LNR if they are going to participate in next year's ERC competitions," said Thomas.
"If they do not compete, we are looking to the FFR (Federation Francaise de Rugby) to nominate other French teams to participate."
Thomas added that a "very constructive meeting" took place on Friday between himself, other senior RFU figures and top figures in the French Federation.
If French clubs carry out their threat to pull out, it is conceivable that both the Heineken Cup and the Challenge Cup could be cut to 16 teams next season.

McManus has never won the Grand NationalL'Ami has been identified as leading owner JP McManus' best hope of success in next month's Grand National.
The famous Irish owner has nine horses entered in the Aintree showpiece, which he has never won although he did have the runner-up in 2003 in Clan Royal.
"I would say at this stage that L'Ami looks our best chance. He will definitely run," said McManus' racing manager Frank Berry.
L'Ami was seventh behind Kauto Star in the Cheltenham Gold Cup last week.
The Francois Doumen-trained gelding is currently a general 20-1 shot for the Grand National on 14 April.
Aintree veteran Clan Royal is also scheduled to take his place in the line-up.

Micah Richards came through Friday's session
Group E: Israel v England
Date: Saturday 24 March
Kick-off: 1830 GMT
Venue: Ramat Gan Stadium
Coverage: Live on BBC Five Live Sport, updates on the BBC Sport website, highlights on BBC 1 at 2220 GMT
Manchester City defender Micah Richards should available to play for England in their Euro 2008 qualifier against Israel in Tel Aviv on Saturday.

The 18-year-old defender limped out of City's win against Middlesbrough at the Riverside with a calf injury.

But Richards was able to train with the rest of the England squad on Friday after shaking off the injury.

Coach Steve McClaren will now hope Richards suffers no reaction to Friday's training session.

All 23 players in McClaren's squad were involved in training.

Jonathan Woodgate has remained in England for treatment on a knee injury.

Woodgate, on loan at Middlesbrough from Real Madrid, has not travelled to Tel Aviv but could be back to play Andorra next Wednesday.

"Jonathan's fitness comes first and we won't take risks with any player," said England coach Steve McClaren.

"We will keep in close contact with Middlesbrough to determine his availability for the Andorra match."

Woodgate's withdrawal has added to McClaren's defensive problems.

Of England's nine best defenders, six are unavailable - if I bring my boots, do I get a game?

MD

Right-back Gary Neville is out injured, left-back Ashley Cole is suspended and Richards must come through a training session.

Full-backs Luke Young and Gareth Barry were late call-ups to help ease McClaren's problems at the back but Woodgate's injury will leave England short of cover in central defence.

John Terry and Rio Ferdinand are expected to start in the heart of the defence and, with Jamie Carragher set to play on either the right or left side of defence, will be the only recognised centre-backs in the squad.

In attack, injured striker Darren Bent has been replaced by Preston's Nugent.

Nugent will be getting his first taste of the senior international scene and, If he plays, the 21-year-old would be England's first outfield player from outside the top flight since Michael Gray in 1999.

Nugent has scored 16 goals this season and is the first Preston player to be called up by England since Sir Tom Finney in 1959.

Motor racing great Emerson Fittipaldi has attempted to put a lid on the hype surrounding Britain's Formula One newcomer Lewis Hamilton by claiming he will not win a race this season.

The 22-year-old McLaren driver finished an impressive third last weekend in the curtain-raising Australian Grand Prix. He has been made 8-15 favourite with Betterbet.com to win at least one race this season.

But Fittipaldi, once the youngest F1 world champion, was not swept away in the acclaim that surrounded the 2006 GP2 champion's debut.

"I like what I've seen of him so far," Fittipaldi told Sport magazine.

"He showed his talent in last year's GP2 championship, and that is what Formula One needs - races decided by overtaking on the road and not in the pits.”

Dear punters, let us refresh your memory concerning Monday's tip for the two FA Cup quarter-final replays.

In advising a Manchester United and Chelsea double, we said: 'We will take Betterbet.com's 7/2 for the Old Trafford side to emerge victors after a drawn first-half and ….take Chelsea at 11/10 with Betterbet.com for the other part of your double.'

As you know, that is exactly what happened and hopefully you cashed in.

While we wait on the Euro 2008 qualification weekend coming up, the Conference clash between Halifax and Oxford United allows us the chance to add to Monday's winnings.

