The European Tour stops in France this week and a strong field will battle it out for the Open de France title and the 500,000 euros first prize. Miguel Angel Jimenez will defend the crown he won last year, with plenty of strong contenders set to push the Spaniard, including Bubba Watson, as the American makes a rare appearance in Europe.

Chelsea are now almost certain to turn to Andre Villas-Boas as their new boss as owner Roman Abramovich takes a massive gamble in his quest for Champions League (Chelsea 8/1 Outright) glory – it may work, but the odds are arguably stacked against the 33-year-old.

A stunning performance at the US Open has lifted Rory McIlroy to superstar status and the 22-year-old will surely go onto win more Major titles. But the Northern Irishman now faces the prospect of increased expectations, as the world’s top players turn their attentions now to The 2011 Open Championship. We take a look at five players who could shine next month at Royal St George’s.

The 2011 US Open has thrown up some memorable moments over the years, none more so than when Tiger Woods claimed the title on ‘one leg’ back in 2008. The three-time champion will not be in the field this year due to injury and we will have a look at the other Americans that might have a say in proceedings this week (2011 US Open – outright).

The Under-21 European Championship hosts Denmark remain confident they can go far on home soil but must quickly find a way back after an opening-day Group A defeat against Switzerland (Group A outright winner).

The best players in the world are all set to converge on the Congressional Country Club this week for the year’s second major. The US Open had been a graveyard for European golfers for 40 years until Graeme McDowell broke the hoodoo and claimed the title 12 months ago. Could another European star lift the trophy this year? We will have a look at the main contenders.

There are four Friends Life t20 games on Wednesday with defending champions Hampshire looking to maintain their 100 per cent record against Glamorgan. We will have a look at the Hawks’ chances against the Dragons plus the other six teams in action (Twenty20 – totesport).

After a packed weekend of international fixtures, the Euro 2012 qualifiers continue on Tuesday with a number of potentially explosive fixtures that could have massive implications for next summer’s tournament to be held in Poland and Ukraine, with Germany and Sweden both in action (Sweden 8/1 – Group E winner).

The weekend provided us with some thrilling sporting action and some helpful betting clues ahead of some big events over the coming months. Here’s what we think were the key lessons from the last few days…

The top four players in the world will do battle on Friday for a place in the Men’s 2011 French Open final in what should be two classic matches. Injuries, fatigue and state of mind could all prove big factors in the last four, here’s our take on proceedings (2011 French Open).