TQ's A-Z / Tareq Quiroz / 26 November 2007 /

The sporting week all wrapped-up from start to finish...

A is for Anelka. Bolton striker Nicolas Anelka hit the winner in the week's surprise result in the Premier League as they beat Man Utd 1-0. The result takes Bolton out of the bottom three and the Megson inspired Trotters are now [5.4] in the Premier League Relegation market.

B is for Baddeley. Home star Aaron Baddeley claimed the Australian Masters in dramatic fashion. Daniel Chopra forced a play-off with Baddeley but the Aussie finally prevailed at the fourth extra hole. Check out this week's New Zealand Open markets where local hero Michael Campbell will start favourite.

C is for Cipriani. Wasps star fly-half Danny Cipriani was inspirational as his team overpowered Newcastle 35-12. Cipriani scored two tries in the impressive win and with Wasps now up to full strength they may be worth an interest in the Guinness Premiership Winner market.

D is for de Villiers. New Zealand's tour of South Africa is fast turning into a disaster. After two test defeats, AB de Villiers inspired South Africa to T20 and one-day victories in the space of a few days. De Villiers top scored for SA in both games and will be full of confidence going into Friday's second one-dayer. Check out the Match Odds market and make your decision as to whether SA can extend that run.

E is for England. The expectation levels for England are enormous but by any top nation's standards failure to qualify for a major tournament is unacceptable. Defeat at home to Croatia on Wednesday spelt the end of England's chances of qualifying for Euro 2008, and also the end of Steve McClaren's tenure as England boss. The Next England Manager market is up and running and we have already had three separate favourites, a position that Capello currently holds at tempting odds of [4.5].

F is for France. It was a very busy week for Internationals and we now know all the qualifiers for the Euro 2008 finals next summer. France came second in their group and have managed to progress to the finals somewhat under the radar. The French will be a force to be reckoned with next year and at [9.2] in the winner market they may be worth following now as opposed to closer to the event.

G is for Gallas. Arsenal Captain William Gallas is making a habit of scoring late goals. Just as it appeared that the Gunners might be held to a draw by a fighting Wigan outfit, Gallas bombed forward and popped up with a vital header. If you think he can repeat the feat in the next game then check out the To Score market

H is for Harmison. England paceman Steve Harmison suffered a back injury in a warm-up game for the tour of Sri Lanka. England had hoped to have Harmison back for the first test but that now looks in jeopardy. Will that affect England's chances in Kandy on Saturday? Check out the Match Odds market where England are [5.1] to take the opening test.

I is for India. There was a dual celebration for India as they beat Pakistan in the first test of their current series and talisman Sachin Tendulkar passed Alan Border to become the second highest test run scorer. If you feel this run can continue then check out the odds for this week's second test.

J is for Jaguars. Jacksonville Jaguars are putting together a good run of form and are starting to grab some attention in a Patriots dominated season. A 36-14 win over Buffalo on Sunday has put them in a nice position to make the play-offs. Should the Patriots fail to deliver on the big stage then the Jaguars at [44] in the Superbowl Winner market are certainly worth a look.

K is for Kauto Star. Last year's Gold Cup winner Kauto Star was back to winning ways in the Betfair Chase on Saturday. He held off a spirited challenge from Exotic Dancer to prevail by half a length. Kauto Star will now follow last season's path to the King George, where he is currently [2.1] in the Antepost market.

L is for Levante. La Liga strugglers Levante had only picked up four points in their opening 12 games until last weekends sparkling 4-3 victory over fellow relegation contenders Real Betis. The Relegation market for this league is certainly very interesting and Levante are around [1.3] to go down.

M is for Mr Pointment. A great weekend for the Nicholls camp culminated in a thrilling success for Mr Pointment in the Becher Chase at Aintree on Sunday. Trainer Paul Nicholls is bullish about the horses' chance in the Grand National next year and he is now favourite for the big race in our ante-post market.

N is for Nurnberg. It has been a very disappointing season so far for Nurnberg. Quietly fancied to have a reasonable season in the Bundesliga they have failed to deliver until Sundays impressive 2-0 win over Dortmund. If you think that will spark off a revival that will drag them clear of the bottom three then check out the Relegation market for that league.