The visitors are still battling to catch leaders Rushden and Diamonds at the top of the table while Halifax are clear of the relegation zone and it doesn‘t look like they will be under any pressure.

To us, it looks like it's a case of the form side winning. Oxford carved out a fine 3-0 win at Altrincham at the weekend while Halifax went down 1-0 to Tamworth.

Jim Smith believes that United's comprehensive victory - their biggest away win since October - showed that his side can still make promotion and we certainly don't think they will trip up at Halifax.

Betterbet.com offers a healthy 12/5 for Oxford to be winning at half-time and full-time. Lump on.

Manchester United and Chelsea will thank no one for their respective FA Cup quarter-final replays which add greatly to their already-congested fixture list but fans and viewers will be glad to see some more exciting knockout football this Monday night.

United drew 2-2 with Middlesbrough in the first game at the Riverside and inevitably they are favourites to finish the tie off at Old Trafford.

Saturday's thrashing of Bolton showed that Sir Alex Ferguson's men are on top form and despite Boro having sprung a couple of surprises on their trips to Old Trafford in the previous few years we can't see anything but a home win.

The Teessiders suffered something of a shock home defeat by Manchester City on Saturday and are no match for an on-form Red Devils side.

Watford await the victors in the semi-final and unfortunately for the Hornets, we expect them to be facing United.

We will take Betterbet.com's 7/2 for the Old Trafford side to emerge victors after a drawn first-half and add it to the other replay at White Hart Lane where Spurs and Chelsea fight out for the right to meet Blackburn Rovers in the semi-final.

Spurs managed to pass up on the chance of a famous victory over the Blues in the first game at Stamford Bridge when they surrendered a 3-1 lead and conventional thinking is that they will be made to pay for that ineptitude in the replay.

The North London side have beaten Chelsea at home in the Premiership this season but we think the psychological damage done in the first cup game will hand Jose Mourinho's side the advantage.

Take Chelsea at 11/10 with Betterbet.com for the other part of your double.

There is something about Arsenal without striker Thierry Henry that instantly makes you think about betting against them.

The Frenchman is out for the rest of the season through injury and hence will miss the trip to Goodison Park on Sunday.

The Gunners are out of all the cup competitions and while they are on course for another Champions League spot, Arsene Wenger needs to put down a marker for next season.

However, they're coming up against an Everton side who have lost just three times in 14 starts at home in the league this season and have suffered defeat just once in their last seven games.

Arsenal will probably have enough class to escape with a point so we will take Betterbet.com's 9/4 for the draw and take it onto the CIS Insurance Cup final between Kilmarnock and Hibs at Hampden.

Betterbet.com's 11/5 for the draw in this match looks good to us.

Both sides are evenly-matched, to say the least. Both sit on the same points total in the SPL, with the three clashes this season producing a win for each and a draw.

On their day both are capable of playing good football with perhaps the Easter Road side just easier on the eyes than their more robust Ayrshire counterparts.

Hibs have not won the Scottish Cup in 105 years but their League Cup record is better - it's only 16 years since they last paraded that trophy down Princess Street.

Killie, meanwhile, have to go back 10 years for their last major trophy.

But it's a draw for us with the Rugby Park side maybe to nick it in extra-time.

West Ham's visit to Blackburn on Saturday could end up as another depressing day of public humiliation for the Hammers.

United's season has moved from bad to worse and it looks like they are on their way to the Championship with some spectacular displays of defensive ineptness.

The loss of eight goals in their last two games does not augur well for the Irons who are coming up against a side who are, by their standards, on a roll.

And given that West Ham have taken just three points from a possible 42 and scored only four goals, their supporters who travel up to Ewood Park could be forgiven for watching the match through their fingers.

Certainly Rovers are in rude health. In the semi-finals of the FA Cup and having now won their last four games, this is a run of form as good as anything in recent years.

Mark Hughes' side are not prolific in front of goal however, so we don't think there will be a barrowload of goals.

We will take Betterbet.com's offer of 11/2 for a 2-0 win with a side bet of 3-0 at the more attractive 10/1.

The Press clamours for a super horse, but Kauto Star is not yet that.

