It’s that time of year again. I’m a Celebrity has just finished and it’s the final round of group stage fixtures in the Champions League, which means one thing: Christmas is now within touching distance.
It’s the time of year where you spend half your time drinking midweek, eating everything in sight and worrying about the consequences in January. Maybe 2020 will finally be the year you’ll complete a full dry Jan? Maybe it won’t be, just like all those other years. Who really cares.
Another signal that Christmas is on the horizon is the fact that the Sports Personality of The Year (SPOTY) awards take place this Sunday. England cricketer Ben Stokes is overwhelming favourite to clinch the coveted trophy after his World Cup heroics in the summer – priced as short as 1/7 – while sprinter Dina Asher-Smith, footballer Raheem Sterling, rugby star Alun Wyn Jones, athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson and F1 champion Lewis Hamilton have also been nominated for the award.
With Stokes priced so unfavourably due to his unbelievable popularity among sports fans – rightly so – it leaves little value in the betting markets for this year’s award. So, with this in mind, the Betting Directory have assessed where the money could potentially be made this weekend; check out our selections below.
? #OnThisDay in 2001, David Beckham won the BBC #SPOTY award
Here’s the odds for this year’s prize…
– Ben Stokes: 1/7
– Dina Asher Smith: 10/1
– Raheem Sterling: 20/1
– Alun Wyn Jones: 22/1
– Lewis Hamilton: 22/1
Odds subject to change | BeGambleAware | 18+
— The Sportsman Bet (@TheSportsmanBet) December 9, 2019
Top 3 finish – Raheem Sterling, 9/4
Raheem Sterling is slowly emerging as one of the biggest talents in world football and this season alone has taken the Premier League by storm having scored 8 league goals. Overall, the 25-year-old has notched 15 goals in all competitions, alongside a further five assists.
At international level, Sterling was also one of England’s standout performers during Euro 2020 qualifying, bagging 8 goals and providing 7 assists as the Three Lions effortlessly won their group to make it through to next summer’s tournament.
Sterling has also been commended for the way in which he dealt with sickening racist abuse earlier this year, speaking maturely in the media about his views on the situation. Many have now seen a different side to the England international, with hundreds of thousands of youngsters now rightfully looking up to him as a role model. Sterling is unlikely to win the award this year, but backing him to finish in the final three at odds of 9/4 could be a decent bet.
Always humbled by the nominations and messages I keep on receiving.. Thanks for the incredible support you gave me this year and way before? https://t.co/7I22wsAX8Y
— Raheem Sterling (@sterling7) November 25, 2019
Winner without Ben Stokes – Alun Wyn Jones, 9/4
Welsh rugby captain Alun Wyn Jones scooped the BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday, after a memorable year which saw him lead his country to a Grand Slam and the semi-finals of the World Cup. Jones also became Wales’ most-capped rugby player earlier this year when he made his 134th appearance for the Dragons.
The 34-year-old’s services to sport this year definitely deserve widespread credit, and the fact that he won the Welsh version of this prestigious award last weekend does suggest that he could obtain plenty of votes. He will also have the vote of the majority of a nation behind him with the Welsh audience considered, making him a decent bet at 9/4 to finish runner-up behind Ben Stokes.
? Wales captain, and now this year’s BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year, @AlunWynJones!
? Watch live here ? https://t.co/SVTjAQfR9a#WSA2019 pic.twitter.com/UaElhVBt8T
— BBC Sport Wales (@BBCSportWales) December 10, 2019
The longshot – Katarina Johnson-Thompson, 100/1
Heptathlon gold medal winner Katarina Johnson-Thompson could potentially be a good bet if you’re looking for longer odds this weekend. The 26-year-old broke a British record in October, scoring 6,981 points at the World Championships in Doha; she is one of two women who make up the six-strong list of candidates for this year’s award.
While the odds are stacked against Johnson-Thompson, at a colossal 100/1, the Brit could be worth a pound or two. Thompson is priced at 40/1 to win the award without Ben Stokes considered in the betting markets, which is still extremely high.
So happy to be nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the year! ?
I’ve been watching this show for as long as I can remember and I’m humbled to be up for it alongside some incredible sportsmen/sportswomen ?
What a way to end the year! ? https://t.co/kvgJd7wzUe— KJT (@JohnsonThompson) November 25, 2019