Both teams had an under-par Rugby World Cup. Scotland, despite playing well, failed to qualify from the group stages for the first time in their history. Failure of their forwards to capitalise on try scoring, meant that the Scots were ever-reliant on the boot of Chris Paterson. In the end, it wasn’t enough and the Scots limped out of the New Zealand World Rugby Cup.

England are on a rebuilding program since their Rugby World Cup escapade ended in failure. Thanks mainly to off-the-field shenanigans that seen the England team labelled as ‘posh hooligans’ by some elements of the press. New England coach, Stuart Lancaster, has drafted in a few rookies to freshen up England, however, the lack of experience in England’s set-up at International level is one of the main the reasons the Scotland v England betting is so tight.

Scotland do have the suppoprt of Murrayfield behind them, and if they play the type of rugby that’s expected of them, then it could become a cauldron too hot to handle for this ‘wet behind the ears‘ English team.

England haven’t beaten Scotland at Murrayfield since 2004 and if you’re looking for some excellent free bets and latest bookie offers on the Scotland v England betting then check out our Six Nations Rugby Betting 2012 page.

Scotland v England Betting Odds

England	5/6	8/11	1/20	1/16
Scotland	6/5	9	11/8	11/8
Draw	14	33	18	20

Scotland v England Betting Odds Last Updated: 03/02/2011 (Betting Odds Correct at Time of Writing)

Recession Proof’s ommission has certainly opened up the Betfair Hurdle betting with ante-post favourite Zarkandar now the bookies out-and-out choice to win the biggest bite out of the guaranteed £152,500 purse.

Zarkandar was unbeaten last year as he stormed to victory in the juvenile hurdle events including winning the Triumph Hurdle. This year he steps up and is geared towards the Stan James Champion Hurdle in March. However, his appearance at the Betfair Hurdle will be his first since last April and will be a good indication of what lays ahead for the rest of the season.

Raya Star looks promising, his winter form has seen him pick up an impressive £90,000 in prize money from two wins in three races (the £86,000 prize from winning the Ladbroke back in December helped to boost that figure). That victory in the Ladbroke (2M) has seen Raya Star handicap gain 6lb to a mark of 140 – although trainer Alan King isn’t too despondent.

At Free Betting Online you can view our latest free bets we have on offer for all the up-coming horse racing betting events including the Betfair Hurdle betting.

Betfair Hurdle Betting Odds

Zarkandar	7/2	3	10/3	7/2
Darlan	6	7	8	8
Raya Star	8	8	8	8
Soldatino	12	12	12	10
Citizenship	8	12	14	12
Olofi	12	14	14	14
Sire De Grugy	12	12	12	14
Empire Levant	14	14	14	16
Get Me Out Of Here	12	12	14	16
Final Approach	14	12	12	16

Betfair Hurdle Betting Odds Last Updated: 01/02/2011 (Betting Odds Correct at Time of Writing)

Current Super Bowl XLVI betting has the NE Partiots as pre-match favourites, this despite the NY Giants beating the Patriots 24-20 the last time they met back in Week 9 of the 2011 season. So, what’s changed since that Giant’s win to make the Patriots the bookies betting favourites.

The Patriots have simply moved up the gears, their loss to the Giants back in Week 9 was the last of their campaign. Their domination was evident in the Playoffs as the Patriots wiped the floor with the Denver Broncos 45-10. The AFC Championship Game saw the Patriots come up against sterner stuff against the Baltimore Ravens. They eventually won the match by 23-20 but if Ravens kicker, Billy Cundiff, hadn’t missed a last second 32 yard field goal we might have been talking of a different team facing the Giants at Super Bowl XLVI.

Such is the expectation amongst New York Giant fans, that their team will win the Super Bowl XLVI, that one of their celebrity fans ’50 Cent’ has claimed he’ll post a picture of himself naked on social media site ‘Twitter’ if the NY Giants don’t beat the Patriots. Even Governor Andrew Cuomo, has urged people to “Bet all your money on the Giants.”

You can get a host of free bets and offers on our American Football Betting page plus why not take a free £20 bet on the outcome of the Super Bowl XLVI featuring NE Partiots V NY Giants.

Super Bowl XLVI Betting – NE Partiots V NY Giants

New England Patriots	20/27	69/100	8/11	5/7
New York Giants	5/4	5/4	23/20	6/5

Super Bowl XLVI Betting Odds Last Updated: 27/01/2011 (Betting Odds Correct at Time of Writing)

Earlier in the week we heard the nominations for each category and immediately the bookies published their Oscar 2012 betting odds on whom Billy Crystal will be announcing come ceremony night.

Best Picture seems to be a two-horse race between the black and white, silent film ‘The Artist‘ (which collected 10 nominations overall) and family drama ‘The Descendants‘ (which collected 5 nominations overall) starring George Clooney.