He is impressive in his paces and this has carried off prizes for him on park tracks despite his tendency to make a hair-raising error towards the end of a race. Such an error on this track under pressure and faced with quality challengers would prick the bubble. But are there any quality challengers? Last year's winner, War Of Attrition, is injured; Beef Or Salmon has never 'put it in' on this track and the ground has gone against last year's third, Forget The Past, and, theoretically, against The Listener and My Will, though this pair are young pretenders and we don't know everything about them.

Also, there are horses in this that - on form - shouldn't be here: Bob Bob Bobbin, for example, is rated 30lb inferior. Exotic Dancer has been a big improver but was beaten eight lengths by 'Cato' in the King George, and when L'Ami got within a neck of 'Cato' at Newbury, it was with the help of a 10lb advantage. I have two ideas about the race: Exotic Dancer has won no fewer than four times at Cheltenham, and the track could make the difference. Secondly, State Of Play has been forgotten since he won the Hennessy Gold Cup. He has to be fresh; acts on any going; staying is clearly his game, and Hennessy winners have done the double before (four times).

After all the defectors, we still have a big field which suggests that trainers feel that Kauto Star is worth taking on. If this happens in the market, you could have a 'lay and back' situation. But I will content myself with an each-way bet in a tricky year. Trainer Evan Williams has been hailed as the potential new star of the jumps stables and State Of Play would establish his credentials.

At the overnight prices State of Play is 13/2 with betterbet.com.

Manchester City versus Chelsea at Eastlands is a delicious contest between two managers under different pressures.

Under-fire Stuart Pearce has vowed he 'will not hide' as he faces crisis point as City boss but many are saying he could be out if they get beat by the Blues.

After four successive league defeats, followed by an FA Cup quarter-final capitulation at Blackburn, the Sky Blues fans are on the warpath.

And it has to be said, a game against the Chelsea superstars is not what he would want.

However, all is not running smoothly in West London either. The Stamford Bridge manager Jose Mourinho has been in the news again but it's nothing to do with side who continue in their quest to win four competitions this season.

Coming back from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 with Spurs in the FA Cup showed the fighting qualities of the players but not for the first time, the former Porto boss made the headlines for the wrong reasons.

To is great relief, Mourinho will not face any disciplinary action from the Football Association over allegedly using the Portuguese word 'puta'- which translates as 'bitch', towards referee Mike Riley at half-time against Tottenham on Sunday.

Let's hope Chelsea make the news for the right reasons after this match but we think it will be Pearce who will be closer to the precipice.

There seems to be a split in the City dressing room and we can't see them galvanising so quickly.

We shall take Betterbet.com's even money for Chelsea to be win both halves and nudge Pearce nearer the exit.

With winners at 50/1 and 40/1, and a 16/1 winner of the Champion Hurdle there can be little doubt the bookmakers had the edge on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival.

A few lessons were learnt which will hopefully help with our strategy for Wednesday. The first is despite pessimism beforehand - the Irish horses are running incredibly well. Secondly, the ground is now starting to dry up at a rapid rate.

That will definitely count against Nickname in the Champion Chase. Betterbet.com have gone 15/2 overnight which is a big price compared to a week ago but I expect him to drift further as there were plenty of negative vibes around the track on Tuesday for this one whose best form is on soft and heavy ground. A better bet in Wednesday's feature race may be VOY POR USTEDES who won the Arkle at the Festival last year and who looks a reasonable bet at 9/2 to win this. Trainer Alan King won this year's Arkle yesterday with the impressive My Way De Solzen and hot favourite Well Chief looks worth opposing given his lack of recent races.

DENMAN has been made 6/5 favourite by Better to win the Royal & SunAlliance Chase at 2.35 and is the banker bet at the meeting for many. He's a terribly short price now but so hard to fault. If you prefer to play each-way UNGARO looks interesting at 10/1.

Monday night provides us with some Conference football and the rare chance to see Burton Albion live on television when they welcome Forest Green Rovers.

The home side are in sixth place at the moment while the visitors are languishing 12 points behind in mid-table so there is a gap in class.

Burton's 2-1 win over Woking on Saturday kept their promotion hopes alive while Forest Green registered a fine 2-0 win at Oxford United although there is no chance of them getting out of the league.

It's not always easy to find a winner in a Conference table which is characterised by inconsistency and with so many former League clubs looking to get back among the big boys.

However, we can't see this being anything other than a straightforward home win.

