The introduction of Video Assistant Referees (VAR) was intended to remove any doubt from what otherwise might be considered to be debateable refereeing decisions, with the aim of providing improved fairness and impartiality during matches.

However, the irony here is that the use of VAR technology itself has become one of the biggest talking points at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, polarising views on whether it's actually fair or not.

We take a look at how VAR came about, what its use actually means, its impact at the World Cup so far, along with how the technology could shape the future of decision-making in football.

How Did VAR Arrive At The World Cup?

After being trialled in competitions such as the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in England, as well as in the German Bundesliga and Italian Serie A, the use of VAR at the 2018 World Cup was approved in March of this year by the International Football Association Board in Zurich.

Many leading referees around the globe were already very familiar with VAR technology, having put the concept into practice during trials taking place for the last two years. The first high-profile event in which VAR was used was the 2016 Club World Cup, then at the 2017 Confederations Cup.

All the refereeing teams participating at the 2018 World Cup have had intensive training for the use of VAR, spanning the last two years and particularly since the sport's governing body announced that it would be used at the tournament, with match officials taking part in detailed seminars and practice events. These included fine-tuning the technology itself and practical application during practice matches.

 

Intended Use Of VAR And How It Should Work

According to official statements, the use of VAR during matches is defined by “three main incidents (plus one administrative) which are identified as game-changing”. These are detailed as follows:

1 - Goals

The role of the VAR is to assist the referee to determine whether there was an infringement that means a goal should not be awarded. As the ball has crossed the line, play is interrupted so there is no direct impact on the game.

2 - Penalty Decisions

The role of the VAR is to ensure that no clearly wrong decisions are made in conjunction with the award or non-award of a penalty kick.

3 - Direct Red Card Incidents

The role of the VAR is to ensure that no clearly wrong decisions are made in conjunction with sending off or not sending off a player.

Administrative – Mistaken Identity

The referee cautions or sends off the wrong player, or is unsure which player should be sanctioned. The VAR will inform the referee so that the correct player can be disciplined.

To explain how VAR itself is used in these match situations, the following steps are taken:

Step 1 – When an incident occurs

The referee informs the VAR, or the VAR recommends to the referee that a decision/incident should be reviewed.

Step 2 – Review and advice by the VAR

The video footage is reviewed by the VAR, who advises the referee via headset what the video shows.

Step 3 – Decision or action is taken

The referee decides to review the video footage on the side of the field of play before taking the appropriate action/decision, or the referee accepts the information from the VAR and takes the appropriate action/decision.

This all seems fairly straightforward in principle, but how does it work in practice at the 2018 World Cup in Russia?

Throughout the tournament, there is a video assistant referee team supporting each of the 64 matches taking place, situated in a central video operations room located in Moscow.

The VAR team for each match is made up by the principal video assistant referee (VAR) and his three assistants, which are referred to as AVAR1, AVAR2 and AVAR3.

The main VAR watches the main match feed on a quad-split monitor and is responsible for communicating with the referee on the pitch.

AVAR1 focuses on the main match camera and informs the VAR about incidents being reviewed.

AVAR2 focuses exclusively on offside decisions, whilst AVAR3 is focused on the TV programme feed we see at home, evaluating incidents and providing communication between all members of the team.

 

Statistics from the World Cup

Perhaps the most notable Impact of VAR is the number of penalties awarded at the 2018 World Cup.

After the final Group B encounter between Iran and Portugal, in which there were two penalties awarded in that match alone and 9/2 Golden Boot favourite Cristiano Ronaldo saw one of them saved, a total of 20 penalty kicks had been awarded in the 36 games played up until that point.

Only just beyond the half-way point of the 2018 tournament fixture list, this smashes the previous record of 18 penalty kicks awarded at the 1990, 1998 and 2002 World Cups, and greatly surpasses the 13 penalties awarded during the entire 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Clearly, the introduction of VAR appears to have had a strong bearing on the highly increased number of penalties being awarded.

Up to and including the Iran-Portugal match, seven penalties were awarded with the direct intervention and assistance of VAR. This begs the question as to whether they would have been awarded, or not, without VAR being available to referees.