Bookies have made ‘The Artist‘ favourite on the Oscars 2012 betting for Best Picture. The Artist is currently a best bet of 2/7 from Ladbrokes. The Descendants is not far behind with Sky Bet offering odds of 9/2 that it will pick up some goldenware come Oscar night. You can receive the latest free bets news on all sorts of Entertainment betting news by signing up to Free Betting Online’s newsletter.

Oscar Betting : Best Picture 2012

The Artist	1/4	1/4	2/9	2/7
The Descendants	4	4	4	9/2
Hugo	12	12	11	10
War Horse	12	12	14	16
Midnight in Paris	33	33	33	33
The Help	33	33	25	33
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close	33	40	40	50
Moneyball	33	50	40	40
The Tree Of Life	50	50	50	50

Oscar 2012 Betting Odds Last Updated: 25/01/2011 (Betting Odds Correct at Time of Writing)

Best Actor betting currently has George Clooney as favourite to collect his first ever leading male Oscar. Clooney won a best supporting oscar back in 2005 and has been nominated twice before for the Best Actor category but without success. There’s every possibility that Jean Dujardin from ‘The Artist’ might steal Clooney’s thunder, won the Golden Globes, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, ok, not quite the same thing but it’s enough to keep Clooney sweating on the award.

Oscar Betting : Best Actor 2012

George Clooney	4/9	2/5	4/9	2/5
Jean Dujardin	7/4	2	7/4	2
Brad Pitt	14	14	14	14
Gary Oldman	25	33	20	33
Demian Bichir	25	-	11	25

Oscar 2012 Betting Odds Last Updated: 25/01/2011 (Betting Odds Correct at Time of Writing)

Best Actress betting seems to be sewn as Meryl Streep’s depiction of Margaret Thatcher in ‘The Iron lady’. This is Streep’s 17th Oscar nomination but you need to reverse all the way back to 1982 for the last time she won this award. Viola Davis (The Help) is second-favourite and looking to emulate Halle Berry as only the 2nd black actress to win an Oscar in this category.

Oscar Betting : Best Actress 2012

Meryl Streep	1/2	1/2	4/9	4/9
Viola Davis	3	10/3	3	9/4
Michelle Williams	7/2	10/3	7/2	7/2
Glenn Close	25	33	20	22
Rooney Mara	25	20	22	25

Oscar 2012 Betting Odds Last Updated: 25/01/2011 (Betting Odds Correct at Time of Writing)

From the rest, Best Supporting Actor looks to be between Christopher Plummer (Beginners) and Kenneth Branagh (My Week With Marilyn) in the Oscars 2012 betting. Best Supporting Actress will be a close call between Octavia Spencer (The Help), Berenice Bejo (The Artist) and Jessica Chastain (also The Help).

Roberto Mancini has seen his team turn in some indifferent performances since the turn of the new year. Three defeats and two wins have tempered the earlier furore of punters claiming that Man City would walk towards the league title this year. Granted, two of those aforementioned defeats came in the Cups, but it has punctured the mood that Mancini’s City were all-conquering.

Tottenham’s form of late, has been impressive. Three wins and one draw since the start of 2012 has mobilised Spurs up to 3rd in the Premier League, just 5pts off Premier League leaders Man City. The fact you need to go back to the 11th of December to find Tottenham’s last league defeat is a testament to the style of football which Harry Rednapp has Spurs playing at the moment.

Vincent Kompany is still suspended and his admission from the Man City team in the last two games is apparent. Yaya and Kolo Toure are away playing in the Africans Cup for the Ivory Coast. While Tottenham will definetly be without Emmanuel Adebayor as his loan contract dictates he’s not allowed to play against Man City whom he’s still an employee off.

Last time this pair met, Tottenham were beaten convicingly at home 1-5 by Man City. Could this be payback time for Tottenham?

Man City have a proud home record in the league this season (unbeaten in 10), however you have to back to the 1991-92 season for the last time Man City did the double over Tottenham in the league.

You tend to lean towards a score draw when thinking about a prediction for the Man City v Tottenham betting.

Man City v Tottenham Betting

Man City	10/11	10/11	10/11	10/11
Draw	11/4	13/5	11/4	5/2
Tottenham	3	3	16/5	10/3

Odds Last Updated: 20/01/2011 (Betting Odds Correct at Time of Writing)

Murray faces Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the 2nd round on Thursday after he endured a tough 1st round match against American youngster, Ryan Harrison, which took the UK’s #1 four sets to see out the match. The win, although laboured at times, will certainly give Murray, and his new coach Ivan Lendl, food for thought towards Murray’s hope for progression through this tournament.

Can Murray really win the Australian Open?

