Dave1962

Judd Trump starts the defence of his title against Scotsman Stephen Maguire, who is ranked twenty-four places lower in the rankings. They last met in the British Open last year, where Trump came out on top.

Earlier this month, Stephen Maguire suffered a whitewash against Mark Selby, while Judd Trump completed a whitewash against Mark Williams. If Trump can win the opening two frames, he could pull away for a very easy win.

Si Jiahui is ranked twenty-two places higher than Welshman Ryan Day. Si Jiahui has won the last three meetings between these two players.

Earlier this month, Si Jiahui whitewashed Gary Wilson, who is ranked twenty-three places higher than Ryan Day. In their last two meetings, each time Ryan Day has only managed to win one frame. Prior to that, they met in the Snooker Shoot Out and Ryan Day failed to pot a single ball.

With the Skelton horses going well, a chance is taken that Panic Attack can follow up its Paddy Power Gold Cup win with another over this longer trip. With a three-pound claimer on board, Panic Attack is only one pound higher than her Cheltenham race. Connections appear quite bullish, even though she has not tasted success over this distance.

Brentford's last four home games have seen them win against Newcastle, Liverpool, and Manchester United. Their only defeat came at the hands of Manchester City. Burnley have lost five of the six away Premiership fixtures they have played, with the only success coming against bottom-of-the-table Wolves.

Following three consecutive defeats, Leeds have slipped into the relegation zone. Manchester City will no doubt put out a stronger team than they did in their mid-week defeat against Bayern Leverkusen. Manchester City have won their last five Premiership home games, keeping a clean sheet in three of them.

Last season Doyen Du Bar won first time out. He went on to race a further three times, winning twice more. Those three wins came at distances between two and two-and-a-half miles. The forecasted going is good to soft, which Doyen Du Bar has won on, and any overnight rain would not weaken his chances, as he has previously won on heavy going. He has since moved stables to Nicky Richards, and Harry Cobden gets to ride him for the first time.

The last two meetings between these two sides finished with at least three goals and both sides scoring. Bayer Leverkusen are one place and one point higher in the table than Borussia Dortmund. They have taken 13 points from their last five home league games. Borussia Dortmund have taken 10 points from their last five away league games, dropping points at Bayern Munich and Hamburger SV. Following their mid-week away win at Manchester City, back Bayer Leverkusen to win.

After the first stage of qualification, Lando Norris was only slightly behind his teammate in second. With more qualifying to come, backing Norris to find that bit extra could lead him to start the Qatar Grand Prix in pole position.

This season Birmingham have played eight Championship games at home. Those eight games have produced five wins, two draws, and one defeat. They come into this game having won their last three home games, with two of them finishing with at least three goals. Watford have collected five points from their last five Championship away games, three of which finished with at least three goals.

Judd Trump has reached the final of this tournament four times in the last fourteen years. He is the defending champion and also won it back in 2011. These longer matches usually bring out the best in Judd Trump. The last person to successfully defend their crown was Ronnie O'Sullivan back in 2018. I'm taking Trump to do the same as 'The Rocket' and win this tournament again.