Cross-Sport Multiple: Back France to sink Paraguay

France should beat Paraguay at a canter

Andrew Hughes thinks France will continue their World Cup warm-up with a victory over Paraguay and help land a cross-sport multiple in the process

Bet 1: Back France to beat Paraguay at 1.364/11

Didier Deschamps caused controversy by omitting Samir Nasri and Jeremy Menez from his World Cup squad, but France were comfortable enough in defeating Norway 4-0 in Paris on Tuesday and I don't expect Paraguay to cause them any problems. 

Paraguay did manage a notable success by beating Cameroon on Thursday, but that form probably isn't worth very much and it should be remembered that this Paraguayan side finished bottom of the CONMEBOL qualifying group. 

France have now gone three games without conceding a goal, having scored nine of their own and will be boosted by the return of Real Madrid duo Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane. Back Les Bleus for the win. 

Bet 2: Back Kolkata to beat Punjab at 2.111/10

Kings XI Punjab topped the table by four points, blasted their way into the IPL final thanks to a stunning century from Virender Sehwag in Friday's second Qualifier, and go into the season's finale as favourites. 

But they are a risky proposition at odds on. They won their first five, but lost four of their next ten. Despite his heroics on Friday, Sehwag has been more hit than miss this year, star batsman Glen Maxwell has gone cold, and their bowling is unreliable. 

By contrast, Kolkata are the IPL's form team, on a run of eight successive victories, including two over Sunday's opponents. Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa are a dynamic opening pair and Gambhir has the IPL's best bowling attack at his disposal. Back the Knight Riders to lift the trophy for a second time. 

Bet 3: Back Roger Federer to beat Ernests Gulbis at 1.444/9

Ernests Gulbis has taken six years to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam event, since he made the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in 2008, but he won't be making the last eight this year, and Roger Federer is the one to be one. 

Over the last year Gulbis has climbed back up the rankings and after winning his last tournament in Nice, is inside the top twenty. He has also beaten Federer, back in 2010, and reached the fourth round with a crushing win over Radek Stepanek. 

But Federer is improving steadily as the tournament goes on and showed glimpses of his best form in beating Dmitry Tursunov in the third round. His three previous meetings with Gulbis have all been close, but Federer has won two of them and I expect him to win on Sunday.   

Total Odds for this multiple: 4.11n/a Remember, multiple prices are based on our Sportsbook product, so any winnings are exempt from commission.

2014 Cross-Sport Multiple P/L

Staked: 43 pts
Returned: 59.84 pts
P/L: +16.74 pts