Nigel Clough believes home form can take Albion up this season and certainly on their day, they are a match for most in the Conference. We agree and will back them against Rovers.

We will put enough money on Albion at 8/11 with Betterbet.com to make it worth our while.

We tipped Middlesbrough and Manchester United's FA Cup quarter-final tie to go to a replay so let's hope our luck holds out when we look at the other three ties that are being played this Sunday.

Chelsea are still going for "The Quadruple" this season and take on arch rivals Tottenham at Stamford Bridge, a side they traditionally beat with regularity and ease.

The Blues are unbeaten in 10 matches and haven't lost at home all season but Spurs are also in good form having won five on the trot, their latest victory coming against Braga in the UEFA Cup on Thursday night.

Tottenham's win over Chelsea earlier in the season at White Hart Lane, however, was their first over the Blues in 11 games and all things being equal, their next won't come in this game.

Take Betterbet.com's 4/9 and put it on Blackburn to beat Manchester City at Ewood Park.

Rovers are not everyone's cup of tea but they have played City twice in the league this season, winning 4-2 at Ewood Park and 3-0 at Eastlands.

Mark Hughes' FA Cup history is well chronicled and so maybe his name is on the trophy again this season.

City's last win over a Premiership side was a 1-0 victory over Everton on New Year's Day so there is nothing to suggest they can raise their game to take on the stuffy Lancashire side.

We will take Betterbet.com's 5/6 on offer for Blackburn win and put it on Plymouth at 7/5 to beat Premiership Watford in the third tie of the day.

The Pilgrims have some unfinished business with the Hertfordshire outfit reaching back to 1984 when the Hornets came out trumps in their FA Cup clash and we think a large and vociferous home crowd will roar their heroes into the semi-finals.

The Sunderlands Imperial Cup at Sandown is the traditional hor'deuve to next week's Festival main course and punters will be looking to the 17 runner handicap to boost their Cheltenham betting banks.

The top weight Dusky Warbler is a non runner and the only certainty of the race is that the David Pipe trained Gaspara is going to go off favourite. Betterbet.com make him 3/1 at the moment and if you can get near a Better shop they have a great concession today whereby if you finish second to the favourite in this race you get your win single stake back.

This race has been monopolised in the past by David's father Martin who has won three of the last five runnings and Gaspara, who bids for a hat-trick, looks a very likely sort indeed with the champ A P McCoy in the saddle. Gaspara also has two Cheltenham engagements for next week and if he wins today will be on for the bonus put up by the sponsors.

At 3/1 he is plenty short enough though for such a competitive event and we prefer to play each-way where we'll get a return if finishing in the first four. The going will be testing at Sandown which may play into the hands of the bottom weights and the one at the very bottom Swift Sailor looks interesting at Better's 16/1. The grey is in good form, as his trainer Gary Moore.

The cold war may be over but that won't stop Tony G. and The Devilfish doing battle across the felt during Party Poker's European Challenge tournament, at the Concorde Card Casino, Vienna, this spring. In four days time the PartyPoker.net European Challenge in Vienna, Austria will be getting underway. The event will be at the heart of the 2007 Spring Poker Festival. A team of online qualifiers from Eastern Europe take on a team of Western European online qualifiers in the PartyPoker.net East versus West Cup, a €100,000 freeroll at the Concord Card Casino. Just to spice things up, Party Poker have brought in two of the highest profile names

in poker as team captains. Tony G. will head the team from the East. Tony, who is no stranger to controversy, caused a stir in last year's Intercontinental Poker Championship at the Palms Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas (also a Party Poker event). After an interesting hand involving Russian Ralph Perry, which many readers will have seen on the YouTube web site, commentator Gabe Kaplan said, "Tony G is single handedly trying to reignite the cold war". Tony, who is of Lithuanian descent, will be leading a number of Russian players in this challenge! Meanwhile the West will be captained by UK favourite, Dave "Devilfish" Ulliot. The Devilfish has already tangled with Tony G. in the last week. Both of these big guns were firing at the Party Poker Premier League in Maidstone, which was covered exclusively on UK PokerNews. The Devilfish started the war of words early with Guoga when he said, "Tony G is like a puppy dog, lots of bark but no bite." Never one to take a shot across the bows lying down, Tony G. retorted, "Devilfish lost it at Premier League Poker – it should be easy because he is not on his game." A PartyPoker.net spokesman said: "Something has got to give here. They've been in each others faces so much in the last week or so and it wasn't all smiles when they failed to say goodbye to each other at the Poker Den. Phil Hellmuth really stirred the pot too. We'll definitely need to draw an iron curtain between them now. I think we've done a good job in making them both insane! It was deliberate, of course!" The final table of 10 for the PartyPoker.net East versus West Cup will share €50,000, while the winning team will get €50,000 split between them. PartyBets, which can be accessed by PartyPoker account holders, cannot split the two teams when it comes to pricing up this event. Both teams are 5/6 currently with the online betting site.