 

Reactions to use of VAR at the World Cup

When it comes to England’s fortunes at the 2018 World Cup, with the Three Lions priced at 9/1 to win the tournament, their first two Group G matches generated considerable debate regarding how effective, or not, the use of VAR has been.

During the narrow 2-1 victory against Tunisia, the North African side scored from the spot after what looked a clear-cut penalty decision, with Kyle Walker having elbowed Fakhreddine Ben Youssef inside the area.

Meanwhile, England striker Harry Kane was clearly rugby-tackled to the ground by a Tunisian defender Yassine Meriah at a corner, yet neither the referee or VAR intervened.

So how could such a deliberate foul and potential penalty decision have been missed? Well, it’s all down to interpretation from the match referee. Irrespective of what VAR sees, the referee can still make the final call.

Interestingly, former English referee David Ellary is now the technical director of the International Football Association Board, which oversees the laws of football and has played a decisive part in the implementation of VAR at the World Cup. Nevertheless, he takes a positive view that VAR has been of ‘maximum benefit’ and has contributed to a ‘fairer World Cup’ overall.

 

The future of VAR in football

There’s no doubt that VAR will continue to create much discussion during what remains of the World Cup, while it’s a technology that’s here to stay at elite levels of football.

Despite being trialled in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup last season in England, the 2018-19 campaign in the Premier League will not feature VAR during matches, after member clubs voted against its implementation.

Whether there will be any pressure to implement VAR in the Premier League beyond next season remains to be seen.

By contrast, VAR will continue to be used in the German Bundesliga and Italian Serie A, despite there having been widely-reported teething problems with the technology during trials last season.

Meanwhile, La Liga president Javier Tebas has been highly enthusiastic about how VAR has performed at the World Cup, announcing that it will be introduced for the 2018-19 top-flight season in Spain.

One of the key aspects on the road ahead for VAR and its inevitable use throughout the highest echelons of football, and possibly into lower levels of the game too, will be clarity of education regarding how the system works.

The biggest causes for confusion amongst players at the World Cup has often been to question when VAR is actually used. Whatever side of the fence we may be on regarding how VAR is used, hopefully, familiarity will bring a much better understanding of how and when the technology can prove effective during matches.

 

*Odds subject to change - correct at time of writing*

Football has the World Cup, boxing the heavyweight championship of the world. Tennis lovers adore Wimbledon and cricket fans have the Ashes to look forward to.

UK and Irish horse racing enthusiasts are not without their big days out either, with the likes of Royal Ascot, Cheltenham Festival and Glorious Goodwood marked in the diary from the turn of the year.

The pinnacle of the sport of kings is, without doubt, Group One flat racing – and rightly so. Reserved for the big occasions, it brings the kind of prize money that attracts the biggest names in the sport, including top trainers, riders with ambitions of being named champion jockey and, of course, the runners themselves.

Ask any horse lover for their top-five animal of all time and, without question, Frankel will feature in just about every list.

Why? Well, the multi-award-winning colt finished his career unbeaten from 14 starts and he consistently won the biggest and best Group One races, from announcing his arrival when bagging the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket in 2010 to signing off with the Champion Stakes medal in 2012.

Sports fans are waiting patiently on the next wonder horse to emerge and, although there’s currently a few waiting in the wings who fancy a pop, some even boasting the Frankel bloodline, it’ll take something special to fill those shoes.

His Group One honours included the Queen Anne Stakes, Lockinge Stakes, Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and the Sussex Stakes, twice.

The latter is one of the main fixtures on the Glorious Goodwood meet, which is scheduled for a 2018 renewal between Tuesday 31^st July and Saturday 4^th August.

The vastly popular racing spectacle is a real hit with fans, both dedicated and casual, with the five days playing host to no less than three of the UK’s 36 annual Group One flat races. The perfect stage for a young pretender to prove their orth.

One of the biggest betting events of the year Glorious Goodwood has something for everyone, including big price winners aplenty. Let’s look at the three Group One races and what clues punters can take from previous runnings.

