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Liverpool will attempt to win back-to-back EFL Cups and extend their record to 11 trophy wins when they take on Newcastle on 16th March 2025 at Wembley.  Newcastle have not won a domestic trophy since 1955 and were beaten in the League Cup final two years ago by Man United, extending their wait further.

Newcastle are a different team now and it feels it is a matter now when rather than if they will win a domestic cup.  They are in great form and completely sideswiped Arsenal in the semi-finals to take a deserved final berth.  They may have wished for an easier opponent than Liverpool, though, who are not only the holders and record winners but possibly the best team in the world right now.  If Newcastle are to win their first cup in 70 years they will have to do it the hard way – but as they say you have to be in it to win it.

The final is now a little later than in the past.  It is played in mid-March rather than the end of February – largely due to the expansion of the Champions League.  If Liverpool win it it could be a platform to push on and try to win the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.  If Newcastle win it it will be bedlam, they won’t see it as a platform to win other things, the simple fact they will have won a cup will be enough and it would live in the memory for 100 years.

Manchester City have won six of the last eleven trophies since 2014 and have come to own the competition of late, although they haven’t won it since 2021 now. The only other teams to win in that time are Liverpool (2), Man United (2) and Chelsea (1).  Liverpool extended their record to ten cups in 2024 beating Chelsea for the second time in three years.

The one thing we seem guaranteed of is it will be a good game.

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The Premier League is the worlds biggest sporting competition in terms of revenue, number of people watching, wages, attendance and pretty much any other stat you want to look at; including betting, accounting for over half of bets placed on football in the UK.

Let’s face it the league is elitist and based on money, and for a long time this caused stagnation with three teams dominating the first 20 years; Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal. Lately, however, the league has gained a new competitive streak, most notably with Leicester winning in 2015 and then three new dominant forces arising in Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City, who look set to continue their battle in 2023-24, in the way United and Arsenal did 15 years ago – that is except the level is now much higher, as seen with Liverpool coming second in 2019 with an astonishing 97 points.

In the UK 70% of bets are placed on football and nearly three quarters of those wagers go on the Premier League, making this one event responsible for around half of all bets placed. Considering this if you bet on the PL you would be insane not to search around for the best offers and odds from our leading bookies. Read our detailed guide for more.

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It’s the pinnacle of European club football and the competition every fan wants to win and this year with no less than four English teams in the competition and this means even more attention than before. Liverpool are of course the record English side in the competition and were finalists in 2018 and 2022 and won the competition in 2019 and they will be looking do to well this year having missed out in 2024.

This year, however, it will be last years champions Real Madrid who will be the club to beat with now 15 titles to their name, winning in 2024 against a Dortmund team that were far better – Madrid just always find a way. Man City will be favourites again having now won their first Champions League in 2023 it could now open the floodgates and it is likely more wins will follow. Arsenal and even Aston Villa cannot be discounted and if they make the knockout rounds anything is possible.

Form 2024-25 the competition has expanded again to 36 teams with a new league phase replacing the group stage.  This now means 8 league matches between September and January (no winter break anymore) with four home and four away ties all against different teams.  The top 8 go straight to the last 16, those who finish 9-14 in the league contest a two legged play off in February with the 8 winners progressing to the last 16.

From that point it is a straight knockout as we are familiar with.  The top 8 league teams are seeded at the last 16 stage but country protection is removed now.  The knockout draw in February now also plots out the route to the final, as with the likes of the World Cup, which helps ensure the 8 seeded teams are more likely to make it to the later stages – as if the big teams needed anymore help.

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The very late end to the 2020 championship that did not finish until Halloween due to the suspension caused by corona virus did not reduce the drama as England took the title by one point with a bonus point win over Italy while Ireland could not capitalise against France. Despite matches being held behind closed doors the six nations proved its resilience producing great rugby in spite of the difficulties. The 2021 event then followed just 4 months later and threw up some shocks with Wales winning with some outstanding performances in Paris and London.

Wales dropped off the edge of a cliff by the time the 2022 event rolled around, losing 4 games including at home to Italy, the first time in 36 matches. Ireland were sublime but France were even better, marching home to their first Grand Slam win since 2010. The following year saw a reversal with Ireland taking the Grand Slam and France only losing one game.