Any viewer of Sky TV will already know that there is no barrier to what can be achieved in screen graphics in this day of digital and high definition technology. No wonder then that the brand new online Sky Poker TV/internet interface is such a hit. Sky Poker is available on TV on channel 846 through the usual satellite/cable services available from Sky. Every evening, there is an incredible 3D graphical representation of live online poker being played on Sky Poker. This has somehow been transfigured from the flat computer screen into an outrageous three dimensional display apparently hovering in mid-air in front of the two live presenters who discuss the play as it unfolds. The picture on this

page does not do it justice as it is a still image but it gives you an idea nonetheless. To add more human interaction, there are guest players playing online in the studio who discuss their own plays during the tournaments. It is a clever concept. Sky Poker is available as a web-based internet poker room so no downloading of a program is necessary. Simply click Sky Poker for this new internet experience. Sky Poker TV is primarily an educational poker forum laced with entertainment, or is it entertainment laced with poker education? It's a question of interpretation and preference. Several media-hungry poker and sporting faces are involved in the presentations such as Carlo Citrone, Tony Kendall, Helen Chamberlain and Ed Giddens. Unsurprisingly, regular sporting stars also well-known for their poker prowess make regular appearances as players. The online poker room at Sky Poker is building up fast so anyone looking for new challenges in online poker can be assured of plenty of UK players and some from further afield, many of whom are likely to be novices lulled in by the glitzy TV production. The chance to have your play discussed as it happens is attractive. It has been done before of course but not like this! Sky Poker offers The Open at 9pm every night in the form of a multi-table tournament with a featured TV table discussed live by the presenters for the evening. Around 500 players are entering these tournaments and you can enter them for cash or Sky Poker Player Points. 500 Player Points will immediately be yours as soon as you open an account at Sky Poker through UK Poker News. Apart from TV poker, Sky Poker's new online interface offers plenty of cash and tournament tables for you to improve your Hold'em play. Video and other tutorials are also available online as well as the educational advice on the TV.

Officials are investigating whether one of West Virginia's top greyhound breeders altered health certificates for at least 35 dogs.
Assistant Attorney General Ron Brown said he and Assistant Attorney General Ben Yancey will present evidence against Paul Carbonneau to a three-member administrative panel. Brown said the panel will decide whether Carbonneau violated the state's rules of greyhound racing, and if so, what penalty to assess.
The panel began hearing evidence Wednesday at Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center in Nitro. The hearing will resume Friday, said George T. Sidiropolis, chairman of the West Virginia Racing Commission.
Sidiropolis said all 35 of Carbonneau's greyhounds at the Nitro track have been quarantined and suspended from racing until Carbonneau presents proof that the dogs' vaccinations are up to date.
Sidiropolis also is pursuing tests on those dogs, along with an unknown number of greyhounds at Carbonneau's farm in Hurricane, for diseases such as rabies and distemper as well as for steroid use.
A veterinarian examined five Carbonneau-bred dogs at Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Center's kennel on Wednesday and found no evidence of disease, Sidiropolis said, but blood tests were still being conducted on those animals to test for steroids.
The health certificates for the Wheeling dogs all appeared to be in order, Sidiropolis said, and no quarantine was ordered for that track.
Carbonneau, who earned more than $330,000 last year from breeding greyhound racing dogs in West Virginia, not including purses and other winnings, did not immediately respond Wednesday to phone messages from The Associated Press seeking comment. He told The Charleston Gazette that false statements about him had been made to the media. However, he would not answer questions about the allegations, the newspaper reported in today's editions.
The newspaper also said Joe Oliver, the three-judge panel's chairman, barred its reporter from attending Wednesday's hearing. Sidiropolis, who was not at the hearing, said such proceedings should be open to the public. He said he planned to attend Friday's proceeding to ensure that it is open.

