Week in Sport Betting Preview 17 February : Fury Wilder II, Champions League and WGC Golf

Last Updated : 17th February, 2020 By FREEBets.org.uk

VENUE

Various

TIME

17-23 February

BROADCAST

Live on BT Sport and Sky Sports

See Stats

The Champions League is back, there is top golfing action from Mexico, the Premier League Darts action continues and Tyson Fury looks to become a world champion again as he rematches Deontay Wilder.

Atletico Madrid v Liverpool – Tuesday 18 February

While far from an easy tie, Atletico Madrid are not the concerning prospect they have been in recent seasons and it would be a big upset if they were to outs Liverpool from the Champions League in the last 16.

Diego Simeone’s side have completely lost the ability to score goals, netting just 25 times in 24 La Liga games this season. Their defence is still decent, which is why they are fourth in the table, but they are incredibly blunt up front since the departure of Antoine Griezemann.

Liverpool will go on the attack, knowing they don’t have a great deal to worry about at the back and Atleti, who have already been beaten by Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus in this competition this season, will succumb. The Reds have won 25 of 26 Premier League games this season, home or away, they are very used to winning.

Manchester City vs West Ham – Wednesday 19 February

Manchester City have been hit hard by their Champions League ban in recent days, but they will be looking to put on a show on the pitch to put that behind them. West Ham are the visitors to the Etihad in the Premier League on Wednesday and they will not be able to do much about the champions if they are in the mood.

The Hammers have looked pretty appalling in recent weeks and have slipped into the relegation zone as a result. The gamble on brining back David Moyes has not worked and they look incredibly shaky at the back, especially in the 3-3 draw with Brighton last time out.

They have lost four and drawn two of their last six games and things are not going to improve at the Etihad. City have won their last eight meetings with West Ham, including a 5-0 trouncing in London in August, this will be another comfortable victory.

WGC Mexico Championship – Thursday 20 – Sunday 23 February

Ever since the WGC Mexico Championship came into being in 2017, it has become synonymous with one man – Dustin Johnson. The American has won it two out of the three years it has been held and finished a very decent tied seventh in 2018. Last year DJ was totally dominant, finishing five strokes ahead of runner-up Rory McIlroy.

The world number five has not been in his best form of late, but he has been solid, with a T10 at the Genesis Invitational last week, which could have been much more if not for a dodgy final round. He also finished second at the Saudi International at the start of the month.

Johnson has been pushed back to second favourite behind McIlroy, but the American is all the more appealing as a result. McIlroy has been in similar form to Johnson, with decent top 10s but precious few wins. As favourite, he presents little value, far less than the defending champion does.

Premier League Darts: Gerwyn Price vs Daryl Gurney – Thursday 20 February

Daryl Gurney appears to be struggling badly for form at the start of the Premier League campaign, and is the only player without a point to his name after two weeks. He was poor in defeat to Gary Anderson in week one and similar as he was hammered 7-1 by Michael van Gerwen in Nottingham.

Gerwyn Price has not been at his best either but he has battled to draws with Rob Cross and Michael Smith, and his averages have been significantly better than Gurney’s. He has also enjoyed much better results than the Northern Irishman in the opening two ProTour weekends of the season.

The Welshman tends to do well against Gurney, winning nine of their contests, to Superchin’s three, so with form and history on his side, it is an obvious choice to back the Iceman this week in Cardiff, in front of his home crowd.

Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder II – Saturday 22 February

The much-anticipated rematch between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder is finally upon us, with the two men fighting for Wilder’s WBC heavyweight title on Saturday night in Las Vegas. They first fought in December 2018 and it ended in a memorable draw, with Fury largely out-boxing Wilder comfortably, but being dropped twice thanks to the American’s incredibly heavy hands.

The result was controversial, with Wilder feeling Fury was given a long count on the second knockdown, but Fury feeling he did enough to win on points, despite being felled twice.

The score will be settled this weekend and the Gypsy King is promising a more aggressive approach, trying to take it out of the judges’ hands. This comes under a new trainer, working with Javan Steward for the first time, which is always a big risk. Trying new things against the most fearsome puncher on the planet may not be advisable and could lead to disaster.

Fury is in better shape now than he was in the first fight and his ability to box well for 12 rounds is not in question. However, new ideas and new strategies are not going to be helpful against the Bronze Bomber. The Brit’s naturally confusing style turned out to be very difficult for Wilder to deal with, erase some of that and go on the attack more and he is going to play straight into the champion’s hands.

Wilder can spark anyone on the planet with one punch, he has proved that many times. Fury managed to survive the power in the first meeting, but inviting more danger is going to end badly for him. Like the first fight, Fury needs a perfect performance to win this one, Wilder does not, he just needs the chance to land big, and with a new-look Fury, he will get that chance.