Monday column looking at the latest ante-post markets

Football

It was a pretty good weekend for the home nations on World Cup duty with none of them beaten and three out of the four picking up a valuable three points towards the cause. 

England and Northern Ireland won 2-0 against Lithuania and Norway respectively while Scotland rallied to answer the critics thanks to a late 1-0 success at Hampden Park against Slovenia.  

Wales were held to a 0-0 draw at the Republic Of Ireland on Friday night and Sky Bet go 16/1 all four reach the finals in Russia in the summer of 2018. 

England are in a commanding position with a four-point lead in Group F but the remaining trio all have work to do at the halfway stage of qualification and in all reality could be fighting it out for a place in one of the play-off matches in November.

Although it is the best part of three months away, it is worth bearing in mind that Wales will make the trip to Group D leaders Serbia without the banned Gareth Bale after his yellow card in Dublin. 

A defeat there would leave the Euro 2016 semi-finalists in serious danger of missing out but at least manager Chris Coleman has plenty of time to devise a strategy without his talisman.

England’s prospects are far more rosy with Sky Bet making Wembley goal hero Jermain Defoe a 3/1 chance to make Gareth Southgate’s final squad to board the plane should they make the finals – they are 1/20 to win the Group. 

The name that does catch my eye to get the nod at the prices is rapidly improving Sunderland goal-keeper Jordan Pickford at 13/8.

Joe Hart, Fraser Forster and Tom Heaton are all odds-on with the first-named seemingly unmovable but the latter pair are far from shoo-ins.

Pickford has it all to do in terms of experience at this level but makes up for that with tremendous talent and potential while a move to a big club this summer is not out of the question and would further his claims if the Black Cats plunge into the Sky Bet Championship. (David John)  

Golf

Dustin Johnson is clear favourite for the Masters after his third successive victory on Sunday night.

Johnson followed up dominant displays in the Genesis Open and WGC-Mexico with another in the WGC-Match Play, completing the set of World Golf Championship wins, and is the standout player in world golf right now.

But my advice, with Johnson now 5/1 and 11/2 generally, would be to ignore temptation to mop up the last of the 6/1 on offer.

For starters, bookmakers haven’t started doing battle. With little over a week until tee-off at Augusta, extra places and enhanced prices are around the corner and, whatever you think of the current state of bookmaking, if you can get a better deal by waiting, you should wait.

But more importantly, Johnson now looks too short and there’s a decent case for opposing him at Augusta.

For starters, it’s not like he’s totally cracked the place. Yes, his last two visits have been his best and yes, six titles since last June confirm that he’s on another level now, but he’s short enough for a player who has basically never had a genuine chance to win the thing.

In addition, close followers of Johnson will know by now that his improvement is in part a product of a change in stock shot. In simple terms, he now prefers to rely on a left-to-right ball-flight, rather than right-to-left, and it’s the former which the very best golfers throughout time have tended to lean on. It is known to be easier to control.

This isn’t to say he can’t now hit the ball the other way – Johnson has every shot in the bag – but Augusta is widely considered a right-to-left course and there’s at least some doubt, however small, as to how effective Johnson will be if he does elect to change how he’s been playing, particularly with driver in hand.

Then there’s the fact that, at the time of writing, he’s still in the field for the Shell Houston Open. Johnson played seven matches last week and I would’ve thought that some time off, a quiet trip to Augusta in the build-up and a generally low-key few days would serve him better.

Clearly, he knows his game and is extremely well managed, so if DJ thinks it’s best to play, so be it. He has long preferred to tee-up a week before majors and did so last summer prior to the US Open, although his 2015 Masters T6 came on the back of a week off.

If he wins in Houston, Johnson will go off 4/1 for the Masters as he seeks to win his fifth event in succession. It would be a mighty achievement and isn’t beyond him, but it feels like the opportunity to back him has gone. 

Last year, Jason Day arrived at Augusta looking to win his third event in a row, with stronger course credentials, and finished in a tie for 10th. It’s a warning to be heeded. (Ben Coley)