World Cup warm-up, St Vincent, Australia: 200-5 (40.5 ovs) bt England 197 (48.3 ovs) by 5 wkts
Watson made short work of the modest victory targetEngland succumbed to a five-wicket defeat against Australia in the final World Cup warm-up match at St Vincent.
Shane Watson and Adam Gilchrist shared 140 within 24 overs, and though both fell in consecutive overs, the target of 198 was reached with 55 balls left.
Michael Vaughan (62) won the toss and shared 116 for the second wicket with Ian Bell (56) as England scented a fourth successive win over Australia.
But others did not master a slow pitch as two fours came in the last 24 overs.

With a modest total to defend England needed a good start in the field, and Monty Panesar's misfield at fine-leg, which allowed Watson a boundary in the first over from James Anderson, did not provide it.
Jon Lewis conceded three no-balls in his first two overs and was flicked over mid-wicket for six by Watson in the sixth over.

Flintoff looked completely out of form in St Vincent
Sajid Mahmood's attempted slower ball summed up England's day, trickling way down the leg-side, bouncing in front of Paul Nixon and away for five wides, his opening two overs costing 20.
With Vaughan off the field as expected to rest his hamstring, Paul Collingwood found himself in charge when Andrew Flintoff also went off having experienced more discomfort with his ankle.
One of Collingwood's first decisions was to introduce Panesar, and he struck when Watson's cut was smartly taken low at point by Kevin Pietersen.
Mahmood was fortunate in the next over when another delivery heading down the leg-side was glanced by Gilchrist and well caught by a diving Nixon.
Panesar might have had a second wicket when Liam Plunkett just failed to cling on to a one-handed diving attempt at deep mid-off when Michael Clarke lofted a drive.
With 42 still needed, Jamie Dalrymple found some gentle turn and Ricky Ponting got an inside edge into his stumps as he tried to make room to cut.
Flintoff returned to bowl with no obvious ill-effects, but Australia ticked off the runs and appeared to be coasting.
With eight needed Brad Hodge got a leading edge to give Collingwood a return catch, then two runs later Mike Hussey played down the wrong line and was bowled by Lewis for a duck.
Any thoughts of a collapse were quashed when Brad Haddin dispatched a full toss from Collingwood over square-leg for six to end the match in style.
England again decided to omit Andrew Strauss and Ravi Bopara for the 13-a-side game, and it now seems unlikely either will feature in next Friday's opening World Cup group game against New Zealand.
Australia were boosted by Gilchrist's return, the keeper having arrived in the Caribbean late following the birth of his third child.
He showed no signs of rustiness, and was standing up to the stumps to seam bowlers Nathan Bracken, Glenn McGrath and Stuart Clark.
Bracken was entrusted with the first over and immediately found some away swing, albeit at a gentle pace.
But Tait proved a different propostion with his pace through the air and surprised Ed Joyce, who was trapped in front for five in the second over.
Tait also bowled two wides and was taken out of the attack after two overs, with four bowling changes made in the first 15 overs.
Vaughan showed glimpses of his best form with some delightful strokes, including three fours off Mitchell Johnson in the left-armer's second over.
He pulled a good length ball from McGrath to the boundary in imperious fashion, much to the chagrin of the veteran seamer.

Brad Hogg made the breakthrough, luring Bell out of his ground, and in his next over he accounted for Vaughan, the England skipper skewing a cut to Shane Watson at gully.
As Ponting completed his powerplays at the start of the 29th over, Pietersen became the third wicket to fall in 15 minutes.
Attempting to turn Tait through mid-wicket, he got an inside edge onto the pad and the ball looped gently to Hogg running in from cover.
Flintoff looked all at sea, particularly against Hogg's chinamen, and having scratched his way to 13 from 31 balls, he top-edged to deep mid-wicket.
One run later in the next over, Collingwood, who earlier just eluded the field with a top-edge, mis-timed another pull and found mid-on.
Clark took his third wicket when Plunkett tried to force the ball away on the off-side and got an inside edge into leg-stump.
Tait accounted for Mahmood in similar fashion and collected his fourth scalp with a pacy yorker that trapped last man Lewis.

