tadley

Qarabag weren't expected to come through qualification, but they did. Once qualified, they were expected to struggle at the foot, but once again they have performed better, sitting in a qualification place. In their two home games they beat Copenhagen and drew with Chelsea, so they should be able to see off strugglers Ajax. Ajax are bottom with five defeats from five, 16 goals conceded and just one scored. Surely they've lost all interest in the competition and look there for the taking.

Domestically, only West Ham games generate more corners than Newcastle. On the road in Europe they have continued this over trend, with their game tallies being 12 and 16. Leverkusen are a solid corner-winning side, so I like the over.

Napoli have won 3 of the 4 meetings with Benfica and look in form to improve on that. Domestically they beat Juventus at the weekend to make it 5 wins on the trot and take them level with AC Milan at the summit. They haven't had the best Champions League campaign but are coming into form now and a win would ensure a place in the knockouts. Benfica lost their opening four Champions League games before beating a hapless side as they beat Ajax 2-0.

Both are averaging just a shade under 5.5 corners domestically, but that doesn't mean too much on this occasion, as Benfica are wildly inconsistent with their corners per game, ranging from 0??"13. Napoli are playing better football of late, and their corner tally has improved, with 9 last time against Juventus. If Benfica have a solid corner day, I see this going over.

Real Madrid have played just two Champions League home games, with them winning 9 corners against Marseille and 13 against Juventus. Despite the tough opponents tonight, I don't see Man City slowing them down too much. Man City are usually good for a few corners, so I see this going over.

Sixers are a solid side and already have a win over the Scorchers. However, the Scorchers have gotten better as the tournament progressed. Openers Mack and Mooney made a fine 97 between them last time, putting them in a position to win the game against the Stars rather cosily. They have won 5 of their last 6 and look a team brimming with confidence.

Darren Moore is still in charge of bottom-side Port Vale when managers of teams that have been doing better have lost their jobs. To be fair, he did well last season, but the team seem out of their depth this season. Luton have lacked consistency this season but have a bit of quality about them and look up to heaping more misery on Port Vale fans.

You would expect a side sitting bottom of the table to have started as the outsider in the vast majority of the games. That hasn't been the case with Ross who, despite their poor form, have only been the outsider in just four league games this season. I think the bookies have finally realised that they aren't very strong, as they start as outsiders in this one. Raith are pretty ordinary, but at odds-against look the value against an underperforming Ross side.

Casey Jarvis has been impressive of late on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa. In his last three starts he has finished 10th, 1st and 1st. He knows this course well, as it's just a few miles down the road from him. So, with his current good form and course knowledge, I'm expecting a big performance.

Daniel van Tonder seems to save his best for events in South Africa, and this is a course where he has performed well. Back in May he finished 2nd on the Sunshine Tour at the Waterfall City Tournament of Champions at this very course. I expect him to outperform his odds.

This is not a challenging course, and the emphasis will be on long hitting and good putting. Burmester can out-hit anyone in this field, and although his putting can be erratic on some days, it can be solid on others. South Africans have won 10 of the last 12 times here, so I like his chances.

Zimbabwean Kieran Vincent should have good memories of this venue, as he won here on the Sunshine Tour in May. The highlight was a stunning 61 on day three, which enabled him to ultimately win by four strokes. He's had his ups and downs since, but it's clear that on a good day he can challenge for the win.

It's difficult to see Ayora not finishing in the top 5 Europeans given his current form. In his last seven finishes he has recorded six top-10s. If he brings that level this weekend, he should be challenging for the top European.

Dan Bradbury is a two-time DP World Tour winner who seems to thrive in South Africa, with many of his best performances coming here. He comes into this in good form after a T2 at the Nedbank Golf Challenge last week, just one shot off the winner. The sparse GB and Ireland field isn't particularly strong, so I like his chances. He comes into the week in great form after a T2 at the Nedbank last time out, which was statistically the second-best result of his career.

Chris Gotterup has barely had a bad event this year, with a series of good efforts. The highlight was his win at the Scottish Open in July, where he finished two shots clear of McIlroy. It's important to have a solid female partner for this, and Gotterup has that in Kupcho. Kupcho has three single wins on the LPGA Tour as well as a doubles win. I think these two will gel well and should impress this weekend.

Bunting has had a great season and recently reached the final of the European Tour event and followed that up by winning the Players Event. At 29.00, he looks well worth a punt.