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Del Toro has been in blistering form to start 2026 as he won the UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico, and finished 3rd at Strade Bianche, only behind his teammate Pogacar and the phenomenal Seixas. On the other side, Roglic opened the season well, taking 5th at Tirreno-Adriatico before a solid 3rd place at Milano??"Torino 3 days ago. Del Toro will primarily be helping Pogacar, but the Mexican is in superb form and has a super-fast sprint which 36-year-old Roglic can't match, so even if they finish in the same group behind the leaders, got to expect Del Toro to outsprint Roglic and finish ahead of him.

Pedersen was a solid 7th here last year, finishing in the second group behind the winning trio. On the other side, Magnier is slowly stepping up to the top class of races and will race this monument for the first time. Pedersen has a strong team around him, and he should be hanging tight in the second group again when the likes of van der Poel and Pogacar decide to attack and split the race. Magnier has a fast sprint, but over a long distance and in a tough group plays, who cooperates with whom and possibly being isolated should hurt him, so got to expect Pedersen to be much more prolific in this duel and to finish in front of the French youngster.

Mohoric is a former winner here, having amazingly won with a superb descent attack after the Poggio in 2022, and he notched 2 more top-10 finishes in 3 returns since. On the other side, Andersen was 5th when Mohoric won in 2022, his best result in this monument. Mohoric will be the leader of his team and will have the freedom for another Poggio descent attack, and that should at least see him in one of the front groups. Andersen will be there mainly to help Pedersen, which should see him spend energy for his teammate, and that then should see the Slovenian finish ahead of him in the end.

These two superb riders are deserved favorites to win this race, and it will be hard to split them. However, van der Poel won this race twice in 2023 and 2025, while Pogacar, no matter how great he has been, hasn't won here yet. The two main climbs, Cipressa and Poggio, are shorter efforts approached at high speeds. That reduces Pogacar's usual attacking opportunities and doesn't leave much room to attack. On the other side, van der Poel has shown he can follow all those Slovenian attacks and even counter. Plus, he has a faster sprint, which plays a big role with the flat run-in to the finish, so got to give the edge to van der Poel, for whom this race should suit better, and see him finish in front of Pogacar.

Mathieu van der Poel won this race twice, in 2023 and last year as it suits his skills perfectly. It's usually decided on the Poggio, which is short enough perfectly fitting his explosiveness on such steeper short climbs, and if the race comes back in a reduced group after that, van der Poel has a tremendous sprint, so got to fancy him for another win in the first monument of the year.

Milton Keynes Dons is 2nd with 74 points while Barnet is 12th with 54 points. Milton Keynes Dons are in superb form, undefeated in the last 14 games with 10 wins, and they are also undefeated in their last 14 home games with 10 wins. On the other side, Barnet are winless in their last 3 games with 2 losses. MK Dons are on fire of late having scored 12 goals in their last 4 games, while Barnet scored only 6 goals in their last 8 games, so with a chance to go top of the table with a win on offer, simply got to expect the higher-motivated hosts to win this one.

Palermo is 4th with 58 points, sitting 6 points below the automatic promotion zone, while Padova is 12th with 34 points, sitting 3 points above the danger zone. Palermo is solid, 2-1-1 in their last 4 games, with a loss and a draw in that stretch coming against the 2nd-placed and 7th-placed teams. On the other side, Padova lost their last 3 games and are just 1-2-3 in their last 6 home games. Palermo is undefeated in their last 7 H2H meetings with 6 wins, so got to give the edge to the visitors here and back Palermo to win.

Vizela is 5th with 41 points, sitting 1 point below 3rd place, which leads to a playoff for promotion, while Penafiel is way down in 15th with 29 points. Vizela is in strong form, having won the last 4 games, including the last 2 on the road, while Penafiel is winless in their last 4 games and has just a 2-4-4 record in their last 10 games. Vizela scored 10 goals in their last 4 games, while Penafiel scored only 7 goals in their last 10 games. Vizela is 3-1-1 in their last 5 league visits to Penafiel, so with the visitors being far more productive offensively, simply got to like them to edge out this one and escape with all 3 points.

Bayer Leverkusen is 6th with 45 points, sitting 5 points below the three teams ahead of them in the fight for spots that lead to the Champions League. On the other side, Heidenheim is dead last, 18th, with only 14 points, sitting a massive 11 points below safety. Bayer Leverkusen is strong, 6-3-4 on the road, while Heidenheim is winless in their last 13 games with 10 losses. Bayer Leverkusen won all 5 of their previous head-to-head meetings in the Bundesliga, outscoring Heidenheim by 18-4, so got to expect Bayer to outclass the weaker hosts and win to put more pressure on the teams above them.

Notts County is 4th with 67 points, sitting 2 points below the automatic promotion zone, while Cheltenham are way down in 17th with 42 points but sitting comfortably 12 points above the danger zone. Notts County are strong at home with 11-3-5 record, while Cheltenham are weaker on the road with 4-6-9 record, having only one win in their last 8 away trips. Notts County won their first head-to-head match of the season, and they have won 3 of the last 5 at home against Cheltenham, so got to give the decisive edge to the hosts and back them to win this one.

Plymouth is 10th with 56 points, sitting just 2 points below the final spot that leads to the playoffs for promotion. On the other side, Huddersfield sits even closer to that 6th spot, being 7th with 57 points, so this is a very important game for both sides. Plymouth is undefeated in their last 4 games with 3 wins, and they won their last 3 home games. Huddersfield is just 2-3-3 in their last 8 games, and they have been struggling on the road, being 2-3-7 in their last 12 road trips. Plymouth scored 8 goals in their last 3 home games, while Huddersfield failed to score in their last 4 road games, so combined with Plymouth winning their last 3 H2H meetings played at Home Park, simply got to fancy the hosts to edge this one out and claim 3 big points.