Hume followed his 65 on Thursday with a 69 on Friday
R2 LEADERBOARD:GB & Ire unless stated-11 J Randhawa (Ind) -10 B Hume -9 I Steel (Mas), G Lockerbie -8 P Lawrie, WC Liang (Chi)-7 M Fraser (Aus)
Scotland's Barry Hume is just one shot off the lead at the Singapore Masters after shooting a second-round 69 at the Laguna Country Club on Friday.
But Ryder Cup stars David Howell, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood all failed to make the cut.
Hume is at 10 under, with India's Jyoti Randhawa clear at the top of the leaderboard after battling to a round of 68 in difficult conditions.
Howell said: "I just haven't got going - I've lost the plot at the moment."
Clarke, who has won 11 European titles but none since 2003, slumped to a three-over-par 147 to miss the cut by five shots.
He said: "If I knew what I was doing wrong, I would have put it right."

The 31-year-old Howell, who won three times last season, has had a poor start to his year.
He said: "I'm playing terribly at the moment and it is very frustrating.
"No excuses, I'm just playing badly. I'm just not hitting the ball straight. The short game is great but the long game isn't.
"I always look forward to the Masters but I want to be going in with better form than this."
Glaswegian Hume, 25, shot a second successive 65 but would have done even better had he avoided a double bogey at the par-three 17th.
"It is always disappointing to double bogey the 17th but my golf overall has been good so I am not too worried about that," said the Scot, who has played on the Asian Tour for the past two years.
"The goal was to make the cut. There are a lot of players here who are going to miss out so I am happy with that but I have probably done better so far than I thought I would."

Worcester's Shane Drahm gets past Andy Titterell of Sale
Sale 12 (9)Pens: Larrechea 3 Drop: Larrrechea
Worcester 18 (12)Tries: Drahm, Tuamoepeau Con: Brown Pens: Brown 2
Reigning Premiership champions Sale Sharks slipped to their fifth defeat in a row as bottom side Worcester eased to a comfortable victory on Friday.
But the Warriors were unable to get the bonus point which would have moved them off the foot of the table.
Shane Drahm and Tevita Taumoepeau both scored tries for the visitors.
Daniel Larrechea managed three penalties and a drop goal on his return from suspension but Sale were unable to get over the Worcester tryline.
Sale head coach Philippe Saint-Andre
"We need our players to fight for their lives.
"We need to stick together and realise, at the moment, that we are not a good team.
"You can see the team is low on confidence because, from the start, we were missing tackles and letting Worcester get on top."
Worcester coach John Brain
"We caused them problems with the ball and I thought we defended in exceptional fashion.
"They had lots of pressure in the final 20 minutes but, technically, our defence was something to be proud of.
"If we keep picking up points, it puts pressure on Newcastle, who are just above ourselves and Northampton."
Sale: Laharrague; Cueto (capt), Taylor, Seveali'i, Ripol; Larrechea, Wigglesworth; Sheridan, Titterrell, Evans, Schofield, Cox, C Jones, Tait, JM Fernandez Lobbe.Replacements: Briggs, Stewart, Roberts, Hills, Foden, Thomas, Bell.
Worcester: Drahm; Havili, Rasmussen, Tucker, Delport; Brown, Powell; Windo, Fortey, Tuamoepeau, Gillies, Murphy, Hickey, Harding, Horstmann.Replacements: Morris, Lutui, Blaze, Quinnell, Runciman, Feaunati, Best.
Referee: A Roden (RFU)

Londoner Napa suffered his sixth defeat as a professionalIan Napa failed in his bid to claim the European bantamweight title as he suffered a unanimous points defeat to champion Simone Maludrottu in Dagenham.
The 28-year-old Hackney stylist responded well after a disappointing start and briefly threatened to cause an upset against his Italian opponent.
But despite a high punch count Napa's lack of power again proved decisive.
And Maludrottu, the WBC's number one contender, weathered the storm to win on all three judges' cards.
Napa, the former ABA Champion, swarmed forward for the entire 12 rounds but the better quality punching came from the Italian.
And Maludrottu, making the seventh defence of his title, sealed the victory with scores of 117-112 117-112 116-113.
Napa said: "It was a good fight and all credit to the guy. I was at him for the whole 12 rounds but he's a good fighter."
A lack of height will always prove a handicap for Napa, but he ruled out trying to drop down a division.
"I'm not going to kill myself to be a super-fly," he said.
Maludrottu, also 28, claimed: "I am the best bantamweight in the world and I will be world champion. It is just a matter of time."