O is for Olympiacos. The topsy-turvy nature of Olympiacos' season continued on Saturday as they maintained their 100% home record with a 1-0 win over Veria. That win keeps them third in the league despite the fact that they have yet to win on the road this season in the league. Their one away victory was in the Champions League and if you fancy them to follow it up on Wednesday at Lazio then they are currently [5.2] in the Match Odds market.

P is for Pistol Pete. The legend that is Pete Sampras rolled back the years in a series of exhibition matches against Roger Federer. Having narrowly lost the first two matches the long since retired Sampras outgunned the world number one in the final match in straight sets. I doubt that will have affected Federer's confidence too much and he looks like a good price at [1.62] to win the Australian Open early next year.

Q is for Quagliarella. Fabio Quagliarella was once again on the mark for high-flying Udinese in their 2-0 win over Siena on Sunday. They are now fourth in the league and only three points off the top spot. If you think they can go all they way and take the title then check out our Serie A Winner market.

R is for Ricardo Mayorga. In the week's big boxing match Ricardo Mayorga beat his bitter rival Fernando Vargas with a majority points decision. The two men have been slating each other in the build up to the fight but now the talking has finished and Mayorga is the champion. Our attention now turns to the fight of the year, Hatton v Mayweather. The market is up and trading with recent market tendencies seeing Mayweather drift slightly to a price that seems hard to ignore.

S is for Scotland. Colin Montgomerie and Marc Warren caused somewhat of a surprise as they captured the World Cup in China last week. The duo held firm in a play-off with the US to secure Scotland's first ever World Cup title. The big event in the golfing calendar this week is the Nedbank tournament where Ernie Els is currently the favourite at [4.4].

T is for Taylor. The Power is back and in a fabulous week of darts Phil Taylor rediscovered his best form to win the Grand Slam of Darts. The final was fairly one-sided as Taylor took nine legs on the bounce mid-match and Andy 'The Hammer' Hamilton could not respond. Can Taylor keep this form going right through to the World Champs? Keep an eye out for a market coming up very soon.

U is for Undefeated. Arsenal and Liverpool both extended their unbeaten Premier League records with wins at the weekend. The longer the run goes on the more speculation grows at to whether either team can go the entire season unbeaten. Markets are available under Specials for either club to achieve that feat.

V is for Vennegoor of Hesselink. Dutch hitman Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink fired the first goal in Celtics 3-0 win over Aberdeen at the weekend. He is five behind his fellow Celtic striker Scott McDonald in the race to be the Top Scorer in the Scottish Premiership. If you feel that he will overcome that gap then check out the Top Goalscorer market for that league, where McDonald is currently odds on favourite.

W is for World Cup Draw. All eyes were on the draw for the qualifying stages of the World Cup 2010 on Sunday and as usual it didn't disappoint. England predictably drew recent conquerors Croatia and there is already talk of a group of death. It may be three years away but if you think you already have an idea as to who will hold the trophy aloft then check out the World Cup winner market now available.

X is for X-Rated. Cards often fly about freely in La Liga and last week was no exception. In the Murcia v Real Madrid game there were eight yellows and a straight red as tempers flared and the league leaders were held to a draw at mid table Murcia. Madrid face a tricky trip to Bremen in the Champions League this week and if things fail to go their way then the Sending Off? market may well be worth an investment.

Y is for Yakubu. The Yak fired in a brace as Everton went goal crazy against a beleaguered Sunderland. Yakubu has a tendency to score goals in spurts and is now only three goals off Benjani in the Top Goalscorer table. The race for that crown is wide open, take a look at the market and make your choice.

Z is for Zzzzz. It seems to me that of all the big leagues Serie A has the biggest tendency for 0-0 draws. There were two more at the weekend and for the third time in thirteen games Empoli were involved in a bore draw. Having scored only seven goals in those 13 games it will be worth running an eye over the 0-0 option in their next match away at fellow strugglers Parma.

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