Betfacts / Top Dog / 17 August 2007 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet

Betfair's Top Dog sniffs around the truth behind the latest tabloid tales

Top Dog

Betfair's top dog sniffs around the truth behind the latest tabloid tales.

• Cruft's champion - Top stories that can dominate the news agenda
• Pedigree chum - Insights that tell you something you don't know
• Dog's dinner - Speculation, guesswork, or ideas that just don't come off.

Top Dog says:

Big story of the day in all the papers is Rafa Benitez' insistence that Steven Gerrard can play against Chelsea with a broken toe - but not for England. Steve McClaren's growing injury list might make Germany good value at 3 to win Wednesday's friendly, if you can face up to betting against your own team!

Cruft's:

The Sun - F1 chief's a Ranger - Paul Jiggins confirms that Flavio Briatore will buy Queens Park Rangers in a £22million deal, with quotes from chairman Gianni Paladini. The potential cash injection has already caused Rangers' promotion odds to crash to just 3.5.

Daily Mail - Keeping it in the family - Sports Editor Lee Clayton has found Peter Schmeichel to ask about son Casper's entry into the big time as Manchester City goalkeeper. A good read and the right time - and you can back Casper at 4.5 to keep a clean sheet on Sunday!

Pedigree Chum:

The Sun - Sven's a Red Devil - an off beat story typical of The Sun's sense of fun. They've been tipped off by hotel staff that Sven's ordered a £415 bottle of red wine to share with Sir Alex on Sunday.

The sun - Emad for it - Gary Payne claims an exclusive that Middlesbrough are set to sign Egypt striker Emad Moteab so Yakubu can leave. Story is backed up with quotes from his club Al-Ahly.

Daily Mirror - Sam's lock-out - North East man Simon Bird has been told, presumably by a little bird, that Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce has started locking out players who turn up late for training. Could the added discipline make 6.8 a top four finish a good bet?

Dog' s dinner:

Daily Mirror - Curbs gets six weeks to keep job - More pressure on West Ham's boss. All the papers report his threat to sue Paul Konchesky over claims the Upton Park players don't like their boss, but the Mirror goes further by suggesting chairman Eggert Magnusson is concerned. Highly speculative - but keep an eye on odds of 7.6 for Curbs to be the next boss who leaves his job.

Today's other stories:

Daily Mail - Jamie Redknapp says Man United need a target man - Sheffield United sue West Ham - Martin Jol on Tottenham's bad start - Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink joins Cardiff

The Sun - Richard Hughes on Ronaldo - Drogba's title warning - Jol on Spurs crisis - Dyer on joining West Ham - Owen on the bench for Newcastle this week

Daily Express - Real Madrid trying to hijack Alves deal - Pearce on picking Agbonlahor - Scott Carson on his Aston Villa ambitions - Dyer on joining West Ham - Ronaldo's a softy says Hughes

Daily Star - Rafa's Gerrard gamble - Ronnie must learn to cool it - Drogba warns United - Steve McClaren on England team spirit - Jol gets a vote of confidence

Daily Mirror - The Hairdryer v The Freezer looks at the Manchester bosses - Cesc Fabregas on Arsenal's European hopes - Steven Gerrard's injury woes.

Tags: Carlos Tevez, Paladini, Steven Gerrard