December 2021 Sporting Preview : All about Winning not Giving

Last Updated : 4th December, 2021 By Steve A

December has arrived and Christmas is on its way. There's still some great sporting action to enjoy though with everything from the World Darts Championships to the First Ashes Test. With heavyweight boxing and the EFL Cup quarter finals, it's going to be a great month of sport.

Can England Regain the Ashes?

Does the thought of Australian fast bowlers steaming in against England's batting line-up scare you?  If so, then backing Australia to retain the Ashes is a great idea. England will need Joe Root at his very best but even that is unlikely to see England get the Ashes back from their worst enemies. Far too many times do England collapse and we can't keep depending on Anderson and Broad to rescue the situation after a low score.

Australia now have Pat Cummins as their new captain. Can he be as good a fast bowling captain as the late Bob Willis?  Just think if Cummins has to go off the field, Steve Smith will be captain again! The first test begins on December 8 and it's time to stay up late (or get up early) and listen to those English wickets fall and struggle to get back the Ashes.

Last Chance for Chisora?

Dereck Chisora bids to get revenge on former WBO Heavyweight Champion Joseph Parker. He lost to the New Zealander on points in May of this year, but did knock Parker down in the first round. That was the second successive loss for Chisora, after losing to future champion Oleksandr Usyk in October 2020. 

The heavyweight scene looks likely to be dominated again in 2022 by Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and of course Usyk but the winner of this fight could yet find themselves with a title shot next year. There's the WBA Regular Champion Trevor Bryan to aim for. Then, there's the possibility another title could become vacant so winning this fight is important. Chisora did well in the first fight but he's just under world title level.

Parker has won five fights in a row since being beaten by Dillian Whyte three years ago. Most governing bodies have him in the top four, apart from the crazy WBA. They have him at 14th, ten behind Hughie Fury who he's beaten!! This should be another close fight with Chisora and a points win for Parker or late stoppage looks likely as the former champ chases another title shot.

Price Chases Another World Darts Championship

Not since 2016 has a player retained the PDC World Darts Championship. That was Scotsman Gary Anderson and this year, it's Gerwyn Price from Wales who attempts to achieve that feat. He beat Anderson to win the 2021 title and he comes into this title defence as the world number one, just ahead of Anderson.

The tournament begins on December 15 with Price in action on the first night. He's up against either Ritchie Edhouse or Lihao Wen.  Price recently won the Grand Slam of Darts tournament, one of five he has won since becoming world champion for the first time. Opposition to Price will come from a host of players. Peter Wright (champion in 2020) warmed up well with a win in the Players Championship at the end of November. Jonny Clayton won the Premier League, World Series Final and the World Grand Prix, so he can't be ruled out. 

Michael van Gerwen is the most interesting contender. The former three time world champion hasn't won an event this year. Will he come back to form at these world championships? Finally of course there's Fallon Sherrock, who could face Price. Can the Queen of Ally Pally have another good run and what is special about a woman beating a man at darts? It promises to be a fascinating tournament with Price the favourite to win his second world title.

Chelsea out to Reach the EFL Cup semi-finals

 It seems an age since the last round but this month we have the EFL Cup quarter finals. They take place on December 21 and 22 with just one team from outside the Premier League taking part.

That's League One Sunderland who have been given an away draw against Arsenal on December 21. A home win looks likely there even if the Gunners make plenty of changes. Just why these ties are being played right before a busy Christmas fixture list is a bit of a mystery isn't it?

December 21 also sees Chelsea travel to Brentford. Chelsea have already won once at Brentford this season and another win should be on the cards here. On the 22nd, we have Liverpool home to FA Cup holders Leicester City. Liverpool will make changes of course but so will City and you can't trust the defence of the visitors. Finally, we have Tottenham at home to West Ham. The Hammers finally ended the reign of Manchester City as EFL Cup holders, when beating them in the last round. This could go either way and a draw after 90 minutes looks a good bet. It looks like we'll get a strong line-up for the semi-finals and at present Chelsea look a decent bet to lift the trophy.