There’s no doubt that Andy Murray has the ability to win a Grand Slam – he’s reached three finals in his short career so far. But in each and everyone, something happened to Murray. Shockingly, Murray has never won a single set in any of his Grand Slam Final appearances. OK, he was up against Roger Federer (2008, 2010) when he was playing some of his best tennis ever and then again against Novak Djokovic (2011), who would go onto win an incredible ten tournaments in 2011, in those final appearances but it was more Murray’s own performance rather than his opponents feats which brought about his downfall.

Now, Andy Murray, has the capable stewardship of Ivan Lendl in his corner. Will this be the difference which Murray requires to turn Slam final defeats into victories? Only time will tell.

Mens Australian Open Winner Betting 2012

Novak Djokovic	5/4	6/5	11/10	11/10
Roger Federer	4	7/2	7/2	4
Andy Murray	5	11/2	11/2	11/2
Rafael Nadal	13/2	5	11/2	6
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	16	20	18	16
Juan Martin Del Potro	20	16	25	14

Odds Last Updated: 18/01/2011 (Betting Odds Correct at Time of Writing)

The unpredictable Dereck ‘Del Boy’ Chisora (17, 15W, 2L, KO’s 10), who lost his British and Commonwealth titles to Tyson Fury back in July last year, then followed that defeat up with another against Finnish boxer, Robert Helenius, for the vacant European heavyweight title, must have thought all his christmases had come at once when he was lined up to contest for the WBC heavyweight title against Vitali Klitschko (45, 43W, 2L, KO’s 40).

Chisora, is a massive underdog in the Klitschko v Chisora betting odds, and it’s hardly surprising that the bookies favour the 40-year-old Ukrainian. Vitali Klitschko seems to be playing a tantilising game of ‘bring David Haye out of retirement‘ by dangling the coveted prize of his WBC belt as a temptation.

The chances of Chisora beating Klitchko are slim, but upsets do happen in boxing – in fact, the biggest sporting upsets probably come from the boxing betting world. However, even if Chisora were to beat Klitschko – then it’s highly unlikely that Del Boy would be able to swagger back over to London and start making his own preperations of a defence. Because Chisora has signed up to an agreement, that if he wins, then he must fight Klitschko again – it might not even be Vitali but the younger brother Wladimir who is the current IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight champion.

Is Vitali beatable? Of course! But the question we need to be asking here, “Is Dereck Chisora the man to make that happen?” Doubtful! But that’s not a straight out ‘No!’ So, there is hope for the young British boxer to upset the Klitschko v Chisora betting odds and breathe some much-needed life into an otherwise stagnant heavyweight division.

Vitali Klitschko v Dereck Chisora Winner Betting Odds

Vitali Klitschko	1/16	1/20	1/16	1/16
Dereck Chisora	7	8	13/2	7
Draw		40	35	33

Vitali Klitschko v Dereck Chisora Betting Odds Last Updated: 13/01/2012 (correct at time of writing)

You can be sure that Free Betting Online will always have the very latest free bets on offer, you could even try a Free £10 bet on the outcome of the Vitali Klitschko v Dereck Chisora betting bout.

Martin Adams v Tony O’Shea or if you prefer ‘Wolfie’ v the ‘Silverback’ is bound to be an epic affair. Martin Adams is seeking his third BDO title in a row and is the bookies favourite in the Martin Adams v Tony O’Shea darts betting to proceed into the semi finals.

Martin Adams has progressed through his previous two rounds without having to throw big darts. An 90 darts average score has been enough to see of both Scott Mitchell and Gary Stone without Adams conceding a set.

Tony O’Shea has at least bettered his 2011 appearance in the BDO Championships, where he exited quickly in the first round. This time around, O’Shea, the 2009 BDO runner-up, has answered his critics with somewhat comfortable victories over Ross Montgomery and Steve West.

Despite the bookies installing Adams as odds-on favourite, the Martin Adams v Tony O’Shea match is bound to be close. Yes, Adams does have the experience of winning the BDO Championship (3 times) at the Lakeside behind him. And yes, O’Shea still carries the memories of that shock first round exit at last year’s tournament with him, but what a better time to start too eradicate that memory for good by beating Adams.

Martin Adams v Tony O’Shea Winner Betting Odds

Martin Adams To Win	4/9	4/9
Tony O’Shea To Win	7/4	13/8

Martin Adams v Tony O’Shea Betting Odds Last Updated: 11/01/2012 (correct at time of writing)

Miss Cassidy was the first housemate to enter the Big Brother house and was immediately set to task as Big Brother gave her an ear-piece and instructed she had to follow BB’s miked instructions or risk losing housemates suitcases.