Sussex Stakes

What better place to start than with the race won by the great Frankel back-to-back in 2011 and 2012? That makes him the one-mile contest’s most successful runner, ever.

Will that be surpassed? Here Comes When tasted glory in 2017 for Jim Crowley and Andrew Balding, holding off odds-on favourite Ribchester by a neck in the closing stages despite carrying the weight of a 20/1 price tag.

It was a breath-taking finish but that’s nothing new in a race that was first run way back in 1878. 2016 champion The Gurkha beat silver medallist Galileo Gold by a neck before retiring with a record of two wins and three placed efforts from five starts.

Solow landed the cheque in 2015, ½ a length ahead of Arod and Kingman was only a length better than Toronado at the finish 12 months previously. If you plan on betting on the Sussex Stakes, the stats would suggest a tight contest and wafer-thin winning distance. That’s worth keeping in mind.

Without Parole was a hot favourite in the ante-post betting for the 2018 Qatar Sussex Stakes and that came as no surprise to followers of the trends. First of all, the three-year-old colt has the Frankel bloodline coursing through his veins.

That’s more than enough to catch the attention of those happy to bet blind. He’s also trained by John Gosden who won this race in 2014 with Kingman. A perfect four-leg winning start to life as a racehorse certainly didn’t put anyone off either.

Without Parole goes with huge expectations but certainly appears to have the shoulders to carry the burden. Everyone connected to the sport hopes he’s the second coming. Too much to ask? We’ll see.

Goodwood Cup

This competitive Group One flat is decided over two miles and can be traced back to 1812 when Shoestrings was etched into the history books.

More recent backers of the race have enjoyed their fair share of drama with Stradivarius beating pre-race favourite Big Orange by just shy of two lengths in 2017 off a thrilling 6/1.

The second was heading for a hat-trick having scored in 2015 and 2016 but a beaten favourite is certainly nothing new in the Goodwood Cup.

Big Orange won the race first time around off a 6/1 quote himself, beating the more fancied Quest For More who went off a 9/2 poke.

Kieran Fallon rode Cavalryman to the winner’s enclosure in 2014 at 5/1 with the favourite that day, Estimate, finishing last of the eight. Bettors who like to keep a close eye on the patterns will need no further encouragement to take a chance on an outsider winning the Goodwood Cup.

Other points of note in the race are jockey Jamie Spencer has won two of the last three renewals, but both were on the back of Big Orange. Frankie Dettori was in charge of the failed treble attempt.

A rare slip for the winner of the magnificent seven as he has ridden three Goodwood Cup champs in his career – Kayf Tara (1999), Schiaparelli (2009) and Opinion Poll (2011).

Since the latter got home, the Italian pilot posted 3-8-11-2. He's always worth a second look and he can never be written off at this level, but he has some way to go to match Lester Piggott’s bar of five race wins.

Nassau Stakes

The final leg of three on Glorious Goodwood week that's often run on the Saturday. 1m 1f lies ahead of the pack and 2017 saw a jaw-dropping £600,000 prize pot divided up, with over £340,000 of that going to the winner.

That was Winter for the partnership of Ryan Moore and Aidan O’Brien who also came out on top the year before with Minding. At the line that was only Moore’s second Nassua Stakes win but it would be a brave backer who would bet against him adding to that.

Trainer Aidan O’Brien is a bit more familiar with the Goodwood winner’s circle as he has taken four: Minding (2016) and Winter (2017) after Peeping Fawn did the business in 2007 and Halfway To Heaven a year later.

The Irishman seems to enjoy a double. The all-time leading trainer remains Sir Henry Cecil on eight and it’ll be some time before we see that surpassed.

Strangely for the big meetings, and especially for Glorious Goodwood, the favourites show up well in the Nassau Stakes with the shortest odds winning three on the bounce - 2015, 2016 and 2017.

The shortest of them was Minding in 2016 when doing as expected off a tight 1/5. Marked like losing wasn’t an option, the talented filly had things a little more difficult than expected with runner-up Queens Trust getting within 1 ¼ lengths of an upset.