Bolton is 3rd with 66 points, while Port Vale is dead last, 24th, with only 28 points sitting a huge 14 points below safety and with not much chance to escape relegation. Bolton is undefeated in the last 13 games with 7 wins, while Port Vale is winless in their last 7 home games with 3 losses. Bolton is undefeated in their last 6 H2H league meetings with 5 wins, so got to fancy much better visitors to win this one as well.

Southampton is 6th with 60 points, holding the final spot that leads to the playoff for promotion only on goal difference, while Oxford Utd is 22nd with 39 points, sitting 1 point below the safety zone, so this is a big game for both sides. Both have been playing well of late as Oxford Utd is undefeated in their last 4 games with 3 wins, while the Saints have been even better, going undefeated in their last 11 games with 8 wins and also reaching the quarterfinals of the FA Cup. Oxford Utd did face a slightly easier schedule in their 4-game unbeaten streak and were winless in the 6 games prior, with 4 losses. Conversely, Southampton beat the league leaders Coventry and a red-hot Norwich side in their last 2 games, so it feels like the Saints are on a slightly higher level, and at home at St Mary's, they should have the edge and win this one.

Sutton Utd is 15th with 43 points, while Truro City is dead last with only 25 points, sitting a huge 12 points below the safety zone. Sutton Utd won 2 of their last 3 home games, while Truro City has been awful away from home with a 1-4-14 record and minus 30 goal difference. Sutton Utd are solid 4-2-2 in their last 8 games, while Truro City is winless in their last 10 games with 9 losses. Sutton Utd won their last 3 H2H meetings, so got to expect the hosts to have the upper hand in this one and win again.

Swindon is 6th with 66 points, sitting just 3 points below the automatic promotion zone, while Tranmere is way down in 20th with 36 points, sitting 6 points above the relegation zone. Swindon is a solid 10-2-7 on the road, being 3-1-1 in their last 5 away trips. Tranmere lost 12 of their last 14 games and enters this match on a 7-match winless streak with 6 losses. Swindon scored at least 2 goals in each of their last 3 road games, while Tranmere scored just 3 total goals in their last 7 games. Swindon is undefeated in their last 4 H2H meetings with 3 wins, including one in the first encounter of this season, so got to fancy the visitors to get the job done here and win.

Racing Santander leads the league with 59 points, while Albacete Balompie is 14th with 39 points, sitting 8 points above the danger zone. Racing Santander is in excellent form, having won their last 4 games, and they also won their last 4 home games. Albacete is winless in their last 3 road games with 2 losses and only 1 goal scored. Racing is 4-1-1 in their last 6 H2H meetings played in Santander, and they are clearly the better side at the moment, so got to fancy them for another home win in this one.

Twente is 5th with 44 points, while Fortuna Sittard is 11th with 35 points. Twente is strong, 4-1-1 in their last 6 games, and they have lost only two road games all season, while Fortuna is just 1-1-2 in their last 4 home games. Twente has an excellent H2H record against Fortuna, being undefeated in their last 7 H2H meetings with 6 wins, so got to feel like the visitors will have a slight edge here and find a way to another important win.

Dinamo Zagreb leads the league with 60 points, sitting 10 points clear of 2nd place, while Lokomotiva is 7th with 30 points, sitting 10 points above the relegation zone. Dinamo is in superb form, being undefeated in the last 13 games with 11 wins and 2 draws, which came against the 2nd- and 3rd-placed teams. On the other side, Lokomotiva is winless in the last 3 games with 2 losses, and they play their home games at Maksimir, which is Dinamo's pitch, so this is not even a true road game for Dinamo, so they should control this match and continue their unbeaten streak with another win.

Smotherman has been playing really well this year. He opened with T8 at The American Express, where he shot four rounds of 68 or better. He was then fantastic T2 at the Cognizant Classic, where he opened with a 9-under-par round of 62, and he comes here after a very good showing at Arnie's place, where he finished T13. He was solid in 2 previous showings here at Copperhead, with results of 25th and 36th in 2022 and 2023. Years later he returns as a much better player who is playing excellent golf at the moment, leading the Tour in Strokes Gained on Approach and sitting 8th in Greens in Regulation, so married with his always-strong long off-the-tee game, simply got to see nice value backing him to be right in the mix come Sunday afternoon.

Hisatsune is playing some amazing golf this year as the Japanese youngster sits 61st in the OWGR, very close to the top 50 and an invitation to the Masters. He was T2 at the Farmers Insurance Open at the start of the year and notched 3 more top-15s since, finishing T10 at the Phoenix Open, T8 at Pebble Beach, and T13 last week at The Players Championship. He was T33 here on debut in 2024 and even better T4 a year ago, so he likes Copperhead, and this time around arrives as a much-improved player who is playing great at the moment, which could easily see the Japanese youngster contend for the win.

Moore opened this season playing very well and making the cut in all events he played in, highlighted by T2 at the Cognizant Classic where he shot all 4 rounds of 68 or better. He is a former winner here, having won the title in 2023 before finishing T12 a year later when defending. He ranks in the top 8 on the Tour for Scrambling and Par-3 scoring, which are both very relevant this week at Copperhead, so got to see very nice value backing former winner to contend here once again come Sunday afternoon.