We have already enjoyed the excitement of the 2018 Winter Olympics from 
Pyongyang this year, as well as crowning a brand new PDC World Darts Champion on the first day of the year, but 2018 is a year that is rich in top quality sporting events.
In this article, we are going to preview some of the events that are coming up over the rest of 2018 through to the start of the Premier League in August, including some massive football, horse racing, motor racing and golf events plus a host of other massive sporting events that are all hugely popular for punters to bet on.
As well as bringing you details of each event, we’ll also give you our tip on the team or individual to back right now to win the event, or perhaps as an each way bet, so that you could perhaps place an ante post bet and get much better value on any win.
Let’s begin by looking at what is coming up from this coming March.
March 2018
Cheltenham Festival – Tue 13th to Fri 16th March
Without doubt one of the biggest and best horse racing meetings of the year takes place in March at the Cheltenham Festival which features four top quality days of jump racing and includes many top races, including the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
There are a number of key races taking place each day including the Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy (Tue 13th), the Betway Queen Mother Champion Steeple Chase (Wed 14th), the Sun Bet Stayers Hurdle (Wed 15th) and of course, the Gold Cup itself (Fri 16th).
The Gold Cup features a number of big name options, but not Thistlecrack, the ante-post favourite last year will miss out once again due to injury, which leaves Might Bite as the 3/1 favourite at present, with Native River 5/1, Our Duke 7/1 and Road to Respect 8/1. All of those are good options but my tip here is Sizing John, currently a 6/1 shot with Coral and I think as you head towards the start of Cheltenham, his price will only shorten over the next two weeks.
F1 Season Begins – Melbourne Australia – Sun 25th March
Last season, Lewis Hamilton joined just five drivers who have won four or more F1 World Titltes when he claimed his third victory in four years driving for Mercedes. The British driver will be hoping to make it five in a row over the coming year, starting with the first race of the season from Melbourne Australia over the weekend of the 24th and 25th of March.
This year’s grid features many familiar faces and some new ones. Hamilton will renew his rivalry with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen at Aston Martin Red Bull and he will once again have Valtteri Bottas as his team mate. New faces on the grid include Charles Leclerc for Alfa Romeo Sauber, Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley for Red Bull Toro Rosso and Sergey Sirotkin alongside Lance Stroll at Williams.
It will be interesting to see if McLaren can get back to winning ways now that they have ended their partnership with Honda and signed with Renault to supply their engines. If they can then Fernando Alonso could also emerge as a genuine title contender, although it is still early days yet to say for sure the Spaniard is back among the F1 elite.
Given Mercedes dominance, it is hard to bank against Hamilton again here, but if you fancied an outside bet to finish in the top three, Fernando Alonso at 12/1 may be a good each way bet, if he can get his McLaren-Renault car to match the times of Ferrari and Mercedes.
April 2018
The Masters Golf Thu 5th to Sun 8th April
The first golf major of the year takes place every April at Augusta National as the elite of World Golf compete to earn the coveted green jacket and the title of Masters Champion 2018. Last year, Sergio Garcia ended his long wait for a major win by landing the green jacket, the second year in a row the event was won by a European player, following Danny Willett’s victory in 2016.
This year should see Tiger Woods return to a tournament he has won on four previous occasions and while he will have great support, it will be intriguing to see what kind of shape he is in. A top of his game Tiger could well be in contention here.
Rory McIlroy will likely head the European challenge but I feel this year the winner will likely come from the crop of very talented American golfers, with my tip being the supremely confident and consistent Rickie Fowler, who is a current 20/1 shot with Coral and who is a superb each way bet at that price.
May 2018
Champions League Final – Sat 26th May
Currently the Champions League is at the Round of 16 stage with the first legs in this round having been played. It already looks likely that Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Liverpool are into the next round after big wins in the first leg, while some teams ambitions are still very much in the balance, including PSG, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus and Tottenham.
In truth, I think the winner of the tournament will come from this crop of nine teams, with the remaining seven teams in the tournament not really of the same standard. The draw will play a crucial role in the quarter and semi finals and that could really influence which teams progress and which do not.
Although the smart money is on Manchester City, Barcelona or Bayern Munich, I think a good each way option is Liverpool at 9/1. They may not win the event, but given a favourable draw, and the quality of their attackers, they could well surprise a few teams and make the final in Kiev.
June 2018
FIFA World Cup – Russia – 14th June to 15th July
The biggest sporting event of the summer is undoubtedly the FIFA World Cup Finals which takes place in Russia from 14th June through until the 15th July. 32 teams from around the globe will battle through an initial 4-team group stage to earn one of 16 qualifying places in the knockout round.
From then on, it is a straight knockout tournament to decide which team will succeed Germany as the current Champions of the World.
The Germans are the 9/2 favourites and after a dominant showing in qualifying it is easy to see why. Brazil, who also dominated in their South American qualifying section, are a very strong 5/1 shots with France 11/2 and Spain a somewhat short 7/1 given the quality of their squad in general. Â I have two tips for this and I think Belgium at 11/1 are my pick for an each way bet given the strength of their squad, while to win it, I think Argentina are a great shout at 9/1.
July 2018
Open Golf Championship – 19th to 22nd July
Can Jordan Spieth defend his Open title achieved last year at Royal Birkdale? This year, the venue switches to Carnoustie for the first time since Padraig Harrington’s win in 2007 and the Scottish course can be a nightmare for golfers if set up too difficult and when the winds blow.
However, assuming fine weather, scoring on the course is possible and as such, all the talented performers will feel they stand a chance of victory. Favourites include Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and the in form John Rahm.
However, I think a good shout here is the current European Number One Tommy Fleetwood. It’s been a long time since an English player won this event (the last was Nick Faldo back in 1992) and Fleetwood could well be English fans best bet of a win in many years. You can back him now at 28/1 with Coral Sport.
August 2018
Premier League Season Begins – 11th & 12th August
And so the Premier League begins againt just a month or so after the end of the World Cup Finals. It seems as if Manchester City are running away with this year’s title, so if you want a flutter on next year’s event then tune in to Coral Sport over the summer for all the latest odds once the World Cup is over and all the key summer transfers have been confirmed.
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