*Odds subject to change - correct at time of writing*

The Qatar Goodwood Festival – popularly known as 'Glorious Goodwood' – is one of the highlights of the flat-racing season and takes place in little over three weeks, from 31 July - 4 August.

Here is your day-by-day overview of the Goodwood Festival with some of the horses you can expect to the contending the feature races.

Tuesday 31^st July

The Tuesday highlight is Goodwood’s newest Group 1, the Qatar Goodwood Cup worth £500,000. Stradivarius narrowly denied Big Orange his third straight win in the race in 2017.

The first four home in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot are on course to meet again in the Goodwood Cup. Stradivarius, Vazirabad, Torcedor and Order Of St George are among the entries for this feature race which forms part of the Long Distance category of the QIPCO British Champions Series.

Order Of St George is one of seven entries for Aidan O’Brien. His septet also includes the three-year-old Kew Gardens, successful in the Group 2 Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot.

The Queen could be represented by the William Haggas-trained Call To Mind, winner of  the Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup Invitational Stakes over two miles at Belmont Park on his latest start. Her Majesty has twice enjoyed success in the race, winning it in 1965 and 1966.

 

Wednesday 1^st August

The Qatar Sussex Stakes is one of the highlights of the flat racing calendar, with prize money of £1million attracting a top-class field. This mile-long Group 1 race has previously been won by Frankel and the French sensation Solow.

The John Gosden-trained Without Parole is set to take on older horses for the first time in the Sussex Stakes.

The unbeaten Frankel colt made it four wins from four starts with victory in the St James’s Palace Stakes, on his first run in Group 1 company.

David Simcock was satisfied with Lightning Spear’s performance at Royal Ascot despite yet another defeat and he is looking to land a Group One victory in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood- a track at which he has won the Group Two Celebration Mile for the past two seasons.

Dermot Weld has said he has “no regrets” about skipping the Irish 2,000 Guineas with Imaging and the colt is likely to line up next in the Sussex Stakes.

On his last start, Imaging landed the Tetrarch Stakes at Naas and had the subsequent Irish Guineas hero Romanised back in sixth. He is currently a 25/1 chance with us here at 888sport.

 

Thursday 2^nd August

Ladies’ Day is the most glamorous day of the meeting and the top racing compliments the ambience of the afternoon. The prestigious Group 1 Qatar Nassau Stakes is the highlight of the eight-race card, worth £600,000. Previous winners include Ouija Board, Minding and Midday.

Urban Fox gave a three-and-a quarter-length beating to Investec Oaks winner Forever Together in the Group 1 Juddmonte Pretty Polly Stakes and now heads to the Nassau Stakes.

Classic winner Billesdon Brook will be stepped up in distance for a crack at the Nassau according to her trainer, Richard Hannon.

The Qipco 1000 Guineas heroine could not repeat her Newmarket heroics in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, although she was far from disgraced in fourth place behind Alpha Centauri.

Beaten Queen Anne favourite Rhododendron has the Nassau Stakes in her sights according to Aidan O’Brien.

Aidan O'Brien's Lockinge winner disappointed when finishing only ninth in the curtain raiser at Royal Ascot and will be stepped up in trip.

 

Friday 3^rd August

The sight of a large field hurtling at speeds of over 40mph in a Goodwood sprint makes the £300,000 Group 2 Qatar King George Stakes one of the highlights of the year - taken in 2017 by Battaash.

The Clive Cox-trained three-year-old Heartache will revert back to five furlongs for the first time this season when taking on her elders in the Group 2 King George Stakes.

After a disappointing return in the Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock, she put in a much better display despite failing to see out the six-furlong trip in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot.

Charlie Hills’ Battaash registered an impressive success in the 2017 renewal of the race, scoring by two and a quarter-lengths under Jim Crowley. He ended 2017 as the highest-rated five-furlong performer in the world after a spectacular victory in the Group 1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp.

David Griffiths' star veteran Take Cover could become the first three-time winner of the race, following wins in 2014 and 2016.

