May Madness: What Sport Is On?

The Guineas Festival at Newmarket, the Champions League semi-finals, the PGA Championship and the final day of the Premier League campaign are among the sporting highlights in May. These are the key dates to mark in your diary:

6th May

Horse Racing:

The first classic of the 2023 flat racing season will take place at Newmarket. Auguste Rodin, Chaldean, Little Big Bear and Sakheer are among the leading contenders for the 2000 Guineas, which is open to three-year-old colts and fillies. They battle it out for a £500,000 prize purse in the famous race, which takes place over 1 mile on the Newmarket straight.

Football odds and Football spread betting markets for the 2000 Guineas
 

7th May

MMA:

Aljamain Sterling will defend his bantamweight title when he takes on Henry Cejudo at UFC 288. The event takes place on Saturday night in New Jersey, but it will be the early hours of Sunday morning for European MMA fans. The co-main event pits Belal Muhammad against Gilbert Burns, while it will also be interesting to see how Jéssica Andrade fares against Yan Xiaonan.

MMA odds and MMA spread betting markets for UFC 288

Horse Racing:

The 1000 Guineas is the highlight on the second day of the Guineas Festival at Newmarket. This race is reserved for three-year-old fillies and it also takes place over 1 mile, with an identical prize purse. Recent winners include Minding, Love and Cachet.

Football odds and Football spread betting markets for the 1000 Guineas

Formula 1:

The world's leading drivers will head to Florida to battle for the chequered flag in the Miami Grand Prix. The race was inaugurated last year, when Max Verstappen got the better of title rival Charles Leclerc to secure a famous victory. He is the favourite to repeat the feat this time around, but competition will be as fierce as ever, particularly from teammate Sergio Pérez.

Formula 1 odds and Formula 1 spread betting markets for the Miami Grand Prix

9th May

Football

Man City will head to the Bernabéu to take on reigning European champions Real Madrid in an eagerly anticipated Champions League semi-final showdown. Pep Guardiola's men came within an inch of beating Los Blancos in last year's semi-final, only to have their hearts broken by a last-gasp Rodrygo brace. They responded by signing Erling Haaland in the summer, and he has proved to be a goal machine, so Man City are the favourites to gain sweet revenge this time around. However, Real Madrid's players know how to get the job done in this competition, so it promises to be a fascinating encounter.

Football odds and Football spread betting markets for the Champions League

10th May

Football:

A Milan derby will unfold at the San Siro in the other Champions League semi-final. AC Milan, who beat Serie A leaders Napoli in the last round, will ostensibly be the home team for the first leg, so their fans will dominate the stadium shared by these two illustrious clubs. They have a solid defence, but Inter are very dangerous in attack - as they showed by beating Benfica 5-3 on aggregate in the quarter-finals - so it should be another entertaining tie.

Football odds and Football spread betting markets for the Champions League

11th May

Football:

Juventus take on Sevilla in the Europa League semi-finals, while Roma host in-form Bayer Leverkusen in the eternal city. West Ham face AZ Alkmaar in London in the Europa Conference League semi-finals, and Fiorentina lock horns with Swiss Side Basel.

Football odds and Football spread betting markets for the Europa League & Europa Conference League

13th May

Football:

The Championship playoff semi-final first leg gets underway, along with League One and League two playoff matches.

Football odds and Football spread betting markets for the Championship playoffs

16th May

Football:

Inter Milan will be the home team for the second leg of their semi-final showdown, so the San Siro will turn into a sea of blue and black as the fans bid to roar the Nerazzurri to victory over their local rivals.

Football odds and Football spread betting markets for the Champions League

17th May

Football:

The action reverts to Manchester for the second leg of the semi-final between Man City and Real Madrid. Can Guardiola's men live up to their billing as favourites, or will they be undone once again by wily old campaigners Luka Modric and Karim Benzema?

Football odds and Football spread betting markets for the Champions League

18th May

Football:

The second legs of the Europa League and Europa Conference League semi-finals will take place. Can the Hammers surge through to the final?

Football odds and Football spread betting markets for the Europa League & Europa Conference League

Golf

The second major of the year - the PGA Championship - takes place at Oak Hill Country Club in New York. World No. 1 Jon Rahm will go into the tournament full of confidence after he clinched the green jacket at the Masters in April. However, he will be under pressure from the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and the LIV Golf contingent. Justin Thomas is the reigning champion after he prevailed in a playoff against Will Zalatoris last year.

Golf odds and Golf spread betting markets for the PGA Championship

19th May

Rugby Union

The European Challenge Cup final will be held at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Golf odds and Golf spread betting markets for the European Challenge Cup final

20th May

Rugby Union

The European Champions Cup final takes place the following day at the same venue. Aviva Stadium in the Irish capital.

Golf odds and Golf spread betting markets for the European Champions Cup final

21st May

Formula 1:

The Formula 1 season heads to Europe for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, Italy. Verstappen also won their last year and in 2021, so he will bid for a hat-trick this time around.

Formula 1 odds and Formula 1 spread betting markets for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

27th May

Boxing:

Nottingham's Leigh Wood will face the dangerous Mauricio Lara in an eagerly anticipated rematch at the AO Arena in Manchester. Lara became the WBA featherweight champion when he stopped Wood in the seventh round of their bout in August last year, and he is the favourite to defend his belt.

Boxing odds and Boxing spread betting markets for the Wood vs. Lara fight

28th May

Football:

The Premier League season draws to a close with 10 games taking place at the same time. In recent years, title races and relegation battles have gone right down to the wire, so we could be in for more drama this time around.

Football odds and Football spread betting markets for the Premier League

Football:

The League Two playoff final will be held at Wembley.

Football odds and Football spread betting markets for the League Two Playoff Final.

29th May

Football:

The League One playoff final takes place at Wembley.

Football odds and Football spread betting markets for the League One Playoff Final

30th May

Football:

The richest match in world football - the Championship playoff final - will be held at Wembley, with a place in the Premier League next season up for grabs.

Football odds and Football spread betting markets for the Championship Playoff Final