My Best Bets of 2025
- JN Value Betting
- Jan 14
- 6 min read
TEAHUPOO - STAYERS' HURDLE (2025 CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL) - 7/4 (BETWAY) - 3PTS WIN
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER - 2025 US MASTERS - 4/1 (BET365) - 1PT WIN
BAYER LEVERKUSEN - DFB POKAL - 13/8 (BET365) - 3PTS WIN
JOSH MAJA - CHAMPIONSHIP TOP GOALSCORER - 5/1 (BETWAY) - 1PT WIN
CARLOS ALCARAZ - WIMBLEDON 2025 (MEN'S SINGLES) - 17/10 (LIVESCORE BET) - 2PTS WIN
I have scoured the various outright markets on this year's biggest sporting events to find the best value bets within the markets. One common theme I have identified here is the value within selections that are the current holders of their relevant event. When attempting to find these value angles, I have opted for selections which I feel will be a much shorter price come the time of their relevant event, or selections which are likely to shorten over the coming weeks.
HORSE RACING
TEAHUPOO - STAYERS' HURDLE (2025 CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL) - 7/4 (BETWAY) - 3PTS WIN
The pinnacle of the jumps racing season takes place at Cheltenham between the 11th - 14th March where the Irish invasion will be in full swing for the best four days of the horse racing calendar. Much has been made of the dominance of the Irish in recent years, with them claiming the Prestbury Cup by winning double the amount of races that the hosts could muster. Given the initial entries for this year's races, it looks as if this Irish stranglehold may only get tighter as the numbers of British entries dwindle.
Having scanned the novice races, I was unable to identify any value with there being a real lack of standout performers, especially within the hurdling division. Therefore, I turned my attention to the Stayers' Hurdle where I feel there is a real lack of a challenge to reigning champion Teahupoo. The eight year-old waltzed to a comfortable success last March, dispatching two-time champion Flooring Porter by 3 and 3/4 lengths. There has been a real lack of depth within this division for a number of years and I feel that Teahupoo will take advantage and make himself the second back-to-back winner of this race in three years. Despite being beaten on his seasonal reappearance by Lossiemouth, I feel believe that this will have primed him for his defence of this race. Should there be no standout performances prior to the Festival, Teahupoo will go off an odds-on favourite, therefore I am happy to get firmly stuck in on the 7/4 on offer currently.
GOLF
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER - 2025 US MASTERS - 4/1 (BET365) - 1PT WIN
Scottie Scheffler was crowned 2024 PGA Tour Golfer of the Year for the third season in succession, becoming the first golfer to do so since Tiger Woods in 2005-2007. It will always seem like an impossible task for anyone to scale to the heights of Tiger Woods, given the sheer records that were shattered by him. However, we are currently experiencing an era where a player is dominating in a similar way to Woods. Scheffler recorded seven wins on the PGA Tour in 2024 from just 19 events. This included him making the cut in all of those 19 events and recording a top 10 finish in all but three of them. Amongst those seven wins was victories at TPC Sawgrass to claim the Players' Championship for a second straight year (becoming the first ever back-to-back winner of the event) and a victory at Augusta in the Masters - where Scheffler recorded a second success in just three years.
Whilst the start to 2025 for Scheffler has been delayed following a freak accident suffered at home on Christmas Day, I am backing him to make it three Masters victories from his last four attempts. There is no doubting the level at which the World Number 1 is playing and his dominance on the world of golf shows no signs of slowing down. Scheffler has tamed the Augusta National course twice before and should he pick up where he left off in 2024, I can see the 4/1 on offer currently being trimmed into a shorter price come April.
FOOTBALL
BAYER LEVERKUSEN - DFB POKAL - 13/8 (BET365) - 2PTS WIN
Whilst it has not quite been the 'invincible like' campaign for Bayer Leverkusen that they enjoyed last season, they are certainly finding form heading into the business end of the season. They have only tasted defeat twice in 26 matches this season, once in the Champions League to a resurgent Liverpool, and the other a 3-2 defeat at the hands of RB Leipzig back in August when they somehow relinquished a two-goal lead at home to taste defeat domestically for the first time since May 2023. They are closing down title favourites Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and will be hoping to prevent them from winning the title for a second straight season. One trophy which Leverkusen have prevented them from winning this season in the DFB Pokal. Xabi Alonso's side knocked Bayern Munich out in the Last 16, and have been rewarded with a home tie against Bundesliga 2 side FC Koln in the Quarter-Finals. Due to the strength of the competition left in the tournament, I was surprised to see Leverkusen priced up at 13/8 to win the DFB Pokal for the second consecutive season.
JOSH MAJA - CHAMPIONSHIP TOP GOALSCORER - 5/1 (BETWAY) - 1PT WIN
As we enter the final 20 rounds of the Championship season, Norwich's Borja Sainz leads the way in the Top Goalscorer charts with 15 goals. He sits three clear of his next closest pursuer and that would typically look like a comfortable lead for a player who has bagged 15 goals in 26 matches. However, all is not as it seems for the 7/4 favourite for the golden boot. Sainz has just been banned for six matches following an incident in which he spat at Sunderland defender Chris Mepham. This has ruled the Canaries player out until the 11th February. Despite Sainz scoring 15 goals this season, he has not found the net since scoring against Luton Town on 30th November, meaning he has gone eight matches without a goal. Further to this, Sainz is the subject of transfer interest from Girona in La Liga and the Spaniard could be tempted by a return to Spain.
Given the quite compelling case to back against Sainz for the golden boot, I have identified a value selection within the market, Josh Maja currently sits three goals adrift of Sainz in the standings and with a bonus six matches up his sleeve, he could represent good value at 5/1. Maja managed twelve goals in a West Brom side under the guidance of Carlos Corberan, who saw his Baggies side only manage 27 goals before his departure for Valencia. With Maja scoring 10 of these 27 goals, it could lead to him having a lot more chances come his way in a new system. Since Corberan's departure, Maja has had seven shots in West Brom's three matches, scoring twice. Whilst this is dependant on who West Brom hire, it is unlikely that the system will be as restrictive as Corberan's and Maja has a good chance of bridging the gap to Sainz.
TENNIS
CARLOS ALCARAZ - WIMBLEDON 2025 (MEN'S SINGLES) - 17/10 (LIVESCORE BET) - 2PTS WIN
One highlight of the Great British Summer is the two weeks at SW19 where tradition takes over at the world's best tennis stars embark on Wimbledon. The last two years has seen young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz claim the Men's Singles title, both times at the expense of Serbian Novak Djokovic. The dominance of the 21 year-old on this surface has become very apparent, with him winning the 2024 final in straight sets. Despite Djokovic nursing an injury through last year's tournament, his stranglehold on the Wimbledon trophy has weakened in recent years. Therefore, I am happy to back Alcaraz to make it three consecutive titles at SW19. It is hard to see where a challenger is going to come from on such a unique surface, and with age on his side, I back him to make hay while the sun shines again in 2025.
Alcaraz currently sits third in the World Rankings, behind Italian Jannik Sinner and German Alexander Zverev - neither Sinner or Zverev look as if they will pose a challenge to Alcaraz on grass, with their vulnerabilities being exposed with World No. 1 Sinner only having a sole semi-final appearance to his name, while Zverev is yet to make it past the fourth round at the All England Club.