Griffiths could also saddle 2013 Dash winner Duke Of Firenze who finished sixth in this year's renewal of the five-furlong contest at Epsom.

Ballydoyle maestro Aidan O'Brien has made 10 entries, headed by the King's Stand Stakes sixth and eighth, Different League and Washington DC.

 

Saturday 4^th August

The six furlong cavalry charge of the Qatar Stewards’ Cup is a sight to behold, with over 20 sprinters thundering down the Goodwood straight. It is not a contest for the fainthearted punter.

Previous winners of this iconic sprint include Loch Song and Dancing Star and this year the winner will scoop a rather impressive £250,000.

Heading the weights for the six-furlong Stewards' Cup Handicap is Projection who was last seen when fifth in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.

The current ante-post favourite is Dreamfield trained by John Gosden. The Godolphin-owned four-year-old lost his unbeaten record when going down by the narrowest of margins to the 33/1 outsider Bacchus in the six-furlong Wokingham Handicap at Royal Ascot on June 23rd.

Hoof It, successful in the Stewards' Cup way back in 2011 lines up again as does the Commonwealth Cup third Emblazoned.

 

*Odds subject to change - correct at time of writing*

In episode one of a seven-part YouTube series, grime sensation and social media star Big Narstie gets tips from football commentating legend Barry Davies, as part of our challenge to Big Narstie to shake up the football punditry establishment and turn himself from Rapper to Reporter in Russia this summer.

Episode two of Rapper to Reporter sees Big Narstie team up with folk band ‘Russian Tornado’ to create a truly unique football World Cup rap!

 

He's learned commentary skills from a legend and rapped with a local folk band, but now Big Narstie needs to brush up on the Russian lingo as he embarks on the third step of his journey to transform from Rapper to Reporter.

Any World Cup reporter worth his salt needs to know a few key local phrases, so we sent Big Narstie to a Russian language school in central London to refine his skills. Ever wondered what Base Defence League translates to in Russian? You're about to find out!

And what a cast he gets to quiz, as England managers and players from previous World Cups are subjected to Narstie's unique interview style, including Bobby Robson, Gary Lineker, Glenn Hoddle, David Beckham, Sven Goran Eriksson, Steven Gerrard and Roy Hodgson (all played impeccably by top football impersonator Mark Langley).

BT Sport's Lynsey Hipgrave is on hand to guide Narstie through the art of the interview - safe to say, it wasn't a ride without a few bumps!

This is just the latest in a series of challenges Big Narstie needs to overcome if he's to earn a gig as a reporter in Russia this summer, having already got commentary tips from Barry Davies, learned Russian culture with folk band Russian Tornado and picked up the lingo at language school. Stay tuned for the next chapter!

Betting on baseball can be an enjoyable endeavour, as the action can depend on the outcome of every single pitch thrown throughout a game. But betting on baseball is even better when you know exactly what to look for before you place your bets.

In this guide to betting on baseball, find out what you should look for before placing your bets on the game, including some key differences between baseball betting and wagering on other sports.

Pitching Rotations

Every sport has some kind of system where reserves exist to bolster a starting lineup. In some sports, like basketball, these reserves feature throughout each game while a sport like football only sees a limited number of substitutions per match.

Baseball is unique in the way substitutes are used, in that position players frequently see the same starters appear each day. Pitchers, meanwhile, are used interchangeably to preserve the health of their arms.

The stress of pitching on the human arm is immense, as the overhand pitching motion is not a natural one. Therefore, to keep pitchers in the best physical condition possible, teams have pitching rotations in place to prevent a starting pitcher from throwing too often.

These rotations usually consist of five pitchers, but can feature four or six depending on where the team's depth lies. When it comes to betting on baseball, this is important because the starting pitcher on any given day can make a world of difference when it comes to placing a bet.

For example, the Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the most formidable clubs in the world when Clayton Kershaw takes the mound for them.

Kershaw's run as one of the most dominant pitchers in all of baseball has made the team tough to beat when he is their starting pitcher for the day. As a result, the Dodgers are usually favoured when Kershaw is pitching.