England may have won it in 2020 but then finished 5th in the 2021, 3rd in 2022 & 4th 2023, showing form is fleeting. In 2024 teams started to catch up, England finished third and prevented a back-to-back Irish Grand Slam by being the only team to beat them.  Wales had a shocker and finished with the Wooden Spoon but a new young side showed their potential and they will not be bottom for long.  France and Scotland remain strong but now even the Italians are no walkover anymore.  It all adds up together to make what will hopefully be a cracking 2025 Championship.

It is very hard to say who will come out on top in 2025 given the extraordinary conditions of the last few years that make it hard to judge form. What we can say is it should be an open and exciting championship, although Ireland will be favourites.

The Six Nations is a great event for finding try scorer money back offers, extra winnings, early payouts and insurance deals.

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The darts Premier League takes place from February to May every Thursday evening, it moves around each week meaning that 17 different venues across the UK and Europe will be used this year.

The format changed in 2022 and now takes place over 17 evenings with 8 players competing in a series of 16 mini-tournaments before a final play-off. For the first 16 nights players play quarters, semis and a final with the winner getting 5 league points and a £10k bonus, runner-up 3 points and losing semi-finalists 2 points.

The top 4 players in the league progress to the final play-offs and the final due to be staged in late May. The world’s eight best PDC players compete in the Premier League. Michael Van Gerwen won the 2022 and 2023 versions and is record holder with 7 titles, ahead of Phil Taylor with 6 titles. MVG also won four titles in a row between 2016-2019.  Luke Littler won on his debut in 2024, only the third player to do so and the youngest winner in history.  He also managed a 9-dart leg in the final.  He seems to be the one to watch for the future.

The event was only conceived in 2005 and yet has already become one of the most high profile events on the darts calendar, second only perhaps to the World Championship.

You can find some excellent linked free bets and price boosts, especially from the previous event sponsor Unibet. For nights 1 to 16 each match is best of 11 legs, the semi-finals best of 19 legs and the final best of 21 legs.

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The Cheltenham Festival went ahead in 2021 but it was very different to any previous meeting given it was held behind closed doors without the famous Cheltenham Roar. From 2022-2024, however, the crowds more than made up for the lost year, demonstrating that Cheltenham is a huge draw and one of the biggest sporting amphitheatres there is. The Irish dominated as usual winning 18 out of 28 races that included yet another Gold Cup win for Willie Mullins, the fourth in six years.

The Festival is now back to normal bit it will do well to beat the excitement of last year. It is expected the Irish will rule once again, and Willie Mullins in particular, although British trainers will surely want to put in a better showing this year following the embarrassment of late.

The four day event will be the most bet on and and most watched festival ever and as always if you are going to have a bet you would be insane not to at least consider one of the outstanding promotions or concessions that are available.

This is the one event of the year that can be relied on for attracting the most crazy deals from UK bookies and is one of the best times of the year to bet for added value. Read our guide page for more.

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Without question the worlds biggest and most challenging horse race. The 4 mile 2 1/2 furlong grade 3 steeplechase requires horses to jump now less than 30 fences, many of which are over 5 feet high and include famous obstacles such as Beecher’s Brook and The Chair.

In 2020 the Grand National race at Aintree was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the first time in history the meeting has been cancelled during peace time. Since then the race has regained it’s position as the greatest races in the world. In 2021 the race was held without fans but history was still made as Rachael Blackmore became the first woman jockey to win the big race in its history.  In the two years that followed the race saw two favourites winning, the first time that happened in consecutive years since 1894.

The race has undergone some recent changes.  The field has been reduced to 34 from 40 and the race now starts earlier at 4pm.  This is to make the race safer, although it also makes it a bit less variable with favourites now doing better than before.  Still 21 horses finished the race in 2024 and that was the highest since 1992 so the race is still a significant spectacle.

Last year the National attracted over £300 million in stakes, and that is only counting the legal bets. To say the event is a betting phenomenon wouldn’t do it justice, pretty much everyone who has ever bet has done so on this race, and more often than not it is the first bet people make.

It is surprising that many bookies shy away from the National, partly because they can’t cope with the demands of so many people wanting to have a punt. Many bookies cancel their offers and even sign ups on National day, so if you want to get added value this year it is recommended you sign up in advance. If you wait until a few days before to bet you will also find many of the better sites offer 6 places each-way.

Don’t forget also that the National is only one race among a 3 day festival starting on Thursday, and you can find many offers and specials for these other races too.

Watch: ITV