Macs Joy is a former winner of the Irish Champion HurdleThe 2005 Champion Hurdle runner-up Harchibald and last year's second Macs Joy will miss this year's race.
Macs Joy has been ruled out of Tuesday's contest with a pulled muscle while the soft ground conditions have led to Harchibald's withdrawal.
The news is the latest blow to Irish hopes for the Cheltenham Festival.
Reigning Gold Cup champion War of Attrition, the 2006 blue riband runner-up Hedgehunter and rising star In Compliance are all absentees.
Harchibald's trainer Noel Meade, who is based in County Meath, said stablemate Jazz Messenger is an unlikely Champion Hurdle runner, and he will instead rely on Grade One novice winner Iktitaf.
"Harchibald won't travel over as the ground is against him and it is going the same way with Jazz Messenger," said Meade.
Jessica Harrington, the County Carlow-based trainer of Macs Joy, said he is likely to reappear at the Punchestown Festival in April.
Macs Joy was a general 9-1 chance for the two-mile contest, with Harchibald rated a 25-1 shot.
Galloping grey Detroit City, trained by Philip Hobbs in Somerset, is favourite for the race, which has been dominated by the Irish in recent years.
Hobbs trained the last England-based winner, Rooster Booster, another grey who won in 2003.
The 2006 champion Brave Inca and Hardy Eustace, winner for the two previous years, head the Irish challenge this time.

The rebuilding of Wembley Stadium has cost £757mThe Football Association has finally taken control of the new Wembley Stadium, more than a year after it was originally scheduled to open.
Construction firm Multiplex handed over the keys late on Friday, signalling an end to its £757m building work.
The FA said it was a "significant step" towards staging May's FA Cup final at the new north London complex.
Works were originally scheduled to finish in January 2006, and the cost of the project has increased dramatically.
Test events
In a statement on the FA website, chief executive Brian Barwick said the handover was a "significant step towards staging this year's FA Cup final and opening the new Wembley Stadium".
But he said confirmation of whether the final on 19 May would take place at Wembley would only be given after two "ramp-up events" of up to 60,000 capacity to test the facilities.
"We have been preparing for a very long time and are delighted to finally get inside the stadium," he added.
The first of two test events needed to get a safety certificate will be a community day for 60,000 people on 17 March.

There will be a mini-football tournament on the day involving celebrity teams, and visitors will also help the organisers test facilities such as the turnstiles, escalators and toilets.
The second test event will be an England Under-21 match against their Italian counterparts on 24 March and, unless there are unforeseen problems, a safety certificate will be awarded in time for the FA Cup final to take place.
Pop star George Michael is scheduled to play the first concert at the revamped stadium on 9 June.
Tom Kelly, an official of the GMB union, which represents many of the workers involved in the building work at the stadium, said the complex was a "wonderful memorial to the craftsmanship of the skilled workers" involved.
He added: "We are proud of it and we are certain that Wembley will stage many dramatic and memorable events in the future."

The prospect of this season's FA Cup final returning to Wembley appears to have increased and the eight quarter-finalists will be going all out this weekend to make sure they are in the hat for the semi-final draw.

Only one tie, however, is being played on Saturday, the tea-time clash between Middlesbrough and Manchester United at the Riverside.

Boro, under Steve McClaren, knocked United out of the competition in 2001/02 and Gareth Southgate's side have shown enough good form recently to suggest they could spring a surprise.

The Teessiders have lost only once in their last 14 games in all competitions as they have consolidated after a dodgy start to the season.

But despite their good form, United remain a formidable obstacle.

The Red Devils are sweeping all before them this season and even when they are not playing particularly well, like against Lille in midweek, they are still grinding out the results.

United are also on course for the Barclays Premiership, holding a nine-point lead over Chelsea and in case Middlesbrough forget, the Old Trafford side gathered three points at the Riverside with a 2-1 win at the end of last year.

They won't like it but we think the visitors may have to settle for a draw and another replay to add to their congested fixture list and so we will take Betterbet.com's 5/2 for the side to be level after 90 minutes.