On the flip side, some of the other pitchers on the Dodgers are less dangerous than Kershaw. Therefore, the Dodgers might be an underdog or less heavy a favourite when someone other than Kershaw is up in the starting rotation.

Knowing how a team's starting pitching rotation is set up is vital, because it helps explain the odds that each team is facing heading into a game, while simultaneously highlighting any matchup advantages that a team has.

When it comes to betting on baseball, evaluating this facet of a matchup is one of the first steps that anyone should take before making a decision.

 

Ballpark Evaluations

Most sports see a game played on a playing surface that is the same no matter where a match is held. A football pitch has the same dimensions at the upper levels of the game. A basketball court is the same from arena to arena.

But baseball is unique in that the dimensions of the field vary greatly depending on what venue a game is being held in. This is one of the most fun quirks about the game of baseball, and remembering its existence can be so important when it comes time to place a wager on the sport.

Field dimensions in baseball can vary in different ways. One such way that they can vary is the actual distance to the wall from home plate at each stadium. Some stadiums feature longer or shorter distances to the wall to left, right, or centre field.

This can mean that it is easier or more difficult for players to hit home runs at those parks, depending on where the dimensions lie and what the hitting strengths of a given team are. The height of each wall can vary as well, making the degree of difficulty of hitting a ball over said walls change with those heights.

What makes the unique nature of each ballpark so important to betting on MLB and other baseball leagues is the fact that some ballparks can cater to the strengths of certain teams better than others. A great example of this is Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox.

Fenway Park features a short distance to the left field wall, which happens to be an extremely tall wall. This fence is known affectionately as the Green Monster, and has become one of the most iconic ballpark quirks in all of baseball.

The Green Monster, in addition to being a fun thing to remember about the game, is also a component of Fenway Park that really benefits a specific style of player. That style of player is the right-handed hitter who is able to hit for power.

With the wall being a short distance from home plate, and with it being so tall, players are able to routinely hit the ball off the Green Monster even on plays that would be routine fly ball outs at other parks.

Once a ball is hit off the Green Monster, it is usually a single or double for the player who hit the ball.

Of course, hitting the ball over the Green Monster for a home run is a regular occurrence as well, but the Red Sox have been known to bring in powerful right-handed hitters for the express purpose of hitting balls off of their giant wall to pick up easy hits.

As a baseball bettor, knowing which teams have advantages at which ballparks based on the dimensions of each field is a very important task.

If a team is loaded with power-hitting right-handers, for example, they could find themselves at an advantage in a game held at Fenway Park. Using this information to your advantage is something that simply does not exist in other sports, and makes betting on baseball a fun challenge.

 

Matchups, Matchups, Matchups

Anyone who has success betting on baseball knows how important matchups are to that success.

Whether it is how a team matches up against a specific pitcher, or how their pitchers match up against a given batting order, these matchups can offer a ton of insight that you simply cannot obtain from other sports.

One of the best uses of matchup data is evaluating how a team performs against certain types of pitchers.

For example, you will never hear about how a basketball team performs against left-handed point guards, but there are tons of statistics available for how baseball teams do against left-handed pitching.

If a team is particularly proficient against a certain type of pitcher, that is often a cue to continue evaluating whether or not that team is worth backing with a wager.

These matchup evaluations can be done down to the individual batter versus pitcher level, as all players have career numbers available against each pitcher they are scheduled to face.

Using this data to your advantage can be the difference between placing winning bets and simply hoping for the best with each bet.

With so many things to consider when betting on baseball that other sports do not require thought on, betting on baseball can be very exciting.

Making sure to use all of the data and information at your fingertips can turn betting on baseball from something that is simply exciting into something that can be both exciting and fruitful, as long as you remember the above tips.

Round 3 update!

As we move into the knock-out stages of the World Cup and the pressure continues to build, we’re continuing to rate and hate the men and women on the World Cup airwaves with our #PunditWatch league table.

The last round of the group stages had some of the best drama yet (including everyone’s favourite moment so far – Germany getting knocked out) as well as a few dull affairs (who else fell asleep during England v. Beglium?) for our pundits to get their teeth stuck into.

