The Week In Sport Betting Preview : Joshua is back, the Europa League returns and PDC darts is on the BBC

Last Updated : 18th September, 2018 By FREEBets.org.uk

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In a big week of sporting action we see the return of the Europa League, the FedEx Cup PlayOffs come to an end, Champions League Darts on the BBC and the return of Anthony Joshua to the boxing ring.

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September 20-26

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In a big week of sporting action we see the return of the Europa League, the FedEx Cup PlayOffs come to an end, Champions League Darts on the BBC and the return of Anthony Joshua to the boxing ring.

Tour Championship Golf – September 20-23

The final competition in the FedEx Cup Playoffs takes place this week as many of the world’s best slug it out for the enormous prize at East Lake in Atlanta, Georgia. The winner at East Lake wins over .6m, whilst the leader of the FedEx Standings at the end of the Tour Championship trousers a further m. Well worth winning.

Justin Rose is the favourite going into the tournament and he will attract a lot of business, as will Bryson DeChambeau, who has won two of the three Playoff events so far. Both are decent bets, but there is an attractive long shot in the field in the shape of a veteran former champion who has just made the American Ryder Cup team.

Phil Mickelson is the man that is worth backing at a whopping 50/1 with Coral. The 48-year-old has not had the best of seasons, but he has plenty to play for with the Ryder Cup round the corner and in desperate need of finding some form.

This could be exactly the place to do it having won this event on this course twice before. Granted these two victories were some time ago, but Lefty has great memories at East Lake and he can certainly challenge, if not win the event.  Whilst unspectacular, recent results have shown signs of improvement with a T15 at and T12 in the PlayOffs so far. Mickelson performs when he needs to and that is now.

Phil Mickelson to win the Tour Championship Each-Way is worth backing at 50/1 with Coral who are playing for 5 places.

PAOK Saloniki v Chelsea – September 20 – 5.55pm

Chelsea embark on their Europa League campaign away to PAOK Saloniki in Greece this week, and they look pretty good value for the win, despite the task being more difficult than many will think.

PAOK knocked out both Basel and Spartak Moscow in qualifying for the Champions League, falling at the final hurdle to Benfica. They have also won their first three games of the domestic season, so they are in pretty good nick.

However, Chelsea are in much better nick, winning all five of their Premier League games so far this campaign, scoring 14 goals in the process. Mauricio Sarri has made an immediate and thoroughly impressive impact at Stamford Bridge and, although he is sure to make changes for this game, his new philosophy should still shine through.

The likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ross Barkley, Alvaro Morata and Willian all failed to start the last game and have the quality to come in and win this game for the Blues in Greece. It won’t be straight forward, but Chelsea have enough in reserve and are in good enough form to pick up the away win.

Back Chelsea to beat PAOK Saloniki at 10/11 with William Hill

Arsenal v Vorskla – September 20 – 8pm

Unai Emery made a bad start to his reign at Arsenal and it is slowly improving, but there are still all sorts of problems with the Gunners, chiefly their defence. Arsenal lost their first two Premier League games of the season and have bounced back with three straight wins. Eight goals in those matches shows there is little wrong with them going forward, but their complete lack of a clean sheet this season highlights their defensive issues.

There is no shame in conceding goals to Man City and Chelsea, but failures at the back against West Ham, Cardiff and Newcastle are much more worrying. With their first choice backline proving so leaky and changes likely to be made for the Europa League, the hopes of their second string do not look great.

Vorskla are certainly not a great side or much of a European force, but they are capable of causing Arsenal a problem, much like any side are. The bookies are thoroughly confident in Arsenal’s ability to win this match and they almost certainly will, but they should not be so confident that the Gunners can keep a clean sheet. The away side to pinch a goal and embarrass their hosts looks like a very decent bet.

Both Teams To Score in Arsenal v Vorskla looks good at 17/10 with Bet Victor

Champions League of Darts – September 22-23

The eight best darts players on the planet head to Brighton this weekend for the Champions League of Darts, for the only PDC event to be played live on the BBC all year. The group stages are played out over the Saturday until Sunday afternoon with the semis and final played on Sunday evening.

World number one Michael van Gerwen goes into the competition as the clear favourite, but the Dutchman has not managed to pick up this trophy in the two years the tournament has been running so far. MVG has also not quite been at his best in recent months, picking up plenty of wins, but not as many as he is capable of.

At odds-on before a dart is thrown, MVG does not look particularly tempting, although at 9/2, Gary Anderson looks much more appealing. The Scot has won the UK Open and World Matchplay this year, and whilst he has not been entirely consistent, he has turned up at the big events.

Anderson reached the final here last year and looks nailed on to reach at least the semis. He looks an excellent each-way bet to win the Champions League this year, meaning a profit if he reaches the final again.

Gary Anderson Each-Way to win the Champions League of Darts is available at 9/2 with Betfair

Anthony Joshua vs Alexander Povetkin – September 22

The IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion of the world is back in action this weekend as Anthony Joshua defends his belts against seasoned Russian veteran Alexander Povetkin.

AJ is the runaway favourite to win the fight, and that seems fair, but Povetkin is a very solid foe indeed and better than the odds suggest. The Russian has only ever lost once, and that was to a prime Wladimir Klitschko over 12 rounds, he has not been stopped and he has fearsome punching power, as he showed against David Price in March.

Joshua will want to put on a show after attention has been pulled away from him by Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury, but it won’t be a quick night for him. The Brit will be dead set on scoring a knockout after his 12-rounder against Joseph Parker, but he will have to wait for it.

The champion knocked out both Carlos Takam and Klitschko late on, whilst Parker took him the distance. It seems in the step up in opposition his power is not quite so devastating, expect another late knockout in this one.

Anthony Joshua to win in Rounds 7-12 is 2/1 with Paddy Power