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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.

Watch: Sky Sports

It’s the pinnacle of European club football and the competition every fan wants to win and this year with no less than six 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.

This year, however, it will be last years champions PSG along with record champions Real Madrid who will be the clubs to beat. Man City will be up there 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, Chelsea and even Newcastle cannot be discounted and if they make the knockout rounds anything is possible.  Spurs seem a little more of an uncertainty but you never know with them.

Form 2024-25 the competition expanded 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.

Watch: TNT Sport

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 only player it seems that may stop Littler being completely dominant is Luke Humphries who beat Littler in the final in 2025 – despite Littler setting a new record of 45 points in the league phase to get there.

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.

Watch: Sky Sports

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. That was the last time England won the Six Nations, which is a bit of surprise and suggests they need to win in 2026. 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 since then. Ireland were sublime in 2022 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.

The 2025 edition seemed like groundhog day for Wales, who again failed to win a game and ended up with the wooden spoon.  France won it but only by a point having beaten everyone but England, who surprised everyone by finishing second.  The Irish were strong but not as much as in recent years.  The Scots gave a good account of themselves and Italy were very competitive. It all adds up together to make what will hopefully be a cracking 2026 Championship.

It is very hard to say who will come out on top in 2026 given the changing situation for a lot of teams in the last few years and that make it hard to judge form. What we can say is it should be an open and exciting championship, although England and France will be favourites.

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

Watch: BBC and ITV