Whilst Gary Lineker continues to dominate the top of the table, having posted another record week, the biggest mover of the week was ITV’s own Gary Neville, who has started to make waves from his co-commentary seat after a quiet start, and is now the most talked about pundit on ITV taking that spot from Ian Wright. The biggest riser from the BBC’s side ,surprisingly,  was ever-present pundit Alan Shearer.

Aside from Gary, however, it’s been a relatively bad week for all of ITV’s top pundits with Ian Wright, Roy Keane and Patrice Evra all sliding down the table. Evra’s terrible week on social should be caveated by the fact that he has finished his punditry duties now though.

Further down the table it’s a much rosier affair for ITV with Glenn Hoddle, Lee Dixon, Slaven Bilic and Ryan Giggs all having good weeks and generating more conversation than during round 2.

The race for the wooden spoon has seen a significant change too, as Martin O’Neill has managed to climb one spot, leaving the new Mr. Irrelevant Iain Dowie in his wake.

In the overall race between BBC and ITV, BBC still slightly pip it with six pundits in the top 10 but they’ll need to keep performing well to keep out the likes of Danny Murphy and Jacqui Oatley, who has climbed the table this week, out of the top 10 for much longer.

Make sure you follow all this and more using #PunditWatch on Twitter!

 

Round 2 update!

Didier Drogba, Patrice Evra and, whisper it, Mark Lawrenson were the big movers in our Pundit Watch league table, following the completion of the second round of World Cup matches.

With plenty of drama on the pitch, there's been loads for the experts to get their teeth in to and, using key social metrics including follower numbers and mentions, as well as sentiment, we're continuing to rate and hate the men and women on the World Cup airwaves.

Gary Lineker has continued his early good-form, dominating the Twittersphere with his witty pronouncements and insightful analysis and remains top of the league with nearly five times the mentions of his closest competitor, Rio Ferdinand.

Elsewhere, ITV’s fan-favourite Patrice Evra continues to grow his follower base. His off-the-wall but his energy and love of the game seems to be appealing to social users and he's also the most talked about man on ITV, judging by the mentions.

Didier Drogba has seen a huge spike in mentions over the last few days, with fans praising his easygoing nature and expertise, while Cesc Fabregas continued his strong performance, shooting up to sixth in the standings.

Perhaps most remarkably though, it’s Mark Lawrenson’s social media profile which has grown the most during the World Cup, with a massive 14% follower rise in the past week and more than 50,000 mentions - who knew the old fart even knew how to operate a mobile phone?!

Twitter-less Ally McCoist continues to earn co-comm rave reviews for his history bulletins alongside the reliable Jon Champion, while ITV's Roy Keane has provided some of the tournament's most memorable punditry moments, including looking like he wanted to kill Slaven Bilic, dampening down Ian Wright's England ebullience and revealing how he was close to ripping Carlos Quieroz's head off. during his time at Man United. 

Elsewhere, some of the top female pundits are certainly showing up the men. Both Alex Scott and Eni Aluko have enjoyed big profile exposure during the tournament, with Scott growing her follower base by a whopping 10%.

The overall battle between ITV and BBC, however, remains tight. At the moment, we’d have to give the prize to BBC as they claim the six out of top 10 pundits but it’s certainly all to play for still as we head into the final round of the group stages.

Make sure you follow all this and more using #PunditWatch on Twitter!

Round 1

A trio of female analysts were among those to make waves during week one of our World Cup Pundit Watch challenge.

We're rating and hating the men and women on our airwaves using key social metrics including follower numbers, mentions and sentiment.

And while prolific Tweeter and nation's favourite Gary Lineker predictably dominated the social scene during the opening round of matches, Alex Scott, Eni Aluko and Jacqui Oatley each saw the biggest increases in their following, comfortably beating higher profile male counterparts like Alan Shearer and Rio Ferdinand.

Another top performer in the first round has been Slaven Bilic, who, despite not having any social media accounts, finds himself in the top 10 most talked about pundits in week 1 with his now infamous ‘I don’t care’ comment even managing to make Roy Keane laugh, something we didn’t know was even possible.