Natalie didn’t have long to wait for her secret task to begin as the next CBB housemate, a somewhat bewildered Michael Madsen descended down the BB staircase. Natalie was instructed to tell Madsen she was his ‘biggest fan‘ and that she loved him in ‘Free Willy‘ (one of Madsen’s very early acting roles) to which the big American looked even more bemused and immediately took shelter from Cassidy by quenching Champagne in the hope his new ‘east end friend’ might dissapear. And so the evenings entertainment was set.

Watching Natalie Cassidy perform her secret task throughout the night was hugely entertaining and even I took an unexpected shine to Miss Cassidy. When I first caught sight of her entering the house, I blew out a sigh of dissapointment and thought ‘here we go again‘. However, after watching probably the best first night ever, CBB episode, it’s easy to see why Natalie Cassidy has been made early favourite in Celebrity Big Brother Betting.

Others to watch our for during CBB 2012 are Kirk Norcross (of The Only Way is Essex fame), Denise Welch (Loose Women), Gareth Thomas (Welsh Rugby player), Romeo (ex-rapper), Michael Madsen (once cool film actor) and Frankie Cocozza (X-Factor). The rest are just high heels, boobs and swimming cozzies. Oh, and Louis Spence’s dancing bud Andrew Stone.

In Scotland the League Cup, or to give its full Sunday name – The Scottish Communities League Cup – is sponsored by the Scottish Government. The participating teams still left in the competition are Celtic v Falkirk and the Ayrshire derby of Ayr v Kilmarnock. The Scottish League Cup semis are one-off games played at Hampden Park. Unlike its English counterpart, there is no European qualification for the eventual winner.

Crystal Palace v Cardiff

Crystal Palace haven’t reached a major final since their FA Cup final appearance back in 1990. Manager, Dougie Freedman, has turned the clubs fortunes around this season, despite being favoured for relegation by the bookies. Palace recorded a famous QF win at Old Trafford to set-up this SF clash with Cardiff. Palace aren’t known for their goal scoring ability this season although they have managed to shore-up that leaky defence.

Cardiff are on a rich vein of form at the moment, which has propelled them to 3rd in the Championship, and are just a mere 2pts from top spot. Cardiff are prone, however, to the odd off-day and their strikers will need to take their chances against the frugal Palace defence. Home advantage will feature greatly in deciding who’ll progress from this League Cup Semi-Final.

First Leg 10th of January, 2nd Leg 24th January 2012

Man City v Liverpool

The Premier League’s top team, Man City, will seem confident ahead of their League Cup Semis Betting ties after their recent 3-0 win over Liverpool at home. Of-course the cup matches are always difficult to judge the outcome when they reach the latter stages. At home, Man City are invincible, and their pretty tough to beat away from home as well.

Man City will be heavy favourites to win the 1st leg, so it is likely that the 2nd leg of this Semi-Final tie at Anfield will determine who’ll win this double-header.

Liverpool are beginning to reap the benefit of the return of Steven Gerrard, but he’s still nowhere near his best despite fleeting glimpses of promise. The ‘Luis Suarez Situation’ will have an effect on Liverpool, his banishment from the team will be heavily noticed – Suarez is too big of a prolific player for Liverpool – and Andy Carroll isn’t up to the job in hand.

First Leg 11th of January, 2nd Leg 25th January 2012

Carling League Cup Betting Odds – Winner

Man City	5/6	4/5	5/6	5/6
Liverpool	13/8	15/8	13/8	6/4
Cardiff	9	7	8	9
Crystal Palace	12	12	12	10

Carling League Cup Winner Betting Odds Last Updated: 04/01/2012 (correct at time of writing)

Ayr v Kilmarnock

An all Ayrshire League Cup Semi-Final clash is bound to get both sets of fans excited, especially as both teams are playing attractive, attacking football at the moment. Killie manager, Kenny Shiels, must be happy that he missed out on facing Celtic in the semi-final draw but the intensity of playing bitter rivals, Ayr United, even if they are in a division below, will probably bring its own set of problems.

Saturday, 28th of January 2012

Falkirk v Celtic

Celtic will start as heavy League Cup Semis betting favourites despite Falkirk having knocked out Rangers in one of the earlier rounds. Falkirk haven’t featured in a Scottish League Cup Final since 1948 and they’ll be determined to redeem this fact. But Hampden is a big, wide ground which can dispose frailties in teams very easily. Falkirk will need to really believe in themselves if they wish to overcome Celtic.

Sunday, 29th of January 2012

Scottish League Cup Betting Odds – Winner

Celtic	1/4	1/4	2/7	3/10
Kilmarnock	4	7/2	7/2	10/3
Falkirk	14	14	14	12
Ayr	16	20	16	18

Scottish League Cup Winner Betting Odds Last Updated: 04/01/2012 (correct at time of writing)