Patrice Evra courted controversy for one exchange with Eni Aluko some thought 'patronising' but was among the topped mentioned pundits on Twitter, while new boy Cesc Fabregas, despite widespread praise for his sharp analysis, attracted mockery for his satorial choice on debut, with his shirt deemed to make him look like a sailor.

Lineker had a whopping 200,000 mentions during week one, with next best Rio Ferdinand streets behind with 47,000. Next came Ian Wright followed by Evra, Shearer and Fabregas.

The likes of Martin Keown, Mark Lawrenson, Henrik Larsson and Ryan Giggs were branded dull by many, while Lineker's counterpart on ITV, Mark Pougatch, has had almost no  social engagement. 

The winner of Pundit Watch will not only receive our gratitude, they’ll also receive our elusive (and totally imaginary) Golden Mic

Follow us on Twitter and look out for the #PunditWatch for more!

And then there were eight. We are now down to the quarter-finals stage of this summer’s tournament and fans are dreaming of a famous World Cup triumph.

Those dreams will become a reality for one of these nations on July 15^th but all eight will be fully focused on the task at hand; reaching the semi-finals.

England will face Sweden in Saturday’s afternoon fixture and plenty of punters will fancy the Three Lions to prevail in that encounter.

Gareth Southgate’s men are 19/20 to win this clash in 90 minutes and that is a decent price considering the quality in England’s squad – click here for a full preview ahead of that match.

Hosts Russia go up against Croatia in the later game and it would take a brave man to write Stanislav Cherchesov’s side off.

Nobody expected Russia to get this far but that victory over Spain has got supporters dreaming. It should be an open, end-to-end affair and England fans will be keeping a close eye on the outcome if the Three Lions get past Sweden.

 

SWEDEN vs ENGLAND

With five clean sheets in their last six matches, Sweden are built on defensive stability and the onus will be on England to break the Scandinavian side down.

Janne Andersson’s men have been superb so far this summer – sticking to a game plan that quite clearly works for them. 888sport have opened with Sweden at 8/11 to grab a goal on Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, England were desperately unlucky not to defeat Colombia in normal time but the Three Lions did manage to finish the job on penalties. Yes, that’s right – England won a penalty shootout.

Fans will be hoping that Gareth Southgate’s side can wrap this one up in normal time and England are available at an appealing 13/10 to score two or more goals.

We are now into the business stage of the competition and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see goals. An early opener for England could set the tone for the rest of the contest whilst Sweden will be looking to make the most of set-pieces.

13/8 for over 2.5 goals is well worth considering despite Sweden’s defensive prowess – this England side may have too much firepower for their opponents.

TIP: Over 2.5 goals @ 13/8

CORRECT SCORE: Sweden 1-2 England (Priced at 17/2 with 888sport)

 

RUSSIA vs CROATIA

Russia’s defence stood strong against Spain and the hosts may adopt a similar approach for this fixture. It wasn’t pretty but it was effective in that last-16 clash and Cherchesov will be wary of Croatia’s threat in attack.

By the same token, this Russia side have the quality in the final third to cause problems for Croatia and both teams to score is worth a punt at 6/5.

Dangerous in the first half but laboured in the second, Croatia were very 'Jekyll and Hyde' against Denmark. Like England, Zlatko Dalic’s men also needed penalties to reach the quarter-finals and Croatia fans will demand an improved effort here.

A repeat of that second half performance could see the European outfit exit the competition. If Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic play well, the 11/20 available for Croatia to advance to the next round could look huge...

Backing against Croatia would be foolish despite the obvious concerns. Russia will have the vast majority of the Sochi crowd behind them and Dalic’s side must try to weather the early storm.

Croatia will have chances to score though and I fancy them to advance to the next round - 17/10 for two or more goals in their favour represents good value. For Russia, this could be the end of the road...

TIP: Croatia to score two or more goals @ 17/10

CORRECT SCORE: Russia 1-2 Croatia (Priced at 9/1 with 888sport)

 

*Odds subject to change - correct at time of writing*